At this point, a girl suddenly burst into tears.

“Despicable!” she stomped her foot and cried, “There’s probably not a single living soul left in Minzhou City. Poor Young Lady, so young, and now she’ll have to become a widow before even marrying!”

Another girl said, “Never mind whether Young Lady will be a widow or not, I just hope she’s safe right now!”

“Everyone shut up!” Brian Cooper said. “Young Lady’s martial arts are unmatched in the world—she’s definitely unharmed. What we should be thinking about now is how to reunite with Young Lady.”

These girls, fourteen or fifteen years old, had walked all night through wild mountains and forests. They worried about Young Lady becoming a widow, feared she might be hurt, and dreaded being separated from her. As they spoke, they all broke down in tears, clinging to each other in a mess of sobs.

Author’s note:

“Widow before marriage”: The man dies before the wedding takes place.

Chapter 3: Beauty Roams the Night with a Blade

Brian Cooper turned around to comfort her companions. Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson wanted to help, but didn’t know how, and ended up being scolded instead: “Don’t you dare curse our Young Lady!”

The two of them leaned against a nearby tree, thinking of how their own village had been besieged for ten years and was now on the verge of destruction. They too began to weep, and Old Mr. Bennett, moved by their sorrow, let out a long sigh, equally grief-stricken.

For a moment, Evan Carter felt as if he’d stumbled into a funeral, silently standing by for a while. He gathered his thoughts and said to Brian Cooper, “How did you all get in here?”

Brian Cooper wiped her eyes and gave him a once-over. Perhaps his current appearance was truly unpresentable. She was still polite to Samuel Thompson and Henry Thompson, but not to him. She wrinkled her nose and replied curtly, “We walked in, of course.”

No, that’s not what I meant.

Evan Carter realized his wording might have been off. He paused, then tried again: “You... how did you find your way?”

These girls had said they couldn’t tell directions in the thick fog, but also claimed that before getting separated, they were getting closer to the Minzhou city gate. That didn’t quite add up.

Brian Cooper finally understood what he meant and answered, “We couldn’t, but our Young Lady is on a higher level—she can sense the fate of the stars above and move freely.”

Evan Carter’s face was expressionless: “......”

Brian Cooper shouted, “You little beggar, do you have a problem with our Young Lady or something?!”

First, Samuel Thompson had called her “fairy sister” and was scolded as a “shameless stinking man.” Now, without doing anything, he was suddenly singled out for criticism too.

Evan Carter had no intention of speaking, but Miss Brian Cooper’s gaze was so aggressive that he felt uncomfortable all over and had to say, “You shouldn’t have moved.”

Evan Carter thought that anyone with a bit of self-awareness, when unable to tell directions while others could, should just stay put and wait for them to return, instead of wandering around.

Brian Cooper felt a bit guilty and snapped back, “Since when is it your place, little beggar, to boss us around?!”

Evan Carter ignored her.

After saying this, Brian Cooper’s bluster faded a little and she muttered, “It’s not like we didn’t know that. We just panicked for a moment.”

But with her irritable and proud temper, her bravado didn’t stay down for long. The next moment, she was self-righteous again: “No matter what, if we can’t find Young Lady, we’ll be trapped here sooner or later, and we won’t be able to save you either.”

Fine.

Evan Carter stopped looking at them.

It’s said that people who use blades tend to have bad tempers—seems true. Like master, like apprentice; that Young Lady must be an even bigger troublemaker to have raised such a group of little ruffians.

Brian Cooper and her group couldn’t be bothered with the dirty little beggar anymore and started discussing possible solutions.

“Did anyone bring a phoenix butterfly?”

“It’s pitch dark—even if we had a phoenix butterfly, we wouldn’t be able to see it.”

“The compass is spinning wildly, so it’s useless.”

They sat cross-legged on the ground, discussing for a long time, until someone finally slapped her forehead: “The Little Dipper Array! If we draw the Little Dipper Array and mark the Big Dipper, couldn’t we sense direction like Young Lady does?”

Brian Cooper was overjoyed: “Jason sister is absolutely right!”

The wise Jason sister said, “Kevin sister, I remember you studied talismans this year—can you draw it?”

The talisman-studying Kevin sister said, “Damn! I always went to practice swordplay with Young Lady at that time—skipped eight out of ten classes. I can’t draw it.”

Listening to this, Samuel Thompson couldn’t help but snicker. Even though Henry Thompson quickly covered his mouth, he still got a good scolding.

After scolding Samuel Thompson, the girls were completely stumped, left with nothing but sighs.

After sighing, in the suffocating silence, Evan Carter quietly spoke up.

“...I can draw it.”

The girls all turned to look at him, scrutinizing him with utter disbelief.

If it were Old Mr. Bennett, the violinist, it might be believable. But this disheveled little beggar? That was pure fantasy.

“You? Where did you learn arrays? In your dreams?” Brian Cooper asked sarcastically.

Evan Carter said nothing.

Kevin Cooper looked him over, then took out talisman paper, a brush, and talisman sand from her bag, stood up, and walked over to him: “You...”