The firelight was limited; only silhouettes could be seen, not faces.

This person stood in the darkness, surrounded by demons, yet seemed as relaxed as if sitting idly in her own courtyard, slowly wiping her blade. Black blood was slowly dripping from the water-like edge of the blade, a chilling sight.

—This was the Young Lady the girls spoke of.

Young Lady sheathed her blade and floated down from the treetop, landing before them.

Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson gasped sharply.

Evan Carter also looked ahead.

Now they finally understood that Brian Cooper's description of Young Lady's appearance was not just idle boasting.

Young Lady wore a veil, the lower half of her face only faintly outlined behind the thin fabric, which drew even more attention to her eyes—arched brows and phoenix-like eyes, lively and spirited, so strikingly beautiful as to be intimidating, making it hard for anyone to look directly at her.

Brian Cooper and her group were dressed in short, practical outfits, looking valiant and heroic. Young Lady was about the same age as them, but her attire was completely different: she wore an elaborate, flowing red palace dress, her sleeves brushing lightly as she walked, making her look exceptionally graceful.

The girls crowded around, asking in quick succession how Young Lady had found them, whether Young Lady was hurt, and what had happened between Young Lady and the corpse king. However, though their voices were urgent, they all kept at least three feet away from Young Lady, not daring to get closer. It was clear they both loved and respected her.

Young Lady did not answer them. Her cold gaze swept over Evan Carter, Henry Thompson, and Samuel Thompson, and she asked, "Who are they?"

Brian Cooper briefly explained what had happened to them that night. As she got to the part about meeting Evan Carter and Old Mr. Bennett, Young Lady frowned, her eyes full of disgust, and interrupted, "Too filthy. Throw them out."

She was referring to Evan Carter.

After all, you couldn't expect someone who spent all day crawling into nooks and crannies to be very clean. Even though Evan Carter wanted to wash his new body, there simply hadn't been time or opportunity.

Kevin Cooper hurried to defend Evan Carter, saying he was their benefactor.

Young Lady gave an "oh," looked at Evan Carter, and said coldly, "If that's the case, just give him a beating and let it go."

Evan Carter: "......"

Young Lady placed her hand on her sword hilt, the corner of her eye twitching, as if struggling to restrain the urge to draw her blade and kill him. She said to him, "If you want to follow us, clean yourself up. If you dirty my eyes again, I'll have to skin you."

Evan Carter: "???"

Fine then.

The master of this gang of little rascals from Phoenix Manor was indeed an even more unreasonable big rascal.

In the middle of the night, in the wild mountains, where was he supposed to find water to wash himself?

Go to heaven?

Chapter 4: Miss, Please Restrain Your Grief

Fortunately, Evan Carter didn't actually have to go searching for water in the wilderness. Kevin Cooper smiled and formed a hand seal, and the next moment, a ball of white light crashed down on him—it was a commonly used cleansing spell.

Evan Carter's skin tingled and burned all over, and after half a moment, when the spell ended, he had been thoroughly scrubbed by spiritual power and felt even his breathing was much lighter.

"Ah," Kevin Cooper laughed, "little beggar, you actually look quite handsome."

Brian Cooper and the others craned their necks to see what kind of handsomeness he could possibly have, and after looking, they all burst into giggles. "This guy is really strange—not a fool, not ugly, yet he made himself look like a dog that's rolled in the mud."

Evan Carter felt suffocated under their gazes and almost wished he were still dirty.

Young Lady glanced over coldly, finally giving a reluctant snort through her nose, which meant she would spare Evan Carter's skin.

Kevin Cooper asked, "What are your names?"

Henry Thompson said, "I'm Henry Thompson, and my younger brother is Samuel Thompson."

They all burst out laughing, even Young Lady's eyes showed a hint of amusement, and she asked, "Why isn't there a William Thompson?"

Samuel Thompson replied solemnly, "How perceptive you are, Young Lady! My little sister is indeed called William Thompson!"

Kevin Cooper then looked at Evan Carter, who said, "Evan Carter."

"That's an interesting name. Does it have any special meaning?" Kevin Cooper asked.

Evan Carter: "No."

Kevin Cooper pouted, "You're really no fun at all."

Evan Carter didn't respond.

The name did have meaning, but he didn't want to explain, because he really was a person with no fun at all.

Young Lady started walking ahead. "Let's go."

The girls jogged after her, chattering and asking how Young Lady had found them.

"You were making such a racket, I could hear you from ten miles away," Young Lady said.

The girls protested.

Young Lady chuckled softly, raised her hand, and a butterfly appeared out of the night, landing on Brian Cooper's shoulder.

Brian Cooper said, "It's a Phoenix Butterfly! We thought about using a Phoenix Butterfly to find you, but it was so dark here—even if the butterfly could find you, we wouldn't be able to find the butterfly."

"Listen," Young Lady said, "If you can't even hear the flutter of a butterfly's wings, what will you do if you encounter the 'Free-Flying Flower' hidden weapon from Dream Hall? Just stand there and wait to die?"

Brian Cooper replied obediently, "You're right, we still need much more training."

Evan Carter heard Samuel Thompson beside him gasp sharply, probably unable to imagine that anyone could hear the sound of a butterfly's wings.