If a person wants to hear the sound of a butterfly’s wings, they must have undergone extraordinarily long and arduous practice; just this level of patience and self-control already far surpasses that of ordinary people.

And once a person possesses such patience and self-control, their martial arts and cultivation are bound to be outstanding as well.

This Young Lady who threatened to skin someone alive upon first meeting is certainly no ordinary Young Lady.

Evan Carter was just thinking this when he suddenly heard Kevin Cooper say, “Why did Young Lady take so long to come back? Was the corpse king really that formidable?”

Young Lady replied, “Killing him was easy, but capturing him alive was hard. The corpse king hadn’t lost his mind. After I caught him, I wanted him to reveal the truth about the city. If he refused, I would start from his shoulder blade and, with each count, shatter one of his bones.”

Evan Carter: “......”

A ruthless person indeed.

The girls continued to ask, “Did he talk?”

“He did,” Young Lady ran her right hand over her scabbard and said, “In the fourteenth year of Yongguang, the entire city of Minzhou supported General Adam Wright as king and gathered for an uprising. However, the rebellion failed, the dynasty sent troops to suppress it, and Adam Wright’s forces, along with all the officials, citizens, scholars, and heroes of Minzhou... were all massacred!”

The girls gasped in unison.

Young Lady continued, “The souls of the dead turned into vengeful ghosts, haunting the city. Minzhou is indeed a ghost city.”

Kevin Cooper’s voice trembled slightly: “Then... should we report this to the manor lord?”

Young Lady said, “If the dynasty can’t handle it, the manor certainly can’t either.”

“That’s true...” Brian Cooper added from the side, “So should we still go?”

“I’d like to pay a visit to that General Wright who led the uprising and ask him a few questions,” said Young Lady.

Everyone from Phoenix Manor naturally followed Young Lady’s lead. Evan Carter was indifferent, but Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson were quite frightened. They lowered their voices and asked Evan Carter, “What should we do?”

Evan Carter moved a bit further away from them, keeping his face expressionless, and said, “Follow along.”

Samuel Thompson said, “But that’s a ghost city.”

Evan Carter: “Then go back.”

Samuel Thompson: “......”

Of course, going back wasn’t an option. Even though they didn’t know what Young Lady was planning, they had no choice but to follow.

They fought off zombies as they advanced, and after about two hours, finally reached the main gate of Minzhou City.

Evan Carter’s frail body was nearly at its limit; even walking a few steps left him gasping for breath. He was moving forward purely on willpower, which made Young Lady glance at him a few more times.

Young Lady raised her hand and knocked on the city gate, clearly using spiritual power, producing a deep, muffled thud on the massive, towering gate.

Then, Young Lady called out in a clear voice, “Lingzhou’s Grace Cooper, requesting an audience with General Wright.”

—So this person’s name is Grace Cooper; quite a beautiful name.

Soon after, a hoarse voice sounded from within: “Minzhou City has been secluded for a long time and does not receive outsiders. What brings you here, young lady?”

Grace Cooper replied, “I’m looking for someone.”

“Who?”

“As the saying goes, ‘Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog; marry a ghost, naturally, you follow the ghost as well,’” Grace Cooper said calmly. “My fiancé is from Minzhou City. Our wedding is approaching, but he’s been missing, so I’ve come to your city to look for him.”

“Please wait a moment, miss.”

About fifteen minutes later, the voice sounded again: “The General says, if there really is such a ghost in the city, it wouldn’t be impossible for you to marry into Minzhou. May I ask your fiancé’s name and date of birth?”

Grace Cooper: “I don’t know.”

Even through the city wall, Evan Carter could sense the gatekeeper ghost’s speechlessness.

After a long pause, the gatekeeper ghost finally said, “Miss, whatever you do know, please tell us.”

Grace Cooper: “......”

After another long pause, she said, “He’s under sixteen, gender doesn’t matter.”

The gatekeeper ghost was surprised: “Miss, you don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

Grace Cooper replied calmly, “Sometimes vengeful ghosts can’t be distinguished by gender. I just don’t want you to look for the wrong one.”

The gatekeeper ghost said, “To be honest, if your beloved is under sixteen now, he would have been just a child ten years ago. His soul would be too weak to become a ghost—he’s no longer in this world.”

Grace Cooper said, “Then look for his master, an immortal who calls himself Lord Taoyuan.”

The gatekeeper ghost replied, “Cultivators are often cold and indifferent, lacking enough resentment to become ghosts. My condolences, miss.”

Samuel Thompson sighed and whispered to Henry Thompson, “Even if this Young Lady is the most beautiful girl in the world, from today on she’ll be the most beautiful widow in the world. Still the best, but it doesn’t sound so good.”

Grace Cooper turned to glance at him, her gaze icy, scaring Samuel Thompson into shrinking like a quail.

Then they heard Grace Cooper continue to address the gatekeeper ghost: “In that case, I’ll take my leave. But I have one more message for General Wright.”

Gatekeeper ghost: “Please speak.”

“Right now, our dynasty is at war with the Northern Xia Kingdom. If General would turn to the light, perhaps the dynasty could let bygones be bygones.”

The gatekeeper ghost let out a laugh: “The dynasty has wronged Minzhou greatly. Unless there’s a change of dynasty, Minzhou will never send a single soldier to help Nanxia. Please leave, miss.”

Grace Cooper didn’t press the issue and asked again, “Are you sure those two aren’t in the city?”

“They truly aren’t,” the gatekeeper ghost replied sincerely.

Young Lady was clearly annoyed—anyone could see it.