"Fine, but how do I know you're not deceiving me? If you're truly confident you can cure my illness, swallow this pill. On the day I recover, I'll give you the antidote. Mrs. Carter, restrain him." The woman sneered and took out a sandalwood box from the side.

A sigh came from behind William Carter, and immediately a wave of icy energy entered William Carter's body. In an instant, his body was immobilized—except for his mouth, every other part was completely stiff.

"Young man, you'd better take this pill. I'm an old woman and don't want to use the soul-refining technique on you. You must have heard of it, right? Although there's a one-third chance of failure and your soul will be scattered, if it succeeds, you'll become a living corpse who obeys every command." The hoarse voice sounded behind William Carter; this Mrs. Carter was the old woman.

William Carter chuckled lightly and said, "Alright, I'll take it." As soon as he finished speaking, his body immediately regained movement. He flexed his slightly numb hands and feet, then, without another word, reached out and took the sandalwood box.

He used two fingers to gently pick out the pill from the box. Right in front of them, without even looking, he put it straight into his mouth and swallowed it. William Carter said, "Mandrake disease is slow to cure. I need two years. Every month, I'll prepare a dose of medicine for you. After two years, you will be cured."

In fact, treating corpse flower poison wasn't as slow as William Carter claimed. According to his memory, he was fully confident he could cure it within three months. Saying two years was just to buy himself enough time.

He didn't believe the woman would keep her promise and guarantee his safety after she was cured. A month of reflection had taught him that only by keeping his fate in his own hands could he be truly secure.

In a quiet courtyard at the southernmost end of the residence, William Carter sat in the yard. All the nearby servants had been sent away; now, besides him, there was no one else here.

It was already late. In front of William Carter, apart from a strange rectangular glowing object providing light, there were two things placed on the table. One was his proof of freedom, and the other was a book made of yellow silk cloth.

Staring at these two items, William Carter fell into deep thought.

Everything he had now was closely related to the crystal he had dug up on Prison Island. That crystal had brought him some inexplicable memory fragments and was gradually changing his personality and behavior.

It could even be said that this crystal had given him a new life. The most important thing now was to survive. To survive, he had to become stronger! Determination flashed in William Carter's eyes as he picked up the yellow silk book and opened it, only to frown—he couldn't recognize a single character.

Fortunately, besides the writing, there were also many anatomical diagrams in the book. However, the red and green lines on these diagrams gave William Carter quite a headache.

Putting down the book, William Carter gave a wry smile. It seemed the first thing he needed to do was learn to read.

Returning to his room, William Carter smashed the teacup on the table to the ground, picked up a large shard, and lay down on the bed. Yet he found he couldn't fall asleep at all. Although he no longer feared disappearing like the others, a strong sense of crisis still lingered in his heart.

If he had made a single misstep in the third young lady's room, his corpse would probably be cold by now.

From the moment he arrived at the Purple Residence, he had fallen into a dead end. William Carter believed that anyone else in his place would have been unable to escape this trap and would inevitably be forced to serve in bed, contract mandrake disease, and then be killed.

His previous companions were bloody examples!

So, when he realized he could identify mandrake disease as corpse flower poison and could cure it, he laughed—because he knew he had broken the deadlock.

In fact, when the third young lady asked him to take the poison, there was no need for Mrs. Carter to act. William Carter was well aware of his situation; he would have swallowed the poison without hesitation to buy himself two years of preparation. He believed that in two years, everything would change completely.

In a daze, William Carter finally fell asleep. He hadn't taken off his clothes, and in his hand he tightly gripped the teacup shard, which, to him, counted as a weapon.

After a night's rest, the next morning William Carter got up very early. After washing up, he looked at himself in the mirror. The person in the mirror was very ordinary, with a slightly dark face and rough skin. As he stared, his expression grew confused.

How would he survive in the future? Making himself stronger was the only choice—he had to become stronger!

But for now, the most important thing was to find the medicinal ingredients to treat corpse flower poison. He planned to go out and take a good look at this unfamiliar world. Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, William Carter saw two female guards in armor standing at the gate.

One of them glanced at William Carter with disdain, blocked his way with her arm, and said, "Without the third young lady's permission, you can't take a single step out of here."

William Carter curled his lips in a cold sneer and said nonchalantly, "Go tell the third young lady I need to buy medicine. Also, call Lillian Carter and have her prepare enough money." With that, William Carter turned and walked back into the courtyard, sat on the stone bench, and continued flipping through the book on cultivation techniques.

The guard was stunned for a moment, hesitated, then exchanged a glance with the other guard before quickly leaving.