The beauty had spoken, so Lucas Brooks and William Carter naturally had no objections. Grace Brooks would of course walk together with her fifth brother, and Emily Parker would certainly stick with her best friend. William Carter had no choice but to bring his two elders along and head inside first.

“Tianqi, are those two really the infamous Blade and Sword Duo from Ganlong Road back in the day?” Emily Parker asked Lucas Brooks as they walked.

Lucas Brooks was, of course, completely forthcoming: “Yes, a few years ago, I heard my father mention them. The Blade and Sword Duo somehow offended Sword King Qu Hanshui, one of the Eight Kings of the Quanqian Gang, and were hunted down like stray dogs all the way to Yangzhou. Later, they sought refuge with the Xia family and only escaped death thanks to the influence of Xiyu Tower.”

Up ahead, Lucas Brooks and Emily Parker were chatting, while the young Grace Brooks sensibly fell half a step behind, curiously sizing up Ryan Clark: “Say, Senior Brother Shi, I’ve been wandering around the clan every day lately, so how come I’ve never seen you? I’ve run into Senior Brother Eric Bennett a few times, though.”

Ryan Clark could only use the excuse the Xu family had prepared: “My master is a reclusive elder who likes peace and quiet. He lives in a small alley on the west side of the city, so naturally, I live there too.”

“Oh? Which elder is your master? I made sure to pay my respects to all the elders after I returned. Which one is your master?” The pretty little Jin Yi was determined to get to the bottom of things. Emily Parker seemed interested in this question as well. Thanks to his powerful soul cultivation, Ryan Clark could keenly sense Emily Parker secretly shifting her attention to him. After all, she hadn’t paid much attention to him since hearing he was just Lucas Brooks’s junior brother.

Ryan Clark straightened his face and said, “My master passed away nearly a year ago.”

After he said this, Ryan Clark felt Emily Parker’s gaze on him withdraw slightly.

Seeing this, Grace Brooks stuck out her tongue and said, “Sorry, Senior Brother Shi. By the way, what level have you reached in your martial arts? How do you compare to my third brother?”

Ryan Clark thought to himself that this was really hard to compare. If it was just about martial arts skills, to be honest, “When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, Senior Brother Xu is definitely stronger.” As for the matter of cultivation level, he chose to gloss over it.

Because his answer was vague, it actually caught Emily Parker’s attention. With his sharp senses, Ryan Clark could feel Emily Parker’s gaze shift back to him.

The young Grace Brooks didn’t seem to notice anything ambiguous: “Of course! My fifth brother is a famous young genius in the martial world.”

Ryan Clark, with nothing better to do, smiled and chatted with the young lady: “I wonder, Jin Yi, what level have you reached in your martial arts now?” Hearing Ryan Clark call her so affectionately after just a short while, Grace Brooks rolled her eyes at him, but since the question hit home, she happily replied, “I’ve recently managed to break through to the Qi Cultivation stage!” She looked very proud, her face practically begging for praise and admiration.

Ryan Clark naturally went along with it: “Jin Yi, you’re really amazing! You’re no worse than your fifth brother was back in the day.” Grace Brooks was delighted and started chatting with Ryan Clark. The young lady was quite guileless, and during the walk from the entrance to the main hall, she even talked about how she admired one of the Four Young Lords of the Martial World, the white-robed Evan Wright. She mentioned how Young Lord Liu had already reached the peak of the acquired stage at such a young age and was the most promising candidate to enter the Subtle Realm in the future (the soul-out-of-body realm corresponds to the Subtle Realm in martial arts; according to Old Daoist Xu, it’s when the soul is strong enough to leave the body but hasn’t yet found a way, so it manifests in heightened physical senses). He was handsome, talented, and versatile. She wondered why those old martial world sages didn’t list him among the Five Grandmasters of the world—clearly, they had no eye for talent.

Since it wasn’t fully dark yet, upon entering the main gate, they found the entire residence quite grand, without the slightest hint of eeriness. It wasn’t until they were about to enter the main hall that Ryan Clark finally sensed a faintly sinister aura.

Before entering the main hall, Lucas Brooks quietly fell half a step behind and whispered to Ryan Clark, “That Blade and Sword Duo were infamous killers on Ganlong Road back in the day—utterly ruthless, with more than a hundred lives on their hands. I remember the ancestor saying that people with such heavy murderous aura are so fearsome that even ghosts avoid them.”

Ryan Clark thought for a moment, then smiled and said to Lucas Brooks, “I have my own way. I guarantee you’ll look like a hero in front of your cousin Yuqiong.” With that, Lucas Brooks strode forward to walk side by side with Emily Parker and Grace Brooks into the main hall.

Meanwhile, Ryan Clark and the tall, silent Eric Bennett, who was often overlooked, followed behind.

Chapter 9: Waiting for the Yin Ghost

After entering the main hall, they saw William Carter and the Blade and Sword Duo standing on the left side of the hall. When everyone came in, William Carter stepped forward with a fawning smile and said to Emily Parker, “Yuqiong, let’s just wait here until midnight. The area beyond hasn’t been entered in ages—there are snakes, bugs, rats, and all sorts of things everywhere.”

Although Emily Parker and Grace Brooks were both daughters of the martial world, their faces still changed slightly at the mention of snakes and vermin. The two girls turned to Lucas Brooks, their eyes and expressions clearly saying they didn’t want to go any further. Especially Grace Brooks, who was just short of crying out loud, but no matter what, she still wanted to give her fifth brother face and let him make the decision.

Faced with the pleading eyes of the beauties, Lucas Brooks felt his resolve soften a little and immediately said, “All the previous ghost encounters happened here in the main hall, so this is exactly where we should wait. Come, Yuqiong, let’s go sit over there.”