On this day, the three of them finally arrived at their destination: the castle manor of a certain mysterious sorcerer.

This manor was located deep in the uninhabited mountains—no one could imagine how it was ever built here.

Although the manor wasn’t large, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

The castle itself was entirely black, while the garden was extremely vibrant, creating a striking contrast.

It seemed this sorcerer was very wealthy. This was the remote wilderness, with no sign of people for hundreds of miles, yet the sorcerer had built a manor here.

Owen Carter and Ian Carter dismounted, and Logan Bennett stepped out of the carriage. The three of them walked into the manor.

The entire manor was empty, like a ghost town. Yet the trees in the garden were all meticulously trimmed.

And after entering the castle, Logan Bennett clearly felt the temperature drop by several degrees.

Every part of the castle’s interior was lavishly decorated, but the lighting was extremely dim. This combination of luxury and oppression made Logan Bennett feel as if he were deep inside a vampire castle from a horror game.

Inside the castle, it was still completely deserted, but every piece of furniture and every inch of carpet was spotless.

Although Ian Carter was highly skilled in martial arts, she was rather timid and felt uneasy about the atmosphere here. She secretly wanted to hold her sister’s hand—she had never been here before.

Owen Carter led the other two up the stairs. No one knew how many floors they climbed, but at last they reached the very top of the castle.

Ahead was a large door, its black surface inlaid with gold threads. Owen Carter stepped forward and knocked, but there was no response from within. As if blown by a gust of wind, the door swung open.

The scene behind the door gave Logan Bennett a tremendous fright.

The entire castle was luxurious and exquisite, but this top-floor room was like hell itself. At first glance, Logan Bennett saw countless human heads, countless eyes, countless severed limbs, and all sorts of colored fluids. Smoke drifted through the air, filling it with a bizarre odor.

Moreover, among the severed heads were not only humans but also various other creatures. Some of the severed heads’ eyes were even still moving.

This was a laboratory. Behind a huge table sat a withered figure, draped in a long black robe and wearing a pointed hat. At first glance, it seemed as if there was no one inside the robe, only a wooden frame—the person was so thin that the hands extending out were long and sharp, like tree branches.

This must be the owner of the manor, the mysterious sorcerer.

“What do you want?” the sorcerer asked, the voice as dry as dead wood, impossible to tell if it was male or female.

“A face swap,” said Owen Carter.

……

“The two people must look very similar, with almost identical facial bones, for the swap to work,” said the sorcerer.

“Extremely similar,” replied Owen Carter, then opened the coffin.

Like a gust of wind, the withered, ghostly sorcerer instantly appeared before Logan Bennett. Only then did Logan Bennett see the face beneath the black cloak.

It was a woman, so old her age was indiscernible, her face so gaunt it was nothing but skin stretched over bone. The only reason one could tell she was a woman was because her lips were painted a vivid color. And she was blind—her eye sockets were empty, like dried-up wells.

She stretched out a hand like a chicken’s claw and felt Logan Bennett’s face. Instantly, every hair on his body stood on end—it truly felt like being touched by a ghost.

She examined him very carefully, as if not missing a single millimeter. Then she reached into the coffin to feel the face of Sauron’s corpse.

After a quarter of an hour, she spoke: “It can be done. One thousand gold coins.”

Logan Bennett didn’t understand the economy of this world and didn’t know if a thousand gold coins was a lot or a little, but his younger sister Ian Carter gasped softly.

Owen Carter said, “We don’t have that many gold coins with us. Could we do the swap first and pay the rest in a month?”

“No,” said the sorcerer.

Logan Bennett said, “Then can we go back to get the money and come back for the face swap?”

Owen Carter shook her head. “There’s no time.”

The sorcerer said, “Either do it now, or I will never do it for you again.”

Owen Carter said, “But we really don’t have that many gold coins.”

“How much do you have?” asked the sorcerer.

Owen Carter replied, “We only brought ninety-eight.”

Ninety-eight versus a thousand—the gap was simply too great. And the sorcerer looked completely unwilling to negotiate. For a moment, Logan Bennett didn’t know whether to feel relieved or disappointed for the two sisters.

Owen Carter said, “Is there really no other way? The face swap is truly important to us.”

“That’s none of my concern. I only want money,” said the mysterious sorcerer.

Logan Bennett finally understood why her manor was so lavish and luxurious—she really was rich.

“There is one other way,” the mysterious sorcerer suddenly said.

Owen Carter said joyfully, “Please tell us.”

The mysterious sorcerer pointed at the younger sister Ian Carter and said, “I like her very much. If she stays here to keep me company for three years, I’ll waive the remaining 902 gold coins you owe.”

At these words, Logan Bennett and Owen Carter almost spoke in unison: “No way.”

After these past few days together, Logan Bennett had grown very fond of Ian Carter. Her martial arts were even better than her sister’s, but she was innocent and romantic, very timid, and always followed her sister’s lead.