Grace Harper still hadn’t processed the meaning of Evelyn Clark’s words. She just instinctively asked, “Isn’t Little Henry’s younger sister working the fields at home? How could it be you…”

Evelyn Clark frowned and said, “My brother and I are both in Jiangzhou. I have to study—how would I have time to go back and farm?”

Grace Harper’s expression changed, and she immediately seemed to understand something. She was always extremely clever; connecting Lillian Reed’s words and actions, she already had a vague idea.

“Oh no…” Grace Harper immediately thought of the night she and Little Henry parted ways, when a section of the overpass was shattered by a meteorite. This originally had nothing to do with Little Henry, but at this moment, the image of a desolate Little Henry standing on the overpass flashed through her mind.

Seeing Grace Harper desperately running outside, Evelyn Clark’s face also changed. Clearly, she too had guessed that something might have happened to her brother.

Chapter 0001: Narrow Escape from Death

“Clang…” With a sound, a rusty iron door was opened. The echo of the door was blocked by the surrounding ancient buildings, lingering in the air.

After more than ten breaths, a young man with his head hanging low was dragged out from inside the iron door by two prison guards, each holding one of his arms. The young man, head drooping, seemed to have stopped breathing; even his arms were so thin that only bones remained. From the bloodstained, tattered clothes on his body, it was clear what kind of torment and abuse he had suffered.

“Bang.” The frail man was thrown to the ground by the two guards, kicking up some dust, and then lay motionless.

“This kid should be dead, right?” A short, stout guard stared at the young man lying motionless on the ground and asked.

The other guard grunted, “He should be dead. Serves him right for not knowing his place and daring to offend Miss Jian. Now look—not only has the The Clark Family been wiped out, but he himself is finally free. He got what he deserved.”

“The Old Society, watch your mouth. Let’s drag him out and deal with him first.” The short, stout guard quickly warned.

Hearing this, the guard called The Old Society instinctively shrank his head and was about to pull up the lifeless man on the ground to drag him away.

At that moment, a somewhat frail voice called out from the side, “Big brothers, I’d like to take my husband away.”

Only then did the two guards notice a woman standing to the side, dressed in coarse linen. Despite her rough clothing, her extraordinary bearing was still faintly visible. The only pity was that her face had been disfigured, partially hidden by slightly messy hair, making people unwilling to take a second look.

Both guards recognized who this woman was—one of the only two survivors of the The Clark Family.

The entire The Clark Family had been raided; the only ones left alive were the old steward George Clark and the woman before them. George Clark was the steward of the The Clark Family. When the The Clark Family was raided, he happened to be away on business outside Cangqin, so he escaped disaster. This woman was the daughter-in-law of the The Clark Family, and also the wife of the frail man just thrown out of prison—her name was Julia Foster. She survived only because she had stayed at Cangqin Second Star Academy.

Of course, this was also because Julia Foster wasn’t closely tied to the The Clark Family. She had married into the family because the The Clark Family and the Ji family were old friends, and she and Henry Clark had been betrothed since childhood. But the Ji family had inexplicably declined, leaving only the disfigured Julia Foster. Even so, Henry Clark’s grandfather Charles Clark still took Julia Foster into the household, planning for the two to marry once Henry Clark truly gathered his qi.

Unfortunately, Henry Clark’s talent was extremely poor; after so many years, he still couldn’t gather qi. Not only that, he constantly beat and scolded the disfigured Julia Foster. Fortunately, as a daughter-in-law with nowhere else to go, Julia Foster always endured in silence and never complained. This time, when she returned from the academy and learned that the The Clark Family had been destroyed, she came to the prison at once. She had originally wanted to ask if Henry Clark could be released, but to her surprise, Henry Clark was already lifeless, thrown out of the cell by the guards.

Seeing the expressions of the two guards, Julia Foster didn’t wait for them to speak. She took out a dozen silver coins and handed them over. “Big brothers, my husband is already gone, I…”

“All right, all right, take him away. It’s an eyesore to leave him here.” The short, stout guard pocketed the coins and waved impatiently.

They were going to dispose of Henry Clark’s body anyway, but someone had come to claim it and even offered silver coins—of course they wouldn’t refuse such a good thing.

Upon hearing this, Julia Foster quickly hoisted Henry Clark onto her back, hurried her pace, and soon disappeared from the prison gate.

“If Julia Foster hadn’t been disfigured, she’d be quite the beauty,” said the other guard, tossing the silver coins in his hand and speaking in a judging tone as he watched Julia Foster’s departing figure.

“Enough nonsense. Julia Foster is at least a student of Cangqin Second Star Academy. No matter how ugly she is, she’s not for the likes of us.” The short, stout guard patted his companion on the shoulder and pulled him back through the iron door. With another loud clang, the door slammed shut once more.

…