When Carter Foster arrived at the main hall, he saw a middle-aged man clad in dark blue iron armor standing in the center, accompanied by two Xuan Iron Divine Guards. On the table before him sat a box wrapped in black cloth, now already opened. With a single glance, Carter Foster could see that the box was empty except for a robe, a treasured sword, and just a few spirit pearls.

“Old sir, please accept my condolences. A month ago, I followed Charles Foster, the young immortal master, into the Eternal Night Wasteland. We were beset by a horde of rampaging demons. Although Charles Foster fought valiantly, slaying demons with his sword and making it to the Seventh Stele Realm, he was ultimately outnumbered and fell on the wasteland. We risked our lives to protect him, but the demonic forces were overwhelming and impossible to match. In the end, we only managed to retrieve his weapons from the demon horde. He still…”

At this point in the iron-armored man’s account, Mrs. Foster had already fainted from grief.

Even Foster Family Patriarch, who had been forcing himself to stay strong, could not help but wipe away tears, overcome with sorrow and unable to speak.

Even for ordinary mortals like them, who had never set foot on the path of cultivation and had always lived inland, they knew of the Eternal Night Wasteland—a place without sun or moon, filled with endless perils and spawning demons. Since he perished there, it was feared that not even his bones could ever be recovered…

“Why did my elder brother go to the Eternal Night Wasteland?”

Carter Foster stood at the side of the hall, silent for a long time before suddenly speaking.

The iron-armored man in the hall turned around, glanced at Carter Foster, and asked, “And this is?”

Foster Family Patriarch spoke with a voice so weak it was barely audible, forcing himself to say, “This… is my second son, named Carter Foster, seventeen years old…”

At this, his tears flowed silently.

He couldn’t help but recall that his eldest son, Charles Foster, had also left home at seventeen and never returned.

“So this is the second young master…”

Upon hearing this, the iron-armored man became more courteous, bowing to Carter Foster and saying, “Charles Foster Immortal Master entered the Eternal Night Wasteland, reportedly to bring down another dragon vein for the world, to strengthen the fortune of our Great Xia, so that the people of Great Xia would no longer suffer from hunger, cold, or illness. Alas, who could have foreseen such an end? Even our Great Xia Immortal Emperor said he would rather trade all three dragon veins of Great Xia to bring back one Charles Foster Immortal Master…”

“Master Foster, I have come only to return Charles the Immortal Foster’s belongings. I expect the imperial edict from the Great Xia Immortal Emperor will arrive soon!”

Foster Family Patriarch shakily stood up and said in a mournful voice, “Thank… thank you, Immortal Emperor!”

Carter Foster remained silent, not saying anything immediately.

But just then, the iron-armored man seemed to remember something. He nodded to Carter Foster, struck his chest with his fist in a military salute, and said, “Young Master Foster, I have also brought back a letter for you, written by the Immortal Master!”

“A letter?”

Upon hearing this, Foster Family Patriarch asked anxiously, “Is it left by my Chi’er?”

“It is indeed!”

The iron-armored general replied, “However, this letter was written by Charles Foster Immortal Master on a whim before heading to the Eternal Night Wasteland. We only found it when sorting through his belongings afterward. As for his final moments… in the wasteland, he… had no time to leave a letter!”

Upon hearing this, Master Foster’s face turned ashen, and he finally could not bear the grief, slowly fainting.

The maids and servants below were all shocked, rushing forward to pinch his philtrum and pour ginseng soup.

Amidst the chaos, the iron-armored general could no longer remain seated. He sighed several times, and without waiting for Foster Family Patriarch to awaken, he prepared to take his leave. Carter Foster escorted him to the front of the residence, and as he departed, the general bowed deeply three times toward the Fang residence. When he rose, his face was full of sorrow. He led the two Divine Guards, mounted the Great Xia army’s lion-tiger steeds, and clip-clopped slowly away, disappearing at the end of the long street.

“Young master, what should we do now…”

When he returned to the residence, the steward came up, his face full of anxiety.

The master and madam had both fainted several times from excessive grief, so there was no one to ask but this young master, who still seemed calm.

“Hang white lanterns at the front gate and inform all around that Foster Family Eldest Young Master has passed away!”

Carter Foster gave his orders expressionlessly, then turned to head to his own room. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back and said, “Wait, don’t hang the lanterns yet. Send letters overnight to the seven cities and nine prefectures, to all Foster Family Shops, close the shops, and recall all the cash!”

Finally, he added softly, “Take back as much as you can!”

Foster Family Eldest Young Master had already passed away, and yet Foster Family Second Young Master was still only thinking about the silver in the shops?

The steward felt a wave of sorrow in his heart, but still forced himself to bow and say, “Yes, young master!”

……

……

Carter Foster did not go to check on his unconscious parents, but instead returned to the front hall and went through his elder brother’s belongings once more. Then he ordered them to be carefully put away, and slowly paced back to his own bedroom. He dismissed all the maids and servants, sat alone at his writing desk, gazed out the window, and gradually drifted into thought.

The relics sent back from his brother amounted to just these few items—simple, clean, and unadorned.

It was easy to imagine that someone as extraordinarily talented as he, a dignified Immortal Master of Great Xia, would have every seemingly insignificant item by his side possibly tied to some important secret. So before being sent back, they must have been thoroughly examined by countless experts.

Only those with no hidden mysteries, or some obvious treasures, would have been sent back to the Fang residence.