"Not good!" Just as he was imagining a battle with some unknown enemy, Lincoln Faulkner reacted too violently, leaping up from his sleep—crash!—and slammed right into the ceiling. Although the room was quite tall, it was just over three meters high, and with the energy he had gained from 勾离, Lincoln Faulkner's strength was unusually great, smashing an irregular hole in the carefully decorated ceiling.

Dizzy from the collision, Lincoln Faulkner fell to the ground and immediately noticed where he was. Half-sitting on the floor, Lincoln Faulkner rubbed his painfully bruised backside and glanced around, quickly spotting the relaxed and at-ease Brian Lee.

"You want that book? I'll give it to you right now."

Mistaking Brian Lee for one of Chifeng King's gang, Lincoln Faulkner immediately thought of surrendering without any backbone. But after patting himself down and finding nothing, he awkwardly noticed that Brian Lee was already holding the 勾离天书.

"Since you've got what you wanted, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving! That thing was mailed to me by someone else, I don't even know where it came from. Heh heh! Sorry for the trouble..."

"Goodbye!" Seeing that Brian Lee didn't seem to react, Lincoln Faulkner spoke as he edged toward the front door, about to open it and make his escape. But then he heard Brian Lee's calm voice: "I won't stop you if you want to leave, but I'm not with the people who were after you. I just snatched you from their hands. If you run into them again outside, well, that's just your bad luck!"

Lincoln Faulkner looked at this young man who was only a little older than himself, feeling uncertain for a moment.

Among these powerful individuals, if Lincoln Faulkner had to choose, he only somewhat trusted Fengjian, Huo Qi, and the Electric Ghost. Hesitating for a moment, Lincoln Faulkner was about to ignore Brian Lee's warning, when a sudden thought struck him. He turned and asked, "Are you called Brian Lee? Are you a demon too?"

This time it was Brian Lee's turn to be greatly surprised. His eyes narrowed sharply as he slowly said, "I am indeed Brian Lee. But no one in this city should know me. This is my first time setting foot in a human city—how do you know my name?"

Hearing the name of this savior that Huo Qi had mentioned, Lincoln Faulkner immediately breathed a sigh of relief, strode back, and sat down heavily, recounting the whole story from beginning to end. Brian Lee grew more and more astonished as he listened. He said, "My movements were decided at the last minute. No one in this world could have known I would come to this city. That Huo Qi can actually predict the future—he's not to be underestimated!"

Lincoln Faulkner said bitterly, "It wasn't Huo Qi. It was someone who supposedly cares about my future growth who arranged all this. But I have no idea what's going on! And this 勾离天书, what exactly is it?"

Brian Lee smiled faintly and shook his head, saying, "There really aren't many demons in this world who don't know about the 'Gou Li Heavenly Book.' In the dark world, the fame of this book is on par with the American Declaration of Independence or Darwin's theory of evolution in the human world. Although 勾离 looks like a scroll, it doesn't actually record anything, but instead possesses a kind of magical power. It allows its owner to transcend time and space—the so-called immortal."

"Whether it's life or things, nothing escapes destruction. Demons and cultivators may use secret arts to extend their lifespans, but they are still bound by the laws of nature. Only by breaking free from the constraints of time and space can one truly be called immortal."

Seeing the confusion on Lincoln Faulkner's face, Brian Lee smiled and said, "This rumor has circulated in the dark world for a long time. But the original owner of this 勾离 has had it for nearly four hundred years and still hasn't figured out its mysteries. I doubt it's real. Keeping this thing is useless to you—if someone comes for it next time, just give it back."

After talking with Brian Lee for so long, Lincoln Faulkner finally remembered that his three friends' fates were still unknown. He hurriedly asked Brian Lee to help save them.

"Those three monsters have taken over Wen Yi and the others' bodies. Is there any way to get them to give them up? If not, I can take them to the morgue to find more suitable bodies."

"Heh heh!" Brian Lee seemed to think of some possibility and flatly rejected Lincoln Faulkner's suggestion: "They did it to protect you. Only this way can the three of them stay with you often! If you switched to three legally dead guys, your life would be a mess."

Lincoln Faulkner thought about it in frustration and said, "That's true! How about you be my bodyguard, Brian Lee? I trust you more. Those three were chased all over the place by the Chifeng Corps—they're just too weak."

Lincoln Faulkner's hopeful look was once again met with disappointment.

"There's no need. Since the person who values you so much could even predict my movements, I think they'll soon arrange for even stronger experts to protect you. At the very least, I can guarantee you won't die."

At this point, Brian Lee seemed to think of something, smiled, and when he said "die," he deliberately emphasized the word.

"I'll give 勾离 back to you. Let me take you home."

Seeing that Lincoln Faulkner was in low spirits, Brian Lee took the initiative to suggest going back together. Lincoln Faulkner asked in surprise, "No matter what, this 勾离 is an important thing. Others would have taken it if they could—why are you giving it back to me?"