After catching his breath, Brian Carter stood up and said in a deep voice, “Yaoyao, don’t be afraid.”

“Mm, Little Brother, don’t worry, I’m not afraid.”

The girl’s tone was surprisingly strong.

Brian Carter looked at her in some surprise, only to see that delicate little face break into a smile through her tears, revealing a rainbow-like smile after the rain.

She really wasn’t afraid.

That’s good.

Brian Carter had already made up his mind: for now, they needed to find a village to settle down in before planning their next move. So he took Lily’s small hand again and began searching for a place to stay.

Snowflakes fluttered down as the two thin figures leaned closely together, hand in hand, walking toward the unknown distance.

The snow was falling even harder.

Chapter 10: A Temporary Home

On the road, Brian Carter learned about the ordeal of Old Deacon and his granddaughter, and couldn’t help but be filled with righteous indignation—

Back at the Zhongnan Sword Sect, Old Deacon had been pushed out by Deacon Reed and lost his position. Since he was already old, he simply returned to his hometown in Zhongnan City to spend his remaining years in peace.

Compared to the Sword Sect, Zhongnan City was a place of mixed fortunes and dangers. While serving as an outer steward at the Sword Sect, Old Deacon had some status, but after stepping down, he was quickly forgotten and his situation declined sharply.

Three days ago, Young Master William Cooper of the Zhou family—one of the three great clans of Zhongnan City—took a fancy to Lily and wanted to take her as a concubine, offering a generous betrothal gift. However, Old Deacon knew the truth: William Cooper practiced a high-grade Yellow-rank martial art called “He Yin Finger,” which required absorbing a large amount of a maiden’s vital yin energy.

After being drained, a woman would age extremely quickly, and could even die of exhaustion within a year or so.

How could Old Deacon possibly be willing to marry Lily off and send her into such a pit of fire?

William Cooper realized that Lily’s vital yin was very beneficial for his practice of “He Yin Finger,” so he refused to give up. When open means failed, he resorted to underhanded tricks, sending people to kill Old Deacon. Fortunately, Lily was clever and hid elsewhere in advance, avoiding being captured.

These past few days, Lily had been hiding in secret places within the city, not daring to show herself. But the Zhou family’s network was vast, and the search was tightening. She planned to disguise herself and slip out of the city today, but was still discovered and injured by the Zhou family’s guards at the city gate.

Seeing things go wrong, Lily had no choice but to flee back, and happened to run into Brian Carter, leading to the earlier events—if she had been caught, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

...

Brian Carter listened, his anger blazing, wishing he could rush back to Zhongnan City and kill William Cooper on the spot. Unfortunately, with his skills, he probably couldn’t even defeat Lily.

Lily knew martial arts. She had grown up on Zhongnan Mountain, training with her grandfather since childhood, and now had reached the first level of strength cultivation. However, during the fight, she had taken a palm strike from the Zhou family’s guard, causing her blood and energy to stagnate and basically lose her ability to fight.

It was precisely because of this struggle that the Zhou family’s spies at the city gate had been drawn away, allowing them to leave the city smoothly.

“Little Brother, you were able to kill that guard—did you learn some powerful martial arts on the mountain?”

Lily asked.

Brian Carter shook his head with a wry smile. “Not at all...” He then recounted his own experiences in detail.

When Lily heard this, she said indignantly, “Fat Reed is just too much!” She had always disliked Deacon Reed, who had used schemes to drive her grandfather away; now, hearing that Little Brother had also been bullied and expelled by him, she was even more upset.

“Wait, if you don’t know martial arts, how did you manage to kill the guard?”

At the time, everything had happened in a flash—even she, along with many others, hadn’t seen clearly how Brian Carter had killed the guard.

In fact, even Brian Carter himself was a bit confused about what had happened.

Thinking back, his head began to throb again, and his face turned pale.

Lily scratched her head and muttered, “Could it have just been a fluke...”

As the saying goes, “A flurry of wild punches can kill even a master.” Accidental killings weren’t common, but they did happen from time to time—nothing too strange.

Thinking this, she stopped dwelling on it and focused on what to do next.

The Zhou family was one of the three great clans of Zhongnan City, with immense power. After this incident, they would surely be furious and send people to hunt them down. If they were discovered, the outcome would be dire.

“Little Brother, I’ve dragged you into this.”

Thinking of the terrifying storm of revenge that might come, Lily felt lost and helpless; she also felt guilty for getting Brian Carter involved.

This matter had nothing to do with Brian Carter to begin with.

Brian Carter said seriously, “Lily, if it weren’t for your grandfather, I’d probably be dead in the street by now. That kindness is greater than the sky. I, Brian Carter, though of humble birth, know the difference between gratitude and resentment. If I ever get the chance, I will definitely avenge your grandfather. For now, Lily, let Little Brother take care of you.”

He was just an ordinary man at the moment, but when he said these words, they rang out with conviction, leaving no room for doubt.

Lily was both happy and moved, but she knew well how difficult revenge would be. The Zhou family was vast and powerful, full of experts—the chances were truly slim. Still, having Little Brother by her side so she was no longer alone was the happiest thing of all.

“Hey, there’s a village over there—let’s go.”

Sure enough, at the foot of the mountain ahead, nestled by the water, there was a small village. As they got a little closer, hunting dogs, sensing the scent of strangers, began barking furiously.

...

Kuangbei Village, a small village with fewer than a hundred people, was located at the foot of Qiyang Mountain, where generations had made their living by hunting.