Edward Carter was furious, angrier than ever before! He saw only President Franklin's long umbrella shoot out silver needles, catching Henry Sullivan off guard. The needle struck Henry Sullivan with such force that it was driven in completely.

Henry Sullivan is dead? Henry Sullivan didn't have to die! Suddenly, Edward Carter let out a thunderous roar, so loud it seemed to suppress the rolling thunder at the horizon.

President Franklin, having landed a successful blow, believed Henry Sullivan was surely dead. His anxiety and anger eased a little, and he intended to turn his attention to Edward Carter, even regretting wasting time on the insignificant Henry Sullivan. But upon hearing Edward Carter's roar, he was startled, turned his head to look, and his heart pounded wildly.

After Edward Carter's roar, his body swelled with power. The giant python that had been tightly coiled around him could no longer withstand his strength and loosened slightly. With a tap of his toe, his machete flew up; he grabbed it, and in a flash, twisted his wrist and chopped off the python's head!

The python's head flew, blood spurted, drenching Edward Carter's head and face. Blood trickled from the corners of his eyes, his nose, and his ears—evidence of the internal injuries he suffered breaking free from the python. But Edward Carter ignored his wounds, staring only at President Franklin, and said, word by word, "If I do not kill you, I swear I am not human!"

President Franklin was terrified; never in his life had he felt such fear. Though he knew Edward Carter was gravely injured, though he saw the python's body still coiled around Edward Carter, though he knew that with all his might he might yet kill Edward Carter, still, President Franklin dared not approach. He didn't even dare meet Edward Carter's gaze. Those eyes, filled with despair, guilt, fury, and wildness, had already stripped President Franklin of the courage to fight on.

Dragging the python's corpse, Edward Carter advanced—one step, two steps, three steps... He walked very slowly, but with utter determination. His whole body was soaked, blood dripped down his cheeks like tears of grief and rage.

At that moment, another bolt of lightning split the sky. Edward Carter walked forward like a god of death from hell, vowing not to return to the underworld until Benjamin Franklin was slain. President Franklin's heart raced with terror; suddenly, with a loud cry, he turned and fled, staggering into the darkness.

President Lincoln, seeing this, feinted a move and also disappeared into the darkness. When Charles Reed tried to give chase, he saw Edward Carter stagger and collapse, so he abandoned the pursuit of President Lincoln and rushed to Edward Carter's side, calling out, "Mr. Carter, what's wrong?"

Edward Carter had just broken free from the python's grip, his internal organs badly injured, and had held on by sheer willpower. Now that the enemies were gone, he couldn't catch his breath and fainted. Yet his grief and anger were so deep that he regained consciousness after only a moment. By now, Feilong'ao was like a living hell, with hardly any of the hundreds of villagers left. Edward Carter struggled to his feet, staggered to Henry Sullivan's side, and seeing Henry Sullivan motionless, rain mixed with dead leaves falling on his face, Edward Carter was already in tears...

Volume One: Song of the Rainbow Dress

Chapter Four: Brothers

Edward Carter's tears could not be held back, streaming down his face. He slowly knelt on the ground, cradled Henry Sullivan from the mud, and choked out, "Henry Sullivan, why did you save me? You didn't have to die! How can I ever repay you...?" In that moment, his heart was dead with grief, wishing he could die in Henry Sullivan's place. In his mind flashed the image of that plum-blossom-like woman, pointing and cursing, "Edward Carter, you are ruthless! You hurt my husband, and I will never forgive you!"

Heartbroken, Edward Carter murmured, "Grace Brooks, I have wronged you and your husband. And now I have harmed your son as well—how can I face the world?"

Charles Reed did not hear Edward Carter's muttering, but he knew that if not for Henry Sullivan, Edward Carter would have died just now. Henry Sullivan, knowing he was no match, still stepped forward to save another in peril—such courage moved anyone who witnessed it. Suddenly, Charles Reed noticed a strange light in the sky and couldn't help but turn to look. He saw a fireball streaking across the heavens.

The fireball was enormous and dazzling, lighting up nearly half the sky as it passed. It traced a brilliant arc and landed in the distant western mountains. A thunderous boom echoed from afar, and then Feilong'ao shook violently, countless rocks tumbling down the slopes as if in an earthquake.

Charles Reed felt unsteady on his feet and cried out, "An earthquake?" But the tremor lasted only a moment before subsiding. Though rocks still rolled, the earlier earth-shaking force was gone. Yet waves of tremors still came from underground, making everyone's heart pound with fear.

At last, Charles Reed steadied himself and, seeing there was no landslide, breathed a sigh of relief. But Edward Carter, so lost in grief, seemed oblivious to the earth's shaking. Charles Reed couldn't bear to disturb him, so he looked toward where the fireball had fallen and saw that direction glowing red, as if a great fire was burning in the rainy night.

The rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the bright moon reappeared.

Charles Reed saw that Feilong'ao was now littered with corpses. A few surviving villagers stood dazed in the mud, sometimes breaking into mad laughter, but no longer attacking anyone. It seemed that with President Lincoln gone and the drug's effects fading, their madness had lessened. But even if they regained their senses, realizing they had killed their dearest ones in pursuit of enlightenment, they might go mad again, unable to escape their torment. Thinking of this, Charles Reed sighed, saw the red glow in the west fading, and though he wanted to investigate, he finally suppressed the urge.