Another female voice sounded: “Thanks to that idiot Henry Clark, eighty percent of our southern foundation has been destroyed. Now, let alone any grand plans—if we don’t come up with a solution, the entire sect will soon be left with nothing to eat. Your martial uncle is still trapped in the Six Gates waiting for rescue, which will also require a huge amount of silver. How could Master possibly be at ease?”

　　This voice was nice too, carrying an indescribable charm, making one feel tingles all over just listening to it...

　　James Carter finally managed to open his eyes with difficulty. He turned his head slightly and saw a young married woman sitting cross-legged to the side, gently arranging her cloud-like hair, her eyes as clear as autumn water, holding a book in her hands. Even just a fleeting glimpse of her veiled profile was enough to make James Carter secretly gasp.

　　This woman is really beautiful... Before falling into the water, I saw someone bathing—was it these two? Damn, what a pity. Back then, it seemed neither of them was wearing clothes, but I didn’t see anything clearly at all!

　　A young girl in white was angrily waving her little fists: “Next time I see Henry Clark, I’ll cut off his thing with my own hands and send it off to be a catamite!”

　　“This isn’t the time to assign blame... If you have that much energy, you might as well help your master with the accounts.”

　　The girl’s fist froze in midair: “Uh, uh, what accounts?”

　　“Last month, the Hundred Flowers Courtyard in the capital lost 1,320 taels, the Rouge Workshop in Lingzhou lost 415 taels, and the Xunfang Parlor in Wuzhou made a profit of 74 taels... So, what was our total loss last month?”

　　“...” The girl quietly took a few steps back. Her eyes darted around, and her awkward look made James Carter want to laugh.

　　“You really think just practicing martial arts is enough to support a sect? Sooner or later, you’ll have to handle these things. What’s the point of running away?”

　　“Um... haha... Oh right, Master, I just remembered I haven’t done my morning practice yet. I’ll go train first...”

　　“Stop! Go fetch the counting rods for me first!”

　　James Carter finally spoke: “No need to get the counting rods. The total loss is 1,661 taels.”

　　The girl looked at James Carter curiously, blinking her big eyes a few times, and said with a smile, “Bragging as soon as you wake up, that’s not good. Just you wait!” She clearly hadn’t wanted to fetch the counting rods, but now that James Carter had given the answer directly, her curiosity was piqued, and she really did run out with a thump-thump.

　　James Carter still felt pain all over his body. He struggled to sit up and gave a slight bow to the young woman: “Thank you, madam, for sav—”

　　He hadn’t even finished expressing his thanks when the young woman suddenly turned her head. The gentle, slightly sorrowful look in her autumn-water eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a sharp, icy coldness, her gaze radiating with a fierce light.

　　James Carter felt as if her gaze contained some immense power. His blood and energy surged chaotically, and he couldn’t help but spit out another mouthful of blood, shocked to his core.

　　What the hell, killing with a look? Isn’t this a bit much?

　　The fierce light in the young woman’s eyes faded. She frowned and muttered to herself, “Truly not a trace of cultivation? How is that possible?”

　　Seeing James Carter’s blood surging and his inability to speak, she pondered for a moment and then said coolly, “Who are you? How did you suddenly appear in midair? What’s with the strange poison in your body?”

　　James Carter was baffled by the questions: “What strange poison?”

　　“You have over a thousand types of toxins in your body, and you’re carrying a contagious plague source. You’re basically a plague man. Speak—who are you, and what is your purpose?”

　　James Carter was stunned for a long time, muttering to himself, “A walking periodic table of elements?”

　　Carrying all kinds of infectious viruses, many of them even mutated—none of which existed in ancient times. Plus, a body raised on gutter oil, toxic milk powder, and all sorts of additives... Someone once said that if you flattened a modern person, you’d get a complete periodic table of chemical elements. Now, having traveled to ancient times, he himself had become a mobile source of plague. Was it really true?

　　He had no idea how to explain this. He scratched his head for a long while, speechless, and finally asked in return, “Madam, do you have a way to solve my problem?”

　　The young woman almost laughed in exasperation: “You really are something.”

　　James Carter said, “Could it be that madam wants to obtain the method to create a plague man like me?”

　　The young woman’s smile faded, and a cold light flashed in her eyes again. “You’re very clever.”

　　James Carter thought to himself, as expected, this master and disciple pair are not good people. He shook his head and said, “I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, madam. My situation is unique. You absolutely cannot replicate a second one.”

　　The young woman said lazily, “Since you won’t say, then you can go die.”

　　As she spoke, she raised her hand, about to strike. James Carter hurriedly shouted, “Just having me alone is enough for madam to create a plague!”

　　The young woman’s beautiful eyes flickered. She pondered for a moment, slowly lowering her hand, as if considering how best to use this plague man.

　　At that moment, the girl Emily came running in, all excited: “Master, I’ve brought the counting rods.”

　　James Carter broke out in a cold sweat—truly a brush with death. This woman was definitely a ruthless demon who wouldn’t bat an eye at killing. She was actually considering using a biochemical plague in such a venomous scheme. It was obvious she’d only saved him out of curiosity about his toxins and the possibility he might be useful. It was definitely not out of kindness. The moment she thought he was useless, he wouldn’t even know how he died.