The atmosphere in the courtyard was heavy. Three-Eyed stared fiercely at Ghost Painting Book Immortal outside the house, his eyes filled with hostility. Zane Zhuang rushed into the room, glanced at the corpse lying on the floor, and at John Chou whose face was covered in blood—he was still smiling.
"Young Master, what's going on? Are you hurt?"
But what puzzled Zane Zhuang even more was that John Chou could see ghosts, and seemed completely unafraid of these two. Now, seeing Isabelle Frost lying on the bed, he hurried over and immediately recognized her. As he held Isabelle in his arms, he saw the jade he had given her years ago—she still kept it with her.
"It's best not to move the girl right now. Her breathing is very weak, she probably hasn't eaten for days and needs to recover. If you act rashly at this moment, it could do more harm than good."
Three-Eyed spoke, and Zane Zhuang hurriedly laid Isabelle Frost back on the bed. Then he lifted Zhou Kan's corpse, glanced at the dagger stuck in his chest—one fatal blow. The hilt bore the character 'John', and Zane Zhuang immediately remembered: wasn't this dagger from the mansion's armory? How did it end up here?
"Young Master, you..."
"If Uncle Zhuang is going out, he should have something to defend himself with. I took it from home."
But what Zane Zhuang really wanted to ask was not this, but about John Chou killing this man—it was now certain that this guy was Zhou Kan.
"Friend, everyone calls me Three-Eyed. What about you?"
"Ghost Painting Book Immortal."
For a moment, the two Blue Wraiths stared at each other, as if silently communicating. The air grew colder, and though it had been a sunny day, dark clouds suddenly gathered overhead, promising a heavy rain.
"Immortal of the Ghost Painting, it seems I am not your match."
Three-Eyed bowed. Ghost Painting Book Immortal laughed, shaking his head.
"Not at all, Three-Eyed. There's no need for false modesty."
Soon, Zane Zhuang had cleaned up the house, found a room to place Zhou Kan’s corpse, covered it, and retrieved the dagger. He located the woodshed and began boiling water—John Chou needed to wash up, the blood on him had dried and the stench was overpowering.
But what puzzled Zane Zhuang was how a child so young could kill without a hint of fear. Zane remembered his own first kill at seventeen, working for Yin Yuanhui—he’d encountered bandits and killed one. That night, nightmares plagued him, and for a long time, he was haunted by dread.
Today’s events were deeply abnormal, especially John Chou’s behavior. Zane cursed himself for drinking too much last night and not waking up early; by noon, John was gone. He searched everywhere, suspecting John had gone to town. With no other choice, he asked Three-Eyed for help, and within half an hour, John’s location was found.
The sight that greeted him here left Zane Zhuang uneasy.
Inside, John Chou sat at the table, rummaging through the cabinet for food. The meat was still warm—he ate, completely unconcerned with the blood on his face.
"Kid, aren’t you afraid? You killed someone."
Ghost Painting Book Immortal couldn’t help but ask. John Chou shook his head.
"Why would I be afraid? He kidnapped my sister and destroyed her family. Killing him is only right. Isn’t that how the world works? Or do you ghosts have taboos about killing your own kind?"
Three-Eyed sat cross-legged on the floor, coldly smiling, eyes fixed on John Chou.
"So young, yet so terrifying. The future holds limitless possibilities for you."
After a while, Zane Zhuang finished heating the water. He came in and saw John Chou eating without a care, and was even more shocked. Both ghosts now looked at John Chou with clear disgust.
"Young Master, go take a bath. There are clean clothes in your bag."
"But when your sister wakes up, who knows what will happen. You’d better figure something out quickly!"
John Chou stood up and walked out. Zane Zhuang sat on the bed, troubled. He had already started cooking porridge so Isabelle Frost would have something to eat when she woke up. He had no idea how to explain things to her.
Then Three-Eyed released a ghostly thread, extending it toward Ghost Painting Book Immortal. Once he grasped it, Ghost Painting Book Immortal instantly understood the story of how John Chou had nearly died as a child.
"So that's it. At such a young age, you’ve already faced death—and survived. Truly a miracle."
Ghost Painting Book Immortal began to speak, recounting everything that had happened to Isabelle Frost over the years, continuing even as John Chou finished bathing and changed into clean clothes.
"I am powerless to change her fate. Now, the aura of misfortune around the girl has completely vanished. She should be able to survive, but what comes next may be very difficult for her."
"Why is that?"
John Chou asked, and Ghost Painting Book Immortal glanced at him sideways.
"Of course, after experiencing such a great upheaval, a child so young may be left with lasting psychological scars. I’ve seen many like her before."
"If you knew that from the start, why didn’t you help her? There’s no point dwelling on the past. Old man, you’re much older than me—how do you not understand such a simple truth? When there’s a problem, solve it. Why keep looking back at what happened? Isn’t that foolish? Is that how the world should work?"
His words left Ghost Painting Book Immortal speechless. He looked around in frustration, clearly at a loss.
"Young Master, are you really all right?"
Zane Zhuang was still worried about John Chou’s mental state. John Chou shook his head.
"Are you talking about feeling uneasy? Why should I feel uneasy after doing the right thing?"
John Chou’s response left Zane Zhuang speechless. Three-Eyed laughed.
"Kid, let me ask you something. Do you think you’re very mature?"
Faced with Three-Eyed’s question, John Chou shook his head.
"There’s still a lot I don’t understand. But right now, you three adults are all thinking about the past, while I’m thinking about the future."
Three-Eyed burst out laughing, then slowly floated away.
"John Chou, is it? I’ll remember that name. If I hear it again someday, you’ll probably be standing tall by then."
With that, Three-Eyed bid farewell to Zane Zhuang and left.
By dusk, Isabelle Frost finally woke up, her eyes blank as she looked around the room. The instant she saw John Chou, her mouth opened wide, and she instinctively shrank back, staring at him in terror, her throat producing desperate, choking sounds. She seemed to want to speak, but no words came.
"Yvette, are you awake?"
Ghost Painting Book Immortal approached. Isabelle Frost stared at Zane Zhuang and John Chou in terror.
"It’s all right, little one. You’ve been saved. There’s nothing to be afraid of now."
Zane Zhuang spoke, but Isabelle Frost only shook her head, her gaze unfocused. John Chou sighed and walked over. Isabelle Frost opened her mouth to scream, but not a sound escaped.
"Simply put, you’re my little sister. Because of some events in our family, we had to send you away. But now those troubles are gone, so we’ve come to bring you home. As for your foster parents, all I can say is it’s a tragedy—you’ll have to accept it and move on. Listen, eat something, rest for a couple of days, and then we’ll be on our way. Your enemy is dead."
Isabelle Frost bit her lip, sobbing soundlessly, her tears refusing to fall. John Chou pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Looks like the shock has turned her into a fool. Sigh."
Zane Zhuang blinked. Ghost Painting Book Immortal motioned for Zane Zhuang and John Chou to leave. He took a bowl of porridge and slowly fed Isabelle Frost, explaining things to her. As John Chou had said, she was not Lord Ethan Yi’s daughter, but had been sent here by the man who had just died.
Isabelle Frost still didn’t speak. After several attempts, Ghost Painting Book Immortal confirmed it—Isabelle Frost had lost her voice, and was especially afraid of John Chou.
"What now, Young Master?"
John Chou scratched his head and smiled.
"How should I know, Uncle Zhuang? I’m just a six-year-old kid, aren’t I?"
Three days passed in the courtyard. Isabelle Frost’s body had mostly recovered, but she still couldn’t speak—only nod or shake her head. Meanwhile, Zhou Kan’s corpse had begun to rot and stink.
Zane Zhuang decided to take Isabelle Frost away. Ghost Painting Book Immortal said he would help them return quickly to the Henderson Family, but John Chou refused.
"Little one, it’s time to go."
Startled, Isabelle Frost jumped up and ran into the house, slamming the door. Zane Zhuang watched helplessly. John Chou walked over and knocked heavily on the door.
"Open the door, or I’ll kick it down and tie you up to take you away."
His voice carried a trace of anger.
"Young Master, don’t provoke her any further. She’s..."
With a shout, the door opened. Isabelle Frost lowered her head, tears streaming silently. John Chou placed a hand on her forehead. She flinched in terror, tried to retreat, but John Chou grabbed her hand and held it tight.
"Enough, silly girl. Let’s go home."
Smiling, John Chou led Isabelle Frost away. As they stepped out of the courtyard, Isabelle Frost turned to look back at one of the rooms.
"Do you want to see your enemy?"
Isabelle Frost shook her head, but then raised her hand and made a cutting gesture.