William and Amy sat under the maple tree in the backyard, enjoying their barbecue, when Zoey and Wes pulled up in their jeep.
Clearly, the two came over hoping for a free meal.
They had texted William earlier, initially inviting him out for barbecue. But upon hearing William was grilling at home, Zoey thought she might save some money and decided to drop by William’s place for dinner.
William knew about their large appetites, but with limited ingredients, he could only prepare extra corn and potatoes.
Zoey wasn’t picky. She kept munching on corn cob after corn cob, so much so that Amy, watching in astonishment, nearly dropped her fork.
Picking up her knife, Amy whispered to William, “Has this lady not eaten in a very long time? She seems so hungry.”
Zoey, with her keen hearing, caught Amy’s comment. She glanced at her and replied, “I eat like this every meal.”
Amy retorted, “Then you’ll definitely become very, very chubby in the future!”
“None of your business!” Zoey replied haughtily, continuing to dig into her food.
Wes could only shake his head in amusement, watching his sister argue with a child.
For William, it wasn’t a big deal. In his eyes, Zoey and Amy might have a considerable age gap, but their intelligence levels seemed to be on par. It’s typical for children to bicker, isn’t it?
After finishing her meal, Zoey stretched lazily and remarked, “Wes, I’ve got a feeling something’s off with Maplewood Town. You better keep an eye out.”
“Mm-hmm, I will,” Wes responded, munching on his grilled chicken leg. Turning to William, he proposed, “William, what if we consider paying you monthly, kind of like a meal voucher, and then we eat here frequently?”
Given William’s top-notch grilling skills, Wes felt that eating at other barbecue places simply couldn’t compare.
“Forget it!” While William did have some free time, he wasn’t about to become a personal chef for someone else.
“How about we come over for a meal once in a while?”
William sighed, “Your idea of ‘once in a while’ probably means I’d have to stock up on ingredients regularly.”
Their so-called occasional visits seemed more like daily affairs, which was a bit much.
Wes gave an awkward smile and said, “Oh, by the way, William, we spotted the girl who was with you the other day in Maplewood Town. She seemed to be with someone from the Taylor family.”
William slightly furrowed his brows, asking, “You mean Evelyn?” 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝
“Yes, the girl who was with you on the day Zoey apprehended Bryant,” Wes replied. “I only caught a glimpse of her, and I’m not entirely sure. By the time I tried to follow, she had disappeared.”
“I know Alice, so that girl must have been Evelyn.”
William fell silent for a moment. He had initially believed that Evelyn was the reincarnation of the woman from tens of thousands of years ago, mainly because they looked strikingly similar.
However, Zoey’s appearance had thrown him off.
Even with the Warrior God Constitution, it wouldn’t be possible to have the unique set of abilities that he had devised to enhance one’s power.
In this vast universe, it might be possible for two people to look exactly alike. But the power-enhancing technique that William had developed was truly one-of-a-kind. Thus, he felt that Zoey was more likely to be the reincarnation of that ancient individual.
But where did Evelyn fit into all this?
What struck him as most peculiar was, why was Evelyn in contact with the Taylor family?
If William wanted to, he could instantly appear in Maplewood Town and get to the bottom of everything.
But he chose not to. Life was already so long,if he cleared up every mystery in a day, wouldn’t the rest of his life become even more mundane?
He decided to let things unfold on their own, merely observing from the sidelines. Perhaps that would add a touch of intrigue.
William was certain that the Taylors were up to something. The Radiant Empress Pearl of Theodora might not be of great significance to him, but to the vast majority of Soulmancers, it was considered a supreme artifact.
Indeed, that pearl had the potential to change many things.
That evening, William finally spotted Evelyn at the bookstore.
To his astonishment, Evelyn had become an intermediate-level Soulmancer!
They hadn’t seen each other for just two days, and she had already achieved this status as an intermediate Soulmancer!
Alice, under William’s personal tutelage, had only just reached the intermediate Soulmancer level after all this time. To say Evelyn’s progress was meteoric would feel like an understatement.
But William could somewhat guess the reason behind it.
That morning, he had dabbed a drop of his blood on Evelyn’s egg sandwich.
At the time, William’s intention was merely to ensure she wouldn’t feel too fatigued during her late-night reading sessions. However, he had underestimated the potent energy contained in that single drop of his blood.
Considering how just a drop of his blood could change the world’s energy when mixed with paint on a palette—altering the natural concentration of energy—it was no small thing that Evelyn had consumed it directly.
“William, do you ever desire better prospects?” Evelyn sat at the large table in the bookstore, her entire demeanor transformed. Just two days prior, she seemed gentle and slightly timid, like the kind-hearted girl next door. But now, she exuded a spirited aura, and her eyes brimmed with confidence.
People can change a lot in just a short time, so always keep an open mind.
The dramatic change in Evelyn after just two days was indeed surprising.
Nelson, who usually left work at six in the evening, had also noticed Evelyn’s transformation. In his eyes, it was undoubtedly due to William that Evelyn had made such a leap in her abilities.
Being by the side of a powerful person like William, even if Evelyn undergoes significant changes, he doesn’t find it particularly surprising.
William, as always, continued reading, and asked, “What do you mean by ‘better prospects’?”
Evelyn said, “I spoke to Alice. After tonight, I won’t be coming to work here anymore. I’ve started my own company. If you’re interested, you can work at my place.”
William asked, “Doing what?”
Evelyn responded, “Finance!”
“I might give it a try,” William laughed. “After all, I don’t really have a proper job.”
Evelyn paused for a moment and then asked, “Aren’t you curious as to how I could suddenly start my own company?”
William replied with a light smile, “Everyone has their secrets. Why should I pry?”
After some thought, Evelyn flipped through her phone and pulled up an online novel, then handed the phone to William. “Take a look at this story.”
“…?” William glanced at the phone, remarking, “A historical novel.”
After browsing for about half an hour, he realized that the actions of the male protagonist in the story mirrored what he had done over two thousand years ago.
When William looked up at Evelyn again, she said, “I wrote this book. These scenes always appear in my dreams, so I penned them down. I can never clearly remember the face of the man in my dreams, but when I saw you, I felt as if that man might be you.”