Aria clenched the newspaper with a dark look. Barron had something he wanted to give her.When she entered the manifestation last time, she had mentioned to Barron she was from the future. Thus, the thing he referred to was most likely in the present world.However, Aria was puzzled why Warren didn't tell her that Barron left something for her. Although Warren had shown her some family heirlooms that included Barron's belongings, none of them were to be specifically handed to her.A thought suddenly popped up in Aria's mind. The Earthbound Manifestation might be related to Barron. Every item in the manifestation was there for a reason. Plus, the entrance of the Earthbound Manifestation was placed near Ian's villa. Ian had been under the ancestral's protection too.When she thought of that, she carefully put the newspaper away. Although the others didn't understand why she cherished a newspaper so much, they didn't dare to ask and continued on their work.Although there was no si
The strangest thing about Grief Peak was that one couldn't hear another's shout from the other end. The mountain only had electricity in 2017, yet some professional adventurers remained fearful of challenging it.Plus, the woods were filled with poisonous snakes, insects, leeches, black bears, and a persistent miasma that wouldn't fade. Thus, despite the numerous stories about Grief Peak, people were kept from going inside.The most famous tale about it was the Everett family's treasures. It was rumored that countless treasures of gold and silver were hidden underground in their house.There were even some weird-looking patterns in their courtyard, which might be the map to start the treasure hunt.However, none of these tales had been verified. The historical records were more credible, and archaeological findings suggested that this area was once home to a multi-ethnic kingdom known as the ancient Grief Kingdom. However, due to the terrain, it had been extremely difficult for a
When Landon entered the spot with the most spiritual energy, the crow perched on a branch and cawed twice.Their calls pierced through the mist and rang through the entire Grief Peak. It was as if telling all the unborn spirits that their true owner was back.The "king" that the evil beings referred to was pacing around anxiously."He's back? Is he really back? Did he say why he's back? Go and send him the wild yarrows in the mountain. Wait. I think he doesn't like yarrows…"The evil being who came to report saw through its king's panic and tried guessing, "Perhaps he just came back to take a look. Chaos is also here. You should know him."Of course, he knew Chaos! The latter almost devoured him back then!"Chaos likes to eat staghorns. Go and send everything we have to him. We can't let him go hungry."Although the king's requests were reasonable, none of the evil beings wanted to be in charge of sending it.A while later, another evil being came to report, "The lord seems to
Aria knew the situation was more complicated than it seemed. If Simon felt uneasy, it surely signified something bad. Although Aria didn't insist on going alone, someone had to send the herbs back.There were many injured soldiers waiting for the antibiotics, and some injuries couldn't afford to be delayed treatment. Plus, Aria couldn't disguise herself with all the herbs she had.After thinking for a moment, she took out her amethyst pendant.The twins immediately appeared. Angie still looked a bit scary despite her soft and respectful tone. "Ms. Carver, do you need our assistance?"After filling them in about the delivery of medicine, Abbie ducked behind Angie timidly. "Ms. Carver, I'm afraid we might not succeed. What if they're afraid of us?"Aria pinched their faces. "Go and find Xander. Tell him you're with me. Don't worry. A soldier like him wouldn't be afraid of you all. Didn't you say only those who did bad things would be afraid of you all?"Abbie clutched the package
Looking at Angie's disheveled spirit, Aria reached out to ruffle her hair. "I'll find him. Go with Abbie to deliver the herbs first."Although this is just an Earthbound Manifestation, everyone here is a heroic spirit. I'm sure you and Abbie want them to not have any regrets. Leave the rest to me. I'll find out who he is and bring him to you all."Angie's soul had been soothed. Although there was still resentment in her, the twins would listen to Aria unconditionally and treat it as the most important task. This was usually how spirit vassals reacted. While other souls might not be willing to be controlled, the twins allowed it as Aria had been taking care of them.If the twins couldn't do something as simple as delivering herbs, they would be useless to Aria. Thus, the twins exchanged glances and nodded obediently. In their true spirit form, they didn't have much strength, so they would often use their resentment to help.Albeit their obedient appearances, the twins were famou
Just as the twins wondered what to do, Xander thought for a moment before asking Benedict, "Where are they? Here?"Benedict suppressed his fear and replied, "A little bit further."Xander stretched his hands forward. Upon coming into contact with Angie, he could see the twins before him. Abbie was particularly looking at him shyly.Paggie once said ghosts didn't exist; only guilt would trick one into believing it. Growing up in the village, he had heard various stories from his household.However, Xander wasn't concerned about any kind of soul. All of them were Farshyans. Xander's sister would be about the same age as them if she were still alive. Since he arrived there, he rarely had any relatives visiting him.However, he would often dream of his sister, but he woke up to the sound of gunfire and bombs."Don't be scared. If you guys are hungry, I'll go and take a look to see if there is any canned food we managed to seize." Xander turned around.Angie didn't touch him, only
"Is this the main point?" Evander didn't understand Ingrid's thoughts.Ingrid said excitedly, "Of course, this is the main point. I want to know who she is in real life. Once she comes back, I'll ask for her number."She's way too capable, you know. Even our lecturer can't be exactly sure about the herbs' proportions. She must be someone renowned in the medical field!" Ingrid admired Aria a lot.However, Astrid was still displeased. "If she's as capable as you say, she wouldn't have kept herself hidden. We've already introduced ourselves when we came here. What about her? She didn't say a word and lectured us the moment she arrived."She's nowhere to be seen now. Plus, do you think she's a good person by how she can order ghosts around?"Astrid didn't dare to say this before Aria, so she could only complain behind her back. "Perhaps she's too scared to show her face in real life. That's why she's acting so high and mighty now that we're living in the past."Well, now that the her
Aria's confidence grew as she ventured deeper into the woods. Everywhere within the manifestation, personal burdens were woven into the fabric of reality, distorting the environment and affecting all who entered. These abnormalities could only be controlled by heroic spirits.A popular saying on the internet warned that anyone wary of encountering ghosts should visit Martyr Cemetery—where evil spirits dared not venture.Heroic spirits had protected civilians during wartime, and they continued their watch even in death. Their power was such that, with a weapon in hand, enemies became nonexistent.Aria eyed the abnormalities, then glanced at Simon. "Can you handle this?"Simon replied flatly, "It doesn't affect me, but you might be vulnerable. Humans have their seven deadly sins. I'm sure you have a weakness. If your dark side surfaces, nobody will leave this manifestation alive."Aria raised her phone, snapping a picture of the terrain and enemy troops. She grinned. "You know, befo
Magdalene said, "In the past, our family had helped the Grishams to survive. But now..." She took a sip of her tea. "They're digging their own grave, and we can't help them anymore." Just as she finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked in. When Magdalene saw him, her brows immediately furrowed. Her eldest son, Neval Fitzroy, was her least favorite child. He had brought nothing but shame to the Fitzroys. If he hadn't developed a gambling addiction, the Fitzroy family wouldn't have fallen this far. She asked, "What are you doing here?" Neval rubbed his hands together and snickered. "Mom, I'm a little short on cash lately. I mainly came because I missed you, but I'm also here to ask for a little money." Before Magdalene could respond, Laura stood up. "Neval, Mom just gave you 20 million last month. You shouldn't have spent it so quickly." Magdalene had been in a good mood, but now her face darkened. "Did I raise you to leech off me? How could 20 million dollars be gone so
Orion slammed his fist hard on the table. He'd been played by someone who looked like nothing more than a trust fund kid. Yet he had no choice but to let Aria manipulate him. Because no matter what he said, someone would show up to "take care of" him. At this point, he could only make everything look like a simple financial crime in order to protect himself. Aria had calculated this perfectly and planned accordingly. Even now, most people saw Aria as just some young hotshot who made money but didn't understand the bigger picture. They thought because she came from a small town, she was naïve enough to believe taking down the Draycott family would solve everything. In reality, she would be dragging herself down as well. Unless she didn't plan to stay in Ludwiten at all! Most people who thought this way were driven by pride and jealousy. They wouldn't admit they wished they were in Aria's shoes. The Carvers had raked in so much money from the stock market this time around. The
"Yes, I'm sure," Gabe said, having checked everything carefully. The old man thought for a moment. "Find a way and get someone else to tell Orion what he should and shouldn't say. If he's smart enough, he should understand." "Alright." Gabe pushed up his glasses. "Don't worry; everything will be handled." The old man's eyes were deep and calculating. "To achieve great things, some people must be sacrificed. If necessary, offer the Draycott family some benefits. Go take care of the Bellebrook situation." Gabe chuckled. "They're just some greedy, low-class people. They only succeeded because of you, yet they always think they made it on their own." "Gabe, mind your words." The old man had a kind face. Looking at him, one would think he cared for all people. Judging from his simple lifestyle, he did not seem like someone who would do bad things at all. Even the cup he used was bought from the supermarket for just over ten dollars. "Go now. As I've always said, anyone can l
Aria's question made Orion freeze right away. The scholarship program was his secret lifeline. He simply couldn't figure out how she knew so many details about everything! "You've been setting me up in the stock market all this time. How did you also find out about the scholarship program?" Orion felt genuinely scared now—everyone had really underestimated Aria. When had she done all this research? She'd dug deeper than he ever imagined. The scariest part was that neither he nor that person had noticed anything. They all thought she was just helping the Carver family restore their former glory. Keeping the Chamber of Commerce out of the Carver family's hands was that person's strict order. That was why the Draycotts had climbed so quickly within the organization over the years. They all assumed Aria had come to Ludwiten to target the Chamber. But now... Orion looked up again. "The scholarship program is weird business. I only handled recruitment. I don't know where those peop
Orion said, "I don't know much, honestly." He looked at Aria with hesitation, as if he was afraid to name that person. He made a gesture instead. "That person is the lieutenant governor of Ludwiten, who has many achievements to his name. "If you're brave enough to investigate, I can tell you about the deals I handled. But I don't know about the rest." Aria raised an eyebrow. Her expression said everything—she had already kidnapped him, so did he seriously think she would be afraid to investigate this further? Orion took a deep breath. "I just handle the money. That person wants something bigger—he wants to make history, but he's been in poor health lately. He needs me to keep certain people in line, but I can't give you details since I really don't have proof." "Which people does he control? And how does he do it?" Aria asked casually. Orion glanced upward, his eyes slowly losing focus. "I have no idea which people." "Mr. Draycott, I thought you would have learned by now.
"Who the hell are you?" Orion shouted as he couldn't hold back anymore. He gripped the armrests hard, almost jumping out of his chair. But Aria barely glanced his way. "I brought you here, didn't I? Who do you think I am?""Y-You're..." Orion remembered a rumor from a business dinner about a Special Missions Unit that operated outside normal chains of command. They could investigate anyone without going through regular channels.Their authority even topped the Regular Missions Unit. Orion had laughed it off back then. Every group had to answer to someone higher up, so there couldn't be a unit with that kind of freedom. In Ludwiten, everyone answered to that one big shot. But now he realized such a thing actually existed!Orion's face turned ghostly pale. "Are you… a part of the Special Missions Unit?"Only that could explain everything! With all her digging and investigating, that person would have noticed what she had been doing. But Orion did not understand something. "
Usually, in this situation, Orion would have a lawyer present. But things were different today! He did not even know which department was holding him. All his usual connections seemed blocked, which made Orion start to panic from deep inside. He sat there, fidgeting nervously. No one else was in the room. "I want a lawyer! I'm innocent!" he shouted, trying to move, but his hands were cuffed to the chair. Just then, a familiar cool voice spoke up, carrying its usual casual tone, "Whether you're guilty or not, the law will decide." It was Aria. Her presence was completely different from earlier in the office. When Orion saw her, he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. There wasn't a trace of the spoiled, rebellious, rich kid in her now. Instead, she looked at him calmly as if she were the highest authority in this place. Orion's heart sank. He wasn't stupid and knew how things worked. That was why his eyes widened as he stared at Aria. "Who are you really?" "D
Magdalene told Laura, "Now you're the partner everyone wants to work with." She laughed out loud. "This divorce couldn't have come at a better time." Laura's eyes widened as Magdalene spoke, her excitement growing by the second. "Mom, does that mean I'll be..." Laura could hardly imagine how amazing her future would be. Magdalene stroked her hair. "They won't call you Mrs. Grisham anymore. They'll call you the CEO of the Fitzroy Group." Laura's face trembled with barely contained excitement. She never considered that the shares they wanted weren't rightfully theirs but something they were taking through dirty tricks. "I was worried these families might side with Aria." Laura had genuinely been concerned about this. After all, families like the Katz family and those families working in traditional industries had started treating Aria with the same respect they once had for Barron. This was exactly what drove Laura crazy. Why should Aria get to live carefree after ruining her
Magdalene felt better than she had in a long time. She even ordered someone to open a bottle of wine to celebrate. This was the most relaxed day Magdalene had experienced in weeks. News about the Draycott family kept pouring in, and she had been feeling not just anxiety but a deep uneasiness. Over the years, the Fitzroy and Draycott families had become deeply entangled. Even without obvious business interests like others had, they shared information regularly. Even in that incident years ago, the Fitzroy family had been involved. Previously, she had worried more than anyone about the Draycott family's collapse. Now, she felt differently. First, there were the Grisham shares they would soon acquire. Second, she had learned that the Draycott family was not the only one that had lost money in the stock market because of Aria. Many prominent Ludwiten families had suffered losses thanks to her market manipulations. Magdalene understood clearly that to establish themselves in this