Chapter 176 To err is to pay the price.
The coolness of the night felt as refreshing as water, signaling the passing of autumn and bringing a sense of sorrowful farewell.
William lay semi-reclined under a plane tree, gazing at the hazy moon in the sky, his mind involuntarily drifting to the past.
Living too long and having too good a memory were ultimately not blessings.
Just as he was preparing to go back to his room to sleep, Alice called.
"Alice, is something the matter?"
"Master… Master… Grandfather has passed away… Can you save him?"
William could sense the immense sorrow in the girl's voice on the other end of the phone, but after a moment of silence, he could only reply, "I'm sorry, but that's beyond my abilities."
Alice sobbed on the other end, her voice breaking, "Can you come and see him?"
"I can!" William replied and hung up the phone.
Parting in life and death was undoubtedly very sorrowful and distressing for a girl like Alice.
But it was all inevitable.
Even someone as powerful as William couldn't bring the dead back to life in the true sense.
He had many abilities; he could manipulate corpses, prevent them from decaying, and even make them speak.
But dead is dead.
The dead cannot be revived, and a speaking corpse is still just a corpse.
William had once attempted to forcibly seal the divine soul within the body of a Soulmancer, but in the end, he discovered that even for a Soulmancer, the divine soul that was forcibly sealed within the corpse would be consumed by the body at a rapid pace, subsequently turning that body into a bloodthirsty monster.
Dracula, Frankenstein, vampires—these undead creatures were the perfect examples.
They could not find eternal peace and had to wander forever in darkness and pain, enduring endless torment and struggle every day.
William soon arrived at the Turner family residence, where the family had already started preparing for Charles Turner's funeral. When William entered Charles Turner's study, Calvin saw him and asked with a frown, "Who are you?"
"I am just here to see Charles," William replied and walked towards Charles Turner's body.
Alice was right next to Charles Turner. Turning around and seeing William, she couldn't help herself and rushed forward to embrace William, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, "Master…"
Calvin had heard that his daughter had taken a master, but unlike Brian Bell and Christopher Carter, he hadn't investigated William's identity. He had unilaterally assumed that this William was an old friend of his father, likely a septuagenarian.
Seeing William now, he was utterly stunned.
How could his father have let Alice take such a young man as her master?
Was the method Alice used to treat Powell also taught by this young man?
William gently patted Alice's back a couple of times, whispering, "It's okay, there's nothing to worry about."
Alice didn't speak, her head buried in William's chest, and her emotions seemed to have calmed considerably.
Calvin watched, a mix of emotions swirling within him.
Alice had been very upset just now, and he, as her father, had spent quite some time consoling her, but Alice hadn't sought comfort in his embrace like this.
From such a small gesture, it was evident that Alice seemed closer to William than to her own father.
"You are Alice's mentor?" Calvin scrutinized William. When William had entered earlier, he had asked who he was, and William had simply said he was there to see Charles.
A young man addressing his father by his first name was disrespectful to both the elder and the deceased.
William gently rubbed Alice's head, softly saying, "Alright, I'll talk with your father for a bit."
In his heart, William was quite fond of Alice, treating her like his own daughter. Facing today's circumstances, William could only use some abilities to calm the mind to help her feel a bit better.
Alice wiped her tears and stood quietly to one side.
"What… What was your relationship with my father?" Calvin thought for a moment and quickly realized there was something extraordinary about William.
Firstly, how did William get in?
And there was that painting on the table with the inscription "For my disciple Alice."
His father had passed away sitting in front of this painting, a smile on his face, as if he had found liberation.
"We could be considered old friends," William replied, having already walked to Charles Turner's body. He glanced at him and frowned, asking, "Was he agitated before he died?"
With William's abilities, he could tell at a glance that Charles Turner had been agitated before his death, and there was even blood on his body.
Calvin could only recount what happened today once: "Travis hasn't left yet, he's still in the lobby."
Alice looked at the painting on the table and said, "Grandfather told me that after his death, it would be enough to keep his ashes and this painting in the same room."
"I don't want to get involved in your family affairs," William said. After taking a deep look at Charles Turner's body, he left the study.
"Master, where are you going?" Alice didn't know what William intended to do.
"Wait here."
The next moment, William had already appeared in the hall.
Travis was still waiting, waiting for Alice to let him leave. After all, he had instigated today's incident; if Alice were to hold him accountable later, with William's abilities, he couldn't escape.
While he was anxiously waiting, William suddenly appeared before him like a ghost.
"Mr. Johnson… how did you get here?" Travis was frightened for a moment.
William asked coldly, "Did you plan today's incident?"
Travis hastily replied, "It was planned by Russell, I… I was just used by him…"
"A mid-level Soulmancer being used by a commoner?" With a lift of William's eyelid, Travis felt as if he were gripped by an invisible giant hand, his internal energy completely sealed, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
A mid-level Soulmancer wasn't much stronger than an ant in front of William.
"Mr. Johnson! Don't kill me, I was wrong, I was blinded by greed," Travis, terrified and babbling, said, "Whatever you want, I'll give you… Didn't you ask me to be Miss Turner's punching bag before? I'll do my best."
"You must pay the price for your wrongdoing." After William spoke, Travis's left hand exploded into a mist of blood.
"Ah!!" A shrill scream escaped Travis's lips; he hadn't expected William to be so ruthless.
There were quite a few members of the Turner family in the hall, all of whom were scared and ran out.
"Mr. Johnson, is one hand enough? I was wrong! I swear I won't dare again."
Thud!
William didn't respond, and Travis's other hand also exploded, blood mist scattering.
"No matter what, he was my man!" After William finished speaking, Travis's entire body turned directly into a mist of blood.
A faint golden soul was about to escape when William waved his hand and shattered this divine spirit on the spot!
Having done all this, William slowly returned to Charles Turner's study and asked Calvin, "Is there paper and pen?"
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