The Francis Manor remained unchanged from their last visit - silent and solemn. The servants stayed obediently in the courtyard and various corners of the estate, not uttering a word more than necessary.
The oppressive atmosphere was almost unbearable.
As Chloe entered, she commented as usual:
"Small title, big ego."
She despised such extremely feudal and outdated individuals. Even Xavier had never enforced such a ridiculous rule forbidding servants from speaking in the manor.
Not to mention that the Francis family had been declining over the years.
Their main assets were money and a noble title inherited for several generations.
On the way, they encountered a few servants. Chloe stopped them and asked, "Where's Anderson?"
The servants kept their heads lowered, speaking very softly and quietly: "Miss must be mistaken. The young master has been at the Ancestors' Manor recently and has no intention of returning here for some time."
As soon as they finished speaking, Chloe grew impatient. She pulled out a dagger from her sleeve and, using her perception, swiftly held it against one of the servant's necks.
Her movement was so fast that the servant had no time to react. After a startled cry, he instinctively raised both arms in surrender.
"Speak," Chloe said, her eyes cold.
The servant looked down at the dagger pressed against his neck, knowing full well that this young girl was not to be trifled with. Trembling, he quickly blurted out a room number:
"Third floor, it's on the third floor. I saw the young master and the old master go in there together!"
Having obtained the answer she wanted, Chloe turned and walked towards the interior of the manor.
Behind her, Qin Huaibei and the others acted in perfect coordination. Seeing Chloe leave, they swiftly knocked out the servants with a chop to the neck and tossed them into the bushes by the roadside.
The manor was eerily quiet. It was already evening, and the sunset outside the windows painted half the sky a rosy red, like a magnificent sunset glow. The air carried a damp smell.
Chloe instinctively covered her nose: "How long has it been since this manor was cleaned? It smells of mold."
"You'd have to ask the servants here about that," Qin Huaibei said. "You should know that in our Human Race, such negligent servants would be fired immediately."
Hearing this, Chloe chuckled: "Whatever, they're not my servants anyway."
As they spoke, the four of them had already arrived on the third floor of the manor, outside the room mentioned by the servant.
Chloe's keen sense of smell detected the scent of blood.
She was very familiar with this smell, and given Anderson's special nature, she recognized it instantly—
It was the smell of Anderson's blood.
As soon as this realization hit her, a surge of anger welled up in Chloe's chest.
Since when could her person be touched at will by these idiots who couldn't even properly announce their full titles?
The people behind her, seeing Chloe's expression, felt somewhat at a loss.
Daniel pressed his lips together, choosing to remain silent to avoid becoming the target of the young lady's wrath.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Chloe kicked down the door of the room in front of them.
Accompanied by an earth-shaking noise, the door panel collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Daniel watched in astonishment as even the walls of the third-floor room cracked, and he swallowed hard:
"...So violent, that's Chloe for you."
Unfortunately, Chloe had no time to bandy words with him now.
After kicking down the door, her first glance fell on Anderson, who was tied to a chair right in front of her, covered in blood.
Standing before him was Francis, holding a knife in his hand and trembling all over for some unknown reason.
Chloe's face remained calm as the dagger in her hand flew out in an instant, plunging straight into Francis's neck.
With a "squelch," blood sprayed.
The knife in Francis's hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
He turned around in disbelief, just in time to see Chloe.
Blood was continuously flowing from the neck he was covering with one hand.
The moment she saw his face, Chloe realized something was off about Francis.
His eyes were wide open, his lips trembling nervously, not at all like someone who was about to harm Anderson.
A flicker of doubt crossed Chloe's mind, but it lasted only a moment.
Because not far away, on the chair, Anderson raised his eyes to look at her.
The young man's face was pale, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, clearly indicating internal injuries. His voice was low and hoarse:
"...Young Miss."
Chloe's head spun at being called "Young Miss." Without giving Francis a chance to say anything more, she knocked him to the ground with a backhand blow.
Francis's body, wasted by a life of debauchery, was easily felled by Chloe's strike.
His condition wasn't good; he seemed barely conscious.
When Daniel walked over, he clearly noticed Francis's expression and felt somewhat surprised.
Was all this thick smell of blood in the room caused by Francis?
If so, why did he now have such an expression?
It was as if... he had received a great shock.
Daniel and Qin Huaibei exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked towards Anderson.
Anderson, tied up on the chair, looked weak. His emerald green eyes seemed glued to Chloe, vulnerable like a small dog soaked through on a rainy night.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Daniel shuddered—ah, was he allowed to think that?
He quickly shook off the miscellaneous thoughts in his head and crouched down with Qin Huaibei to tie up Francis.
Meanwhile, Chloe anxiously examined Anderson's wounds:
"Why did you come here alone? Don't you know Francis is not a good person? Is this news to you?"
As she said this, Chloe's gaze involuntarily shifted to the top of Anderson's head.
There was a wound there.
Chloe's anger immediately flared up: "Why do you always end up like this?"
That head wound could be fatal...
Chloe immediately said resentfully: "What if you died?!"
As soon as the words fell, Anderson's expression froze for a moment, then he found it amusing.
After being untied, he curled up slightly, coughing and laughing softly, his voice gentle:
"That won't happen. I haven't accompanied the Young Miss as she grows up yet, how could I leave like this?"
"You'd better not," Chloe said, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his body.
At this moment, Katherine also walked over.
She glanced at Anderson's wounds and instinctively activated her healing ability.
The Elf Race's healing ability was incredibly powerful, even surpassing medical pods in effectiveness.
Before long, Anderson's wounds began to slowly heal.
During this time, Chloe wandered around the room, discovering Edmund who had been placed behind a folding screen.
He was still sitting in his wheelchair, his eyes lifeless, clutching a document tightly in his hands.
Chloe noticed and took the document from his hands.
On it was clearly written—
Consciousness Transfer Surgery.
Important note: Both parties involved in the surgery must be blood-related.
