"Wait!"
But it was too late.
Edward was drenched from head to toe by the water Yvonne had fetched, looking like a drowned rat.
"What on earth are you doing, Yvonne?"
Edward was both amused and frustrated.
Yvonne sighed in relief, saying,
"Thank goodness, the fire on you is finally out."
Edward sighed again,
"Didn't you see that the fire on me had gone before it poured the water on me?"
"It's out now because I put it out. You were about to be consumed by the flames," she retorted.
Edward didn't know how to explain for a moment, so he just sighed,
"I told you I could handle it. Why didn't you trust me?"
Yvonne pouted, "I'm the one who saved you from the fire, and now you're blaming me? Luckily, I acted in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous."
Edward gave a wry smile, feeling the futility of arguing further.
"Alright, you're all wet, and I do have to take the blame for that. Hurry and change your clothes, brother," Yvonne urged.
"No need," Edward slicked back his sopping hair, intending to show his sister the new skill he had just mastered.
"You should be careful about catching a cold. Do you think becoming an awakener makes you invincible to illness? Remember, even after awakening, we can't easily escape the cycles of life and death. Don't be stubborn, go change," she insisted.
"No, sis, let me show you the new combat skill I've learned: Fire Dragon Emerging," Edward said, channelling his Infinite Primitive Energy throughout his body.
The energy flowed from the top of his head down to his lower abdomen.
Within seconds, a thin layer of flames enveloped his body. Having withstood the intense heat moments ago, Edward found himself comfortably surrounded by the fire, his body now radiating steam.
"Heavens, how is your body on fire again? What's going on?" Yvonne exclaimed, about to run back into the house for more water, but Edward stopped her.
"Stand still and watch how I dry myself and my clothes with the fire, sis" Edward commanded.
With a look of astonishment, Yvonne watched as Edward, like a just-heated pot, was surrounded by steam.
Incredibly, he was unharmed by the flames, his expression relaxed and at ease.
In just thirty seconds, Edward's entire body was completely dried.
"Watch closely, Fire Dragon Emerging!" Edward shouted.
All the flames on his body suddenly converged towards the centre of his palms, forming a massive fireball.
With a forward thrust of his hands, the colossal fireball shot into the sky and landed on an earthen wall in the courtyard.
With a thunderous boom, the wall was instantly punctured by a huge hole.
Yvonne stood there in shock, unable to believe what had just happened.
After a long while, she finally snapped back to reality and asked incredulously,
"Is this the combat skill you've awakened?"
"That's right. The top-grade Strength Pill indeed has miraculous effects, aiding my rapid cultivation. It was with its energy that I awakened this fire-element combat skill," Edward explained.
"This is fantastic, brother. I believe you will definitely pass the entrance exam for the Aurora Awakening Academy!"
Yvonne clapped her hands in delight, but then her gaze fell on the wall with a hole in it, looking a bit troubled.
"Congratulations, brother, but now I have more work to do. I need to fix this wall. You know, at my pace, it'll take me the whole day to finish," she said.
Edward chuckled, "You don't have to do that. Let me repair it."
Once again, he shouted, "Fire Dragon Emerging."
This time, he directed the fireball at the ground in the courtyard.
Quickly, the ground where the fireball struck formed a large hole, and dirt flew up from the impact, directly patching the hole in the wall.
Just enough to seal the hole he had made earlier.
Yvonne felt like her brother Edward was now a magician. She went to the wall and touched the newly repaired spot, which was still warm.
"It feels even more solid than before. Brother, this is incredible! I want to awaken a fire-element combat skill too," she said.
"Fire-element combat skills are not friendly to girls. Remember, men are of pure yang, while women are of ultimate yin," Edward replied.
Before Yvonne could respond, a woman's voice came from behind them.
"Is that Mr. Edward?"
Edward and Yvonne immediately turned around to see a little girl with two braids, flushed and panting heavily.
"Who are you? How do you know my name is Edward?"
"I am Sally's maid. Something terrible has happened."
She was out of breath and looked very anxious.
"What's happened? Is your lady home?"
"I was supposed to meet her on the way, but I saw her being attacked by two men in black masks from behind. She was knocked unconscious and taken away."
"What? When did this happen?"
"Twenty minutes ago. I know my lady Sally had visited you, and I feared it would be too late to seek my master's help, so I came to you first. Can you help?"
Edward and Yvonne exchanged glances, shocked that such a thing could happen in such a short time.
"Of course. My brother and I will do everything we can. Take us to the place where it happened right away," Yvonne suggested.
"There's no time to lose, let's go now!" Edward added.
The three of them quickly jogged towards the location of the incident.
But when they arrived, they didn't see a soul.
"What should we do?" The maid fretted, hopping anxiously.
Edward quickly scanned the surroundings and noticed a small grove to the right.
"They've likely taken Sally into the grove," Edward said. "For now, you two should go inform Sally's father, and I'll investigate inside the grove."
"Okay, brother, be careful."
Edward sprinted into the grove, which was crisscrossed with various paths, leaving him unsure which way to go.
'What should I do?' Edward thought to himself. 'There are four paths in front of me; which one should I take? Shorty, you must hold on, or I'll never forgive myself.'
"Stay calm, stay calm," Edward told himself.
He took a deep breath, and a familiar scent entered his nose.
"This is the lingering fragrance from Shorty," Edward murmured, "with a rose-like aroma."
"Thank goodness I remembered this scent."
Edward's furrowed brow gradually relaxed as he noticed the fragrance lingering on the left path.
"Hold on, Shorty, I'm coming."
Five miles away in the grove, two men in black masks surrounded Sally.
Sally's hands were tightly bound with extremely sturdy hemp rope.
"Want to escape, huh, little beauty? Let me tell you, you can't escape from us," one of them said.
"Scumbags, who are you two? If it weren't for your stupefying powder, I wouldn't have let you succeed in your sneak attack," Sally challenged.
"You're right. We are scumbags, so what? We never intended to play a fair game with you," they retorted.
"You're both trash," Sally said, her face full of anger.
"We like it when you're angry; it makes you even more beautiful," one of them said, leering.
"What do you want?" Sally asked.
"It's simple. Tell us what you were doing going to Edward's," one of them said.
Speaking of Edward, even though his face couldn't be seen, it was clear that he harboured deep hatred towards him.
"Why should I tell you? Do you know Edward? Who are you?"
"Who am I? Don't you recognize me? We used to play together when we were kids! But you always ignored me, always hanging out with Edward. What's so great about that good-for-nothing?"
"You... you must be Joseph," Sally realized.
"Now that you know who I am, I see no reason to keep wearing this damn mask," the taller man said, pulling off his mask to reveal a leering face.
"It is you, Joseph! I thought you were injured and locked in the family dungeon. How did you get out and track me down?"
Then, the other man also removed his mask, revealing his face with a large mole the size of a bean next to his right eye.
Sally had never seen him before and didn't know who he was.
"I'm Joseph's cousin. Let me tell you, I'm the one who rescued Joseph," the man said.
"That's right, all thanks to my cousin George.
I was supposed to be the star of that Awakening Ritual, but that damn Edward stole the spotlight and got me thrown into the dungeon by the patriarch.
Fortunately, my cousin showed up in time, and this is why I could break out of the dungeon and then follow you. Now, tell us, what were you doing going to see Edward, that son of bitch?"
"I'd rather die than tell you," Sally said defiantly.
"What's so great about that guy anyway? Is it worth it, my hot chick? I'm telling you, you better cooperate with us."
"If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"If you tell us," Joseph grinned slyly, "and then entertain us brothers well, I promise you'll die a quicker death, ha-ha."
"You two should be condemned to hell!"
"Since you won't take the easy way, we won't be holding back anymore!"
Joseph and George immediately lunged at her.
And Sally ran with all her might.
"You can't escape!"
Sure enough, due to the stupefying powder—a type of powder that causes fainting and subsequent weakness, Sally felt lightheaded after a few steps and couldn't run any faster or further.
Joseph caught up to her in a second, forcefully pulling her coat off, revealing her bare shoulders.
Joseph and George swallowed their saliva, feeling their hearts race.
"You were a little shrimp when you were young, but now you've grown into such a stunning young lady. We are indeed fortunate enough that we can be on your body soon, ha-ha!"
Sally screamed in terror, "Help!"
"I love this cat-and-mouse game," George grinned, "Keep shouting; no one will hear you now. It's so much fun."
At that moment, Joseph had circled to block Sally's path.
Now, these two scoundrels had her cornered.
"Why did you have to get involved with Edward? You like him, don't you? I'll ruin everything he cares about.
No more games! Now I'm going to strip you bare and toy with you. By doing so can I ease my hatred! You can blame Edward if you want, ha-ha!"
With that, Joseph's hand reached out to Sally's breasts.