When Carson Flores entered the room, Shirley Miller was sitting on the bed reading a book.
Carson Flores smiled, "I’m going to take a shower first."
When Carson Flores turned around, Shirley Miller clearly saw a large splatter of bright red bloodstain on the back of Carson’s T-shirt, and her face couldn’t help but slightly change.
Carson Flores paused for a moment, turning his head, "I’m not injured. Why do you ask?"
Shirley Miller took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, but then decided to speak plainly, "There’s blood on the back of your shirt."
Carson Flores blinked, smiled faintly, and said, "It’s someone else’s."
Shirley Miller pursed her lips and nodded lightly, "As long as you are not hurt. Go ahead and shower."
After Carson Flores had taken his shower and returned to the bed, Shirley Miller had already lain down, leaving Carson a wonderfully graceful silhouette.
Carson Flores turned off the lights and lay down as well.
Shirley Miller’s breathing was uneven; it was clear she hadn’t fallen asleep.
All of a sudden, Carson Flores spoke up, "The blood is from the Browning Family. They were planning to eradicate another Cultivator Family, the Howell Family, today. Someone from the Howell Family, who I’m on good terms with, called me for help, so I went over and helped the Howells eliminate the Brownings."
Shirley Miller turned over in shock, her gaze intently fixed on Carson Flores, "When you say ’eliminate,’ what do you mean?"
Carson Flores explained, "There is an unwritten rule in Cultivator Family conflicts; the victor will not exterminate the defeated family completely, as many of the elderly, weak, and children are innocent. The victor simply strips the losing side of all their cultivation abilities. In simple terms, they render all Cultivators powerless, turning them into ordinary people, effectively removing them from the ranks of Cultivator Families."
"The Browning Family brought in strong reinforcements today and found an excuse to gather all the Howell Cultivators, intending to wipe them out in one fell swoop and have the Howells expunged from the Cultivator world. If I hadn’t shown up today, the Browning Family would have succeeded."
Shirley Miller looked at Carson Flores in shock, "Does that mean the Browning Family has all turned into ordinary people now?"
Carson Flores replied calmly, "I killed Boston Browning first, the same person we encountered at the restaurant yesterday; he was also the mastermind behind the actions against us. Family Head Browning offered more money to the reinforcement to take me down, but when I killed him in response, I told the Family Head that I only wanted him dead. If the rest of the Brownings gave up their cultivation, their lives would be spared, but they were unwilling and attacked me together. So naturally, I didn’t hold back and killed all of them, including Family Head Browning, who surrounded me."
"About fifteen or sixteen from the Browning Family went there, and in the end, five or six were left, captured by the Howells, stripped of their cultivation, and their lives spared. With this battle, the Browning Family has been expunged from the Cultivator world."
Shirley Miller listened with a pounding heart, "Then, you’ve killed so many people; won’t there be consequences?"
Carson Flores shook his head, "The Howell Family will take care of everything. Besides, they attacked me, and I retaliated. By actions, it was self-defense. I couldn’t just not fight back and let them kill me."
Shirley Miller breathed a sigh of relief, her tone filled with a lamenting sigh, "I’m glad you’re okay... Is the world of Cultivators so cruel? Taking lives and exterminating families at the drop of a hat?"
"Where is life not a battlefield? The business world you’ve experienced is just like a battlefield, where people can be ruined and never recover. The battles among Cultivators are just more direct, that’s all."
Seeing the shock on Shirley Miller’s face, Carson Flores smiled reassuringly, "The struggles between Cultivators are not as exaggerated as you think. The Woolery Family, Browning Family, Howell Family have coexisted for forty to fifty years in peace. It’s only because the Howells have been declining in recent years that the Brownings harbored thoughts of annexing them."
Shirley Miller pursed her lips, "It just feels like so much has happened in such a short time. One thing after another, each one so frightening."
Carson Flores answered with a smile, "That’s because I am a variable. Otherwise, many things would have no ripple at all. With their energy, things would have been done quietly, without alerting anyone."
Upon further thought, Shirley Miller realized that this made sense. Whether it was Brian James or the Browning Family, if they were dealing with her alone, it would have been too easy.
Without Carson Flores’s involvement, she would have fallen silently into their traps and been quietly destroyed by them.
It was because of Carson Flores that Shirley Miller had the chance to see the aftermath from Carson’s perspective. For an ordinary person, they would have been played to death outright, with no chance for conflict or retaliation.
Shirley Miller spoke softly, "If one day, you encounter someone you can’t defeat, what will you do?"
Carson Flores chuckled, "If I can’t win, I’ll run. I’m not stupid. Not only am I good at fighting, but I’m also great at escaping. A few years ago, during a mission, I was chased by dozens of experts for hundreds of kilometers and still managed to get away in the end."
Shirley Miller began to say something but then immediately closed her mouth.
They weren’t even officially a couple, so saying something like facing danger together and telling Carson Flores to run first seemed a bit too sentimental and awkward.
Carson Flores couldn’t guess why Shirley Miller hesitated to speak, and after a few seconds of silence, he asked quietly, "I’ve killed so many people, we’re now lying in the same bed. Are you afraid or do you feel uncomfortable inside?"