Chapter 281: To Murder and Defile the Spirit
Just as Mr. Lewis said, his biological father harbored a deep-seated hatred for Mr. Lewis, his mother, and his grandparents, all because of what happened with his first love years ago.
After his first love died, a twist of fate led him to an old Daoist. His exceptional talent impressed the master, who took him in as his final, personal disciple and taught him a great deal.
However, the old Daoist had no idea that his incredibly gifted young disciple had long been blinded by hatred. He never used his knowledge for righteous purposes, instead dedicating himself to the study of twisted, evil arts.
He was the one who swapped the fates of Mr. Lewis and his brother. He was also the one who taught Paul Lewis the art of raising a ghost child. He even orchestrated the miscarriage of the child Ms. Cain was carrying back then. All of this was done so that the son borne by his first love could live a life of wealth and have a large, prosperous family.
In his mind, Mr. Lewis’s family were simply strangers who owed a debt to his first love and their son. It was only right that they serve as stepping stones for him to compensate that son and his future descendants.
And in truth, if Ms. Kerr hadn’t brought the couple to Arabella Donovan for help, his plan would have succeeded.
Arabella Donovan had been puzzled by something before. Paul Lewis’s family had used the ghost child to harm others, and then used the resulting backlash to kill Mr. Lewis and his wife. After committing patricide and matricide, the ghost child should have lost all reason and turned into a true vengeful spirit, attacking people indiscriminately.
They could have then used this opportunity to pose as righteous saviors and find someone to eliminate the out-of-control ghost child. By doing so, they could seamlessly take the victims’ place, inheriting Mr. and Mrs. Lewis’s fortune and stealing their son’s destiny—killing many birds with one stone.
But why, in that unlimited flow novel, did Terence Lewis not only keep the ghost child, but at the start of the plot, it was completely obedient to him? There was no hint that it had been manipulated into murdering its own parents before transforming into a rampaging, vengeful spirit.
The memories the child had sent into Arabella Donovan’s mind before leaving had, unexpectedly, answered this very question.
It turned out that Mr. Lewis’s scumbag of a father had died from a severe illness several years ago, a result of his many evil deeds.
But he had a senior martial brother—the very same old man Arabella Donovan had just mentioned, who might later show up at the Lewis’s home.
’This old man isn’t exactly a bad person. In fact, he’s almost pathologically righteous, with a built-in "sympathy for all mankind" buff. The pity is, he isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and is a terrible judge of character.’
He believed whatever Mr. Lewis’s scumbag father told him. Before he died, the man begged his senior martial brother to look after his "only" son, Paul Lewis, and his grandson, Terence Lewis. After that, the old man treated the father and son as his own family, frequently dropping by their home to see if they needed help with anything.
Paul Lewis and his son were well aware of the man’s nature and his weaknesses. After the patriarch’s death, they often duped the old man into helping them with unscrupulous deeds that harmed others for their own selfish gain.
And yet, the man remained completely oblivious, believing all along that he was performing heroic deeds by punishing the wicked and upholding justice.
Arabella Donovan was speechless. ’This is just too much!’
Dennis Donovan and the other person, who had rushed out of the house, eager to get in on the gossip: "..."
This just goes to show, a smart and capable person isn’t frightening. What’s frightening is a capable person who’s a fool.
One look at this man proved it: the consequences of a powerful person acting foolishly were nothing short of catastrophic!
’I have to admit, this father-son duo is unbelievable. They’re truly chips off the old scumbag’s block. The reason they didn’t have the old man deal with the ghost child when it went berserk, just to be safe, was because they’d gotten a taste for how useful it was.’
’They could kill anyone in their way without lifting a finger and face no legal repercussions. Where else could they find such a perfect tool? It would be a waste to just get rid of it. So, their plan was to wait for the ghost child to go on a rampage and kill Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, then they would pin all of their own past crimes on the dead couple.’
The old Daoist already despised evil as if it were his mortal enemy. Once he believed the story told by Terence Lewis’s family, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis would become, in his eyes, treacherous villains who used dark arts to get ahead—people whose deaths were not to be mourned.
Then, they would have Terence Lewis go and kneel before the old man, expressing deep sympathy for the ghost child’s tragic fate. He would beg the elder to spare its life on account of their shared bloodline, asking him not to obliterate its very soul.
Of course, it would be even better if the old man could purify it, or perhaps use another Magic Artifact to suppress it, making it obey Terence Lewis and stay by his side as a protector.
Arabella Donovan was stunned reading this. She shed a tear of profound sympathy for Mr. Lewis’s family.
’Did Mr. Lewis and Miss Cain dig up this family’s ancestral graves in a past life and then throw a rave on them or something? Why else would they be cursed to meet this nest of vipers and scorpions in this life? Not only did they murder his entire family, but they also want to force the child to serve his enemies and protect the very people who killed his father, his mother, and himself. It doesn’t get more cruel and twisted than this!’
Most importantly, according to the plot of the original novel, their scheme had most likely succeeded.
The thought of it made Arabella Donovan so angry she could have spat blood.
’No wonder that little ghost couldn’t even wait for Terence Lewis’s family’s afflictions to set in before sending them all to their graves. If it were me, I’d have to pan-fry and deep-fry them a few times over before I could ever get over my hatred!’
At this thought, Arabella Donovan couldn’t resist pulling up the book’s description of how Terence Lewis’s family met their end and savoring it for a moment. She then recited a few calming scriptures before she finally cooled down, her thoughts turning back to the repeatedly-deceived old man.
’I hope that old Daoist comes to his senses when he sees the box. I hope he gets a real taste of how sinister people can be, sharpens his wits, and stops letting himself be used as someone else’s weapon.’
Soon after resolving the messy situation with Mr. Lewis’s family, the Spring Festival arrived. The Donovans were all staying in Brynn to celebrate this year. Following Mrs. Donovan’s instructions, Mr. Donovan and Justin Donovan purchased a large, single-story apartment of over 200 square meters in a high-end complex near Brynn University.
Mrs. Donovan and Eloise Donovan had already gone out together to buy all the New Year’s supplies and had decorated the apartment from top to bottom.
Hector Donovan also wrapped up his film shoot early, turning down invitations from major TV networks for their New Year’s Eve specials to come home and be with his family.
Even Aurora Donovan, who practically lived in her lab, set aside her experiments, packed a bag, and came home, planning to stay for a few days before returning.
Considering that with Arabella Donovan gone, the estate would be rather lonely with only Dennis Donovan, Guinevere Preston, and Miles Donovan left, her family decided to have their own get-together at noon on New Year’s Eve. That evening, they packed up everyone and headed over to Dennis’s place to celebrate with him and his wife.
Dennis Donovan grumbled that Arabella and the others were too noisy and that there was never a quiet moment, but in reality, he was thrilled. He had Miles Donovan bring out all the fireworks and firecrackers from the storeroom for Arabella and the others to set off in the courtyard, which Guinevere Preston watched with a mixture of exasperation and amusement.
In stark contrast to the unity, harmony, and lively celebration of Arabella Donovan and her family, the old Rhodes Family estate, thousands of miles away, was a far more desolate and miserable scene.
"I heard our cousin spent a full five hundred million not long ago to buy two small, consecrated pendants off someone."