After successfully transferring Arabella to the high-security prison, Taras could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, Arabella slipped back into a coma in the car, and upon entering the hospital, another round of emergency treatment was required to barely get through the critical period.
Arabella lay on the hospital bed, looking exceptionally frail. It was as if the ruthless person who acted so decisively in the restaurant this morning was not her at all, and the invincible figure she had been during the confrontation seemed like a mere illusion.
"The suspect is probably not going to make it. Her heart and lung function is failing severely, and she could stop breathing at any moment."
Taras sat in the warden's office, deep in thought, holding a report made by several doctors after joint diagnosis. The report confirmed the doctor's previous findings. Arabella seemed to be experiencing a brief resurgence before death today. Could it be that she knew she would never get her hands on Cyrus's body, so even her last breath had faded away?
Faceless Ghost returned after bandaging his wound and, seeing the solemn look on Taras's face, assumed he was worried about the recent prison break attempt.
"Don't worry, she's in prison now; what's there to be concerned about? I just checked with the officers monitoring the state guesthouse. Both Julius and Jasper are there, and they haven't shown any suspicious behavior."
Faceless Ghost paused, a bit disgruntled, and said, "Besides, the other side might not even be able to beat me. I'm only in this state because I'm injured."
Taras glanced at him and shook his head, saying, "After a prolonged battle, you would have definitely lost. Even though you're injured, he was only using about 30-40% of his focus on fighting you. His real attention was always on me and Arabella in that ambulance. His skills are definitely above yours. That person's build looks somewhat familiar to me, but it's clearly neither AE nor Raven. It's strange."
Faceless Ghost shrugged indifferently, saying, "Whoever that guy is, he still didn't manage to rescue Arabella."
Speaking of Arabella, Taras's face grew serious. "Arabella is about to die."
"How is that possible? This woman nearly ruined my arm just now, and now you're saying she's going to die?"
"If your wound is fine, go check on Arabella!"
Faceless Ghost froze for a moment, then immediately understood what Taras meant. Without a word, he stood up, opened the door, and headed towards the single room where Arabella was being held.
About half an hour later, he returned and shook his head at Taras. "There are no signs of any disguise. It can't be Caracal. Besides, how could Caracal suddenly have heart and lung failure for no reason?"
Taras frowned, about to ask, but was interrupted by Faceless Ghost. "You're wondering if Caracal could have better disguise skills than me? So I didn't notice?"
Faceless Ghost had voiced his thoughts directly, and Taras, a bit embarrassed, rubbed his nose with his finger. After a moment, he nodded.
Faceless Ghost sat back down in his chair, saying grumpily, "That's right, he and I have not mastered the art of discernment, so even if we passed each other face to face, we would not recognize each other. But what the eyes cannot detect, the hands may perceive. Even a flawless disguise carries that layer of pretense. While an outsider might not notice, I, of course, can sense the difference."
Taras was curious. "Why didn't you two learn identification techniques?"
When this topic came up, Faceless Ghost looked a bit uncomfortable. "I don't know why, but I just can't learn it. I've mastered disguise techniques, but when it comes to identification, I'm completely useless. I bet Caracal is probably the same. It's too difficult for him to learn."
Speaking of Caracal, Taras immediately thought of someone else. "Do you know what kind of relationship your master has with Arabella? How could Arabella send Caracal to him to learn his skills?"
At the mention of this, Faceless Ghost scratched the back of his head and recalled for a moment. "I only remember once, late at night, I saw the old master drinking and he briefly mentioned this matter. But at that time, I wasn't involved in the 'Tumor Project', so I didn't know anything about Arabella. When the old master mentioned it, I didn't connect the person he was talking about to Arabella at all."
"Oh? What did he say?"
"He said that in his younger days, he was reckless and brash. For someone like him, choosing to become a ghost meant severing all ties. Yet, relying on his exceptional skills, he would secretly reach out to his family from time to time. He had parents, a sister, and even a wife. Initially, he carefully controlled the frequency of his visits, ensuring no one would notice. But when his wife became pregnant, he couldn't resist visiting more often, and eventually, his enemies at the time caught wind of it."
"So, his enemies captured his family? And then Arabella saved them? Is that why he owes her a favor?"
Faceless Ghost waved his hand in denial. "Quite the opposite. His enemies killed his entire family on the spot, all five of them, including the unborn child. Master was about to seek revenge, but on the way, he encountered a young girl, about the same age as his sister, maybe eighteen, who was also being chased. She had the same hatred in her eyes as he did. He felt sympathy for her and helped her out, disguising her so she could escape from her pursuers."
This time, Taras was surprised. "Could it be that the girl he casually saved is Arabella? When has Arabella been chased?"
Faceless Ghost nodded and replied, "I only found out about Arabella's background later, which made me connect the dots. I believe the time the old master saved Arabella was when the Ackerley family sent hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers to block Arabella and Cyrus from escaping."
Taras thought for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Based on what you know about your master, is it possible—"
"Is it possible he's still helping Arabella? Or are you asking if my master is so skilled that I couldn't notice?" Faceless Ghost, being sharp, immediately understood what Taras was implying.
Since it was important, Taras chose to be straightforward. "The person who appeared today has such impressive skills and marksmanship that I can't help but suspect it was the real Arabella, playing a trick to switch places."
"Then why don't you suspect that Julius inside the State Guest house was actually impersonated by Caracal, and it was Julius who came to rescue?"
"I once fought with Julius in a fight—his moves bore a distinct personal style, sharp and lethal, each strike aimed to kill. Moreover, though the person before me deliberately wrapped themselves in loose clothing, their back was slender, with a physique more akin to a woman or a minor, certainly not that of a strong, full-grown man."
Faceless Ghost sighed. "Actually, I've always thought the old master should have died a long time ago."
"Why do you say that?"
"When I left my apprenticeship years ago, the old fellow said, with an air of detachment, that he had settled all his affairs in the world. His words carried a sense of complete release, as if he were free of all earthly ties. I suspect his enemies had met their end, which is why he spoke so. In any case, he was never seen again after that."
Taras frowned and asked, "With your master's abilities, it should be easy for him to completely hide, right?"
"As long as a person is alive, there will be traces. It's impossible to hide completely. Besides, we have to constantly change our identities, and the act of changing itself leaves traces. Unless he's like a dead man, staying in one place with no traces of life. To do that as a living person is terrifying in itself. And don't say Arabella imprisoned or threatened him to do things. If he had replaced Arabella and was locked up here, facing the risk of being executed, do you think he would just comply? The old master is no pushover, it's absolutely impossible. And even if the old master was disguised, I could still figure it out."
"It seems I've been overthinking. But the sudden success in capturing Arabella, with victory within reach, feels too unreal."
Faceless Ghost pointed to his injured shoulder, then patted Taras's shoulder. "Come on, after all the effort we've put in over the years, it's no surprise we'll succeed. It's just that heaven is helping us. Arabella is seriously ill, and she absolutely deserves it after all the evil she's done."
While Taras and Faceless Ghost were discussing, Bramwell successfully found Caracal, who had already disguised himself as a prison guard, in the prison by using their pre-arranged signal.
"Excuse me, do you have a cigarette?" Bramwell gestured with his fingers, meeting the eyes of the prison guard disguised by Caracal.
Caracal replied with a hint of politeness, "Sorry, officer, there's only one place in the prison where smoking is allowed. How about this? I'm on break, so I'll go with you."
"Thank you then."
When the two entered the smoking room, it was empty. The room was small, fitting only a table and a few chairs. They lit their cigarettes, silently smoking for a moment before Bramwell, facing the door and on guard, spoke quietly first: "No idea where these people came from, almost messed things up."
"Could it be the person from the State Guest house?"
Bramwell took a deep drag of his cigarette and firmly denied, his words cutting through the smoke: "Impossible, the body shape doesn't match. Besides, they've definitely done their checks."
Caracal didn't meet Bramwell's gaze, continuing to smoke in silence. After a while, he extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray and stood up, speaking quietly: "Faceless Ghost would never expect that the more impossible things are, the more likely they are to happen. Don't worry, they won't discover the truth."
Bramwell didn't get up, only watching as Caracal opened the door and walked out directly. He knew that Caracal had already figured out who was lying in the prison. Arabella has always been meticulous and never trusts anyone easily. As a result, each of them initially knew only a fragment of her plan, tasked solely with completing their own part. It was only as events unfolded that the threads gradually connected, revealing the full truth step by step.
However, the sudden appearance of someone outside the plan today gave him a wake-up call. Nicholas and Julius, who had been kept in the dark by Arabella, might have already guessed that something was wrong. Julius was a ruthless person, and Nicholas was a madman. If these two teamed up, they might spoil Arabella's scheme.
But if he could sense it, there was no reason why Arabella wouldn't notice it. Bramwell dared not act rashly. At this critical moment, where life and death hung in the balance, he always believed that Arabella could do what she set out to do. Just like the day he betrayed his former side, he would stay by her side forever, never leaving until death.
