Tang Xiaonan was fair and had delicate skin, making her a mosquito magnet. Even when she wore long-sleeved shirts and pants, the mosquitoes could still bite her through the fabric. The mountain mosquitoes weren’t large, but their bites were nasty. She had to be fully geared up whenever she went out at night, or she’d end up with a dozen incredibly itchy welts.

Jim Thorne carried Tang Xiaonan on his back, walking at a brisk pace. Tang Xiaonan kept waving the mugwort leaves, and they were surprisingly effective. The swarm of mosquitoes that had been circling over her head was gone.

"Jim, wait a second."

Tang Xiaonan patted Jim Thorne on the head to get him to stop. She had spotted Ulysses Spann. He was standing with his side profile facing her, and when she glanced over just now, she felt that his profile looked like someone’s—it was an uncanny resemblance, someone she definitely knew.

"Jim, take a look. Who does Ulysses Spann look like to you?" Tang Xiaonan asked in a low voice.

Jim Thorne didn’t even look, saying dismissively, "He either looks like Vernon Spann or that sly vixen. What’s there to see?"

Tang Xiaonan smacked him harder. "Just look before you talk!" she said, annoyed.

Jim Thorne rubbed the back of his head and took a serious look. He actually noticed something. "Huh, the little bastard doesn’t look like Vernon Spann, or that sly vixen. He doesn’t look like Linden Golding, either."

He didn’t resemble his parents or his uncle. Ulysses Spann’s appearance was indeed a bit strange, but Jim Thorne still didn’t think much of it. "Maybe he takes after Vernon Spann’s side of the family. I take after my grandma, after all."

Tang Xiaonan stared intently at Ulysses Spann, not hearing what Jim Thorne said. A flash of inspiration had just struck her again; if she thought about it a little more, she would get it. Suddenly, a name flashed through her mind. Tang Xiaonan’s eyes lit up. She knew who he looked like.

In her excitement, her grip tightened, and she forgot she was pulling Jim Thorne’s hair. Jim Thorne hissed in pain but couldn’t bring himself to scold his sister, so he just rubbed his own scalp.

"Jim, I know who he looks like! He looks like Mr. Xavier! Look at his nose and eyes, aren’t they exactly the same?"

Tang Xiaonan was thrilled. Once she was sure it was Clayton Xavier, the more she looked, the stronger the resemblance became. His profile, in particular—the eyes and nose—was a dead ringer for Clayton Xavier’s. But while those same features on Clayton Xavier made him a Young Master Jade, on Ulysses Spann, they just made him an obnoxious scoundrel.

Jim Thorne looked over, puzzled. ’How could he possibly look like Clayton Xavier? That’s impossible. Is Xiaonan going nearsighted?’

But as he stared for a few moments, his expression grew more and more surprised. Now that he looked closely, there really was a resemblance. However—

"Actually, he looks more like Clayton Xavier’s old man. It’s not just the eyes and nose; his mouth is like Storm Xavier’s too. That’s weird. Why would Ulysses Spann look like Storm Xavier?"

Jim Thorne muttered to himself, unable to figure it out. He was only eleven, after all, and his thoughts were simple; he couldn’t possibly imagine such crooked dealings. Tang Xiaonan, however, understood immediately and was secretly shocked.

’If I’m not mistaken, Ulysses Spann must be the illegitimate son of Phoenix Golding and Storm Xavier. No wonder Vernon Spann can’t stand his son and only likes his daughter, while Phoenix Golding is the exact opposite, doting only on her son.’

’That woman is truly audacious, brazenly cuckolding Vernon Spann and making him raise another man’s child. But Vernon Spann is no saint either. The two of them, a scummy man and a trashy woman, are a match made in heaven—a couple of dogs.’

The siblings ran into Adrian Hawthorne on their way. He was coming down the mountain carrying a hoe, having just finished his work. Two plump wild rabbits were hanging from the hoe head, blood dripping from their mouths. He had killed them with a single strike of his hoe.

"Mr. Hawthorne."

Tang Xiaonan called out from a distance. She had already fully adapted to her role as a six-year-old child and was happily playing the part.

Adrian Hawthorne smiled. "I was just about to bring you these rabbits."

"Here’s some pork liver for you. From a pig butchered today."

Jim Thorne thrust the basket at him and took the fattest rabbit from the hoe without the slightest hesitation.