Ed continued, "Although the ghost spirit had fallen asleep, the moonlight was unbearable."

"So, the three of us had no choice but to hide in an abandoned house in the village, locked inside, trying to avoid the moonlight."

The one-eyed man nodded, his approval apparent. He pressed urgently, "And then?"

Ed replied, "We were trapped inside the barrier, not knowing when it would disappear. We were also afraid the ghost spirit might come after us."

"So, we just stayed in there, terrified, unsure of what to do."

At this point, the one-eyed man interrupted, furrowing his brow. "I used a sound transmission spell to call out to you. You should not have been able to hear me inside the house, right?"

"In other words, you were already outside! But you should have stayed inside the house hiding. Why did you come out?"

Ed kept his head lowered deliberately, not just to hide his expression but also to project a weaker, victimized tone in his voice.

"Ah, as the only survivor under the ghost spirit's hand, even now, when I think back on that time, I still feel cold all over and my mind is a mess."

"You're right, sir, at first, we did plan to stay hidden in the house. But the ghost spirit wouldn't let us."

"After being trapped inside for several hours, the ghost spirit suddenly woke up, broke out of the cellar, and started hunting us down by our scent!"

At this point, Ed's voice trembled with a touch of fear:

"Facing the powerful ghost spirit, the three of us were powerless and had nowhere to escape. We could only unite and fight together, risking everything against the ghost spirit!"

"But the gap in strength was too great. In the end, they both died in battle, and I barely managed to survive. The ghost spirit then disappeared, retreating into the cellar."

"As for when you used your sound transmission, that was exactly when we came out, preparing to face the ghost spirit!"

Ed spoke with vivid detail, and even Thomas, listening nearby, couldn't help but believe it.

But the one-eyed man's expression suddenly darkened, and he glared at Ed, his voice rising as he shouted:

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Lying to me with such a false story, do you think I'll believe you?!"

It was as if the one-eyed man had seen through the cracks in Ed's story. His face turned red with anger, and he even reached for his sword.

Thomas, standing nearby, felt a chill run through him.

The one-eyed man scoffed, "You think I don't know? You and Brown and Brian had a terrible relationship. You were fighting among yourselves earlier!"

"How could you suddenly unite and fight side by side?"

"In the end, only the two of them died, and you survived. How could that be so suspicious?!"

Thomas's face turned pale at the words. How did the one-eyed man know these things? Of course, the one-eyed man had learned them when he had questioned Thomas and the others earlier.

When Thomas was questioned, he had no choice but to tell the truth about everything Brown and Brian had done after arriving at the abandoned village. How could Thomas dare to withhold information?

So, the one-eyed man naturally learned that Ed's relationship with the two was terrible!

However, the one-eyed man only thought it was because Brown had lost to Ed in the earlier challenge and was feeling resentful.

Since Brown and Brian had deliberately hidden the truth, the one-eyed man did not know that Ed was actually their classmate.

The one-eyed man's eyes widened in disbelief as he glared at Ed again. His voice boomed:

"And there's one more thing! A ghost spirit, after falling into slumber, cannot easily wake up unless something major happens!"

"How could it suddenly come after you?!"

As he spoke, the one-eyed man reached behind him, about to draw his sword. Since Ed was lying to him, it meant that he must be hiding something!

The one-eyed man was now convinced that Ed was not trustworthy!

Seeing the one-eyed man's suspicion growing, even preparing to draw his sword, Ed immediately put on a panicked expression.

But inside, he remained calm. "This one-eyed man is just as hard to deceive as I expected. Thankfully, I've been prepared."

Then, Ed quickly shifted to a scared, almost tearful demeanor, stepping back and frantically waving his hands.

"No, no, no! Sir, please calm down, don't draw your sword. What I said earlier was not true—I was just worried about retaliation from the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association!"

"In reality, the situation is like this..."

Ed began again, speaking the prepared words fluently:

"I've never been on good terms with Brown and Brian. At first, we were all hiding in the cabin to avoid the moonlight, but we're enemies, so we weren't in the same cabin."

"We were hiding well, but soon, Brown suddenly came out of the other cabin. He said the ghost spirit was currently weak and suggested that we take advantage of the opportunity to kill it and take the treasure!"

"If we waited until the ghost spirit regained its strength and came back out, they would be dead for sure! So, not wanting to sit idly by, they decided to take a gamble. Before heading out, they even asked me to join in to increase our chances."

At this point, the one-eyed man's expression shifted several times, and his hand, which had been reaching for his sword, slowly stopped.

Ed continued, "I agreed to temporarily team up with them to deal with the ghost spirit, and that's when we went outside."

"Then, Brian went to the cellar and threw a bottle of explosive potion down. The ghost spirit was startled, and we began our battle with it!"

The one-eyed man frowned slightly and blurted out, "Small Explosion Potion! That's something Brian did indeed have a bottle of. I gave him plenty of resources."

He looked at Ed and asked, "So what happened afterward?"

Ed deliberately hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and saying, "The ghost spirit was incredibly powerful. Even with the three of us teaming up, we were still too weak. We quickly started losing."

"In the end, seeing that we were about to lose, I betrayed Brown and Brian, escaping on my own. That's why they were killed by the ghost spirit, and I survived."

"Afterward, the ghost spirit didn't kill me. Instead, it dragged Brown and Brian's bodies into the cellar, and I hid there until the barrier disappeared. I don't know where the ghost spirit went after that."

Upon hearing Ed's account, the one-eyed man sighed heavily, his face hard with regret as he muttered to himself:

"I knew it. Those two couldn't keep their cool! They acted too rashly, too greedily! That's why they ended up being killed by the ghost spirit!"

"Such a shame! My disciples... they're gone just like that!"

The one-eyed man, usually a strong, imposing figure, showed unmasked sorrow in front of others.

This was because, as a Hunter who could not reproduce, Hunters often chose apprentices, and their apprentices became like their own children.

So, losing his only disciple, Brian, made the one-eyed man understandably upset.

Ed secretly raised his head and saw the one-eyed man's sorrowful expression, and a sense of relief washed over him. It seemed like he had believed him!

The brilliance of Ed's story lay in the fact that he hadn't made up a completely fabricated lie.

Instead, he mixed a portion of truth with a part he had invented, half true and half false, making it nearly impossible to detect.

And this time, his reasoning was more convincing. Brown and Brian's deaths were because of their own greed and impatience.

By the one-eyed man's reaction, it was clear that he understood the nature of those two. This would dispel much of his suspicion.

After a long silence, the one-eyed man finally looked at Ed again. Though his face still held traces of anger, he had regained some composure.

"It seems, Ed, I misjudged you. I'm sure you've heard by now, but I represent the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, and I have some important matters to discuss with you."

The one-eyed man's expression shifted to something more formal, his tone now much more serious.

Ed immediately seized on his words and shifted the topic: "I've indeed heard of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association. Are you looking to recruit me?"

Ed took the opportunity to take control of the conversation. The story he had fabricated sounded plausible on the surface, but in reality, there were plenty of inconsistencies that wouldn't hold up under scrutiny.

Ed certainly hoped that the one-eyed man wouldn't think too much about it.

The one-eyed man nodded in response: "That's right. I was wondering, Mr. Ed, have you ever been a member of an association? If not, then I assure you that the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association is definitely worth considering."

Ed shook his head, indicating that he had never been a part of an association.

The one-eyed man immediately lit up, then continued: "Well then, Mr. Ed, what do you think of our association? Please believe me when I say that in all of Dorey City, we are the absolute power."

"And once you join, we will offer you resources far beyond what any other association could provide, as well as the utmost respect."

The one-eyed man tried to recruit Ed, completely overlooking the fact that in the story Ed had concocted, he had betrayed Brown and Brian in order to escape and save himself. The one-eyed man didn't mind.

This was because Ed had already demonstrated immense talent, a talent that had impressed everyone. Recruiting him had been a goal of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association for a long time.

In fact, just a moment ago, when he was communicating with Reve, Reve had casually mentioned that if Ed was alive, they would do whatever it took to bring him into the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association.

For the one-eyed man, losing his disciple was indeed heartbreaking, but between two dead members and a living Ed, the importance was clear.

"Well… thank you for your association's kindness, but I still need some time to think about it," Ed replied, somewhat evasively. He hadn't yet considered joining the association.

Moreover, the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association had enemies within him, and he naturally felt more opposed to this recruitment offer.

However, Ed couldn't openly express his aversion, and if he outright rejected the offer, it was likely that the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association wouldn't let it go so easily.

For a moment, Ed found himself in a difficult position.

The one-eyed man noticed Ed's hesitation and pressed further:

"A Hunter with such extraordinary talent like yours, don't you want to participate in the Imperial Capital Hunter Tournament? The Imperial Capital Tournament is a whole different level from the city tournament."

"Only an association has the qualification to register!"

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