Little Brian stared at Ethan Brooks in surprise and asked, “Did you hurt your brain or something? But Mr. Ethan, I’ve noticed your brain actually seems to work better than before.”

Ethan Brooks let out a frustrated sigh and said, “My head got hit on the battlefield, and I forgot some things, especially stuff about my family. I think I told you all about this before, right? How could a family disciple like me end up joining the army? Even if I had to serve, I should have had a servant go in my place. Why am I so miserable?”

Brian Cooper looked at Ethan Brooks sympathetically and said, “Mr. Ethan, it really seems like your head took quite a hit. You told me all this before, and now you’ve actually forgotten it yourself.”

As soon as Ethan Brooks heard this, he perked up and quickly said, “Then hurry up and tell me.” He knew he wasn’t well-liked in his family, but he didn’t know the reason. He vaguely felt it had something to do with his father, but that probably wasn’t the main cause.

Brian Cooper gathered his thoughts before saying, “You said that four years ago, when you were fifteen, because of a marriage arranged by your grandfather when you were little, you met your fiancée for the first time.”

“So what?” Ethan Brooks thought, did I lose my virginity just from that one meeting? But you can’t really tell from that.

Brian Cooper ignored Ethan Brooks’s impatience and continued slowly, “Didn’t you say you were set up during that meeting? The girl from the Ning family invited you, but then claimed you tried to assault her. Of course, you got beaten up badly and were sent to live in a thatched hut where even the servants of the Brooks family wouldn’t stay, and you lost your monthly allowance. You also said that if it hadn’t been for your cousin Grace Brooks, you wouldn’t have survived.”

“My skinny little body could assault a woman? That’s ridiculous. I was even smaller four years ago.” Ethan Brooks lifted his thin arm, on the verge of tears, thinking to himself, I’m even more wronged than Dou E.

“Yeah, you kept saying you were framed back then too,” Brian Cooper said innocently.

Chapter 014: Rare Clarity in Confusion

“What’s her name?” Ethan Brooks had no memory at all of this fiancée he supposedly ‘assaulted.’

Brian Cooper seemed used to Ethan Brooks not remembering this and immediately replied, “She’s from the Ning family in Linping, her name is Ella King.”

Ella King, that’s quite a unique name. As Ethan Brooks tried hard to recall any impression of Ella King, Brian Cooper continued, “You said back then that Ella King called you out to talk about breaking off the engagement, but it seemed like you drugged her water. Ella King only fainted for a short while before waking up, and when she did, she found you trying to assault her, and then, well…”

And then it was over, right? Anyone could guess what happened next—it was obviously a setup. The only question was whether it was someone from the Brooks family or Ella King herself. But girls these days are really something. Four years ago, I was only fifteen, and Ella King was probably at most fifteen too, yet she could come out and propose a breakup herself. Impressive, really impressive.

As for the setup, Ethan Brooks didn’t know what kind of person the original Liam Brooks was, but he still found it hard to believe that this skinny guy would try to assault his own fiancée—especially one he was about to break up with. That’s just too ridiculous.

People say you only think about lust when you’re well-fed. Back then, I could barely get enough to eat, so how could I have had the energy for that? And even if I did, I wouldn’t be so desperate as to assault a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl.

“What happened after that?” Ethan Brooks seemed to be listening to a story and was getting more and more interested.

Brian Cooper was speechless. He’d been abandoned by his fiancée and set up, yet Mr. Ethan’s resilience was truly extraordinary—he was still eager to hear what happened next. When he first told this story, Ethan Brooks’s expression was nothing like this.

But Brian Cooper still answered, “You said the reason Ella King broke off the engagement was because she was favored by the direct line of the Ning family and taken away from Linping. They said she was accepted into some sect…”

“Wait, did you say a sect?” Ethan Brooks felt a bit uneasy. Why did this sound like a martial arts movie, with sects and all that? Was it Shaolin or Wudang? But those don’t accept female disciples. Could it be Emei?

Brian Cooper shook his head like a rattle drum. “I don’t know. Big Brother Samuel knows a bit, but he rarely talks about it. It seems that disciples with good talent from big families are all sent to some sect, but I don’t really know what a sect is.”

Seeing that Brian Cooper seemed to know even less than he did, Ethan Brooks figured there was no point in asking further. As long as he knew the gist of it, that was enough.

After eating and drinking his fill, even sleeping in this broken-down temple tonight felt fine. Tomorrow, he’d earn some money and then leave Xizhou City.

“Sleep.” After asking all that, Ethan Brooks lost interest in anything else, said just one word, and fell asleep without a care.

Brian Cooper looked at the already sleeping Ethan Brooks and muttered to himself, “Mr. Ethan really is open-minded now. His resilience is something else.”

Right now, Ethan Brooks didn’t have a penny to his name, and no one was after him. He slept soundly until dawn, then got up to wash by the river and headed to the banks of the Xiliu River with Brian Cooper.