People gathered together in groups of three or five, whispering to each other, discussing the murder that had happened at the entrance of the village.

For people of this era, there wasn’t much particular fun in daily life. It was rare to encounter a murder, so naturally, people’s gossiping instincts came to the fore. A group of children were running and playing under the big locust tree at the village entrance. When William Harris appeared, several children immediately ran over, laughing, and surrounded William Harris, chattering nonstop.

In the eyes of these children, the somewhat silly and dazed William Harris was actually considered their friend.

“Brother Sizi, do you know who the dead person is?”

William Harris shook his head and asked with a smile, “Of course I don’t know. Did any of you see him?”

A child whispered, “Brother Sizi, I really did see that person... Yesterday, when I went up the mountain to gather herbs, I saw him heading into the mountains. Oh, and he asked me for directions to Maitreya Temple, and even gave me two coins.”

As he spoke, the child quietly took out two Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, clearly showing off a little.

William Harris squinted his eyes and took the two coins from the child’s hand. After fiddling with them for a moment, he suddenly said, “Shan Gouzi, how about you give me these two coins? I’ll give you five coins, but you can’t tell anyone else about this.”

Shan Gouzi agreed to William Harris’s request almost without thinking.

In his mind, Brother Sizi really was silly—trading five coins for two... Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage of that, so of course Shan Gouzi agreed. After taking the coins from William Harris, he ran off with the other children.

William Harris put the coins away and headed straight home.

Although William Harris had lived in this small village for over a decade, he actually wasn’t very familiar with the villagers.

The villagers didn’t like dealing with a fool. When David Harris was alive, he would handle things himself; after David Harris passed away, there was still The Harris Family at home. If The Harris Family couldn’t resolve something, someone would go to Robert Harris to negotiate.

William Harris returned home and told The Harris Family that Robert Harris would be coming back soon, then went alone to the backyard.

“Emily, get me a bowl of water, hot water.”

Emily was playing in the flowerbed. Hearing William Harris’s call, she answered crisply and soon brought over a bowl of hot water.

Placing the bowl on the porch, William Harris lifted his robe and sat cross-legged.

“Brother Sizi, what are you doing?”

Emily stopped playing in the flowerbed and, imitating William Harris, sat cross-legged beside him, asking curiously.

William Harris smiled and said softly, “Emily, shall I show you a magic trick?”

“A magic trick? Yes, yes! Emily loves magic tricks the most!”

Emily immediately beamed with joy, clapping her little hands and laughing.

William Harris then took out the two coins and dropped them into the bowl with a clang.

Then, he sat beside the bowl, quietly watching the water inside, not blinking once. Emily stared with her big, dark eyes, watching with William Harris. After a long while, she asked a little aggrieved, “Brother Sizi, what magic trick are you doing... Emily’s eyes are sore, but I haven’t seen any magic trick?”

“Nothing?”

A hint of delight appeared on William Harris’s face.

He pointed to a layer of oil floating on the water and said softly, “Emily, do you see this? What is it?”

“Oil?”

Emily Harris answered obediently, then looked at William Harris in confusion and said, “Brother Sizi, the bowl I brought was clean, there was no oil. Where did this oil come from? Did you make it appear? How?”

“Smell it. Does this oil have a scent?”

“Yes!”

Emily picked up the bowl, sniffed with her delicate little nose, “It smells a bit gamey, like mutton fat.”

“That’s right!”

William Harris poured out the hot water from the bowl, then handed the two coins to Emily.

“Thank you, Emily, for helping me with the magic trick. This is your reward.”

Emily was a bit confused, but still happily accepted the coins.

Only then did William Harris stand up, stretch lazily, move his limbs a bit, and then let out a long breath.

He stepped off the porch and stood in front of the flowerbed, his gaze passing over the flowers and looking toward the vast Hugu Mountain.

Maitreya Temple?

William Harris squinted his eyes, murmuring to himself, curiosity shining in his eyes.

At lunchtime, Robert Harris brought Ryan Harris home.

He first took Ryan Harris to offer incense to David Harris, then ate in the main hall.

According to Tang dynasty customs, after David Harris’s death, Robert Harris should have resigned from office and observed mourning for three years. However, Changping was a bitterly cold and remote border area, with harsh living conditions, low salary, and great danger. Most people, especially those with some background, were unwilling to come here to serve. Moreover, Robert Harris had been in Changping for over a decade, always kept a low profile, and had fairly good relations with people. So after David Harris’s death, Robert Harris had requested to resign and observe mourning, but his superior refused.

“Achunu, you’re quite bold.”

After lunch, Robert Harris took William Harris to the mourning hall.