No matter what, at least I’ve finally gotten rid of the bewitching nickname ‘Dalang’.

William Harris held the blueprint, showing it to Old Grant while explaining.

“These pieces of furniture can be made, but it will take some effort.

To make the whole set, it’ll cost at least one string and three hundred wen... If you want it done, it’ll take two days. Sophie, do you think that’s acceptable?”

Two days seemed reasonable.

William Harris immediately left the five hundred wen from Ryan Harris as a deposit, agreed with Old Grant on the pickup time, and then got up to take his leave. As he was leaving, he noticed Emily curled up on a couch to the side, having fallen asleep at some point.

Looking at the sky, it was about the time of You hour.

No wonder Emily had fallen asleep, after spending the whole afternoon explaining things to Old Grant.

Feeling sorry, William Harris gently picked up Emily, bid farewell to Old Grant, and walked back home along the village path.

At dinner, Ryan Harris returned, exhausted and out of breath.

He handed a leather pouch to William Harris, “Altogether, it’s three strings and four hundred wen. Big brother, please count it.”

“What’s there to count? We’re brothers—do you think I don’t trust you?

Earlier you gave me five hundred wen, so the total is three strings and nine hundred wen. Let’s just call it four strings... I’ve already arranged for someone to get things ready. At the latest, we can start in three days. Brian, I might need you to help out then, to handle some details.”

“That’s only right, of course.”

Before he knew it, he’d become a grasshopper tied to the same rope as William Harris.

Ryan Harris’s attitude changed as well, and he became even more respectful toward William Harris.

After dinner, the two sat in the main hall to talk.

The Harris Family took Emily to tidy up the rooms, preparing for the arrival of The Scott Family and her daughter in a couple of days.

“Brian, do you have any thoughts about that murder case today?”

To be honest, facing a thirteen-year-old, William Harris really struggled to find common topics. After chatting for a while, he suddenly changed the subject to the corpse they’d found earlier that day.

Upon hearing this, Ryan Harris’s face immediately turned pale.

He hesitated for a moment, then said softly, “What could I think... This is the borderlands, fights and brawls happen all the time. I’m not afraid of you laughing at me, big brother, but I’ve spent a year as an assistant with Dad, and I’ve heard about countless deaths. Last year, I heard Captain Grant say that someone died in the county town, and the body wasn’t even whole.”

In the Tang era, the people were bold and martial, and wandering knights were popular and highly respected.

William Harris remembered that during the Tang dynasty, there was an incident: a wealthy man was a die-hard fan of wandering knights, and whenever a knight visited, he would entertain them warmly. One day, a rough-looking knight arrived carrying a bloody sack, claiming he had killed a corrupt official and needed to flee, hoping to borrow a hundred thousand strings of cash from the rich man, offering the official’s head as collateral.

It was an absurd story, but the rich man actually agreed.

The knight took the money and disappeared. Later, the rich man sensed something was wrong, opened the sack, and found a pig’s head inside.

It sounds a bit ridiculous, but in a way, it reflects the popularity of wandering knights.

It was in this environment that Li Bai’s famous “Song of the Knight-Errant” was written.

Seeing that Ryan Harris wasn’t interested, William Harris’s eyes turned and he immediately came up with a plan.

“That may be so, but as children, we should help ease our parents’ worries.

With a case like this, it’ll eventually fall to Dad to handle. If Dad catches the culprit, that’s fine, but if not, he’ll surely be punished by his superiors. I’ve heard that the current The Magistrate is a man who doesn’t tolerate the slightest mistake.”

Ryan Harris nodded repeatedly at this.

“That’s true.

Dad also said that Magistrate Walker is different from the previous magistrates. The old ones came to Changping just to pad their resumes, but Magistrate Walker really seems to want to do something. Since taking office, he’s been very diligent and solves cases like a god.

I heard from Dad that Magistrate Walker comes from a prestigious family, supposedly the Wang clan of Taiyuan.

He’s been in Changping for over two years and never goes home to visit his family. Even during holidays, he stays in the county to celebrate with the people. To this day, he lives alone in the county office, never seeking out women, almost like an ascetic monk.

Big brother, what’s an ascetic monk?”

“An ascetic monk is someone who is strict with himself and wholeheartedly seeks the Way.”

Ryan Harris scratched his head, half-understanding.

William Harris then said seriously, “Since the magistrate is such a person, he’ll definitely take this case seriously.

Brian, to tell you the truth... This morning, I found some clues, so I want to help Dad out.”

But Ryan Harris shook his head repeatedly, “Big brother, you’d better stay out of this. I heard from Dad that there were a lot of killers, and they’re not weak. At noon, Dad even took me to Yangweiba, saying that’s where the murder actually happened.

This isn’t something we brothers can get involved in. Since Dad has already entrusted it to Captain Grant, he must have his own plan.”

Robert Harris, he’d already found the crime scene before I told him?

William Harris was stunned, feeling extremely surprised.