According to the progression of the dream, he had no intention of eating this last meal. Half an hour later, two eunuch party warriors would escort him out and hand him over to the warriors of the Cui family. And at the academy gate, the head of the Eunuch Party Academy, James Thompson, said two sentences to him. Then someone shot an arrow to assassinate James Thompson; although it hit his back, it was not fatal. James Thompson flew into a rage, ordered the execution of Henry Clark, and then declared war on the Cui family.

Henry Clark's mind raced, and he quickly reached a conclusion: this assassination was not normal.

First, James Thompson was highly skilled in martial arts; such an assassination could never succeed, and an arrow at that speed could never hit him.

Second, if someone wanted to kill James Thompson, why not use a poisoned arrow? When James Thompson pulled out the arrow, the blood that flowed was normal red, and he showed no signs of poisoning, which meant the arrow was not poisoned.

Therefore, this assassination was nothing but a self-directed ruse by James Thompson. The purpose was not to save Henry Clark, since he didn't care at all whether Henry Clark lived or died. The real aim was to help the Eunuch Party regain face and find an excuse to strike at the Cui family.

Because being forced to hand over Henry Clark had caused the Eunuch Party to lose face, the Cui family had to pay an even greater price. This ruse might be seen through, but so what? The Eunuch Party only needed a reason for revenge, to kill dozens of the Cui family and regain their honor.

Moreover, the Eunuch Party would not hand over Henry Clark alive, but would kill him directly and deliver his head to the Cui family. This was not surrender, but more like a tool of declaring war.

It had to be said that James Thompson was ruthless; for the sake of the Eunuch Party's honor, he killed Henry Clark without hesitation, and was even ruthless to himself, letting someone shoot him with an arrow.

So, in this situation, how could Henry Clark save himself?

At this moment, there was no bargaining chip between Henry Clark and James Thompson; the other could kill him as easily as crushing an ant. The only thing he could rely on was to move James Thompson with emotion and loyalty.

So there was only one way to save himself: when the assassination happened, Henry Clark would use the fastest speed to block the arrow for James Thompson, even at the cost of letting the sharp arrow pierce his own arm, putting on a tragic act of risking his life to save the headmaster.

I, Henry Clark, may have terrible grades, but I am absolutely loyal, with absolute love and admiration for the headmaster, even willing to give my life for him.

A thousand words are not as good as a single action.

Even though this was just another ruse, a more sophisticated one, no one would know. In this situation, no one would doubt Henry Clark's passionate loyalty.

Once Henry Clark successfully put on a show of risking his life to save James Thompson, whether he lived or died next would depend on James Thompson's character.

Either it would still be a dead end, for example, James Thompson might go with the flow and have Henry Clark killed, pretending he was shot in the assassination.

Or Henry Clark would not only survive, but soar to new heights, becoming the trusted confidant of the giant James Thompson!

This method of self-rescue was very dangerous and very resolute, but Henry Clark had no other choice.

A man dies and a bird flies to the sky; if you don't die, you live for ten thousand years.

Henry Clark was a person with a strong spirit of adventure, cherishing life but not afraid of death. He immediately decided on this plan to survive by facing death. Then he opened his heart and began to eat and drink heartily from the exquisite last meal.

Like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds, he wolfed down all the fine dishes and pearl rice. He only took a few sips of the fine wine, keeping himself slightly tipsy and excited, but not enough to affect his actions.

……

Two quarters of an hour later, the guards' voices sounded outside: "Time to go."

Then, the iron door of the dungeon was opened, and two eunuch party warriors came in.

"Brother, sorry about this."

The two eunuch party warriors stepped forward, grabbed Henry Clark, and dragged him out.

Leaving the cell, Henry Clark squinted his eyes, avoiding the dazzling sunlight.

Along the way, many students of the Eunuch Party Academy stood outside to see him off, their gazes filled with contempt, pity, or anger.

All of this was exactly the same as in the dream.

A dozen minutes later, they finally reached the main gate of the Eunuch Party Academy. Outside, a dense crowd of Cui family warriors stood, fully armed, their expressions cold and their eyes cruel—just like in the dream.

Henry Clark's gaze fell on the middle-aged couple outside the gate, still the same as in the dream: his wet nurse and wet nurse's husband were kneeling on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, their eyes fixed on him, full of infinite love and despair.

That familiar feeling surged in his heart again, like a child seeing his mother; after all, this was the body of Henry Clark in this world.

"Nanny, I won't die. I will be filial to you for a lifetime," Henry Clark said silently in his heart.

Not only did he have to survive, Henry Clark also wanted to make a name for himself and return to the capital, trampling underfoot the family that had discarded him like a worn-out shoe.

"Henry Clark, this world is very cruel." A familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded behind him.

Everyone immediately knelt in unison, not daring to breathe loudly; only the deep sound of footsteps echoed in the hall.

The person who could change Henry Clark's fate had arrived: the Eunuch Party giant of Guangxi Province, James Thompson, head of the Eunuch Party Academy, and commander of the Eastern Depot of the Great Ning Dynasty.

All of this was still exactly as in the dream.

The moment that would decide Henry Clark's life or death was about to arrive, and he began to count down in his heart. Life or death? Or even a meteoric rise—it all depended on this moment.