Brian Brooks, relying on the instincts left behind by this body after years of immersion at the Imperial Academy, sensed that this Stephen Carter was probably not just an ordinary child scholar or xiucai. At the very least, he must have passed the provincial exam to become a juren. This could be felt from the unyielding and composed aura the other exuded—even in such a perilous situation, he could still maintain a certain bearing. Not simple at all.

“It seems Mr. Carter is indeed a learned man,” Brian Brooks remarked in a calm, indifferent tone.

Stephen Carter was also taken aback. Although he knew this youth was likely the master of the house, after all, he was just an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy. In this situation, it should have been the robust, imposing man who took charge. Unexpectedly, it was the youth who spoke up first.

“Not at all. I have indeed studied for a few years, but half my life has been spent drifting about. Best not to mention it,” Stephen Carter was unwilling to talk about his past, feeling somewhat ashamed. Though he had passed the imperial exam, he was dismissed from office after only a year, setting a record among his peers of that examination year.

“Then how can you prove you are not in league with the bandits?” Brian Brooks did not let the matter drop easily, at least wanting to probe the other’s background.

Stephen Carter hadn’t expected someone so young to be so aggressive. He paused for a moment before slowly replying, “Surely, young sir, you are aware of the chaos in the city today. If I were a bandit’s accomplice, would I be bringing along two women, one old and one young? Besides, you can probably tell from my accent—I’ve noticed all the bandits in the city today speak with a Shandong accent. No matter how foolish the bandits are, they wouldn’t choose someone like me, with a Jiangnan accent and two women in tow, to act as an inside man, would they?”

In truth, Brian Brooks had never really suspected these three of being bandit accomplices. He was just instinctively trying to learn more about them.

But this fellow was indeed glib, washing his hands of any involvement so cleanly that it made it hard for Brian Brooks to press further about his origins.

“And what about you two?” Brian Brooks turned to the other two.

“We are both from Jinling. Linqing is a northern commercial port, and we intended to investigate the market here. But after only a few days, we encountered this situation. We are temporarily staying at Huifulou in Bixia Palace Alley. Today, we planned to check out the market at Guozi Lane and Horse Market Street, but unexpectedly…”

The middle-aged man who introduced himself as William Harris carried himself with poise and composure, though he lacked the scholarly air. To Brian Brooks, he seemed more like someone seasoned in the business world.

These two were clearly master and servant. They claimed to be merchants from Jinling, but among the southern merchants in Linqing, Jinling merchants were not the most prominent; Huizhou and Dongting merchant groups were the true leaders.

Huizhou merchants, of course, hailed from Huizhou Prefecture, while the Dongting merchant group was not from Dongting Lake in Huguang, but from Dongting Mountain by Lake Tai. Especially in Dongting East Mountain, where the land was crowded and narrow, people from the East Mountain traveled north and south, setting up shops everywhere, earning the reputation of “Sky-piercing Dongting.”

For the moment, he couldn’t be sure if the other’s words were true. Although he could basically confirm they were unlikely to be involved with the bandits, not knowing their background still left him uneasy.

He kept feeling that this merchant surnamed Xue had a presence different from ordinary businessmen. Though he might not be connected to the bandits, he was likely someone with a story.

Section Ten: “Maturity”

“Mr. Harris, what kind of business are you planning to do in Linqing?” Brian Brooks remained unmoved, continuing to ask.

In the courtyard, under the large locust tree, it was quite cool. Brian Brooks stood on the veranda, while the others stood beneath the tree.

Philip Brooks leaned against the steps by the main gate and courtyard wall, silent all along, his hand resting on the hilt of the narrow-bladed knife at his waist, coldly watching everything.

To be honest, Little Ethan’s performance surprised him greatly. In his impression, the young master had never been like this.

Although, under the old master’s strict orders, the boy had practiced martial arts with them since childhood, the truth was, at his age, he couldn’t endure much hardship, and most of it was just for show. On the other hand, the Dr. Bolton who was close to the third master was quite fond of Little Ethan, and often taught him some medical skills.

As for martial arts, at most it just built up his health and barely laid a foundation.

To Philip Brooks, Brian Brooks seemed like a different person today.

He knew Brian Brooks had been at the Imperial Academy for a few months, but could just a few months there really transform him so completely?

Whether in dealing with people or in conversation, he suddenly seemed much more mature. Even a few days ago on the road, he hadn’t been like this. Could it be that a serious illness had awakened Little Ethan?

In this exchange, Little Ethan was indeed methodical and reasonable, so Philip Brooks simply let him be.

After all, these people were all under his control. If anything happened, he could subdue them at any moment.

The merchant surnamed Xue didn’t mind being questioned by a child. After all, they were being given shelter, and under such circumstances, a few questions were only natural.

“Well, young sir, that’s a hard question to answer. To be honest, our Xue family is fairly well-known in Jinling, but business has been tough in recent years. Our family hopes to open up new avenues. We’ve had some dealings in the north before, and Linqing has always been the top water and land port in the north. We’ve passed through before, but never really explored it. This time, the family wanted us to come and take a look, to see what business opportunities there might be.” The man surnamed Xue answered in a proper and measured way.