She got up and walked out. When she reached the door, she turned back with a mysterious smile and said, “You used to always sneak out of bed at the first watch and run to the community temple. I never knew what you were up to.”

Chapter 2: The True Nature of a Ranger

‘Bang! Bang bang——’

“Be careful with the candles, lock the door against thieves!”

‘Bang! Bang bang——’

The night watchman walked away. Adam Thompson turned over and got out of bed. He didn’t dare use the main door, so he jumped out the window and climbed over the courtyard wall to leave.

His Tang dynasty mother and Aunt Mu refused to say anything, so he could only seek the truth from his friends.

The community temple was actually the City God Temple, not far from Adam Thompson’s home. Standing in the courtyard, he could see the flying eaves and the crouching beasts on the roof.

Just as he entered the temple gate, he suddenly heard footsteps running behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt a gust of wind at his back. Instinctively, he dodged to the side with incredible speed, and the person behind missed him completely.

The one who tried to tackle him was the chubby boy he’d seen during the day. Seeing Adam Thompson in a daze, the boy scratched his head and said, “Mr. Thompson, what are you doing at the community temple?”

Adam Thompson was still in shock. That dodge just now had moved him about a meter and a half sideways—how did he do that?

And he’d moved so fast that, even though the other boy was less than half a meter away, he still missed.

He vaguely realized that he might know martial arts!

Adam Thompson snapped back to his senses and suddenly frowned. Wait a minute!

“Weren’t you the one who asked me to meet you here tonight? Isn’t this our usual spot?”

The chubby boy shook his head. “No! Our usual spot is the polo field, not here.”

“Then why are you here?”

“We waited for you at the polo field for a long time, but you never showed up. So I went to your house and saw you from a distance climbing over the wall, sneaking toward the community temple, so I followed you.”

Adam Thompson was even more confused. The usual time and place didn’t match up—did Aunt Mu get it wrong?

At that moment, two more boys came running over, one tall and one short, both quite skinny.

“Mr. Bolton, did you find him?”

“He’s right here!”

The chubby boy walked up and whispered to the two, “Maybe Aunt Pei was right—he really did get his head knocked silly.”

The two boys pulled long faces. “So what do we do? We’re doomed now.”

Though they spoke in low voices, Adam Thompson heard them clearly. He waved his hand and said, “I’m fine, just can’t remember some things. I only remember Mr. Bolton, but I’ve forgotten your names.”

The short, skinny boy ran up and grabbed Adam Thompson’s arm. “Mr. Thompson, I’m Little Henry, and he’s William Black. You gave us those names, remember now?”

In the moonlight, Adam Thompson saw that the boy had a tuft of yellow hair on his head, and the other was tall, dark, and had legs as thin as chicken legs.

He couldn’t help but laugh—those nicknames really did fit.

“Let’s go to the God of Wealth Hall!”

The chubby boy led the way. The God of Wealth Hall was a side hall. The four of them climbed in through the window. Inside was a clay statue, with words beside it: God of Wealth Star Lord.

This God of Wealth Star Lord was the God of Wealth in the eyes of Tang dynasty commoners.

They found a few worn-out meditation cushions under the offering table and sat cross-legged on them.

Adam Thompson remembered that Aunt had said he had more than a dozen little brothers, but now there were only three.

“How come there’s only you three left?”

“They all scattered!”

The chubby boy sighed. “Ever since you got hurt, we chickened out too and didn’t dare go to the polo field anymore. But those guys wouldn’t let us off. Every time they saw us, they beat us up, chasing us around like dogs. Little Steven had his arm broken by them, and his whole family moved away. We’re just hoping you’ll recover soon.”

Adam Thompson was completely lost, and gave a dry laugh. “I can’t remember a lot of things, I don’t even recognize my own mother. Can you tell me who they are? Why are we fighting?”

The three all knew he’d lost his memory and started talking over each other. Only then did Adam Thompson gradually understand.

He lived in a neighborhood called Yonghe Fang, a well-known slum in Chang’an. The kids there couldn’t afford school and spent their days hanging out together. He was the fiercest fighter, incredibly strong, and loyal—never bullying the weak—so he naturally became the leader of the kids.

To the west of Yonghe Fang was a polo field. The army practiced there during the day, but after the soldiers left in the afternoon, it became a paradise for the kids. But children from nearby neighborhoods would also come to play, so fights over turf were common.

But starting last autumn, a group of rich kids showed up and took over the polo field, practicing polo there every evening.

Adam Thompson and his friends refused to give in, and the two sides fought several times. The conflict escalated, and in a clash half a month ago, Adam Thompson was beaten into a coma by a martial arts instructor brought by the rich kids—he nearly lost his life.

Adam Thompson couldn’t help but laugh. He’d thought his injury was from something serious, but it turned out to be just a fight with a bunch of kids.

“Mr. Thompson, when you dodged just now, I knew you were better. Tomorrow let’s grab our weapons and fight them!” The chubby boy’s face turned fierce, his cheeks bulging.

“Yeah, let’s fight them—beat those bastards to death!” Little Henry and William Black also clenched their fists.

Maybe his former self would have gotten fired up and agreed without hesitation, but Adam Thompson wouldn’t do that now.