Brian Carter evasively asked the two of them, “How did you end up coming with me? Weren’t you going to continue your mercenary missions?” Upon hearing Brian Carter’s question, Evan Brooks immediately said, “I want to do missions with you again.” Henry Foster, standing to the side, also nodded. “Oh, then in a few days we’ll take on a mission together.”

Evan Brooks still pressed on with the previous question: “Does Brian Carter not know where Longxiang Inn is?” Brian Carter quickly came up with an excuse: “I need to go to the east side of the city to buy a few maps first.”

Brian Carter knew that with the two of them following, there was no way to shake them off, especially with Evan Brooks tailing him. So, today’s plan to visit the Long family was scrapped; he would go to Longxiang Inn first and wait until early tomorrow to visit the Long family.

Once again, Brian Carter bought a whole set of different maps. When the curious one asked why he bought so many, Brian Carter brushed it off with the excuse that he liked collecting maps. There was no way he could tell him that he memorized all the maps, then analyzed and calculated the most complete continental terrain and the maps with the least errors. Now, Brian Carter already had the entire topography of the Tianxiang Empire in his mind, able to visualize it three-dimensionally, and he also had a good mental map of many places in other countries.

After buying the maps, the three of them arrived at Longxiang Inn. With the help of the attendant, they requested three rooms. At first, Evan Brooks and Henry Foster said the two of them could share a room, since the prices here weren’t cheap.

Brian Carter said that one of them needed to meditate at night and the other needed to practice battle qi, so it was best for each to have their own room. After all, it was only one silver coin per room, and as a local in the imperial city, he wouldn’t care about such a small expense. He handed over a gold coin and booked three nights. The two thought about Brian Carter’s spatial pouch and agreed—anyone who could afford a spatial pouch wouldn’t care about this “small change.”

After dinner, Brian Carter returned to his room to practice qi. Knowing there would be troublesome matters to deal with tomorrow, he needed to be well-rested. The other two, under Brian Carter’s guidance, also practiced qi and meditated every night.

Chapter 11: Going Home, Execution Ground??

Early in the morning, Brian Carter arrived at the Long family’s gate, but the guards didn’t recognize this second young master who had left for over a year and changed completely. When Brian Carter said he wanted to see Jack Harris, the guard replied that the master was not home.

Brian Carter thought his purpose was just to ensure safety, and besides, this was his home, so he might as well go in first. But not only did the guard refuse to let him in, he even tried to drive him away: “This is the Long family. Outsiders are not allowed in. You’d better leave.”

Brian Carter was frustrated that even entering his own home, someone was blocking him. He said to the guard, “I am Ethan Harris, this is my home, I am your second young master. Let me in quickly, or you’ll have to worry about your position.” Brian Carter wanted to get inside first, so he revealed his identity.

Unexpectedly, after Brian Carter claimed to be Ethan Harris, the guard sneered. “Second young master, the whole imperial city knows our second young master died in the Magic Beast Forest. You might as well claim to be the eldest young master—at least he’s not dead.”

Since entering the city yesterday, Brian Carter had only bought maps and stayed at Longxiang Inn, so he had no idea about the widely spread news of Ethan Harris’s death.

In Brian Carter’s memory, the incident of the princess using someone else to kill would eventually be exposed, but it shouldn’t have been discovered in just over a year, not with the princess’s abilities. So Brian Carter asked in confusion, “I’m dead? Who said that? I’m standing right here, aren’t I? Are you out of your mind?”

The guard also found it odd. Normally, someone impersonating a family member would leave immediately after being exposed, but this person not only stayed, he insisted he was the second young master. As if I wouldn’t know what the second young master looks like—he was a notorious womanizer, and this person clearly wasn’t. Besides, I never heard of the second young master keeping pets, yet this man had a cat on his shoulder. With his personality, he’d never let a cat sit on him.

No matter how he looked at it, the guard didn’t believe him, so he spoke more impatiently: “Get lost. As if I wouldn’t recognize my own second young master. If you keep this up, I’ll call the city guards to arrest you.”

Brian Carter felt a bit helpless—he had changed so much that not even Jack Harris would recognize him, let alone this guard. But Brian Carter knew there was a way to prove he was a member of the Long family, and at his age, the only one it could be was Ethan Harris. Fortunately, the Long family was special and had few members. As long as he could prove he was from the Long family, his identity would be clear.

So Brian Carter said to the guard, “Go get my big brother or grandfather. They can prove it.”

The guard thought this guy was really persistent, and his tone turned cold: “Big brother? Grandfather?? Today the old master, the master, and the eldest young master are all out. If you keep claiming to be the second young master, we’ll arrest you ourselves and throw you in jail.”

Brian Carter found it odd. It was possible that his brother and father weren’t home, but even his grandfather was out? His grandfather rarely left the house, always practicing battle qi. Could he have hit a bottleneck? He asked the guard, “Where did my grandfather go? He almost never goes out.”

The guard wasn’t surprised that Brian Carter knew about Long Jianxin’s habits—everyone knew that. He was just annoyed that Brian Carter was still pretending, so he gripped his sword hilt and said harshly, “I don’t know, and I can’t tell you! Besides, what does it have to do with you? Don’t test my patience. Get lost.”