Before William could speak, Cynthia Reed in the room rushed to complain first, “Grandfather, it was Jade who broke Lily’s finger.”

She quickly stepped forward, knelt before her grandfather, and cried, “The child is only five years old and has already been bullied by an elder. Please, Grandfather, stand up for the child!”

Brian Harper was taken aback, a flash of anger in his eyes. He turned to ask William, “Is this true?”

William had no choice but to nod, then hurriedly explained, “Second Uncle has already apologized, and Jade also said he didn’t do it on purpose, it was just an accident.”

“Is that so?”

Brian Harper narrowed his eyes, asking him in a calm tone, “So what do you plan to do? Are you just going to let this go?”

William was silent for a moment. He nodded, “We are all family. I think harmony is most important, and I also believe Jade wouldn’t intentionally hurt a child.”

Brian Harper stared intently at William. After a while, disappointment welled up in his eyes. He stood up wearily and said helplessly, “Alright! Since you want to keep the peace, I’ll let you have your way and won’t interfere. I was going to try to secure the position of Registrar for you, but since you don’t want to upset your brothers, I won’t force you.”

After speaking, he nodded to Jason, “Jason, if you want to serve the family, just let me know. I’ll arrange something for you. Otherwise, you can be a steward in the warehouse!”

“Thank you for your kindness, Grandfather, but I have other matters to attend to and can’t serve the family for now.”

Jason politely declined Brian Harper’s arrangement. Brian Harper didn’t insist, glanced at William again, shook his head, and left. William lowered his head, biting his lips so hard they turned white.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh, “Jason, thank you.”

No one answered. When he turned around, Jason was already gone from the courtyard.

Chapter Six: An Eye for an Eye

Outside Huaiyang City, near the docks, there stood a giant banyan tree, a hundred zhang tall, at least a thousand years old. Its massive canopy spread like a giant umbrella, shading an area of a li around it. As midnight approached, a dark figure appeared beneath the tree. The dim moonlight shone on his face—it was Jason. He leapt lightly, climbing the tree as nimbly as a monkey, swiftly making his way to the top. For most people, climbing a tree at all would be difficult, let alone reaching the very top—an almost impossible feat. But Jason quickly reached the treetop, as light as a swallow, without the slightest hindrance. Even more miraculously, the night birds were undisturbed, as if he had become a great bird himself.

At the top of the tree was a huge bird’s nest, about eight feet in diameter. This was the nest of the East Sea Blood-headed Weng, a bird named for its blood-red crown, with a wingspan of two zhang. Every year, at the turn of spring and summer, it flies thousands of miles to Donghai Commandery to lay eggs, producing only one each time, making the Blood-headed Weng extremely rare. It builds its nest in places rarely visited by people—on cliffs or atop hundred-zhang trees. This great tree had just such a nest, standing proudly at the top like a throne.

It was mid-spring, and the Blood-headed Weng was still on its arduous journey. There were no eggs in the nest, only a crossbow and a small pouch—items Jason had temporarily stashed here. The crossbow looked much like the military Shenbi crossbow, and in fact, it was a modified version of that very weapon.

This crossbow was made from Beiming ironwood, incredibly powerful, requiring three hundred jin of force to draw. It was crafted by the foremost bowyer of Beiming over three years, said to be one of the seven nameless crossbows in the world. It had been specially modified—not to shoot arrows, but to fire steel pellets.

The small pouch was left by another Jason Harper, containing some important items. After the two souls merged, Jason discovered this pouch had always been strapped to his back. All of that Jason Harper’s secrets were inside.

Jason slung the crossbow and pouch onto his back and continued climbing upward, all the way to the very tip of the tree. The starry sky suddenly unfolded before his eyes, a swath of the Milky Way stretching overhead. At this moment, standing between heaven and earth, he felt as if he had become immortal. Gazing at the brilliant night sky, the black heavens seemed to hold endless mysteries. He thought of his previous life—somewhere among those endless stars lay the secret of his fall into another world.

At this moment, his chest swelled with heroic spirit, and he couldn’t help but let out a long howl, shouting up at the sky, “Heaven and earth are heartless, treating all things as straw dogs!”

The night wind howled atop the tree, the branches and leaves swaying, raising waves of sound like the sea. Jason steadied himself, standing on a branch that swayed with the wind. He took out a gunpowder pellet, loaded it into the slot, lit the fuse, and slowly drew the string until it was taut as a full moon. With a flick of the trigger, a soft sound rang out as the pellet shot into the night sky, exploding above the treetop with a crisp bang, bursting into a spray of multicolored light, like a blooming flower that lingered in the air.

……

In the darkness, a small boat rowed in from the sea. Three shadowy figures jumped ashore and ran straight for the giant banyan tree. As soon as they reached the tree, Jason jumped down from above, grinning, “Sorry to disturb your sleep, brothers.”

The newcomers were the sailors from the boat, led by the bearded Henry Howard. Though it had only been a day since they last met, it felt like ages. Henry Howard punched Jason in the shoulder, joking with a smile, “So eager to find us—are you itching to visit the brothels?”

“Mm! It does have something to do with that. I want to ask you all for a favor.”