Wait, qinggong water-walking? Edward Harris's eyes flickered as an idea came to him: "Big brother, standing on water without sinking isn't really such a big deal. I think you could do it anytime."

His words shocked everyone!

Chapter 6: Qinggong Water-Walking

When William Harris heard that he could stand on water without sinking at any time, his first reaction was that his third brother had lost his mind. Is this something you can just do? If it were possible, he would have stopped muddling around in the Imperial Academy long ago and gone straight into the army to become a general.

As for Brian Clark and John Bolton, after their initial shock, they could only think that the saying was true: "A newborn calf is not afraid of tigers!"

Seeing the three of them staring at him in disbelief, Edward Harris chuckled lightly: "Big brother, I'm serious. If you don't believe me, why not try it right now?"

"Zhongwei, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue from bragging so much?" Brian Clark had just thought Edward Harris was a well-mannered young man, but now he couldn't believe he was spouting such nonsense.

"Third brother, I've already lost face once. Do you want me to lose face a second time?" William Harris also looked completely unconvinced.

"Real gold fears no fire, facts speak louder than words. If you brothers don't believe me, just give it a try and you'll see." Edward Harris looked completely at ease, as if this was as simple as eating a meal.

"Alright, Han, since Zhongwei suggested a test, let's go right now." Brian Clark had only wanted to see William Harris make a fool of himself for his own amusement, but he didn't expect the two brothers to be so stubborn, refusing to give up until the bitter end. Fine, I'll let you two brothers lose face together.

"Liu, my third brother is just speaking childishly. How could you take him seriously? I admit defeat. Here are ten strings of cash, take them." William Harris hurriedly took out ten notes worth one string each and placed them on the table—he had prepared them in advance. He'd already lost face once and didn't want to lose it again.

"Big brother..."

Brian Clark was about to reach for the money, but after glancing at Edward Harris, he stopped his hand mid-air. "Han, let's listen to your third brother. If I just take your money like this, I'm afraid he won't accept it."

"Third brother!" William Harris was a little angry now. He realized he'd been too indulgent with him lately, to the point that Edward Harris had forgotten the proper order between elder and younger.

"Big brother, actually, standing on water without sinking is very simple. Think about it: if there's a stone or a wooden stake in the water, couldn't you do it then?" Edward Harris saw his big brother's face darken, as if he was about to lose his temper, and quickly explained.

"Huh, this... this actually makes sense." William Harris thought about it and realized his third brother's words were quite reasonable—no, extremely reasonable. All he had to do was stand on water without sinking; no one ever said he couldn't use tools. Brilliant, truly brilliant.

"Han, that's cheating." Brian Clark blurted out, not expecting Edward Harris to come up with such a trick. Wasn't this just cheating?

"Liu, as I recall, you never said we couldn't use tools, right? My big brother isn't breaking any rules." Edward Harris said. He hadn't thought of this trick at first, but just now he remembered the fake qinggong water-walking master Qiu Er Ye from Jin Yong's novels, who fooled countless martial artists by using wooden stakes in the water.

"That's right, Liu, this isn't cheating at all. We don't even have to wait until the hour of the dog. Why don't we go try it in the river outside right now?" William Harris laughed heartily, reaching out to take back the money he had just put on the table.

"Well... Zhang, what do you think?" Brian Clark was at a loss. He had come up with the challenge himself, and everyone knew William Harris couldn't possibly do it. But since he agreed, and no one said he couldn't use tricks...

"Liu, here's the five strings of cash I owe." John Bolton was straightforward. He knew that, by reason and by feeling, he had to admit defeat, and he didn't even have the interest to try it out—he simply handed over the money.

"Thank you, thank you." William Harris laughed as he took the notes from John Bolton, then reached out his hand to Brian Clark.

"Han, you really have a good little brother." Brian Clark saw John Bolton hand over the money and didn't want to help William Harris save face any further. If they went to the river now, William Harris would definitely be able to stand on water without sinking, so it was better not to embarrass himself. He also handed over five strings of cash to William Harris.

William Harris hadn't expected things to take such a dramatic turn. Looking at Edward Harris, he was overjoyed—why hadn't he noticed his third brother's cleverness before? He stuffed the money he had just received into Edward Harris's hands. "Third brother, you won this money. It should be yours."

"Big brother, how can I accept this?" Edward Harris had no real concept of money at the moment. He didn't know the purchasing power of ten strings of cash, but instinctively felt it wasn't right for him to take it.

"Zhongwei, of course you can. If your big brother took the money, the two of us would actually be dissatisfied." Brian Clark patted Edward Harris on the shoulder. Earlier, he thought Edward Harris was just talking nonsense and looked down on him a bit, but now he was suddenly full of warmth toward him.