Thinking about how the authenticity of these two books cannot be confirmed, Edward Howard felt another stir in his heart: these two books may be questionable, but there are several books whose authenticity is beyond doubt. For example, the "Diamond Sutra," the "Dao De Jing," the "Shurangama Sutra," the "I Ching"...

　　As Edward Howard pondered these things, his heart pounded with excitement, and he walked out somewhat absentmindedly.

　　"Young Master Yu!" Thomas Howard was already waiting at the door. Edward Howard nodded absentmindedly. Matthew Howard went in to check things over, then came out and said, "No problem."

　　Edward Howard gave a slight cupped-fist salute to the two third-rank Manifest Saints and turned to leave. Thomas Howard silently and invisibly followed behind.

　　Unlike things like the "Nine Yin Manual" or the "Nine Yang Manual," the "Dao De Jing" and the like are genuine, timeless classics. Moreover, in his previous life, Edward Howard had truly memorized them diligently.

　　He owed this to having a good grandfather, who strictly made his grandson recite classical texts from a young age. Because of this, Edward Howard had suffered quite a bit.

　　In the era of the New Dynasty, what use was it to have a solid foundation in classical literature and poetry? In a restless society awash with material desires, you could compete based on your father, your family background, your education, your looks—but no one would ever compete with you in classical studies.

　　In his previous life, Edward Howard never got to use this classical training, not even up to the moment of his death. Yet, unexpectedly, after being reborn in this life, these things he thought he would never use might actually completely change his fate!

　　As for those Buddhist scriptures, he hadn’t studied them in detail, but after the New Dynasty opened up, Buddhism and Daoism flourished more and more. It was common online to find Buddhist sutras set to music. When Edward Howard was tired, he would play some of these, and the music was truly effective for relaxing body and mind.

　　After listening to them so often, he could remember most of them.

　　Now that he also had the novice monk’s Dharma aspect, able to store and focus his spirit, recalling those Buddhist scriptures in full shouldn’t be difficult.

　　As Edward Howard walked and thought, he almost bumped into someone without noticing.

　　"Big brother?"

　　Charles Howard looked a bit gloomy, also seeming preoccupied. He nearly collided with Edward Howard, and forced a smile: "Second brother, go back and get some rest."

　　With just that, he lowered his head again and walked off, lost in thought.

　　Edward Howard called out, "Big brother, is something wrong?"

　　Charles Howard didn’t even turn his head, just waved his hand and hurried away.

　　Edward Howard felt puzzled: What’s up with big brother?

　　Thomas Howard, following behind, almost burst out laughing. The two brothers looked exactly the same, both with their heads down, deep in thought, coming from two different paths and meeting at a crossroads, nearly bumping their heads together.

　　Watching Charles Howard's back, Edward Howard keenly sensed that his big brother was troubled!

　　Back in his own small courtyard, Edward Howard thought for a moment and called out, "Someone come!"

　　He was already prepared: if no servant came today, he would have to take action and give them a warning.

　　True, the original host was a scoundrel who treated the servants poorly, but he had already let them off for two days. In those two days—especially the first, when he was seriously injured—not a single servant came to attend him! If things continued like this and the servants still didn’t know their place, he would have to enforce the family rules.

　　"Young master." A timid voice sounded. Outside the door stood a girl of about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in plain blue cloth, head bowed, hands pressed in front of her, standing respectfully.

　　Edward Howard remembered—this was his personal maid, Little Lily, who had suffered the most under the original host.

　　He thought for a moment. A little maid like this probably wouldn’t know what was troubling his big brother. He waved his hand: "Go and call Benjamin Howard here."

　　"Yes."

　　Benjamin Howard was the steward by Edward Howard's side. Given the current situation of the Hong family, Benjamin Howard should have ranked fourth among the stewards. But because Edward Howard had no status in the family, it dragged down the steward as well.

　　Stuck with such a useless and irritable master, Benjamin Howard dared not complain aloud, but his frustration and resentment stretched from his throat all the way to his rear end.

　　Today, the old master had specially sent someone to deliver a message, so all the servants around Edward Howard were present and dared not slack off. Before long, Benjamin Howard arrived: "Young master, you called for me."

Chapter 7: Unfair Encounter (Part 1)

　　Edward Howard nodded and asked kindly, "Has big brother run into some trouble lately?"

　　Benjamin Howard was actually nervous. The servants had thought Edward Howard was doomed this time, which was why they dared to slack off. Now that this little devil, who always beat servants to death, had survived, he was sure to settle accounts. Benjamin Howard had been prepared for punishment and was already mourning his "dear butt," but to his surprise, Edward Howard only called him in to ask this question.

　　Benjamin Howard did have a much wider network in the Hong residence than a little maid. He thought for a moment and asked, "Young master, which aspect are you asking about?"

　　"I just ran into big brother. He seemed really troubled."

　　Benjamin Howard thought for a moment and said, "I heard that Young Master Lie hasn’t been doing well at the academy lately. There are a few students who are very favored by the teachers, and they often gang up to ostracize Young Master Lie."

　　Edward Howard's expression turned cold: "Go investigate what exactly has happened these past few days!"

　　"Yes."