Frank Quinn laughed when he heard this. He never believed in things like ghosts or gods. Although he respected Old Brooks, Frank Quinn still considered what he said to be nonsense.

"You brat, sigh, wait a moment."

Seeing Frank Quinn's nonchalant attitude, Samuel Brooks stomped his foot, pulled Frank Quinn into his own room, and then took out a flat wooden box from under the bed.

"Frank, take this. Don't go looking for trouble, but if something really happens, use it to protect yourself." As he stroked the box, a trace of reluctance appeared on Samuel Brooks's face, but in the end, he still handed it to Frank Quinn.

"What is this? Huh, it's so heavy!"

The box was only about ten centimeters wide and forty centimeters long. It looked light, but when Frank Quinn took the wooden box, it felt unexpectedly heavy, and he almost dropped it.

"This is a spearhead my grandfather made, modeled after our ancestor's divine spear. He used only the best materials, and there are only three in total. This one was passed down to me by my grandfather."

Samuel Brooks opened the box in Frank Quinn's hands, and immediately a spearhead about thirty centimeters long, gleaming with a cold, dazzling light, appeared before Frank Quinn's eyes.

The spearhead was diamond-shaped, like a long dagger, with a high spine, thin blade, and sharp tip. There was a blood groove in the middle. Although it didn't have a shaft, just this spearhead alone gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

At the base of the spearhead was a tassel made from genuine horsehair. The horsehair was red, and when thrusting, the tassel would shake and confuse the opponent, and it could also prevent the opponent's blood from running down the shaft into the wielder's hand.

To honor his master, Jack Brooks spared no effort in making these three spearheads. It took Old Brooks two years and nearly three hundred thousand yuan to make them.

All three spearheads were forged from triple-layered steel, an expensive Japanese laminated steel. The hard, high-carbon inner layer formed the core of the blade, while both sides were made of tough, tempered elastic steel. The final blade combined the best qualities of the steels. It might not cut through iron like mud, but it could easily chop through a steel bar as thick as a pinky finger.

"Samuel, I... I can't take this. This was passed down to you by Grandpa Brooks."

Although Frank Quinn didn't know how much the spearhead cost, he could tell it was definitely valuable, and since it was passed down from grandfather to grandson, it was extremely important to Samuel Brooks.

"I can't take it back with me anyway. You keep it for self-defense, and give it back to me when I return."

Samuel Brooks was really afraid his grandfather's proverb would come true. Before Frank Quinn could refuse, he closed the box and forced it into Frank Quinn's hands. As precious as it was, it couldn't compare to the life of a good friend.

"Well... alright, I'll keep it safe for you."

Frank Quinn suddenly thought of that incident a few years ago. If he had practiced martial arts and had this spearhead back then, maybe his parents wouldn't have suffered such a disaster.

"That's more like it. Hey, they're calling me. I think it's time to go."

Samuel Brooks's father's voice came from the yard. Samuel Brooks quickly said, "Hide this thing in your clothes. Don't let my uncles see it, or I'll be in big trouble."

Samuel Brooks knew how much the spearhead meant to the Liu family. If the elders saw it, he'd probably get a serious beating, and Frank Quinn wouldn't be able to take the spearhead out of the Liu house.

Luckily, it was cold, and Frank Quinn was wearing an old army-green coat. After stuffing the box inside, nothing looked out of the ordinary from the outside.

Chapter 0010: Sudden Change (Part 1)

"Don't wander around at midnight on the weekend,

Come to Apple Paradise.

Welcome, wandering children,

Don't just stand there in a daze,

Let's all shout together..."

Following the beat of the "Little Tigers" song playing on the town's radio, Frank Quinn couldn't help but sing along. No matter how mature he acted, he was still not yet thirteen, and the sadness of parting from his friend quickly faded. Humming the Little Tigers' song, he hurried home.

Samuel Brooks had promised Frank Quinn that when he came back, he would bring all the Little Tigers' album tapes.

This put Frank Quinn in a good mood. His little sister adored that trio of boys from Taiwan, and because of that, after picking up an almost broken tape recorder, Frank Quinn spent over a month figuring out the power circuit and managed to fix the old radio.

"Uncle Harris, give me four sesame flatbreads."

When he reached The Harris Family's flatbread shop, Frank Quinn bought four flatbreads, then spent two yuan on some donkey meat. Flatbread with donkey meat was Grace Quinn's favorite, but since coming to Cangzhou, they'd only had it twice, both times thanks to Samuel Brooks.

"Little Frank, what's the happy occasion? Did you find a treasure?"

Uncle Harris smiled, picked out four fresh flatbreads, wrapped them in oiled paper, and handed them to Frank Quinn. He'd known him for years and knew that as long as the little girl wasn't around, Frank Quinn would never eat first.

"It's nothing special, Uncle Harris. If you have any scrap, don't sell it to anyone else. I'll come by to collect it later."