“This is the jungle.” The middle-aged man said calmly, “The Wang family owns many mines, and you’ll be dealing with bandits in the jungle for a long time. Train well.”

This was a warning.

George Foster bowed his head solemnly. “Yes.”

The advisor beside him smiled and said, “The assassin knew he couldn’t kill Mr. James, but if he managed to kill the young lady, Mr. John would surely fly into a rage. If Mr. John is enraged, there will be turmoil in Chang’an, and who knows who might take advantage of the chaos.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes were deep. “Recently, Big Brother sent people over. Chang’an has been unsettled. Someone suggested cutting thirty percent of the hereditary privileges, stirring up undercurrents.”

The advisor was surprised. “That’s the emperor’s idea? Does the emperor want to deal with the Five Great Families?”

The middle-aged man nodded, then shook his head. “It is the emperor’s idea, but beforehand, he had someone come to the Wang family to deliver a message. We’ll just watch and see.”

“I suppose all Five Great Families in Chang’an have received messages from the palace.” The advisor stroked his beard and smiled.

“It’s someone from the Mirror Terrace, under that one-eyed dragon.” When mentioning the Mirror Terrace and the one-eyed dragon, a hint of wariness flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes, but there was more disdain. He said slowly, “No need to bother with this. But if someone tries to assassinate us on the way… do they really think I, Helen Thompson, am easy to deal with?”

Everyone was solemn.

The middle-aged man, Helen Thompson, narrowed his eyes slightly. “Send someone ahead to deliver the message—encircle and suppress them!”

George Foster responded, “Yes. But Mr. James, I’m afraid the assassins can’t be surrounded.”

The advisor stroked his beard and smiled. “Mr. James is just beating the grass to scare the snake. As long as people know someone tried to assassinate Mr. James, that’s enough. The Five Great Families… the Wang family controls the mines. If the Wang family gets angry, even the Tang Dynasty will tremble. The person behind this will be alarmed. If he reveals even the slightest clue, even if he’s a royal relative, the Wang family can make him pay.”

Helen Thompson said calmly, “If someone can assassinate a member of the Wang family and escape, who can kill those assassins?”

An invisible wave of anger swept through.

The guards knelt, heads bowed.

Since the assassins had fled far away, it would be hard to catch them.

George Foster was overwhelmed with shame. “We are incompetent!”

Helen Thompson beckoned, “Lily.”

A young girl frowned as she was escorted over by maids. The maids were all carrying swords.

“Negligence!” Helen Thompson turned away with the girl, his voice drifting back softly, “Punish them!”

Soon after, the maids were lying on the ground, and the sound of paddles striking echoed through the camp.

……

Seven li away in a dense forest, three people sat on the ground resting.

The leader leaned against a tree trunk, tilting his head back to drink water.

Water from the canteen dripped down the corner of his mouth. After finishing, he shook his head, spraying droplets everywhere.

Someone came running urgently, and the three stood up on alert.

The newcomer was dressed in black. As he approached, he said, “The Wang family’s pursuers have turned back.”

The leader took off his mask and laughed, “So the Wang family is nothing special after all, hahahaha!”

His hearty laughter startled the nearby birds.

The four sat down to eat dry rations, speaking in low voices, unaware that behind a large tree not far away, a young boy was standing quietly.

They set off later, with one scouting ahead, one covering the rear, and two walking in the middle.

Henry Clark followed closely behind.

The rear guard glanced back from time to time. After walking more than a li, he relaxed a lot, and checked behind him less frequently.

The two in the middle were talking, their voices gradually growing louder.

“The Wang family’s guards are tough, but this is the jungle…”

The rear guard smiled and looked back—instantly, his whole body went cold, as if even his bones were frozen.

A young boy was standing right behind him, grinning.

The boy reached out.

His not-so-large hand was covered in calluses. That hand gripped the man’s throat and squeezed.

The two in the middle walked one in front of the other.

The one behind was laughing, “If the Wang family dares to follow, killing a few would be a merit.”

A hand landed on his shoulder.

It’s said that wild wolves like to follow behind travelers, suddenly standing upright and placing a paw on the traveler’s shoulder, making the traveler turn around instinctively…

A faint sound was heard.

The leader in front was still talking.

“We’ve trained in the dense forest for years—who could be our match?”

No one answered from behind. The leader instinctively dove forward, drawing and swinging his blade in one motion as he turned.

A shadow flickered behind him, then disappeared into the forest.

The scout roared, “It’s the errand boy from the Wang family’s caravan!”

They had been watching the caravan for days and knew its situation well.

“He’s the one who saved the Wang family’s girl!”

The leader stopped and shouted, “Richard Harris!”

His voice echoed through the forest.

But the person was gone.

“That kid, he must be the Wang family’s new expert!” The leader was alarmed. “Let’s go!”

The two covered each other as they moved forward.

When they reached a large tree, the scout was suddenly sent flying backward.

The leader leapt up, eyes darting in midair, swinging his blade to cut the vine wrapped around the scout’s ankle.

Whoosh…

With a whistling sound, a sharpened wooden stake flew over and pierced the scout’s chest. The end of the stake was still trembling.

The leader brandished his sword, but no second stake came.

After landing, he shouted, “Come out!”

No birds sang, no beasts called in the dense forest.

Creak!