Logan Clark was on night patrol last night and was now sleeping at home. Upon hearing that Evelyn Smith had come to visit, he immediately jumped up, hastily washed his face, personally welcomed the guest into the room, and excitedly whispered, “There’s a lead! A family in Yingzi Alley outside the city reported to the authorities that a stranger was giving snacks to children on the street. When the adults discovered it, the person ran off. The child only took one bite and was unconscious for most of the day after returning home.”

Evelyn Smith responded with a hum, “Thank you, second brother, for keeping this in mind. If we catch this person in the future, we must deal with him harshly.”

“Of course.” Seeing that his sworn brother wasn’t particularly excited, Logan Clark felt a bit puzzled. “Big brother, you must have something on your mind? I found you a matchmaker. She has some good girls, not even twenty years old…”

Evelyn Smith smiled and shook his head, took a small bundle from his chest, and handed it to Logan Clark. “Please keep this for me.”

Logan Clark opened the cloth bundle and saw several pieces of gold inside, looking even more surprised. “This is…”

“In any case, just keep it for me. If you ever see the Zhao family fall on hard times, it won’t be too late to return it then.”

“What are you saying? Big brother, you’re still young and strong—how could you ‘fall on hard times’? Even if that day really comes, do you think I’d just stand by and do nothing?”

“Take it, just to put my mind at ease.”

Logan Clark hesitated for a while, then reluctantly said, “Alright. If you change your mind and want to buy a wife, this money will come in handy.”

Evelyn Smith took his leave. Logan Clark saw him to the main gate, feeling very puzzled, but he was too sleepy. He put the gold away, went back to his room, and planned to talk things over with his sworn brother the next day.

Seven

By the time he left the Sun residence, it was nearly noon. Evelyn Smith hired a mule cart at the street corner, traveled along Chongwenmen Inner Street, then walked west along the city wall, turned onto Xuanwumen Inner Street, headed north all the way, and entered Xuanchengbo Rear Wall Street. The mule driver stopped the cart. “Sir, we’ve arrived at Lingji Palace.”

Lingji Palace was a grand temple, dedicated to the two Xu Zhenren, with many followers in the capital. Evelyn Smith paid the fare, didn’t enter through the main gate, and went straight to the small west gate.

He was a bit late; the ritual in the west side hall was nearly over. A crowd of believers stood outside the hall, watching and occasionally kneeling to kowtow.

Evelyn Smith mingled at the back of the crowd, kneeling and bowing along with them, but his eyes were scanning everywhere.

There were quite a few Taoist priests participating in the ritual. As dusk approached, the ceremony ended. The priests surrounded and escorted the Zhenren out, while the believers lined up on both sides, eagerly putting gold, silver, and copper coins into the bags held by the priests.

Evelyn Smith squeezed to the very front, tossed money into a bag, and kept scanning the crowd. Finally, he spotted his target.

The old Taoist Henry Cooper was a disciple of Lingji Palace, one of those “escorting from behind,” also holding a bag to collect money. When he met familiar believers, he would either nod or smile.

From a dozen paces away, Henry Cooper also saw the centurion Evelyn Smith. He put away his smile and slowly walked closer.

Evelyn Smith was about to give away his last dozen copper coins, but Hank Cooper closed the bag and said loudly, “Have you figured it out?”

“I have,” Evelyn Smith replied humbly.

“Whose fault was it, in the end?”

“It was my fault.”

Henry Cooper was satisfied, reopened the bag, but when he saw the dozen copper coins in Evelyn Smith’s hand, he frowned again. “So little? Well, sincerity is what matters.”

“I have no extra money on me.” Evelyn Smith put the coins into the bag and reached into his chest.

The priests proceeded in order. Hank Cooper stepped forward, letting the priest behind him pass, moved closer to Evelyn Smith, and waited for him on purpose. “That’s right, it’s not about how much money, but about sincerity. When honoring the gods, you must not hold anything back…”

The surrounding believers all nodded in agreement. Evelyn Smith nodded as well, his right hand pulling something from his chest, while his left hand grabbed the old Taoist’s wrist.

At first, Henry Cooper didn’t pay any attention, his gaze shifting to another acquaintance, about to greet them, when he suddenly sensed something was wrong. Looking down, he saw that Evelyn Smith was holding a dagger.

“You must be more sincere than I am,” Evelyn Smith said.

“You, you… let go!” Henry Cooper shouted, not feeling fear, only anger and incomprehension.

But Evelyn Smith gripped Henry Cooper even tighter. “If there really are immortals, they should protect you. If I stab you and you don’t die, then they exist. If there are no immortals—” Evelyn Smith raised his voice, his eyes suddenly blazing with fury, “then you’re a fraud, the true culprit who killed my son!”

“You’re crazy!” Henry Cooper finally felt fear, struggling to pull his hand away, but forgot to let go of the bag, the coins inside clattering noisily.

First the surrounding believers, then the priests in procession, all began to notice the commotion, most thinking it was a minor dispute. A few priests scolded, some believers tried to mediate, but only Henry Cooper himself felt his legs go weak. He saw what others could not: the centurion before him had truly gone mad.

Evelyn Smith felt he was perfectly calm. Back in the day, he’d been a street ruffian, fought countless big and small fights, and knew one thing well: when outnumbered, it’s all about momentum. If you can’t control the scene from the start, no matter how tough you are, you’ll end up getting beaten by the crowd.

“Anyone not afraid to die, come at me!” Evelyn Smith twisted Henry Cooper’s arm, forcing him to turn and bend over, then raised the dagger high and stabbed down hard.