“If I can learn something, of course I’m willing to stay.” William Bolton no longer felt so guilty.

Five

Samuel Harris hurried to the City God Temple. Seeing no one nearby, he quickly circled around the main hall to the back to find Thomas Reed. When he saw William Bolton was also present, he was taken aback. “Wasn’t it agreed that you’d come alone?”

“We don’t keep things from each other. I trust him. Did you bring the money?”

Samuel Harris looked suspicious, but still took out a bundle from his chest and slowly handed it to Thomas Bolton. “Well done, but that child was actually born prematurely.”

“If you’d come to me for help earlier, such an awkward situation wouldn’t have happened.”

Samuel Harris shook his head and loosened the bundle. “What about the baby? You’ll take care of it, right?”

Thomas Bolton weighed the bundle in his hand and said coolly, “Taking care of the baby costs extra.”

Samuel Harris’s face flushed red. “Two hundred taels isn’t enough?”

“Business is business. You never mentioned there’d be a living baby.”

“How much?” Samuel Harris asked gloomily.

Thomas Bolton held up two fingers.

Samuel Harris raised one index finger. “That’s it. The He family’s money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Thomas Reed nodded.

“I’ll bring the money first thing tomorrow morning. It must be handled discreetly. Our He family cannot afford to be the subject of gossip.”

Six

“Two hundred taels! That much!” William Bolton rubbed his hands excitedly, his eyes fixed on the bundle.

“That’s how our business is. When profits are low, we can barely eat; when they’re high, we’re as rich as kings. This is just a small deal—there will be even bigger ones in the future, enough for you to live in luxury for generations.”

William Bolton exclaimed sincerely, “I never thought it would be Samuel Harris paying. What does he gain from getting rid of Lady Ru?”

Thomas Reed chuckled. “To put it simply, Samuel Harris is having an affair with the mistress, Madam Guo. He wants to seize the squire’s estate, so he must get rid of Lady Ru and the baby in her belly. He’s afraid of getting into legal trouble if he acts directly, so I approached him and offered a little help.”

William Bolton suddenly understood a lot. “How did you know what was on their minds, and even managed to approach them?”

“Don’t be greedy. You’ll have to learn the tricks of the trade slowly.”

“I’m not greedy.” William Bolton beamed, then suddenly heard crying from next door. “What about the little one? We fed him rice gruel, but he just keeps crying.”

“Leave it to me.”

“You’re going to…” William Bolton made a strangling gesture.

Thomas Reed sneered, “You still have a lot to learn. Since Samuel Harris is only willing to pay a hundred taels, I’ll use this baby to get another hundred.”

William Bolton was utterly impressed.

Seven

Thomas Reed took the baby away and hadn’t returned by nightfall. William Bolton started to worry, because Thomas Reed had taken the He family’s two hundred taels with him, not leaving a single coin behind.

“The old man wouldn’t cheat me, would he?” William Bolton grew suspicious, muttering to himself in the room, “If he dares cheat me, I’ll… I’ll go into business for myself!”

But all he’d learned was spellcasting; he could barely handle people, and couldn’t get any business, not even able to tell whose house the business was hidden in.

“No, the old man needs me.” William Bolton realized he really couldn’t do without Thomas Reed.

There was a knock at the door outside. William Bolton leapt up and hurried to open it. “You’re back—”

But it wasn’t Thomas Reed at the door—it was a wooden stick, which struck down on his head, hitting William Bolton squarely on the forehead.

William Bolton cried out in pain, wailing loudly. Not caring what was happening, he clutched his head and tried to run out.

A flurry of sticks rained down. William Bolton was forced back, and finally, unable to bear it, he fell to the ground, hugging his head and begging for mercy.

Soon, someone rushed in and tied William Bolton up tightly.

“You… you…” William Bolton looked in shock at the four or five constables, completely bewildered.

Another person entered from outside, dressed differently from the ordinary constables. William Bolton, who often traveled around Tongzhou and Beijing, recognized him. “You’re with the Embroidered Uniform Guard?”

“Zhao Ying, Centurion of the Northern Town Patrol Division of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

“I haven’t broken the law, why are you arresting me?” William Bolton felt guilty, his eyes darting around, hoping to see Thomas Reed come to his rescue.

The room wasn’t big. Evelyn Smith glanced around. “Where’s the other one?”

“It’s just me.” William Bolton insisted.

Evelyn Smith took the stick from a constable nearby and struck him on the head. William Bolton couldn’t dodge and took the blow head-on, another big bump swelling on his forehead. Seeing the stick raised again, he hurriedly said, “Don’t hit, don’t hit… You’re called Evelyn Smith, right? Wasn’t it you who killed the old Daoist Zhou Xuanheng at Lingji Palace two years ago?”

“That was me.”

William Bolton’s bravado vanished. “Thomas Reed left with the baby, said he’d be back by nightfall, but he’s nowhere to be seen now.”

Evelyn Smith put down the stick and quickly gave orders. The constables left the room to set up an ambush, leaving only him and the tightly bound William Bolton inside.

Evelyn Smith drew his waist knife. “I have a personal grudge with that Liang fellow, so you’d better cooperate. Otherwise, I’ll have to kill first and report later.”

“Oh.” William Bolton suddenly understood. “No wonder even the Embroidered Uniform Guard showed up.” After a moment’s silence, he couldn’t help but ask, “There are rumors in the jianghu that you’re a demon who disrespects gods and Buddhas. Do you… really not believe?”

“Do you?”

“Of course. Three feet above our heads, the gods are watching.”