The old eunuch only sneered and did not stop him. When Evelyn Smith reached the hall entrance, he said, “There’s something Minister Smith should know. The new Chief Eunuch’s surname is Walker, given name Stone, and he was sent from Duanteng Gorge in Guangxi. Heh, the world is unpredictable. Back then, Minister Smith stopped us from using torture, but the Chief Eunuch is actually grateful for that one slash you gave him.”

Evelyn Smith stopped, then continued walking, calling his adopted sons to leave the Western Depot together.

His forty adopted sons were also recruited from Duanteng Gorge, making them fellow townsmen with Stone Walker, but their fates diverged more than a decade ago. A few were saved by Evelyn Smith, spared from castration, and became Jinyiwei officers, while most entered the palace as eunuch attendants.

Now, both groups had grown up.

On the way home, Evelyn Smith was silent, and his adopted sons dared not speak either. Passing by the Xigongsheng Gate, Evelyn Smith glanced inside but did not enter. He did not want to go to the Jinyiwei to seek help from his superior Benjamin Foster.

Once home, Evelyn Smith summoned all his adopted sons, hoping to pick out a few capable assistants who could stand against the newly established Western Depot.

“Pull yourselves together and find that so-called ‘demon fox’ as soon as possible. My old life, and your futures, all depend on this.” Evelyn Smith originally wanted to appoint a leader, but after a whole day out, he was truly exhausted. After thinking for a while, he said, “We’ll make a plan when Gavin Wood and the others return.”

There were still a few of his most capable adopted sons out and not yet back. Evelyn Smith wanted to wait and not act rashly.

The old commander skipped dinner and went to bed early. He had once been imprisoned in the Jinyiwei dungeon, and several scars on his body still ached faintly to this day. He needed a maid to gently massage him before he could sleep peacefully.

That night, at the third watch, the demon fox appeared again, this time targeting Jinyiwei commander Evelyn Smith.

Chapter Two: The Lazy Gavin Wood

During the Yongle era, the emperor personally established the “Gongshang Zhenhe” tokens, to be awarded on the spot to soldiers who fought bravely in battle. After the war, these tokens could be exchanged for rewards. Each token was inscribed with a different set of forty characters: Divine might, elite courage, fierce; strong, resolute, heroic; victorious, surpassing, swift; extraordinary merit, valiant edge; wisdom, strategy, marvelous plan; steadfast, loyal, sincere; bold, able to bring stability; renowned, illustrious, great achievement.

After Evelyn Smith took in forty adopted sons, the first difficulty was naming them. At the time, there were rumors that these children were all born of fox spirits from various places, so they all took the surname Wood. There was also a rumor that the children had been raised by a ghost mother in Duanteng Gorge, so the middle character was always “桂,” and the last character came from those forty inscribed words.

Many of the children had been abducted at a young age and could not remember their birth dates. Evelyn Smith thus named them in order of height, assigning the characters sequentially. Now that the children had grown up, their heights varied, but their names remained unchanged.

Gavin Wood had been the fifth shortest when named, but now he had surpassed most of his peers. His exact age was unclear, but he should be just over twenty. If he had one defining trait, it was summed up in a single word—lazy. He was neither scholarly nor martial. After the other adopted sons became independent, most rented or bought houses near Guanyin Temple Alley, but he moved even farther north, next to Erlang Temple in Shijia Alley, just to be farther from his adoptive father and less subject to discipline.

When Evelyn Smith returned from the Western Depot and specifically mentioned his name, all the adopted sons present were very surprised, privately thinking it must have been a slip of the tongue.

Gavin Wood himself was also surprised.

Yesterday, he hadn’t gone to Smith residence to check in—not because he was busy, but because he slept at home during the day. In the evening, he went out for a stroll, found a restaurant to eat noodles, and overheard people talking about the newly established Western Depot. He interjected, “Hmm, looks like I’ll have work to do. Better go home and get some more sleep.”

Less than an hour after getting up, Gavin Wood lay down and fell asleep again, snoring away as if he’d been exhausted all day.

The next morning, Gavin Wood was woken by loud banging on the door. He sat up with a start, stretched with a big yawn, threw on some clothes, and shuffled in his old shoes to open the door.

His house was small, three rooms facing east, with a courtyard barely big enough to turn around in. The gate was rarely bolted, so acquaintances could push it open and go straight to knock on the bedroom door.

David Wood had been the second shortest child back then, but after more than ten years, he had finally become the shortest, hardly living up to the “big” in his name. He claimed to be over twenty, but looked no more than fifteen or sixteen—a rare adopted son who had not yet become independent, often running errands and well-liked by all.

David Wood had sweat on his face and looked more serious than usual. He stared at Gavin Wood for a while and said, “Our adoptive father is gone.”

“Lost?”

“No.” David Wood shook his head. “Our adoptive father… has passed away.”

Gavin Wood slowly put on his outer clothes and shoes, then said, “Our adoptive father was no longer young. He’s been indulging in wine and women these past years—it was about time.”

“What are you saying, Third-Sixth Brother? Our adoptive father was in good health, but his passing is a bit mysterious. Just yesterday he said we’d all gather to catch the demon fox together.”

“We’re now a headless group.” Gavin Wood couldn’t help but yawn.

“Exactly. Third-Sixth Brother, how can you… not care at all? He was our adoptive father, and the old man…” David Wood sounded on the verge of tears.

“Crying now won’t help.” Gavin Wood patted his Thirty-Ninth Brother’s shoulder. “Don’t rush. You can cry at the funeral. Hmm… did you come to me for something?”

David Wood was so surprised he forgot to cry. “With our adoptive father gone, we have to…”