Widow Joyce lowered her head to glance at Grace Walker, who was unconscious and slung at her waist, then said with a beaming smile, “General Doujiang, there’s no need to ask more. I won’t say a word, no matter what.”

With that, she flicked her wrist, and the grappling hook shot out again, flying across thirty or forty feet to latch onto the eaves of a restaurant. She immediately leapt over with Grace Walker in tow.

“General Baishuang, if you’re interested, feel free to follow!”

Chapter 10: This Family

The swiftly departing figure left behind only a soft, enchanting voice and laughter. From start to finish, Widow Joyce didn’t spare John Thompson a single glance, completely different from her usual persona as the tofu shop beauty. One had to admit, this “Po Jun” played the role of a lovely tofu seller flawlessly in daily life, without the slightest flaw.

How could the current “Po Jun” of the Royal Secret Intelligence Bureau possibly care about a small-town wastrel? Even though he had just unleashed an unbelievably powerful sword energy, such an unnatural force must come at a tremendous cost. Ethan Thompson had already proven this with his head of white hair and aged face. Even if Little Thompson were to drop dead the very next moment, it wouldn’t be surprising.

A dying man simply isn’t worth paying attention to.

“Damn woman!”

Mr. White stomped his foot in anger, shattering more than a dozen tiles. Even knowing he was being toyed with, he had no choice but to give chase.

“Father!”

Emily White was a bit reluctant. This young fisher girl, just awakening to love, was torn between worrying her father would fall for that vixen’s tricks and fearing for the safety of Little Thompson, who was surrounded by bandits. She didn’t know what to do, and stood there, wracked with indecision.

“Ying’er, go after Xiangjun! I’m fine here!”

John Thompson, deeply worried about the Wu family’s young lady, made the choice for the skilled fisher girl.

As for whether he was truly fine or not, only heaven knew.

“Brother, wait for me! I’ll be back soon!”

Though reluctant, Emily White could only leap away, chasing after her father and that vixen.

Watching Emily White’s departing figure, John Thompson gave a bitter smile, hating his own helplessness.

Sorcerers, martial artists, bandits, the Royal Secret Intelligence Bureau—compared to all these, as a small fry at the bottom of the food chain, he could finally understand why his eldest brother Mark Thompson chose to wander in search of immortals, doing everything possible to step onto the path of sorcery.

Without strength, you’re just meat on the chopping block.

Powerful figures like sorcerers look down from above, treating ordinary people as nothing, deciding life and death at will, utterly unrestrained.

If you don’t want to become a pitiful victim of the law of the jungle, you can only make yourself stronger, so you’re no longer at the mercy of others.

All around, the sounds of fighting rang out. Two cunning bandits, relying on their superior numbers, broke through the Li family retainers’ defenses. Seeing John Thompson still standing there in a daze, one immediately attacked the retainer supporting him, while the other swung his blade straight at him.

It all happened in a flash!

“Xiaolang, look out!”

With a warning shout, there was a dull thud. The bandit swinging at John Thompson shuddered, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

John Thompson finally snapped out of it, only to see his second brother William Thompson, pale-faced, standing in front of him holding a rectangular bluestone slab pried from the street.

Looking down, he saw an unconscious bandit lying at his feet, and immediately understood what had happened.

“Second Brother!”

For a bookworm, picking up a brick and smashing someone isn’t an easy feat.

“X-Xiaolang! S-Second Brother will protect you!”

Having just done something unprecedented, William Thompson forced out a smile. Even after knocking down a bandit, his heart was still pounding wildly.

He gripped the brick with both hands and smashed it down on another bandit.

“Ah!”

With a miserable scream, the unlucky bandit who was caught off guard had a spray of red and white burst from his head—he’d been cracked open on the spot!

So fierce! So brutal!

John Thompson’s hair stood on end. Who said bookworms were useless in a fight? His second brother was actually a beast in disguise.

Another bandit charged in.

“Confucius said: ‘Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals?’”

Reciting from the Analects to bolster his courage, William Thompson didn’t hesitate—another brick flew out.

Thud! The unsuspecting bandit was KO’d on the spot!

Then another one barged in.

“Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?”

Thud!

Second Brother was improving rapidly, his technique growing more practiced.

Is this really okay? John Thompson even felt sorry for the bandits. No matter how skilled they were, one brick and they were down—so ruthless! And “friends from afar”? Did they come here to die?

He could now understand why they said half the Analects could rule the world. The way the sages in the Confucian temple held their bamboo scrolls was clearly the starting pose for brick-fu.

Second Brother William Thompson’s newly discovered brick technique perfectly patched the gaps in the retainers’ defense.

With a brick in hand, the world is mine. There’s no bandit in this world that can’t be knocked down. If one brick isn’t enough, then two will do!

“If others do not understand me and I do not resent, am I not a gentleman?”