The woman was startled at first, but after a moment’s thought, she understood.

“Besides, a hundred taels isn’t much to us. If something changes, we’ll have some leeway. And even if we don’t mention Cheng Pingdao’s connection, this Alice Bennett is no ordinary person. I’ve heard she’s inherited true teachings from an old Daoist, only she’s too frail to practice. If she marries into the Zhang family, with her abilities, she’ll have a say in things. That would be trouble for us. Why make an enemy of her over such a small sum?”

Hearing this, the woman fully understood. She stood up and bowed. “Master, you’re right. I was just being shortsighted. No wonder our family is so prosperous—this is all thanks to you.”

Samuel Young laughed heartily and waved his hand. “No matter how capable I am, being this registrar is as far as I’ll go. I just hope our two sons will make us proud and keep the Yang family going.”

The Marquis of Wei’s domain had only one prefecture and six counties. Every position was precious, and countless people fought desperately for them.

As a former small landowner, Samuel Young had climbed to his current position through a combination of luck and cunning. Climbing any higher was beyond human effort.

But if the next generation could hold on, they could become a gentry family in the county.

At this moment, inside the carriage, Mr. Harris sat beside Alice Bennett. Alice Bennett’s eyes were full of disappointment. After a moment, she withdrew her wistful gaze and softly said to John Harris, “Mr. Harris, let’s go back…”

Before she finished, a fit of violent coughing overtook her.

As the carriage sped away, across the street on the second floor of an inn, David Bolton chuckled and closed the window.

A moment later, someone entered. “Third Young Master, there’s news. The registrar didn’t give permission, but he did give a hundred taels of silver. What do you think…”

“Heh, that old fox is as cunning as ever. A hundred taels isn’t much—money’s useless without connections… But keep a close eye on them. Don’t let them pack up and run off.”

“Yes, Third Young Master, we know what to do. We have people at all the nearby docks—they can’t get away—” Several attendants quickly replied.

At that moment, there was more noise downstairs, and soon someone came up. “Young Master, a clerk from the Zhang family pharmacy says he knows that kid’s whereabouts. Do you want to see him?”

“Oh? Then let me see him.” David Bolton said.

A moment later, Mr. Bolton's Assistant came in, only to find several burly men glaring at him. He hurried forward, his knees giving way as he knelt with a thud. “Third Young Master, I kowtow to you.”

David Bolton smiled faintly and glanced at him. “I hear you have news about that kid?”

“Yes, he came to my shop and sold tiger bone—sold it for a hundred and twenty taels!” Mr. Bolton's Assistant reported everything.

“A hundred and twenty taels—so the Dayan Temple really is living off the bones of tigers!” David Bolton mused for a moment, then suddenly sneered. “Let’s go, let’s see what this kid is up to!”

Chapter Six: Conflict

Edward Clark took out the box, spent a gold leaf, and exchanged it for ten taels of silver—pure, fine silver, each ingot weighing two taels, five in total.

Once outside, he felt ravenous and hurried to a shop.

As soon as he entered, he called out, “Five pounds of beef, a basket of buns, and two side dishes!”

The shopkeeper was stunned, staring wide-eyed at him. Edward Clark laughed. “What, you don’t sell beef here? Or is your shop too small for a big appetite?”

He took out a silver ingot, gleaming white.

The shopkeeper snapped out of it, bowed, and said, “Of course! What shop would fear a big appetite? I’m just not used to such orders—five pounds startled me!”

He called toward the back, “Slice up five pounds of beef!”

As they spoke, a waiter came in, bent over, carrying a tray. This was a good shop—within moments, four dishes arrived: a large bowl of finely sliced beef, a plate of Kung Pao chicken, a dish of peanuts, and freshly steamed buns, all steaming and fragrant on the table.

Edward Clark said nothing, just wolfed down the food. In no time, most of it was gone. Whether practicing Daoist arts or martial skills, both consumed a lot of vital energy, requiring plenty of nourishment to maintain the body.

His appetite had truly doubled. After eating his fill, Edward Clark drank some tea and pondered.

Though the temple let him eat, it only had seven acres of land left—enough for a simple life, but far from enough for cultivation. Wealth, land, methods, and companions—none could be lacking, and wealth was the first of the four essentials for cultivation.

There were no difficulties in his current training, except for a lack of vital energy. He needed medicinal supplements to speed up his progress and reach the next level within half a month.

Of course, the most important thing now was to obtain an official status, which meant going to Qingyang Temple in the city for assessment.

To become a formal Daoist, one had to pass an assessment. Qingyang Temple made things easy, but there were still requirements: at least three years of experience in a temple, incense support from a temple, and most importantly, mastery of the seven volumes of the true scriptures. He only had one volume—he still needed to master six more.

He met most of the requirements, except for the six volumes he hadn’t memorized.

There was also the Marquis of Wei’s summons, which seemed suspicious and needed careful investigation. After thinking for a while, Edward Clark felt he had digested enough, so he paid and left.