Upon being sternly questioned, the two young men both showed scornful smiles, but the chubby middle-aged man stepped forward politely, cupping his hands and saying, “Greetings, officer. My surname is Rong, Samuel Wright. We are all traveling merchants from the Yan Kingdom. Three days ago, we delivered goods at Qingyang Prefecture up ahead. After finishing our business, we stopped by to visit an old friend.” As he spoke, he reached into his robe: “I still have the documents I used to pass through the checkpoints recently, which you may inspect, sir.”

At this moment, Brian Carter suddenly took a deep breath through his nose, then looked at Mr. Rong and smiled.

The junior constable was now entirely preoccupied with the ‘midnight murder case’ and didn’t want any complications, so he waved his hand and said, “Forget it, no need to see them. There’s just been a major murder case here. You all need to leave at once and not delay the official investigation.”

Mr. Rong was easy to talk to and immediately nodded at these words: “We’ll leave right away. There’s just one thing I’d like to ask, officer—how far is it to Yanzi Ping?” Brian Carter, who had been standing by with a cheerful smile, was slightly taken aback. He had grown up in Yanzi Ping, chatting at the neighbor’s door and napping in the neighbor’s yard—he knew the place inside out. He’d never heard of anyone having relatives or friends in Yan, but he and Physician Sullivan did have quite a few ‘acquaintances’ in Yan...

Brian Carter picked up the conversation, but didn’t directly ask who they were looking for. Instead, he pointed toward the town: “Not far, just thirty li south from here. But unfortunately, due to the heavy rain, a flash flood has blocked the road. You won’t be able to get through tonight.”

Samuel Wright frowned slightly, and Brian Carter reassured him: “Mountain water rises fast and recedes fast. As long as it doesn’t rain again, it should be gone by tomorrow afternoon. We can travel back together then.”

Samuel Wright nodded: “Travel back together? So you’re officers from Yanzi Ping. That’s great. The old friend I’m visiting hasn’t been in touch for years, so I’d like to ask you two about him.” He addressed the junior constable, since she was dressed as an official and seemed more trustworthy.

The junior constable shrugged and looked at Brian Carter. She had just arrived in Yanzi Ping and didn’t even know how many horses were at the yamen, so she couldn’t help find anyone. But Samuel Wright misunderstood, thinking she was being deliberately difficult. With a knowing smile and a wave of his sleeve, he slipped over a silver ingot: “Please, officer, do me this favor.”

In the southern counties, yamen runners and constables were privately recruited, not official posts, and received no salary—just ten taels of ‘work silver’ a year. The silver ingot Mr. Rong handed over was worth a year’s income for an ordinary constable. If it were a head constable or officer, they’d be all smiles by now, but this junior constable wasn’t having it. She raised her voice and scolded, “How dare you! Bribing an officer—do you know that’s a crime?”

As she spoke, she really wanted to arrest him, but unfortunately, she’d left in a hurry and hadn’t brought her iron chains. She’d have to use her belt to tie someone up, and for a moment, she hesitated.

Travelers from distant Yan who treated shady inns as a joke wouldn’t care about a mere junior constable, but Samuel Wright still had business to attend to and didn’t want trouble. He changed his tone and smiled: “You misunderstand, officer. I just found this silver on the road earlier and couldn’t find the owner, so I’m handing it over to you.”

As soon as he finished, a voice chimed in from the side: “It’s mine, it’s mine! That’s my silver—I’ve been looking for it for days.” As he spoke, Brian Carter strode forward, took the silver, and grinned from ear to ear...

The junior constable was about to lose her temper again, but Brian Carter didn’t give her a chance to speak. He asked Samuel Wright, “Who are you looking for? The town is small—I know every household. If the person is in Yanzi Ping, I’ll definitely know.”

Samuel Wright didn’t mention a name: “My old friend is tall and thin, has a bad temper and doesn’t talk much. The most recognizable thing is that he’s weak in energy, sleep-deprived, and has two dark circles under his eyes all year round.”

The three martial artists from Yan had come to find Physician Sullivan. They didn’t expect Physician Sullivan to have kept his name while in hiding, so they only described his features, not his name.

The junior constable had no idea who they were talking about and looked completely confused, but Brian Carter seemed to understand perfectly and said with a smile, “Tall, skinny, bad temper, dark circles—I know, you must mean George Washington. He’s originally from elsewhere and only settled here a dozen years ago, and he’s been here ever since.”

Samuel Wright was delighted to hear that Physician Sullivan really lived in Yanzi Ping: “That’s right, it’s George Washington!”

Having pocketed the money, Brian Carter now ‘held nothing back’ and continued without waiting for further questions: “George Washington isn’t alone. He has a nephew with him. I heard that when the boy was still in swaddling clothes, George Washington brought him to settle in Yanzi Ping. He’s fifteen this year, but the nephew was born weak, and things aren’t too good here...” As he spoke, Brian Carter pointed to his head.

At the mention of the ‘foolish nephew’, a sharp glint flashed in Samuel Wright’s eyes, but he ignored Brian Carter for the moment and turned to his two subordinates, laughing in a low voice, “Just as expected. Very good!”

Brian Carter was also smiling, his eyes bright, thinking to himself: I am George Washington’s foolish nephew.

Chapter Nine: Kill

Brian Carter’s high-ranking father was still the current prime minister of Yan, and on the surface, everything seemed as glorious as ever. But the prime minister himself knew all too well that... his good days might be numbered.