Letting Physician Sullivan and Fourth Son roam outside unchecked is a huge hidden danger. Just because the The Foster Family doesn’t provoke them doesn’t mean they won’t expose their own identities. Maybe tomorrow Henry Sullivan will show up in the capital with Fourth Son to acknowledge their ancestry; maybe yesterday, the one surnamed Sullivan, after being bullied by the authorities and unable to bear it, already pointed at the young man beside him in court and shouted at the magistrate: He is the current Prime Minister’s Fourth Son, who among you dares to touch him...

The safest method is exactly what Prime Minister Foster said: kill them.

A son already abandoned can be abandoned again. Fourth Son cannot be allowed to live.

The Elder smiled, “I’ll investigate, I’ll find them eventually. Anything else?”

Prime Minister Foster’s tone was very calm: “I have a personal attendant named David Carter, it was he who discovered that there was no corpse in Fourth Son’s coffin.”

The Elder nodded, “Understood.” With that, he turned and left. When he reached the door, he paused slightly and left a final remark: “You don’t look well, take care of yourself.”

From appearing to leaving, the thin and small The Elder kept both hands tucked inside his sleeves, never taking them out.

The next day, David Carter accidentally fell into a deep well and drowned. Not only that, but everyone who had contact with him the previous day either mysteriously disappeared or died in accidents. Since it involved the Prime Minister’s residence, the Ministry of Justice dared not be careless and investigated thoroughly for a while, but every case was completely free of suspicious points, and in the end, nothing came of it.

Three years later, The Elder sent word to Lord Foster, finally locating Henry Sullivan, and had already dispatched people to go after him...

Thirty li north of Swallow Slope, at the entrance of Yin's Inn, with careful calculation against the unprepared, Brian Carter easily figured out that the person Samuel Wright was looking for was himself. That life-and-death calamity at the age of a hundred was still vivid in his mind. Brian Carter didn’t take it too seriously, but he would never forget that he still had the identity of a ‘calamity star’, and of course understood why these three Yan warriors had come all this way.

Brian Carter sighed inwardly. Fifteen years of peaceful days ended today.

Brian Carter changed the subject: “Lord Wright and your two distinguished companions look impressive—surely you all possess great skills and insight. I have something I’d like to consult the experts about.”

With the mountain flood blocking the road, Samuel Wright couldn’t continue his errand overnight, so he was no longer in a hurry and replied, “These two nephews of mine learned some martial arts in the past. Bringing them with me all the way from Great Yan to Nanli gives me peace of mind. As for martial skills, they know a thing or two. If you have any questions, just ask.”

Brian Carter shook his head. “It’s not about martial arts, but about weapons. Have you ever heard of a mechanical device that can shoot out hundreds of foot-long blades in the blink of an eye, with such force at close range that it can hack a person to pieces?”

The three men from Yan all looked both amused and exasperated. One of them even burst out laughing: “One pull of a spring and hundreds of blades shoot out? If such a powerful thing really existed, what’s the point of learning martial arts?”

Chapter Ten: Steamed Bun

Before Brian Carter could speak, Little Constable was already annoyed by their dismissive attitude and jumped in: “The crime scene was clear as day—twelve people instantly dismembered, shattered into over a thousand pieces, each piece exactly the same size. Not even the world’s best chef could cut so evenly! There really is such a deadly device; it’s just that you’re ignorant and don’t know about it.”

Samuel Wright had also been smiling and shaking his head, thinking Brian Carter was just fantasizing and making things up. If such a thing really existed, it would be infamous—he would have heard of it. But then Little Constable spoke so convincingly, as if it were true, so he pressed further: “Is there really such a thing? May I ask Junior Officer to take me to the scene? I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d be very grateful.”

Little Constable shook his head and refused. Samuel Wright turned to look at Brian Carter again. Brian Carter kept his head down, his gaze searching the ground as if looking for something.

Seeing this, Samuel Wright relaxed and coughed softly, then gave a signal to his subordinate. Soon, a young man behind him crouched down, and when he stood up again, he had a silver ingot in his hand: “Hey, here’s ten taels of silver. I wonder who lost it...”

“It’s mine, it’s mine,” Brian Carter said, earning another ten taels. Little Constable’s face turned dark as he glared sideways: “Are you rich or something? Dropping silver everywhere!”

Brian Carter happily pocketed the silver. His attitude toward the three assassins had already shifted from a constable of Swallow Hill to a clerk at Yin's Inn. He gestured to invite the guests and smiled at Samuel Wright: “Since the road is blocked and you’ve had a long journey, there’s no need to rush. Rest here for a while. But this is Yin's Inn—I wonder if you mind the bad luck?” He then briefly explained the reason for the corpse-driving and the inn in the deep mountains.

Samuel Wright showed a look of disgust. People who travel the martial world are very superstitious about such unlucky places, fearing bad luck. That’s just the custom of this world, unrelated to martial skill. But in order to verify whether Brian Carter’s terrifying weapon really existed, he forced himself to go along.