As the saying goes, since you’re here, you might as well settle in. After the initial shock, once he calmed down and thought about it... Anyway, who knows if he’ll ever be able to return to his original world? Starting over here isn’t so bad—it’s all a good thing.

…………

In the blink of an eye, Mr. Clark had grown to be three or four years old.

In this world, his name was “Henry Clark.” He once asked his father, Squire Clark, “Why am I named this? Do I have an older brother called Edward Clark?”

Squire Clark told him no, but if he ever had another son or a younger brother, he could consider naming him Edward Clark, because in big families like theirs, names had to follow a generational sequence.

Henry Clark asked again, “It’s fine to have a generational sequence, but is there such a thing as doing it in reverse?”

Squire Clark didn’t answer, only saying that when the time was right, he would tell him.

A few more years passed, and it was time for Henry Clark to start school.

But he felt he already knew how to read (simplified characters), and that all that archaic stuff was useless anyway, so when the teacher tried to teach him, he didn’t pay attention and was always playing tricks on the teacher.

And since he was the young master of a wealthy family, the teacher didn’t dare to really punish him. So, after two years of this, he managed to drive away more than a dozen teachers.

Squire Clark was furious and called his son in for a talk, saying, “Our The Clark Family may be merchants, but we’ve been a scholarly family for generations. If you don’t study hard and earn a title, not only will you disgrace the The Clark Family, but without a title, you won’t even be able to employ servants in the future, do you understand?”

Henry Clark replied, “Can’t I just marry a few more wives? Why would I need servants then?”

He got a beating for that, went hungry for a few days, and was finally sent to “Shuren Academy.”

This “Shuren Academy” was a rather famous private school in Hangzhou Prefecture, known for specializing in disciplining spoiled rich kids like Henry Clark. The tuition was expensive, and it was run like a prison.

The head of the academy was named Drew, already over seventy, with a white beard. It was said that back in the day, he had easily come first in the provincial exams when he went to the capital, but during the palace exam, someone sabotaged him by whispering in the emperor’s ear, so he wasn’t chosen as the top scholar. The one who was chosen was a rich kid with powerful connections. In a fit of anger, Mr. Drew resigned from the government post he was assigned and returned home to open this private school. What he hated most in life were those rich kids.

And so, Henry Clark was “locked up” in Shuren Academy for a year.

Unexpectedly, after a year, he “graduated.”

This wasn’t because he was some kind of genius, but because after a year, he still couldn’t write (traditional characters), no matter how he was taught. In terms we’re familiar with, he probably had a bit of “reading disability”... On top of that, he was thick-skinned, impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and loved to stir up trouble between teachers and classmates. He was nothing like other kids his age, and even more worldly and slick than some of the teachers, making the academy a place of constant chaos. Mr. Drew really couldn’t do anything with him. To protect the academy’s reputation, he could only say, “I’ve taught him all I can,” and kicked him out.

Seeing his son turn out so “promising,” Squire Clark was anxious, thinking: Forget it, this must be fate. If he can’t do literature, let him learn martial arts. If he has talent in martial arts, at least our The Clark Family’s “secret treasure” will have an heir.

So, Squire Clark hired a boxing master to teach Henry Clark martial arts.

Unfortunately, since the The Clark Family hadn’t been involved in the martial world for a long time, they’d pretty much lost all connections with real martial artists. Even if Squire Clark had some acquaintances among the experts, he couldn’t find them for now, and even if he did, it would be awkward to ask them to teach his kid. So he could only find some local farmers with basic skills to teach Henry Clark.

Their skills were barely enough to lay a foundation—at best, after ten years of practice, he’d only reach the level of a street performer.

What’s more... Henry Clark wasn’t the type to study anything diligently.

When the master told him to practice horse stance, he’d find every way to slack off. When told to learn routines, he’d watch once and then say things like, “I already get it,” or “I’m invincible now,” and then run off to fight with other kids in the street—most of the time, he’d still lose... In this way, he drove away more than a dozen martial arts teachers as well.

Seeing that his son was hopeless in both literature and martial arts, Squire Clark thought, forget it, I’ll just teach him business. I don’t expect him to be outstanding, but at least he should be able to keep the family business going.

…………

The eighteenth year of Yongtai, summer.

Overall, it was a peaceful year. The borders hadn’t seen any major wars for over a decade, and in recent years, there hadn’t been any particularly severe natural disasters within the borders of the Great Ming. There also hadn’t been any infamous traitors in the court, so the common people were living fairly well.

After the Spring Festival that year, Henry Clark turned seventeen.

As the song goes, youth is brilliant in every way, but it passes by too quickly.

At seventeen, Henry Clark’s facial features were exactly the same as his “four eyebrows” look before he crossed over, but he was twenty years younger than he was then, and still quite thin. He might not be called handsome or dashing, but at least he’d catch your eye if he walked down the street.

The key was that his temperament was completely different from others his age.