Just now, Wise Man was only holding the baby and gently patting its back, without taking anything out to feed it. When Ethan Clark handed over a bowl, he took it and first tasted a little of each himself.

Ethan Clark found this middle-aged man increasingly strange.

It wasn’t that it was odd for the man to drink first after receiving the food, but that he tasted both kinds, and only a little of each, as if testing for poison.

After sampling, the middle-aged man waited a while to make sure he felt no discomfort, then began to feed the baby.

Ethan Clark asked calmly, “Sir, where do you come from?”

“My apologies.” He bowed deeply, and when he straightened up, he took a couple of deep breaths and said, “I come from the land of Zhao.”

So, he was someone from the former Zhao territory.

“The Zhao clan has perished, and I hid in the mountains and forests out of fear,” the middle-aged man spoke with a distinct Zhao accent, something not easily concealed. He continued, “Passing through here, I saw that you are a capable lord and felt the urge to offer my service.”

Ethan Clark asked, “Do you have a surname?”

The middle-aged man replied, “I am called Raymond.”

Raymond (yīng) is an ornament worn around the neck.

Given current naming customs, his family… or perhaps his ancestors, must have made neck ornaments?

But as soon as Ethan Clark heard the man was from Zhao, had been hiding in the mountains, and was traveling with a baby of about one or two years old, he made further associations.

He began conversing with the man who called himself Raymond, asking about many things, and found that the man was unfamiliar with most topics, but was quite adept in matters of hospitality. (It’s possible this was a deliberate act.)

Raymond, talking with Ethan Clark, initially thought this was just a minor local lord with some ambition to develop his territory, and would be easy to fool.

Unexpectedly, after a round of conversation, he found that some of his half-truths clearly couldn’t deceive Ethan Clark, and he was forced to show some real skills.

While testing Raymond, Ethan Clark was also weighing things in his mind.

He had already more or less guessed the background of the pair, but couldn’t be one hundred percent certain.

If the two really were who Ethan Clark suspected, he would have to seriously consider whether to take them in.

Chapter 10: Andrew Price and the Orphan of Zhao?

Because the accent couldn’t be concealed, he claimed to be from Zhao.

And he was traveling with a young baby, looking quite destitute.

Who could it be?

Ethan Clark felt this guy was underestimating him!

Clearly, this was Andrew Price carrying the Orphan of Zhao, thinking he could take advantage of a minor noble, assuming he was dim-witted and inexperienced, right!?

But honestly, if it really were an ordinary minor noble, young and with limited exposure, cut off from information, he could indeed be fooled.

Andrew Price substituting his own son for the Orphan of Zhao, letting his own child be killed, was a tremendous secret—not only deceiving the king and many nobles, but even Zhao’s staunch ally, the Han clan.

Minor nobles in remote areas, even if they knew something, would know very little.

But Ethan Clark was a transmigrator.

His way of thinking was far beyond that of people of this era.

Should he take them in or not?

After feeding the baby, Andrew Price put the child back in the basket and slung it over his back again.

Though he tried hard to hide it, his eyes were fixed on Ethan Clark, as if ready to attack at any moment, or to flee with the baby.

In fact, after the Zhao clan was destroyed, Andrew Price had saved the last bloodline of the Zhao main family by sacrificing his own son in place of the Orphan of Zhao.

Afterward, Andrew Price fled into the mountains with the Orphan of Zhao.

In these times, the wilderness was no paradise—wild beasts and poisonous insects could appear at any moment, and a minor illness left untreated could easily become fatal under the wind, sun, and rain.

Andrew Price even sacrificed his close friend to protect the Orphan of Zhao. (Legend has it that Gongsun Chuju was willing.)

In those days, betraying a close friend was even more shameful than sacrificing one’s own son.

So, one can imagine how determined Andrew Price was to protect the Orphan of Zhao.

Often, determination alone was not enough. He survived in the mountains for a while thanks to his skills, found a cave to shelter in, but as his sword broke and the cave was taken by a bear, his health deteriorated, and he could no longer carry on, so he left the mountains.

Andrew Price’s plan was to find a small village to recuperate, and once recovered, to obtain weapons and necessities by any means, then return to the mountains with the Orphan of Zhao.

The Old Clark Family, which had recently taken in many new dependents and seemed poised for major development, was Andrew Price’s ideal target.

A family that suddenly increases its numbers will experience a period of social chaos.

Major development meant the family was wealthy and ambitious, and more tolerant in recruiting talent.

Most importantly, Andrew Price observed that the Old Clark Family consisted of only an old man and a child, with just one retainer.