Benjamin Reed turned his head and looked Ethan Brooks up and down, scrutinizing him for quite a while before finally saying, “General Brooks’s future achievements will surely be extraordinary!” Ethan Brooks was taken aback by these words, not understanding why Benjamin Reed was suddenly praising him, so he could only reply, “Strategist, you flatter me!” Benjamin Reed shook his head, as if disagreeing with Ethan Brooks’s words, leaving Ethan Brooks completely at a loss, even more unable to guess what Benjamin Reed was thinking.

“Andrew, I wish to send you to bring back Patrick! Are you confident you can do it?” Benjamin Reed suddenly fixed his gaze on Ethan Brooks and asked. Ethan Brooks was startled by this; he truly hadn’t expected that this was why Benjamin Reed had summoned him. After thinking carefully, he raised his head to meet Benjamin Reed’s eyes and answered, “Yes!” It seemed Benjamin Reed had already anticipated Ethan Brooks’s answer; upon hearing it, he merely smiled and asked again, “Andrew, what argument do you plan to use to bring back Patrick?” Ethan Brooks thought for a moment and said, “His mother!” Benjamin Reed looked surprised and said, “Andrew, you actually thought of the same thing as I did—excellent!” After speaking, he called Ethan Brooks to his side and whispered, “If Patrick agrees to return to the lord’s camp at your request, tell him not to come back yet, but to head to Jiangxia instead!” He then gave a few more quiet instructions, all of which Ethan Brooks memorized.

“Andrew, go quickly and return quickly. I will wait here for your good news!” After giving his orders, Benjamin Reed straightened up and spoke.

“Rest assured, strategist! Ethan will not disappoint you!” With that, he turned and left the residence, led out a swift horse, asked for the direction Paul Morgan had gone, and mounted up to give chase.

With the command token in hand, Ethan Brooks could not be stopped by the city guards. As soon as he left the city, he spurred his strong horse to its fastest speed, eyes wide open all the way, afraid that if he was careless for even a moment, he would lose track of Paul Morgan.

Fortunately, Paul Morgan was not traveling quickly, so after less than half an hour of pursuit, Ethan Brooks caught up with Paul Morgan, who had left the city long before him. From a distance, Ethan Brooks saw a lone rider moving slowly ahead and immediately shouted from horseback, “Sir, please wait!” Seeing that the rider ahead showed no sign of stopping, likely not having heard him, Ethan Brooks hurriedly shouted again. Only then did he see Paul Morgan stop his horse, turn around, and look at him with a puzzled expression.

Seeing Paul Morgan stop, Ethan Brooks also slowed his warhorse, and when he reached Paul Morgan, he reined in and steadied his mount, then cupped his fists and said, “Sir, please wait. I have something to tell you!”

Paul Morgan looked at the young general before him, finding him completely unfamiliar. He was certain he had never seen this person before, so he became more alert and asked, “And you are?” Ethan Brooks smiled and replied, “I am a deputy general under Lord Liu, surname Xue, given name Bing, courtesy name Andrew.” Seeing that Paul Morgan still looked wary, he continued, “I have not served under Lord Liu for long, so it is natural that you have not met me before.”

Hearing this, Paul Morgan relaxed a little and said, “General, you chased after me in such haste—does the lord have a message for me?” Ethan Brooks smiled and replied, “No!” As soon as he said this, he saw Paul Morgan immediately become guarded again, so he continued, “I have something to tell you. Would you be willing to listen?” This actually piqued Paul Morgan’s curiosity, and he asked, “What is it? I am all ears!”

Ethan Brooks took a deep breath, knowing that whether he could bring Paul Morgan back to Liu Bei’s camp depended on this moment. He organized his thoughts and slowly said to Paul Morgan, “May I ask, sir, are you going to Cao’s camp in order to assist Cao Cao?”

Paul Morgan did not understand the purpose of Ethan Brooks’s question, but still answered, “No! Everyone knows I am going to Cao’s camp because Cao Cao coerced me with my mother!” Ethan Brooks asked again, “Then, how did your mother react to you joining Cao?”

Upon hearing this, Paul Morgan’s expression became very strange, but he still answered truthfully, “My elderly mother scolded me, and then took her own life!” After speaking, his face was full of sorrow and regret.

Before Paul Morgan could recover, Ethan Brooks continued, “Then do you know why your mother took her own life?” At this moment, Paul Morgan’s mind was filled with the image of his mother’s suicide, and without thinking, he asked, “Why?” This was exactly what Ethan Brooks was waiting for, and he immediately said, “Your mother took her own life precisely so that you would have no more worries holding you back!” Paul Morgan was shocked by these words and asked, “What do you mean by that?” Seeing Paul Morgan’s reaction, Ethan Brooks knew he was halfway to success and couldn’t help feeling a bit pleased. Hearing Paul Morgan’s question, he slowly explained, “Cao Cao saw your great talent and wanted to recruit you. Knowing of your filial piety, he had your mother brought to the army. He originally wanted her to write you a letter to summon you, but she refused. Cao Cao then had someone forge a letter to trick you into coming. Out of concern for your mother’s safety, you did not question the letter’s authenticity and went to join Cao Cao!” After saying all this in one breath, Ethan Brooks quickly took a breath and observed Paul Morgan’s expression, noticing that when he mentioned “not questioning the letter’s authenticity,” Paul Morgan looked very embarrassed. But Ethan Brooks had no time to tease him and continued, “When your mother saw you, she naturally guessed that Cao Cao had tricked you in her name. Feeling she could not face you, she took her own life. And this, too, was to make you leave Cao’s camp!”