Henry Clark also did not reply, merely and silently channeling the streams of qi from his qi sea into the blade of the pine-patterned Wind Sword in his hand. Just as the runes were about to be activated, Ethan suddenly turned around, her upper body leaning forward, eyes flashing with murderous intent, warily staring toward the doorway.

At the same time, a laugh sounded by Henry Clark's ear: "Truly, life is full of unexpected encounters. Who would have thought that even in such a remote place as the Guling Market, I would run into my cousin. Henry, weren't you at the Linhai Academy, studying those arts of spiritual cultivation? How did you end up here?"

At the shop entrance, a graceful young man was strolling in with a light smile. He too was strikingly handsome, his words and demeanor as refreshing as a spring breeze.

Henry Clark's body instinctively shrank back. Without thinking, he actually felt fear toward this man, along with a faint sense of hatred. The next moment, his gaze sharpened slightly, realizing it was the body's lingering instinct.

In this era, aside from those few who stood high above all others, even the reclusive Heaven-ranked powerhouses, he was confident he could handle with ease. What virtue or ability did this man possess to make him feel fear?

He skipped over him directly, looking to those behind. Behind this man, there were two robust men following closely, silent and lifeless in their aura, like the young man's shadows.

Yet in his eyes, these two were like swords hidden in cloth, their sharpness impossible to conceal, extremely dangerous.

Whether it was this young man or the two servants behind, all possessed formidable martial strength—no less than Ethan.

But he did not recognize any of these three. As for the one calling him cousin, he had only a few vague fragments in his mind. He could only turn around, feigning utter confusion.

The young man played along perfectly, glancing at Henry Clark before smiling with narrowed eyes: "Three years in the academy and you don't recognize me anymore? When we were young, you often called me George, do you remember?"

Only then did Henry Clark feign sudden realization, but Ethan let out a cold snort, her killing intent burning even fiercer: "So fake! Of all the young lord's dozen or so brothers, you, George Clark, are the most hypocritical! The people Mr. Harris and I killed these past days, weren't they all sent by you? Attempting to assassinate the heir is a crime punishable by clan extermination! Sooner or later, His Majesty will wipe out all you traitors!"

George Clark was completely unconcerned, instead bursting into laughter: "What a thorough extermination! After all this time, Ethan, you're still so adorable. George Clark almost can't bear to kill you. Heh, a few months ago, how would I, George Clark, have dared harbor any disloyalty? But now that my uncle's death is certain, even if I, George Clark, take Henry's life, who could do anything to me?"

Ethan's face instantly turned pale, her figure swaying as she retorted coldly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Only a fool would believe—"

George Clark sneered, apparently too lazy to argue with Ethan, and continued speaking to himself: "Now the position of Demon King is vacant, with schemers inside and powerful enemies outside. Are we really going to let this good-for-nothing ascend the throne?"

Looking at Henry Clark, George Clark let out another cold laugh: "I came here just to inform you, Henry. After all, we are brothers. If you are willing to give up the position of heir, I, George Clark, can spare your life. If not, don't blame your George for being ruthless. This isn't like when we were kids—just because you begged for mercy, I'd let you go—"

With that, he swept his sleeve and left. Inside the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, Ethan's expression was ashen, while Henry Clark appeared deep in thought.

Chapter 008: Golden Needle Acupuncture Point Test

After purchasing the pine-patterned Wind Sword from the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, and collecting the reserved willow-leaf talisman knives and silver needles, the two of them had no further interest in browsing and returned directly to the carriage.

Ethan remained silent the whole time, no longer bothering to hide the sorrow in her eyes.

It wasn't until Henry Clark returned to the carriage that she suddenly spoke: "Young lord, that George Clark has always been cunning. His words are always half-truths, you don't need to pay them any mind. His Majesty is only temporarily out of contact, there's no way he has fallen. With his abilities, how many in this world could possibly harm him?"

Henry Clark thought to himself, if what George Clark said truly didn't matter, Ethan, why did you react that way at the time?

Even if that father of his, whom he had never met and had no memory of, truly hadn't died, the situation was still extremely dire.

If he wasn't confident, how could George Clark possibly take such a huge risk, disregarding all consequences, to kill him, the heir?

His heart chilled, but Henry Clark's face showed nothing. With a gentle smile, he stepped into the carriage.

But as he sat down, his expression was already tinged with bitter amusement.

What should he do now? Judging by George Clark's demeanor, he was clearly fully prepared. Most likely, the moment he stepped out of Guling Market, George Clark would make his move.

Though he still didn't know what trump cards George Clark held, just the man himself and those two servants would already be extremely difficult to deal with.

Could it be that, having just arrived in this era, he was about to die once already?

Though he still couldn't figure out his own situation, or whether he had any hope of returning, even an ant clings to life—how much more so a person?

His gaze gradually turned cold. Henry Clark flipped his right hand, taking a few silver needles and a piece of blue crystal into his palm.

The silver needles were prepared for himself; with acupuncture techniques combined with qi-guiding arts, he could further strengthen his body.

The latter was something he had taken from his own pouch—a beast crystal from a second-tier blue-faced wolf. On the market now, it was worth ten thousand silver coins, or a hundred taels of gold.