Chris Clark sighed, shook his head, and walked out of the room. In truth, this home was bare, with nothing much to tidy up. Still, some eating utensils should be brought along... Just as Chris Clark was packing, Matthew Harris also slipped into the inner room, glaring angrily at Ryan Clark.

　　"Tiger Head, don’t be mad!"

　　Ryan Clark knew why Matthew Harris was angry, and he also knew there was something else that would make Matthew Harris even angrier.

　　He wrapped the box containing the gold ingots in a piece of black cloth, then stuffed in some clothes for daily use. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give the gold to The Bolton Family, but it was best not to let others know about it so easily. Especially Chris Clark—if that honest man saw so much gold, who knows how he’d react. Better to keep it close for now, and hand it over to Chris Clark and his wife when the time was right.

　　Ryan Clark didn’t have much to pack, and soon finished getting ready.

　　As for The Bolton Family, after Ryan Clark changed his clothes, she took the bloodstained garments to the kitchen and stuffed them into the stove.

　　There were still some pancakes in the pot; heat them up and they could be taken as rations. After lighting the stove, The Bolton Family went to help Chris Clark pack.

　　Ryan Clark took out the half-broken hunting knife and handed it to Matthew Harris.

　　"Tiger Head, I’m sorry...

　　The knife broke! But I promise, it won’t be long before I pay you back with a better hunting knife—a hundred times better than this one."

　　To Ryan Clark’s surprise, Matthew Harris wasn’t angry.

　　He took the broken knife, didn’t even look at it, just tucked it into his belt, his face gloomy and silent.

　　Ryan Clark hurriedly said, "Tiger Head, I really didn’t mean to..."

　　"Ah Fu, you bastard!"

　　Matthew Harris suddenly growled in a low voice, "Did you ever think of me as a brother? Something this dangerous, and you didn’t even say a word—do you take me for an outsider? What’s a knife worth, anyway? You think I’d be mad about that? You, you, you really underestimate me!"

　　Did you ever think of me as a brother!

　　Ryan Clark’s heart trembled in that instant.

　　The gunshot at Xiong’er River Reservoir, after unlocking the shackles in his heart, also closed a door.

　　Brotherhood...

　　Such a familiar word, so easy to say.

　　But for Ryan Clark, these two characters carried so much meaning...

　　Seeing Matthew Harris turn to leave, Ryan Clark quickly took two steps and grabbed Matthew Harris’s arm, "Tiger Head, I was wrong!"

　　"So, will you dare to sneak off on your own and take risks behind my back again?"

　　"I won’t... If anything comes up in the future, I’ll definitely discuss it with you."

　　Matthew Harris was straightforward—quick to anger, quick to cool down.

　　He suddenly turned, hooked Ryan Clark’s neck with his arm, and pressed his fist hard on Ryan Clark’s head, "If you dare to go off on your own like that again, we’re done being brothers.

　　Oh, and you said you’d pay me back with a knife, right?

　　Heh, if it’s not better than this one, watch out—I’ll beat you up then..."

　　"I know, I know!"

　　...

　　William Harris and Chris Clark each carried a heavy sack on their backs, while Matthew Harris carried a bundle.

　　The Bolton Family held Ryan Clark’s hand in one hand, with a bundle slung over one shoulder... The two families quietly left Zhongyang Town under the cover of darkness.

　　Without a trace!

　　After walking three or four li, William Harris turned back, gazing at the now-blurry outline of Zhongyang Town in the night, and suddenly let out a long sigh.

　　"Big brother, are you reluctant to leave?"

　　William Harris nodded, "After living here for over ten years, of course there’s some attachment."

　　"Yeah, I feel pretty uneasy inside too..."

　　"Ha, what’s there to be uneasy about? A real man roams the world with his sword, making a home wherever he goes. We’re leaving today, but one day we’ll be back."

　　William Harris took a deep breath, looking at Ryan Clark and Matthew Harris walking ahead.

　　"Brother, Zhongyang Town is too small!

　　Ah Fu is destined for great things. This little Zhongyang Town can’t contain him at all. Us leaving today might just be opening up a new world for the kids. If we stayed here forever, no matter how capable they are, the world would never know them.

　　Letting go is good—letting go of today might bring a broader future...

　　Brother, think of the children, and there’s nothing to feel uneasy or attached about. Let’s go, or the kids will laugh at us."

　　Though he was furious at Ryan Clark’s recklessness on the surface, inside, he felt endless pride.

　　Chris Clark nodded vigorously, looking at Ryan Clark’s thin, small back: Peng’er, your father believes that one day, you will soar high and become his pride!

Chapter 08: Planning for the Future

　　The minds of the ancients were actually much simpler than those of later generations.

　　Of course, simple doesn’t mean stupid—this involves a question of dialectics. In fact, even in his previous life, Ryan Clark never really understood what dialectics was all about. Sometimes, he felt that using dialectics to muddle things up and blur right and wrong worked pretty well.

　　William Harris and Chris Clark were both very simple men.

　　Even though William Harris had once been a canal leader, by nature, his thinking wasn’t complicated.