A bizarre murder had occurred at Qingshou Temple, alarming so many important figures, yet he seemed not to care at all. He simply gazed at the green object in his hand, a hint of confusion on his pale face.

Just then, footsteps approached. Brian Carter didn’t even look up. With a squeeze of his hand, the woven object turned into a useless ball of green leaves, losing all vitality.

Brian Carter looked up and saw Adam Cooper hurrying over. He yawned, the confusion on his face fading, stretched lazily, and casually tucked the flattened object into his chest.

Adam Cooper smiled apologetically and said, “Chief Qiu, I’ve already found a fine coffin and materials to preserve the body. When should we proceed with the burial?”

Brian Carter glanced at the tall spirit tower, his eyes carrying a deeper meaning as he said, “As subordinates, we just need to be prepared. As for the exact time of burial, we’ll have to wait for Mr. Sullivan’s orders.”

Adam Cooper wiped the sweat from his face, lowered his voice, and asked curiously, “Chief Qiu, who exactly is the person to be buried?” It turned out that after Brian Carter brought out the body, he had instructed Adam Cooper to handle things, but Adam Cooper still didn’t know what had happened at Qingshou Temple.

Brian Carter looked at Adam Cooper with interest. “Why don’t you guess?”

Adam Cooper frowned and thought hard, then suddenly slapped his forehead and said, “Chief Qiu told me to keep things low-key, which means there’s something suspicious about this death—most likely an assassination. And you asked me to find a top-quality coffin and properly preserve the body, which means this person must be of high status. Could it be…”

He glanced around, then whispered mysteriously, “It’s the Master…”

Brian Carter looked at Adam Cooper for a long moment. “Your thinking has been quite unique lately.”

Adam Cooper thought Brian Carter was praising him and couldn’t help but smile. “After following you for so long, Chief Qiu, I’ve naturally gotten a bit smarter. Actually, my reasoning is most certain because, although I couldn’t see the face of the corpse, the Daoist robe on the body definitely belongs to the Master! In a Buddhist temple, only the Master wears a Daoist robe. Chief Qiu, am I right?”

Brian Carter sighed and said, “If you keep making wild guesses like this, I’m afraid before we bury this corpse, I’ll have to bury you first.”

Adam Cooper jumped in fright, but protested, “Is there something wrong with my guess?”

Brian Carter retorted sarcastically, “Not a single thing wrong. Except that everything is wrong.” Seeing Adam Cooper still frowning in thought, Brian Carter said, “If the clothes on a corpse determine whose body it is, then if a few people died in your wardrobe, all the corpses would be yours?”

Adam Cooper scratched the back of his head and muttered, “Well, that’s not necessarily true…”

Brian Carter said, “If something happened to the Master, who would dare to keep it quiet and cover it up?”

Adam Cooper argued, “But you can’t deny that you told me to buy a good coffin, right? If the deceased wasn’t of high status, why go to such lengths for the burial?”

Brian Carter gave a wry smile, turned to look at the corpse on the stretcher not far away, and said slowly, “We’re burying it like this because I always feel that one day, the body will be dug up again…”

The spring wind was chilly, mixed with fine rain pattering on the leaves.

Adam Cooper shivered involuntarily, unable to say a word for a moment.

Just then, Samuel Parker rushed over, his face stern. “Brian Carter, has the body been buried yet?”

Brian Carter shook his head and suddenly walked toward the spirit tower. Samuel Parker was taken aback and called out, “What are you doing? You haven’t finished your own tasks yet!” Brian Carter didn’t stop, replying calmly, “Isn’t Mr. Sullivan looking for me? Since Mr. Sullivan is calling, everything else can wait.”

Samuel Parker frowned and said, “How do you know Mr. Sullivan is looking for you?” He felt a bit frustrated, not understanding how Brian Carter always seemed to read his mind.

Brian Carter stopped, turned to look at Samuel Parker, and said, “Because every time Mr. Sullivan wants to see me, your expression looks like I owe you eight hundred taels of silver.” With that, he shook the raindrops off his body and walked away at a leisurely pace.

Samuel Parker watched Brian Carter’s departing figure, so angry that he was trembling all over.

Adam Cooper, seeing this from the side, suddenly said, “Chief Meng, Chief Qiu was wrong just now.”

Samuel Parker perked up and immediately asked, “What did he get wrong?”

Adam Cooper studied Samuel Parker’s expression and said, “I think your expression isn’t like Chief Qiu owes you eight hundred taels… You’re so frugal, how could you bear to lend someone eight hundred taels? Don’t you think I’m right?”

When Samuel Parker returned to the tower, he didn’t look like someone who had lent out eight hundred taels, but rather like someone who had lost his own father. There were not fewer people in the spirit tower than before; in fact, there were two more.

One was rugged and steady, the other carefree and smiling—they looked like William Foster and Charles Thompson in their younger days. Of course, these were men brought by William Foster and Charles Thompson.

Brian Carter stood behind David Sullivan, already knowing that David Sullivan had summoned him to compete with those two, so he paid close attention. But what he was really wondering was, what important matter did Edward Cooper have that could alarm the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Dudu’s Office, the Cabinet, and even the Emperor himself?

When David Sullivan saw Samuel Parker come up, he immediately gave a low command: “Pass on my order: the Master is to select his men, this is a matter of great importance and must not be disturbed. Don’t let anyone else up the tower.”

Samuel Parker was inwardly annoyed, but could only go down the tower again. David Sullivan glanced at the men chosen by Charles Thompson and William Foster, then lowered his voice and said, “Changfeng, don’t let me down.”