After eating and drinking his fill, Adam Harper got up to leave. As soon as he stepped out of the shop, he was met head-on by a man in his early thirties, swaggering as he walked, with a sleazy look, a face full of pockmarks—just one glance and you could tell he was no good.

When the man saw Adam Harper, he suddenly froze, exclaiming in shock, “Adam Harper!? How are you still alive?”

“You know me? What do you mean, how am I still alive?”

Adam Harper frowned sharply, wanting to get to the bottom of it.

But the other man turned and ran. Adam Harper chased after him, but just then a merchant caravan passed by and blocked his way.

Leaping over the caravan in big strides, Adam Harper saw that the man had already darted into a nearby alley, twisting and turning until he was long gone.

Chapter 4: The Lost Day

Standing at the entrance of the alley, Adam Harper furrowed his brows tightly.

That man recognized him, and was surprised that he was still alive.

In his understanding, he should have been dead.

Judging by the man’s reaction, even if he was supposed to be ‘dead’, it definitely wasn’t by accident—otherwise, why would he run?

Thinking about his lost day of memory before crossing over, suddenly appearing outside the county town, the ten taels of silver on him, and the man’s attitude just now—

The day of memory he lost before transmigrating was definitely not simple.

Adam Harper rubbed his head. Suddenly, he remembered that he seemed to recognize that man.

Not recently, but a long time ago—he seemed to have practiced martial arts with him at Zhenwei Martial Hall.

But Adam Harper could no longer recall the man’s name or identity.

After thinking hard and still coming up empty, Adam Harper could only head home for now.

But this matter was something Adam Harper absolutely had to get to the bottom of.

He was supposed to be dead, but now he wasn’t.

Who knew what he had gotten involved in that night?

Now that man knew he was still alive—would someone come to assassinate him? That was all unknown.

Early the next morning, Adam Harper arrived at the martial hall.

He waited at the entrance for a while, and when he saw Samuel Thompson arrive, Adam Harper hurriedly pulled him to the latrine in the backyard.

“Why are you dragging me here in such a rush? Are you so lonely taking a dump that you need company?”

Samuel Thompson looked completely baffled.

“I want to ask you about someone.”

Adam Harper had always been quiet and reserved, only ever burying himself in training after joining the martial hall.

Other than Samuel Thompson, his friend, he hadn’t spoken more than three sentences to anyone else in the hall.

But Samuel Thompson was lively and outgoing, and got along with everyone.

“Who?”

Adam Harper carefully recalled the man’s appearance: “He used to train with us at the martial hall, but he’s older than us, a bit over thirty.

Tall and thin, with a pig kidney-shaped face, sleazy-looking, and a face full of pockmarks.”

“You must be talking about that bastard George Mason!”

Samuel Thompson slapped his thigh. “Why are you asking about him?”

“Don’t worry about that for now. Do you know what’s up with him?”

Samuel Thompson looked disdainful. “Others might not know, but I know that bastard all too well.

His father used to be a jailer at the county yamen, but he was too greedy and drove someone to death in prison.

But the victim’s family had already pulled some strings, and the guy was supposed to be released in a few days. When they came to pick him up, they got a corpse instead.

After the scandal broke, his father was thrown in jail, and the victim’s family bribed some thugs to get into the prison and kill him.

That bastard George Mason is just like his father—always up to petty theft and bullying the weak, a thug for years.

His mother scraped together some silver to send him to the martial hall, but not even a month in, he got kicked out by the master for stealing money, which directly angered his mother to death.

But I heard lately that bastard’s gotten rich again, cozying up to the Sanhe Gang boss William Clark. That guy is the right-hand man of Sanhe Gang’s second boss Kevin Grant, who’s a big shot in Heishi County.”

Adam Harper frowned slightly. This George Mason’s background was a bit complicated.

The real powers in Heishi County weren’t the county magistrate, but the five underworld forces: two families and three gangs.

The two families were the Song family in the east city and the Shen family in the west city.

The Song family had deep roots, being a branch of the great ‘Heavenly Blade’ Song family of Shannan Dao.

The Shen family in the west city had only risen in the past decade or so, and though their foundation wasn’t deep, the eldest son was a direct disciple of the great Tiangang Sect of Shannan Dao, bringing the family many of the sect’s outer martial arts.

The three gangs were the Black Tiger Gang, the Sky Eagle Gang, and the Sanhe Gang.

Among these five forces, each had at least one late-stage Xiantian master overseeing things.

Of the three gangs, the Sanhe Gang was the strongest, because they had three bosses, all Xiantian masters.

The three Sanhe Gang bosses were sworn brothers in their youth.

After founding the gang, they didn’t set up a normal boss and deputy system, but instead ranked themselves as first, second, and third boss according to their oath.

The second boss, Kevin Grant, nicknamed ‘Jade Shattering Hand’, was famous in Heishi County for his grappling skills.

After finding out where George Mason lived, Adam Harper pulled Samuel Thompson back to the front yard for class.

Samuel Thompson didn’t keep asking why Adam Harper was inquiring about George Mason.

Though he always seemed to be grinning and goofing off, he knew his boundaries and when to advance or retreat.

After the big exam, only half the disciples remained, and what James Thompson taught also changed.

It was no longer just internal energy cultivation, but fighting techniques.