However, David Sutton waved his hand to stop John Adams, saying, “No need to be so polite, sir. This is nothing. You should help your servant instead.

By the way, where should this luggage go?”

“Oh, just put it in the corner of the room. I’ll tidy it up later.”

David Sutton set the trunk down and said, “Sir truly lives up to being a student of the Imperial Academy, bringing so many books even when traveling.”

“Of course! My master is a famous prodigy in Taiyuan.”

With John Adams’s help, Leonard Grant carried another trunk into the room and happened to hear David Sutton’s praise. He immediately said, “My master loves collecting books. This is just a small part of his collection. If it weren’t for the long journey from Taiyuan to Chang’an, I’m afraid a whole cart wouldn’t be enough.”

David Sutton rolled his eyes, curled his lips, and said nothing.

It’s not even you who reads the books, yet you’re sticking your neck out—what’s there to be proud of?

“Leonard Grant, go clean the stable.”

John Adams felt helpless and quickly scolded Leonard Grant.

This Leonard Grant, although nominally his servant, actually grew up with him, and they are very close, like brothers. Usually, Leonard Grant is a gentle and obedient person. For some reason, ever since he learned of David Sutton’s identity as a “notorious person,” he’s been acting a bit off, with a rather hostile tone.

Leonard Grant snorted and turned to leave.

John Adams cupped his hands and said, “Brother Su, please don’t mind him. I’m hardly a prodigy—just fond of reading, that’s all.”

“No need to call me Brother Su, sir. Just call me Amy Chandler.”

“Uh… that’s fine too, Brother Amy Chandler.”

John Adams hesitated for a moment but agreed.

He then said, “Amy Chandler, you can just call me Ethan Sutton, or if you prefer, Hugh Sutton is fine too.”

Ethan Sutton didn’t feel quite right—it sounded a bit odd. Hugh Sutton was probably John Adams’s childhood nickname, and it didn’t seem appropriate for him to use it.

“Then I’ll just call you Elder Brother.”

“No problem.”

“Elder Brother, what kind of books do you usually read?”

John Adams was taken aback, then replied, “I read all kinds of books. The more you read, the more you understand.”

“Then… Elder Brother, do you know what a ‘Tenggen’ is?”

“Tenggen?”

John Adams thought for a moment and asked in confusion, “Is Amy Chandler referring to that strange Tenggen?”

“Uh, yes, I suppose.”

John Adams laughed, “That I actually do know.

Tenggen’s fur is white as snow, like a deer but not a deer, with four hooves and right claws, sharp teeth in its mouth, and a body as big as a tiger. It has a pair of deep red horns and three eyes. Its two eyes are crimson, and there’s a third eye in the center of its brow, golden in color—said to be like the Golden Crow, able to dispel evil. According to the ‘Book of the Later Han: Treatise on Rites,’ it is one of the twelve deities that ‘hunt evil and misfortune,’ and there’s a record of ‘Qiongqi and Tenggen devouring Gu.’ Sima Biao of the Jin dynasty also mentioned it in the ‘Continued Book of Han.’ I’m not sure if that’s the Tenggen you mean.”

David Sutton’s eyes lit up, and he blurted out, “So, does that mean Tenggen really exists in this world?”

“Well…”

John Adams chuckled and said, “That I don’t know.

The Book of the Later Han says Tenggen is used in the New Year’s exorcism ritual to drive away evil and plague… Amy Chandler, if you’re interested, I have a book of supernatural tales here, said to be written by Sun En of the Eastern Jin. It’s full of ghost stories and legends. I’ll find it for you later.”

“Is that… okay?”

“Of course.”

John Adams smiled warmly, indicating it was no trouble.

David Sutton felt much more at ease.

He was just afraid no one would know about it, but now that there’s a source, he could rest a bit easier.

At this moment, Miss Lane returned from buying groceries.

When she saw the two horses, she was also startled, but quickly calmed down.

She had thought John Adams, like that James Bolton, was a poor scholar. Now it seemed that John Adams was actually a wealthy young master. If she had known, she would have charged more rent at the start. Thinking about it now, it was a bit of a pity.

But this thought only flashed through Miss Lane’s mind for a moment.

She was a principled woman. Since she had already agreed on eighteen hundred coins and signed the contract, she naturally wouldn’t go back on her word.

However, like David Sutton, Miss Lane stated that the feed for the two horses would be charged separately.

Either pay more, or John Adams could buy it himself—she wouldn’t take care of the two animals.

John Adams didn’t argue and simply added another two hundred coins as a fee for Miss Lane to look after the horses, with the feed cost calculated separately. Miss Lane had no objections—after all, it wasn’t much trouble, and an extra two hundred coins a month was a good thing.

That night, John Adams and his servant settled in.

Miss Lane’s cooking was quite good, and John Adams was very satisfied.

He chatted with Miss Lane for a while, and after the third beat of the night drum, he bid her goodnight and returned to the room with Leonard Grant.

“Leonard Grant, how do you feel?”

“Feels good. Miss Lane is very nice, and her cooking is no worse than the inn’s chef.”

“All you care about is eating.”

“Master, is there something wrong?”

John Adams didn’t answer. Instead, he walked to the back window and looked out at the gently flowing river, a curious look on his face.

Of course something’s wrong!

According to information gathered by James Bolton, Amy Chandler, that is, David Sutton, is a rough man.