The next day, with the sun already high in the sky, Henry Sutton finally awoke from his deep sleep. Recalling the outrageous events of the previous day, his face flushed with heat. In fact, by the end, all he remembered was the rush of blood throughout his body, as if he were about to explode, and the only outlet for this heat was far too slow—he only managed to release it after a long while. He vaguely remembered that several people seemed to have switched places beneath him, but he could no longer recall clearly, only knowing that he eventually fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

He gave a slight shiver, and immediately heard a low voice from outside the tent: “Master Xu, are you awake?”

“Yes, where are my clothes?” He turned around bare-chested, not finding his garments, and asked.

There was the sound of a basin being set down and water being poured outside, then a young maid lifted the tent flap and handed in a warm, damp towel, saying, “Sir, all your clothes are here. Please wash up first, and then let this maid help you dress.”

Henry Sutton took the towel and wiped himself haphazardly, then asked the maid to bring his underclothes. The young maid glanced at Henry Sutton, her face instantly turning crimson, but she obediently handed over the underclothes. Henry Sutton looked at her and saw that, though she was still young, she was already strikingly beautiful—a budding beauty who, when grown, would surely be no less lovely than Weiwei.

Henry Sutton dressed himself on the bed, then got up to put on his outer garments, and asked, “Where are my friends?”

“Your friends have all gotten up, had breakfast downstairs, and are waiting for you, Master Xu.”

With a sound of surprise, Henry Sutton hurried downstairs. Sure enough, he saw Brian Cooper and the others sitting in a side room, discussing something. When they saw him enter, each of them stared at him with a strange expression, making Henry Sutton feel quite uncomfortable. After a long moment, Brian Cooper finally patted him on the shoulder and said, “Brother, this time I am truly impressed.”

Henry Sutton never expected that his feat of drinking a jar and a half of Drunken Moon Wine alone and spending the night with three women had already spread throughout Xijing City. For a man, being able to hold his liquor and being tireless in bed were both things to boast about. And for the unremarkable-looking Henry Sutton to possess both qualities was enough to make every man envious.

Some even gossiped in private, saying that judging by his drinking capacity and stamina, he was clearly no ordinary man—no wonder he could lead troops to resist Caesar’s army; his reputation was well deserved. Though, no one could figure out what these two abilities had to do with warfare.

In truth, Henry Sutton’s prowess the previous night was a coincidence. As a child, he had eaten the seven-colored crested snake, a variant of the snake king. The snake’s blood entered Henry Sutton’s body, causing a genetic mutation that gave him mysterious powers. In the battle at the military camp, Henry Sutton lost so much blood over twenty days that anyone else would have died many times over, but Henry Sutton stubbornly survived. Yesterday, he drank Drunken Moon Wine brewed with medicinal snakes as the main ingredient, and it was precisely his mutated genes that allowed him to absorb the wine’s energy into his bloodstream and convert it into fresh blood. The more he drank, the more he replenished himself. Of course, if it had been any other kind of wine, the effect would have been much less.

However, the nature of snakes is highly lustful, and the only side effect of drinking too much Drunken Moon Wine is an overwhelming surge of desire that lasts as long as the medicinal effects remain. With such potent energy, Henry Sutton was able to last so long—though, for most men, this “side effect” would be a dream come true.

Despite the previous night’s debauchery, Henry Sutton now felt clear-headed and refreshed, his body in the best condition it had ever been. This was because the medicinal energy in his body had not yet been fully digested and absorbed, leaving him especially energetic. The medicinal power in Drunken Moon Wine was extraordinarily rich; most people could only absorb a tenth of it at best, but Henry Sutton could absorb it all, and he had drunk a great deal. Some of it was converted into the blood he had lost, some was expended, but at least half of the medicinal energy still remained hidden within him.

Riding in a carriage, Henry Sutton and his companions returned smoothly to their residence. Along the way, not a single disciplinary officer from the military law office questioned them—clearly, Brian Cooper and Stephen Blake still held real power, and ordinary people dared not provoke them lightly.

Back at the courtyard, Henry Sutton shut his doors to visitors. He had a premonition that his days of leisure were numbered, and that he would need the strange blood in his body for countless things in the future. So he wanted to take this opportunity to carefully study its uses and methods.

Only three days later, news arrived from the front: Marshal Clark would be returning from Cangzhou City, and the first officer he wished to see was none other than Henry Sutton, who had distinguished himself in the battle at the military camp.

Chapter Eight Clark

The Han Empire had five great legions: the Yellow Dragon Legion, stationed in the capital and known as the Imperial Guard; the Qilin Legion, the only organized navy of the Han, stationed in the east; the Red Ocean Legion and the Blue Wolf Legion, stationed in the north; and the Sky Eagle Legion, stationed in the west.