Adam Brooks had spent many years among thieves, encountering all sorts of people, and knew that playing dumb was far more advantageous than pretending to be clever.

Henry Clark, though unable to fathom Adam Brooks’s thoughts, saw that Adam Brooks was willing to accept his friendly gestures, so he cheerfully spoke many affectionate words. The two chatted idly until midnight, and their relationship seemed to suddenly grow much closer. Only when they both grew tired did they doze off for a bit. Both were seasoned bandits, never truly trusting others; even while sleeping, they kept one eye open, so there was no need for anyone to stand watch.

Adam Brooks pretended to sleep, secretly circulating the Supreme Dragon Transformation Technique. After two or three hours, as dawn broke, he felt the ball of true energy in his dantian had grown a bit stronger.

The Supreme Dragon Transformation Technique consisted of only a few hundred words, but its meaning was extremely profound. Adam Brooks couldn’t fully comprehend it, but he knew that once a martial artist cultivated a stream of true energy, he needed to nurture and strengthen it, then begin to open the acupoints throughout his body. Each time an acupoint was opened, there was an additional place to store true energy. In combat, this meant he wouldn’t have to draw all his strength from the dantian, making his moves much faster.

The Black Whirlwind Chieftain had taught him the Iron Bone Technique, and had pointed out all three hundred sixty-five acupoints in the body. Adam Brooks thought to himself, “The first acupoints a martial artist should open are those in the arms, so that each strike carries a fierce force. I’ll try to open these acupoints first.”

As Adam Brooks was pondering this, Henry Clark also got up. This Double-Yin Scholar made it a habit to practice martial arts every morning; as the saying goes, ‘a boxer never leaves his fists, a singer never leaves his mouth.’ For a bandit, martial skills were fundamental—neglecting them was simply courting death. Henry Clark came from the Yin Mountain Sect, whose martial arts were far superior to those of the Iron Bone School. However, his aptitude was poor, and after many years in the Yin Mountain Sect, he hadn’t learned any true skills, only managing to acquire a set of Seven-Step Yin Wind Palms, which was always regarded as a secret technique, rarely shown to others.

Now, in order to win Adam Brooks’s favor, Henry Clark made no attempt to hide it. After practicing the palm technique himself, he even hinted at wanting to teach it to Adam Brooks. Had this been before he obtained those three pages of the golden book, Adam Brooks would have been overjoyed, probably rushing over to become a dutiful disciple on the spot. But now, he no longer thought much of this palm technique. Besides, the Seven-Step Yin Wind Palms were quite difficult to master and required a lot of effort. Adam Brooks figured that with the same effort, it would be more worthwhile to practice the formulas from the three pages of the golden book.

Seeing that Adam Brooks showed no interest in learning, Henry Clark grew even more suspicious, constantly wondering, “Could I have underestimated that brute, the Black Whirlwind? Does he have some other marvelous martial art besides the Iron Bone Technique, and that’s why Adam Brooks looks down on my Seven-Step Yin Wind Palms?”

Each harboring their own thoughts, after breakfast, Henry Clark was eager to get back on the road. Adam Brooks, recalling what Henry Clark had said earlier—that this trip wasn’t to scout out any business—felt a bit suspicious. But when he asked a few questions, Henry Clark only said there were other arrangements, leaving Adam Brooks with no choice.

Henry Clark took Adam Brooks with him, and after three days’ journey, they finally arrived at Poyang Prefecture.

Adam Brooks still didn’t know why, even though Henry Clark had told him that scouting for information was just an excuse, they had traveled so far.

Chapter Five: The Beautiful Sect Leader

Ever since the Ten Eunuchs’ Rebellion, the Dayun Dynasty’s imperial power had already waned, with various warlords seizing control. Local officials often ignored court orders, appointing and dismissing officials at will, controlling tax revenues, and even commanding military power. According to ancient custom, the Dayun Dynasty divided the land into provinces, commanderies, and counties. Each province had a civil governor and a military commander, stationed in different places and independent of each other. Each commandery was headed by a grand administrator; large counties had a prefect, small counties a magistrate, and none were allowed to station troops. But these rules had long since been abandoned, and the local powers paid them no heed.

Poyang Prefecture was already the chief commandery, not only with a prefect, but even the commandery’s grand administrator had set up his office here. With a population of over a hundred thousand, it was extremely prosperous.

Henry Clark was clearly a frequent visitor here, not only familiar with the area, but also owning a very large mansion in the western part of Poyang Prefecture. When he brought Adam Brooks to his grand residence and gave a shout, more than a dozen servants and maids came forward, offering toiletries, pastries, tea, and fruit—displaying quite the air of a wealthy master.

On the mountain, Adam Brooks had only been assigned two old women, who couldn’t really serve him. Besides, Tianma Mountain’s stronghold was a den of thieves; even if they captured a few women, they were all trembling with fear—how could there be such liveliness and attentive service? Seeing a scene even the chieftain hadn’t enjoyed, Adam Brooks couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. Henry Clark noticed Adam Brooks’s reaction and thought to himself with a smile, “This little thief may be cunning, but he’s never seen the world. If I soften him up with some comforts for a few days, I don’t believe I can’t lure him into my trap.”

Right then, Henry Clark ordered the servants to boil water for a bath and change of clothes, and even took Adam Brooks by the hand, telling him to relax and enjoy himself. A young maid led him to a large room in the back, and before long, servants carried in a huge wooden tub over a yard in diameter, filled it with hot water, and two voluptuous, alluring women came in to attend to his bath.