“Home?” Ethan Cooper felt a sharp pain in his heart. He had lost his home when he was only twelve. In those years of war and chaos, he had wandered from place to place, doing almost anything just to survive—begging, carrying night soil, digging graves, carpentry, masonry, even mourning and chanting sutras for others... In the end, by a twist of fate, he learned martial arts and medicine, thinking he was finally about to make something of himself, only to end up bringing disaster upon himself.

“That’s right, where is your home?” Megan Brooks’s voice interrupted Ethan Cooper’s deep thoughts.

“My original home was in Xiulongchuan County, Qixiu of Southern Qi, Northern Liao. But when the war broke out, my home was gone!” Ethan Cooper shook his head and let out a long sigh.

“What? What Liao, what county are you talking about? Where was there a war?” Megan Brooks asked, eyes wide.

Ethan Cooper helplessly repeated himself.

This time, Megan Brooks finally heard him clearly, but as someone very familiar with geography, she had never heard of such a place. Even if she was ignorant, how could he be talking about war? It was an era of peace now—when had there been a war? Could this guy be a refugee from the Middle East?

Unable to get an address, she had to change the subject: “What about your parents?”

“My late father and mother unfortunately passed away during the chaos of war!” Ethan Cooper’s eyes grew even dimmer.

“What?” Megan Brooks’s eyes widened again. Now she finally realized what was wrong with him—his mind wasn’t right. She must have knocked him silly with that collision just now!

Oh my god, what a mess I’ve gotten myself into! Megan Brooks rubbed her temples in distress, thought for a moment, and unwilling to give up, asked again, “So where are you living now?”

“Desolate mountains, wild fields, caves, ruined temples, dilapidated ancestral halls—I’ve lived everywhere!” Ethan Cooper didn’t lie. He had always been displaced, eating at one house and sleeping at another was commonplace for him. He never really had a true home.

Megan Brooks felt a chill in her heart and asked weakly, “So do you have a place to stay now?”

Ethan Cooper shook his head. He hadn’t even figured out where this place was—how could he possibly have a place to stay?

Megan Brooks had no desire to talk to him any further, because she was now certain that she had really knocked his brain loose.

Why is my life so hard? Megan Brooks thought to herself, feeling sorry for her fate as she drove.

Her parents had passed away early, and her only relative left was an uncle living up north. She had lived with him for a few years, but in the end, she just couldn’t stand her aunt’s unreasonable demands and the deliberate bullying from her cousins. She returned alone to her original home here—she was only sixteen at the time. In the blink of an eye, eight years had passed. Thinking of the hardships and struggles of these eight years, her heart ached, and now she’d even had the bad luck to knock someone silly, making her feel even worse.

Forget it, forget it. No matter what, she really did hit him. Tomorrow she’d just take him to the hospital honestly. After all, she was just unlucky.

Ethan Cooper had no idea that Megan Brooks already thought he was an idiot, because he was completely captivated by the street scenes outside the car window. Although it was already the middle of the night, Deep City was famous for never sleeping—everywhere was ablaze with neon lights and nightlife. These things were utterly ordinary to modern people, but to him, everything was new and fascinating.

Megan Brooks’s home was a standalone two-and-a-half-story villa, an inheritance from her parents, and now a rare private residence in Deep City.

When Megan Brooks parked the car and led Ethan Cooper toward the house, a group of a dozen or so young men with brightly dyed hair were sitting at a street-side food stall, drinking and having a late-night snack. Clearly, they had just come from some club or bar, finishing off the last act of their night out.

Everyone stared in surprise, then rolled their eyes and burst into laughter and whistles as they saw a fashionably dressed modern woman leading a man who looked like he’d just walked out of a period drama.

Chapter Four: Don’t Mess With Me

“Hey, miss, just got off work? Business must’ve been good tonight, huh? Bringing a sugar daddy home for some overtime?” sneered a pimply guy with earrings and a wild afro, calling out to Megan Brooks in a mocking tone.

“Women have strong kidneys, man, you’d better not try to run! Master, I want you!” the people next to the pimply guy all shouted weirdly in unison.

Going home at this hour, it was normal for people to get the wrong idea, since this was exactly the time when the “ladies” got off work. And Megan Brooks’s outfit was indeed bold and daring—even the girls in the brothels of the Great Liao Dynasty wouldn’t dare dress like that.

But as the saying goes, mistakes can be forgiven, but attitude cannot. Even if she really was a “lady,” even if she really was working overtime, even if she really did have amazing kidneys—what business is it of yours?