Don’t be fooled by the fact that he’s the second young master of the The Bennett Family; he’s actually born of a concubine, and within the The Bennett Family he’s neither loved by his grandmother nor his uncles. He holds no real power whatsoever, and is known for being timid and cowardly. Even the stewards of the The Bennett Family don’t take him seriously.

I heard that a year ago he did something stupid and was demoted to the southern mines of the The Bennett Family to eat dust. With such a useless person, even if we offend him, he wouldn’t dare report it to Charles Bennett, for fear that Charles Bennett would punish him even more harshly.”

As he spoke, Robert Thompson waved his hand and led his people to go cause trouble for John Bennett.

James Thompson followed at the back of the group, but for some reason, he felt a bit uneasy.

Robert Thompson said that this second young master of the The Bennett Family was cowardly and useless, but the person who fought him for the secret box earlier acted domineeringly, with a sinister look on his face. Are these two really the same person?

Inside the inn, John Bennett was playing with a short dagger, hiding it up his sleeve, while constantly visualizing and simulating in his mind the technique of “Azure Dragon in the Sleeve,” imagining the blade emerging like a dragon leaping from the sea.

The “Azure Dragon in the Sleeve” wasn’t an overly complex martial art, but John Bennett could sense that mastering it to perfection wouldn’t be easy; the limits of this technique might be deeper than he had imagined.

Just then, John Bennett suddenly heard a commotion coming from downstairs in the inn, and it sounded like someone was calling his name.

When John Bennett went down to take a look, he saw his guards confronting a group of people, while the maid Emily was cowering in the corner, too scared to make a sound.

Seeing John Bennett come down, Robert Thompson sneered and said, “John Bennett, you’re really bold, daring to snatch even something belonging to my The Thompson Family. Let me tell you, even a servant of my The Thompson Family isn’t someone you can bully so easily!”

As soon as he said this, the servants who had come with Robert Thompson all looked excited. Clearly, Robert Thompson standing up for a servant and causing trouble for the second young master of the The Bennett Family moved them deeply.

Seeing the expressions on everyone’s faces, a trace of pride flashed in Robert Thompson’s eyes, but he still spoke righteously: “John Bennett, hand over the secret box you took from James Thompson and apologize, and this matter will be over. After all, both the The Thompson Family and the The Bennett Family are among the three great families of Tongzhou Prefecture—I don’t want to ruin our relationship. Otherwise, you know what the consequences will be!”

John Bennett looked up at Robert Thompson. He did remember such a person from his memories, but the former John Bennett wasn’t even respected within the The Bennett Family, let alone by other families.

Whether it was the The Thompson Family or the The Sullivan Family, they all saw him as a useless person. After all, the future heir of the The Bennett Family would never be him, so he wasn’t worth paying attention to.

The only thing John Bennett couldn’t understand was just how pathetic he used to be—how could even a branch member of the The Thompson Family dare to be so arrogant toward him?

Looking at Robert Thompson, a hint of something unreadable flashed in John Bennett’s eyes as he said, “And what if I refuse?”

Robert Thompson sneered, and the The Thompson Family servants surrounded him, looking fierce and menacing.

Although John Bennett had a dozen or so people with him, given his status in the The Bennett Family, only five or six of them had actually reached the Body Tempering stage; the rest were just servants who attended to his daily needs.

On the other hand, the The Thompson Family group was a merchant caravan, and any servant qualified to join the The Thompson Family caravan had trained in martial arts—they were all Body Tempering martial artists.

At this moment, a servant beside Robert Thompson stepped forward, pointed at John Bennett, and shouted harshly, “Seventh Master is giving you face by asking you to hand over the item and apologize! Otherwise, with just your people, don’t even think about leaving Yuanbao Town today!”

The one who stepped forward was Robert Thompson’s trusted aide—when else would he show his loyalty if not now?

Besides, Seventh Master had already said that this John Bennett had no real power in the The Bennett Family, not even as much as a steward, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

John Bennett’s face showed no expression at all. He simply said calmly, “You won’t let me leave Yuanbao Town? Heh.”

A faint, mocking laugh rang out. The The Thompson Family servant was about to say something, but at that moment, his vision was suddenly filled with a flash of blade!

It was incredibly fast, like lightning streaking across the sky. By the time he realized what had happened, he felt a sharp pain in his chest—a short dagger had already been plunged into it. As John Bennett gently twisted the hilt, blood spurted out. The man wanted to say something, but could only stare wide-eyed as the life faded from his eyes!

No one present saw how John Bennett drew his blade, nor did anyone notice where he had hidden it.

It wasn’t until Emily let out a piercing scream from the back that everyone snapped out of it—John Bennett had actually killed someone? He stabbed a man to death without a word?

Robert Thompson pointed at John Bennett, his face full of shock: “You… you actually dare…”

Before he could finish, John Bennett pulled the dagger from the servant’s chest and slashed directly at him!

No one had expected this—killing a The Thompson Family servant was one thing, but now John Bennett was going after Robert Thompson? You have to know, Robert Thompson was a steward of the The Thompson Family, and a member of the collateral bloodline!

No one present had expected John Bennett to attack Robert Thompson, and no one reacted in time.