Hugh Miller's eyes narrowed slightly.

He certainly didn’t find the cupped-fist salute funny; on the contrary, a sense of vigilance rose in his heart.

This big boy, who looked like an unsheathed sword, might be hiding even more secrets than he had anticipated.

“Lily Bennett.”

The man in black also returned the salute with both hands, his movements meticulous and his expression solemn. But aside from stating his own name, he didn’t say another word.

Ryan Carter gave a slight nod, then nodded again.

The White Lotus Sect was also a very old martial arts school, but among the traditional martial arts sects in Weizhou City, there was no White Lotus Sect—this was an outsider. No one knew how Hugh Miller had found him back then, or how he had managed to win him over.

To have such a master willingly follow you for years was no ordinary feat.

“Let’s have a good talk, you two.”

Hugh Miller laughed heartily and sat down right across from Ryan Carter and William Thompson, his posture quite proper—not at all domineering or condescending, but rather as an equal, giving them plenty of respect.

William Thompson remained silent.

Although he was usually talkative, at a moment like this, he consciously let Ryan Carter take the lead.

Some rules simply had to be followed.

“Alright.”

Ryan Carter was always concise, sparing with his words.

Hugh Miller extended the index and middle fingers of his left hand, gently tapping the tabletop, as if considering his words.

There were also two police officers and a political education director in the meeting room, but Hugh Miller didn’t feel the need to consult them at all. This showed that all his smiles and politeness were just props, put on for show.

The truly important things, of course, had to be firmly held in his own hands.

“This matter was handled the wrong way by them. They shouldn’t have caused trouble at the school—it was out of line. I’ll discipline them.”

After a moment, Hugh Miller said with a smile.

Knife-face and Four-eyes instantly turned ashen.

When Mr. Miller III talked about discipline, he wasn’t joking.

He always meant what he said!

That was only natural—without such strict rules, how could Mr. Miller III command respect?

Even though Weizhou was remote, not just anyone could sit in Mr. Miller III’s position. If you were even a little soft, you wouldn’t just fail to be the boss—you’d probably get eaten alive.

“What does this have to do with you, Mr. Miller?”

Ryan Carter asked slowly.

Earlier, he had called him “uncle” and greeted Hugh Miller politely, out of respect for Sean Miller, since Hugh Miller had clearly stated he was Sean Miller’s father. If Hugh Miller had introduced himself with his “official identity” from the start, Ryan Carter probably wouldn’t have bothered with him at all.

But now that this was a negotiation, he could no longer call him “Uncle Miller.”

“Heh, business matters are a bit complicated for you two at your age, so I won’t go into details. This is a transaction between the The Foster Family and the The Brooks Family, backed by legal documents. No matter what, debts must be repaid—that’s only fair. We’re talking about three million here. Even if someone dies, the debt doesn’t disappear.”

Although Hugh Miller put on an air of equality, deep down, he could never truly see these two kids as equals. The only reason he was being so courteous was probably for his own daughter’s sake. If word got out that Sean Miller’s father was bullying her classmates, it would make things very awkward for Sean Miller at school.

He knew his own daughter well—Sean Miller was not one to take things lying down.

There was also a small part of him that felt these two kids were a bit unusual.

Although he hadn’t witnessed Ryan Carter and William Thompson deal with Knife-face and the others himself, he’d heard the reports over the phone. Just from Lily Bennett’s attitude toward Ryan Carter, it was clear these two were not ordinary.

Otherwise, Lily Bennett wouldn’t have said a single extra word.

Not just anyone could get Lily Bennett to even look at them.

Thinking more carefully, the fact that Ryan Carter had proactively sought advice from Lily Bennett, and had used the proper martial arts etiquette, seemed to clearly indicate that Ryan Carter had immediately recognized Lily Bennett’s status in the martial world.

That was definitely not the behavior of an ordinary high school junior.

Maybe these two kids weren’t much on their own, but there was likely a master guiding them from behind. Hugh Miller wasn’t about to recklessly provoke such a formidable figure.

“That IOU is fake. My dad never mentioned anything about this to us…”

Before Ryan Carter could speak, Ethan Foster spoke up from the side. It was clear she was still very scared, not daring to look Hugh Miller in the eye, but the little girl obviously knew she couldn’t let Hugh Miller mislead Ryan Carter and William Thompson.

Ethan Foster might not have thought things through as thoroughly as Hugh Miller, but she understood one thing—if anyone could help her and her family now, it was only these two young classmates.

This had been going on for more than a day.

Knife-face and his gang of thugs came to her house to make trouble almost every day. She had been forced to eat in the school cafeteria because she had no other choice.