When the bride entered the house, Henry Sullivan had already set out on an unknown journey. He carried only a simple bundle, with a few changes of clothes and some dry rations. That silver ingot, he had left in his elder brother’s room. He did not know that, after he left so resolutely, William Sullivan had discovered the silver ingot and could not help but shed tears.

Henry Sullivan strode away, and only when he had gone so far that his elder brother could no longer see him did he turn back toward home, bow three times, and say, “Big brother, I won’t let you down. Take care of yourself.”

When Henry Sullivan arrived at the county yamen, he saw imperial guards stationed at the entrance. He cupped his fists and said, “Officer, I am Henry Sullivan.”

The guard said, “You’re Henry Sullivan? Come in quickly, Commander Carter is waiting for you.” He led Henry Sullivan inside, where Edward Carter was seated in the main hall, with a young man sitting beside him.

When Henry Sullivan saw the young man, he felt as if the man was like an unsheathed sword! The young man’s face was pale, his gaze as sharp as a blade. He sized up Henry Sullivan with a look of slight surprise, then stood up and said to Edward Carter, “Commander Carter, I’ll need your help this time.”

Edward Carter nodded slowly and said, “For matters of the nation, I, Guo, will do my utmost.”

The young man bowed again and turned to leave. Only then did Henry Sullivan breathe a sigh of relief; being stared at by that young man made him feel uncomfortable all over, and he couldn’t help but wonder about his background.

Edward Carter watched the young man leave, then turned to Henry Sullivan and said, “You really came.”

Henry Sullivan saluted and said, “Since I gave my word, how could I not come?”

Edward Carter praised, “Well said. A man must keep his word. If you can’t even keep your promises, how can you talk about defending your home and country? In my life, I’ve never admired anyone except those who value their word as much as gold. In fact, from the first moment I saw you, I knew you were someone with potential. That trick with the dice—most people couldn’t have thought of it.”

Henry Sullivan saw that he had seen through his little cleverness and gave an embarrassed smile. Edward Carter was about to say more when a guard entered and whispered, “Mr. Carter, the brothers are all ready.”

Edward Carter nodded and said, “Good, we set out at once. Henry Sullivan, are you ready?”

Henry Sullivan nodded without a word. Edward Carter saw the look on his face and said, “A real man aspires to travel far and wide. If you don’t venture out while you’re young, you’ll regret it when you’re old. Henry Sullivan, I think you won’t regret the choice you made today.” With that, he strode out of the yamen. Outside, dozens of imperial guards were already waiting, each with a horse by their side.

Edward Carter ordered someone to bring over another horse and said to Henry Sullivan, “Can you ride?”

Henry Sullivan said, “I’ve ridden a cow.”

Edward Carter laughed, “That’s close enough. In the Xianwu Army, not only must you ride, you must ride well. Mount up!” Everyone swung onto their horses with agile movements. Although Henry Sullivan had never ridden a horse before, he was nimble and vaulted onto the horse, not wanting to be outdone. Edward Carter nodded slightly at this, turned his horse, and led the way east.

They rode for over a hundred li before finally stopping to rest by the banks of the Fen River. Henry Sullivan, who had rarely left Xihe, had never traveled so far before. He couldn’t help but look back, knowing that with every step, he was farther from home and from his elder brother, and he felt a pang of sadness. In the next moment, he lifted his head and thought to himself that Edward Carter was right—a man should have ambitions far and wide, and he mustn’t let others look down on him.

When they reached the banks of the Fen River, they crossed by boat, then continued south for several dozen more li before stopping again.

Henry Sullivan thought Edward Carter would head southeast toward the capital, Kaifeng, but unexpectedly, Edward Carter ordered everyone to look for a shallower spot on the Fen River to cross again, and then they headed back in the direction they had come, taking only remote mountain paths. Henry Sullivan was greatly puzzled and couldn’t understand where Edward Carter was going. Judging by the route, Edward Carter was just going in circles. Wouldn’t it be faster to go straight south from Xihe? But seeing that everyone was silent and serious, he stopped asking questions, thinking to himself, “Since you’re providing food and lodging, I’ll just follow along.”

To his surprise, that night everyone camped in the wild, taking dry rations from their bundles and eating by a mountain spring. Henry Sullivan’s horse also had a bundle with dry rations, cured meat, and preserved fruit. Henry Sullivan, being a quiet type, ate his food, then found some dry grass to make a bed in a sheltered, dry spot on the mountain to rest. Having grown up poor, he was not bothered by rough living.

In the middle of the night, Henry Sullivan leaned against a cliff, gazing at the brilliant stars and the Milky Way stretching across the sky like a heavenly chasm. He thought to himself that after parting from his elder brother like this, who knew when they would meet again. As he was lost in thought, he heard very light footsteps coming from the left. Henry Sullivan’s heart tightened; he turned to look and saw Edward Carter standing not far away, watching him.

Henry Sullivan slowly stood up and said, “Mr. Carter, were you looking for me?”

Edward Carter smiled and said, “You have good hearing—a natural for martial arts. It’s a pity you lack a good teacher; your skills could use improvement.”

Henry Sullivan nodded, “My family is poor; we can’t afford a master.”

Edward Carter sat down and motioned for Henry Sullivan to sit as well. Without talking about martial arts, he asked, “Have you heard of the Maitreya Sect?”

Henry Sullivan said, “I’ve heard of it. But if you hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t have known those people were from the Maitreya Sect. But what about the Maitreya Sect? It seems you really hate them?”