At the same time, an official document from the Governor-General of Huguang, John Evans, also arrived. The latter had actually received a four-hundred-li urgent dispatch, but the document delivered to Jiangning was not such; this document merely notified the Liangjiang authorities that an imperial criminal holding a golden leaf from the Imperial Household Department had come down to Jiangnan, and had killed thirteen Huguang Green Standard soldiers, seized the Songjiang sub-prefect’s boat, and requested Liangjiang’s assistance in intercepting him on the Yangtze River.

But that was enough.

Piecing all this information together, Alan Reed and his companion immediately realized that the fiend who had splashed the emperor’s face with vitriol was on the Yangtze. The two dared not be the least bit negligent: while reporting to Beijing, they also sent orders for arrests everywhere. At the same time, the Liangjiang Green Standard Army and the stationed Banner troops were almost entirely mobilized, launching a dragnet search along both banks of the Yangtze, determined to drag out this heinous criminal and escort him to Beijing for a thousand cuts.

However, Eric Bennett knew nothing of this. He was living a Chu Liuxiang-style life on Lake Tai!

The vast Lake Tai, eight hundred li across, was a wonderful place. This was not like later times, when after a night of netting you couldn’t even fill a basin with small fish the next day. In these days, a single casual cast of the net was enough to fill a table at a high-end hotel in later generations.

Of course, more importantly, these more than two thousand square kilometers of misty waters, dozens of rivers, countless creeks and inlets, islands, and endless expanses of reed marshes provided him with an incredibly reliable hiding place. The sand boat he had seized was now moored in a harbor channel deep within the reeds, gently rocking like a cradle under the drowsy sunlight.

“Master, why are you unwilling to let me serve you? Is it because you think I’m dirty?”

Old Brooks’s concubine, Ruby, knelt beside Eric Bennett, who was lying on the deck, massaging him while complaining. She was a famous courtesan from Songjiang, bought by Old Brooks for three thousand taels of silver. Upon waking and learning that Old Brooks had abandoned her and fled, she didn’t care much—after all, she was just a vase, and it didn’t matter who “displayed” her!

After discovering that Eric Bennett was not some demon or monster, but just another man, she often liked to come and tease him. But what puzzled her was that, although Eric Bennett enjoyed flirting with her and chatting about all sorts of risqué topics, he always seemed uninterested in going further with her, which left her itching with frustration.

“You’re overthinking it. I have no prejudice against sex workers.”

Eric Bennett replied with a contented hum.

“Then why?”

Ruby shook him, speaking in a sweet, sticky voice. Although she didn’t understand what “sex worker” meant, she could basically guess.

“Uh, mainly it’s when you take off your shoes. The moment I see your feet, it’s like being doused with ice water—any mood I had is gone. Even if I was aroused, I’d go soft instantly. Under these circumstances, it’s really hard for me to go any further with you!”

Eric Bennett said frankly.

“What? My three-inch golden lotuses are famous throughout Songjiang Prefecture! So many scholars come just to see my feet and drink wine from my shoes!”

Ruby exclaimed indignantly, as if deeply insulted.

“Ugh! Say another word about that and I’ll throw you in the lake.”

...

Truth be told, Eric Bennett really couldn’t stand the tastes of people in this era. Little Grace had natural feet—she had been a maid in a Bannerman’s household, and if your feet were bound, how could you do any work? She was of slave status, and never expected to marry a good man; she’d just be assigned to another slave, have children, and their descendants would be slaves forever, so she had no interest in this perverse aesthetic. But as for Ruby, and the young wife Emily White he’d just bought, both had bound feet—Ruby had the standard three-inch golden lotuses, while Emily White’s were only “iron lotuses.” The moment he saw their hoof-like shoes, Eric Bennett lost all interest.

A woman like that, legs up on your shoulders...

That’s straight-up a horror movie!

Just as he said, whatever was hard would instantly go soft.

“Master, the meal is ready!”

Little Grace watched as the resentful Ruby left, then smiled sweetly at Eric Bennett. She probably never expected that having natural feet would become her advantage. In fact, she was already prepared to warm her master’s bed at any time. Although this master was an imperial criminal who had splashed the emperor’s face with vitriol, having fled with him from Beijing to here had long convinced her that he was an immortal. In the face of an immortal, things like emperors were just fleeting clouds.

“Mm, let’s eat. After we eat, we need to go find a few famous people!”

Eric Bennett hesitated as he walked past her.

Here was another one he could look at but not touch. Although she was more than ready to receive his favor, the problem was, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it!

She was only fourteen this year!

The thought of sleeping with a middle schooler filled him with guilt!

Even sixteen would be okay—he could grit his teeth and go through with it. But this young, he just couldn’t do it!

Chapter 9: Rebellion! Rebellion!

Eric Bennett hadn’t come all the way from Beijing to Jiangsu and Zhejiang just to hide out on Lake Tai with a few women, playing at being Chu Liuxiang.

He was here to rebel.

Frankly, if you’re in Qing times and don’t rebel, you deserve to have a drill up your ass. Besides, there was no other possibility between him and Brother Cooper. At this point, whether he was an immortal or a demon, Kang Mazi’s only way of dealing with him was to slice him up bit by bit with a knife.