He weighed it in his hand, feeling the heft—two hundred gold coins, almost twenty jin. My Lord Earl’s face broke into a smile as he casually tossed the bag of gold coins behind him. A servant nearby quickly reached out and caught the airborne bag in his hands.

“These gold coins will count as all your taxes for the next ten years. For the next ten years, you don’t need to pay me any more taxes. See, My Lord Baron, how generous I am, aren’t I?” My Lord Earl shrugged lightly, but his words made everyone around burst into laughter, as if mocking Henry Clark for not knowing what’s good for him, actually following this My Lord Earl all the way.

“I have to return to my territory, so I can’t see you off. Here, I’ll even kindly tell you the way to your land. Well then, we can say goodbye now.” My Lord Earl turned around, not sparing Henry Clark another glance, as if just meeting him and taking those gold coins was already a huge favor to Henry Clark.

“Wait, My Lord Earl!” Just as My Lord Earl was about to board his carriage and leave, Henry Clark suddenly shouted from behind.

Before Henry Clark’s shout had even faded, two knights at My Lord Earl’s side rushed in front of Henry Clark, each placing a broadsword as wide as a door on his shoulders. At the slightest movement from Henry Clark, his head would roll.

“Damn you, who do you think you are, daring to make My Lord Earl follow your orders?” one knight whispered threateningly in Henry Clark’s ear. “You’re just a down-and-out noble without even a servant—do you want My Lord Earl to hang you right here?”

“No, no, Drew, don’t be so rough.” My Lord Earl, perhaps still in high spirits from just receiving two hundred gold coins, didn’t mind Henry Clark’s outburst at all, his voice still as elegant as ever: “You should show at least a minimum of respect to a titled noble. For example, an ordinary person would get at least three punches, but for My Lord Baron, just give him one.”

Bang—a solid punch landed on Henry Clark’s stomach, and once again, Henry Clark crumpled like a shrimp in front of My Lord Earl. But soon, the two knights each grabbed an arm and pulled him up, facing My Lord Earl.

“Now, My Lord Baron, tell me, what do you want me to do?” My Lord Earl walked up to Henry Clark, staring at his not-so-clean face, shaking his head gently, speaking in his usual elegant tone: “If you don’t have a very good reason, I don’t mind figuring out a way to hang you in this place without even a tree trunk!”

“Honorable My Lord Earl.” Henry Clark had learned his lesson and knew how to address this etiquette-obsessed My Lord Earl at this moment. Sure enough, with this respectful address, My Lord Earl’s expression seemed to improve even more.

“You’ve taken my taxes, so at least have your tax officer give me a receipt, will you?” Henry Clark forced a smile, looking at My Lord Earl. “You wouldn’t want your tax officer to come to my territory and collect taxes privately without giving you even a single gold coin, would you?”

“Hahahaha!” This time, not only My Lord Earl, but everyone around seemed to hear the funniest joke in the world and burst into wild laughter. The My Lord Earl in front of him laughed so hard that tears almost came out, his waist bending over and over again. Each time, Henry Clark said silently in his heart, “At ease, no need for such courtesy.”

“If your territory can still make any more gold coins, no matter how much, I don’t want them, hahaha!” My Lord Earl was truly delighted, and everyone around him was just as happy.

Finally, My Lord Earl stopped laughing and patted Henry Clark on the shoulder. “I like people who follow the rules. Tax officer, give him a receipt for the taxes paid!”

Chapter 3: The Desolate Territory (Part 1)

Although My Lord Earl had no idea how much income this one sentence would cost him in the future, at least when Henry Clark heard it, the anxiety stuck in his throat finally eased, and he let out a long breath.

This journey of over a month had already allowed him to basically absorb and merge the memories of the original Anthony. He also knew that in this world where the strong rule, if a powerful My Lord Earl really wanted to strangle a fallen little Baron, it would only take a word or two, and there wouldn’t even be any need for an explanation afterward. The words he just spoke were only uttered because Henry Clark had summoned all his courage—and thankfully, this gamble paid off.

The relaxation after such tension made Henry Clark’s legs go weak, but he forced himself to stay upright until a tax officer, looking rather unfriendly, handed him a so-called tax receipt. Only when the large group set off did he finally find a big rock by the roadside to steady his trembling body.

“Hey, aren’t you guys mercenaries?” When those fellows who had been walking behind the carriage came over, Henry Clark suddenly grabbed one who often tossed him dry rations and asked.

“We’re mercenaries!” The warrior struggled a bit but didn’t break free, not daring to use force for fear of disturbing My Lord Earl’s carriage, which was already more than two hundred meters away, so he could only answer Henry Clark.

“I want to hire you to escort me to my territory. What do you say?” Henry Clark looked at the mercenary warrior and very seriously made his request.