"Time heals everything."

The cold winter temperatures hastened the healing of Schupel's wounds, and in the spring he was able to get out of bed and move freely. During these months, the Van der Linde gang stayed at Emerald Manor, and John and Schupel became very good friends. During the summer, John and Schupel often met up to hunt in the jungle, scouting the surrounding situation to ensure the safety of the estate.

"You can stay here forever, and I will treat you as family." Schupel promised John.

Autumn was quietly coming, the leaves were yellowing, the rain was beginning to decrease, John realized that they had been here for a spring and autumn, and the gang members had become accustomed to a peaceful life, but John had a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, and he had been thinking about his future livelihood for the past few days.

During a hunt, thunder rolled in the sky, and heavy rain could pour down at any time. There was a rustling sound in the depths of the woods, and a detached elk ran lightly through the bushes, as if looking for a nest to shelter from the rain, but unaware that two hunters had set their sights on it.

"It's not the right time for this rain, we have to hurry, this deer is enough for us to have a family banquet." An old hunter with a white beard quickly raised his gun behind the bushes.

"Schupel, I must tell you, I'm ready to go." The hunter next to him said.

The old hunter was stunned for a moment, it was obvious that he had not expected what his companion had said, and his gun was gradually lowered.

"Looks like I still can't keep you, John, but it's up to you whether you go or not."

Schupel reraised his gun and pulled the trigger firmly. When the smoke cleared, he stepped forward and dismembered the elk's body with a knife.

"I will be eternally grateful for the days you have taken us in." John looked at Schupel with concern not far away.

"No......" Schupel stopped what he was doing, "With you here, the Emerald Ranch has come out of its original desertion, and John, you taught me how to use a gun, and made me understand the importance of self-defense, and it should be me who expresses my gratitude." ”

"We're just sojourners, and you need time to accept this."

After a thunderclap, the rain fell on the brims of the two hunters' hats, and Schupel unloaded the deer's limbs and shouted at John.

"Come here and give a hand!"

Schupel and John returned with a full load at the last moment before the rainstorm hit, but to the surprise of many smiling faces, they were told that the dinner was actually the farewell party for John and the others.

At noon the next day, after a light lunch, Van der Linde helped him step into the carriage that Schupel had borrowed from a friend, and Mr. Wayne himself came from Lemoen to see him off.

"This carriage will take you to Valentine, where the human settlement, and if the Emerald Ranch is a paradise, Valentine is the starting point of civilization." Schupel kept asking, and in John's opinion, the old fellow was hiding his reluctance with endless words.

"We've got to go, and we'll see you later, Mr. Schupel." John held the reins in his hand and prepared to start the carriage.

"Wait a minute! Mr. Coster, what are you going to do with Corid Pidge? Mr. Wayne stepped forward and looked at Corid, who was tied up in the carriage.

That's right, Cored Petterge, the betrayal fellow, has been kept in the stables for the whole year, enjoying the same food and lodging as the horses.

"We have our own way." The corners of John's mouth rose slightly.

Valentine, the town that made John feel mixed, to be honest, John didn't want to go back there, and it would have ended badly if he had run into Sheriff Malloy or his group of police officers - their relationship was already awkward, and the only trust they had been brokered by Mr. Fowler. In fact, the last thing John wants to face is Mr. Fowler, and he does not know whether his identity has been revealed, and whether Mr. Fowler has been reinstated. Liam Fowler was a fickle man, and although he promised John that he would never betray, John knew that there are always many variables in life, and no one can predict them.

"You're worried about Mr. Fowler, or rather, you're desperate to know if he's in town." Miller, who was sitting next to him, seemed to see through John's mind.

"We've all changed over the years." John said.

"We've changed a lot, but I think you should reach out to him, just like you did when you found me around the Van der Linde gang's campfire."

"My brother will not turn his back on me, this is my creed." John stared firmly at the dust raised by the horse's hooves.

"Then you have reason to believe Mr. Fowler, Brother John." Miller patted John on the shoulder, "Go find him, you should think about what to do next over and over again in your heart." ”

John and Miller found a hotel in Valentine and temporarily housed the rest of the group, John's room was on the second floor, and the police station at the end of the street could be seen through the window.

"To find Mr. Fowler, you have to find Malloy, the sheriff of Valentine." John thought.

John wears the clothes of a bounty hunter and, more importantly, he puts on a face mask, and just like that, he leisurely walks into Valentine's police station.

"Looking for a job?" A policeman in a wide-brimmed hat hunched over his desk writing something, and if John's memory was correct, it was Sheriff Malloy.

"yes, I'll see if there's any bastard who can't tell right from wrong."

"Hey, man, I've never seen a convict hunter dressed like this before, where are you from?" Malloy stopped his pen.

"I'm a local gunman."

"Well, that's good, crime has become more and more rampant in recent years, and bounty hunters from several states have come to Valentine to find business, taking the position of hunters in this state. Even if I'm efficient, I honestly hate these outsiders, they have yellow teeth and a rough face, and this year the old guys in town are saying that I'm Sheriff Malloy. Malloy smiled, and turned over a new page from the notebook he had just written, "But, friend, you don't want to listen to these whining. Come here and sign your name, there are a lot of cases waiting for you in the drawer, leave your name here, and you can get to work. ”

John picked up the pen, but he didn't know what to write the name, he retrieved a fake name from his mind and wanted to write it, but his hand couldn't move like petrified, it turned out that Malloy was holding his arm tightly.

"Is this trick trying to get away from my eyes? John Coaster. ”

John was startled, it came a little suddenly.

"Take it easy, take it easy, at least I'm not here to get you, you can trust that."

"Long time no see, Mr. Sheriff." John said embarrassedly.

"Haha, you young man must not have come to see me, an old man, right? I guessed right, you're looking for Brother Fowler, if that's the case, you can relax, Brother Fowler hasn't grown for a year, and he hasn't squeezed me out of the sheriff's position, but he pities his life and doesn't say a word about you. ”

"That's right...... He's fine. John stumbled.

"No, you want to know more where he is, I can see in your eyes, it's the sensitivity of an old sheriff." Malloy pulled out a file from a drawer, "Unfortunately, your Mr. Fowler has become involved in a dispute with Detective Pinkerton and has become one of my cases, and he can't show his face now, I'm sorry, John, but you have the right to look into it." ”

John took the paper from Malloy and wrote his name in the signature book.

"I've taken the case."

"Well done! I knew you wouldn't leave your brother behind, and I kept this dossier and you were the right person to do so. Sheriff Malloy jumped to his feet in excitement.

"Oh, yes. I can't let you go in vain, I've got a gift for you, Mr. Sheriff. John pointed out the door with a mysterious expression.

"You've piqued my curiosity, boy."

Malloy laughed as he walked out the door, only to see a man tied to a telephone pole outside the police station with a birch sign around his neck that read.

"Cored Pige, this is a henchman of the Skinning Brothers."

……

Back downstairs at the inn, John saw a black Arabian horse courting each other with his mount boy, he looked closely, and found the white cross on the horse's head, he realized that it was his black pearl, he hugged his beloved horse excitedly, the black pearl rubbed his head against his master, and did not mean to be estranged for a year and a half.

Miller walked out of the inn and looked at the pair of old friends with a smile on his face.

"I saw it at the horse market, and it was slippery, with no saddle or chew, and it didn't look like a very good horse at all, so it wasn't frequented by anyone. After seeing the reactions of both of you, I realized that I didn't hesitate to buy it to be the right one. ”

"You've done me a great favor, Miller. Didn't you ask me about my next steps? I figured it out. As a first step, let's start with Valentine. ”