After saying that, Samadius asked again, “Master Coldie, do you have any general clues about this girl? For example, where she might be?”Mr. Chardon shook his head and said, “I don’t know where she is, but I personally speculate that she is most likely in Oskia. Therefore, it would be best if you could gather a group of your disciples and let them travel all over the country to search for her!”Samadius nodded and said, “No problem, I’ll make all the arrangements now!”Mr. Chardon nodded slightly and said, “Okay, I’ll leave this matter to you, then. Remember to inform me as soon as possible as soon as you discover any clues.”“Yes, Master Coldie!” Samadius quickly agreed. He then asked Mr. Chardon, “By the way, Master Coldie, the people waiting outside are all my juniors. If you can teach me the method for longevity in the future, can you share the method with them as well? They are all loyal disciples of Cohmer Temple, and they have devoted themselves to Cohmer Temple for so many
Mr. Chardon glanced at Samadius, who stepped forward immediately and said in an unquestionable tone, “Ferris, Mr. Chardon has something important to do, so no one is allowed to interfere or delay him! Mr. Chardon already told me what you want to know about, and I will convey everything to you word for word later!”After saying that, he warned, “But let me say something in advance. If anyone delays Mr. Chardon’s important matter, that person will not have a chance to pry into the method to longevity!”Everyone had grave expressions on their faces, and no one dared to ask any more questions. Ferris, who was called by name, was flustered as well and said, “Have a safe trip, Mr. Chardon!”Everyone reacted immediately and said in unison, “Goodbye, Mr. Chardon!”Mr. Chardon stroked his long beard and walked away gracefully. Just as everyone was about to come out to see him off, Mr. Chardon said without looking back, “Everyone, just stay put. There is no need to see me off.”After Mr.
That night, Mr. Chardon sat on the ground of his temporary residence with his legs crossed. He seemed to be meditating with his eyes closed, but he was, in fact, calculating when he would be leaving for Aurous Hill.He suddenly received a notification on his cell phone, and it turned out to be the British Lord who wanted to speak to him.He unlocked his cell phone immediately, entered the special software, and connected with the British Lord. The British Lord’s cold voice sounded over the phone, “Mr. Chardon, I asked you to go to Aurous Hill to find out the whereabouts of Curtis Wade’s son. Why haven’t you gone yet?”Mr. Chardon quickly explained, “British Lord, I had some ideas, and I would like to report them to you!”The British Lord said coldly, “Speak up!”Mr. Chardon said respectfully, “British Lord, I’ve always had a feeling that Vera might be in Eastcliff, so I have been looking for clues about her in Eastcliff over the past two days. As for Aurous Hill, as you mentioned
Meanwhile, it was already nighttime in Aurous Hill.Elaine had already prepared dinner and had invited Charlie and Claire to the dining table. At the same time, she could not help but complain, “It’s already eight o’clock, so why isn’t that b*stard, Jacob, home yet? I wonder where he has gone to now!”Charlie said casually, “Mom, Dad is the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association now, so he must be busy. Please be considerate.”Elaine said disdainfully, “Why should I be considerate of him? Don’t you think I know anything about his ability? I think the people in charge of the Calligraphy and Painting Association must be blind to let him be the vice president!”Just as she was talking, Jacob opened the door and walked in.Claire greeted him quickly and said, “Dad, wash your hands then come and have dinner!”Jacob asked casually, “What kind of dishes are there? Is there any meat?”Elaine cursed and said, “There is a lid, do you want to chew it? If you’re willing,
“What do you know?!” Jacob looked at her with disdain, then said to Charlie, “By the way, Charlie, the Calligraphy and Painting Association will be holding an ancient calligraphy and painting exhibition in Aurous Hill soon. The standards of this calligraphy and painting exhibition are very high. The city is very supportive of this as well, so it should be a big move for our country! We might even invite the Central Oskia Media to cover the entire event!”Charlie asked curiously, “It will be such a big event? Aurous Hill is not considered to be the base for calligraphy and painting, so wouldn’t it be too forceful to hold such a big event here?”Jacob said, “It doesn’t matter if Aurous Hill is not the base for calligraphy and painting. It will be fine as long as Aurous Hill can exhibit outstanding calligraphy and painting works, so we are collecting works of famous artists from collectors throughout Aurous Hill now. Our first step is to raise funds internally. Our president and the oth
Meanwhile, at Aurous University.The freshmen at Aurous University had completed their registration process, class placement, and assignment of counselors. The university issued orientation uniforms to all students in the afternoon, and the two-week orientation would officially begin in the morning tomorrow.Due to the paramilitary management after orientation started, both Vera and Claudia chose to live on campus. Otherwise, they would have to get up and gather at around six o’clock in the morning every day, or they would not be able to get to the university in time. The two of them were chatting in the dormitory while tidying up their beds and personal belongings. Since her family was killed, Claudia had become very cautious toward others and did not like to communicate with others. When she was in Canada, the only two people she trusted were Mrs. Lewis and Stephanie. However, Claudia, who was usually taciturn, somehow had a lot of common topics with Vera. No matter what they
Vera was well aware that her headache was the sequelae of the last psychological hint that Charlie placed on her. There was no other way to deal with this situation other than to wait for it to recover slowly. Claudia thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and said, “By the way, Veron, do you still remember Charlie?”Vera was taken aback. She knew that Charlie had tried to erase the process of questioning her last time, but he had failed to erase all her memories of him. Therefore, she pretended to be curious and asked, “Is it the guy who came to see you off last time?”Claudia nodded and said, “Yes. I heard Stephanie mention that Charlie is very capable. Everyone in Aurous Hill who knows him addresses him as Master Wade. He seems to know Feng Shui and has some medical skills as well. Why don’t I ask Charlie to come over and take a look at your condition?”“Huh?!” Although Vera wanted to get acquainted with Charlie through Claudia, she did not expect the opportun
Charlie did not expect that Claudia would call him because she wanted him to treat Vera’s headache. However, he recalled the last time he had seen Vera. He had indeed increased the amount of Reiki when he placed the psychological hint on her, and it seemed as if it had caused considerable sequelae to Vera. Charlie knew that it was because he had used too much Reiki on her, so he could not shirk his responsibility now that Claudia was calling to ask for his help.Therefore, he said to Claudia, “Wait for me for a moment, then. I will drive over now.”Claudia said happily, “Okay, Charlie. Call me when you arrive!”“Okay.” Charlie agreed and then said to Claire, “Honey, I have to go out and do something. I will be back soon.”Claire asked curiously, “It’s already past eight o’clock. Who is looking for you so late at night?”Charlie did not hide the truth from Claire and said, “It’s Claudia. Her classmate encountered a little trouble, so she wants me to go over and help.”Claire a
"What?!" Jacob exclaimed excitedly, suddenly on his feet. "That prick is really going to start a business in Aurous Hill? What, did he get sick of living the good life elsewhere?"In Jacob's mind, there were only two reasons why Raymond had returned to Aurous Hill.The first was that he had gotten so rich that he had come back to open a shop on Antique Street, to salvage some dignity after he had been fired from Vintage Deluxe. The other was the complete opposite—he had screwed up elsewhere too and had no choice but to return to Aurous Hill to make a living.If it was the former, he certainly wouldn't have hope for his revenge.But that was not the case if it was the latter!Meanwhile, Zachary replied, "Truth be told, I haven't seen the man in the flesh. But judging from my tip, he definitely wasn't doing well elsewhere, since the business he's planning now that he's back is quite modest."Jacob immediately laughed. "Hahaha! I see… He must have messed up out there and had no ch
Claire pursed her lips, grumbling, "Like you said, I won't tell Mom for the sake of peace. But you know very well that you shouldn't do that ever again!"Jacob nodded repeatedly as he promised. "Don't worry—I'll never do it again."As he finished, his phone rang on the table, and he looked down to see that it was Zacahary."That's weird," he murmured in surprise. "He's been hiding from me for the longest time, but he's calling me now?"Charlie was surprised too.After Zachary left Antique Street and started helping Don Albert's more unsavory business, he shouldn't have any reason to contact Jacob.So, why call him now?Jacob was confused too, but he ultimately answered the call.On the other end of the call, Zachary greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Wilson? It's me—Zachary. Do you still remember me?""Nonsense," Jacob snorted. "Why wouldn't I remember you after we've spoken so many times? I also couldn't reach out to you when I had all that good stuff before, but you're contactin
Meanwhile, at Thomson's First, the family of four was peacefully having dinner for the first time.While Charlie and Claire never argued, Jacob and Elaine were always either bickering or dissing each other, leaving the air around the table tense and awkward.But this time, neither of them argued, and they didn't seem to despise each other.The table was not just peaceful either—Elaine was a lot less bossy, even helping put food on Jacob's plate, having him try this and that, almost as if she was suddenly the best of wives.Jacob used to regard Elaine with disdain in every way, constantly lamenting how a great man like him didn't have a good wife.But with him being the way he was now, he utterly resigned to himself.It made sense that Matilda wouldn't be interested in him given his current state, and it was amazing that Elaine willingly stayed with him. That was why he no longer regarded Elaine with unconcealed disgust and disdain like before and was instead gentle and emotiona
Mick was left gritting his teeth. "Shit, that's true. It's going to be hard to pull the wool over Raymond's eyes—it has to be the best to actually trick him."Then, he sighed. "If there's someone who can do that, it'd be Zachary Evans! The man was a God back in the day!"The employee nodded. "Well, it's true that his replicas were impeccable… But the man has made it big time working for Don Albert, and we won't be able to ask for his help!"Mick shook his head. "No, it's fine. We're quite close—let me call him right now."With that, he whipped out his phone to make the call.While Zachary used to be humble in Mick's presence before, Zachary was now way above him on the pecking order.Afraid of being remotely disrespectful, he promptly greeted Zachary politely as soon as the latter answered, "Hello, Zachary! It's me, Mick Crane!" "Uh-huh," Zachary replied noncommittally before asking in curiosity, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"Ever since Zachary had started working for Don A
Raymond may have worked abroad for years and was a veteran in antiques, but he was still lacking when it came to reading between the lines.Taking Mick's words at face value, he promptly shook his head, "No, you really shouldn't. I wasn't planning to come back here to work, so you mustn't mention me to Ms. Moore either."And unlike Mick, he really meant what he said, while Mick was saying the complete opposite of what he was thinking.Naturally, Mick didn't believe Raymond, even presuming that Raymond was a liar like himself.The more Raymond said he didn't want to return to Vintage Deluxe, the more he thought he was.Hence, he asked despite knowing the answer, "Well, what are you planning to do now that you've returned to Aurous Hill?""It's been years of traveling for me, so I was just getting a little tired," Raymond admitted. "I'm planning to set up a small business in Aurous Hill, most likely here in Antique Street. That's why I'm visiting—do be neighborly when I set up shop
Meanwhile, Raymond had no idea that he was being targeted as soon as he returned to Antique Street.He had reached the middle where rows of three-floored buildings stood, the largest on the street, and where Vintage Deluxe was. It was not closed yet as tradition on Antique Street was for stalls to open in the morning and close in the afternoon. In comparison, shops opened later and closed later.With the difference of two to three hours, they could afford to have customers who had lower purchasing power or were just window shopping to stroll through the outdoor stalls. Then, when they were gone, customers with actual purchasing power would come on their own time.As Raymond arrived outside Vintage Deluxe, Mick just finished his meeting with his employees, summing up, "So, does anyone have anything to do tonight?"They all shook their heads, answering as one, "No!!!"Mick nodded. "If there's nothing else, stay back for overtime. Ask for some spicy crayfish and beer for dinner."
However, Raymond had accomplished the assignment Curtis had given him years ago, so he had no intention of staying at Aurous Hill and remained unrepentant despite Jasmine's pressure. That was why he could ask to resign without hesitation, even urging her to let him go despite the pain.That was why Mick was now worried that Raymond would return to reclaim his position as manager."Keep an eye on him for me," he told Trippy. "Tell me if anything comes up right away—I will make it worth your while.""Alright!" Trippy agreed to it. "Don't worry—I'll call right away if anything comes up."Once Trippy hung up, Mick gathered the handful of Vintage Deluxe employees.They were all his close allies he had groomed after he took over Vintage Deluxe. Even if Mick hadn't been succeeding in his business, he was succeeding in building his own forces. Anyone who didn't obey his orders had since been removed, and the remaining ones were basically his co-conspirators, embezzling a considerable am
As it turned out, the bean counters of the Moore Group had been suggesting that Jasmine axe Deluxe Vintage and other antique-related businesses.After all, Aurous Hill was hardly the heart of the nation's antique business—not even a hub, and Vintage Deluxe wouldn't grow on such soil.Moreover, their revenue wasn't optimistic.While the business wasn't exactly falling off after Mick took charge, the lack of experience amongst the management team meant they were struggling to break even.And for the bean counters, keeping Vintage Deluxe meant no profits—even net losses in the immediate future. Right now, they might still be able to package it nicely and sell it off, and selling a fixed asset coupled with brand value would more or less turn a profit. But once Vintage Deluxe started incurring losses and the brand value diminished in turn, it would be reduced to zero completely.In other words, the value of Vintage Deluxe was on a springboard—sell it anytime now, and the value would be
The Mr. Crane from the other end of the call was Mick Crane—the current manager of Vintage Deluxe, and a man whom all of Antique Street fawned over.Mick was the assistant manager to Raymond back then, and his skill in the antique trade was at best moderate. However, thanks to his friendly personality, he had managed to secure himself many decent connections down Antique Street.As such, once Jasmine had fired Raymond, Mick had taken over his position as caretaker manager. She was also aware that Mick didn't have the skills to do well as a manager, and her plan had always been to keep him as a caretaker before she found someone better.As her ties with Charlie had strengthened and he had started helping her, her position in her family had skyrocketed. However, that also meant she couldn't watch over most of Vintage Deluxe's operations.Now that she was the head of the Moore family and the leader of a dynasty worth billions, a small business like Vintage Deluxe was even less signifi