Charlie nodded, “She probably dropped the car first, then jumped down herself.”Vera quickly asked, “Young Master, you're not planning to jump down from here too, are you?”Charlie said with a smile, “No. Here's the plan. You will drive to the next exit off the highway and wait for me in town. I'll go down from here.”Vera instinctively grabbed Charlie's hand, nervously saying, “No! I want to be with you!”Charlie sighed helplessly, opened the map on the console, pointed to their current location and then to the location of the town where Fleur had reappeared as he said to Vera, “We know that Fleur jumped from here and then appeared in this town, but we can't be sure where she actually went. If it's not too far from these two points, it's manageable. But if it's far, her route could be a very long acute angle, making the search area very large. If you follow me down, I'm afraid you won't be able to handle it.”Vera said determinedly, “I want to go! You might have to take care of m
Vera's words made Charlie start to seriously consider whether ‘Marcius is really still alive’ for the first time. This was a seemingly absurd question at first glance.There was no record in the Apocalyptic Book about someone living for over a thousand years, so this touched on his knowledge blind spot long ago. In fact, the Apocalyptic Book did not even mention the Eternal Pill.Even Vera fell into Charlie's knowledge blind spot, let alone Marcius.While there was no direct evidence to prove whether Marcius was alive or dead, Charlie did not dare to be presumptuous. It was essential to be prudent, and he could not afford to be careless.So, he said to Vera, “Miss Lavor, I fully agree with what you’ve just said, but since we're here already, there's no reason for us to retreat now. Let's go along with your suggestion and explore together.”Vera knew that Charlie would not give up easily, and he was already making the biggest concession by letting her accompany him, so she nodded
The path split in two at the foot of the mountain. The one on the right led deeper into the mountains, while the one on the left led to the mountaintop of another smaller mountain to the left. However, compared to the mountain Charlie and Vera were currently climbing, this one was much smaller. At the top of that mountain, there was a small area of reddish-brown low buildings, the purpose of which was unknown.Mount Tason was naturally warm and humid even though it was already mid-autumn. Therefore, the vegetation here grew particularly lush. The slopes, mountaintops, and valleys were all lush green, appearing exceptionally pure under the sunlight, completely devoid of modern labels.Vera followed Charlie closely, admiring the scenery before her. As she looked at the scenery before her, she couldn't help but praise, “Ancient people often said that winding paths lead to secluded spots. I never imagined that the scenery along the way up to Mount Tason, which used to make people feel te
The nun's words surprised both Charlie and Vera. Neither of them had expected to be recognized in front of a nunnery on Mount Tason without exposing themselves to Fleur. Therefore, Charlie did not wait for Vera to speak up and simply asked the nun with a wary expression, “Who are you? Are you pretending to be a nun and washing clothes here just to wait for us to show up?”The nun clasped her hands together and bowed slightly to Charlie, saying, “Sir, I'm not pretending to be a nun. I'm a bhikkhuni at Quiant Monastery, practicing Buddhism there. The abbess knew that you two would pass by here today, so she specifically asked me to come and wait here.”She then looked at Vera and said earnestly, “Benefactor, our abbess said you have a deep affinity with Buddhism. She would like to invite you to the nunnery for a brief chat. It won't take up too much of your time.”After pondering for a moment, Vera nodded gently and said, “Okay then, I’ll have to trouble you to lead the way there.”
When Vera saw Charlie relenting, she quickly nodded, saying, “Okay! Just twenty minutes!”Upon seeing this, the young nun bowed respectfully to Charlie again and said, “Sir, please wait a moment."She then turned to Vera with a respectful expression and said, “Benefactor, please come with me.”Vera nodded and gave Charlie a reassuring smile, whispering softly in his ear, “Please wait here for a moment, Young Master. I'll be back soon.”Charlie nodded slightly and watched as Vera and the young nun ascended the mountain together.Charlie watched the two of them get farther and farther away, saw them walking step by step to reach the mountaintop, and saw the young nun open the door of the monastery for Vera respectfully. He even saw Vera turn back and wave to him before entering, but he couldn't help but feel somewhat anxious.He felt that even if the other party wasn't a villain, their precise prediction of him and Vera still sent chills down his spine. Ever since he had obtained t
Upon hearing Vera's question, the abbess explained earnestly, “To be frank, Miss Lavor, the place you and Mr. Wade want to go is just fifty miles ahead. However, Miss Lavor, while you can go there and even Fleur Griffin can go there, Mr. Wade cannot go there.”“Master, you know of Fleur?”When Vera heard the abbess mention Fleur, she was even more astonished.She couldn't understand the identity of this abbess, let alone why she had such extraordinary abilities. Knowing about Charlie and herself was one thing, but she even knew about Fleur’s existence.Her being able to mention Fleur's name proved that she must have some understanding of Fleur's life story.In other words, she must know that Fleur had lived from over three hundred years ago to today.Vera was secretly terrified in her heart as she looked at the abbess, thinking, ‘She knows Fleur's secrets, so does she also know my secrets as well?’The abbess, now dropping all pretense, calmly said, “I'll be frank with you, Miss
With that said, Vera bent her knees and was about to kneel down.When the abbess saw this, she quickly stepped forward, supporting Vera's body before she could kneel down, and she said, “Miss Lavor has witnessed the vicissitudes of the world for hundreds of years. I dare not overstep in front of you. Please refrain from this grand gesture.”As she supported Vera, she continued, “Miss Lavor, you should surely know of the mysteries of fate. Even in the Book of Changes and the Eight Diagrams, the slightest changes could lead to vastly different outcomes. If I say too much, there is a risk of causing a backlash. If you truly wish to help Mr. Wade, it is best to minimize the variables. I can clearly tell you that there are dangers ahead for Mr. Wade, and you only need to ensure that Mr. Wade can give up moving forward. This would be the best outcome. Too much knowledge for either you or Mr. Wade could lead to even greater variables.”When Vera heard the abbess's words about her witnessin
Vera could guess the meaning behind the abbess's words, so she asked, “Master, are you saying that Master Marcius Stark’s ability to be reborn depends entirely on Mr. Wade?”The abbess said noncommittally, “I have already said too much. Please digest some of these questions on your own but remember not to let Mr. Wade know about these things.”When Vera saw that the abbess didn't want to say more, she quickly asked, “Master, do you have any other instructions?”The abbess clasped her hands together respectfully and said, “No. I have heard of you for a long time, Miss Lavor. Seeing you today has fulfilled a wish of mine. Mr. Wade is still waiting at the foot of the mountain, so you should go down the mountain quickly and persuade him to return to Aurous Hill.”Vera, unwilling to give up, hastily asked, “Master, what should Mr. Wade do next? If he can't move forward today, I'm afraid Mr. Wade will be in trouble. Where should Mr. Wade go from here? Please tell me!”The abbess's expre
When Jacob came to his senses, he was already in tears. The student presumed he was unwell and asked, "Mr. Wilson, do you want me to call your wife to pick you up?" Elaine's sarcastic face immediately popped up in his mind, and he trembled with fear. He quickly wiped away his tears and stammered, "D-don't bother... I... I just got something in my eyes..." The student obviously didn't believe him and asked worriedly, "Why don't you call your wife? Or I'll call a cab for you." "No, no." Jacob waved his hand and said, "I'll call my son-in-law to pick me up. He has just returned to Aurous Hill, so it shouldn't be a problem." After that, he quickly took out his phone and called Charlie. Just a few minutes ago, Charlie had left the cafe and was about to walk Yolden to his car. When he saw Yolden walking straight toward a domestic new energy vehicle, he asked curiously, "I don't think you were driving this model before, were you?" "I just bought it," Yolden replied with a smil
If Matilda still had feelings for Jacob, his nostalgic strategy would definitely have a strong impact. However, Matilda had already decided to move on, so Jacob's suggestion did not stir any emotions in her at all. With an apologetic smile, she said, "Sorry, Jacob, Yolden is downstairs waiting for me. We have something to discuss. How about another day? We can have dinner together, and I'll treat you." Jacob didn't expect the nostalgia strategy to fall flat. His original plan was to use nostalgia to get Matilda to go with him to eat near the school, then take the opportunity to revisit old places and subtly reignite their past memories. After all, revisiting old places was the best way to rekindle old feelings, no exceptions. It was like drinking the pasta water after cooking the pasta. However, he never imagined that Matilda's expression wouldn't change in the slightest. There was no shyness, no hesitation, no nervousness, and certainly no fluttering heart. She simply and
Matilda had been listening attentively before, but now, she was lowering her head, fiddling with her phone, and her expression even carried a hint of shyness and happiness, like that of a young girl. Jacob felt a pang of jealousy. While doing the presentation, he couldn't help but resentfully think to himself, "What has Matilda been chatting about with that Yolden guy? She's so happy..." At that moment, Matilda had just received a message from Yolden. In the message, Yolden informed her of the outcome of his conversation with Charlie and expressed his desire to have the wedding as soon as possible. Seeing how eager her beloved was to marry her, Matilda naturally felt very touched. At that moment, she had completely fallen into Yolden's love. For this man, who had a similar background, education, values, and even lifestyle to her own, she could find no fault with him. She felt that he was perfectly tailor-made for her by heaven itself, almost as if everything about him perfectly m
Charlie's worries were not unfounded. He had long known that Jacob had not completely given up on Matilda despite her relationship with Yolden. After returning from the cultural exchange in Korea, Jacob had been more dejected than ever before—something he hadn't even displayed when his family had gone bankrupt. If there was still a chance to salvage the relationship when one's beloved was merely dating someone else, their marriage was tantamount to a death sentence. Furthermore, considering the high intellectual backgrounds of Matilda and Yolden as well as their age and life experience, their decision to marry at this stage of life undoubtedly signaled their intention to build a long-term future together. This left Jacob with absolutely no chance at all. At this moment, Jacob was blissfully unaware of the devastating news and was busy conducting a calligraphy and painting workshop at Senior University. The so-called workshop was essentially a few slides showcasing classic
After that, Charlie asked with a bit of curiosity, "When did you and Matilda decide to get married?" Yolden smiled sheepishly and explained, "Remember when the city organized our cultural exchange trip to South Korea? I confessed to Matilda during that trip, and she accepted. After spending some time together, we both felt we were a great match. Considering our age, we didn't want to delay such an important decision any longer, so we decided to take the next step and build a family together." He continued, "Last month, we went to Lambonear for a few days. I bought a ring and proposed to her by the seaside, and she said yes. We also sought the opinion of our respective children—Autumn and Paul—and they were both very supportive. Both kids are exceptional and independent, so they urged us to have the wedding as soon as possible. I wanted to wait until you returned so I could check your schedule. For our wedding, we'd like to ask you to be our officiant." "What? Me as the officiant?
Charlie said without hesitation, "Sure. When is it convenient for you? Send me the address, and I'll go meet you." Charlie had always respected Yolden not only because he was a nice and talented man but also because he and his mother went way back and went to the same school. Yolden said hastily, "I've just come from Senior University. It's the weekend, and I don't have classes today. Why don't you send me the address and I'll meet you?" Charlie gave it some thought. It was a little past 3 p.m., so Yolden had likely already had lunch, and there were still a few hours until dinner. Inviting him to The Heaven Springs didn't seem ideal for a discussion. Considering that he had lived in the United States for many years and probably had a habit of having coffee in the afternoon, Charlie said, "How about this? There's a Starbucks not far south of the university. Let's meet there for a cup of coffee." "Perfect!" Yolden said with a smile. "I was just thinking you could give me an addre
On the way back to The Heaven Springs, Julien was in a much better mood than when he had arrived. Initially, he was filled with anxiety, unsure of what Charlie had planned. But now, everything had become clear. The troublesome matter of Salem and Edmund was no longer his concern. All he had to do was wait for the video from the ship to be released and then head back home. Charlie noticed his improved mood and smiled as he asked, "Julien, you've resolved the most critical matter right after landing in Aurous Hill. You must be feeling pretty happy, right?" Julien chuckled and said, "To be honest, before coming here, I was worried that I'd end up going back empty-handed and being secretly mocked by others. But now, it's different. Once your video is released, no one can blame me for not doing my job. If anything, they can only blame their family for missing their chance. After all, so much time has passed, and it's their fault Salem and Edmund were moved to the Middle East." As he
"Good." With a light nod, Charlie turned to Jiro and spoke up, "Jiro, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself." "Okay, Mr. Wade!" Jiro beamed excitedly. "Please tell me what to do! I promise I will do my best to serve you." Charlie smiled and said, "Once the ship is ready, you'll board it together with them. Your only task is to keep a close watch on them the entire time. Don't let them pull any tricks. If you succeed, you'll be a free man here. You'll get a basic monthly salary and can ask for anything you like within reason—so long as it's not contraband, it will be yours." Hearing this, Jiro was so thrilled that he trembled all over. His current treatment was already decent, but he was still only a semi-free man. He didn't dare casually set foot on the ground outside. If he could become a truly free man, he would be able to enjoy the sunlight outdoors freely. More importantly, from then on, he would have a salary. Although he couldn't personally go out shopping, having a sa
Julien had uncovered Charlie's true identity quite some time ago and investigated Charlie's background. He was well aware that Charlie had become the head of the Wade family and that the Acker family fully supported him. Although the outside world believed that Ten Thousand Armies had subdued the Wade family, Julien had witnessed Charlie's methods firsthand. Even the top two figures of the Rothschild family had been toyed with by Charlie, so how could Ten Thousand Armies possibly make him surrender? Thus, Julien deduced that Ten Thousand Armies was undoubtedly Charlie's covert tool. Considering the combined strength of the Wade family, the Acker family, and Charlie's personally cultivated forces, it was evident that Charlie even had the power to contend with the entire Rothschild family. Moreover, with the life-extending pill in his possession and the life of the Rothschild family head in his hands, Charlie's chances of prevailing in a confrontation against the Rothschilds were e