The Monarch Of Everlasting Night Chapter 515: The Mysterious Old Man [Two in One] - Novel Cool

Chapter 515: The Mysterious Old Man [Two in One]

Chapter 515: The Mysterious Old Man [Two in One]

Everyone stood in front of the shopkeeper, looking a little surprised.

The shopkeeper couldn't help but rub his eyes and looked at Feng Xiangdong. He had indeed seen many people like him who couldn't find their wallets when it was time to pay.

But he never expected that Feng Xiangdong, who looked like a wealthy young master from a prominent family, would also do something like this.

This was a bit beyond the shopkeeper's understanding.

"Hey... Look at your face!"

Dong Yunyu, as expected, seized the opportunity and spoke up, "If you don't want to treat us, then don't. After all, no one's money is blown in by the wind... We understand if you don't want to spend money, but don't make it so obvious. We're all brothers, it doesn't matter..." He clapped his chest generously and said in a grand manner, "This one's on me!"

Dong Yunyu spoke loudly, his voice filled with enthusiasm as he patted his chest. With a particularly confident tone, he said, "This one's on me."

He spoke with exceptional volume! His face showed utter disdain for money.

After saying this, he turned to Feng Xiangdong and said, "Peh, if you don't have money, don't treat us. You cheapskate! Don't pretend to be so grand in the future."

Feng Xiangdong, the young master of the prestigious Feng family, was so furious that his lungs were about to explode, and his fingers trembled, "Dong Yunyu, you... you... you bastard..."

Dong Yunyu didn't care about being called a bastard.

The old man, Dong Ye, had heard similar curses countless times, and he didn't pay them any mind.

He casually paid the bill and said, "Keep the change!"

He slapped his chest and said, "I've got money!"

Feng Xiangdong was so angry that he foamed at the mouth, "I can't take this... I've never been so humiliated in my life!"

"Forget it... Don't stoop to his level. As the saying goes, if a dog bites you..."

Qiu Yunshang kept persuading, "Let's find the wallet first."

Fang Che suppressed a smile and asked Feng Xiangdong, "Besides money, is there anything else in it?"

"There are also three of our Feng family's Fengshen Blades. We can't lose them..."

Feng Xiangdong's face turned pale.

Firstly, they were a symbol of his identity, secondly, they were his trump card, and thirdly, they were his life-saving ace.

If he lost them, Feng Xiangdong felt that going back wouldn't be as simple as just getting a scolding.

The reason why the Fengshen Blades were so named was that they were engraved with the Feng family's unique hidden weapon cultivation paths and methods.

"When did it get stolen?"

Feng Xiangdong furrowed his brows tightly, and in his mind, he retraced every step from leaving the Patrol Hall to this moment, even visualizing each step clearly.

But no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't remember anyone approaching him.

Not to mention reaching into his pocket and taking his precious wallet.

Moreover, on the wallet... there was an untraceable Tiancan Silk attached to it.

If it was indeed stolen.

Feng Xiangdong himself couldn't believe it, "How could I be so oblivious?"

After thinking for a long time, he couldn't come up with any clues, and Feng Xiangdong started to panic.

Fang Che was also deep in thought.

Since they had all come out together, every place they passed through, like a gentle stream, flowed through his mind.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes with only whites appeared in his mind.

Fang Che's brows furrowed instantly.

He said, "You, come with me."

Then, he led the four of them back into the bookstore and instructed Ye Meng, "You stay here with the kids."

The four of them entered the bookstore again.

The skinny old man at the entrance, as thin as a monkey, lowered his head, and his eyes turned white again as he watched the four of them walk in. Then, his eyelids snapped shut.

Fang Che stopped at the entrance, right in front of the old man, and said politely, "Senior, one of my companions dropped his wallet in your store. It would be a great help if you could ask around. If it's found, we'll be sure to reward you!"

The old man rolled his eyes again and said, "Dropped a wallet? How can you be sure it was dropped here? Just because you say it was dropped here, it was dropped here? If you say you lost your wife here, do you expect me to find you a new one? Nonsense!"

Dong Yunyu and the others were also puzzled.

Seeing the old man like this, Dong Yunyu felt confident that he could scare him off with a fart.

The old man was almost rotten, and there was no sign of cultivation about him. How could he have stolen Feng Xiangdong's belongings?

Fang Che smiled at the old man.

The old man was not intimidated and defiantly rolled his eyes at Fang Che.

"Senior, as long as the wallet is returned, there won't be any trouble."

Fang Che said.

"I don't know anything about a wallet!"

The old man said angrily, "I open my shop for business. If anyone who comes in asks me for a wallet, how can I do business?"

Fang Che nodded, "It seems you're not going to cooperate?"

"I don't know how to cooperate?"

The old man stubbornly held his ground.

Fang Che flipped his hand and revealed his patrol badge, "Southeast Headquarters of the Guardians, investigation and case handling. I suspect you are connected to the Weyi Zhengjiao, an undercover spy planted by them in Donghu Zhou. Please come with us!"

As he spoke, he grabbed the old man's shoulder.

The old man was stunned, "Are you even reasonable? If I can't produce the wallet, you..." He called out, "Help! Help! Come and see how the Guardians abuse their power to oppress the innocent!"

Fang Che flipped his other hand, and a golden life-and-death patrol token flashed in his palm.

"We are the Life and Death Patrol Team, and we don't deal with negotiations or reasoning. We are solely responsible for taking lives."

He smiled and said, "Old man, if you keep shouting, I'll assume you're a real spy, using public sentiment to pressure us Protectors and force us to do your unspoken agenda! When that happens, I'll have no choice but to take action and decide your fate!"

Clang! Fang Che's sword was drawn, its gleaming blade resting across the skinny old man's neck, leaving only two tendons visible.

The old man's body stiffened, his eyes darting around in panic, not daring to move.

Fang Che said coldly, "Old man, is your stomach rumbling because you're hungry?"

The old man shuddered and exclaimed in surprise, "There's a wallet under this table. I don't know if it's yours, but I was so busy that I didn't notice it until now."

Feng Xiang Dong quickly bent down and looked under the table, spotting a wallet. It was intricately wrapped in golden threads, a fine and grand piece, and indeed belonged to him.

He quickly picked it up and opened it to find silver notes, gold notes, gold leaves, and even the Wind God Blade, all intact.

"I found it! Nothing's missing!" he exclaimed in delight.

The old man pleaded with a pitiful expression, "Sir... I've found my wallet..."

Fang Che's sword pressed against the old man's neck as he said calmly, "I know you found your wallet. I can see it with my own eyes. But there's something I want to tell you."

"Please, tell me."

"We don't want to lose anything else. If I leave your store or discover something missing from my belongings in the near future..."

Fang Che held up the Life and Death Patrol Token in front of the old man's eyes and asked, "Do you recognize this?"

"Yes, yes, I do. Please be at ease, I... I... I'm not a thief."

The old man looked like he was about to cry.

Fang Che smiled and slowly sheathed his gleaming sword.

Clang! The longsword returned to its scabbard.

Smiling, he said, "It's good that you're not a thief. I apologize; my friend was here, and he accidentally dropped his wallet. Isn't that right?"

The old man nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes."

He sat down, seemingly terrified.

His face turned pale.

Fang Che smiled, took out a hundred silver notes, and placed them on the table, "Old man, I apologize for the inconvenience. Please accept this as a token of gratitude for finding your wallet."

The old man repeatedly declined, "No, no... It's only right..."

"Please take it."

After some persuasion, the old man finally accepted with gratitude, "You gentlemen are all good people..."

He opened a drawer and placed the silver notes inside.

Just then, Fang Che suddenly frowned.

Before the old man could push the drawer closed, Fang Che reached out and extended his hand into the drawer.

The old man was shocked and cried out, "Robbery!"

Feng Xiang Dong and the others were equally stunned.

What was going on? Why was the leader's hand reaching into the money drawer?

Fang Che slowly pulled out a broken silver coin from the drawer.

He held it between two fingers, his fingertips enveloped in spiritual energy.

Although he was holding the coin with his fingers, his skin didn't touch it at all.

Why was this?

Upon closer inspection, the broken silver coin was dirty, but otherwise, it didn't seem different from the others.

"Old man, why is this silver coin kept separately?" Fang Che asked, holding up the coin.

The old man seemed a bit flustered and replied, "I felt it was too dirty, so I kept it separate. I'll clean these broken coins later."

Fang Che laughed and said, "So, old man, you have this hobby. How about I trade this broken silver coin for ten silver notes?"

The old man paused and said, "I shouldn't take advantage of you like this."

This time, he didn't refer to himself as 'old man' but reverted to his initial introduction as 'old husband'.

However, his tone carried a subtle difference.

Fang Che nodded and placed the silver coin down, saying, "Since you're unwilling, old man..."

He smiled and asked, "Then, shall we take our leave?"

"No need to see us out. Please come again when you have time..."

As they were about to exit, Fang Che asked, "May I ask for your surname, old man?"

"Of course, it's Si."

Fang Che and his companions left the Scholarly Fragrance Bookstore and continued down the road.

Qiu Yun Shang complained to Feng Xiang Dong, "Why didn't you put your wallet in your spatial ring?"

Feng Xiang Dong coughed and replied, "There's a reason."

"What reason?"

Everyone turned to look at Feng Xiang Dong.

Feng Xiang Dong sighed and took out his wallet. With a light flick of his finger, the wallet opened, and a burst of colorful light flashed like fluttering butterflies.

It was a truly beautiful sight.

Then, with another flick of his finger, the wallet snapped shut, and the beauty vanished.

This opening and closing were incredibly smooth, showcasing his well-honed skills.

Think about it, a handsome and dashing young master, opening his wallet, effortlessly selecting a colorful array of banknotes, and with a flick of his wrist, a kaleidoscope of colors disappears... This style, this demeanor, this...

"Do you understand now?" Feng Xiang Dong asked sheepishly.

"Oh..."

The group spoke in unison, their voices filled with meaning, "So, it was all for the sake of showing off whenever and wherever!"

Feng Xiang Dong sighed, "This habit of showing off needs to change."

Holding his wallet, he wanted to put it directly into his ring, but after some thought, he decided to keep it in his embrace. He coughed twice and said, "...What if I encounter a beauty... I'll keep it for a little longer."

The group burst into laughter, and even Ye Meng smiled.

They returned to the Patrol Hall and urged the little guys to go practice and rest.

Five people sat together, with Ye Meng sitting in the captain's position, starting to organize the internal affairs records, writing with a pen.

Row after row of elegant small characters appeared swiftly on the pristine white paper.

While calculating, he spoke:

"Over the past few days, the team's total income was seven hundred and fifty taels of silver, two thousand lower-grade spirit crystals, one hundred and four middle-grade spirit crystals, five high-grade spirit crystals, and none of the supreme-grade ones."

"As for weapons, we acquired one sword."

"..."

The four others sat beside him, their faces as dark as charcoal.

"There were several times when we forgot to confiscate..."

"We were too focused on the battle and didn't pay attention to these details."

"The other weapons were useless, so we didn't take them."

"Yeah, and the gold... I remember there were several large cabinets, but not a single piece was taken."

"How did we end up with so many spirit crystals? Even the lower-grade ones? Who's so low-level?"

"..."

The four spoke over each other, all feeling a bit cheated.

Especially during the last mission, when Qiu Yun Shang was injured, they were so concerned that they didn't pay attention to anything else. It was the time for the biggest harvest, and they had essentially given up more than ninety percent of the potential income.

Ye Meng's face turned into a black line, "I'm telling you guys, if you have high standards, that's your business, but these small gains accumulate. They can be exchanged for performance rewards from above, becoming your cultivation resources and various pills... Can't you be more careful in the future?"

"You guys abandoned the internal affairs warehouse, coming back empty-handed every time? Or if not empty-handed, you bring back trash to fill the quota?"

The four looked at each other, their eyes darting around.

After a scolding,

Finally, Ye Meng grew tired of speaking and stopped.

The four simultaneously exhaled, having been scolded so much that they hadn't had a chance to breathe.

Including Fang Che.

Ye Meng rolled her eyes, exasperated, "Alright, I'm done talking. Just be more careful in the future."

The four immediately stretched their bodies, yawning.

"Big Brother, was the bookstore owner acting strangely?" Qiu Yun Shang asked.

Fang Che chuckled and said, "Feng Xiang Dong, what do you think?"

"A master!"

Feng Xiang Dong replied, "My wallet wasn't something any random thief could steal. And the Sky Serpent Silk connecting my wallet to my chest wasn't something anyone could cut silently either."

"First, he cut the Sky Serpent Silk, stole the wallet, and left a ball of spirit energy resembling the wallet in its original place, slowly dissipating... And this spirit energy couldn't be detected by me."

Feng Xiang Dong continued, "To be honest, when Big Brother confronted that old man, I was truly nervous. After getting the wallet, I wanted to leave. Someone like that isn't someone we can deal with."

"Indeed."

Fang Che took a breath and said, "This old man's strength is probably not below the top fifty on the Cloud Armament Ranking."

"So powerful!"

The four were astonished.

"Indeed, powerful. And if it weren't for the Life and Death Order, he wouldn't have been so intimidating."

Fang Che sighed, "A person of such caliber, with so many copies of 'The Sovereign Over All Under Heaven' in his bookstore... Don't you find it strange?"

Dong Yun Yu looked down at his toes, avoiding the need to think. He was never fond of such mental tasks.

He just listened.

Feng Xiang Dong said, "Maybe he has a connection to the Protectors?"

Fang Che rolled his eyes, "Even if he's connected to the Ninth Lord, he couldn't have obtained so many books!"

The group thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

"When you looked at those books, did you notice that some of them... weren't even new?" Fang Che asked.

"Huh? We all froze for a moment."

"If you look closely, you can see that some pages are slightly creased."

Fang Che continued, "And some of the books' sides are no longer white. You should know that human fingers are actually quite dirty. No matter how clean you wash them, after flipping through a book once, it'll still get stained with something."

"You might not notice it with just one book, but when you put it next to a truly new, untouched book, it's easy to observe the difference."

"Especially for someone like me..."

Fang Che glanced at the three, coughed lightly, and said, "Especially for someone like me, with an exceptionally sharp sixth sense. First, I can observe and see. Second, the books' energy feels different. Third, the feeling is also different."

"Of course, you guys didn't notice."

Fang Che secretly stabbed each of the three with a hidden blade.

At that moment, all three of them felt the stark difference and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"No wonder you flipped through a few books back then."

Qiu Yun Shang suddenly realized and said, "But what does that prove?"

"Are you serious?" Fang Che said, "Think about it, Feng Xiang Dong's wallet was stolen without him even noticing. It was a job done by a master thief!"

"You stole it back?"

Qiu Yun Shang gasped, feeling incredulous, "Are you saying that he sells books here, and after selling them, he estimates that people have finished reading them, and then he goes to steal them back? Whoa..."

In an instant, everyone was bewildered.

"Such a badass master thief, with such formidable combat power, such profound skills, and yet he's doing this?"

It was truly incomprehensible.

"We don't know where his initial books came from, but I once heard that when Junlin Tianxia first came out, it encountered robberies and thefts."

Fang Che explained.

Everyone's faces turned black with disbelief.

"In other words, this person probably stole a large batch of books in the beginning and placed them in the bookstore. Then he's been repeating this cycle..."

As Fang Che spoke, he too felt it was hard to comprehend, "He probably sells them, steals them back, sells them again, steals again... Damn, is there really such a despicable person in this world?"

Even Ye Meng, who was included, couldn't help but think the same.

Everyone was deep in thought, feeling that Fang Che's speculation was too far-fetched. But there was no other explanation for the traces on those books. It wasn't possible that he had read every single set of identical books before selling them, was it?

"So, I speculated that this old man might have some connection to the Guardians. Because... it's impossible to just let it go."

"That's why, after I figured out the old man's tricks, when Feng Xiang Dong lost his wallet, I didn't think much and took you guys there. Only a weirdo like him could do such a thing."

"After all, Feng Xiang Dong offended him."

Fang Che explained.

Feng Xiang Dong was completely confused, "How did I offend him?"

"You took his book to the counter, didn't buy it, and then put it back." Qiu Yun Shang said with a hint of schadenfreude.

"Is that... considered offending him?"

Feng Xiang Dong was thoroughly bewildered, "I didn't buy it, but I didn't rob it either."

"But in his eyes, you did offend him."

Fang Che affirmed, "And as you saw, when we went to look for him, we got it back."

"He wasn't giving us face, he was giving face to the Guardians and the Life and Death Order."

Fang Che said, "Otherwise, the four of us together might not be a match for one of his hands."

"Later, the old man seemed a bit annoyed, so you immediately withdrew, right?"

Qiu Yun Shang asked.

"Not withdraw... and get beaten up?"

Fang Che rolled his eyes, "After all, even you noticed the old man was annoyed. So he really was."

"But why did you take his silver coins later?"

"I can't tell you about that."

Fang Che's eyes flickered.

As they spoke, Ye Meng also finished her work.

So, they called it a day, and the three of them went to sleep in their dormitory, while Fang Che and his wife went to an inn.

They swiftly made their way back to the inn.

Upon reaching the inn, Fang Che immediately entered the room and instructed Ye Meng to close the window.

Maintaining absolute stillness.

Ye Meng was puzzled and followed his instructions, blushing. She thought Fang Che was going to...

But then, she saw Fang Che extend his finger.

The scent that had been locked onto his finger since he was in the bookstore, from the broken silver coin, was finally released.

It was the scent he had noticed at the bookstore, emanating from the broken silver coin.

A faint odor wafted out.

Ye Meng immediately scrunched her nose, feeling utterly disgusted, "Did you tear the toilet paper when you went to the bathroom?"

Fang Che sighed, "You're really something."

"Then what's this..."

"I'm comparing it!"

Fang Che was annoyed, "Quiet!"

He then took out a jade vial from his bosom, containing a black substance.

"What's this?"

Ye Meng asked.

"It's Qiu Yun Shang's flesh," Fang Che replied.

"Ugh..."

Ye Meng almost threw up, "Why are you keeping this? Are you going to eat it?"

"How dare you speak like that?" Fang Che was furious, "Smell this, can you eat this?"

As he spoke, he opened the vial.

Instantly, a pungent odor beyond description burst forth.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh..."

Ye Meng, who was leaning over the vial, was caught off guard and sprayed in the face. Her delicate face was engulfed by the stench, and she screamed in horror before rushing to the bathroom.

Soon, they heard her voice from inside, "Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh... Fang Che, I hate you... ugh, ugh..."

Just from her voice, it was clear that Ye Meng's delicious dinner was completely wasted.

After a while, Ye Meng emerged, covering her nose with a handkerchief soaked in floral water. She saw that Fang Che was still examining the vial.

She couldn't help but groan.

"Still looking? Is it that important?"

Ye Meng covered her nose, "Qiu Yun Shang... his flesh is so smelly? I didn't notice it before..."

...

(End of Chapter)

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