The Secretly Rich Man

Chapter 1751

Chuckling in response, Xanry then smiled before saying, “Before that, I’d like to head to the washroom first!”

“Sure thing!” replied Gerald with a nod. While he knew that Xanry was trying to escape, Gerald didn’t feel the need to expose him.

Whatever the case was, Xanry then got up and quickly left for the washroom.

Now that he had finally managed to escape from Gerald’s evil grasp, there was no way in hell that he was going to dare offend Gerald anymore.

Soon enough, the classmate party ended smoothly and Gerald drove home together with Juno…

The second they stepped into her house, Juno instantly smiled as she turned to look at Gerald before saying, “You’ve teased Xanry so much today, Gerald!”

Laughing heartily in response, Gerald then replied, “He’s at fault for offending me in the first place! I certainly couldn’t just let him off after he did that, could I? Besides, you’re happy that I teased him too, no?”

Upon hearing that, Juno nodded before delightedly saying, “Of course I’m happy! That guy’s been pestering me since my university days, you know? At long last, someone humiliated him!”

Since Gerald had humiliated him so much, she was sure that Xanry wouldn’t pester her ever again. That was one troublesome person done with…

At that moment, a tiny creak was heard…

Turning to face the door that had opened, the duo watched as Ray slowly walked out…

Upon seeing them, he then quickly jogged toward them while saying, “Mr. Crawford! Miss Zorn! You’re back!”

“We are, but why are you still up, Ray?” asked Juno.

“I… I’ve been waiting for you to return! Old Flint sent you something!” explained Ray.

“What? He did? What did he send over?” asked Gerald curiously.

Upon hearing that, Ray re-entered his room before returning with a box and handing it to Gerald.

“It’s this unopened box with a letter attached to it! I’m guessing that Old Flint wrote the letter!” explained Ray.

Hearing that, Gerald then took the box and quickly opened it… only to reveal a perfume bag inside that constantly emitted a faint, pleasant smell…

“…That smells so wonderful! I wonder why Old Flint sent you a perfume bag of all things…” muttered Ray.

While the gift was a pleasant surprise to both Ray and Juno, they quickly realized that Gerald was instead, frowning. Did the perfume bag symbolize something…?

Not even bothering to reply to Ray’s statement, Gerald then quickly began reading through Old Flint’s letter… and by the time he was done, his frown was much, much deeper than before.

Seeing how furrowed Gerald’s brows now were, Ray—who had never seen Gerald show such an expression before—couldn’t help but ask in a concerned tone, “What’s wrong, Mr. Crawford? What happened? Your expression looks so unpleasant!”

“Indeed! What did Old Flint say, Gerald?” asked Juno.

“…First of all, this perfume bag… It’s called ghost-luring perfume, and as its name suggests, it’s used to lure ghosts. Moving on to the letter, Old Flint apparently wants to head to a place called Grimhelm to investigate some secrets regarding vampires. Though he’s asking me if I’m willing to go with him, since he sent me this perfume bag, I’m sure he means business. After all, I told him to only send this particular kind of perfume bag over if major issues came up!”

Chapter 1752

After hearing Gerald’s explanation, both of them finally got the whole story. As it turned out, the perfume bag really did symbolize something.

“…Still… couldn’t the ‘major issue’ be a good affair?” asked Ray.

Shaking his head, Gerald then replied, “Unfortunately, I’ve heard tales of Grimhelm before as well. It’s an extremely vicious place, so the fact that he’s gone there must mean that he’s bumped into some trouble.”

Gerald also knew that Old Flint was wise enough not to send such a perfume bag over under normal circumstances. He would’ve only posted it when he was in urgent need of help…

“…I see! Then… When are we leaving?”

“We leave at nine tomorrow morning!” declared Gerald, knowing how urgent the situation was.

Following that, he turned to face Ray and Juno before instructing, “Ray, Juno, go wake Nori up and detail her on all this. Once that’s done, start packing up. I’ll be needing you three to follow me there!”

With how serious the matter was, Gerald needed all the help he could get. After all, with every additional person they had, the more power their party would possess.

Hearing that, Juno then replied, “Got it!”

Ray had no objections either, so the duo quickly parted ways with Gerald.

After that, all four of them quickly began packing up and readying themselves for the trip tomorrow morning…

While Gerald finished packing relatively early, he naturally had a restless night…

By early morning, all four of them were already up, and after cleaning themselves and having their breakfast, the party of four then set off.

With Ray being the driver, the party then drove all the way to the highway entrance—which took about half an hour—near the sea. According to the meeting time in the letter, Old Flint should be waiting for them there by then…

True enough, upon arriving at the highway entrance, all four of them saw an old person wearing a black windbreaker—as well as a black hat—sitting by the roadside, a sandalwood scepter in hand. It wasn’t hard to discern that that was none other than Old Flint. With that, Gerald then told Ray to stop the car next to him.

The second the car stopped, Gerald stepped out before respectfully greeting, “Old Flint!”

Nodding slightly with a grunt, the old man then got into the shotgun seat with Gerald’s help.

With that done, Gerald then told Ray that he would be driving next.

It wasn’t as though Ray had bad driving skills or anything, but the fact remained that only Gerald and Old Flint knew where their destination was. With that in mind, it would be better that Gerald drove rather than having to point out the directions to Ray throughout the entire journey.

Before leaving, Gerald made sure to ask, “Is there anyone else joining us, Old Flint?”

Shaking his head slightly, Old Flint then leaned against his seat, not saying a word…

Since he had a pair of sunglasses on, nobody truly knew whether his eyes were open or closed.

Regardless, seeing that he wasn’t going to get a reply, Gerald then stepped on the accelerator, driving straight into the highway…

“It’ll be about ten hours before we get to our destination. The three of you can get some rest if you want to. After all, we woke up pretty early!” suggested Gerald.

Hearing that, all three of them nodded. After all, there was not much else to do on the highway unless they came across any rest areas. With that, it wasn’t long before all three of Gerald’s companions dozed off…

When that happened, there was complete silence in the car. After all, Gerald was driving attentively whereas Old Flint remained as silent as ever.

Though such a situation would surely be tiresome for regular people—since a ten-hour drive was rather long—, it was a rather easy affair for Gerald. He wasn’t tired in the least…

Chapter 1753

It was at around eleven that night when Gerald and the others finally arrived at the Emerald Realm. The vampires’ territory was an old forest located on an ancient mountain there, and since ancient times, few had ventured into the forest to meet them…

Fortunately for the party, there were still some operating hotels and inns in the vicinity. With that in mind, the group of five could finally settle down and get some proper rest…

After booking some rooms, he allowed everyone to head to their respective rooms to get some well-deserved sleep. After all, they needed to be fully rested before officially entering vampire territory early the next morning…

By dawn, all of them checked out early and immediately began driving toward the old forest in the mountains…

After about forty minutes of driving, the car finally came to a halt at the foot of the mountain. Since the car couldn’t be driven any further, they had no other choice but to continue forward on foot.

Once they got their luggage, they began their journey up the mountain…

As they were walking, Ray couldn’t help but declare, “…I’m not sure about the rest of you, but the air here is amazingly fresh! It feels rather nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of the city!”

The others knew what he meant. After all, the environment here was definitely fresher compared to the city’s. Aside from the crisp air, they were also surrounded by the rejuvenating aura of the plants around them…

Regardless, after walking for about half an hour, the five of them eventually arrived at a village.

The village itself was built by the local vampires, and since they lived in such seclusion, their customs were naturally different.

With that in mind, the second the surrounding vampires noticed Gerald and his party’s presence, they instantly stopped whatever they were doing. As all the vampires stood up and stared vigilantly at the group, a man wearing a leather jacket walked up to Gerald, glaring at the youth as he asked, “Who are you people?”

Naturally stopping in their tracks, Gerald then smiled subtly as he replied, “Greetings! We’re merchants!”

“Hah! A merchant, you say? Look, I’ve seen tons of people like you, so cut the act already! Tell me, are you here for the treasure in the forest?” sneered the man.

Frowning slightly upon hearing that, Gerald couldn’t help but think that the vampires were a bit more difficult to deal with than he had initially anticipated.

he then ordered,

that, Ray immediately took all the food out of his backpack before handing

Gerald then handed them to the leather-coated man before saying, “We really are merchants! We’re here in exchange for some goods

avoid the man from further being suspicious

the food, the man lowered his guard slightly before taking the food that

food, the other vampires were already rushing

and the others quickly became the most welcome people in the village, it also caused their food supply

After all, if they had no food left, what were they going to eat when they ventured deeper into the

gruff voice could

a fat man fumbled forward with a few shabbily-dressed

good things

Chapter 1754

man—who was staring at Gerald and his group—, Gerald already knew that he was trouble. More accurately, he

smile as he replied, “It’s just

“Listen here! I’m called Fane and I’m the boss of this village! Since you’ve come to my village, you should hand us something as a welcome gift! Otherwise, it’ll be

trying to blackmail them for money. While the threats would surely fool the more gullible people, Gerald was experienced with people like Fane. With that in mind, he wasn’t

his gaze fixed on Juno and Nori for a while now—revealed a sinister smile before saying, “Oho, those two beauties

staring straight in the eye at Fane while saying, “Sir, we’re merchants who are here to do business! Now

“Stop right there! Did I say you could leave? I told you, if

at Fane—who was glaring all high and mightily at him—Gerald was pretty sure that the fat man

against me! Well, that’s

to leave behind?” asked Gerald in a casual

money or leave those

reluctant to do either?” replied

now? If you want to be this defiant, I’ll just order my

say anything else, however, he quickly found himself flying

Gerald had

such ulterior motives on Juno and Nori! The combination of the two was definitely enough to warrant being taught a

seeing their boss getting beaten up, Fane’s subordinates instantly rushed toward

simply countered their assaults

taken out in a single hit, Gerald couldn’t help but feel that they were

others, on the other hand, simply watched the scene play out in silence. After

Chapter 1755

and the entire area was completely engulfed in darkness. With how silent it was, the crackling of the bonfire—that Gerald and his party had started in

of a very large piece of meat for dinner—that was currently cooking over the bonfire—, it was evident that Gerald had saved some food for a rainy day. Gerald had made sure to keep some rations in his own bag, anticipating the possibility of

meat was, all five of them were

Ray couldn’t help but ask in a slightly worried tone, “…Do you think Fane and his gang will come looking for trouble with

we’ll just take turns being on guard tonight. You can sleep first, and after two hours, we’ll switch places. That way, nobody will be able to sneak up on us!”

Fane wasn’t present, Gerald would’ve still suggested for the same thing to be done. After all, they were currently in unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, they needed to be on

that he wouldn’t allow either of them to suffer from any injuries or get hurt during

naturally not against Gerald’s

into the night when Juno and Nori finally fell asleep, their shoulders leaning against each other. Old Flint himself could be seen meditating

for Gerald, he sat before the bonfire, keeping a lookout for danger while occasionally looking at the

enough, a bright crescent moon—that had earlier been blocked by clouds—revealed

lights and street lamps in cities, such beautiful sights were impossible to enjoy in urban areas. With that in mind, the natural beauty—that could only be witnessed out here in the wilderness—would surely be able to

the case was, the night was

despite Fane and his gang’s rashness, they knew their limitations well. After all, that group of bullies hadn’t caused trouble

early that morning

dawn since he figured that nobody would be dumb enough to attack them in daylight—instantly ran out to have a

a group of villagers who were discussing something while standing around a well. With how unpleasant their expressions were, Gerald could only

Before Gerald could even ask

Gerald then replied, “…Was

“Was

villager said that, the other villagers quickly pointed at the well, prompting Gerald to walk over and look

he did, Gerald was instantly greeted by the sight of a massive floating corpse…

that Fane would die so suddenly—and be found dead in the well of all places—Gerald then faced the

mean, how did he die? Are you seriously pretending to be surprised that his body is here? You’re the only one here who has a grudge against him, you know? Who

Chapter 1755

night fell and the entire area was completely engulfed in darkness. With how silent it was, the crackling of the bonfire—that Gerald and his party had started in

was evident that Gerald had saved some food for a rainy day. Gerald had made sure to keep some rations in his own bag, anticipating the possibility of the villagers exchanging all of the

was, all five of them were sufficiently full by the

their bellies now filled, Ray couldn’t help but ask in a slightly worried tone, “…Do you think Fane and his gang

sleep first, and after two hours, we’ll switch places. That way, nobody will be able to sneak up on us!”

would’ve still suggested for the same thing to be done. After all, they were currently in

swore to himself that he wouldn’t allow either of them to

was naturally not against Gerald’s suggestion, and he

asleep, their shoulders leaning against each other. Old Flint himself could be seen meditating at the side while Ray eventually dozed off as he

sat before the bonfire, keeping a lookout for danger while occasionally looking

a bright crescent moon—that had earlier been blocked by

such beautiful sights were impossible to enjoy in urban areas. With that in mind, the natural

case was, the night

knew their limitations well. After all, that group of bullies hadn’t caused trouble for Gerald

that morning when he heard

awakened Gerald—who had fallen asleep at dawn since he figured that nobody would be dumb enough to attack them in daylight—instantly ran out to have a

were discussing something while standing around a well. With how unpleasant their expressions were, Gerald could only assume that something bad

toward them, they quickly surrounded him. Before Gerald could even ask what they were

slight brow in his bewilderment, Gerald then

that, the villager then harrumphed before furiously retorting, “Was

that, the other villagers quickly pointed at the

massive floating corpse… With how fat it was, he

in the well of all places—Gerald then faced the villagers before asking, “How… Did

be surprised that his body is here? You’re the only one here

Chapter 1756

How could I have

was the truth, he knew the villagers weren’t going to buy it so easily. With that in mind, the best way to clear things out would be by investigating how

explained why he and his gang hadn’t caused Gerald and his party

Fane was definitely a villainous character that deserved retribution sooner or later, Gerald had to admit

case was, Gerald then added, “…Look, before we start pointing fingers, let’s just

villagers couldn’t argue with Gerald’s logic, so they

face had been completely ruined. With how badly

deep gash in Fane’s neck. With that in mind,

look at the villagers before displaying his hands while saying, “From what I can see, whatever killed Fane had sharp claws. I mean, just take a good look

then who was the murderer? What happened the previous night? Also, why weren’t

heard a young voice

to see the nervous boy who was running toward them, the villagers exchanged glances before one of

All of them have died at their home!” exclaimed the terrified

hearing that, everyone instantly began trembling. Nobody

Gerald and the villagers then hurried over to where Fane’s subordinates were staying. Upon arriving at the shabby-looking yard, everyone could see their dead bodies lying all over the yard. Upon closer inspection, all of them had died the same

earth could have

ghost have come out of the

“T-that’s impossible!”

them. Instead, he quickly returned

had returned, Ray was prompted to ask, “Where did you head off

turned to face Old

old man quickly

Ray had no idea what was

Chapter 1757

long before the trio arrived at

Fane’s corpse—that was now lying on the ground—Gerald then said, “Please have a look at this corpse, Old Flint! Something attacked him yesterday

shouted in disbelief, “…I-isn’t that Fane, Mr. Crawford? We just met him yesterday! How could he

Gerald

stared at the corpse, clearly analyzing it. After a short period, he then

Gerald, surprised by Old

would have such sharp claws that could easily kill. What more, if you pay closer attention, you’ll be able to

are feral vampires in the forests around us? Why

ones are afraid of fire. We had a bonfire burning last night, remember? That’s why the feral vampires didn’t go after us. My guess is that this Fane person must have gone out in the middle of the night. Seeing that they couldn’t

he bought his words. To

then added, “We mustn’t linger

then turned to leave, Gerald took one final glance at Fane’s corpse before

back home, they quickly packed their stuff and silently left the village. After all, if the villagers knew that they were leaving under such short notice, they’d

a bit, they eventually managed to enter the old forest deep in

group remained