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.

a slight pause, he then ordered, “Ray, bring the food

took all the food out

“We really are merchants! We’re here in exchange for some goods and local specialties! If you

was saying this to avoid the man from further being suspicious of

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

food, the other vampires

Gerald and the others quickly became the most welcome people in the village, it also caused their food supply to rapidly diminish as the

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

voice could be heard shouting, “Step

everyone watched as a fat man fumbled forward with a few

Outsiders, hmm? What good things have you brought

Chapter 1754

was staring at Gerald and his group—, Gerald already knew that he was trouble.

into contact with him or his subordinates, he still put on a smile as he

the boss of this village! Since you’ve come to my village, you should hand us something as a welcome gift! Otherwise, it’ll

gangster trying to blackmail them for money. While the threats would surely fool the more gullible people, Gerald was experienced with people like Fane.

Juno and Nori for a while

Fane while saying, “Sir, we’re merchants who are

as he signaled for Juno and Nori to begin leaving, Gerald heard as Fane angrily shouted, “Stop right there! Did I say you could leave? I told you, if you wish to leave, you have to leave something behind! Otherwise, don’t even dream

mightily at him—Gerald was pretty sure that the fat man wasn’t about to take him seriously

To think that he so badly wants to stand against me! Well, that’s just great! I won’t hesitate to deal with you too, then! Daring to even have ulterior motives against me… You truly are courting

for me to leave behind?” asked Gerald in a casual

declared, “You can either hand over all your money or leave those

I’m reluctant to do either?”

be this defiant, I’ll

say anything else, however, he quickly

because Gerald had made

vulgar toward him, but he even had such ulterior motives on Juno and Nori! The combination of the two was definitely enough to warrant

boss getting beaten up, Fane’s subordinates instantly rushed toward Gerald to

assaults with

Gerald couldn’t help but feel that they were all idiots for even daring to

the others, on the other hand, simply watched the scene play out in silence. After all, they knew that nothing bad would happen to them

Chapter 1755

how silent it was, the crackling of the bonfire—that

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 the villagers exchanging all of

the meat was, all five of them were sufficiently full by the time dinner was

a slightly worried tone, “…Do you think Fane

being on guard tonight. You can sleep first, and after two

thing to be done. After all, they were currently in unfamiliar territory. With that in mind, they needed to

Gerald was more worried about Juno and Nori’s safety. He swore to himself that he wouldn’t allow either of them to suffer

was naturally not against Gerald’s suggestion,

late into the night when Juno and Nori finally fell asleep, their shoulders leaning against each other. Old Flint himself could be seen meditating at the side while Ray eventually dozed off

Gerald, he sat before the bonfire, keeping a

picturesque. Soon enough, a bright crescent moon—that had earlier been blocked

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 case was, the night was uneventful and

limitations well. After all,

so, Gerald was abruptly awoken early that morning

the awakened Gerald—who had fallen asleep at dawn since he figured that nobody would be dumb enough to attack them in

something while standing around a

was curiously walking toward them, they quickly surrounded him. Before Gerald could even ask what they were doing, one

slight brow in his bewilderment, Gerald then replied, “…Was it me,

furiously retorting, “Was it you

the angry villager said that, the other villagers quickly pointed at the well,

greeted by the sight of a massive floating corpse… With how fat it was, he had no doubt that the body

well of all places—Gerald then faced the villagers

die? Are you seriously pretending to be surprised that his body is here? You’re the only one here who has

Chapter 1755

With how silent it was, the crackling of the bonfire—that Gerald and his party had started in the

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 the villagers

of them were sufficiently full by the time dinner

ask in a slightly worried tone, “…Do you think Fane and his gang will come looking for

on guard tonight. You can sleep first, and after two hours, we’ll switch

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 guard at all times

himself that he

not against Gerald’s suggestion, and

night when Juno and Nori finally fell asleep, their shoulders leaning against each other. Old Flint himself could be seen meditating at the side while Ray eventually dozed off as he

for Gerald, he sat before the bonfire, keeping a lookout

a bright

such beautiful sights were impossible to enjoy in urban areas. With that in mind, the natural beauty—that could only be witnessed

was, the night was uneventful and

and his gang’s rashness, they knew their limitations well. After all, that group of

awoken early that morning when he heard a racket

nobody would be dumb enough to attack them in daylight—instantly ran out to have a

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

surrounded him. Before Gerald could even ask what they were doing, one of the villagers pointed at

slight brow in his bewilderment, Gerald then

the villager then harrumphed before furiously retorting, “Was it

the other villagers quickly pointed at the well, prompting Gerald to walk over

he did, Gerald was instantly greeted by the sight of a massive floating corpse… With how fat it was, he had no doubt that the

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

is here? You’re the only one here who has a grudge against

Chapter 1756

I didn’t even leave the house! How could I

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

his gang hadn’t caused Gerald and his party any trouble

villainous character that deserved retribution sooner or later, Gerald had to admit that his death

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

argue with Gerald’s logic, so they began tugging his

that his face had been completely ruined.

at Fane’s corpse, Gerald eventually found a deep gash in Fane’s neck. With that in mind,

mean, just take a good look at his mangled face! There’s a deep gash in his neck too that

However, if that was the case, then who was the murderer? What happened the

heard a young voice shouting, “S-something

around to see the nervous boy who was running toward them, the villagers exchanged glances before one of them said, “Calm yourself.

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

everyone instantly began

all over the yard. Upon closer inspection, all of

on earth could have

could the ghost have come out

“T-that’s impossible!”

Gerald didn’t bother about them. Instead, he quickly returned to where they

Ray was prompted to ask, “Where did you

Gerald instead turned to face Old Flint before

old man

as well. While Ray had no idea what was happening, judging from Gerald’s expression,

Chapter 1757

wasn’t long before the trio arrived at the

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 before tossing him down the

Ray then shouted in disbelief, “…I-isn’t that Fane,

question, Gerald simply kept

clearly analyzing it. After a short period, he then said, “…This

repeated Gerald, surprised

kind would have such sharp claws that could easily kill. What more, if you pay closer attention, you’ll be able to see bite marks on his neck!

the forests around us? Why weren’t we attacked last night instead?” asked

night, remember? That’s why the feral vampires didn’t go after us. My guess is that this Fane person must have gone

deduction made sense to Gerald, so he bought his words. To think that all this had been the work

then added, “We mustn’t linger around for

one final glance at Fane’s corpse before

their stuff and silently left the village. After all, if the villagers knew

they eventually managed

the group remained vigilant as they