Chapter 199: Shocking Bad News

To prevent the Little Siren from causing further trouble, Old Xie first instructed several female Imps to watch her twenty-four hours a day, so that she must not be allowed to sing that terrifying lullaby again. Then he hurriedly welcomed the Imp who had just dismounted from the Wyvern and asked directly, “What happened?”

“A team of Dwarves is coming over, and they seem to be the same people who passed by last time!” the scouting Imp reported hastily.

“Hah, so it’s them!” Old Xie breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, the arrival of the Dwarves was a matter of time, so there was no need to be surprised. Moreover, they had no conflict with him, so he was not nervous about them. However, Old Xie was a very vigilant person. Although he knew the possibility of the Dwarves attacking him was slim, he still ordered, “Enter a state of alert, prepare for battle, and close the city gates.”

“Yes!” The Imp agreed and hurried off to prepare with the others.

At this time, Lan Fake also walked to Old Xie’s side. After hearing the news and seeing that Old Xie was still preparing for defense, he could not help but smile bitterly, “What are you fussing about? Is Piritz going to attack you? He and I have a life-and-death friendship!”

“I don’t care if you have friendship or an affair, anyway, I have nothing to do with that guy, so it’s only right to guard against him!” Old Xie shrugged.

“You’re the one having an affair!” Lan Fake could not help but laugh and curse.

“Hehe!” Old Xie smiled slightly, then said, “Alright, since that guy is here, you can handle the reception. As long as you don’t reveal that matter, do whatever you want with the rest!”

“You want to slack off again?” Lan Fake immediately said with dissatisfaction, “I say, don’t you want to get the materials for manufacturing Goblin Mines directly from the Dwarves? Now is an opportunity. Why don’t I introduce Piritz to you, so you can trade with him?”

Old Xie frowned and thought for a while, then shook his head, “I’d better not meet him. After all, we ran into him at the auction in the Imperial Capital last time. Although I can change my appearance this time, it’s not easy to fool the intuition of a Saint Domain Expert. If he sees that I am Stephen, it will be a bit troublesome!”

“That’s true, that old guy Piritz may not be high in other aspects, but he is a Grandmaster Smith after all, and his eyesight is absolutely terrifying. It’s not surprising if he recognizes you!” Lan Fake nodded, “In that case, I’ll go talk to him! With my old face, I might even get a cheaper price.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you!” Old Xie finished speaking, turned around, and left.

…

Old Xie estimated that the Siren would sleep for one or two days before waking up. Plus, he didn’t want to see Piritz, so he simply returned to the Mage Tower. Having nothing to do, he took a carriage into the city to check on Chris Chen and Diles’s shop.

Arriving in the city, he found the new shop Diles had bought. Old Xie saw a booming shop with luxurious decorations and an endless stream of customers. Such a lively scene made Old Xie extremely satisfied. He went inside and saw the two, listening to their rough report on the general situation. In fact, Diles had prepared a very detailed report, just waiting for Old Xie to ask. But unexpectedly, Old Xie had no patience to listen to that; he only listened to a few items casually and then waved his hand to stop him, “Alright, I’m too lazy to ask about these messy things. As long as you understand them, that’s enough.”

“This~” Diles gave a wry smile, “Young Master, first of all, I am very grateful for your trust, but, you giving me so much power, I’m afraid it’s not according to the rules!”

“Yes!” Chris Chen also advised from the side, “According to the rules of the Duke’s Mansion, a shop Manager needs to report the accounts in detail. You have to listen carefully before you can give the Manager the right for the next transaction. This is to prevent people from eating inside and out. You should~!”

Old Xie didn’t wait for him to finish and waved his hand directly, “I don’t need to abide by the Duke’s Mansion’s rules, and I don’t need to use such low-level means to control my subordinates. Diles~”

“Young Master! Please give your order!” Diles hurriedly agreed.

“I’m telling you, I’m giving you the financial power of the whole shop. Just do it boldly. As long as you have a clear conscience, that’s fine. But,” Old Xie sneered, “this definitely doesn’t mean you can fool me. Don’t believe me? Just try. As long as you do something to let me down, I will know immediately!”

Saying that, Old Xie immediately used the evil sect’s Soul Searching Technique to lightly glare at Diles, flashing through his mind. Diles felt a dizziness in his head and took a long time to realize what happened.

Then, without waiting for Diles to answer, Old Xie continued, “Did you hide your private money under the floor under your bed last night?”

“Ah?” Diles was stunned and hurriedly said, “Young Master, you, how do you know?”

“Hehe!” Old Xie laughed, “You don’t need to know that. You just need to understand that you have no secrets in front of me!”

“Yes!” Diles said in horror immediately. Whether it was him or Chris Chen beside him, they both thought it was a wonderful Magic, so they became even more in awe of Old Xie. Especially Diles, who had already made up his mind that he would never dare to do anything to let Old Xie down in his life.

Old Xie naturally knew the principle of giving a slap and then a sweet date, so after the intimidation, he comforted, “You don’t have to be nervous. As long as you are honest and do your duty, I won’t let you suffer. Starting today, your wages will be tripled!”

“Ah!” Diles was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly said, “Young Master, this is?”

“This is what you deserve, there’s no need to say more!” Old Xie interrupted his next words, then said, “Remember, if you have merit, I will reward you; if you have fault, I will kill you! That’s all!”

“Yes, Young Master, I understand!” Diles immediately said respectfully.

“It’s good that you understand. You’ve done a good job in this shop. Keep up the good work. The more I earn, the more you earn!” Old Xie laughed.

“Yes, Young Master, rest assured, I will definitely manage this place well for you!” Diles hurriedly expressed his stance.

“Good then!” Old Xie stood up and said, “Then you continue to be busy. Chris Chen, you come with me!”

“Yes, Young Master!” The two answered together.

…

Next, Old Xie took Chris Chen for a stroll around the city. Approaching the afternoon, Old Xie finally decided to go to the small town at the foot of Academy Mountain to eat. Besides the good food there, Old Xie actually wanted to see the little girl who sold flowers. It wasn’t that he coveted the flower worth a copper coin, but he liked to see the girl’s innocent and pure eyes. Every time he saw them, Old Xie felt an inexplicable sense of comfort. His mood would also inexplicably improve.

However, when Old Xie and Chris Chen arrived in the town, they were surprised to find that the little flower-selling girl who was always there did not appear. This made Old Xie somewhat disappointed, but he didn’t care too much, thinking she might have something temporary to do. So he quickly put the matter behind him and found a decent tavern with Chris Chen to eat and drink in an open private room.

But, just as Old Xie was halfway through his meal, the tavern owner walked in with a little girl.

“Young Master, I’m sorry to disturb your meal, but this poor little girl has something to ask of you, so I brought her here!” The owner bowed politely.

Old Xie frowned and looked at the little girl who looked about seven or eight years old. She was dressed in commoner’s coarse cloth clothes, had a few freckles on her face, but had a pair of extremely lively eyes, revealing a sort of cleverness and innocence. But now, her face was full of sadness, which made people can’t help but feel sympathy. In her hand, she tightly held a small coarse cloth purse.

“What do you want from me?” Old Xie tried to use a gentle tone, afraid that his fierce appearance would scare the other party.

However, facing a big man over two meters tall, who was also a Noble and a Mage, the little girl was obviously a bit frightened. So much so that she tried several times before finally summoning the courage to say in a childish voice, “Respected Sir, my sister is the girl who sells flowers. She asked me to return the money I owe you!” Saying that, she held up the purse in her hand and handed it to Old Xie.

Old Xie’s frowned tightened, but he didn’t take the purse. Instead, he asked directly, “What happened to your sister? Why can’t she continue to sell flowers?”

“Sister is going to die! Wu~” The little girl cried directly at this point.

The tavern owner, afraid her crying would anger Old Xie, immediately said anxiously, “Don’t cry, don’t cry!”

Then he said to Old Xie, “Young Master, please bear with it, please don’t be angry!”

Old Xie ignored his words and asked coldly, “What happened to her sister?”

“This!” The tavern owner paused, then said helplessly, “She went missing yesterday. When she was found this morning, her whole body was covered with wounds, and she only had one breath left!”

Crack. Old Xie directly crushed the wine glass in his hand. Immediately, a trace of Killing Intent emanated from him. Chris Chen beside him could clearly feel that Old Xie’s anger had reached a terrifying level.