Jacob said seriously, “Zachary, I don’t mean to sound harsh, but you should love whatever job you take up. If you’re engaging in antique business, you must have professional ethics.”Zachary nodded and said, “Isn’t it because I just want to make some money first? It won’t be too late for me to improve my professional ethics after I make some money. After all, isn’t there a saying that one should buy the ticket after boarding the bus?”Jacob curled his lips in disdain, looked at Zachary’s stall, shook his head, and said, “Oh, you’re really going backward the more you work. I can see that every item in your stall is all fake.”“Yes, you’re right.” Zachary said diligently, “Mr. Jacob, you really have a keen eye for goods. Good things cannot escape your eyes, and the same goes for fakes.”Jacob smiled, picked up the Thunderstrike wood in the middle of the stall, looked at it carefully, and said, “But this Thunderstrike wood doesn’t seem to be fake. How much does it cost? I’ll take it a
Although the Taoist and Buddhist abbot had the same title, they had very different functions. The Buddhist abbot was one with the highest position and power in the temple and was in charge of the temple’s affairs, whereas the Taoist abbot’s main responsibility was to preach scriptures. The Taoist abbot was like the senior professor in the Taoist temple, but the person with the highest management power was the overseer. Mr. Chardon, who was wearing a Taoist robe, looked up at the gate of Cohmer Temple for a moment, then entered the gate. The entire Cohmer Temple was divided into three courtyards, namely the front, middle, and the back. Only the front yard was open to believers and pilgrims. There were several halls here, especially the Trinity Hall, which was dedicated to the Three Supreme Gods of Taoism.The middle and the back yard were the internal areas of Cohmer Temple where the abbot and disciples lived and studied Taoism.Whether it was Charlie, Mr. Chardon, the mysterious
Mr. Chardon followed the young Taoist priest to the reception hall in the middle yard of Cohmer Temple. This was the reception room in Cohmer Temple which was specially used to entertain abbots and overseers from other Taoist temples or pilgrims who had made great contributions to the Taoist temple. After asking Mr. Chardon to wait here, the young Taoist priest hurriedly ran to report this matter to his master. In Cohmer Temple, most of the people who stayed in the front yard for a long time were junior Taoist priests with relatively low qualifications, so they were tasked with maintaining order among tourists and believers in the yard while cleaning, maintaining temple statues, and sorting out tributes. Therefore, if the young Taoist priest wanted to report news to the overseer, the message had to be conveyed through layers, and the number of levels of transmission was more than the young Taoist priest had expected. Twenty minutes later, an old man in a Taoist robe who was sur
Over the years, he had returned to Oskia several times with different identities, but he had never returned to Cohmer Temple. This was because he did not want his disciples in Cohmer Temple to find out that he had discovered the way to longevity. In his opinion, he had gone through all kinds of hardships before he could finally enter the path to Taoism, so this secret must not be known to anyone who knew him, including those people at Cohmer Temple. He chose to come to Cohmer Temple today because he could not find any clues about Vera’s whereabouts after all this time. The British Lord had kept urging him to go to Aurous Hill. He could delay for three to five days but not three to five months. According to the British Lord’s temper, he would definitely give him an ultimatum in another two to three days at most, so Mr. Chardon had no choice but to find some helpers to help him uncover Vera’s whereabouts in Oskia.However, he had never built up his own power in the Qing Eliminat
Mr. Chardon nodded, sighed, and said, “I’m already a hundred and fifty-six years old this year.”“A hundred and fifty-six years old?” Samadius said with a longing look on his face, “You don’t even look like you’re fifty-six years old…”Mr. Chardon said calmly, “These are the gains after mastering Reiki. I have lived for three centuries; the nineteenth, twentieth, and the twenty-first. I will no longer have any regrets in this life if I can live to the twenty-second century.”Samadius was startled. He knelt down to the ground again and groveled before Mr. Chardon as he pleaded, “Master Coldie, please teach me the method to longevity! If you agree, I’m willing to follow you for the rest of this life and be at your disposal! I’ll abide by all your requests without any hesitation at all!”It had been more than seventy years since Samadius had entered the Taoist Sect, and at this moment, he was in the same state Mr. Chardon was when he first left Cohmer Temple. He had been practicing
When Mr. Chardon heard Samadius’s eager expression of sincerity, he nodded and smiled with satisfaction. Everything was developing according to the direction he had planned.As far as Mr. Chardon was concerned, he had never been a good person. Aside from working hard without complaint in front of the British Lord, he had never even reached the most basic courtesy of ‘keeping his word’ when it came to others. In fact, he thought about using Cohmer Temple’s connections and resources to find Vera’s whereabouts when he first arrived in Eastcliff, but after careful consideration, he felt that it would not be worth it to expose his true identity just to take advantage of Cohmer Temple. Not to mention whether Cohmer Temple would be able to help him find clues about Vera, but if news about a Taoist priest who was born in the 19th century and had practiced Taoism in Cohmer Temple for decades was still alive, it would inevitably bring him unnecessary trouble once word about this matter spre
After saying that, Samadius asked again, “Master Coldie, do you have any general clues about this girl? For example, where she might be?”Mr. Chardon shook his head and said, “I don’t know where she is, but I personally speculate that she is most likely in Oskia. Therefore, it would be best if you could gather a group of your disciples and let them travel all over the country to search for her!”Samadius nodded and said, “No problem, I’ll make all the arrangements now!”Mr. Chardon nodded slightly and said, “Okay, I’ll leave this matter to you, then. Remember to inform me as soon as possible as soon as you discover any clues.”“Yes, Master Coldie!” Samadius quickly agreed. He then asked Mr. Chardon, “By the way, Master Coldie, the people waiting outside are all my juniors. If you can teach me the method for longevity in the future, can you share the method with them as well? They are all loyal disciples of Cohmer Temple, and they have devoted themselves to Cohmer Temple for so many
Mr. Chardon glanced at Samadius, who stepped forward immediately and said in an unquestionable tone, “Ferris, Mr. Chardon has something important to do, so no one is allowed to interfere or delay him! Mr. Chardon already told me what you want to know about, and I will convey everything to you word for word later!”After saying that, he warned, “But let me say something in advance. If anyone delays Mr. Chardon’s important matter, that person will not have a chance to pry into the method to longevity!”Everyone had grave expressions on their faces, and no one dared to ask any more questions. Ferris, who was called by name, was flustered as well and said, “Have a safe trip, Mr. Chardon!”Everyone reacted immediately and said in unison, “Goodbye, Mr. Chardon!”Mr. Chardon stroked his long beard and walked away gracefully. Just as everyone was about to come out to see him off, Mr. Chardon said without looking back, “Everyone, just stay put. There is no need to see me off.”After Mr.
However, Jimmy realized something important even as he sighed in relief. "Wait, Mr. Wade… I know I should settle things in the family Stateside, but won't I be arrested upon arrival?""That's Julien's department," Charlie chuckled and turned toward the man. "Tell your butler not to send the evidence to the feds. If it has reached them already, ask to have it back and tell the feds they saw nothing."Julien promptly nodded. "I'll text him right now. You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Wade."Jimmy remained worried. "But sir, I think Nate's not going to let this slide. The man is cunning—he deliberately dug a pit so we'd fall into it, and he gathered all the dirt he could on us to be used as leverage when necessary."Charlie shook his head. "That's no big deal. Julien can make sure that you're fine even if the feds get the evidence."Julien nodded nearby. "Don't worry, Mr. Wade. The decision remains in your hands, either way. Just say the word, and it's 25 to life… otherwise, not e
The fact that Jimmy was a partner in Ares LLP already meant he had skill, while Matilda had herself been retired for years and definitely had lost her touch a little. So, having someone like Jimmy who had stayed on the frontlines all this while would definitely be no issue.And in turn, it was a good thing for Jimmy as it was better than the kennels either way.Charlie then asked Jimmy pointedly, "You say you're interested, but are you sincere about it?"Jimmy nodded without hesitation. "Yes, absolutely!""No regrets? We're talking about ten years here.""None, absolutely none!""Do you know what to say if anyone asks?""Yes, of course! I chose to further my career here in Oskia, and it was absolutely voluntary! That's what I'd say even if my family asked!"Charlie nodded. "Good. Then, you will have two weeks. Go home and set your affairs in order and report in for work afterward.""No problem!" Jimmy nodded repeatedly, actually surprised and grateful that Charlie would let hi
And yet, Julien was suddenly clapping his hands, and exclaiming excitedly, "Yes, right! We should get his wife and son over too for a happy reunion!"He then paused and quickly corrected himself, "Wait, no! I mean, they should each be caged with one empty cage separating each of their cages. They can see each other and talk, but there will be no touching. How dare he flex on me—I gotta teach him a lesson to remember!"Jimmy dropped limply on his rump, and Matilda beckoned for Paul to help him up while turning toward Julien as she pursed her lips. "Please, Mr. Rothschild… Even if you don't accept his apology, don't bring his family into this. It's against Oskian tradition—you'd insult your family's name!"Julien shrugged, not hesitating to retort, "What do your traditions have to do with me? If I mean to hurt him, forget his family—I'll drag his dogs over too!"Seeing that Julien was so furious, Charlie decided to stop him, or he might actually go through with it."That's enough, J
Holding up a thumb at Charlie, Julien exclaimed in approval, "You're right, my friend! That's far more exciting than having him jailed!"Just hearing that he would be sent to a kennel, Jimmy knew nothing would come of it—even if he didn't know the details, it was so obvious that Julien was thrilled by the very idea!Turning nervously toward Charlie, he was sobbing as he asked, "Mr. Wade…? What's this about a kennel…?"Julien chuckled coolly even before Charlie said a word. "A kennel is where you keep dogs, of course. Though there are literal dogs and metaphorical dogs, and you are the latter."Oh, don't worry. It's a really nice place where you get your own cage, and you'll be fed every day. You don't even have to work, so just sit tight and keep eating until the day you die."Jimmy's soul left his body in that instant.He was going to be locked in a cage?! That was way worse than being locked up and sent to jail! Where was the humanity around here?!Even as the thought struck h
Matilda was actually caught off guard by Jimmy's pleas, and even Paul found it hard to watch.Turning to Charlie, he said, "Please, Mr. Wade—my uncle can be a little despicable, but he is my father's brother. Please, let him have a chance to turn over a new leaf, seeing that he's earnestly repenting."While Paul spoke with Charlie, Jimmy was still confused and wondered why Paul would plead his case with Charlie instead of Julien. If there was anyone Paul should ask, it was Yolden since he was Julien's friend. So, why would he ask some young man instead of Yolden?That was when Charlie asked in curiosity, "You want to let him off? After he tried to take away your parents' legacy?"Paul smiled awkwardly. "I mean, I know the guy. He made sure to travel all this way to make a scene because he had nothing legal that could help him claim Smith Group Corporate Law from us. Otherwise, he'd have already filed the lawsuit in the States. Sure, it's a dirty move, but that's basically a des
As Julien finished, he realized something was wrong and turned toward Charlie before he knew it.Charlie held his gaze in turn, his expression quizzical and amused.Julien cleared his throat right then. "See, there are people who can order me around, but they have my utmost respect. However, a third-rate lawyer like you? Who do you think you are?"That was when Julien's butler called, and he reported respectfully as soon as the call was answered, "Sir, I've spoken with Nate Ellis, the owner of Ares LLC. He has since agreed to fire Jimmy Smith right away as well as disbar him nationwide."Julien asked, "Good. Anything else?""Well, Mr. Ellis also delivered some documents that can be used as evidence against Jimmy Smith, which he claims is enough for a lifetime sentence. If you deem it necessary, we can have it sent to the FBI.""Yes, let's go with that!" Julien replied, his tone satisfied. "And ask the director to handle it personally—I want this prick to never set foot stateside
Jimmy was sweating profusely in fear, but he argued back before he knew it, "That's impossible! Everything you say is bullshit! Gaiman simply thought he had a fair chance of winning and didn't want to pay Ares that much, and I have no idea who he partnered with, and I'm certainly not involved. Don't you try to slander me!"Nate chuckled. "Come on, Jimmy. We're all adults here, so there are things we shouldn't have to be so direct about. Mills Gaiman and your old classmate met in private many times, not to mention the private conferences you three had in secret, discussing your overall strategy and decisive points. Just so you know, Gaiman recorded every conversation, and I have the tapes with me."Jimmy's heart was left pounding as he blurted, "B-Bullshit! That's impossible!""Grow up, Jimmy," Mr.Goodman chuckled. "Every partner in every law firm always strives to rise higher, so I'm going to need as much leverage as I can. Otherwise, I'm not about to let them advance any further, e
Although the ringtone and vibration frequency were the ones Jimmy always used, this call somehow felt more urgent, leaving him exceedingly uneasy.When it abruptly stopped and left a missed call on his log, Nate Ellis soon sent a text: [Answer your damn phone this instant!]Just seeing the text left Jimmy feeling like his throat had gone dry, and as he gulped, it felt like his throat was being ripped, leaving him hurting.Still, he couldn't care less as his boss called again.Having seen the text, Jimmy didn't hesitate this time and promptly answered, watching Julien's smug face as he started tentatively, "Y-Yes, boss...?"Nate immediately yelled at him hysterically, "What the hell did you do?! Why did the Rothschilds call to complain about you?! And the complaint was from their heir apparent, at that! I worked hard for them and always toed the line for years, and I still haven't gotten a chance to meet the man, so how the fuck did you upset him?!"Jimmy's heart sank to rock bott
Fuming, Jimmy snapped at Julien, "If you insist on playing it like that, I will call my boss, and you can talk to him yourself!"Julien chuckled. "That's unnecessary. I've never met him. He would never recognize my voice."Jimmy laughed and nodded despite himself. "Impressive—you can really come up with anything! You don't have his number because he's beneath you, you refuse to call him because he's beneath you, and when I say I'll call him for you, you say he won't recognize your voice. Well, how do you suppose we should sort this out? At least prove you're a Rothschild, or anyone could claim that they are—"Julien held up a hand to stop him. "Then, how about this? I'll ask my butler to talk to your boss."Jimmy laughed even more loudly as if it were the best joke ever. "Hahaha!!! Butler, you say?! You really know how to talk! Alright, I'll wait and see what your 'butler' can do… I mean, what you can do. We'll see whether my boss calls me!"Julien ignored him and whipped out his