Chapter 007: A Visitor

Old Mark stood atop the ruins, his face filled with concern. Yet he had received strict orders from Du Fan not to step into the basement beneath the ruins under any circumstances. So, despite being extremely worried by the scene before him, he remained motionless.
It wasn’t until a thin figure appeared at the entrance of the tunnel that Old Mark wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a deep voice, “Third Young Master!”
Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Grandpa Mark, what’s happened? Why are you here?”
Old Mark let out a sigh of relief. “I’m relieved to see the Third Young Master is unharmed. Also, Third Young Master, what exactly happened? Why has this house become like this?”
Du Fan waved his hand. “It’s nothing serious. It’s just a life-or-death duel—lives can even be lost. It’s just a house; we can rebuild it. By the way, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go down now. As for this place, Grandpa Mark, could you find someone to take care of it tomorrow?”
“Third Young Master, is there something urgent?” Old Mark hesitated for a moment before continuing, “But right now, someone is here to see you. They said if you’re free, you should meet them.”
“Her?” On the Roland Continent, the terms for “he” and “she” were different, so Du Fan couldn’t help but frown. “Is it a woman?”
“Yes, a woman,” Old Mark nodded. “That woman calls herself Kris. She said she’s destined to meet you both today.”
“A chance encounter?” Du Fan shook his head. He had no memory of this name, but he still said softly, “Alright, I’ll go meet this Kris now. Is that all?”
“That’s not all, Third Young Master. Besides her, there’s another person who wants to see you. But I sent them to different places. Which one would you like to meet first, Young Master Du Fan?”
“Oh, who’s the other person?” Du Fan asked.
Old Mark hesitated for a moment. “Well, he didn’t give his name. But I know he’s from the Holy Church, so I didn’t dare drive him away.”
“The Holy Church?” Du Fan paused before saying, “Hmph. That old Anthony clearly sided with Roland Academy today. But these guys are quite perceptive. Whatever, let them wait. I’ll go meet that Kris first.”
Old Mark smiled servilely, not daring to say more, and simply led the way.

In less than a moment, the two arrived at a garden in the duke’s residence. Du Fan often came here, and he knew there was a small pavilion in the center of the garden—a perfect place for secret meetings.
But the moon hung high above the willow branches, and the appointment was set after dusk. Meeting a woman in such a place at such a time surely seemed passionate by any standard.
Du Fan inwardly despised Old Mark for making such arrangements—it made him seem like a lecher. Yet considering Old Mark had served him for so many years and had done much hard work, Du Fan was magnanimous enough not to show his feelings. Instead, he said calmly, “I can go there by myself. Grandpa Mark, please take care of that guest from the Holy Church for now. I’ll join you once I’m done here.”
Old Mark gave his third young master a suggestive look, muttered “Yes,” and quickly left.
The garden was filled with vibrant colors, and the scents of various flowers mixed together, creating a strange aroma. Du Fan wasn’t in a hurry to go. He strolled around the garden for a while before slowly making his way toward the small pavilion in the center.
From afar, Du Fan could see several crystal lamps lit around the pavilion, and an elegant figure stood in the middle, her expression serene beyond description.
With just one glance, Du Fan recognized the woman who introduced herself as Kris—she was the student from Roland Academy he had teased in the church square earlier that day.
Du Fan still felt somewhat fond of her. Though he knew she surely didn’t have good intentions this time, he didn’t lose his manners. Instead, he quickly walked up to her, took her hand, kissed it briefly, and said, “So it’s Miss Kris. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. It’s the Green family who is rude.”
“What rudeness?” Kris smiled lightly, her expression utterly calm. She casually pulled up a chair and sat down, then gestured for Du Fan to sit as well before continuing, “If there’s any rudeness, it’s Roland Academy. But Teacher Bruce just has that kind of personality—he protects Senior Aldas to the extreme, which is why he did what he did today…”

“Hehe.” Du Fan smiled faintly, his expression calm. “I really isn’t angry about this. After all, with what happened to Emily, I suppose anyone related to the Belinger family would want to kill me. Moreover, Professor Bruce is Aldas’s teacher, so it’s only natural to have favoritism. Understanding this, I’m not too upset. But I still ask Miss Chris to persuade your teacher when you have time. While it’s fine to protect your own, failing to distinguish right from wrong won’t do any good for his reputation, will it?”
Chris sighed inwardly, thinking, Du Fan, Du Fan, do you really think we’re such petty people? If it weren’t to please the Belinger family, things wouldn’t go forward. Otherwise, do you really think he’d want to offend your Green family?
But she kept these thoughts to herself. Her smile remained elegant as she said calmly, “Of course, I’ll talk to my teacher properly. After all, no matter what, Young Master Du Fan is now a student at Roland Academy’s Qi Combat Branch. We’ll see each other often in the future. Tense relations won’t benefit either side.”
Du Fan thought to himself, Hell if I’ll see that old fox often. This time, I’ll make sure he can’t return to Roland Academy—then there’ll be no need to see him at all.
With that decision made, Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Then I’ll leave it to Miss Chris. By the way, did you come here tonight just for this matter? If there’s nothing else, I have to go. There are guests waiting for me in the hall.”
Chris seemed puzzled by Du Fan’s sudden request to leave, but since she hadn’t achieved her goal, she couldn’t just walk away. She could only smile and say, “Since Young Master Du Fan is so busy, I won’t beat around the bush. Besides discussing those matters, I also wanted to find out what happened to my worthless classmate during his duel with you.”
Du Fan snorted and said, “So you’re asking about Elvis? Look, I’m sitting here fine, unharmed. It’s easy to guess what happened to him.”
Chris’s expression changed. “Could it be that Young Master Du Fan… you… you…”

Du Fan found her worried expression amusing, but he waved his hand and said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I don’t need your… your… help. That Elvis of yours is so strong—how could I possibly beat him? He fought with me for ages, destroyed my house, forced me to admit defeat, and then ran off. I have no idea where he went.” Saying this, Du Fan looked furious, as if Elvis had truly defeated him.

Chris let out a sigh. Earlier, when she saw Elvis enter the duke’s mansion alone, she feared he might never leave. Now, hearing Du Fan speak like this and considering his third-level combat energy alongside Elvis’s skills, even she felt that no matter what happened, Du Fan had absolutely no chance of winning against Elvis. Realizing this, and seeing Du Fan’s angry expression, she understood that even if she asked further, he wouldn’t say anything more. So she smiled slightly and said, “Since we already know where that good-for-nothing classmate of mine is, I won’t bother him anymore. I’ll have him come and apologize another day.”

Du Fan nodded silently without saying a word. Chris smiled at him, waved gently, and vanished from the garden like a ghost. Only after her figure disappeared completely did Du Fan let out a sigh. He took Chenchen out of his sleeve and threw her onto the table, asking, “Well? Do you feel anything?”

Chenchen stood up cutely and spread her paws. “If I’m not mistaken, that woman is the one who’s always followed Elvis. Her strength is probably even greater than Elvis’s.”

“Is that so?” Du Fan glanced at Chenchen and muttered, “Women these days are really strong.”

“What did you say?” Chenchen narrowed her feline eyes.

“Nothing,” Du Fan smiled. “I was just thinking that if those people found out it was me who killed Elvis, what interesting expressions they would make.”

“I killed Elvis!” Chenchen huffed indignantly. “But you’re my master, so it doesn’t really matter. But why didn’t you tell Chris the truth? I bet she looked down on you in her heart after you said you lost to Elvis.”

“So what if she looks down on me? A few looks won’t take any flesh off me. Besides, I have my reasons for not doing it.”

“What’s the intention?” Chenchen tilted her head in confusion.