Chapter 004: Gossip

Although the Templar Knights were devout believers, they dared not openly defy Du Fan, the empire-famous priest in white. Moreover, they had never encountered such despicable tactics before. So in less than a moment, Du Fan convinced them with flattery and deception to change into casual clothes, preparing to go out and have some fun.

These days, Du Fan had been either on the run or fighting. Though he hadn’t lost his life, he was utterly exhausted both physically and mentally. He longed for a chance to relax, especially since returning to the capital would mean different status and responsibilities, leaving no time for such leisure. Thinking of this, he sighed slightly. Compared to when he had no power, his life was now more colorful, but he carried too many secrets—any one of them exposed could leave him with nowhere to go.

Fortunately, he had made clever arrangements. Chenchen’s identity was now established, and with proper use of Tasia and Nicholas, he could gain many benefits. As for Ringtone, as long as he could firmly control her body and mind, there shouldn’t be much of a problem. With these thoughts, Du Fan couldn’t help but glance at Ringtone, who had now changed into casual clothes. Though she didn’t look angry, her expression remained unchanged, like that of an icy beauty. With just one glance, he already planned to have her by his side that night. Yet he knew she was stubborn—forcing things wouldn’t work.

A mere shaman priest was no match for Young Master Du Fan. Once he brought her back to the capital, the young master would have hundreds of ways to make her obey. By then, if he told her to take off her clothes, she wouldn’t dare cover herself; if he told her to wear a corset, she wouldn’t dare go around naked…

Du Fan indulged in these fantasies for a while. Though he wanted to continue, daydreaming in front of so many Templar Knights wasn’t appropriate. He cleared his throat, adjusted his awkwardly fitting clothes, and left the inn.

Mordo truly lives up to being the capital of the Kot Province. Despite constant warfare in the north, this city appears peaceful and tranquil, with bustling streets. Though not as grand as the imperial capital, it is worlds apart from Ruijin City in those days. Merchants traveling from the north and south come in an endless stream, seemingly unimpacted by the snowstorms in the north at all.

Taylor followed behind Du Fan, slowly explaining that Mordo was quite ordinary during the day but became even more vibrant at night, with even more pedestrians on the streets. If Lord Du Fan was interested, he might as well find a restaurant to rest for a while and then go out to explore after sunset…

Du Fan nodded in agreement. He wandered around the city a few times. At first, it was somewhat interesting, but Lingsound acted as if everyone owed her millions of gold coins, and those Templar knights who stayed at a distance were not someone to joke around with. Moreover, the scenery paled in comparison to the prosperity of his past life.

After a few rounds, Du Fan lost interest. Eventually, he arrived at a rather large restaurant. After considering for a moment, he signaled the others to enter as well.

He ordered some food casually and began eating steadily. Although the food in the north was greasier than that in the imperial capital, it was still much better than what he had eaten these past days. He devoured most of it in no time. The surrounding Templar knights all changed expressions, probably thinking to themselves that this most pious cleric must be a ghost born from hunger.

But before finishing half of his meal, Du Fan noticed that the Templar knights all had strange expressions, and even Lingsound showed a smirk.

Du Fan frowned for a moment before realizing the reason. It turned out that the people in the restaurant were gossiping, likely about how the Holy Church and the Northern Legion had thrown the northern region into chaos these days.

Some said that the young master Du Fan, whom those two powerful forces were searching for, had taken a lowly singing girl as his lover and wanted to make her his future duchess. Naturally, neither the Holy Church nor the Green Family would allow this. Yet this young master Du Fan was a bold and passionate man—he single-handedly killed forty-one members of the Northern Legion and the Holy Church, bloodstains covering the streets, before fleeing with that singing girl. Of course, the Holy Church and the Northern Legion refused to let them go, leading to the current chaos. But this young master Du Fan was truly remarkable, able to resist those two powerful forces one by one—truly a rare and admirable feat.

But as soon as this person finished speaking, another person stood up and shouted loudly. How could Master Du Fan, known as the most pious cleric in history, fall in love with a lowly singing girl? In fact, it was Master Du Fan who fell in love with Miss Emily from the Belinger family, the arch-rivals of the Green family. Yet neither family would agree to this marriage at all. In the end, the two decided to elope, but how could two young people compete with two powerful families? Fortunately, Du Fan had the identity of a white-robed cleric, so he had no choice but to seek help from Archbishop Anthony.

But even Archbishop Anthony couldn’t do much about this. He came up with a bad idea: he ordered Miss Emily to take a poison that would make her appear dead, waking up after a day and night. Du Fan would then dig her out after she was buried and the two would flee together. This plan seemed foolproof, but somehow it was leaked, and both families learned that Du Fan and Emily had gone to the north. They sent people to chase after them, determined to bring them back at any cost. But would Archbishop Anthony agree? He immediately sent Knights Templar to rescue the couple. So, although the Northern Army and the Knights Templar seemed to get along on the surface, a fight might break out as soon as Master Du Fan appeared.

The storyteller, Lin Hui Dai Bi, described everything in such vivid detail, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, leaving the people in the restaurant utterly captivated.

It was an era full of legends, and most people had heard of Master Du Fan’s reputation for piety. So who wouldn’t be excited to hear about the most pious cleric eloping with someone?

Du Fan himself almost spit out his drink upon hearing this. He knew it was likely the two powerful factions creating these rumors to prevent the truth from coming to light. But these rumors were absurd—saying he eloped with a singing girl was one thing, but claiming he and Emily were like Romeo and Juliet, missing only the part where they died together? If these rumors weren’t clarified later, his reputation as a playboy would be irreparably damaged.

The Knights Templar were clearly aware of these rumors. Fearing Du Fan’s anger, they were deeply worried.

Fortunately, Du Fan only smiled bitterly and shook his head, showing no other reaction, so the Knights Templar finally relaxed.

But when it came to gossip, these people grew more and more exaggerated. After talking about Du Fan and Emily’s love story, some couldn’t help but ask how those sworn enemies could be together. Seeing everyone interested, the gossiper became even more excited and started telling tales of how beauties have always loved heroes since ancient times. Others asked what kind of hero this Du Fan was. The gossiper then brought up the barbarian invasion a few years ago—claiming that it was Duke Green who stopped the barbarian army, but in reality, it was Du Fan who did it. At that time, Du Fan was barely eleven years old, yet already an invincible hero. He stood eight feet eight inches tall with an eight-foot-eight-inch waist, wielding a giant sword taller than several people. With one swing, he could cut through mountains, and with one motion, he could rout the barbarian army. A single smile of his was enough to make hundreds of thousands of barbarians flee in panic…

At first, Reine was pleased to hear these people speaking ill of Du Fan, thinking someone had finally taken her side. But when they started exaggerating even more—saying a single smile could make hundreds of thousands of barbarians flee—she couldn’t help but snort. This snort was so striking at that moment, filled with disdain and mockery, that the people talking immediately turned to glare at her. They saw a beauty as cold as ice sitting there, looking utterly dismissive, with a young man beside her who seemed both amused and frustrated. Seeing the stern-faced knights standing around, they lost their anger. Some, attracted by Reine’s beauty, had improper thoughts, but out of respect for the disguised temple knights, no one dared to harass her. One of them cleared his throat and said, “Miss, I assume you’re someone of high status. We’re talking about Master Du Fan’s romantic exploits and great achievements. Why are you snorting?” Reine sneered and replied, “I’m not snorting at all. It’s fine if you say that Master Du Fan is heartless, but to portray him as utterly infatuated is ridiculous. What else is there to laugh at? And you claim he’s so powerful that a single smile can make hundreds of thousands of barbarians retreat? I doubt even you believe that. What about his eight-foot-eight-inch height and waist? Do you think Du Fan is some kind of giant meatball?”