Chapter 020: Awakening

Carol followed Du Fan. After a moment, she couldn’t help but say, “Young Master Du Fan, why did you…”
Du Fan smiled faintly and replied, “Others can’t see it. Does your keen eye as a Level 6 knight, Carol, really fail to discern what I’ve done?”
Carol’s face turned pale. “Young Master… I really don’t know anything…”
Du Fan walked to the hotel lobby before turning back to look at Carol meaningfully. With a mysterious smile, he said, “Captain Carol, when I was in the Holy Church, I heard people mention a secret technique within the Church called the ‘Revival Art.’ Have you heard of it?”
Carol’s face turned even paler. “I really don’t know anything!”
Du Fan continued, “As for the effect of this ‘Revival Art,’ well, it’s somewhat exaggerated to put it simply. No matter who it’s used on, no matter how severe their injuries are, they will recover immediately and even be able to fight again… But though this technique is powerful, it has serious side effects. It’s said that although those who use it regain their fighting strength within three days, after three days, their muscles begin to atrophy, and they gradually lose strength and consciousness. By forty-nine days, their life force is completely exhausted. By then, unless the God of Light descends, no one can save their life… Because… the reason this ‘Revival Art’ seems so miraculous is actually due to it burning up the victim’s remaining life force… Do you understand now?”
After a moment, Carol sighed and said, “With your explanation, Young Master, I naturally understand.”
“That’s good…” Du Fan gave Carol a deep look and said, “You’re smart. You grasp things quickly, and you’re not stupid enough to reveal what you already understand… Whether it’s called a miracle or a wonder, let the people call it whatever they want. But you must firmly hold onto one thing: we ‘saved’ those people… But when they died… who knows?”
Facing the young master’s half-smiling gaze, Carol nodded stubbornly, though inwardly she sighed. The scheming nature of this young master was truly unfathomable… His tactics of winning people’s hearts, or rather, making them underestimate him, were equally inscrutable…
With this young master in the Green family, it’s really hard to say what will happen in the future…

While Carol was still marveling, Du Fan had already walked over to a chair and sat down. As if suddenly remembering something, he let out an “Ah” and said, “Oh right… I almost forgot… In that gamble just now, it can be considered that I won, right? Captain Carol, I’m in your debt…”

Carol was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before forcing an awkward smile and saying, “Third Young Master, um… This month I’ve had quite a few social engagements, so… I’m a bit short of money… Could you…?”

Du Fan laughed heartily and said, “Come on… Do you really think I’m after your few gold coins?”

With that, Du Fan took out another bag of gold coins from his storage ring and threw it on the table, saying, “Carol, forget about the gambling money. Here are a few hundred gold coins—consider it my treat for buying drinks for the brothers.”

But unexpectedly, Carol’s expression changed. He said solemnly, “Third Young Master, the Northern Legion has long had a rule: we are paid exactly what’s stipulated for the month. The Duke won’t shortchange us by a penny, nor will we take even a fraction more… Please take this money back, Third Young Master… Even if you kill me, we won’t accept it.”

Du Fan looked up at Carol. This time, there was no sign of respect in Carol’s eyes—instead, there was a sense of pride.

After watching him for a while, Du Fan casually put away the gold coins. He stood up, patted Carol on the shoulder, and said, “Brother Carol… You truly deserve my respect. Now I believe that you will never associate with those good-for-nothings… The Green family’s annual expenses of millions of gold coins were indeed well spent…”

With that, Du Fan glanced at the cavalry around him and suddenly bowed, saying, “On behalf of my father and our Green family, I thank you all…”

But before the cavalry could be moved, Du Fan suddenly chuckled and said, “Well, although I won’t take your gold coins, I won’t let things be easy for you either… Carol… I’ll have the kitchen prepare more delicious food for the brothers these days. Whatever it costs, it’ll be on me… This shouldn’t violate the rules of our Northern Legion, right? At most, it’s just me going to the border to reward you all…”

Only then did Carol’s expression improve slightly. He snapped to attention and said, “Thank you, Third Young Master!”

“Thank you, Third Young Master!”

The cavalry around them all snapped to attention simultaneously, their voices echoing loudly.

Du Fan tilted his head slightly, inwardly admiring: “Father! You truly have raised a powerful army. With just this army, not to mention the North, even dominating the entire Roland continent is not impossible… But… with theGreene family holding so much power, surely the Emperor won’t be envious?”
Du Fan pondered for a while but couldn’t figure out a reason. Though he had lived two lives, he had always avoided getting involved in politics. Even though religion and politics could be considered twins, Du Fan hadn’t been exposed to the higher levels within the Holy Church, so his insight in this area was limited.
Fortunately, he was quite self-aware. Years of staying away from politics had given him the advantage of being an observer.
After thinking some more, Du Fan still couldn’t come up with an answer. He decided that next time he met his father, he would ask him for advice—after all, no matter how you looked at it, he couldn’t just ignore everything as before. Could the great turmoil in the imperial capital be easily avoided?
Power, wealth, beauty, lands…
Which man could let go of these?
Perhaps only eunuchs could give up on beauty…
But thankfully, I’m not an eunuch… No… no…
Du Fan sighed inwardly, complacent about his own erudition.
As he was lost in thought, a low cough suddenly sounded. Turning around, Du Fan saw it was Ferre.
He waved his hand casually, signaling Ferre to sit down, and said, “My Temple Knight, what’s the matter? I didn’t see you anywhere just now. Where did you go?”
Ferre replied, “I went out for a stroll earlier and found that the guards in this area had already been handled well. The Northern Legion truly lives up to its reputation.”
Du Fan said, “It’s just a comparison. Compared to you Temple Knights, our Northern Legion isn’t anything special. Well… Ferre… you didn’t come to see me over such a trivial matter, did you?”
Ferre said, “Young Master Du Fan has sharp insight. I have two things to tell you—good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”
Du Fan glanced at him indifferently and said, “Start with the bad news.”
“Yes,” Ferre said softly. “The bad news is that Nicholas has woken up.”

Du Fan touched his nose and said, “If you’re awake, then what are you still doing here? Deal with him… If he dies, you’ll have to explain it to Lord Anthony yourself.”
Ferei gave a bitter smile and said, “Young master, you overestimate me. Right now, Saint Nicholas isn’t seeking death, but he wants to talk to you in person. That’s why I came to find you.”
“Mm,” Du Fan nodded. “I get it. As long as he’s not trying to die, I can handle him. Just a weakling… Enough… Now you can tell me what the good news is.”
Ferei whispered, “The good news is that your incredibly powerful friend has already woken up…”
“Slam!”
Du Fan slammed the table and stood up. He glared at Ferei and said, “If you don’t prioritize things like this again, be careful about your head.”
After saying that, he glanced at Carol and said, “Captain Carol, you take care of arranging the banquet at the city lord’s mansion. I still have some matters to deal with here. I should be able to finish it by evening.”
With that, Du Fan vanished in a flash, disappearing like a ghost.
Ferei and Carol exchanged a look and both sighed. With their skills, they couldn’t even figure out how Du Fan had disappeared.
Du Fan stood in the corridor. Although the cavalry from the Northern Legion saw him appear suddenly, these soldiers weren’t completely ignorant. None of them showed any surprise; instead, they prepared to kneel and pay their respects.
But Du Fan waved his hand to stop them. He stood at the door, hesitating. Ever since he suddenly fainted after leaving the Northern Ice Plains that morning, he had felt extremely worried, his heart aching constantly. What this meant for a scoundrel like him, only he knew.
Now, having heard that Chenchen had woken up, he was afraid it might all be a lie.
Hesitantly, he took a deep breath. Finally, with a slight effort, he pushed the door open…
Book 8: Masquerade Ball