Chapter 019: Magic Map

Soon, the door of the carriage was opened. First, a mini dragon jumped out of it, shaking its head frantically. After a long while, it finally let out a long sigh and muttered, “Damn it! Damn it! Human carriages really aren’t meant for ordinary people… Oh no, they’re meant for ordinary dragons to ride in.”

Immediately after, Chenchen and Ringtone also stepped down from the carriage, both with expressions of dissatisfaction on their faces.

Du Fan naturally knew the reason. He smiled softly and said, “Alright, my lovely ladies, whatever you want to say, let’s wait until we get there… There are too many people around here; it wouldn’t be good if someone saw us.”

With that, he gestured for them to follow and led the way to his bedroom. Then, with a casual wave of his hand, a clear sound was heard, and the entrance to the basement reappeared before the three people and the dragon.

This basement had originally been created by Chenchen. Naturally, she wasn’t afraid at all. She disappeared into the passage in an instant, as she wished. Isella hesitated for a moment but quickly followed her in.

Du Fan smiled inwardly, having somewhat guessed what Chenchen intended to do.

He felt worried—he hadn’t engaged in “artistic creation” in a long time. Miss Chenchen must have been bored hiding in the carriage for over ten days. She probably went to take a bath now. Should he go check as well? If you don’t touch art for too long, you’ll lose your skill!

It was a pity there was someone annoying around him!

Thinking this, Du Fan couldn’t help but glance at Ringtone beside him, his gaze turning somewhat strange.

Ringtone was from a barbarian tribe and was used to climbing mountains and crossing ridges, but this was her first time riding in a carriage. She had been trapped inside for over half a month, unable to do anything, and almost suffocated. Seeing Du Fan’s strange look, she couldn’t help but huff and say, “What are you staring at? If you were trapped in there for so long, you’d be even more miserable than me!”

“Is that so?” Du Fan smiled slightly. “Weren’t Chenchen and you together? You two have each other, right? How could you get this bored?”

“Her? That woman?” Ringtone snorted. “That woman is like a statue—sitting in the carriage for half a month without saying a word, and… and…”

At this point, Ringtone hesitated to continue speaking. She had seen Chenchen’s skills and knew she was no match for her. She had initially wanted to say a few words to save face, but in the end, she couldn’t speak anymore.
Du Fan secretly chuckled but said nothing more, merely responding with “Hmm.” “Alright, enough nonsense. Let’s go down… I still have tasks for you to handle.”
With that, Du Fan headed downstairs. After hesitating for a moment, Ringtone followed him into the tunnel.
Once they entered the basement, the entrance behind them disappeared silently.
Upon reaching the third level of the basement, Ringtone was initially surprised by its vastness. But Du Fan had too many things to attend to, so he only hinted that there was a place on the second level where she could bathe. Only after Ringtone left did Du Fan start dealing with his own tasks.
Although not much was brought back from the north this time, what was there was extremely valuable. Du Fan made several trips to the surface to transfer all the items from the carriage using his storage ring before organizing them properly.
Perhaps out of fear of Du Fan, the items sent by the nobles from the north still had some value. Aside from high-quality items like magic stones, various weapons and armor were also quite good. Though these things were valuable, Du Fan didn’t place much importance on them.
Although he wasn’t very rich, he wasn’t short of money either.
It was the gift given by Governor Brandon at parting that piqued his interest.
It was a palm-sized wooden board, its color extremely old, with no idea how many years it had been around. There were some patterns of mountains and landscapes on the board, which seemed to float slightly when viewed from afar.
Du Fan touched the board for a while and realized it was definitely not an ordinary piece of wood—it was likely some kind of magical artifact. However, he hadn’t yet figured out its exact purpose. But with witch Chenchen around, it would only be a matter of time before he understood it fully.
Suddenly, a pair of delicate, fair hands reached out from the side and tapped the board casually. As they moved, everything on the board began to change gradually, eventually forming something that resembled a city.

Above this small city, everything from the overall layout to the smallest alleyways was clearly visible. Those little hands moved casually a few more times, and the city on the wooden board began to rotate slowly, revealing everything within it to Du Fan. Du Fan stared intently—it was none other than the imperial capital where he himself was located! Chen Chen’s voice came softly beside his ear, as if she had blown a breath there, saying gently, “This is a magic map; it must belong to the elves. How did you get it?” Du Fan glanced at Chen Chen. She was now wearing a loose nightgown, her tempting figure faintly visible beneath it. Her shoulders were bare, her lotus-like arms exposed in the air, exuding a misty fragrance. From Du Fan’s angle, he could even faintly see those astonishingly full curves! Du Fan took a deep breath, turned his body slightly, and casually moved his arm closer, while saying indifferently, “This was given to me by Governor Brandon. I don’t know where he got it either.” Chen Chen seemed to smile lightly. She stepped forward, just avoiding Du Fan’s arm, whether intentionally or not, and said, “This magic map is likely made from the trunk of an ancient war tree of the elves. It can display the terrain within fifty miles around it. In a war, it’s an invaluable treasure. That Governor Brandon is willing to give it away—seems he’s determined to ally himself with Young Master Du Fan!” Seeing that his attempt had failed, Du Fan didn’t press further. Prey that’s too easy to catch isn’t much fun, and the same goes for women—especially one who could crush him at any moment. With a faint smile, Du Fan said coldly, “Although Governor Brandon offered such a valuable thing, I haven’t promised him anything. Back then, with the Hai Xin brothers, if he hadn’t given his approval behind the scenes, would those two fools have dared to attack me? He knows it, I know it—some things are obvious to everyone. There’s no point in bringing them up. He giving me this magic map this time is probably partly as an apology, but why should I, Du Fan, accept his apology?” At that, Du Fan casually picked up a magic stone from the table. Without much effort, he crushed the hard stone into powder right there. The magical elements emitted from the stone lingered around his fingertips, eerie and unfathomable.

Chenchen slowly reached out and tapped a point in the air, and the cluster of magic elements swirling together dissipated quickly. She stepped behind Du Fan, gently massaging his shoulders a few times before slowly pressing her soft chest against his back. With a gentle smile, she said, “So, my dear little master… what do you plan to do?”
Du Fan shuddered, feeling somewhat stiff, but he took a deep breath and said, “Of course, this matter won’t just be left unresolved. But Governor Brandon is also a smart man; he surely understands that I wouldn’t attack him at such a critical moment. My top priority now is to build my own forces… Although our family is powerful, I think, for the sake of the greater good, my father surely won’t allow me to use our strength arbitrarily. But I can still secure some power for myself…”
At this point, Du Fan suddenly rubbed his brows and said with a bitter smile, “Many times, I really feel that having power makes life quite exhausting. Before, I only thought about praying, but now I have to think more about the future. It’s just a pity that I have so few people I can rely on… so few…”
Chenchen let out a soft sigh. She stroked Du Fan’s head and said, “So, what do you plan to do with that barbarian girl?”
Du Fan sneered and said, “Her? She’ll make a great fighter… and of course, a loyal subordinate… even…” At this moment, Du Fan suddenly turned to look at Chenchen. Her beautiful eyes held an unfathomable amber color—beautifully alluring, dazzlingly beautiful. As he stared, Du Fan suddenly sighed softly and said, “Chenchen, are you scared?”
Chenchen let out a hush sound. She stepped away from Du Fan’s back and whispered, “Who knows?”
After a pause, she added, “Your magic scrolls are running low again, right? I’ll go prepare them for you. This capital… is really unstable!”
Du Fan nodded, but after a moment, he suddenly frowned and said, “Wait… isn’t there anything else you want to tell me?”