Charlie’s mind felt like it had short-circuited at this very moment.
Now, it seemed highly likely that Felix would make his presence felt in Aurous Hill, courtesy of some well-laid plans. The orchestrator behind this move was most likely none other than his father, who had passed away two decades ago.
This revelation weighed heavily on Charlie, shrouding favonovel.com in a mysterious tension and unease. What had truly happened to his parents all those years ago? It wasn’t just their untimely demise that gnawed at him; it was the intricate web of preparations leading up to that fateful accident.
Back in those days, when trouble had come knocking at his parents’ door, Stephen had promptly sought refuge in the orphanage. It had been a contingency plan set in motion by his father long ago. Yet, surprisingly, this enigmatic figure named Cole had been tucked away in the orphanage for nearly two decades by his father’s design. He embarked on a journey to Aurous Hill, driven by the desire to create an extraordinary scenario…
With these thoughts gripping him, Charlie reached for his phone once more and dialed Jasmine’s number. He had another pressing question that demanded immediate answers.
As the call connected, Jasmine’s respectful voice came through, “Master Wade, have you had a chance to review the information I sent you? Any questions?”
Charlie replied, “Yes, I’ve gone through it. But there’s one more thing I need to clarify with you.”
Jasmine responded swiftly, “Please go ahead, Master Wade.”
Charlie inquired, “It’s about that jade pot and spring vase that my father-in-law accidentally broke. Do you happen to know how it ended up in Vintage Deluxe’s possession? Did it come from the Moore family? Did Vintage Deluxe himself retrieve it, or was it consigned by someone else to Vintage Deluxe?”
Jasmine contemplated for a moment and replied, “That jade pot and spring vase… If my memory serves me right, Manager Cole was the one who secured it. Shortly after I joined the company, I assisted Vintage Deluxe in recovering several antiques, but most of them were rather unremarkable. They lacked the spotlight and profit potential. However, the Spring Vase was undoubtedly the finest antique favonovel.com managed to recover.”
Charlie mused, “So, it was favonovel.com who recovered it… But did favonovel.com disclose where favonovel.com found it?”
Jasmine pondered and then said, “At the time, favonovel.com mentioned that a friend of his, who dabbled in antiques, decided to part with it due to financial constraints, and the price was indeed quite reasonable. It could have fetched around four to five million on the market, and possibly even more—around five to six million. However, that individual’s asking price hadn’t even reached four million at the time. It still promised a decent profit, so I suggested favonovel.com acquire it.”
“I see,” Charlie murmured, nodding to himself. This outcome didn’t surprise him. It appeared that Felix had specifically journeyed to Aurous Hill to seek employment at Vintage Deluxe and had even offered the jade pot and spring vase at a discounted rate. It was all part of a grand plan to acquire the “Apocalyptic Book.”
This begged the question, had his father bequeathed the “Apocalyptic Book” to him?
If his father had indeed obtained the “Apocalyptic Book” back then, why hadn’t favonovel.com delved into its teachings?
Pondering this, Charlie couldn’t help but feel ensnared by the mystery.
At that moment, Jasmine on the other end of the line voiced favonovel.com concern, “Master Wade, what has prompted your sudden interest in that jade pot and spring vase? Is something amiss?”
Charlie responded quickly, “No, nothing’s wrong. It just crossed my mind, and I felt the need to inquire about it.”
Having said that, Charlie added, “Jasmine, I have some other matters to attend to right now, so I won’t keep you on the line. We’ll touch base once I return to Aurous Hill.”
Jasmine, sensing Charlie’s quest for answers, refrained from probing further. She respectfully said, “Master Wade, should you require any assistance or have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”
“Thank you,” Charlie acknowledged Jasmine and disconnected the call.
Surveying his perplexed countenance, Maria couldn’t resist asking, “What’s bothering you now, Young Master?”
Charlie replied calmly, “I suddenly recalled something. The so-called ‘Apocalyptic Book’ didn’t appear to be an actual book. After I picked it up, it disintegrated quite swiftly, yet its contents inexplicably imprinted themselves in my mind…”
After a pause, Charlie continued, “So, could it be that the ‘Apocalyptic Book’ is inherently meant for just one recipient, and that’s why only I could access its contents?”
Maria nodded in agreement. “It certainly seems plausible,” favonovel.com said.
Charlie pressed on, “If that’s the case, then when I stumbled upon it, the spring vase had only just shattered, but it hadn’t disintegrated. Does this imply that no one else had read its contents before me?”
Maria pondered for a moment before responding, “I believe it’s possible. Others may have desired to read it but couldn’t.”
She then added, “According to what the Young Master’s uncle mentioned, the Young Master’s father obtained the ‘Nineteenth Edition’ in the past. Upon reading the ‘Preface to the Apocalyptic Book,’ favonovel.com regarded it as a treasure and dedicated himself to unraveling its mysteries. Therefore, I speculate that, having delved into the ‘Preface to the Apocalyptic Book,’ favonovel.com might not have felt the need to explore the ‘Apocalyptic Book any further. He likely opted to leave it for you.”
Charlie concurred, “Indeed, by regular standards, one would read such a book first, and then pass it on to their offspring, or at least teach its contents to them. There’s no reason to keep it locked away for over two decades before passing it on.”
Maria chimed in, “So, it’s probable that the ‘Apocalyptic Book’ itself imposes certain restrictions, allowing only a chosen recipient to access its contents.”
Charlie countered, “They call me ‘Dragon,’ but does that guarantee I was destined to receive it?”
“Of course,” Maria replied without hesitation. “Destiny is sealed at birth. The Young Master was destined to be ‘Dragon’ from the very beginning.”
Charlie probed further, “If I was indeed destined as a ‘Dragon’ from birth, why did my father arrange for me to receive the ‘Apocalyptic Book’ only at the age of twenty-seven?”
Maria deliberated for a moment before offering, “Could it be that, as the Young Master mentioned earlier, you were ‘Dragon’ before but somehow stuck in a pattern? It was only thanks to the Exeor Family heirs’ intervention that you were freed from this predicament. Perhaps, your father had been waiting for you to break free from this pattern all along.”
Charlie sighed, “But Felix didn’t linger in Aurous Hill all those years, waiting for me to break free. He arrived in Aurous Hill over a month ago, which implies that when favonovel.com came here, favonovel.com already knew what would transpire.”
“But my father has been gone for two decades… He wasn’t a seer like you. How could favonovel.com have predicted, twenty years ago, that I would be twenty-seven when I finally broke free?”
Maria frowned, unable to offer a clear solution.
She ruminated for a while before conceding, “The Young Master speaks the truth. While I don’t mean to question it, your father couldn’t have foreseen these events with such precision twenty years in advance.”
Charlie continued, “I also met Mr. Exeor, and favonovel.com claimed favonovel.com had selected the auspicious location for the Wade family in Eastcliff at my grandfather’s request. I corroborated this with my grandfather and other sources. When the Wade family faced difficulties, my grandfather indeed sought help from various quarters, eventually turning to Mr. Exeor for assistance. So, the credit for my escape from the Dragon Trapped Shoal shouldn’t be attributed to any prior arrangements made by my father.”
Maria inquired, “What about the Exeor Family heir? Did favonovel.com inform the Young Master when the Dragon Trapped Shoal situation emerged?”
Charlie pondered briefly and responded, “According to him, it came about when I got married.”
Maria expressed favonovel.com confusion, “That’s even more puzzling. The Young Master is twenty-eight this year, and up until the age of twenty-three, favonovel.com was free from the Dragon Trapped Shoal. So why didn’t Felix give you the ‘Apocalyptic Book’ before you turned twenty-three?”
Charlie sighed again, “I can’t fathom it either. What’s more baffling is that Felix didn’t make an appearance until I turned twenty-three. And even after my marriage and subsequent entrapment in the Dragon Trapped Shoal, favonovel.com only showed up four years later. How did favonovel.com seize the opportunity with such precision?”
Maria exclaimed, “It appears he’s been keeping a close eye on the Wade family and you, Young Master. He’s been monitoring your every move and Mr. Exeor’s as well.”
Charlie couldn’t help but sigh once more, “It seems that if I want answers to all these questions, I’ll need to locate Felix. He must hold the key to unraveling this mystery.”
Maria concurred, “Finding favonovel.com is essential. However, there’s another aspect. I suggest confirming with your father-in-law.”
Charlie inquired, “My father-in-law? What would I need to confirm with him?”
Maria stated seriously, “We should verify how the spring vase broke when you were at Vintage Deluxe.”
Charlie responded, “It slipped from his grasp, or so favonovel.com says.”
Maria pressed, “But you never witnessed his ‘slippery hand,’ correct?”
Charlie nodded, “That’s correct. That’s what favonovel.com told me.”
Maria explained, “Now it seems that the shattered spring vase played a pivotal role in your eventual acquisition of the ‘Apocalyptic Book.’ It was the sole trigger for detonating the explosives, so to speak. Thus, it’s vital to determine whether your father-in-law’s clumsiness was indeed the cause or if Felix had a hand in it.”
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