Ch. 2391..2395: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 2391-2395
Chapter 2391
“They’re from the Morningstar family! Those b*stards have been forcing us to hand over the Crawford family’s assets for the longest time! As if that wasn’t already enough, they kidnapped Leo and Aiden as well! Either way, the now armless man goes by Harlo, and he’s here since today’s the deadline for us to hand our assets over!” explained Zack.
“Hah! The Morningstars are the most influential family now, kid! While I admit that you’re strong, don’t think for one second that you’ll be able to take on all the other fighters in my family! Regardless, if you have the balls, why don’t you challenge me to a one-on-one duel in public? If you allow me to return and heal up, I’ll surely give you a true taste of my family’s power! What do you say?” scoffed Harlo who had his hand over the nub of his shoulder as he slowly got to his feet, desperately trying to hide his pain under a facade.
Upon hearing that, Stephanie was prompted to taunt, “Yeah! Challenge us to an official duel! Though I doubt you have the guts!”
Glaring at Gerald the entire time, Harlo couldn’t wait for the boy to take the bait. Like hell he was issuing an actual challenge! The second he got out of this place, he was ordering his men to chop that kid to pieces! Realizing that Gerald had gone silent, Harlo then added, “Aww… Too big of a coward to accept my challenge? If so, why don’tyou just kill me now so that nobody knows you did the crime…”
Before Harlo could follow up with a sneer, he felt something penetrating his throat. Apparently, Stephanie had felt the same thing. Looking at Gerald who was now pointing toward them, Harlo realized that Gerald had sent out two aura blades to pierce through their throats!
“Y-you…! ” stuttered Harlo before flopping to the ground, dead…
After silently staring at all the fresh corpses for a while, Gerald simply shook his head before muttering, “As if I’d be worried about others finding out about this! Either way, get some of our men to clear this place up, Zack. Once you’re done, meet me in the office.”
Following that, Zack watched as Gerald placed his arms against his back before walking toward the office…
On his way there, Gerald saw that not much had changed about the manor. Regardless, after ordering some men to deal with the bodies, Zack hurriedly made his way to the office to start reporting the entire incident to Gerald…
As it turned out, it wasn’t long after the Crawford family’s crisis when the Morningstars came out of nowhere and quickly became a powerful family. Their rapid development was mostly due to their top principle which was to kill anyone who got in their way! The fact that they were all cultivators certainly made things easier for them!
Regardless, in order to continue protecting and expanding the Crawford family’s business, Zack had made sure to befriend several secret technique experts, with some even from the cultivation world! Sadly, none of them were the Morningstars’ opponents, leading to Zack’s allies either surrendering to the family, or losing their lives.
It was because of that that Zack no longer had any power to fight back for some time, resulting in the Morningstars nearly acquiring all of the Crawford family’s assets…
Also, as Zack had earlier mentioned, the Morningstars kidnapped Leo and Aiden as well. Though Leo’s kidnapping had happened a while back, Aiden’s was fairly recent. It happened when Aiden was on his way back to discuss the formation of an investigation team with Zack. After bumping into a Morningstar who had come looking for trouble, Aiden and that b*stard got into a fight. Understandably, Aiden lost the battle, and he was promptly captured.
Once he was done reporting all that, Zack who was now in tears again fell to his knees before declaring, “I apologize, Young Master Crawford! To the Crawford family and to Miss Crawford as well! All of you have entrusted me with your assets, but I’ve nearly lost all of them!”
“Get up, Zack, this isn’t your fault. I could already sense that the Morningstars from before had access to their inner strength. With that in mind, it’s completely understandable that you weren’t able to take on them! Putting that aside, they’re not exactly cultivators… They simply know how to use basic secret techniques!”
Chapter 2392
While Gerald was frowning, he was still glad that he had sent Aiden back to form an investigation team to look for the divine fruit tree in advance. After all, it provided it with a reason to return, and thank god he got back in time. Otherwise, Zack and many others would’ve surely ended up dead.
“Speaking of which, what’s the percentage of the assets they seized?” asked Gerald, knowing full well that he couldn’t just sit around after knowing what had happened. He needed to reclaim what his family had lost!
“Around sixty… Jaxen, the patriarch of the Morningstars has already distributed the assets among his four sons for them to manage. As for why they’re trying so hastily to obtain the rest of our assets, it’s mainly because they wish to present them to Jaxen as a birthday present during his banquet that’ll take place in three days,” explained Zack.
“I see. Not only are the Morningstars ambitious, but they have a rather strong background as well… Compared to the Moldells, this family is way more tyrannical!” growled Gerald.
“Indeed! Putting that aside… Now that Aiden and Leo have been captured, their lives are in danger, Young Master…!”
“I’m well aware… Alright, I need you to compile everything you know about the Morningstars into a document and hand it to me later. Once that’s done, you just have
to concentrate on resource integration. Don’t worry, I’ll handle the rest myself,” replied Gerald with a nod.
“On it!” declared Zack as he immediately got to work. Once the office was silent, Gerald thought to himself, ‘So you’re daring enough to kidnap my friends… I’ll just take the lives of your kin in exchange, then…!’
Shortly after, Zack returned with a document. After giving the document a quick but thorough look, Gerald memorized everything noteworthy before disappearing in a flash.
It was shortly after when a massive auction could be seen being held in the Imperial Hotel. While the hotel had always been located in Mayberry Commercial Street, it was now one of the Morningstar’s many enterprises.
Regardless, the auction was hosted by the fourth young master, Ian Morningstar. Since the Morningstar family was now the leader of all of Weston’s enterprises, wealthy businessmen from all over the place made sure to attend, making the event quite lively…
Laughing heartily, Ian could be heard declaring, “You know, I heard that this commercial street was once owned by Young Master Crawford of Mayberry. No idea where he went, though. Regardless, you now have me to follow, and if all of you continue submitting to the Morningstars, I guarantee you’ll all be able to live a good life!”
“Long live Young Master Morningstar!” cheered the crowd in admiration, not realizing that an uninvited young man was currently seated in the far, dimly lit corner of the room…
As the young man sipped on some wine that he had just ordered, he turned to look at Ian who was currently walking up the stage… Once Ian was standing at the center, he was prompted to declare, “Alright, I know everyone’s been waiting for this! Without further ado, let the auction commence! Let’s have one of my slaves present the first auction item!”
Following a sea of cheers, a battered young man began crawling out with the auction item. It was clear as day that his legs were broken, and with his quivering hands, it wasn’t long before he dropped all the items he was holding.
“You piece of sh*t! Have I raised you for nothing?! Pick the items up with your mouth!” roared Ian as he gave a swift kick to the young man’s abdomen, prompting the poor slave to spurt out blood!
Even from where he sat, the shocked Gerald couldn’t help but feel his eyes twitch as he thought, ‘Harper..?’
There was no doubt about it. That young man was his good friend and also the head of his dormitory back when he was in university!
Chapter 2393
Many years had passed since they last met, though Gerald could still remember hiring Harper into the Mayberry Organization the last time they crossed paths. Regardless, it was understandably flabbergasting for Gerald to see the current Harper in such a pitiful state…
Gerald’s train of thought was cut short when he heard Ian yell, “Are you deaf? I told you to get the items up, didn’t I?!”
Watching as Ian continued mercilessly punching and kicking Harper, the frightened audience couldn’t help but fall silent.
After beating Harper up for a while, Ian stopped before laughing as he said, “Hah! It seems I’ve made a fool out of myself! Regardless, don’t let my slave ruin the auctioning mood! Just to remind all of you, my family is massive, so we have everything you could possibly imagine! In fact, we have many other things that you’ve probably never heard of! With that said, as long as you’re willing to pay, you can buy anything you want!”
“Then, can I bid for the head of a Morningstar?” asked a loud voice that echoed throughout the hall, prompting everyone to fall silent for a while.
Shortly after, those within the crowd began whispering to each other, saying things like, “Who the hell said that? Has he gone mad…?!”
“Did I hear that right? He wants the head of a Morningstar…?!”
“Who’s the culprit…?!”
As everyone began looking around to find the perpetrator, the furious Ian who had finally snapped out of it could be heard roaring, “Who said that?! Show yourself at once!”
Following that, a group of Morningstar bodyguards led by a butler rushed into the scene. After scanning the room for a while, the butler’s keen eyes locked onto a youth seated in the hall’s corner. Walking toward the boy with a few of the guards, the butler then asked in a frigid tone, “Were you the one who said that?”
Nodding casually in response, Gerald then took a sip of his wine before taking a cigarette out. Upon realizing that he didn’t have a lighter, he was prompted to look at the butler and ask, “Have a lighter on you?”
“That…! You’re courting death!” yelled the enraged butler as he tossed a fist at the disrespectful boy! In response, Gerald quickly grabbed a few forks before piercing them through the butler’s cheek, effectively nailing him to the table! Since the forks had penetrated both the butler’s cheeks, all the agonized man could do was holler in pain…!
Naturally, this chain of events startled the bodyguards, and some of them even began subconsciously feeling their cheeks…! Gerald, however, paid them no attention, and
simply began looking around for a lighter on the butler’s body… When he finally found one, he lit his cigarette…
Even from the faint and momentary glow of the lighter, everyone found their eyes widening when they saw the perpetrator’s face.
“T-that… That’s… Young Master Crawford, right…?!”
“What? That’s Gerald?!” exclaimed Ian, his gaze turning frigid when he overheard that. After investigating the Crawfords for so long, it was impossible for Ian not to have heard about Gerald.
Regardless, one of the stunned businessmen quickly replied,
“H-he is! But… from what we’ve heard, he died ages ago…!”
Upon hearing that, Gerald couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he said, “To think that people would still recognize me after all these years…”
Ian himself simply leaped off the stage, a sinister smile on his face as he declared, “So, instead of remaining hidden, you decided to walk straight through the gates of hell! Just so you know, we were already planning to obtain the rest of the Crawfords’ assets, though Zack hasn’t made it easy. Now that you’re here, however, I’m sure everything will go smoothly!”
In response, Gerald tosses his cigarette butt to the ground before stepping on it as he replied, “I’m afraid you don’t quite understand something, young master of the Morningstars.”
“Elaborate,” growled Ian with a frown.
“If you recall what I earlier said, I wish to bid for the head of a Morningstar! Actually, hold on. You have three brothers, correct? Well, I’ll bid all four of you for a dollar each, then! Though I say that, I don’t really have any cash on me today, so I hope you’ll allow me to leave an IOU receipt. Oh, but before that, I’m sure nobody else will try to outbid me, correct?” asked Gerald as he turned to face the crowd.
“N-never…!” exclaimed several of the businessmen as they stumbled backward in shock.
Chapter 2394
On the contrary, upon hearing that, all the bodyguards immediately burst out laughing as they exclaimed things like, “Has he gone mad?!”
“I know, right? Does that brat really think he can get the heads of our four young masters with his puny power?”
“He probably isn’t aware that Young Master Ian’s strength is way beyond that of ordinary people!”
Though silent, even those from the crowd were staring at Gerald like he was some kind of clown…
Ian himself was glaring at the boy as he growled, “You dare humiliate me…?! You’re asking for death!”
Following that, he began charging up an immense amount of essential qi in his palm before roaring, “To hell with you!”
It was a split second later when Ian could be seen pouncing toward Gerald! However, before he could even touch the ground, Ian suddenly found himself being flung
backward by some mysterious force! With how strong the force was, it felt like he was being crushed by a brick wall!
Either way, now pinned to the ground, the injured Ian instantly tried to get to his knees again… But the more be tried, the greater the force became…! With that in mind, it didn’t take long for the tiles beneath him to shatter into a million pieces…
Watching as Ian began Spurting out mouthfuls of blood, the laughing guards from before-who were still standing at the side-found themselves going speechless.
“H-how is any of this possible…?” muttered several of the dumbfounded guards as they turned to look at Gerald, their eyes brimming with horror and shock. Ignoring them, Gerald fished out a pen and a piece of scrap paper from his pocket before writing the words, ‘IOU’ on it. Following that, he walked over to Ian before seemingly drawing something with his finger in the air…
Before anyone could register what he was doing, Ian was flung into the air without warning! Once the battered man slammed onto the floor again, Ian couldn’t help but growl, “Y-you…!”
Chuckling in response, Gerald simply smiled as he replied, “With that, the deal is sealed. Oh, and speaking of which… That man over there is my friend, and I plan to take him away with me. I’m sure none of you would mind, right…?”
Naturally, nobody was stupid enough to say a thing, so all did was watch as Gerald carried Harper’s unconscious body away…
It was only after Gerald had left when the crowd began rushing toward Ian while anxiously calling out, “Y-young Master!”
“Are you alright, Young Master?!”
Simply smirking in response, Ian then said, “I’m fine! All that did was hurt my knees a little! Regardless, since he didn’t do anything too serious, he must still be afraid of my family’s power!”
To Ian’s confusion, however, everyone simply stared at him with horrified expressions. Now frowning slightly, he was prompted to ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Y-young Master… Your neck is bleeding heavily…! In fact, h-hasn’t it shifted a little?!” whimpered one of the guests in horror.
“Wha…”
Before Ian could even look down, his head had toppled to the ground with a ‘thump’. The Young Master had been beheaded…!
Now engulfed in fear, everyone immediately began screaming, “Y- young Master…!”
To think that someone would actually kill the fourth young master of the Morningstar family…!
It was sometime later, in the manor on Wayfair Mountain, when Harper could be seen lying on a bed. He was out cold for quite a while, but when he felt a stream of pleasant energy flowing through his body, Harper slowly opened his eyes and the second he realized who the man before him was, he immediately sat up in shock as he exclaimed, “G-Gerald?! I… I’m not dreaming, am I..?!”
Chapter 2395
“Oh, I assure you that you’ re wide awake. Jokes aside, though I’ve healed most of your injuries, you still need more rest to fully recover! Regardless, how did you end up in such a state, Harper..?” asked Gerald.
“It’s… A long story. Basically, after you brought me into the Mayberry Organization, Young Master Mateo, Zack’s son-, valued me so much that be promoted me almost monthly! With that said, the highest position I ever received was general manager of Mayberry Commercial Street! Along the line, I eventually got myself a girlfriend named Yasmin Lamer…”
After a brief pause, Harper cleared his throat before adding, “Sadly, I was stupid enough to believe that she truly loved me… Despite loving her with all my heart, everything started to crumble when the Morningstar family came along… For one, Young Master Lyle’s wife, Stephanie, quickly defected to the Morningstar family, and she even assassinated Young Master Lyle! I knew that the Morningstars did this to seize the commercial street, and at the time, I had no idea when they’d come for me next. With that in mind, I handed all the official seals and important documents of the commercial street along with my properties to Yasmin…”
“Sadly, by the time I was eventually framed by the Morningstars, the commercial street was already gone. You see, when I reunited with Yasmin to reobtain some of the documents and properties, she simply sent someone to chase me away! As it turned out, she was just as snobbish as Stephanie! As if that wasn’t already enough, once she knew that I couldn’t be a backer, she quickly defected to an executive of the Morningstar family and even gave away my properties! But she wasn’t satisfied with that, oh no… Even after I lost everything, she hired some men to break my legs before turning me into a slave of the Morningstar family…!” concluded Harper, his voice filled with remorse as he clenched his fists.
“So that much has happened…” muttered Gerald with a nod.
“Indeed… The Morningstars are simply too ambitious… You know, their first feat was oppressing the Caffin Group, which led to them becoming the biggest family in the nation. As if that wasn’t already bad enough, they’re now trying to devour all our assets! Their immense greed has truly brought endless suffering!” grumbled Harper.
“I’m aware. Now tell me… Do you wish for revenge?” asked Gerald as he patted Harper’s shoulder.
“Revenge? I’d love to, but… The Morningstars aren’t exactly normal people… They’re far too strong…!” muttered Harper in a helpless tone.
“Don’t worry, just let me take care of them. Speaking of which, what was the position of Zack’s son?” asked Gerald.
“The General Manager of Mayberry,” said Harper.
“I see… Well, I’ll be reclaiming everything that our family has lost before sunset!” declared Gerald.
Meanwhile, there was an uproar in the Morningstar family’s manor within Mayberry City. With how tragically Ian was killed off at the auction, Jaxen was on the verge of insanity. After all, Ian was his youngest and most beloved child…! Even so, his hatred overpowered his grief the longer he stared at his son’s beheaded body…!
Glaring at the guards, he then growled, “Who did this?”
“G-Gerald Crawford!” replied the guards.
All of them were advanced fighters who had learned how to manipulate their essential qi, resulting in them usually having a strong aura around them. However, at the mention of Gerald, they all looked absolutely terrified to the point where they were hesitant to even say his name.
Tears running down his cheeks, Jaxen then slowly got to his feet. Placing his hands against his back as he glared at the guards, Jaxon then growled, “Ian is dead… And so is the butler. So why are all of you, individuals who’ve received special training from the Morningstar family, still alive…?”
Upon hearing that, the guards instantly fell to their knees while pleading, “P-please spare us, Patriarch…! Gerald was simply too strong…! We couldn’t even get near him… !”
Following that, an awkward silence ensued…