The Vanished Treasury

Inside the principal's office, it was one of the few luxurious places in all of Shrek Academy.

Why only one of the few?

Because the others were Flender's house, Flender's private restaurant, and all sorts of things belonging to Flender. Every one of them reeked of money.

When Qian Renxue entered, she instinctively thought she'd come to the wrong place. How could the outside and the inside be two different worlds?

The outside looked like it belonged to ancient times, while the inside had evolved straight into the modern era.

Flender really knew how to spend money where it counted.

"Please, have a seat."

Flender ushered the two of them over, then settled onto his own genuine-leather throne.

Seeing this, Chen Qi led Qian Renxue over to him and smiled strangely.

"Are you going to get up on your own, or do you want us to help you?"

Chen Qi made himself perfectly clear: was Flender going to give up his seat willingly, or would Chen Qi make him?

A quick-witted man like Flender naturally chose the former. Though reluctant, he thought of the Titled Douluo and promptly stood up, giving his seat to Qian Renxue.

He sat on one of the other chairs instead. It was so hard and cold.

"My dear ancestors, please spare me! We didn't have any grudges before. Why do we have to come to blows?"

"Who said we were coming to blows? We're guests visiting Shrek Academy. Is that not allowed? You, on the other hand, are the dean. It would be one thing if you didn't welcome us, but you even tried to make us leave. Is that how you treat your guests?"

Qian Renxue rattled off her words with convincing flair, leaving Flender speechless. She'd managed to turn the victim into the aggressor.

"My dear girl, I was only worried you'd feel sick from the air here. Shouldn't you hurry home to breathe in the celestial air there?"

Who had taught Flender how to flatter people?

His words were so pleasing to the ear that it was hard to stay mad.

Even Qian Renxue found herself at a loss. If she stayed any longer, wouldn't she be breathing in the stench?

At the sight of this, Chen Qi had a flash of inspiration. Drawing on his ten years of gaming experience, he came up with a way to handle it.

"Flender, Miss Qian Xue can purify the air automatically. No matter how bad the stench at your academy gets, could it possibly be worse than her purification?"

At that, Qian Renxue's eyes lit up. How had she never realized Chen Qi was so good at making people feel appreciated?

Now it was Flender's turn to fret. If he still tried to make them leave, it would mean that Qian Renxue's purification was weaker than the stench at his academy.

In other words, he'd be saying that Qian Renxue was inferior to Shrek Academy.

He couldn't imagine what would happen to him if he did that.

"I'm begging you, please stop tormenting me."

"We're just visiting, not tearing down your academy. Are you saying our presence here is defiling it?"

Chen Qi launched another fierce attack on Flender. This time, Flender was completely unable to get back up.

How could this be a young man? He was clearly an old fox. Anyone who could last a single round against him would be one in a million.

"Fine, fine. Visit all you like. I'll go prepare some food. Please wait here."

Flender was at his wits' end, so he changed tactics at once. If he couldn't win them over, he'd just go along with them.

Once they'd seen enough, they'd leave on their own.

After Flender left, Chen Qi began rummaging through the room.

Qian Renxue looked at him in confusion. What on earth was Chen Qi searching for?

"Chen Qi, what are you looking for?"

"Money. The money Flender's hidden away."

Hearing Chen Qi say he was looking for money only made Qian Renxue more confused. Why go looking for someone else's money for no reason?

It couldn't be that they had some kind of issue with Flender, like him owing Chen Qi money and refusing to pay it back, and Chen Qi was trying to reclaim it.

Otherwise, Chen Qi wouldn't have spent so long trying to stay here.

"Does he owe you money?"

"I don't even know him. How could he owe me money?"

"Then why are you looking for his money?"

Chen Qi looked at Qian Renxue and said helplessly,

"Flender's a profiteer. He'll do anything for money. As far as I know, this academy recruits students every year, but you've seen it yourself: there isn't a single student here. It's not that they can't find students. They simply don't want to recruit any.

"To be honest, he uses the slogan 'only accepting monsters' to recruit students. His academy is famous in Suotuo City and the nearby villages, so lots of parents come here because they want their children to have a brighter future.

"That part isn't so bad. The worst part is the ten Gold Soul Coin application fee, which is nonrefundable. Ten Gold Soul Coins are already a fortune to an ordinary family. They think their children will soar to success, only for the money to be gone and the children never to attend. Do you think Flender should be allowed to keep that money?"

After hearing Chen Qi's explanation, Qian Renxue clenched her fists. She hadn't expected Flender to be such a thoroughly despicable man.

Deceiving customers was bad enough, but now he was cheating ordinary people out of their money too. Killing him would be a reward for him.

"How can someone like this exist in the world? Flender is truly wicked. We have to find that money and give it to my grandfather. Then he can have Spirit Hall return every last coin to its rightful owners."

It had to be said, Spirit Hall was like a second mother to the common people. It helped them awaken their Martial Souls for free, and once they became Soul Masters, they even received Gold Soul Coins every month.

If that hopeless romantic Bibi Dong hadn't become the pope, Spirit Hall could easily have lasted until Douluo 2, and there would have been far fewer Evil Soul Masters.

The two of them searched the room from top to bottom. Before long, they found a cloth bag inside the desk. It was heavy, and when they opened it, it was filled with glittering Gold Soul Coins.

"This should be it."

Qian Renxue looked at the Gold Soul Coins in the bag and said.

Chen Qi nodded and put it into his Soul Tool.

"Now that we've got what we came for, there's no reason to stay at Shrek Academy. Let's go."

Qian Renxue agreed. If Chen Qi hadn't wanted to stay, she wouldn't have wanted to spend even a second here.

Now that they could leave, she couldn't be happier.

"The food's ready. Come with me to the cafeteria."

Flender came in just then and spoke to the two of them, who were getting ready to leave.

"Flender, we thought it over and realized we have something to take care of. We won't be joining you for a meal. We'll be going now."

With that, they didn't bother waiting for Flender's response. Chen Qi carried Qian Renxue on his back and left the office, heading out of Shrek Academy.

Flender was puzzled. Just moments ago, they'd been begging to stay, yet they wouldn't leave. Now he'd even bought boxed lunches to treat them, and they'd simply walked off.

He really couldn't understand how nobles thought.

Flender waved a hand helplessly. It was just as well they'd left. At least he no longer had two Titled Douluo pressing down on his back.

He expertly sat down in his genuine-leather chair and reached into the hidden compartment beneath his desk.

It didn't take long for him to realize something was wrong. The treasury hidden there was gone.

Flender hurriedly bent down to inspect it. After looking it over and over, he concluded that it really was gone.

He soon realized that Chen Qi and Qian Renxue had taken his treasury. No wonder they'd been in such a hurry to leave. So that was why.

"Damn it! My money! It's gone! Gone!"

On the open grounds of Shrek Academy, Qin Ming stood frozen in the wind with tea and refreshments in his hands. It suddenly dawned on him that Flender had never told him where to deliver them.