The Vanishing Vault

The principal's office was one of the few luxurious places in the entire Shrek Academy.

Why say "one of the few"?

Because the others were Flender's house, Flender's private dining room, and various other things belonging to Flender—each one reeking of money.

Qian Renxue entered the room and subconsciously thought she had come to the wrong place. How could the outside and the inside be two different worlds?

The outside seemed like the ancient era, while the inside had evolved directly into the modern age.

Flender really knew how to spend his money where it counted.

"The two of you, please sit."

Flender gestured for them to take a seat while he sat down on his own leather chair.

Seeing this, Chen Qi led Qian Renxue to stand before him and offered a sinister smile.

"Are you going to get up yourself, or should we help you up?"

Chen Qi's meaning was clear: he was telling Flender to either vacate the seat voluntarily or be forced to do so.

A clever fox like Flender naturally chose the former. Though reluctant, the mere thought of a Titled Douluo made him obediently stand up and yield the seat to Qian Renxue.

He sat on a different stool instead—one that was both hard and cold.

"My dear lady and sir, please spare me. We have no prior grudges, so why must we be at each other's throats?"

"Who is at your throat? Can't we just be guests visiting your Shrek Academy? You, on the other hand, as the dean, don't even welcome us and even try to chase us away. Is this your hospitality?"

Qian Renxue's sharp tongue was quite impressive; she left Flender speechless, successfully painting the victim as the aggressor.

"My dear lady, I was only afraid that the air here would make you feel nauseous. Shouldn't you hurry home to breathe that celestial air instead?"

Who did Flender learn his flattery from?

It was so pleasant to hear that one couldn't even get angry if they tried.

This put Qian Renxue in a difficult position. If they stayed any longer, wouldn't they just be breathing in the stench?

Seeing this, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Qi. Drawing on ten years of experience in the back alleys, he thought of a countermeasure.

"Flender, Lady Qian Xue can automatically purify the air. Even if your academy's stench is foul, can it really surpass her purification?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue's eyes lit up. She hadn't realized before that Chen Qi was so good at buttering people up.

Now it was Flender's turn to worry. If he still insisted they leave, it would imply that Qian Renxue's purification was weaker than the stench of his academy.

In other words, wasn't that the same as saying Qian Renxue was inferior to Shrek?

He dared not imagine what would happen to him if he did that.

"I truly beg you both, please stop torturing me."

"We are only visiting, not tearing down your academy. Could it be that our presence here is somehow defiling your school?"

Chen Qi launched another fierce attack on Flender, and this time, Flender could not recover.

This was no mere young man; he was a seasoned veteran. Anyone who could last a single round against him was truly one in a million.

"Fine, fine, fine. Visit if you must. I will go prepare some food for you. Please rest here for a moment."

Flender was completely out of options and immediately changed his strategy: if he couldn't win with force, he would submit.

Once they had seen enough, they would surely leave on their own.

Seeing Flender leave, Chen Qi began rummaging through the room.

Qian Renxue watched, puzzled. What was Chen Qi digging around for?

"Chen Qi, what are you looking for?"

"Money. The money Flender has hidden away."

Hearing that Chen Qi was looking for money, Qian Renxue became even more confused. Why look for someone else's money for no reason?

It couldn't be that the two of them actually had some history—like Flender owing money and refusing to pay, and Chen Qi coming to collect.

Otherwise, Chen Qi wouldn't have spent so much time and effort just to stay here.

"Does he owe you money?"

"I don't even know him, so how could he owe me money?"

"Then why are you looking for his money?"

Chen Qi looked at Qian Renxue and said with a helpless shrug.

"Flender is a profiteer who will do anything for money. As far as I know, this academy recruits every year, but as you can see, there isn't a single student here. It's not that he can't recruit students; it's that he doesn't want to.

To tell you the truth, he recruits under the banner of only accepting monsters. He has quite a reputation in Soto City and the surrounding villages, and many parents come here hoping their children will have a better future.

That in itself wouldn't be so bad, but the main issue is that the registration fee is ten gold soul coins, and it is non-refundable. For an average person, ten gold soul coins is a huge sum. They hope to soar to success with this money, but in the end, the money is gone and the child isn't even admitted. Do you think this money should stay in Flender's hands?"

After hearing Chen Qi's words, Qian Renxue clenched her fists. She hadn't expected Flender to be such a heinous person.

It was already despicable to deceive consumers, but to swindle the common folk out of their money—killing him would be a mercy.

"How can such a person exist in this world? Flender is truly detestable. We must find this money and hand it over to my grandfather so he can return every cent through Spirit Hall."

Truth be told, Spirit Hall could be considered a second mother to the commoners; not only did they provide free spirit awakening ceremonies, but they also issued a monthly stipend of gold soul coins once one became a spirit master.

If it weren't for Bibi Dong, that love-addled fool, becoming the Pope, Spirit Hall would have easily lasted until the era of Douluo 2, and the number of evil spirit masters would have been significantly lower.

The two searched the room thoroughly and soon found a cloth bag inside the desk. It felt heavy, and upon opening it, they saw it was filled with gleaming gold soul coins.

"This must be it."

Qian Renxue looked at the gold soul coins in the bag and spoke.

Chen Qi nodded at her words and tucked the bag into his spirit tool.

"Since we have the goods, there is no need for us to stay at Shrek any longer. Let's go."

Qian Renxue agreed; if it weren't for Chen Qi wanting to stay, she wouldn't have wanted to spend even a second here.

Now that they could leave, she was more than eager to do so.

"The meal is ready, you two. Follow me to the cafeteria to eat."

Flender pushed the door open at that moment and spoke to the two, who were standing up to leave.

"Flender, we've thought it over and realized we have some matters to attend to, so we won't be joining you for dinner. We'll be taking our leave."

Having said that, they didn't care about Flender's reaction; Chen Qi hoisted Qian Renxue onto his back and left the office, heading toward the exit of Shrek.

Seeing this, Flender felt a bit confused. Just a moment ago, he had begged them to stay, and they had refused. Now that he had bought them a meal, they had just left on their own accord.

He truly couldn't understand the way these nobles thought.

Flender waved his hand helplessly. It was probably for the best that they had left; at the very least, he no longer had two Title Douluo weighing down on him.

He sat down habitually in his leather chair and reached his hand into the hidden compartment under the desk.

He quickly realized something was wrong; his treasury hidden here was gone.

Flender hurriedly lowered his head to inspect it carefully, looking inside and out for a long time, only to conclude that his belongings were truly gone.

He soon realized that Chen Qi and Qian Renxue had taken his treasury. No wonder they were in such a rush to leave; so that was why.

"Damn those bastards! My money! It's gone! It's all gone!"

In the open space of Shrek Academy, Qin Ming stood in the wind, disheveled, holding tea and snacks, suddenly realizing that Flender hadn't told him where these things were supposed to be delivered.