Chapter 645: Dark Gold Card
“Big Brother Heath, I have another matter I must trouble you with. I need a way to get to Rock Private Bank to withdraw something,” Xia Fei said.
Heathfield was surprised. “Rock? That’s a private bank of some scale. The two supreme races don’t dare to admit it, but it’s one of the best in our circle. Does brother truly want to open an account? I won’t deny, while Rock is truly a top-cla.s.s bank when it comes to keeping secrets, opening an account isn’t cheap, and it comes with lots of restrictions.”
Heathfield spoke very ambiguously. He knew very well that Rock was a bank only open to high-cla.s.s clients, so he was hinting at Xia Fei that he would probably run into a wall. After all, he could not be considered some rich scion of the Law Realm, so he might not be treated well. Even Heathfield or the Lionheart royalty might not be of any help. The bank’s doors cared only about money, not status.
Xia Fei smiled. “I have a small unregistered account there, and I need to go over to handle some small matters, but you know what my current status is, so I naturally can’t go pay a visit on that side. Which is why I came to find you as I’m unfamiliar with the demon territory.”
A small account? There was no such thing as a small account when it came to Rock Private Bank. Heathfield was rather amazed. He had not expected that Xia Fei would have an account at a private bank normally frequented by the wealthy and powerful.
“Oh, if that’s so, I’ll have someone guide you over tomorrow. However, you must understand that the city isn’t like the borders here. Rules are everything there, and exposing your ident.i.ty will do little good for either of us. There’s no problem with me sending you over, but we might run into big problems if you go around walking everywhere,” Heathfield solemnly said. He had taken ten minutes to think this over and seemed extremely reluctant.
Xia Fei slapped his chest and promised, “Don’t worry. I’m just going to Rock Private Bank. I won’t go anywhere else.”
Heathfield then went on a long spiel about what he should watch out for and made sure to outline every step of Xia Fei’s itinerary; even then, he was still rather uneasy, so he had someone go overnight and fetch a spatial compa.s.s used exclusively by the Lionheart royalty. This way, they could keep in touch at any time. He also wrote down two emergency contacts, saying that they were his cousins and that Xia Fei should get in touch with them if he could not get in touch with Heathfield. Finally, after handing him a keepsake of the Lionheart royalty, Heathfield was finally able to rest easy.
“Isn’t Heathfield being too careful? You’re just going to the bank. Feels like he’s making a mountain out of a molehill,” Phantom impatiently said.
Xia Fei also felt that this was a bit too much. There was no reason for the Lionheart royalty to be so nervous just because he was going to a bank. There were few clans in the Demon Race who were stronger than the Lionheart Clan, so there should have been no need to be so cautious.
Putting on a smile, Xia Fei agreed to all of Heathfield’s terms.
“Rock Private Bank’s branch is in the Unicorn Immortal Constellation, the territory of the Cobalti. They don’t have much regard for us Lionhearts, so if something really happens, I may be unable to protect you. As for the other branch, it’s in the Red Fir Constellation, the base of our Lionheart’s mortal foe.
“There are two branches in all, and both are located in the territory of our rivals. Brother, I’m treating this matter so seriously for your sake,” Heathfield sincerely said.
Xia Fei naturally thanked him and did not refuse, expressing his utmost sincerity.
In his ring, Lionheart King Oro sighed. “There’s nothing to be done. The Lionhearts has always had a candid temperament, causing it to get into feuds with many other clans. All these feuds built up over tens of thousands of years are difficult to resolve.”
Xia Fei was startled. While the Lionhearts was powerful, it had many enemies, enemies with the majority of the clans of the Demon Race. Why had Oro never mentioned this before? No wonder it was so thirsty for talent! It simply had too many enemies.
He was beginning to regret making Chen Dong join the Lionhearts, but after some thought, he realized that having too many enemies might not be a bad thing. At least, Chen Dong would not lack training partners.
…
At night, Xia Fei and Chen Dong stayed in the same room. It was already settled that Chen Dong would be joining the Lionhearts, so they would not have many opportunities to meet after this. The two brothers had decided to use this chance to talk.
“Thank you.” Chen Dong lay in bed, his hands behind his head. “The Demon Race isn’t as scary as I thought it would be, and the Lionhearts really are comparable to the Nine Great Clans of the White Horse Constellation. This is an opportunity for me, so thank you for bringing me here.”
Xia Fei chuckled. “Never speak about anything in absolute terms. You heard my conversation with Heathfield today. The Lionhearts are strong, yes, but it has a lot of enemies. If you really do end up as a powerful general of the clan, you may not have a lot of free time.”
Chen Dong casually said, “And here I thought you’d bring up something serious. You know what sort of person I am, right? I’m always looking for a fight.”
Xia Fei replied, “I know you like fighting, but you don’t like killing people. In the Law Realm, you probably won’t have a choice but to kill. Do you know that, though our cultivation is similar, I have the upper hand against you?”
Chen Dong chuckled. “Because you’ve got a lot of good toys! I must say, owning both the Holy Beast Shatterstar and an Immemorial Mystical Armament, your luck is just a little too good.”
Xia Fei shook his head. “It’s not as easy as it looks. Taming Furball took several days and several nights, and I almost vomited blood and died. Getting Peac.o.c.k Blue was also a challenging journey. I almost despaired in the last battle against the insectoid king, Uti. I bled a lot of blood for each of these things.”
Chen Dong replied, “I get it now. In truth, you’re even crazier than me, more willing to gamble, possessing greater guts. Thus, while you haven’t been able to catch up to me in cultivation, you’ve always been better than me.
“I have a place to go now, but what are your plans?” Chen Dong asked.
Xia Fei narrowed his eyes. “I’m not considering anything else until I kill my enemies.”
Chen Dong said nothing. Xia Fei’s enemies were so mysterious and so powerful that killing those fellows hiding in the shadows would not be easy.
…
It was time to head to Rock Private Bank and open the Atlantean vault; Xia Fei was rather excited.
After breakfast, Heathfield called his personal guard captain, Reese. He was the same person who would be teaching Chen Dong the Law of Darkness.
Reese was not as tall as Heathfield, but he was nevertheless nearly four meters. He was a powerful fighter with a good head on his shoulders. When Heathfield told him what was going on, he immediately understood and nodded without a word.
Xia Fei took a Lionheart’s mask and went out as one of Reese’s subordinates, using the spatial compa.s.s to travel to the Unicorn Immortal Constellation.
Reese’s spatial compa.s.s was not a precision series, so for fear of a coordinate error, they arrived at a clearing outside the city and then took a vehicle to Rock Private Bank.
There were many strange blue-skinned people on the road. They were not very tall, their eyes bulged out like fish, and their ears were long and erect. Even the driver of the taxi was of this species. Presumably, these were the Cobalti who were quarreling with the Lionhearts.
The city was not built in an ancient style like the White Horse Constellation was, but it had its own unique traits. There were translucent blue buildings all over the place, with pointed towers the most prominent of all. It appeared like something out of a fantasy.
It was not long before Xia Fei and Reese arrived at their destination. The special masks worn by the Lionhearts caused the pedestrians to shoot strange glances at them.
“This is Rock Private Bank. I will wait for you here at the entrance. Please do not wander off,” Reese said.
Xia Fei nodded. “Relax. I’ll come out once I’m done with my business. I won’t go anywhere else.”
Reese added, “Lord Heathfield has already gotten in touch with the bank’s president, Houllier. Once you’re inside, you should go and find him and may direct any questions to him. Remember: Keep the mask on at all times.”
…
Rock Private Bank was unremarkable from the outside. It had an old-fas.h.i.+oned wooden revolving door and the front courtyard was empty. It was so inconspicuous that it was almost too much.
Xia Fei pushed on the door and entered; upon which, the clients in the bank immediately stared at him, ten-some cold pairs of eyes watching him with hostility.
Xia Fei had already expected this kind of treatment, so he did not panic. Looking around, he saw several grey-skinned creatures not even 1.5 meters tall standing behind the tall counters. Men or women, young or old, their faces were wrinkled and their hair was spa.r.s.e, making it difficult to determine their ages. Many of them were even wearing old-fas.h.i.+oned spectacles and sleeve covers on their arms.
The clients carrying out business at the windows were mostly Cobalti, and there were also three strange fellows, tall and thin, with sharp noses and wearing big black robes. They looked like wizards out of fairytales.
“Sir, what sort of a.s.sistance do you require?” a receptionist came up and asked.
“I’m looking for President Houllier. Please tell him that I’m from Black Lion City.”
The receptionist hesitated, but after telling Xia Fei to wait at a seat, they quickly went upstairs to report.
“I suddenly remembered a story.” Upon seeing Xia Fei, one proud Cobalti sitting behind him spoke to his two companions. He was not that old and was dressed exquisitely, placing him as the rich scion of some clan.
“What story? Hurry up and tell us already,” one of his companions asked, a mischievous smile on his face.
The proud Cobalti put down the newspaper in his hand and said, “One Cobalti, one Tudor, and one Lionheart were taking a bath together, but a skunk ran. The Cobalti immediately couldn’t take the smell and rushed out of the bathroom. A few minutes later, the Tudor was also smoked out, leaving the Lionheart and the skunk inside.”
The proud young man paused, casting a glance at Xia Fei.
“After that? Was that Lionheart also smoked out?” his companions anxiously asked.
Smiling, the proud scion answered, “After five minutes, the skunk couldn’t take it anymore and ran out.”
“Hahahaha!”
Everyone burst into laughter. This was an old joke which made fun of the Lionhearts, and almost every Cobalti had heard of it. They were intentionally mocking Xia Fei.
Alas, Xia Fei was not actually part of the Lionhearts, so he was neither infuriated nor driven to make a rash decision. The young scion was very disappointed. He pursed his lips and said, “Lions are lions, utterly lacking in a sense of humor.”
A few moments later, the receptionist returned with a short man wearing glances. He had the symbol of a rolling rock on his chest, identifying him as an employee.
“The president is in a meeting, so he ordered me to attend to you. Please follow me,” the short man rubbed his hands and said.
Xia Fei was about to stand up when that Cobalti scion coldly snorted.
“The Rock Private Bank established its branch on Cobalti territory, so why should the Cobalti stand in line while stinky lions like this one get special treatment!”
The dozen or so Cobalti clients in the bank all looked over with critical eyes, and the bank employees were also put in a difficult spot. It truly was the bank’s rule to serve on a first-come-first-serve basis. Giving Xia Fei special treatment would definitely make it seem like they were treating the other clients unfairly.
Xia Fei smiled. “Forget it. I’ll just stand in line so as not to put you in a difficult spot.”
Saying this, Xia Fei took out that unregistered bank card so that he could register and wait for his name to be called.
*Whoos.h.!.+*
The lobby became utterly silent, everyone staring at the dark gold bank card in Xia Fei’s hand in utter shock!
“A dark gold card!” That smug young scion swallowed.