Chapter 158 - 159: The Old Man

Chapter 158: Chapter 159: The Old Man

Before she could answer, the door opened with a slow, deliberate creak that seemed to echo through the ruined inn like a warning, and an old man stepped inside with the kind of quiet presence that made everyone in the room instinctively turn to look at him.

He was old—very old—with white hair that fell past his shoulders and a face that was wrinkled and weathered and marked by the passage of more years than most people could imagine, and his body was thin and frail-looking in a way that suggested he might blow away in a strong wind.

He walked slowly and deliberately like he was entering his own room and like he had all the time in the world and like nothing in this ruined inn was worth hurrying for.

He looked around at the destruction and the broken tables and the cracked walls and the debris on the floor with an expression that didn’t change at all, and then he looked at the drunk man with eyes that were calm and cold and sharp.

The drunk man saw him and his eyes widened and his face went pale and then it went red and then it twisted into a smile—a mischievous smile that suggested he thought he had found an ally.

He scrambled to his feet with the kind of desperate energy that came from someone who had just seen a lifeline and ran toward the old man and bowed his head with the kind of exaggerated respect that came from someone who was trying to save himself.

"Sir!" he shouted with his voice loud and desperate. "Sir! Thank goodness you’re here!"

The old man didn’t respond.

"These two!" the drunk man said with his finger pointing at Daniel and Paul. "They attacked me! For no reason! I was just minding my own business! And they—"

The old man moved.

He stepped on the drunk man’s head with a motion that was casual and unhurried and utterly devastating, and the drunk man’s head hit the floor and the floor shattered and the sound was sickening and the impact was thunderous.

The drunk man didn’t move.

The old man looked down at him with his expression calm and his eyes cold. "You take this old man for a fool?" he said.

The drunk man didn’t answer because he was unconscious or dead and it was hard to tell which.

"You think I didn’t see what happened? You think I didn’t hear the screams? You think I didn’t see the waitress crying?"

The old man’s voice was quiet but it was sharp and deadly in the way that a blade is sharp and deadly when it’s held by someone who knows how to use it.

"I may be old. But I’m not blind. I’m not deaf. I’m not stupid."

He lifted his foot and looked at the drunk man with his broken body and his bleeding head.

"You’re a disgrace," he said. "You’re an inner member. You’re supposed to be better than this."

He turned and looked at Daniel and Paul and Lily with eyes that were sharp and curious and measuring.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Daniel didn’t answer.

"Did this young fool cause you trouble?"

Daniel still didn’t answer.

"We’re the ones asking the questions, old man," he said. "Who are you?"

The old man blinked with surprise and then he laughed—a loud, genuine laugh that echoed through the ruined inn and made the broken tables and the cracked walls seem somehow less broken and less cracked.

"This new generation," he said with amusement in his voice. "No respect for their elders."

Daniel shrugged with the kind of casual indifference that made Paul want to bury his face in his hands. "I respect people who deserve respect. I don’t know you yet."

The old man nodded slowly with something like approval in his eyes. "Fair enough."

He straightened up and looked at Daniel with eyes that were sharp and curious and measuring. "I am Shi Feng," he said. "Vice leader of the inner part of Heaven’s Domain."

Daniel’s attitude changed.

His eyes widened and his expression shifted from cold to curious and from curious to interested in the way that a scholar’s expression shifts when they discover a new and fascinating text.

"Oh," he said. "The guild we’re about to join."

Paul face-palmed himself with a sound that was loud and sharp and echoed through the ruined inn and muttered under his breath with the kind of exasperation that came from knowing Daniel well enough to predict exactly what he was going to say next.

"We haven’t even joined and you’re already disrespecting a vice leader."

Daniel looked at him with confusion on his face. "Oh. Sorry, dude. I thought you were just an old fart."

Paul stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide and the kind of disbelief that came from hearing someone say something so incredibly stupid.

"An old fart?" he whispered with his voice barely audible. "You called a vice leader an old fart?"

Daniel shrugged with the kind of casual indifference that made Paul want to scream. "I didn’t know."

"You didn’t know? He just told you!"

"I know. But before he told me, I didn’t know."

Paul groaned and buried his face in his hands with the kind of defeated resignation that came from knowing there was no point in arguing with someone who was incapable of being argued with.

Daniel looked at Shi Feng with his expression calm and his eyes curious. "I’m Daniel," he said. "Daniel Black."

Shi Feng nodded. "Daniel Black. What brings you to Heaven’s Domain?"

Daniel smiled a wide and confident smile that suggested he was about to say something either brilliant or insane or both.

"I’m going to join your guild," he said. "And then I’m going to take all the strong women and go fight a tournament so I can become a lord."

Paul stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide and the kind of horror that came from watching someone dig their own grave with a smile on their face.

"Dude," he whispered with his voice desperate. "You’re making it worse. You can’t say that to him. He might think you’re some kind of pervert."

Daniel looked at him with confusion on his face. "But I am."

Paul didn’t know what to say and just stood there with his mouth open and his eyes wide and the kind of helplessness that came from realizing there was no way to save someone who didn’t want to be saved.

Shi Feng laughed—a loud, genuine laugh that echoed through the ruined inn and made the broken tables and the cracked walls seem somehow less broken and less cracked.

"I like you," he said. "A man should have big dreams."

Daniel looked at Paul with a satisfied expression. "See? He gets it."

Paul shook his head with the kind of defeated resignation that came from knowing there was no point in arguing. "I’m Paul," he said. "Paul Ashford. I’m with him. Unfortunately."

Shi Feng nodded and looked at Lily with her scared face and her trembling body. "And you?" he asked.

Lily flinched. "I... I’m Lily. I’m just a waitress."

Shi Feng nodded and looked at the drunk man with his broken body and his bleeding head. "This man," he said. "Did he hurt you?"

Lily hesitated and looked at Daniel and then at Paul and then at Shi Feng. "Yes," she whispered. "He did."

Shi Feng’s expression darkened and he looked at the drunk man with eyes that were cold. "I’ll deal with him," he said. "He won’t bother you again."

Lily nodded with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face. "Thank you," she whispered.

Shi Feng looked at Daniel with his calm face and his confident posture and his curious eyes. "You said you want to join the guild," he said.

Daniel nodded. "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I need to get stronger. And your guild is the strongest."

Shi Feng nodded slowly. "It is."

"So I’m going to join. And I’m going to take the exam. And I’m going to pass."

Shi Feng raised an eyebrow. "You’re confident."

"I am."

"Many people fail the exam. Many people try for years and never get in."

Daniel shrugged. "I’m not many people."

Shi Feng laughed with genuine amusement. "I like you more and more."

He paused and looked at Daniel with curiosity in his eyes. "What’s your class?"

Daniel smiled. "Harem Overlord."

Shi Feng blinked. "Harem Overlord?"

"Yes."

"What’s that?"

"It’s a unique class. It allows me to bond with women. When I bond with them, I gain their class. Their skills. Their equipment. And my stats get multiplied."

Shi Feng stared at him with his mouth open. "Multiplied?"

"Yes. By ten."

Shi Feng was silent as he thought about it and processed it. "That’s... that’s incredible," he said.

"I know."

"And you want to use this class to gather strong women?"

"Yes."

"And then fight in a tournament?"

"Yes."

"And become a lord?"

"Yes."

Shi Feng was silent again and then he smiled—a wide, genuine smile that made his wrinkled face seem somehow younger. "That’s the most ambitious thing I’ve ever heard," he said. "And the most insane."

Daniel shrugged. "I’m both."

Shi Feng laughed. "I can see that."

Daniel looked at Shi Feng with curiosity in his eyes. "Shi Feng," he said.

Shi Feng looked at him. "Yes?"

"Your name. It sounds familiar."

Shi Feng raised an eyebrow. "Familiar?"

"Yes. Like that guy from ROTSSG."

Shi Feng blinked with confusion. "What?"

Daniel shook his head. "Never mind."