I Rely on Drawing Cards to Set Up a Persona

Chapter 9: Coming The Day After Tomorrow

In order to think of a way to make money, Qiao Xingnan held out until midnight.
His eyelids fought up and down, but he still had no clue, so he just crawled into bed and went to sleep.
When he woke up the next day, he continued to think about yesterday’s problems.

In his previous life, when Qiao Xingnan had not yet made a name for himself, there was no way to support himself by writing scripts, so he did some part-time work.

No matter where you are, living itself is difficult.

This was even more so when trying to make money in this unfamiliar era.

Qiao Xingnan recalled the experience of the original body.

The original body originally lived in a remote town on the border between Arilance and other empires.
It belonged to no man’s land, where good and bad people were mixed, and no one knew anyone.

Before his sister and brother disappeared, the original body relied on doing hard labor for others, earning a few silver coins daily to sustain their lives.

Later, his younger siblings disappeared, and the original body wandered around.
Only every year on the month of his siblings’ disappearance would he return to the town.
The rest of the time, he had no fixed place to live, and his daily source of income was even more uncertain.

Later, the town was swept away by the war and turned into ruins.
The original body completely became a wandering refugee.

Qiao Xingnan frowned and continued to recall.
He needed to find business opportunities to make money.
However, perhaps because the memories of the original body were too painful and depressing, the back of Qiao Xingnan’s head began to throb and ache.

“Master.” Zero sat on the cushion and looked worriedly at Qiao Xingnan.
His stiff fingers moved as he wanted to walk to Qiao Xingnan’s side, but he couldn’t control his body.

Qiao Xingnan didn’t answer and only closed his eyes.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and smiled reassuringly at Zero: “It’s okay, Zero.”

There was still some pain coming from the back of his head.
If he continued to forcefully recall the details of the past, it would be a bit too much for him.

It would be nice to get out of the manor and have a look.

Qiao Xingnan stood up, and through the window, he could still see two knights standing guard outside the door.
A flash of inspiration came to his mind.
After a moment of silence, he moved his finger, and the bracelet inlaid with rubies waved slightly.
Then, he smiled and said, “Zero, let’s go.”

The brown-haired knight Joel and his colleague Herrick were having a chat at the moment.
It would be fine if it was a patrol post, but this kind of work that requires watching people was really boring, standing just like a wooden stake.

“Joel, did you hear Neil got kicked out of the manor?” Herrick squinted with some gloating: “Today, all those guys who looked at people arrogantly also went to special training, what good news.”

They were from the same noble background, but no one knew where the confidence of the knights from Utia came from.
They thought they were more noble than the ones who signed up and passed the training test to become knights of the manor.

Herrick has long been sick of seeing those guys with their noses in the air.
Even his chief, Ilir, was not as arrogant as they were.

Joel agreed.
That guy Neil was said to have many lovers outside, I don’t know how many of them can help him.
Just as he was about to share the joke, the door behind him suddenly ‘clicked’.

Joel instantly shut his mouth and turned to look at the person who opened the door.
Because of what happened yesterday, he and Herrick were still looking at him with some scruples at this moment.

A man wearing a white gold-patterned robe slowly stepped out of the door.
His golden eyes swept over the two men with a hint of displeasure on his face, “Where is your steward?”

“The steward should be in the archives at this hour.”

Joel looked at the other party’s suppressed angry face and answered in a somewhat lower voice.

Qiao Xingnan got the answer and took two steps outside.
Then, he looked back at the knight on duty with some coldness in his tone, “Lead the way.”

The white-robed man also followed behind the other, acting as a protector.

The two men were rather unfriendly, and Joel and Herrick felt a lingering feeling in their hearts.
They looked at each other before Joel took the lead and said, “Please follow me.”

What the hell was up with these two? They were not suddenly going to fight with our manor, were they?

Joel and Herrick walked with one in front and the other behind, sandwiching the two between them.
Their hands were on top of the hilt of their swords at their waists, afraid that if they fought later, it would be too late to pull out their swords.

The black-haired and the white-robed men did not say anything and remained quiet.
In this odd atmosphere, the wooded path seemed extraordinarily long.

Finally, they arrived.

Joel looked at the triangular-roofed building not far away and sighed with relief.
He turned his head and told the two men to wait before running to the archives room and knocking on the door himself.

Outside the wooden door stood a knight on guard who saw Joel coming and cautioned softly, “Chief Ilir is also inside.”

Implying that Joel should pay attention and not make the chief, who was in a bad mood, angry.

Once Joel heard that, he was instantly relieved that the chief was there.

He suppressed his inner excitement and knocked on the door.

Beyond the door, the steward was discussing with Ilir how he should be on duty for the next two days, how the emperor’s side should be settled with hundreds of personal guards, and……

“The emperor said that the man should be monitored.” The steward’s face was serious as he took out the envelope from the drawer in the table and, at the same time, handed Ilir another piece of information from the investigation.

“The man who investigated came back.
The black-haired man once appeared in the edge city of Arilance, then went somewhere, and now actually wandered here to Utia.”

Ilir frowned, took the paper from the steward, and looked at it carefully.

“They found out that the other seemed to have been looking for someone and was headed in the direction of the border between Arilance and the others when he disappeared.”

“At that time, he was not followed by this white-robed man.”

The sound of turning pages came as Ilir finished reading the last bit of content.
His hand pressed the paper hard on the table, and his brown-black pupils flashed a stern look, “Could it be Biala?”

Biala has been restless in recent years and seemed eager to fight with Arilance again.

“Other countries are possible.”

The steward did not know which country was wicked and got crooks to make trouble in Arilance.
No matter what the truth was, they could not decide whether the other party would live or die now and could only wait for the emperor’s return for a decision.

“Of course, there is a possibility that the other party is a real emperor, but it is still a mystery why he disappeared from the border of Arilance and suddenly appeared here again.”

Ilir nodded, “No matter what, I will strengthen the defense in the next few days.”

Thinking of the mysterious and unpredictable white-robed man beside Qiao Xingnan, Ilir felt uneasy about how the other’s details were unknown.
Could the knights in the manor really stop that powerful man?

A thought flashed in his mind, and Ilir was just about to open his mouth to tell the steward when there was a sudden knock on the wooden door.

Ilir’s face darkened, and he closed his mouth.
He turned and walked over, and opened the door.
If the person knocking didn’t have anything important to say, they would attend special training!

“Sir, that Excellency and the white-robed man would like to see the steward.” Joel looked at the dark face of the chief, swallowed, and added: “The other side looks angry.”

Ilir frowned at his words, “Wait, I’ll go with the steward.”

Qiao Xingnan did not stand stupidly waiting for the other party in place as that would not have an emperor’s style.
Instead, he brought Zero and Herrick to find a white stone pavilion to rest.

Of course, only Qiao Xingnan was sitting, and the white-robed man stood at his side to guard him.

On the other hand, Herrick stiffly distanced himself from the two men.
Herrick always felt creeped out by these two mysterious beings.
He kept thinking of Joel in his mind, hoping he would come back soon.

Qiao Xingnan did not know Herrick’s thoughts.
He looked around at the flower racks filled with delicate flowers, and his eyebrows slightly relaxed.

‘Zero, do you want to take a look outside?’

The shadows under the wide hood blocked Zero’s face, and his expression was stiff, but his puzzlement was faintly visible.

‘Follow master, go.’ Zero replied earnestly.
As long as he followed his master, he could go anywhere.

The smile on Qiao Xingnan’s face deepened as he softly told Zero in his head about his plans for this script, the purpose of which was to go out and make money without any problems.

‘The economic base determines the superstructure.
Today, our arrangement is to go out and shop around, understand what is popular in this era, what is needed, and make plans for making money.’

‘Only when we earn money do we have the capital to survive from the tyrant…’

‘The plan to have good relations with Ilir cannot be interrupted either, but there may not be much chance today.’

Qiao Xingnan planned in his mind.
Then, his eyes fell on Zero’s confused and clueless face under the hood.
He paused shortly and said no more.

Zero was still confused.
It was enough to just know these things now.
After the upgrade, it may be easier for Zero to understand the script.

At this moment, three figures came out of the wooden door not far away.
In addition to Joel and the steward, Ilir was also mixed in.

Qiao Xingnan watched the three get closer and closer to him.
Finally, he stood up and silently brewed his emotions in his heart.

“I don’t know what they’re up to.”

The steward muttered to himself.
Ever since that one came, the manor has not been peaceful for a single day.

All of the man’s actions were unpredictable.

The three of them walked quickly toward the stone pavilion.

The sunlight dipped into the stone pavilion.
The black-haired man sat by a flower stand, his white fingers brushing the petals, and his delicate, handsome face was expressionless.
The sunlight hit his body, making his skin appear white as if it were shining, and a white robe with gold patterns that flowed made him look even more noble and gorgeous.

It must be said that this man is really good-looking.
At least in the eyes of the three who have seen countless beautiful people, he was at the top of the list.
And what made most people unable to look away was his noble temperament which was different from that of ordinary people.

The three of them could not help but feel a little shaken.

But all together, they were awakened by the man’s cold gaze.

“Your emperor has kept me waiting for too long.”

Qiao Xingnan lowered his eyes, and his low voice carried an immensely suppressed anger.

“No one has ever made me wait for such a long time, and it makes me wonder if your emperor is worth waiting for any longer.”

The white-robed man stood by his side in silence, his body tensed as if he was suppressing his anger.
There was a cold intent all over his body as if all he needed was a command from the man, and he would tear this group of them apart.

Of course, this was only the imagination of the steward’s group.
In fact, Zero just followed Qiao Xingnan’s instructions and stood straight next to him.

The steward didn’t know what this man really meant for a moment and only had to say soothingly, “Our emperor is on his way and will arrive later.”

The man laughed lightly, somewhat mockingly inexplicably: “I have been in this manor for five days, and I have yet to see your so-called emperor.
This is an insult to my pride.”

The original body stayed in this manor for two days, while he crossed for three days, which adds up to five days.

The steward vaguely sensed the other party’s intention.
Could it be that he wanted to run away?

This was not possible.
Before the emperor’s arrival, this person must not be allowed to escape.

He deliberated for a moment, ready to block the other party’s idea of running away: “Your Excellency, our emperor will come to the manor the day after tomorrow.
Please be patient.
If you feel bored at the manor, we are willing to introduce you to some of the small towns nearby.”

“After all, you left your country to come here.
It would be a pity not to see the customs of our country and the people who are proud of it.”

When the man heard this, he frowned, his eyelashes slightly drooping and his white fingertips gently stroking the petals before him as if he was deliberating the steward’s proposal.

In fact, the steward’s words were right on target, and Qiao Xingnan should have been happy.
However, his mind was now filled with what the steward’s words revealed.

The tyrant was coming over the day after tomorrow!!! How can it be so soon? Qiao Xingnan withdrew his slightly trembling hand and forced himself to hold on to his appearance lest they notice something wrong.

Seeing this, the steward thought that Qiao Xingnan was still reluctant and hurriedly added: “The chief knight of our manor will act as your guide and help you solve your problems.
At the same time, all your needs can be brought up to him.”

Ilir looked at the steward, and he understood what he meant.
The white-robed man was unknown but extremely powerful and needed to be watched over by him.

“At your service, Your Excellency.” Ilir bowed toward the other party.

Seeing the good attitude of the two men, the dark-haired man’s face gradually looked better as he nodded reluctantly and confirmed again, “Is your emperor sure to come the day after tomorrow?”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

It was only after receiving an affirmative answer that Qiao Xingnan nodded his head haughtily, “Very well.” At the same time, he dropped a sentence, “I would like to take time to see your so-called small town this afternoon.”

The man’s white robe cut through the air, and he left without looking back.

Looking at the other party’s back, the steward was a little tired: “Finally got him to stay.”

Finally, they could go out.

Qiao Xingnan was glad but flustered.
According to the original plan, the tyrant would not arrive for another six or seven days, but he did not expect it to be so soon.

This completely disrupted his plan to slowly change the impression of the people in the manor.