At this point, Bob knew there was no turning back. Looking at Duncan’s miserable state, the others at the scene were also horrified. The son of one of the big four gangster bosses in Riverbank was tortured and beaten up like a ragdoll. No one would believe it if not seeing it with their own eyes. Kaze was ruthless. One call for one arm. He kept his words. He was the embodiment of ruthlessness. Compared to Kaze, Duncan’s ferocity and loud words felt like a child throwing a tantrum. “How long before Everett Techman is here?” Kaze asked Bob without looking at him. A quick thought later, Bob said, “I heard Everett has been training at Mt. Seven Stars for years now. I think it will take him at least half an hour to reach here.” “Then I’ll wait for him here.” Kaze then turned to Sasha. “Go change your clothes. I’ll perform the acupuncture treatment for you today. “Also, Dr. Wright, please guide me through the process. I’m not skilled in this after all.” He took up t
Phew! Kaze put the needles away and then buttoned Sasha’s gown. He then said, “Sasha, lie down and rest for a while. You can change later.” “Alright. Thank you so much, Kaze.” Sasha nodded obediently, turning her face slightly to the side to express her gratitude. It pained her to see the paleness on Kaze’s face. Kaze was undeniably powerful, yet even he appeared pale and drenched in sweat after performing just one session of the Ghastly Thirteen Needles. One could only imagine how exhausting it must have been for June after performing the treatment on Sasha for three days straight. Like Kaze, June had been practicing traditional martial arts since her youth, which gave her stronger internal energy and the endurance to continue for three days straight. “Kaze, are you alright?” Sasha’s eyes teared up. She felt bad looking at the exhausted Kaze. “It’s all my fault that you have to go through this.” “You just get some rest. I’ll be better after a quick rest.” Kaze patt
“Who did it?” Everett asked without looking at the employees, his brows furrowed. He was able to contain his emotions, showing no expression on his face. Even his tone was calm and lacked emotions. Kaze heard his question and it raised his brows. Even he had to admit that the so-called one of the big four gangster bosses must have trained himself well to achieve such a level of composure and steadiness. “Bang!” An employee of Herbal Spring was tossed into the lobby from outside. His face was bruised and swollen, supposedly from a beating. The employee was tossed inside by a middle-aged man, who obviously worked for Everett. He approached Everett and bowed respectfully. “Boss, we've got the details. When Duncan called you, his arm was broken by a guy named Bob, another gangster from the Aries District. The one who ordered him to do it is Kaze Lee, a young man whose background we’re still investigating.” The guy’s name was Rodney, Everett’s right-hand man. He continued, “
“Interesting. Riverbank’s underworld has been peaceful for a long time. There isn’t any challenging new blood for a while,” Everett muttered, his face still expressionless. Rodney asked, “Boss, what should we do with Kaze Lee?” “I don’t care what he can do, or how powerful he is. He hurt my son and in Riverbank, that is not allowed,” Everett said with his hands behind his back. He had reigned over the underworld for decades. No matter how volatile the situation was or how dangerous it became, he was able to stand firm in the face of the storm. Such was exactly the trait required to be a boss of a gangster organization, something Bob did not possess. Bob was incomparable to Everett as he was just a slightly more influential thug. Everett had seen people who could cause trouble and young men who were capable, but they were like fleeting fireworks, shining bright but fading fast. It was difficult for people like them to root themselves in Riverbank’s underworld. Riverbank wa
“I admit it. I made Duncan call you because I hope you would be a reasonable person. After all, you and I have no beef or any bad history. Even when Blackie, your best man, was crippled last night, he got it upon himself, not my fault. “That is why I hope to solve this in a peaceful way.” Listening to Kaze’s intention of showing goodwill and approaching the matter peacefully, Holfman nodded his head with approval. It seemed like Kaze did not want to push the matter to the point of no return. Solving it in a peaceful way would be ideal. However, Rodney scoffed, assuming Kaze was amusing, and giving an excuse. He should either be fierce all the way or not cause any problems from the start. Now, he chose a softer approach yet wanted to make himself look magnanimous. What a joke. Moreover, he was trying to play tricks in front of Everett, a notorious gangster boss, which made things even more amusing. “Sounds reasonable.” Everett nodded but then his expression darkene
Everett started to act like a gangster boss, fierce and unreasonable. He ought to crush Kaze’s confidence and arrogance today no matter what, or else his training days would be disrupted. As one of the big four gangster bosses, there were many ambitious young ones after his position, hoping to drag him down and replace him. They were like Kaze, arrogant and young, hoping to reach the top by taking him out. Over the years, many young men have tried the same, like people thrashing the gym he operated or him challenging others. Therefore, whether Kaze was after him or both incidents with his son and Blackie were purely coincidental, he did not care. Since Kaze had decided to stand in his way and break his son’s arms, then no matter the reason, he would certainly crush Kaze. Kaze scoffed. “So you are not trying to reason and want to resolve this with physical means?” “You can say so.” Everett continued coldly, “I only reason with people who rival me in terms of power. If
The air went still. Everyone in Herbal Spring was shocked by the scene. They felt chills down their spines, but at the same time in awe at what Kaze had just done. Even with Everett and his men around, Kaze still had the courage to slap Duncan in the face. He must think that the highway to hell was not fast enough. Everett’s expression darkened. His gaze at Kaze was sharp but at the same flabbergasted. To him, anyone with a sane mind would submit and de-escalate the matter while dealing with one of the big four gangster bosses in Riverbank and the most experienced one. Given his connections and reputation in Riverbank, plus his men who were ready to die for him, crushing Kaze was just a piece of cake. Even if Kaze’s wife was the branch head of the Ridgesouth Quints, nothing would change. They were in Riverbank of the South River State, and the family with the most influence and control was the Fowlers of Westeros. As for the Ridgesouth Quints, if Everett was facing
Bob called Miru. When Kaze performed the treatment for Sasha, he went out to make the call. Bob knew it was not easy to deal with someone like Everett. The man was able to reign for decades in Riverbank and it already started a lot of problems. Kaze himself was not Mr. Nice Guy either. Either one of them would fall should they clash, so those who were caught in the crossfire would suffer. Therefore, he called Miru, hoping that her influence could calm both of them down. When the people heard it was Miru who came, they all looked at her curiously. The people were curious about the woman who came to Riverbank with an attitude and made a name for herself through ruthless means. It was not that she did not live up to her reputation, but their image of her was completely different from what they saw. Her looks, body, and demeanor were out of this world, unlike the typical image of a kingpin. “Kaze, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Miru, leading Wolf, Sven, and her men
“I understand.” Aloysius stayed after receiving his order. “What else?” Aloysius’ presence suggested that there was something important to discuss, but judging by his hesitant expression, it was nothing but trouble. “We lost a few more projects again. These projects are supposed to be backups for us to make a comeback later but they were acquired by someone else.” Aloysius stepped back after giving his report, lowered his head, and waited for Jet’s wrath to befall him. “Hmmm. It’s not your fault.” Jet initially wanted to lash out at Aloysius but after a quick thought, he quietly put down his glass. He knew it was not Aloysius' fault. It was his problem to have unknowingly offended someone powerful, thus resulting in all the malice against him. “I told you to make an appointment with Master Cold. Did you get it?” Jet wanted to meet Master Cold during the birthday party but it did not happen. His father was old friends with Master Cold and they had been business par
Leah would never let her mother know about her suspicion of Kaze’s identity. The thoughts gave her a headache. She took a deep breath and submerged herself in the bathtub. While holding her breath underwater, she lay flat and relaxed in silence, enjoying her alone time. Just as she was about to lose her breath, she rose from the water and gasped violently, washing away the cloudy thoughts in her mind. After Leah’s party was ruined, she was grounded by her mother. Katie was a woman of her word. Since the birthday party was over, Leah was not needed for any other social events. Katie became the laughingstock because of what happened and she still felt embarrassed about it. However, due to her status, no matter what people thought of her, no one dared to make it verbal or mention it in front of her. The birthday party might be ruined but it did not cause too much trouble. Katie managed to shut down a certain news channel from spreading the incident, preventing it from
Leah was still too naive. She knew her mother but not thoroughly enough. Katie regretted not helping her daughter but it was already in the past and her self-blaming for not being a good mother would not help her future. Therefore, she habitually shifted the blame onto someone else. Perry was the one who caused it and it was all because her daughter did not handle her relationship properly. “Perry is hospitalized now. Let’s just put an end to this. We shouldn’t go to them; that’s just asking for more trouble. We’ll wait and see how the Duncan family reacts.” Katie knew she had the power to do certain things but once she did, it would affect her status. She really wanted to do her daughter justice but as the CEO of Northborn Group, there was too much at stake and she could not be driven by emotions. “I never expected you to avenge me,” Leah said coldly. She already expected her mother not to do anything, but when she heard it from her mother’s mouth, disappointment consume
“I told you before but you didn’t take me seriously.” Leah was exhausted by her mother’s negligence. No matter how much she tried to explain, her mother refused to listen to her. To her mother, she was nothing but an ignorant little girl. She did not see the need to explain herself anymore. “How dare you talk back? Was I wrong about what I said? Had you talked to him properly, how could the breakup be so bad? “Besides, it was Perry who made a mistake first. You can use it as a reason to break up with him. You failed to do it and it resulted in this mess. Now the entire Butterworth is laughing at us! I’m embarrassed in front of everyone!” She could not tolerate the embarrassment and the failure, thus her uncontrolled anger. If Leah was not her daughter, she would have kicked the girl out. Leah was deeply aggrieved but no longer wanted to speak. She stood quietly and listened to her mother’s scolding. Her dress already made her uncomfortable physically and after a ful
The other girls were displeased but since the news was useful to them, they held back their tongue. “Pay more attention to the latest news. If you pick a man with a huge debt, you are basically marrying a poor man.” “Yeah. Molly is right.” “You guys are just gossiping. I think Leah’s incident is quite interesting. Someone must be helping her in the shadows.” “Just you guys wait. There’s more to come.” Molly chuckled mysteriously as she picked up her cup of coffee for a sip. The so-called gathering was a meeting for the young ladies to exchange information. Since the mansion's residential area was vast, even after being dropped off at the entrance, Leah still had to walk for an hour to reach her house. Kaze thought it was a few minutes’ walk but it turned out much longer than expected. Leah was not that stupid to walk home in heels. She sat down beside the security check and waited for her driver to pick her up. When the car arrived, she got in without saying anythin
People who knew about the incident took it as a show, wondering what would happen to Perry. Later, they found out that Perry was admitted to the hospital the same day. One of his arms was broken. Most of the families in Butterworth had highly sophisticated intelligence networks, keeping them up to date on the latest happenings in the city. A few socialites—young ladies who had attended the party and witnessed everything firsthand—gathered for tea and discussed it. “Perry was destroyed by Katie Loren!” “I didn’t know what happened but when I left, Perry was like an asshole, shouting and being arrogant. He and his men thrashed the place. We got so afraid that we quickly ran.” Yelena was one of the girls who had attended the party. Her tone clearly carried a hint of gloating over what had happened. Leah had been the center of attention lately because of her birthday party. Almost every family in Butterworth was invited because Katie wanted to elevate her daughter's status,
Leah was grateful for Kaze bringing her to the restaurant to have a simple birthday celebration. It was something she had never experienced before. She liked the serenity and tranquility of such life. Yet no matter how much she enjoyed it, everything would come to an end. When she finished her meal, she would have to go back. She knew her mother would question her about what happened today once she reached home. “Let me send you back.” Kaze picked up his jacket as he offered to send Leah back. Leah nodded and followed him out. When they came out from the alley which was the entrance to the restaurant, they saw the black Maybach at the side of the road. Peter came down immediately and opened the door. Leah reluctantly went over, seemingly unwilling to go in. “What’s wrong? Is there something else?” Kaze asked warmly, wondering what happened to the girl. “Will I get punished and scolded if I go back just like this?” The girl was scared to go back due to the impuls
“Silly girl, there’s no need for teary eyes. It’s just a cake. If you like it, I can bake for you and have them delivered to you every day,” Kaze said. He found it amusing that the girl was moved. “You don’t know, but it’s okay. Thank you.” Leah happily took the cake. Kaze put a candle on it and lit it. “Make a wish, Princess,” Kaze teased as he spoke, but he truly wanted the girl to be happy. “Thank you. I never thought I would spend my birthday here. There are no fancy stages and everything, but I like it.” Leah always preferred a simple and quiet birthday. Having dinner with her family and blowing out candles on a birthday cake were a luxury to her before this. To be honest, she did not want to spend too much time thinking about her birthday but what happened caught her off guard. “Make a wish,” Kaze added softly. Leah put her hands together, made a wish and blew the candle. She did not know if her wish would come true, so she did not want to say it out loud. “
“It’s okay. I have time.” Leah did not want to go back and knew what her mother would say to her, so she wanted to stay out for as long as possible. “Alright. Then I’ll get on with it.” Master Fuller then started to prepare the ingredients. His hands were moving non-stop. Kaze enjoyed his beer and appetizer quietly. The entire room was quiet except for the cooking noises. Leah watched Master Fuller cook. She enjoyed it as if she was watching a show with a charming performer. Master Fuller was just cooking but the girl was deeply captivated. When the dish was prepared and placed in front of her, she anticipated the taste even more, wondering if it was better than she had expected. “This looks great. I had never seen a dish being prepared in such a complicated way.” Leah watched from cleaning the ingredients to cutting it, blanching it, and then frying it. The process was so complicated that she could barely keep up. Due to that, she believed the dish would match he