Reuben grimaced hard. Mitchell did not take the news well either. Kaze’s statement was directed at Reuben and likely at Mitchell as well. It appeared that Mitchell’s attack on Reuben did not appease Kaze. Before Mitchell said anything, Reuben jumped in and hissed through clenched teeth, “How do you propose we fix this?” His tone harbored resentment. Raising a brow, Kaze let out a faint smile before turning to Mitchell. He said in a flat tone, “Hear that, Assistant Governor Swan? Your nephew doesn’t seem to realize his mistake.“You should break his leg as you said you would. “He was disrespectful to me.“I expected ten million dollars for each slap he has done to my friend.“My friend’s face cannot be valued with money. Consider this as compensation for her medication.” Kaze was aware that Reuben was seething with rage. He bet that Reuben hated his guts. Reuben was born into privilege, not one to face adversity. A tiny punishment would not set him straight. Give
Reuben shuddered in fear by the never-before-seen terrifying look on Mitchell’s face. Mitchell cocked his head and took a deep breath before uttering gravely, “Thank you for being lenient, Mr. Lee, but can you do me another favor? “I wish to save Reuben’s leg, but we are happy to increase the compensation for Ms. Frost.“I’ll make sure to set the bastard straight too. I promise that he won’t show his face to you again.” Despite Kaze’s promise not to personally hurt Reuben which would lead to permanent injuries, it would take forever to bounce back. In a cutthroat environment like the Tiger’s Cave, Reuben would be out of the game if he took the time off. Though Reuben was not the top talent within the family, he was one of the best. Hence, Mitchell had to bail him out as best as he could. If there was no point in saving Reuben, Mitchell would have given up a long time ago. After intimidating his nephew, Mitchell turned his head back around to Kaze. “If you could be so k
As Kaze placed the phone against his ear, Mitchell felt a knot in his stomach. The assistant governor of the South River State lost composure and said frantically, “Don’t, Mr. Lee! Don’t make the phone call. I might have gotten the wrong idea.” Mitchell picked up on something. When Kaze addressed Neegan by his first name, Mitchell could assume that Kaze was trying to act like a tough man. However, Kaze claimed that he was going to get Neegan involved now. He seemed to be bossing Neegan around. Kaze was playing with fire by making such a huge claim even without Neegan present. Hence, Mitchell made a bold assumption. Kaze could possibly be associated with the lordship. Other than that, Mitchell simply could not figure out how Kaze could run the governor’s life. Given his age, Kaze did not seem like he had accomplished much in life. Yet, he gave orders to the governor like a superior would to a subordinate. Kaze even wanted to ask Neegan if he had got way ahead of
“Ahhhh!”Soon, Reuben’s agonized screams boomed from outside the ward. “I have broken Reuben’s leg, Mr. Lee.” Moments later, Mitchell opened the door, covered in sweat. It would take more than a blow for a regular person to fracture a bone. Mitchell attempted several times, together with the help of his strong driver, to get the job done. In other words, Reuben suffered quite a bit. Not concerned about Mitchell lying to him, Kaze nodded and said indifferently, “Ten million dollars a slap. I expect nothing less.” Seeing that Mitchell had been a good sport, Kaze did not increase the rate in return. It was a classic carrot-and-stick approach. Kaze made sure not to take things far. He was assertive enough to stop any act of retaliation while being taken seriously. Mitchell dragged his wailing nephew away, putting an end to the Tiger’s Cave incident for the time being. In the ward, Kaze cocked his head and asked Buffy, “What brings you here?”“I heard from a member tha
Darcy called to ask Kaze about the assassination this afternoon. The incident was no secret. The Viper’s Den and the Tiger’s Cave caught wind of the matter right away, and Darcy had the resources and connections to find out soon enough. Darcy sounded worried on the phone. Kaze and Darcy may not see eye to eye when it came to Buffy, but the feelings between them remained strong. Upon learning that Kaze was nearly killed, Darcy called him to make sure he was safe. “I’m fine, babe, and not a hair out of place.” Kaze said with a smile, “If you don’t believe me, you can head back to Riverbank now, and I’ll clean myself up, ready for your inspection.” “Get out of here!” Darcy whined while feeling assured. Since Kaze was in the mood for jokes, it was safe to assume that Kaze was unharmed. Not taking her response to heart, Kaze asked concernedly, “How is the progress of acquiring the shares coming along, babe?”“I won’t say that it’s smooth sailing.” The mention of the s
After the call, Kaze returned to the ward where Buffy and Snow were deep in conversation. “Uh. You’re getting along well.” Kaze made a strange look.Though he did not pick up on the tension between these two women, the hostility was given. It did not take long for Snow and Buffy to act chummy. “Can’t I hit it off with Snow?” Buffy rolled her eyes at Kaze. Reality sank in for Snow and Buffy. They were not enemies. There was no need for them to take shots at each other. Darcy was the biggest obstacle in their path anyway. Kaze nodded. “I’m happy that you get along well. You should keep in touch.” It was hard to guess what was going through women’s minds. Kaze would not bother to understand Snow and Buffy’s change of attitude when he came back from a phone call. Buffy asked peevishly, “Don’t you always talk for hours on the phone with your wife? Why did the call end so quickly?” “We had serious matters to talk about.” Kaze had no idea what he did to upset Buff
It was clear that Cyan was reluctant to invite Kaze to her family event. However, she could not talk Lock out of it anyway, so she gave in. Hence, Cyan saw Kaze as Snow’s plus-one. He was not worth her time to make another call. Soon, Kaze got a call from Lock. “My family is having a celebration, Kaze. Come over for dinner. I know you youngsters are keen to have a party elsewhere. I’ll get Cyan to give you a ride,” Lock said gleefully. Kaze could sense Lock’s delight on the phone. He knew why. Following Hannah’s rise within the organization, Jude’s people would be cleared out of the core operation. The partners who supported Jude would be replaced. Out of consideration of his bond with Lock, Kaze mentioned the Yemens to Hannah, and Hannah assigned several projects to the Yemens. The Yemens could expect profits in the tens of millions of dollars annually. The family hit the jackpot. They were moving up in Riverbank’s social hierarchy too.However, Lock’s family
The party was in the bar on the third floor of Bronze Sparrow. Kaze walked inside and noticed the customers. It appeared that Cyan did not reserve the entire space. She merely booked two private booths. The previous incidents had no effect on Bronze Sparrow as it was business as usual. The bar was a bustling hive of activity with loud DJ music, heads bobbing, and people partying. Snow furrowed her brows, not particularly enjoying the scene. Since she was already there, she figured that she should make the most out of it. Just as the song ended, the bar quieted down, and Cyan brought the group to a booth. A well-dressed group was seated in the booth. With Cyan approaching, they exchanged greetings. “Hey, everybody. This is my new friend, Snow Frost. She’s Mr. Tenby’s crush.” Cyan formally introduced Snow to the group and presented her influencer friends to everybody too. The group at the booth was Cyan’s friends before she became an influencer. Of course, the group
“Go, open another bottle of wine.” Jiro tapped Cyan’s face, causing her cheeks to turn pale. She turned to Draig with begging eyes. Draig said, “Brother Jiro, Cyan is my friend…” “Is she your woman?” Jiro interrupted him once more. Draig was taken aback by the question. He had an instinctive glance at Snow and shook his head. “No.” Jiro did not even look at him. He pointed at Cyan and said, “Go. Open a bottle of wine and wait for me. I like an obedient woman. I don’t like to be rough on a woman.” Cyan was horrified. She teared up as she reluctantly went off to get the bottle of wine. Jiro and the men behind him then hopped onto the couch, taking up the places that belonged to Wesley and his friends. They were ungentlemanly. The moment they sat down, they grabbed the pretty girls into their arms and molested them, treating them like mere playthings for pleasure. The ladies lost their smiles and looked horrified. They tried to break free but no matter how hard the
The arrogance that Draig brought back to Arcadia had finally been blunted. He nodded and said, “I’m Draig Tenby, the heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists from Uleania. You are?” The Tenby family was the creator of the well-known Tenby Eight Extreme Fists technique. His father practiced the set of fists since he was young and his grandfather was publicly known as the grandmaster of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. Whenever a Tenby had to reveal his or her background, they would naturally reveal that they practiced the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. In addition, the family and the technique were famous in Uleania and Arcadia. Once they revealed their background, even the fiercest enemy would be deterred. “The heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists? Pardon me for not recognizing you earlier.” Jiro stood straight up and put on a strict face. He bowed and said, “Jiro Sakamoto, Refined Blade Clan.” “Jiro Sakamoto?!” Many others recognized the name and were shocked when they heard
Jiro pointed at the corner, indicating that the men could kneel there. His men behind him laughed in agreement. They then started to scrutinize the women as if they were picking one for themselves. The way they browsed through the women as if they were products left the women feeling sick and disgusted. Cyan’s face paled. She tried to shake off Jiro’s hand but could not even break free. She turned to Draig with eyes begging for help. “Let go of her!” Draig stepped up and stared down at Jiro. Jiro glanced at Draig and then raised his brows. He curled his lips up and said, “Hmph. And here I thought I found someone that I like.” “I said, let go of her!” Draig said, stepping closer to Jiro. Jiro tightened his clutch over Cyan’s jaw, making her tear up. He chuckled and said, “Beat me and I’ll let her go.” “You bastard!” Draig cursed. Cyan did everything she could to set him up with Snow, but he had to return the favor. Even though Draig feared Jiro, he steeled himsel
Everyone on the couch gasped in shock. A moment ago, the influencers, who were giggling and chuckling, waiting for Wesley to show off his strength, instinctively shrank in fear. “How dare you beat Wesley! You guys are asking for it!” Wesley’s followers failed to realize the severity of the situation. They bolted up, grabbed the nearest beer bottles, and jumped at the enemies. Jiro raised his hand to signal his men, indicating he would handle this challenge himself. Then, he stepped forward. Punches and kicks were dished out in a flurry. In less than thirty seconds, Wesley’s men were all beaten up to the ground, twirling around in painful groans. Like Wesley, they, too, suffered broken arms and legs. Everyone thought Wesley would be able to teach the Ryokanians another lesson they could not forget but it turned out the other way around. Other than Kaze and a few more, most of them on the couch were horrified. Cyan instinctively glanced at Kaze. She started to regret
Kaze frowned. He tapped on Snow’s shoulder, gesturing to her to sit down as they could no longer walk away. Since they were not part of this, Kaze wanted to leave the matter to Wesley and let them deal with it. The men were not towering but all of them were buff and bulky. Their muscles were obvious even through their uniforms. Their necks had the same tattoo of a sword, amplifying their ferocity. One of the men's heads was bleeding. He was the Ryokanian whom Wesley had hit with a bottle of beer. Wesley wiped the beer and snacks off himself and then shouted at the men, “Who the fuck are you pieces of shit? Do you know who the hell am I? How dare you hit my friend with the bottle?!” The leader of the Ryokanians was a young man in a black karate uniform. He was around 180 cm tall, which was considered tall among Ryokanians. He had a buzz cut that amplified his stern and stoic expression; his presence felt sharp and strong. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand as he loo
Kaze turned a blind eye to those who looked down on him. He smiled it off and said, “I don’t care whatever you guys want to say. I know if I am a coward or not. I am just giving you a friendly reminder. “Or else, when shit hits the fan, I don’t think everyone can be safe. Whether you want to take my advice or not, it’s up to you. As for Cyan…” He looked at Cyan with a serious look and continued, “If you don’t want this gathering to be ruined, you can consider what I just said.” Although he knew Cyan disliked him and would never take his words seriously, for the sake of Lock, he gave a piece of advice and did what he could. “Hmph!” Cyan scoffed. She remained seated with the glass of wine in her hand, looking at Kaze condescendingly. With a disappointed look, she said, “Don’t even talk to me. Since when were we that close? Wesley said what needed to be said. You are afraid of the Ryokanians, so be it. Don’t drag us down with you. You really think everyone is as cowardly as yo
No one knew what Wesley had gone through. Even Kaze felt that the useless coward was surprisingly brave. Therefore, he spoke up to give a piece of friendly advice, “Wesley, the Ryokanian wore the uniform of the Refined Blade and there’s an apprentice badge on him. I think he has some background. “If everyone wants to have a fun and peaceful night, you should consider changing the venue, or else trouble will come knocking.” Kaze thrashed Bronze Sparrow himself, so he knew the Ryokanians’ status in the establishment. When Zoro was still in charge of the place, the Ryokanians were basically the kings. Other than teasing the ladies, they could bring back whoever they were fond of and Bronze Sparrow could not do anything about it. After Miru took over, the Ryokanians no longer possessed the privilege. However, since Miru wanted to expand her business in Riverbank, she did not make enemies with the Ryokanians, so they were still welcome in the establishment. As long as they
Kaze’s words changed the expression of everyone around him. The influencers were left speechless. Kaze practically called them gold diggers! Yet he himself was a live-in husband and son-in-law! He had no right to call them gold diggers! Draig’s expression darkened. He did not expect Kaze to lecture him in front of the women. More importantly, Kaze sounded right and reasonable, leaving him with no words to argue back. No women at the scene would argue against Kaze’s words, or else they would practically admit that they were gold diggers. What was more unacceptable were the words that came from Kaze’s mouth, someone Draig looked down upon. If they were from someone with a similar status, he would still accept it. Yet Kaze was just a live-in useless piece of trash that all men despised! He was not even worthy to be a slave, let alone lecturing Draig in public! Draig felt insulted. “That’s enough, Kaze!” Right before Draig could lash out at Kaze, Cyan stepped up a
Yet Kaze simply sat down without having any knowledge of his status and position. More importantly, everyone else realized something was wrong. Cyan and the others stared at him coldly, silently wishing he would be self-aware enough to move away. Kaze, however, sat like a rock and ignored the gazes on him. He even picked up a piece of melon and started eating. Draig’s expression darkened. Wesley noticed the change of expression on Draig’s face and he, too, was agitated. Even he dared not have ill thoughts about Snow, a woman with exquisite beauty, yet Kaze, a live-in husband, showed no boundaries. “Slam!” Wesley slammed the table and bolted up. He pointed at Kaze and bellowed coldly, “Kaze Lee, Draig allowed you to stay but can’t you read the room? “This isn’t a place for you! You are just a bodyguard! Don’t you know Draig is into Snow? They are the main highlights for tonight! A piece of useless pie like you should get the hell away! Get it?!” The influencers who wer