Juan was displeased by Draig’s pretentious manner. All his disciples clenched their fists and teeth, infuriated by Draig’s arrogant words, hoping that they could teach him a lesson. Draig might be physically powerful but they, too, were trained martial artists and they had the advantage of numbers. They were not afraid of him. One word from their master and they would all jump on Draig to rip him apart. Looking at how “responsible” Draig was, stepping up to deal with the matter, Cyan somehow felt bad for him. She looked at Kaze once more, who wore a nonchalant look as if he was not part of the situation. Her eyes at him filled with anger and contempt. She stepped up and humbly said, “Master Juan, I saw what happened. I think I should speak up for Draig. “It’s not Draig, it’s Kaze. The security guards and your disciples, it was all Kaze! Draig claimed that he did it because he was trying to protect me and Snow, but I believe Master Juan is a fair and just person. You shoul
“Ugh!” The searing pain on Draig’s back felt like a bolt of lightning coursing through his body. It felt as if bones had shattered. He fell onto the ground with a heavy thud. Huh? The crowd was astonished. No one expected Juan to hit Draig. To their surprise, as the son of the grandmaster of Uleania, Draig could not even last one hit from Juan. He collapsed to the ground and could not get up. A single thought appeared in everyone’s mind while looking at him—weak! He was ridiculously weak, to the point that he could not even take one hit! “W-What? How did this happen?” Cyan looked at Draig on the ground with widened eyes filled with disbelief. She felt like her beliefs were crumbling. A moment ago, Draig bragged that he could take responsibility for everything, yet he was struck down by Juan with just one hit. He did not even stand a chance! Reality made his words sound like a joke. “Master Juan, what is the meaning of this?” Draig recovered his composure and
“I just found out that my useless nephew and the security guards have been abusing their power, taking advantage of the worshippers here. “But they hid it from me well as I got caught up with my busy work. It’s my fault for not managing Emerald Bull Palace well enough, that’s why this happened. “Given how they conduct things, even if they were not beaten up today, they will be beaten up tomorrow. Worse, if they continue, they will be killed one day. “As the owner of Emerald Bull Palace, I should be expressing my gratitude and not taking revenge.” Right after he gave a righteous speech in front of everyone, Juan bowed at Kaze and then stared at his nephew and his disciples. “Get over here!” “Uncle!” “Master!” The nephew and the other monks came over immediately. Juan bellowed, “Kneel to the person who beat you up.” “Uncle, why…” The nephew widened his eyes in disbelief, unable to accept the order. He was ready to admit his mistake but kneeling before Kaze was out
After a round of applause, the worshippers scattered away. Draig got up from the ground and scoffed. “So this is all a show? Juan came up with this act to dissolve the matter but you’ve practically let Kaze off this time. “Kaze Lee, you should thank Juan for this because he wants to protect the reputation and image of Emerald Bull Palace, or else you will end up terribly…” Before he could finish, Juan slapped him in the face with his whisk. “Smack!” The smack pushed him a few steps back before he fell onto the ground once more. Draig held his face and saw blood on his palm. Infuriated, he shouted, “What is the meaning of this, Juan Kawasky?! Are you trying to start a war with the Tenby family from Uleania? If so, just give me the word!” Cyan was also shocked by Juan’s action. Why did Juan treat Draig this harshly and protect Kaze? Kaze was the one who beat the monks and the security guards, yet Juan did not even hold him responsible. Was it because Kaze remained quiet
Kaze was Juan’s master?! A few words from Kaze and Juan’s heirloom, The Oracle, was completed? His future generations would worship Kaze as their benefactor?! …The news struck Cyan and Draig like a bolt of lightning, leaving them speechless. Juan intervened and dealt with the Ryokanians, not because of Draig, but because of Kaze! Kaze beat up the security guards and the monks because he was in the position to teach them a lesson, not bragging. The only boastful person around was Draig. It was difficult for the two of them to digest the news. They were stunned and unable to recover their composure for quite some time. Juan ignored the two of them and went up to Kaze with a respectful smile. “Master, it’s not often that you visit Emerald Bull Palace. Why don’t you stay for a bit and have a taste of our famous vegetarian meal? Ms. Frost is also welcome.” “I’ll pass on the meal. I have something else to take care of.” Kaze dismissed Juan with a wave of his hand and th
“The number you have dialed is not available.” On the way back, Kaze made multiple calls to Darcy, but she did not pick up. She was obviously mad at him. “Mr. Lee, what’s the matter?” Snow asked out of concern after seeing the bitterness in his expression. Kaze did not want Snow to feel bad or guilty. “It’s nothing. You should take some rest. I might have forced the poison out of your body, but it’s still hurtful to the body. I’ll take you to Herbal Spring and let Dr. Wright’s disciple check on you.” The only thing he could do now was text Darcy, hoping to explain the situation. He then called Miru. “Kaze Lee, how dare you call me now?!” Miru’s upset voice came through the phone, but she was not exactly furious. “What’s the situation at Bronze Sparrow?” Kaze asked. “A hitman infiltrated the place. Lost a few of my men, many of them injured, and he managed to take that woman away. He even said that he will go after your life next time. “Kaze, you are really a wal
“You are really a trouble magnet,” Miru mocked Kaze. A quick sigh later, she added, “But you are right. That man is really a problem. One of his feet is in the grave already and he’s still causing problems. He thinks everyone should respect and obey him. I’ve had it with his attitude a long time ago. “But I can’t make a move on him yet. I just got news that he actually saved some big shot’s life from West State Viper’s Den, and because of that, he got strong support.” When Miru first arrived at Riverbank, she hardly saw any progress. It was after Kaze helped her acquire Bronze Sparrow that her conquest of the underworld accelerated.Now, she had become one of the most influential and powerful kingpins in the underworld of Riverbank, rivaling the big four. Her next target would obviously be the big four kingpins. Everett Techman was a suitable target for a start, but he stepped down when things went south, using Aiden’s situation to make peace with Kaze and stop going after
After spending some time with Sasha, Kaze had already treated her like a little sister. He felt bad when he heard her painful groans. After getting permission, he went inside the room. Sasha lay face down on the bed, her bare back exposed. Seven petals of the Nine Phantom Lotus glowed faintly on her skin. Her hair was drenched in sweat, clinging to her face. Her exposed cheek was slick with moisture, deathly pale, revealing agonizing pain. Her back was also covered with thin silver needles of different lengths, almost a dozen of them. As she shuddered due to the pain, the needles flickered with a chilling gleam. Kaze knew at first glance that the needles were an enhanced version of the Ghastly Thirteen Needles. Other than Kaze, June was the only one in Herbal Spring who could perform the technique, not even Dr. Wright, deemed one of the greatest doctors in West State, could do it. Dr. Wright was a medicine specialist, not acupuncture. June was performing the treatment o
With the secret out in the open, the housekeeper dropped his attitude. He pointed at the basement not too far away. “My employer is in there.” The housekeeper grimaced and kept his head down. Kaze laughed. Unaware of his impending doom, Perry was still living it up. It was absurd. Perry was playing with fire by hurting Leah. “About time you wise up.” Arthur smiled and patted the housekeeper’s face. He opened the door to the basement. Kaze walked to the bar counter and picked up the best bottle of champagne there. He fiddled with the bottle before carrying it to the basement. The other Viper’s Den members followed him. Kaze took a stride down the steps, to the basement. The noisy music was blasting before they reached the entry. Kaze was filled with a mix of emotions. Nevertheless, he said nothing. He opened the door and walked in. The light in the basement was bright, making everything perfectly clear. However, the people inside were not bothered by the
“You know him. It’s Perry Duncan, Leah’s ex-boyfriend.” Snow did not see the point of hiding the truth, so she laid everything out. “Leah must be feeling foul because she was unaware that she was being stalked. By the time she realized what was going on, she was taken into a vehicle. “We spotted the vehicle they departed in from the surveillance footage. They headed to the mountain up north.” Snow had a general idea of the location. “I got Arthur on the job. He’s putting up a team from the Viper’s Den.” Snow was uncertain of Kaze’s stance toward Leah, but now that she was made aware of the situation, the least she could do was help. Katie belonged to the Viper’s Den, so Snow was lending a hand to a friend in business. “Thank you. Please save my daughter.” Katie was nervous. The Viper’s Den was the people she could count on. “Arthur is good, but he’s slow. I’ll do it,” Kaze said. The whole thing was unrelated to him. Kaze was well within his right to stand on the si
Even so, Elsie was out to get Leah. Elsie could pick up on Perry’s delight when she took a swing at Leah. Poor Elsie was just trying to survive by catering to others. People like her learned to pick up social cues and read body language to please customers for money in return. Their income would double if their customers were happy. Leah was the obstacle. If the women could not get rid of her, they would lose their profit. They had no hard feelings for Leah, but they stood on opposing ends. “You should be fawning over Mr. Duncan, not begging me,” Elsie said while grabbing Leah’s hair to pull her up. Leah snatched Elsie’s wrist to try and break free. “Let me go. I never did anything to you.” Leah was no doormat. She did not want to cross these people or get involved with them. She still hoped that by waiting here, her prince would arrive to save her. However, all she got was a cruel beating, and she had enough. “This isn’t my fault. Blame Mr. Duncan for your cir
Leah had not had it easy these recent days. However, she had learned to be submissive and give in. It never occurred to her that Perry would do this to her. After repeated beatings, she quickly wised up. “Mr. Duncan, why is this disgusting person here? She’s an eyesore.” Dressed in a red number, a woman with wavy hair sat next to Perry. She clung to Perry intimately. She spoke in a sultry and mesmerizing voice. “Oh, she’s just a bitch. “She got on my nerves, so I punished her. I’ll dump her once I’m bored with her.” Perry had the time of his life getting back at Leah. He got a kick out of it. However, he did not feel that it was enough. Every time he looked at his injured hand, his resentment toward Leah grew. “How did she upset you, Mr. Duncan?” Another lady extended her arms to knead Perry’s shoulders while gently murmuring into his ear. With women gathering and fussing over him, Perry felt his ego thoroughly stroked. He was thrilled. “Well, she doesn’t kno
Katie thought about everybody. Kaze was the odd one out, so he had to be the suspect. It made sense that Leah would elope with Kaze. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. We can talk it out. Don’t do anything reckless.” Snow stopped Katie from doing anything extreme. “How could there be a misunderstanding? There can be no one else but him.” Katie was stubborn. “We can help with your daughter’s disappearance. You won’t get anywhere by picking on him.” Snow tried her best to defend Kaze. She would not let Kaze be hurt on her watch. Eager to find her daughter, Katie believed her suspicion to be the truth, and Kaze must have stashed her daughter somewhere. “I don’t have time to waste, but no one could’ve taken Leah away.” Katie was naїvely convinced that Kaze was behind it. Kaze had only just learned about Leah’s disappearance. It was quite late for Katie to finally look into the matter. “I didn’t take your daughter, but we can dig deeper into this.” Leah w
The blue gem necklace around Snow’s neck brought out her elegance and class. Snow was educated well. She carried herself with ease at the social event. She exchanged pleasantries with business partners and greeted them all. Snow shared a few drinks with several prominent families. Aloysius and her secretary stayed with her and drank on her behalf.The party was a success. Kaze held a glass of wine to sip in a corner. Snow’s brilliance was the assurance he needed. He did not have to worry about her leading the Frosts now. “I guess I was worried about nothing. I didn’t even have to be here. She has gotten everything covered.” Kaze was concerned about Snow because she had always been his assistant. He was apprehensive that Snow would have no control over her staff after her promotion. He even asked the Viper’s Den to lend a hand. Nevertheless, Snow did not let him down. She had done a great job. Kaze drank wine and enjoyed the music. Soon, men and women entered the
Aloysius looked at the business venture at hand with a mix of emotions. Jet was supposed to make a comeback with the project, but the defeat was a huge slap to his face. “Can I ask whether Kaze was behind this?” Aloysius braced himself to ask the question. Even though Aloysius had an inkling, he feared receiving confirmation of his suspicion. “Chairman Lee helped me. If Jet hadn’t hurt my mother, I wouldn’t have rushed back to take his place. “He did this to himself,” Snow said blatantly. “How did you know about the island project? We have been discreet about it.” Aloysius was eager to find out. The question would burn on his mind unless he got some answers. “You can’t keep anything from the Viper’s Den, but this is the end of the matter. If you’re interested in the project, I can put you in charge of it.” Snow could not be bothered to explain herself. Aloysius played it smart. He had been carrying out Snow’s orders without a hitch. Snow was happy to honor her prom
“Tell them that the company is expecting funding, and all the projects will be launched in a few days. Everything will be back on track. It’s a good thing that the higher management is gone. We will be opening the positions for internal employees to apply.” Snow got the right solution to handle the situation. She had to give these employees hope to gain their dedication in return. Aloysius was surprised. “Who would pour money in when our finances are in a mess?” Having worked with Jet, Aloysius had a good understanding of the company’s ins and outs. Several business ventures were up in the air, and the company was bleeding money. Even with a relaunch, these projects would not bring in much of a profit. Most importantly, the relaunch had to be backed up by some funding. The business got a loan from the Viper’s Den. If payment was not made in time, the company’s shares would be used to make up for the loss. The whole thing spelled trouble. Snow just joined the company.
“This is the financial report you submitted today. Any intern can do a better job than you.” Snow mocked Jack. She was disappointed in his performance. A finance director who could not even get his basics right should not be working in finance in the first place. “Who do you think you are, doing this to us?” The others are only out to save their own asses. They did not sympathize with Jack. “I’m sure you are well aware of what you have done.” “You’re on your phone all day at work. You put your daily expenses on the company card, and we’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars a month. You only bought stuff for your personal use. “Let’s not forget about you. Your so-called business trips are to take your mistress out for expensive hotel stays and vacations.” Snow looked at each one of them while detailing their deeds. She shamed them in public, utterly humiliating them. “Why were these allowed before? Why are you stopping these practices now? If you can change