“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
“Mhm…” Sasha nodded. She tried her best not to make any noise. Kaze concentrated and started the treatment. Sasha’s back was covered with even more silver needles yet the pain showed no signs of subsiding. As Kaze continued the treatment, his brows furrowed and his forehead was covered in sweat. Suddenly, he felt hot around his waist and it was at that moment, Sasha felt a slight relief. Kaze asked, “Sasha, did you feel better just now?” “I-I think so. I felt like being poked by a thousand ice needles. It’s cold and painful, but now I started to feel warm…” she said timidly. While she was explaining, Kaze retrieved the hot object from his pouch; it was the Golden Toad he got from Aiden. When he first saw the Golden Toad, he was afraid it might contain radioactive materials, so he dared not touch it. However, realizing that Aiden carried it around—knowing he was not some idiot with no common sense—dispelled Kaze’s doubts. He looked at the shining Golden Toad and po
With the messy thoughts out of his head, Kaze concentrated on the treatment. In just a little over ten minutes, Sasha was freed from the pain, which had tormented her badly and drained her energy, leaving her exhausted. When the treatment was over, she was already asleep. Her lips curled into a sweet smile, seemingly dreaming about something nice. Her eyelashes had droplets of sweat hanging on the edges, a testament to her exhaustion. Looking at her exhausted look pained Kaze’s heart. He had also exhausted his energy. Performing the treatment for a full session was even more tiring than fighting a foreign martial arts expert. Noticing that the seventh petal of the Nine Phantom Lotus had almost faded, Kaze started to pull the needles out of Sasha’s body. He knew speed was not the key to curing the girl. Creek! It was then June came in through the door. She had a towel over her neck to wipe her sweat because she dared not take a shower after the treatment. Her face looked
Kaze gave the Golden Toad to June, wondering if she knew the origin of the artifact. Someone from one of the top ten families in Arcadia would certainly know more secrets than the ordinary. It was the greatest advantage they had over the ordinary people. “I have never seen this thing before.” June checked the Golden Toad carefully but shook her head. Surprised, she continued, “But this thing helped with Sasha’s condition? It’s crazy! It even hastened the removal of the Nine Phantom Lotus! It’s like a magical artifact! “I can go back and look at old texts in my family or maybe ask my elders about it. I might be able to get some clues.” She then gave the Golden Toad back to Kaze, having no desire to own it. She believed Kaze must have figured out her background, so she did not bother to conceal it further and decided to be honest. “Great. I’ll be waiting for your good news.” Kaze put the Golden Toad away and explained, “I’ll take this with me. The Krad family is looki
Twenty minutes later, Sasha came out in fresh clothes. She wore a white T-shirt coupled with a pair of jeans, but the patches on them indicated that they were old clothes. She was holding her phone with a slight embarrassment on her face. “Sasha? What’s the matter?” Kaze asked. “Uh, it’s nothing. I-I have to call my school to inform my teacher.” Sasha then went to the corner to make the phone call. “Sasha, you should really try to be the emcee of the evening party. I always have high hopes for you but you are too shy. You blush whenever you talk to strangers. How are you going to adapt when you go out to work in the future? You should train yourself to speak up more. Try to go on stage.” The voice of a middle-aged woman came from the phone once it was connected. Sasha said shyly, “Ms. Cornell, thank you for your kindness, but I cannot afford to buy a gown. I won’t be joining the party.” “My dear, you should learn to be more open-minded. I said I would prepare the gown
Sasha looked troubled. She said, “The owner is paying? It’s okay! I’m wearing the clothes anyway; I should pay for them. The owner and the others took good care of me while at work, I don’t want to take advantage of them.” Kaze was left speechless. How could a little girl be as stubborn as a mule?“How are you taking advantage of them? I said, the owner wants you to wear beautiful clothes and get more business for them, so that they can earn more money. “You know the other employees actually have an allowance for shopping? Each of them has twenty thousand to buy clothes, but since you are just part-time, and you are new, you only have ten thousand.” Kaze continued to coax the girl. “Ten thousand?!” Sasha was shocked by the number. She shook her head and hands, “No! I don’t need that much! A few hundred is enough!” Ten thousand was enough for her to cover her daily expenses for two years or more. How could she spend all of them on clothes? Kaze chuckled. “Ten thousand i
Sasha’s lips moved once more, but Kaze’s gaze remained fierce, so she wisely zipped her mouth. “Not a problem, sir.” The storekeeper knew Kaze was a generous customer, so she nodded happily. Being a storekeeper for a luxurious brand required experience and taste. In less than ten minutes, the storekeeper selected three sets of outfits for Sasha, from top to bottom and outer to inner. “Miss, you try these.” Kaze swiped his card before Sasha had the time to regret or stop him. If the size did not fit, she could change it on the spot. Sasha looked at Kaze helplessly and then reluctantly followed the storekeeper to the changing room. A while later, Sasha came out in a new dress and with a blush on her face. Kaze was slightly surprised, looking at the brand new Sasha in a pure white dress. He had to praise the storekeeper for her sharp sense. The white dress emphasized the girl’s innocence and gentleness. “Miss, you are the first customer in our store to present su
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