“What’s going on?” Darcy’s family had a bad feeling. Rudy tricked them into coming to the family residence under the pretense of visiting Logan. By the looks of things, Darcy’s family knew it was for no good reason. “Hector, Agnes, you old fools probably have no idea what your daughter and son-in-law did. A malicious voice was heard. Samus and Deborah walked into the living room. The pair glared viciously at Darcy’s family. “We are your uncle and aunt, Deborah,” Hector said angrily. “I don’t have an uncle and aunt like you.” Samus uttered, “I was entertaining the experts on the reviewing panel to get support funds for the family the night before the last. “Your daughter and son-in-law were jealous and reported me. That bastard, Don, took me into custody, and I was beaten up while in detention. “I had to dig deep into my connections and spend lots of money for my release.” Hector and Agnes glanced at Darcy in shock. They had no idea. “You’re one to talk for
“Well, someone has to make a sacrifice for the betterment of the family.” Darcy’s family looked up at Rudy in disbelief. It never occurred to them that Rudy could say something so shameless, making such a high-sounding statement in a rather matter-of-fact way. “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Rudy? Does your daughter’s reputation mean more than mine?” Agnes shouted, outraged.“Hmph! Darcy lost her honor the moment she married that loser, Kaze.” “No other eligible bachelors would look in Darcy’s direction even if she divorces Kaze. Deborah is a different story. She had only dated Vincent. Despite the issue with the Hansers, we could say that Deborah had no idea.”“Darcy should sacrifice for the sake of the family,” other family members expressed their opinions. These words cut like a knife. Darcy felt pain like never before. She had witnessed her family’s impudence one too many times. It never crossed her mind that there was no limit to their shamelessness.
The security officer froze, his raised hand paused in the air. “Kaze!” Darcy exclaimed with joy. Color returned to her pale face. The sight of Kaze gave her assurance. “Come to me.” Kaze walked over, ignoring the encircling security detail. He reached his hand out and pulled Darcy behind him. He narrowed his eyes at the Quints, his gaze finally falling on Rudy. “When will you ever learn, Rudy? You and your family are out to get my wife again. No wonder you wouldn’t let me tag along.” Rudy’s face flushed with rage. “Kaze, do you think we are the family we once were? We are now considered elites, and I am the head of the household. We won’t tolerate your brazen attitude,” he yelled. “Ha! Elites? I just took down the three top families.” Kaze scowled. “I will let today slide, and you owe this to my wife’s family. If you take this any further, I will put you back in your place, and you can forget living that dream of yours.” “Who do you think you are, loser!” The
Darcy froze. Color washed off her face. “Rudy, she’s your niece!” Hector turned his wheelchair around and stared at his brother in disbelief. Darcy would be disowned and stripped of the family name. It was the worst punishment to any individual in Arcadia where family mattered most. Even when Kaze was disowned, his family name was not taken away from him. “If she can’t make the necessary sacrifice for the family, then I don’t have a niece like her.” Rudy scoffed. “You better think it through, Hector. If Darcy doesn’t file the report, you, including Darcy and Sky, will no longer carry the family name.” “What about family, Rudy? We are supposed to be a family. That’s ruthless of you!” As tears rolled down his cheeks, Hector yelled desperately, “Dad, come out and say something. I’m your son too!” It was quiet inside the house. “Don’t bother. Grandfather can’t hear you. Even if he can, he will support us!” “If you still want to be a part of the family, you should
Rumor had it that Darcy did not want Mathias to find out and move on from her. Hence, she pushed Deborah out as the scapegoat. The explanation made perfect sense. Now, everybody believed Darcy was the victim of an assault case. However, nobody was sympathetic. They believe she deserved it. “Argh! Rudy and the others are so vile!” Hector spat out blood once more and fell off his wheelchair. He rolled on the ground, feeling the pain in his leg. Nevertheless, the emotional turmoil far outweighed the physical pain. With Agnes passing out, everybody carried her to her room for a rest. All that hubbub worked up to a sweat. Darcy then received a call from Ash. “Ms. Quint, you must have seen the Quints’ statement by now. We have a large number of senior officers and employees handing in their resignations at Sky Ocean Corporation as we speak.” The Quints’ statement rocked the community. Unrest was stirring within Sky Ocean Corporation as well. The company had be
The three thugs were treated like royalty. The eyes of the other gangsters were glued on them. “Haha! Darcy’s skin was super soft. I couldn’t get enough of her. You know what those women look like with filters on TikTok. Well, she doesn’t need a filter.” “Her voice was like ecstasy!” “She’s a wild one in bed.” The three thugs chugged beers and bragged about their night with Darcy. “Fuck! I wish I had your luck. She’s the chairman of Sky Ocean!” “Yeah. If only I could have a night with her.” The other thugs were envious. “Go to hell!” A grimacing voice echoed across the room. Mathias led Kaze into the crowd. He was infuriated to catch these gangsters talking about Darcy. “Who the hell are you, jackass? Are you here looking for trouble?” A thug sprang to his feet and picked up a beer bottle to pound on the edge of the table. Clang! The beer bottle cracked open. The thug flung around the broken bottle and approached Mathias. “Jackass, I dare you to breath
“Mr. Queen, you!” Gold Tooth put his hand over his face in shock and rage before facing the dark corner. The feeling that the voice sounded familiar nagged at him. “Again.” The voice came from the darkness. Smack! It then struck Gold Tooth. He froze. Gold Tooth did not feel the pain when Mathias struck him. He looked in the direction of the voice and moved closer to it. The dim light gave Gold Tooth a better view of the young man sitting on the sofa. Thump! Gold Tooth fell to his knees and scooted forward in a kneeling position. He made his way to Kaze and talked in a way to garner sympathy, “Mr. Lee, it’s me. It’s only been a few days. Have you forgotten me already?” Holy shit! A commotion stirred in the bar. Gold Tooth, a well-known name in the criminal world, had kneeled before a young man. He even fawned over the young man. Gold Tooth found himself in a dilemma. When he and Dan went to Azure Estate to seek Cronus, they messed up the task assig
“Sure.” The three thugs immediately contacted Deborah. Kaze said indifferently, “Nothing to see here. The rest of you should go back to doing whatever you were doing.” The atmosphere at the bar resumed its liveliness. However, the patrons, fueled by curiosity, kept an eye on the dark corner. Soon, Deborah arrived at the bar. Nothing she saw in the bar struck her as odd.She approached the three thugs and handed over a check. “Hand me the phone.” “What’s the rush, darling?” The three thugs did not accept the check. “Take the money and hurry along. What else do you want?” Deborah’s eyes bulged. One of the thugs said cheekily, “We couldn’t forget you since that day.” “That’s right. We want to relive the moment with you, darling.” The other two thugs got up to grab her.“Get lost!” Deborah slapped away their hands and snapped an angry look at them. “Bastards! I can never forget how much you stink! I want to barf just thinking about it.” “Haha! I guess our
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
“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
“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
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
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
“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
“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
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
“Master, that guy is being completely disrespectful of you…” The monks and the others knelt before Juan, crying and complaining about what Kaze had done to them. Seeing his disciples kneel in front of the public, speaking in an embarrassing way, Juan’s expression turned ashen. He wished he could slap them off the face of the earth to save himself from the humiliation. However, his reaction looked like anger to the others instead of embarrassment. His reaction made the atmosphere even more stiff and tense. No one dared to interrupt or make a noise, afraid of suffering the master’s wrath. Cyan carefully looked at Draig, hoping that he could step up and mitigate the problem. Otherwise, once Juan flew into a rage, punishing Kaze alone might not solve the problem. After all, the monks made it clear that Cyan and the others were with Kaze, so there was no way they could escape anymore. Draig looked at Kaze who remained calm and confident and Snow who was expressionless. He