The situation reminded Kaze of Gareth’s death. It was exactly the same. Someone was targeting him in the shadows. After a while, Hector and Agnes woke up as well. Without saying much, the family hastily arrived at the funeral home, having no time to collect themselves. The funeral home was unusually lively in the middle of the night. When Kaze and family arrived, the place was already crowded with mourners. Mr. Ceb was with the Hacks family of Geranium, so his status and position were considered prestigious to the folks of Lilyrose. Of course, most of the mourners were just there to find out more about what happened. The two major incidents caused by Gareth’s death still left most of the factions in Lilyrose unsettled. Mr. Ceb was from the Geranium Hackses and his status would only be more prominent than Gareth. No one knew what would befall the city with Mr. Ceb’s death. Therefore, it was necessary to gather as much information as possible and take a stand before
“Grandfather, please don’t be like that. Mr. Ceb is dead. If something happens to you, then the killer will gloat at us.” “That’s right! Grandfather, you must stay strong and find the killer! We must demand justice for Mr. Ceb!” The Quint family spoke up to console him. Deborah, who had just regained her senses, spoke up as well. She even said they must avenge Mr. Ceb and while she spoke, she shot a vicious gaze at Kaze. The more they talked, the angrier Master Quint got. He stomped his walking cane on the floor and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Where are Hector and his family? Come out if you are already here!” The others were frightened by the loud shout. No one had ever seen him so angry before. “Father, we are here…” Hector was in his wheelchair. He bit the bullet and urged Agnes to wheel him forward. Agnes said timidly, “Father, Mr. Ceb’s death has nothing to do with us. We would never dare kill someone…” Before she could finish, Master Quint raised his wal
“Old man, whenever something happens, you shift the blame to us and it’s nothing new already. We have gotten used to it. “I understand you want us to take the blame so you can explain to the Hacks family, but at least try to come up with some evidence. You are trying to make me admit that I killed the dog man without any evidence, and you think the Hacks family will believe you? You think they are as stupid as you?” Kaze did not hold back with his sneers. He lost his respect for Master Quint a long time ago. “You little bastard! You called me stupid?” Master Quint choked with rage when Kaze humiliated him in public. He diverted his anger to Hector and Agnes once more. “You two, you two incompetent fools! How can you allow your son-in-law to talk to me like that! Disrespectful!” He glared at his son and daughter-in-law before he turned to Kaze again. His eyes were still burning with rage. “You little bastard, I’m warning you. Our family is going home, to our main family
Kaze suddenly felt a terrifying presence locked onto him, much more terrifying than the men armed with guns. “Darcy, watch out!” Without a second of hesitation, Kaze quickly hugged Darcy, looking pale, and scuttled out in between the two men. Swish! Swish! As soon as he darted out of the encirclement, several black shurikens flew in and aimed at where he and Darcy were standing. Fortunately, Kaze and Darcy had moved away. The shurikens continued flying after missing them. Thump! Thump! Following a few heavy thumps, three of the Hackses' bodyguards who tried to seize Kaze were hit by the shurikens and fell onto the ground with disbelief on their faces. Each of them had a shuriken embedded in their neck. At the next second, the skin around the shuriken started to turn black and the blood that gushed out was black as well. The shurikens were poisoned! The sudden twist of events shocked everyone at the scene. “Aaaah!” As people started streaming, a rather short
“Ninja from Ryokan?” Kaze narrowed his eyes. Based on the shurikens that killed the bodyguards and the sword in the killer’s hand, Kaze was able to identify the man’s nationality. The man was obviously a trained ninja from the island country, Shimada. His accent proved that he was not from Arcadia, or any of the western countries. Could it be the Well family? Kaze pondered. After he settled down in Lilyrose, he no longer had contact with people from Ryokan. Other than Kai Well’s death being slightly related to him, he could not think of any reason a Ryokan ninja would attack him. Kaze felt aggrieved. Kai was killed at the hands of Samson. Sirius already came after him with the Viper’s Den agents, accusing him of the crime and now killers from Ryokan were after him. Could it be related to the Viper’s Den? Kaze could not be sure since he lacked information. After all, Magnus died because of him and if someone within the organization wanted him dead and unable
Deborah crouched on the ground, her hair disheveled while shrieking at Kaze maliciously, “Are you deaf, Kaze? Get your ass here and kneel to the Ryokan gentleman!“Are you trying to get me and Grandpa killed? “If anything happens to us, I’ll make sure you and your wife’s family go down with us.” Raising a brow, Kaze looked at Deborah and Master Quint in contemplation. He moved forward and put his finger up the Ryokan assassin’s face in rage. He said curtly, “I don’t care who you are or where you come from, idiot! “If you don’t want to die, you better release the old man. “Do you know who he is? You’re in for it. “He’s the head of the Ridgesouth Quints in the Lilyrose branch. You should be humble in his presence. “I’m laying it out for you now. I’ll make you pay if you hurt him.” Kaze spoke indignantly and righteously. He acted as if he would save Master Quint by whatever means necessary. The dozen bodyguards around seemingly got the message from Kaze. “That’s ri
The Ryokan assassin lifted his leg and fractured Master Quint’s leg with a stomp. “That’s right. I’m disrespectful, shameless, and arrogant. So what?” The Ryokan assassin relished in Kaze’s rage and said smugly, “Run your mouth, and I’ll kill this old fart. Get your ass here and kneel before me.” ‘Bastard! ‘Asshole! ‘Can you stop talking, Kaze!’Master Quint could barely catch his breath from the excruciating pain. While he wanted to attack Kaze with a tirade of abuse, he was more tempted to spring on Kaze and tear his mouth apart. However, the pain drained his strength, leaving him without a voice. Everybody finally realized that Kaze’s big mouth struck a nerve in the Ryokan murderer to attack Master Quint more violently. Yet, Kaze was sticking up for Master Quint. Though the crowd sensed something amiss, they could not pinpoint the issue. “Stop riling him up, Kaze, or Master Quint will die!” a Quint family member uttered, fearing Master Quint might perish as co
Talk about shooting herself in the foot. That was what Deborah did. Having lost all patience, the Ryokan assassin shot a look at Kaze. “Sticking there, I see?” Master Quint took a moment to gather a bit of strength and yelled furiously, “What’s with the big talk, bastard! “Hurry up and kneel to the Ryokan gentleman before I kill you, Kaze!” “Once I survive this ordeal, I will destroy you and have your wife gang-raped, Kaze!” The immense pain swallowed Deborah as she cried out lividly. It dawned on Deborah that Kaze played them like a fiddle. Kaze’s expression turned stoic. His intention was just to teach Deborah and Master Quint a lesson through the Ryokan assassin. He was not going to let things go far. Yet, the person Deborah resented was not the Ryokan assassin, who was the abuser, but Kaze. Deborah even went as far as to make such a violent threat in a frenzy. What did he do to deserve all that? Was it because he was a good guy? Should good guys be taken
Clemont was born with a silver spoon and raised like a prince as he was the youngest in the family. He knew his father’s current situation, which explained why he behaved arrogantly. He thought his actions could help his father but little did he know, they were causing a huge trouble. Kaze made it verbal but the spoiled brat did not appreciate the warning and simply felt annoyed. “What do I mean? I guess you have to ask your father about it.” Kaze looked at Clemont coldly. There was no way a useless trust-fund baby could achieve anything great under the protection of his family. Every action that Clemont took was causing damage to his family. Kaze initially intended to use the Siegfrieds to his advantage, which explained why he did not act immediately. Now that Clemont had come under his radar, Kaze ought to use the chance. He managed to showcase his strength to Rosie earlier and what he said to Clemont would surely raise more suspicion in her. Kaze must come up wit
Rosie was shocked. She almost got kicked by some spoiled brat. She was not happy about it. She revered Clemont’s background and had been tolerant with the brat but he stepped over the line when he decided to be physical. Rosie looked up to Kaze who was hugging her. He was just outside the crowd and decided to step in when he heard the commotion. She did not expect him to save her. It was a surprise but it allowed her to see his capabilities. The man from Butterworth had been hiding his abilities from everyone all along. Rosie smiled at him before getting back up on her feet. “Thank you for your help,” she said softly. “It’s nothing. It’s the right thing to do,” Kaze said. Kaze was the type of person who could never stand seeing the weak being bullied. “Who the hell are you? What do you think you are doing?” Clemont bellowed. He was outraged and needed to vent his emotions. Since Kaze had intervened, it gave Clemont a chance to lash out at him. “Stop causing a
“I told you this is my club! They have to listen to me! Now open the damn door!” Clemont was furious after being questioned. He started to kick the door like a madman. The waiters were worried but they dared not do anything. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside! VIP guests!” the waiter added. He dared not reveal the identity of the guest inside. Zidane informed all employees earlier that no one shall reveal the VIP guest’s identity or even mention that the suite was booked by Edmund. It was to keep things low. Therefore, the waiter dared not speak any of it even to Clemont. Unfortunately, Clemont stubbornly believed the waiter was lying to him. “What guests?! You’re lying to me! You said there were guests inside but even after I kicked the door, there was no answer! Open it up. Don’t be stupid!” he shouted. He cared not about the others when he shouted. He was impulsive at nature. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside. You can’t do this,” the
“Then what should we do?” “What else? Give him a VIP room and try to hold him down.” Rosie was displeased but she had to handle the matter herself. Clemont was a proud man. If he felt embarrassed in any way, he would certainly cause more problems. Rosie was afraid that he would do something rash once provoked. He was a man with a background. Even if he made a mistake, his father could cover up for him. However, if the club’s business was affected, Edmund would hold her responsible. That was why Rosie saw Clemont as a problem. “But they are heading to the suite already,” the bouncer said, looking worried. He had a premonition of something bad happening. “What are you guys doing?!” Rosie glared at the bouncer. They were usually smart and quick-witted so she did not have to worry about many things. Yet they let Clemont through?! “There are too many customers today. All the rooms are booked, so we have to make new arrangements.” “The other bouncer at the entranc
To many youngsters, Absolute Zero was a mysterious place. Young men and women from a better background were forbidden to set foot into the club. It was not because of the environment, but because of the human relationship within the establishment. The club was a gateway to the underworld and once exposed, the youngsters might thread onto the wrong path. Clemont was not allowed to go to Absolute Zero. However, he knew the club belonged to the Wittersons, which was his father’s rival. Therefore, he had been planning to help his father. He often used his father’s name to spend money at the club to annoy them. He brought his friends here today to show off his wealth and power. He wanted to let his friends know that he, too, was capable. “Young Master Siegfried! You’re awesome!” While surrounded by flattery, Clemont walked down the stairs to the entrance with his friends. The bouncers knew Clemont, so when he arrived, they quickly informed the management. They dared no
Kaze finally got some surprising news: Edmund had booked a room at Absolute Zero tomorrow for a business talk. In addition, Morris’ son was a regular at the club. Edmund and Morris were rivals but they looked peaceful in the open. No one knew how fierce the competition was under the table. Morris wanted to put his son in charge of the Viper’s Den but was unsure if his son could handle the matter. According to Zeeny, Morris’ son was a trust fund baby. His only ability was to make friends over alcohol. Maybe the young man liked being surrounded and flattered by people. Due to his father’s position, he was always flooded with friends and people interested in his resources. His so-called friends were just drinking buddies. None of them were any help to his career. It was the reason why Edmund did not take the son seriously. Kaze had a feeling that tomorrow would bring something interesting. They left later than usual tonight and he tipped the girls as usual. Even Dw
Kaze took a glass of beer from the girl and had a sip. “It’s okay that you still haven’t decided on your future.” He suddenly felt like a joke. He came to the club yet he tried to convince them to leave the environment without bothering to know their difficulties. “Let’s play dice!” The girl, Zeeny, smiled brightly and took the dice on the table. She was trained on how to make customers happy. Kaze did not ask the difficult questions anymore. Everyone enjoyed themselves with the games. Those who lost must drink. There were a few who sang while the others played, filling the room with joyous melody. Kaze enjoyed himself as well and slowly got to know each other better. At the same time, he learned more about the girls’ backgrounds, even though most of them were made up. To let customers tip them more, they would fabricate a pitiful background. Kaze’s goal was to fool Rosie, so he just had to enjoy himself now and nothing else. Dwight was overwhelmed by the beer
When Kaze entered the club, he saw that the place was clean and the lights were on. It was indeed not open for business yet. There were no customers inside. He could have a clear look over the entire establishment. “You guys are too early, so we had nothing prepared for you. I’ll bring you guys to the VIP room. When the music starts later, you guys can come out and have some fun, or you can call in some girls to accompany you,” Leeny said. She then pointed at a few girls walking toward her. All of them were in heels and sexy outfits. Their smiles rivaled the brightest sun and each of them had their unique charisma. All the employees of Absolute Zero were carefully handpicked. The way they dressed emphasized their personal charms. One would definitely ask for more after a glance. “Can we ask the girls to come to our room?” Dwight asked. His eyes were gleaming with interest. “Of course. This is your room. The girls will drink with you. We do provide some special service,
“I didn’t get anything from them. They just said Rosie is a dangerous woman.” “I told you to go back to see your colleagues and befriend them. Having no news is actually a good thing,” Kaze said. He might be slightly disappointed but it was expected, so he was not bothered. “Really? I thought I was quite useless.” Dwight thought he could finally get the recognition that he was waiting for but he was turned away by his boss. He was never taken seriously at the Viper’s Den, which was the reason why he disliked his colleagues and his superiors. However, he had to stay with the organization for the sake of staying alive. Ever since he met Kaze, his life changed. He thought he could improve himself but the others still did not take him seriously. Dwight was still willing to trust Kaze. “Don’t be affected by their opinions. You know better than anyone what you can do. Just focus on what you need to do and things will be alright,” Kaze said with a hint of encouragement. “Y