“Ms. Gwake is now associated with a hick. Even though nothing happened between them, rumors will still fly.“If we don’t do anything, we can’t answer Mr. Weather when he gets back. “Mr. Weather won’t just take his anger out on the hick. We will be held responsible too.” Zenika stirred the pot and said, “That’s right. Ms. Gwake went after Kaze Lee when he left Bronze Sparrow. Everybody saw it. “Who knows what they did—” “Smack!” Zoro slapped Zenika from finishing her sentence. “Zoro!” Taken aback by Zoro’s outburst, Luis went white. “Get here on your knees.” Zoro pointed at his feet. Flustered, Zenika held her cheek and crawled to Zoro on all fours. “I’m sorry, Zoro. The words just came out of my mouth without thinking.” “Get up and lie there.” Zoro pointed at a nearby table. Zenika made a face. Struck by a thought, she got to her feet and lay on the table with her back facing the men, her curvaceous line on full display. Moments later, Zenika’s agonized voi
“Since Jude hasn’t found any decent fighters yet, the Gwakes are falling apart. If Mr. Weather steps in to help the Gwakes secure the leadership role, Jude will marry Buffy to Mr. Weather in a show of gratitude. “Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone? “Anyway, Mr. Weather will not get angry with you if you play your cards right. He might even value you and offer you some perks.” Zoro formed the perfect plan amid the cheerful talk. “I get what you mean now, Zoro.” Luis’ eyes lit up. Nevertheless, he quickly grew worried and said, “This is a good plan, but what if the guy defeats Hannah, Zoro? “He was savage yesterday. He destroyed your team of a dozen fighters. Even Scarface and the assassin from Ryokan nearly died at his hands.” This was Luis’ main concern. Kaze’s aggression last night left him traumatized. Zoro patted Zenika, gesturing to her to turn over before he uttered, “Your concern is invalid. “Hannah was once the rising star in the Viper’s Den West S
Kaze pulled up outside Villa No. 1 and noticed an approaching car. Juan got out of the car and wobbled his way to Kaze. “Is this the villa Mayor Synder gave you?” Kaze put on a stern face. “Are you stalking me?” He was surprised that Juan managed to follow him to Wyomspring. “I wouldn’t!” Juan waved his arms frantically. “I have a villa here too. I take occasional trips here.” Kaze was speechless. It was hard to believe who Juan was when the latter was eager to suck Kaze’s ass. Juan was the president of the Riverbank Feng Shui Society and the headmaster of a religious institution. In short, he had influence in the city. “Go back to your villa. Why are you following me?” Kaze turned on his heel to leave. Juan would not leave Kaze alone. “You must feel lonely living in such a big place. Why don’t I assign a few ladies to care for your needs?” Judging by Juan’s lewd expression, Kaze knew he was up to no good.Care for his needs? Clearly, it was the care Kaze did
Juan was caught in a moment before the thrill started to kick in. “Thump!”Juan fell to his knees and said emotionally, “Please accept my deepest respect.” Rose was dumbfounded. What was going on? Juan was basically the age of Rose’s father. Yet, he wanted to be Kaze’s student.Kaze was lost for words. Juan was quick to take action. Kaze had not even finished what he was going to say. Kaze waved his arm and said indifferently, “Get up. I never said that I’ve accepted you as my student.” “I won’t get up until we establish a mentor-mentee relationship.” Once again, Juan put on a shameless act, insisting that he would kneel forever unless Kaze agreed to his request. Kaze said callously, “If I don’t take you as my student, you can kneel there for all I care. I won’t even bat an eye.” Just as the disappointment overwhelmed Juan, Kaze said, “You can be a nominal student to me, seeing that you come in good faith.” “A nominal student?” Juan was taken aback. He had ple
Without the right interpretation, no one would be able to decipher the secret manual of other schools. The result could be disastrous if another school’s manual was interpreted wrongly. Juan’s jaw dropped, and he stared blankly at Kaze. Kaze’s interpretation was an exact match with Juan’s school. He read out the 16 cosmic keys which were fundamental to Juan’s school. “How did you learn to read our school's secret manual?” Juan asked, his throat dry.Juan even suspected Kaze to be a spy sent by other schools to steal his manual. However, Kaze deciphered the Kawaskys’ deepest secrets in no time. There was no need for Kaze to be a spy. “Who told you the key to interpreting my family’s secret manual?” Kaze grinned. “I have the Oracle before. As far as I know, there are 32 cosmic keys.“I have no idea how your ancestor obtained an incomplete copy. “Bring me a pen and paper, Rose.” Kaze waved at Rose. “Sure.” Rose went to grab a piece of paper and a pen. Half an
Kaze smacked Rose’s head. “Jesus Christ. A date in the morning? What’s in that head of yours?” “Well, I’ll never know. Maybe you’re scared Darcy will check up on you at night.” Rose meant business. “I need to watch you like a hawk for Darcy’s sake. “What’s with you and Ms. Gwake?“Zenika texted me this morning to scare me. She said word has been going around the Riverbank higher society that you were alone all night with Ms. Gwake. Casius will make you pay when he returns.” Kaze said helplessly, “Oh, please. You should know better than anyone where I was last night.” “I know that you were home, but no one else does.” Rose pouted. “Besides, you were talking about making Ms. Gwake your woman and getting handsy with her last night. What are you really up to, Kaze? “I’m going to have a hard time justifying your behavior to Darcy.” With Rose driving him up a wall, Kaze sighed and replied, “Fine. I’ll tell you the truth, but you need to promise to keep this between us.” “I
Though Kaze was not fond of Alexander, he nodded in acknowledgment since it involved Agnes. “Alright. I’ll pick out a nice gift for him. You can come along. I could use your opinion too.”Rose was on board with the idea. Her phone then rang. “Zenika’s calling again.” Rose looked at the screen display and scrunched her nose. She really did not want to take any calls from Zenika. Despite Rose’s repeated rejected calls, Zenika continued to bombard her phone. Kaze said with a stoic face, “Why don’t you take the call and see what she has to say?” If Zenika was out to get Rose, Kaze would need to send a stronger message to Zenika. Rose accepted the call. The call ended briefly after that, and Rose gave Kaze a strange look. “Here comes trouble for you, Kaze.” “What’s the trouble?” Kaze asked nonchalantly. Rose replied, “According to Zenika, Luis instructed her to make the phone call. Apparently, Luis went back and realized his mistake upon reflecting on the incident at
Among these fighting schools, the most prominent dojo was Drake Gym. Though Drake Gym was linked to the Viper’s Den South River Branch, the school was run by the Gwake family. Kaze parked the car. While walking with Rose to Drake Gym, he came across a Ryokanian-inspired building across from the gym. “Refined Blade Dojo!” Kaze narrowed his eyes at the signboard hanging on top of the door. Only Kaze could pick up on the killing intent surging from the signboard. The Refined Blade was consistently ranked among the top three swordsmanship styles in Ryokan, with a long history of producing renowned masters.Kaze was aware that the ninjas of the Kailan Clan were taught in the ways of the Refined Blade. Daiso, who died at the hands of Kaze, was also a master in the Refined Blade. In other words, Kaze’s long-standing nemesis, the Kailan Clan was connected to the Refined Blade. Having spotted the Refined Blade Dojo, Kaze needed to keep an eye on them. His biggest enemy in Ri
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening
“Tsk. Hold on.” Vexed, the man clicked his tongue and then waved at his colleague. “Come here. Someone fainted. Help me get him out.” The man wanted to take the professor out of the container. Manson’s heart pounded as he listened to the man. He was afraid he might be exposed, but there was no turning back now—he had to play along. Kaze stood behind the door, calming his breath down to lower his presence. “Get back. Stay away from the door. If anyone gets close, don’t blame me for being rough,” said the man as he unlocked the container. He opened the door and saw a number of hostages still sleeping. He then looked at the professor on the floor. He went closer to nudge him but did not get a response. It seemed like the professor needed medical attention. “Come on. Help me get him out.” The other man outside the container was on edge, looking as if he would pull the trigger at the slightest movement. “Why don’t we do it?” Callahan and Miguel volunteered. “You two
“It’s freaking troublesome.” “Boss, don’t worry about it. We’ll get an update tomorrow.” “Yeah. It’s late. Get some rest.” Tiguan’s men told him to get some rest and not worry so much. A few of them were already snoring on the chair. Tiguan sighed and killed the cigarette. He then closed his eyes to get some rest, too. The container that Kaze was in fell into silence once more. No one dared to make any noise but they all looked at Kaze, hoping to find out about his plans. Kaze’s eyes remained fixed on the window and showed no intention of revealing his thoughts. Miguel and Callahan were annoyed by the other hostages. “If you people want to get out of here alive, you better cooperate or come up with your own idea. No one is responsible for saving you.”“Yeah. I don’t want you guys to turn on us after we do all the heavy lifting. It will cost us our lives and you people won’t even be grateful.” Miguel’s tone was sarcastic because he disliked how the others looked at t
Kaze read the hostages’ minds and refused to be used. He wanted to leave but not under such circumstances. “That’s not true. We just don’t have the skills for this kind of situation. You guys are stronger, of course, you should be in the front,” said the man in glasses and a suit. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his eyes. Miguel knew what the man was planning, either. “That’s some plan you have there. You are just trying to use us to escape this place and no matter what happens, you’ll win.” “That’s not it! I just want everyone to stand together and get out of this place. I’ve never thought of using anyone!” the man argued, trying to look innocent. Even a monkey knew what he was planning, yet no one dared to speak up because they would benefit from it too. “Why don’t you guys think of something? If you need our help, we’ll help,” said another middle-aged gentleman who looked more just and fair, as if he could lead the group. “Then what is your plan?” Kaze suddenly wante
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju