“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
Luis lowered his head humbly in Kaze’s presence. Zenika and the others said ingratiatingly, “Please give us a chance to redeem ourselves, Kaze.”“Adversities bring us together. Kaze, you’re a big brother to us!” Rose was confused. Since she knew Luis and his friends were bad news, she prepared herself for some nasty stuff they would do to Kaze. To her surprise, they apologized to Kaze. What was going on? “At least you can recognize your mistake. I’m not a petty person.” Kaze said indifferently, “In that case, we can forget about last night. We can still be friends.” “You’re such a generous man, Kaze. Had I known, I wouldn’t have crossed you in the first place.” Luis was overjoyed by Kaze’s cordiality. He drew close, put his arm around Kaze’s shoulder, and said with a smile, “Though you’re younger than me, you are stronger than all of us. “I think Zenika is right. You are a big brother to us.“You heard me. He will be our big brother. “Just address him as such
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the
Morris suggested entertaining Kaze well. Things would not be good for the branch if Kaze got dirt on them. That was where Edmund disagreed with Morris. His idea was to send someone to sound Kaze out. Edmund was smug because Morris’ decision was wrong. “You shouldn’t do that. Kaze is here on behalf of the Butterworth branch. You don’t want tension between both branches.” Morris looked at things from a wider perspective. Edmund believed Kaze was just a doormat of little importance. “You just overthink things, and it’s not good for your age. You’re getting senile.” Edmund did not take Morris’ advice seriously. He believed he was right. “You’re not getting it. Kaze is from Butterworth. Even if he doesn’t hold a high position there, we were in the wrong. We did not keep our tracks clean either. “Now that he’s back, I’m worried that he’ll cause us harm.” Morris was only giving a heads-up because the whole branch was at stake. Edmund was young. Due to his lack of judgmen
“We should be generous to our guest from Butterworth. You can arrange as you see fit. Please don’t house him in a messy home. Hire cleaners to tidy up the place. “You can report back to me if you need more money, but it’s not a reason for you to misuse the funds.” Herman wanted to hang up. The money was now in Dwight’s bank account, so he was washing his hands off the matter. The plan was to keep Kaze happy. He was just an insignificant member of the Butterworth branch anyway. The whole thing would blow over soon enough, so long as Kaze kept to himself without taking things too far. Herman would figure out a way to get him out quickly anyway. Maybe Herman and his friends did not have to do anything to get rid of Kaze. “Got it. I’ll be a good host, Herman. I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you in the loop.” Dwight was over the moon to get the notification about the money transfer. “Just play by ear and arrange what you see best.” Herman hung up and continued playing pok
“It’s becoming a hassle now. Are you going to inform the Viper’s Den about the change of accommodation?” After much hesitation, Kaze nodded to take up the offer. Dwight was thrilled. It only hit Dwight that he had to communicate with the Viper’s Den. Kaze was booked for a hotel stay, and Dwight’s job was to take him to the destination. Yet now, Dwight took him to his home. “I’ll tell my superior and see what he has to say.” Dwight was not sure whether the change was appropriate. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up on a great opportunity. He simply grabbed the bull by the horn. If Kaze stayed at his place, the Viper’s Den members had to respect Kaze’s request even if they had a problem with it. “But when they ask, you can say that you’re getting along well with me. Living together just makes work more convenient.” Feeling unsettled, Dwight tried to get their stories straight with Kaze. Hopefully, the Viper’s Den would not come after them. “Aren’t we friends? I k
Dwight gave some suggestions. “But I’m worried about being a nuisance to your family.” Kaze remained hesitant, torn between decisions. “No, you won’t. I usually live alone. They stay somewhere else. They barely visit. I’ll just let them know not to visit for now,” Dwight replied. Dwight figured out what was in it for him. He could not let Kaze leave. “I don’t want to put your family in an awkward position.”Kaze was still considering the matter. “Relax. They don’t live with me anyway. The room I have for you is tidy. No one has stayed there before.“I’ll hire some help to freshen up the place. I can guarantee you an experience no less than at the hotel.” Dwight spoke with great confidence. “We should finish our food and doggie-bag the rest. I’ll take you to my place.” Dwight was ready to get things going. Kaze took the offer and nodded. “I’ll be in your care then.” Kaze was glad that his plan went through. Dwight had no idea that he got played. Nevertheless,
“I’m new to the place, so I don’t know much. Can you show me around when you’re available?” “No problem, but I usually have some stuff to take care of. I can’t be there 24/7. “Why don’t you propose to the branch that you want me to be your guide and attendant?” Dwight suggested. There was no telling whether Kaze would accept his proposal, but it was an opportunity to prove himself. He was never involved in the core operation. Often enough, he was the branch members’ punching bag. Though Dwight was aware that he was not good enough for the big stuff, he still wanted to succeed. Kaze was the trusted aide of the Butterworth Branch chief. He was in Westeros for a reason. By joining Kaze, Dwight would come across the major players. Kaze saw through Dwight’s plans. “Sure. I’ll do that.” Kaze did not mind the request. “Great. I’ll let them know on your behalf. I’ll be responsible for your needs while in the city.” Dwight was overjoyed at the opportunity. “So you live
“You must be rich. I often see rich people picking tabs for everybody. Talk about extravagance.” The tension in the air was lifted when Kaze offered to pay for everything. “I’m not. Consider it an apology,” Kaze explained, not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. He did not see the point of continuing the conversation. Dwight’s angry screams came from outside. “What the hell is this? I only ordered a bunch of stuff. Why am I being charged an exorbitant amount?“What do you mean my friend is paying for everybody? That’s throwing money away,” Dwight said while storming his way over. “I know you have money, but you shouldn’t do this, Mr. Lee.” Dwight did not approve of this type of generosity. “You rubbed them the wrong way. It was only right to apologize. Besides, it’s not a lot of money.” Kaze looked at the bill and handed a bank card to Dwight. “It’s my treat.” The consumption was barely a dent in Kaze’s savings. The meal did not cost more than his us