Legend had it that consuming all nine seeds of Nine Phantom Lotus would allow the person to attain nirvana. Of course, it was just a nonsensical tale. June had read ancient texts on medicine. While Nine Phantom Lotus possessed life-extending properties, it was not capable of resurrecting the dead. Still, its healing potential was undeniable. The seeds of Nine Phantom Lotus were not suitable for all to consume, though. Recklessly consuming the lotus seeds could lead to organ failure and a gruesome death.“How can Nine Phantom Lous grow on Sasha?” June found it unbelievable. Having been raised in a noble family and having devoted herself to the study of medicine, she considered herself knowledgeable about all medical texts. Yet, what she saw defied everything she knew. Kaze frowned. He initially suspected that Sasha was targeted since she lived near Akasha Village. Kaze figured someone had secretly tattooed her as part of some kind of cult ritual. However, the situatio
“How will the lotus be retrieved? Would it put Sasha in danger?” June asked nervously. Despite her hot temper, June was kind-hearted. Holfman scowled. “What do you think? The lotus seed is embedded in Ms. Spoon’s heart, becoming one with her.“I believe even the best surgeon can’t remove the lotus without risking Ms. Spoon’s life.” The answer could not be any more obvious. Sasha would die once the lotus was removed. Even God could not save her. Sasha could not keep up with what Holfman was saying before. However, she understood what would become of her. Her eyes welled up in despair. Sasha, a young woman in her prime, was robbed of a chance to experience life. Feeling bad, Kaze asked grimly, “Is there any hope for her at all, Holfman?”“Even God can’t save her.” Everybody’s hearts sank at Holfman’s response. It was the truth, though. As the lotus took over a decade to grow in a human body, the plant and Sasha were one by now. It would be impossible to remove
As Kaze spoke the specific terms as if he was reciting off a restaurant menu, both Holfman and June were shocked. “T-Those are the thirteen mnemonics for the Ghastly Thirteen Needles! Based on the difference in acupuncture needles, there are thousands of combinations for this set of techniques. “I only know a few of them. How did you know all thirteen of them?” Holfman’s lips were shaking as he asked in excitement. He was not a specialist in acupuncture but when he heard Kaze recited the mnemonics of the long-lost technique, Ghastly Thirteen Needles, he could barely stay calm. He did not doubt Kaze at all because he knew a few of them, which matched the sequence that Kaze just recited. June looked at Kaze as if he was a ghost. “H-How did you know the Ghastly Thirteen Needles?!” She no longer doubted Kaze but found it difficult to believe. “When I was on the foreign battlefield, I led an exploration team to excavate the ruins of the Ghastly Doctors,” Kaze explained. “Y
June grunted. “Support him? More like he’s supporting me!” Despite her little grumble, she quickly pulled out a new set of needles and disinfected them. Unlike the normal acupuncture needle set, which had 108 needles, June’s set consisted of 360 needles of varied sizes and lengths, all crafted from gold. Kaze knew the woman was also a professional, so he stopped bickering and concentrated on the task in hand. After Sasha and June were both ready, Kaze started to give instructions from the side. “This one, here. Thin needle. Here, longer and thicker. Here…” June was skilled in acupuncture. As soon as Kaze gave his instruction, the golden needle was already poked into the precise spot on Sasha’s body. Her hands were steady and precise, showing no hesitation at all. She was so fast that her hand movements started to look blurry. Her confidence peaked as she performed the technique. Soon, Sasha’s body was covered with golden needles. June continued poking, pulling, an
Kaze nodded knowing that Sasha was a girl who knew how to show gratitude. June was too weak to speak. Seeing June’s exhausted expression, Sasha felt both guilty and worried. “June, giving me acupuncture every day must be so draining for you. Don’t worry—I’ll work hard to earn money and pay you back.” Everyone laughed at the girl’s naïve words. Money was meaningless for a treatment of this level. It was about saving lives, not money. If June wanted to get paid, even the wealthiest families would have to pay a fortune for such a peculiar treatment. Kaze did not want the girl to feel pressured, so he waved and said indifferently, “You don’t need to pay her back. I’ve already paid for you. All I need you to do is stay here and receive your treatment.” “Huh? You paid…” Sasha looked at Kaze blankly. She heard their conversation earlier and neither of them talked about money. Kaze had a glance at June and then explained with a smile, “I’ve taught her the Ghastly Thirteen
Garrett looked at everyone in the house and his expression turned heavy. “He took too many drugs. When the ambulance arrived, they couldn't even get him off from the women. We have to sedate him before we can get him to the hospital. “After the initial check-ups at the hospital, the doctor said he had taken too many drugs and it affected his reproductive system. “I’ve already sent my men to search for the best doctors. Ted is my only son, I will not let his manhood die at such a young age!” He explained as his teeth clenched. He was honest about Ted’s situation. There was no way he could hide such embarrassment from others, let alone his own family. As a matter of fact, the first one to the scene was the ambulance and the first responder instead of members of the Lees, so there was no way he could keep the embarrassing news contained. “Garrett, don’t worry. We will use whatever we can to get the best doctors to cure Ted.” Gregory went up to console his brother by tappin
Bayern was Ted’s bodyguard. He fled, but was caught before he even got out of the city. When the man was dragged into the living room, one of his arms was already broken and his palm was heavily disfigured. His nose was broken and his face was swollen. He barely looked alive. “Tell us what you know,” George said coldly as he got up. “Thump!” Bayern knelt on the floor, enduring the pain as his body was shaking. He said, “Young Master Ted sent Steelclaw Guild after Kaze but they were killed. “After Kaze knocked out the other guy, I was the one left. He forced me to drug Young Master Ted. I was scared that Young Master Ted would be mad at me when he woke up, so after I called the ambulance for him, I ran.” Gregory sighed and said, “Ted goes after Kaze with just two bodyguards? Doesn’t he know that Kaze is a ruthless fighter? Ted is lucky that he didn’t die at Kaze’s hands.” Garrett was unhappy to hear his brother criticizing his son’s reckless behavior. However, recognizin
“What? Are you saying that my son got this upon himself and we should just let that little bastard go?” Garrett questioned coldly. Most of the family members lowered their heads in silence. Other than the core members of the family, most of them had no grudge against Kaze. Rather than inciting conflict, it would be better to just ignore it. As long as Kaze let them be, the family could live a normal life. Yet they were the silent majority, their words held no power. The core members of the family were Kaze’s arch nemesis. Even Cosmo, who initially had no grudge against Kaze, was almost driven mad by his resentment toward Kaze after his legs got broken. He had been calling for Kaze’s death the moment he was crippled. Garrett looked at his brothers and the extended family. He scoffed. “You guys want to let it go, but would Kaze let it go? “I am not in Arcadia but I know what you people have done back then. You people tortured him, insulted him, and did horrible things t
The incident did not sit well with Kaze, so he left them out to dry. After much searching, Kaze came across a café. Kaze bought a cup of coffee. Cupping the drink between his hands, Kaze sipped slowly. Many passengers swarmed the arrival hall in the airport, dragging along their luggage or pulling out their phones to get a pick-up. They all had a destination, a place they had to be in a rush. Intrigued, Kaze followed the crowd out. Kaze turned on his phone, and a text message from his airport pick-up came in. He glanced at the message, curious about who the person was. Nevertheless, Kaze trusted that the Westeros Branch members would not set him up out in the open. At most, they would pull little stunts to mess with him. Kaze was not the type to sweat the small stuff. However, he would not tolerate any extreme behavior. He had been keeping a low profile back in Butterworth, keeping the limelight off him. The purpose was to handle Jet without unnecessary complicati
“Alright. I will work hard to be the manager of the Northborn Group. You need to show me the ropes and teach me about management.” Leah looked at Katie with a smile. She believed Katie had not lost her mind. Katie simply had her memory mixed up. “You need to keep your people in line and reward those who deserve it. It all boils down to profits. “You need to work toward managing your people and working with rivals. You’ve got to keep the balance, and nobody loses out. “You need to build your own system when it comes to working together. Don’t be led around by the nose.” Hearing that Leah would start work soon, Katie imparted her knowledge. “Don’t worry too much about things. Joey is nice. You can go to her for help,” Katie said earnestly. Katie seemed to be herself at the moment. Leah wondered if Katie faked her insanity to escape the punishment. “What have become of you? Did they do something to you? “Did you really betray Kaze?” Leah whispered while leaning close
Leah kept working on her knowledge until late into the night. Just as she was about to hit the sack, she got a message from Snow. Learning was a hard enough process. The text message came out of the blue. Leah did not expect Snow to contact her at night. The message was strange as well. Leah could not understand why Snow would give her the address of a nursing home. Leah was determined to turn things around. She strived to become stronger instead of being a burden. She was grateful for Kaze’s help. At least, she had a job now. However, her gratitude was not extended to Snow. She believed Snow had gone too far. Snow left her feeling powerless. Leah did not think much about the message. She assumed that the text was not meant for her. Since Leah did not respond to the text, Snow put the matter aside and went to bed. Leah called Snow the next day. “Why did you send me an address?” Leah went straight to the question. She had been equipping herself with knowledge before
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a