Semua Bab Ashes and Obsidian Feathers: Bab 1 - Bab 8

Chen still kept calling. God knows how many times he had dialed. It rang and rang and rang again. No answer. He bit his nail unconsciously, biting until it started to bleed. The rest of his father's men stared in silence.They had all seen the footage. The murderer clearly had Dian's face. Dian's skill in martial arts was not at a human level; it was far too superior. Like a sudden passing wind, all six of them were dead in seconds under his blades. Nobody stood a chance. They all knew that.Chen, however, had declared, "CCTV footage is prone to manipulation." He didn't believe a single part of it. He needed to hear it from the horse's mouth; only then would he believe. His men gave up trying to reason with him."Tell me what's going on... tell me what's happening... why aren't you picking up..." He spoke to himself like a madman. Anxiety and fear had taken the best of him. He had never prayed before, but he prayed earnestly for it to be a big misunderstanding. He would never do that

He had a premonition about where they were since so many had died at his hands in that same place, and indeed, when they finally took off his blindfold, he rolled his eyes. They couldn't be any less predictable.There was a cliff at the end of the property, and when standing on it, the ground below was incredibly distant. There was only one way in and out of Mountain Hall: the gate entrance. There was no other exit, which made it an advantageous terrain for them.It was very far removed from the city, isolated and protected by the government itself, thus home to a lot of dead bodies, top-secret operations, and meetings. He was very familiar with the place.When they had stopped beating him, they dragged him to the edge of the cliff and forced him onto his knees. Below, there was a heavily flowing mass of water. One only saw a blanket of greyish-white mist when staring down the cliff from above.The water itself was not visible, but one could tell how massive and violent it was by the

Along with my heart.Kamman's third aunt, Ling Ling, had warned him about this. She had always told him that someday he was going to have to choose between the family and him. Chen, without a doubt, had said that he would always choose Dian, and his aunt had laughed at that. Now he understood the meaning of that laugh. The moment he became the head of the Chen family, he officially stopped thinking for himself. His only hope was clarification, so he asked, his voice faint and full of uncertainty."Did you do it? Did you kill them?"He only needed to hear those words: 'I did not do it.' Then he would protect him with his life. He would put his family's reputation on the line. He would not even care about the evidence. He would believe everything without a doubt.However, Dian said nothing and just stared at him, spiking his anxiety even further. He was also not ready for the answer, so he moved to the second question, nervously."Why did you run?"It was a small voice, almost like a

That was how Dian Aoki, Bronze Orchid's youngest grandmaster, was first introduced to their world.One would think Dian was as old as the other oldies at the top of the organization, but he was only three years older than Kamman. Or would have been. Now he should have been exactly twenty years old. The 'should' reminded Kamman that Dian was no longer there and that he was the reason why. The pain started to tug at his heart once again.Dian had risen to glory at only fourteen. To be fair, his intelligence quotient was remarkably high; he was among the smartest people on Earth if he dared to be slightly biased. It was only natural that he was exceptional at a young age. But exceptional was an understatement. Anyone who had him on their side was automatically declared a winner. Chen Yujing, Kamman's father, gained this privilege when he brought Dian in at the age of ten. Dian was a technological genius. He treated computer codes as humans would treat words: naturally.Additionally, h