After returning to the hillside villa, Kayden Scott went straight to bed. Ivy Taylor and her daughter, the little girl next door, hadn’t returned.
At dawn, even before the first rays of sunlight hit, Kayden was already seated cross-legged by the window, meditating.
Though he wasn’t a monk or spiritual practitioner, meditation was essential for his physical recovery. It helped the blood flow through his body more smoothly. The morning, often referred to as the most serene and refreshing part of the day, was when the surrounding energy was at its peak.
That’s exactly what Kayden needed-the pure, invigorating aura of nature itself.
The hillside villa, surrounded by lush greenery, allowed him to clearly feel the surge of vitality around him.
As he closed his eyes to meditate, letting his body and mind sync with the energy, his phone suddenly rang.
He instinctively reached for it and answered.
A male voice came through the line. “Big Bro, it’s me-Brodie Scott.”
Brodie Scott. Kayden’s cousin, the son of his uncle, just a few months younger than Kayden. Before the age of ten, Brodie had been Kayden’s best playmate.
“What’s the matter?” Kayden asked, his tone devoid of emotion.
That bond had long been severed, buried with childhood memories.
After a brief pause, Brodie continued, “Big Bro, I’ve got some big news-I’m getting engaged! Three days from now, I’ll be marrying the eldest daughter of the Whitley family from Zlando. You remember her, right? Hana Whitley-the girl who used to play with us when we were kids.”
Hana Whitley. Of course, Kayden remembered. That beautiful little girl had played with him and Brodie back in the day, often sparking childish rivalries between the two boys.
Now, Hana was a renowned beauty, one of Zlando’s famed “Four Dazzling Ladies,” blessed with both fame and an illustrious family background.
The mention of her name triggered a flood of memories in Kayden’s mind-simpler times, blue skies, innocent dreams, and a heart unburdened by hatred.
But the Scott family had ruined it all-destroyed his childhood, shattering every ounce of happiness and peace.
When Brodie noticed Kayden’s silence, he pressed on. “Big Bro, if you can, I really hope you’ll come to the engagement banquet. Whatever happened between our parents, you’ll always be my brother. I told Hana about you, and she’s excited at the thought of seeing you again.”
Brodie’s impending engagement to Hana felt, in some way, like a defeat for Kayden.
But what did the Scott family’s joyous occasion have to do with him now?
“We’ll see,” Kayden replied curtly before ending the call.
After hanging up, Kayden’s gaze turned to the horizon. Only then did his emotions settle.
At the end of the day, he was still human. Even after countless battles and mountains of corpses, he couldn’t fully sever his ties to his past.
He had believed that meeting the Scott family would only end in bloodshed. Yet, when faced with them, he hesitated. With a sigh, Kayden closed his eyes once more, forcing himself to resume meditating.
His focus now shifted to Wood Faulkner-he needed to heal her disrupted meridians, restore her memories, and perhaps uncover valuable clues about the shadowy organization connected to her.
The Southwest’s most renowned beauty would eventually bow to his influence.
He raised his hand and guided the Ninefold Dragon-Chi within his body. The nine distinct streams of energy flowed gently, like nine serpents slithering through his veins.
In the past, he had never been able to control it, but this time, he attempted to harness it.
“Ninefold Dragon-Chi! Protective true energy! Limitless mystical arts! Invincible in the world!”
“When the day comes that you truly master this Ninefold Dragon-Chi, you will understand the meaning of these words.”
This was the final statement of the drunken old man who had imparted his lifetime’s skills to him before departing.
The Ninefold Dragon-Chi had resided within him ever since, preserved from the moment the old man passed on his legacy. Yet, Kayden Scott had never fully mastered it.
As he meditated, the nine streams of Chi surged and rippled turbulently, rolling back and forth. They seemed particularly lively.
This was a sign that his body had recovered to at least half of its peak state. Only when his physical condition reached this threshold could he sense the movement of this energy!
As the nine streams churned within him, brimming with vitality, his phone rang again.
Without opening his eyes, he answered the call. “What now?”
He assumed it was Brodie calling back, but the voice on the other end was Greedy Wolf’s.
“Defender, bad news,” Greedy Wolf said gravely.
“What happened?” Kayden asked calmly. He had grown accustomed to receiving grim updates lately.
“The men I sent to protect Wood Faulkner… they’re all dead!”
Kayden’s heart skipped a beat. He opened his eyes wide, his sharp gaze fixed on the horizon.
“Where were their bodies found?” he asked, his voice steady despite the turbulence within.
“Vernon. Their corpses were discovered in a Dai Bamboo Restaurant there,” Greedy Wolf reported.
“What about the cause?”
“Silver needles-pierced straight into their Baekui. Instant kills. There wasn’t even a struggle.”
“So, Wood Faulkner disappeared in Vernon?” Kayden pressed.
“For now, that’s what we know. We’re actively tracking her location,” Greedy Wolf replied.
“Good. Keep me informed.” With that, Kayden ended the call and sank into thought.
The urgency of the situation left no room for meditation. His mind raced, trying to piece together what might have happened in Vernon.
It seemed he would have to visit Vernon personally. Wood Faulkner’s trail may have vanished, but every instinct told him she was still there, somewhere.
First Brodie’s call, and now this.
Vernon was destined to become a battleground once more.
At the Scott Family Estate
Brodie hung up, turning back to face the mix of emotions in the room. Some relatives looked expectant, others disdainful, while a few seemed indifferent or outright hostile.
Jason Scott, the family patriarch, leaned on his cane, his expression a mix of hope and frustration. “Brodie, what did your brother say? Will he come?”
“He doesn’t seem interested,” Brodie admitted with a disappointed shake of his head. “He said he’s not concerned with family affairs.”
Jason Scott slammed his cane on the ground, his face darkening with rage.
After a moment of tense silence, he relaxed slightly and let out a dismissive snort. “I don’t care how you do it. You will bring Kayden to this engagement. He is the rightful heir, and his absence is unacceptable. If he doesn’t show, cancel the engagement banquet.”
Jason’s tone left no room for argument.