“Men tend to get tipsy and lose themselves when the night falls. Once the lights go off, no one will pay much attention. They won’t notice your face. The only thing they care about is how you can satisfy them and kindle their passion. As long as you can make them happy, money will definitely follow!”
“You know, I do have a sense of compassion, so let me help you out. Whatever others pay you, I’ll only take a ten percent cut. For instance, if you earn five hundred, I’ll only take fifty. I promise you’ll have business every day, with at least ten orders. What do you say? Is that good?”
The words that came out of his mouth were absolutely nasty and vicious!
The girl shook her head in disbelief as she pleaded, “No! Owen, I just want you to pay back what you owe my father. I know you’re not short on cash. I have to pay my mother’s medical bill. I’m begging you!”
Finally running out of patience, Owen lost his temper. He stood up abruptly and rudely kicked away the pitiful girl who was clinging desperately to his pants. His face twisted with rage, and he sneered, “What the hell is this? Are you asking for trouble? I’ve been kind enough to help you, sending business your way. And now you have the nerve to ask me for money? You ungrateful bitch!”
“You have no idea how much I take from other women! At least thirty percent! I’m only taking ten percent from you, and that is already a massive favor! And this is how you repay me? By asking me for money?!”
The nonsense he spouted was a blatant distortion of the truth! He owed money to this poor girl but was trying to exploit her to earn for himself. When she refused, he turned around and blamed her! This was probably the most shameless debtor in existence.
“Hey, you idiot!”
Suddenly, a cold, cutting voice rang out. A young man, dressed simply and plainly, walked over with an unfriendly look.
“You’ve gone too far,” Kayden shot Owen an icy glare and said in a low, warning tone.
As he spoke, he gently helped the girl to her feet. She looked up in surprise, her eyes locking onto Kayden’s unfamiliar face. But when she saw him, she didn’t even have the presence of mind to thank him.
As soon as she realized what was happening, her instinctive reaction was to throw her hands up, frantically trying to cover the birthmark on one side of her face!
But it was already too late, and Kayden had seen it. The girl had a birthmark at the corner of her eye, a striking red patch that extended over her eye. It completely overshadowed her natural beauty, as the birthmark was so prominent it drew everyone’s attention at first glance.
The birthmark explained perfectly why Owen Thomas had said, sneeringly, that while her looks were lacking, her figure was undeniably alluring.
Owen’s lips curled into a sneer as he noticed Kayden’s expression. “What’s the matter? Thinking of playing hero?” he said in a tone heavy with mockery.
Kayden slowly raised his head to meet Owen’s gaze. He didn’t say a word, but the cold, piercing look in his eyes sent an unspoken warning.
But Owen was far too dumb, or far too arrogant, to read the threat. He barked out another derisive laugh and said, “You’d better get lost, you bastard! Do you know who I am? I’m with the Black Tortoise Hall! Do you understand what that means?”
As if the very mention of the “Black Tortoise Hall” inflated his confidence, Owen puffed out his chest, standing taller with a swaggering air of superiority.
Black Tortoise Hall? Kayden didn’t care. He didn’t know what it was, and he had no interest in finding out.
All he knew was that this guy was asking for a good beating. Kayden had always believed in one principle, that debts must be paid, so he couldn’t tolerate this jerk’s despicable behavior of defaulting on debts and bullying a girl.
With that thought, Kayden stepped forward, and his eyes glinted with dangerous resolve.
Owen’s disdain was plain on his face as he watched Kayden approach. He snorted derisively. “Don’t even bother apologizing! It’s far too late for that now. Here’s what’s going to happen: you’re going to cough up ten thousand dollars as the protection fee, or I’ll make your life a living hell.”
That arrogance was the final straw. Owen had jumped headfirst into his own grave!
Without hesitation, Kayden moved. He raised his leg and delivered a single, explosive kick to Owen’s chest.
The impact of that kick was devastating. Owen’s body flew backward like a broken puppet, hurtling more than ten meters before crashing to the ground!
A choked scream escaped him as he clutched his chest, writhing in agony. His limbs twisted at odd angles like a discarded rag doll.
“Damn it! Damn it!” he choked out between pained gasps, and his curses spilled out in hoarse, shaky breaths.
Kayden stepped closer, his shadow looming over Owen. His voice was low and steady, every word dripping with warning. “Debts must be paid. That’s the rule. You owe the girl her money, so pay up. If you don’t, her father will come collect it himself. He will make sure you suffer!”
“You think you can scare me, huh? Like hell I’m afraid of ghosts! You bastard, how dare you kick me? You’re done for!” Owen spat out his threats, but he didn’t dare stay a second longer. He scrambled to his feet and spun around, taking off at full speed. He wasn’t about to test his luck. Come on! To fight with a man who could kick him flying across the room? That wasn’t a fight he could win.
He wasn’t running because he’d given up. He was running to call for backup!
But despite the nasty kick he’d taken, Owen bolted like the wind. If you signed him up for a marathon right now, he might actually have a shot at a medal.
Watching Owen flee with surprising agility, the girl let out a soft gasp, and her expression was a mix of panic and fear.
Kayden turned to the young girl in the suspender dress and asked gently, “Are you alright, miss?”
Felicity Mallory shook her head. “I’m fine. Thank you, sir… but I need to catch him. If I don’t get the money back, my mother will die.”
Her words hung heavy in the air, and tears brimmed in her eyes once more. As she tried to walk past Kayden, he stepped forward to stop her.
He raised his hand and grasped her hand to hold her back. For the first time, their bare skin touched. Earlier, their contact had been through a layer of gauze. This time, the touch was direct and electric. The moment their skin met, Felicity visibly shuddered. The faint tremor radiated from her fingertips to her core.
The shock of that touch wasn’t one-sided; Kayden froze as well. His entire body stiffened as something cold-no, something piercing-flowed into him. It’s as if some kind of icy energy from Felicity surged into his body, running through his veins like seawater.
The moment the energy entered, the nine dormant dragons hidden within Kayden stirred violently.
Usually silent and unmoving, the nine enigmatic entities suddenly sprang to life, thrashing through his body like a storm. They raced through his limbs and chest with terrifying speed, and their movements were wild and fierce as though trying to break through the restraint.
In a matter of moments, all nine dragons converged at Kayden’s heart! They slammed against his cardiac walls relentlessly, like a pack of wild beasts trying to break free of their cage.
“Argh!” Kayden suddenly lurched forward, coughing violently. A mouthful of blood spilled from his lips, splattering the ground in gruesome streaks.
His hand released Felicity’s arm in a flash, and before he could steady himself, he fell to one knee, collapsing under the force of his body’s reaction.
As his gaze dropped, he saw the blood he had just coughed up. It’s a horrifying mixture of black, clotted sludge and fresh crimson blood.
At that moment, it dawned on Kayden. The Ninefold Dragon-Chi had been working inside him to expel the stagnant blood and mend his wounds! And as for the reason that caused the dragons to stir, it was probably because he had held Felicity’s hand. In that brief contact, he had felt something extraordinary within her.
Felicity had never seen such a startling turn of events. When Kayden began coughing blood, she cried out in alarm and her face drained of all color. Panicked, she darted forward to steady him by the arm. “Are… are you alright?”
Kayden shook his head lightly as if to reassure her, then lifted his eyes back to her face.
His stare made her heart leap. Flustered, Felicity quickly dropped her head, avoiding his gaze. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “It’s my fault. I must have scared you! I scared you so much you coughed up blood!” she muttered, her voice tinged with guilt and embarrassment.
For as long as she could remember, Felicity had lived in the shadow of her birthmark. She lived her life walking on eggshells, terrified of being noticed by others.
Now, standing before Kayden, she dared not meet his gaze. She was terrified, terrified of catching a glimmer of disdain in his eyes, terrified of shattering the fragile warmth that enveloped them at this moment!
But Kayden didn’t look away. He shook his head again. His gaze, filled with wonder, lingered on her face as if drawn by a force beyond his control. “No… you didn’t scare me. You amazed me.”
How could it be real? How could the quiet girl before him turn out to have an extraordinary Innate Spiritual Body?!