Chapter 34: Divine Actor
Kage sighed as he stepped out of the Forge of Knowledge. Then his face twisted with intense disgust.
[The Wolf of the North is very confused. He asks who this Hwi-Geon person is?]
[The Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth is impressed by your acting skills.]
[The Wolf of the North barks a laugh. He says the Heretic Inquisitor of Eternal Truth is dead wrong—your acting needs work. He speaks of the time he had to befriend an enemy who’d beheaded his wife, how he had to stare into that enemy’s eyes and smile with no malicious intent in his heart because the enemy would detect even the slightest hint of it... he says you should have seen it!]
Kage didn’t answer them. Instead, he continued forward, behind the gates and through the paths. He was furious.
’That miserable son of a cattle. I wish I could teach him his lesson up close. Face to face. That fool—so incompetent. Even after having Hwi-Geon wrapped around his fingers, he failed miserably. I can see the reason now. What? I had to point your attention to the Soul Order of the Temporal Truth before you knew to use it. Shouldn’t that be obvious, fool? You shouldn’t even be employing the help of a child—you should have relentlessly tried to kill me. But your failure to think along those lines alone proves your incompetence.
’I even had to dirty my hands because the bastard really looked like he was going to lose. What is that clumsy footwork? No strong foundation. Did he skip the basics? Ah, infuriating. Dumb people all around.’
Kage stomped forward along the path back home. He hated incompetent people—people who were weak and deluded, thinking they had it all figured out.
Weak people who couldn’t see their own weakness disgusted Kage the most.
He exhaled away all the anger and eventually picked up his legs, dashing forward at full speed. He had to reach the Apex Tower as soon as possible, as exhausted as possible, and report all this damn thing to his father.
As Kage ran at full speed, he glanced to the side, confirming that the crumpled paper he’d thrown earlier was there. He poured more speed into his legs and made a hell of a run for it, heading toward the Apex Tower the moment he descended the wide stairs that led into the main compound structure.
As Kage approached the Apex Tower, he panted, staggering and sweating as he ran forward.
He’d almost reached the wide doors when a figure suddenly materialized in front of him, causing him to jolt in fear and stagger backward, falling on his butt.
"Ahhh! Ahhhh!"
He panted in relief. The fear that had terrorized him was still palpable on his face.
"Butler Guren!"
Kage called out with a great heave of relief. Then he remembered—the reason he was here.
"Father! I need to see Father! Th—there... there over there."
Guren slowly crouched and touched Kage’s shoulder.
"Young lord, take a deep breath..."
Kage looked at him.
’Yeah, yeah...’
He did as the butler instructed and took a deep breath, then released it.
Guren nodded.
"Now, speak..."
Kage wanted to smack his lips at what he’d just done, but he was in no position to, so he maintained a perfect facade.
"Well, over there... I went to the Forge to pick up a book to read... th—then I o—overheard s–something... s—strange."
Guren looked down at Kage, examining the boy.
’This won’t do... he’s too terrified to even properly articulate his words. What could have happened?’
"Guren."
The Patriarch’s voice echoed like thunder. Immediately, the butler lowered his head.
"Bring him in."
"Yes, High Patriarch."
He looked down at Kage and with one hand grabbed him, carrying him to his right side like he was casually carrying a large, delicate box.
He set Kage down before the Patriarch, who leaned with one elbow casually on the burning red-hot colossal anvil.
"Speak."
Kage immediately bowed his head. His voice became clear, though still trembling, reflective of the fear he was suppressing.
"I went to the Forge of Knowledge to pick up a new book. Then at the fourth level, I ran into a Firekeeper who was saying something about rescuing a prisoner—someone who was going to be instrumental to the demise of the great Ironstorm clan. I–I t–trembled when I heard it and I t–tried to r–run. But he came after me."
Kage paused and took a deep breath before continuing. His voice gained a little more stability.
"Then two men in black clothes... they came out to defend me. I ran and ran and didn’t stop running. I ran here to tell you, Father—the secret men you asked to protect me... the Firekeeper might have killed them, and he’s plotting something. He’s definitely trying to free a prisoner!"
The Patriarch looked at Kage with slight curiosity, leaning away from the anvil and leaving a deep, caved-in mark caused by the weight of his elbow pressing on the red-hot metal.
"Interesting. But I didn’t ask anyone to protect you in secrecy. I was under the impression that you’re capable of protecting yourself."
Guren climbed the stairs and walked closer to the Patriarch, whispering something to him.
The Patriarch nodded and looked down at Kage.
"It seems your elder brother was rather curious about you. Since he was curious, I shall summon him and ask him to resolve this matter. You will follow him and see how this is done."
Kage nodded and responded sharply to his father.
"Yes, Father!"
The man gestured at him.
"Leave now. Guren, summon Ryuu. And escort this young man out."
Guren bowed his head.
"Yes, High Patriarch."
He stepped back and walked out of the hall with Kage.
As they stepped out and walked away, Kage couldn’t help but feel slightly awestruck. He’d expected this news would leave the Patriarch indifferent, but the Patriarch’s indifference even surpassed his own expectations.
If Kage hadn’t orchestrated the whole thing, he might have said the Patriarch had seen it coming from miles away.
But then, there was virtually no chance the Patriarch didn’t know about the guy’s existence. Perhaps he just let him stay.
’That has to be why he didn’t ask me any questions at all.’
Guren observed Kage as they walked. Then he asked hesitantly, "Is anything bothering you, young lord?"
Kage stopped abruptly.
’Time for another scene. Sigh.’
He lowered his head in pain, trembling as he clenched his fist. Then he looked at Guren with strange emotions in his eyes—a mixture of pain and confusion.
"I... I expected Father would take this seriously. The clan could suffer damages from this. I don’t know, but this prisoner seemed quite important, and the man seemed to have been planning for a long time."
Guren looked at the young lord with a blank gaze before responding in an uncharacteristic tone.
"The Patriarch sees all. Currently, Shen Fengxi isn’t the only enemy hoping for an opportunity to destroy the clan."
’Of course he does...’
Kage’s eyes widened.
"Father knows?"
Guren continued to look down at Kage, observing him with a blank, unreadable gaze.
"If you’re a man who knows how to make a lot of enemies, you must also know how to be watchful. More importantly, the Patriarch loves to keep his enemies close."
Kage suppressed a chuckle.
’Yeah... I guess I was the enemy he never knew he’d made. Because I was nowhere close to him.’
Guren, still looking at Kage, added:
"Don’t worry. Lord Ryuu is a capable man. He will handle this without fail."
Kage nodded in response, and they continued walking.
But internally, he grinned maliciously.
’Today is the beginning of that bastard’s failure. How dare you watch my every move in secrecy.’