It would take K three weeks to recover.

  By the end of the third week, Dae-Jung’s barge party would’ve long passed, and K’s first failure would come to haunt him.

  But for now— it was only the third day.

  The days that had slipped by were spent in a daze. Sleeping, tossing, and turning.

  Neither Banzai nor Pachi visited him again. Hun did not return. And the rest of his troupe did not even dare to step foot within that safehouse.

  But K was not alone.

  There was that little mouse, skittering around outside his window. K could hear it every night, running up and down the walls. It was the only thing that kept him company.

  At first, he had thought to tell Banzai about it— but K would rather deal with the problem himself.

  After all, everyone had abandoned him.

  And so, one day— K listened for the familiar scuttling of little feet behind the window pane.

  Slowly, he eased his way out of bed.

  He was so quiet, nobody could hear the faint shuffle of his blankets. The weight of his feet atop the floor as he padded to the window.

  With a hardened fist, he slammed his hand through the window; shards of glass shattering everywhere— and grunting, K gripped onto a writhing body.

  Eyes empty, K hauled it into the room.

  “Hello, Botan,” K said in a soft voice.

  Chin Hae’s son smiled back at him from his sprawled position on the floor.

  The boy’s garbs shifted as he moved, a deep grey overcoat slung over his shoulders. There was a leather gas mask loosely hanging from his neck. Etched into the mask was a burnt stamp of a dog.

  Gently, Botan righted himself and stood with his arm outstretched. He smiled, toothy. “Actually, my friends call me Dog!”

  K raised a brow, and without taking Botan’s hand— went back to sit on his bed. “I should’ve known.”

  Botan hugged his knees to his chest, still curled on the floor. “You’ve heard of me?”

  “Not just you. The entirety of the Earthly Branches, as well.” K nudged the box beside his bed. Inside, the pistols jostled. He didn’t need them for now. “I expected Dae-Jung to send a few members to spy on my troupe and I… but I never would’ve expected you to be Chin Hae’s son.”

  Botan shrugged, his young eyes glinting nearly red in the dim lighting. “Don’t worry. I’ve been waiting to kill my scumbag father since I could barely walk.”

  “I take it he wasn’t a fan of your work?” K crooked a brow.

  Throwing his head back, Botan let out a loud string of giggles. He clapped his hands together in joy. For a moment, he seemed like nothing more than a child.

  Still chuckling, Botan said, “My father would’ve gotten an aneurysm if he knew who I was. No… he sent me and my mistress mother away the moment I was born. She died a year after.”

  K nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. The Earthly Branches must’ve taken you in.”

  “How’d you guess?” Grinning, Botan picked at his coat, grabbing a speck of lint off his shoulders. Idly, he placed it in his palm.

  “I work with the Triads. Sob stories like yours are quite common.” K’s eyes narrowed as the sharp smell of clay soil reached his nose. Botan was activating his Path.

  “Hm,” Botan acceded, “Well, Dae-Jung ordered me to return to my father a couple weeks ago, since he believed that you’d target Chin Hae eventually. It was horrendous, but I had to live under my father’s roof for a month.”

  Botan’s lips twisted in disgust. “He kept trying to rope me into his stupid endeavors for power. Grand Chain… hah!”

  With a petulant flick of his fingers, he tossed his piece of lint straight into the center of his palm. Instantly, it teleported out of the other hand, which Botan poised over the other, making both hands face one another.

  This made the piece of lint project at a continuous loop, coming out of one palm— only to get sucked up by the other. It was an infinite cycle; the lint slowly zipping faster and faster as its speed was built up.

  “But you just let me kill Chin Hae,” K shook his head.

  The little speck of lint was going so fast now, it looked like a blur between Botan’s palms.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Oh, my Master didn’t care about whether or not my father lived.” Botan slowly stood, padding closer to K. “He just wanted me to know more about you.”

  The closer Botan got, the more K could hear the whoosh of air between the child’s open hands. The lint was going so fast now, it sliced through air resistance like butter.

  It probably had the speed and force of a bullet, now.

  K swallowed tersely. “Why is Dae-Jung so interested in me? You were even sent to live with your father before I was assigned to this mission…”

  “So?”

  “This all just seems awfully premeditated,” K muttered, closing his eyes in thought. “Normally, smaller enterprises like Dae-Jung’s don’t dare to battle against the Triads.”

  Unless—

  K’s eyes snapped open. “But… I saw Dae-Jung. I saw him at the Dragonfly Diner.”

  Botan tilted his head in confusion. “Pardon?”

  “He was there for a reason.” K began to murmur; so quickly that only Hun could’ve understood him. “I sent a letter to Wuhao and Emi— and they would’ve called all their connections to the place to try and understand who sent them the threat.”

  The boy smiled, as if realizing what conclusion K was soon to arrive on. Rambling on, K pressed a finger to his temples. “Both Wuhao and Emi were working for the Saigo gang… and Dae-Jung has close ties to the Langs.”

  The words were nearly choked out of K’s throat. “If Dae-Jung was colluding with Saigo’s rats, then— the Langs could be forming a truce with the Saigo gang.”

  They were following in the Triads’ footsteps— gathering the strength of an army unaffected by laws or morality. A brigade of soldiers that doled out threats, stole land, and got the Militia to turn a blind eye.

  All of which were misdeeds that the dynasties longed for. With one hand in the darkness, and the other in the light; the families could run the entirety of Tianxia however they wished.

  It was only a matter of war, now. A battle between the Triads and the Saigo gang; with the Guos and Langs spearheading their corps.

  It was exactly as Chet had hypothesized.

  And those that would suffer the greatest would be the people of Tianxia. They weren’t even pawns within this grand game. No, they were merely the tiles; trampled and stomped by chessmen that weren’t afraid of shedding a bit of blood.

  Right now, at this moment— the war was about to begin.

  “Was this your plan, then?” K raised his chin high. He still didn’t reach for a pistol. “Find me at my weakest… and kill me?”

  K was the Golden Phantom; the most valuable piece of the Triads and the Guos.

  And Botan had him pinned and trapped.

  With that, the boy grinned—

  Before directing one palm toward himself.

  The piece of lint he had been playing with blew out of his hand like a gunshot, shooting the boy straight in the leg.

  K didn’t even flinch as Botan laughed shakily, his little limbs trembling from the pain. The child collapsed on K’s bedside, staining the mattress a nasty red.

  “Dae-Jung sent me here to finish you off…” Botan coughed weakly. “But it seems like you were stronger than expected. You overpowered me.”

  K couldn’t tear his eyes away from the boy that sat beside him on the bed; bleeding on his crisp sheets. “You’re… letting me live?”

  He didn’t expect the earnest light in Botan’s eyes as he said, “It’s what you did for me.”

  K gasped, minutely— before crooning a laugh in disbelief.

  “All I did was spare you, Botan,” K’s voice warbled in shock. He could’ve died. He should’ve died. “This is war. I wouldn’t have faulted my enemy for trying to complete his mission.”

  “Well… we’re both loyal mutts, aren’t we?” Botan’s breaths were shallow. Despite everything, he was a child— the pain was making him delirious. He smiled, all teeth. “It would do us some good to bite back a little now and again.”

  “Yes…” K hummed, his fingers twisting the edge of one of his bandages. Slowly, he unfurled a long strip of gauze from his arm. He repeated, “...Bite back.”

  Softly, he spun the gauze around Botan’s injured leg, making sure to keep the bandage tight. He raised his head to meet Botan’s gaze; but the boy had already passed out from exhaustion.

  K closed his eyes.

  The proper thing to do would be to find Banzai and tell him everything. If they were smart, they could develop a plan and strike the Langs and Dae-Jung when they least expected it— destroy one facet of their power.

  A wide, crooked smile spread across K’s face.

  A plan was forming. And if he executed it perfectly— all’s well that ends well.

  So, after spending three days wrapped in that bed:

  K sneaked out.

  K slipped his blouse and frock coat back on. Tiptoed out of the safehouse, and avoided the men stationed out front.

  Not that they’d stop him— but K didn’t want word of this reaching Master Banzai.

  He knew that the stitches running along his back were still fresh. He needed to avoid moving too much, or else he’d risk splitting them open and infecting the wound.

  But he knew he needed to do this. K had already wasted enough time as it was.

  What K didn’t expect, however— was to find the dance hall closed for the day.

  Slowly, K walked up the large concrete steps leading up to the entrance. For once, there were no people mingling outside the entryway. K slipped his own copy of keys into the large lock draped over the double doors.

  His footsteps echoed down the empty corridor as he stepped into the Guerdon.

  He didn’t let this deter him as he made his way down to the main dance hall. It was the quietest K had ever heard the place. There was no band playing, no singer performing, and no patrons dancing.

  It was like an empty ballroom, lying forgotten.

  “Kizuna?”

  K turned to the voice that had slowly become familiar to him. “Shinju.”

  “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” Shinju stepped closer, inspecting his torso with a relieved smile.

  “Yes, well…” K waved the topic away. “Where is everyone else?”

  “The troupe’s still here. Pachi had to step out with Mr. Yoon, so they closed the dance hall for today.”

  K wondered if it was related to Hun, but pushed it out of his mind.

  He turned to Shinju with an order on his lips— which was a talent he was adept at, what with having practiced on Hun.

  “Call the rest of the troupe here,” K said. “I would like to have a word with all of you.”