Kai sat there like a lifeless man in the company of a child.
It troubled him.
The last temple, and what little Hao had told him about it, made Kai think that the game wasn't as simple as he had thought.
When he first came to the Primordial Tower, he had thought it would be just about killing, ascending, becoming powerful in the worlds, and repeating the process. Now, he would have to retake every step he had trodden, trying to find a cause, a reason which hadn't existed before in his mind.
The first of those steps was his Luck.
Kai shook his head, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling in his mind. There was no reason to dwell on things that he didn't understand fully yet.
Let's go to the Guild, Kai thought. Use my father and steal some Mission Credits, weapons, and materials. Go to the battle, and return to the Random World. Yes. Let's start with becoming powerful.
But just as he turned around, the boy who looked as if he had passed out called out to him.
"Wait…" little Hao said meekly. "You going to the Silver Hunters Guild?"
Kai frowned. "Yes."
"Don't go there," the boy said, opening his swollen eyes a little. "Mother said something bad had happened there 3 days ago."
"What bad?" Kai asked, casually.
"I don't know, but my mother does," Little Hao said, trying to sit up. "You can take me there and ask for it from her. She will tell you, I promise."
Is he setting me up for some ambush? Kai asked himself. But who can dare to attack me below the 4th floor and live to tell the tale?
Kai smiled. He grabbed the boy's hand and flung him over his shoulder. "Point the way."
*
*
Knock! Knock!
"Who is this?" a shrill, panicked voice demanded from inside.
The wooden door looked hanging on its hinges and there was a plate bolted on the door saying…
This House is the property of the Empire.
Kai stared at the plate as the boy put his mouth against the door. "Ma, it's me!"
The sound of hastened steps rustled out, reaching Kai's ears.
The doors flung open inwards, and Kai saw the woman, then. She was smaller than him but had long legs for her height. Common black-brown eyes and black hair couldn't hide the frailty of her face. Though she looked ill, the paleness of her skin made her look even more beautiful.
The woman gasped.
"Hao, are you alright?" she asked, her hands running all over the boy, checking for any fresh blood. "Who did this to you?"
Only then did the woman seem to notice Kai.
She glared at him murderously, biting her lower lip. "How heartless can you be to beat a child like that?" she demanded, fighting back the tears. "What did my little Hao do to you? Tell me. You want Credits, right? How much does he owe you?"
Kai smiled wryly. The boy came to clear the misunderstanding.
"No, ma," Little Hao said. "He helped me. That fat rascal had caught me in the deserted street. If it wasn't for the big brother, he would have taken my Card."
At the mention of the Card, little Hao took out his Credits Storage Card and handed it over to his mother. She looked at the Card, her eyes fuming with anger and worry. "You!" she rebuked the child. "How many times have I told you to not go out with your father's Card? Go in. Now."
She looked at Kai apologetically. "I am sorry," she said. "Thank you for helping my son. But I am afraid those three will come back, anyway."
"Ma, they won't," the boy said, one leg inside the house. "Big Brother here has killed them all. I have promised him you will tell him everything about what happened at the Silver Hunters Guild."
The woman's eyes went wide. Helping the boy was one matter, and killing someone was another. Her left hand shook as it went to little Hao and wrapped itself around his shoulders as if trying to hide him from Kai's eyes.
"Yes. Yes," little Hao's mother muttered to herself. "I will. Come inside, uh…"
"Desmond."
"I am Selena Hao. Come inside Desmond. From the old Haos, only we have remained. We have become poor, but we still remember the old ways. Come."
Everything was plain inside. Just a pot for water, a makeshift bathroom, one room, and a kitchen where Kai himself would have struggled to stand upright. There was one wooden cot in a corner, and some make-up accessories besides a broken mirror.
The woman took out a stool, dusting it off.
"Please sit, Desmond," she said, taking out a medical kit. "Little Hao, come here. Let me look at you."
Kai sat down, worrying if the stool would even hold his weight. It creaked and moaned, but kept standing somehow. Selena put salve on little Hao's bruises and looked at Kai. "May I ask why you want to go to Silver Hunters Guild?"
"No, you may not."
Selena nodded. "There was a mutiny three days ago among the members of the Silver Hunters Guild," she said, making sure the boy wouldn't flinch away from her. "The Vice-Leader of the Guild hadn't returned from his mission, presumed dead, and the seat went to Ser Morgan Tussy after him. But, overnight, the 3rd in command killed the old knight and took over the entire Guild on the 2nd floor."
Kai's jaw fell open. His face contorted, turning ugly. There was a genuine pain in his heart, thinking of Ser Morgan Tussy.
Who killed him? Kai's thoughts roared in his mind. Who stole the biggest pile of Mission Credits from me?
"It all happened too fast," Selena mumbled, looking perfunctorily at Kai. "All things seem to happen too fast these days."
"All things?" Kai wondered. "Are there more things of this nature that have happened?"
Selena's face became hard, then. "Yes," she nodded. "But I couldn't relate them to each other, to be honest. It had happened just after this mutiny. Baron Silvas died of a heart attack. His younger brother, also a top 3rd-floor Contestant, took over the Barony, convincing all three organizations overnight.
"You see. For Barony, one must have unanimous votes from the heads of top organizations on the 3rd floor. One must also be the Leader of one of those organizations. After becoming a Baron, he or she must relegate that position to their Vice Leader."
Selena was right. Even Kai couldn't find any relation. At least, not until she said the following words.
"The late Baron Silvas was the Leader of Silver Hunters Guild before he became the Baron," she continued. "But his younger brother was the leader of the Thunder Faction's branch on the 2nd floor. All were surprised how he convinced Silver Hunters Guild so soon. The delegates from the Empire had to grant him Nobility."
Kai's breathing quickened. His eyes shone like two bright stars, a smile creeping upon his face. He could feel it. The hidden politics throbbed at the tips of his fingers, tugging at his heart.
"Are you alright?" Selena asked, closing the medical kit. "You seem rather pale."
Kai brushed off the excitement. "I am just tired," he said. "Thank you. I must go now."
"No, big brother," little Hao jumped at Kai. "Stay. Today we will have a party."
'Party?' Kai frowned at the word.
"Ignore him," Selena said, tapping the boy at the back of his neck. "Whenever we eat fresh bread, he calls it a party."
Kai observed a deep rosy blush coming to the woman's cheek.
"Little Hao is right, though," Selena said, looking at some cobwebs she found interesting. "It's almost evening. Stay here for the night. The inns are costly near the Yellow-Sea Gate."
Price wasn't the issue for Kai. He should have refused the offer. But, even before he had given it a proper thought, Kai found himself nodding.
Selena smiled. "I am taking little Hao to a physician," she said, standing up. "The salve will only lessen the swelling and pain. Who knows how much damage those brutes had done to my child? We will be back by late evening. You can rest here till then."
"You are leaving me at your home?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aren't you trusting me too much?"
Selena smiled ruefully. "It's not a matter of trust," she said. "What is there to steal in this room?"