ã€ŠThe Hidden Artefactã€‹


 Chapter 1

    A traveller is not a job, nor a profession¡­ It¡¯s a lifestyle.

    Many have claimed to be a traveller, saying that they have went to countless countries all around the globe. But that is false.

    For the true definition of a traveller is much, much more different to what many believe.

    ---

    ¡°Welcome to China, Sky Yun.¡±

    A young airplane attendant had said to the man next to her. She was sceptical about this man however, he looked in his mid-20¡¯s with a worn-out brown bandana and huge sunglasses to cover his face.

    Although he looked like that, from England to China he took a first-class trip and didn¡¯t seemed fazed at all. It almost seemed he was used to this treatment.

    ¡°The plane is landing, so please be comfortable as we land.¡±

    As soon as she said that, a soothing yet manly voice then said,

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    Her face reddened like a tomato as soon as she heard his voice. In her mind, it seemed as if it was a message from god himself.

    ¡°Yo-you¡¯re welcome¡­¡±

    She then turned away and ran off to the next person in the plane.

    ¡®Back to China huh¡¯.

    His head was filled with anticipation, he hasn¡¯t been back to China in almost 10 years. When he was a young boy, his family kicked him out and he was found by an old man who taught him everything from sword fighting to marksmanship.

    All so that he could succeed the old man¡¯s legacy.

    As he was having a flashback on his journey, he was then interrupted as the plane landed and he was asked to leave the plane.

    He left the plane, and had many people staring at him. Although confused at first, he then realised its due to his current look. He had returned from England on a mission to retrieve a artefact from the Tudor Era that is worth over 75 million dollars.

    After the mission, he then was requested by that old man to return to China on a mission to retrieve something that many say is a myth.

    The Ruyi Jingu Bang.

    It¡¯s the legendary staff that the Monkey King, Sun Wukong had held.

    Many say that the story from the 16<sup>th</sup> Century classic ¡®Journey to the West¡¯ was a myth, a fictional tale for readers.

    However, it is now speculated that it might not be as fictional as many people would think it is.

    Sky Yun was currently wearing a bandana and sunglasses in order to hide is appearance so that people will not recognise him as soon as he returns to China.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Although ordinary people might not know him, he is well-known in the underworld as a figure that people would never dare face. His training from the old man was put into use countless times in missions due to many other competitors looking for the artefact for their personal gain. His signature katana and pistol is known to have slain many individuals.

    Although this was a mission, it was clear to Sky Yun that he would have to stay in China for a long time, searching for a treasure that perhaps might not be real in the first place.

    ¡®I don¡¯t think anyone still remembers me huh¡¯

    It has been 10 years since he was in China, he had a different last name and lived a life perhaps many envied. But that soon changed when his family kicked him out.

    ¡®Kicking out is a funny term, perhaps expelled seems appropriate¡¯

    At the time, he felt like his world was crumbling, his mother¡¯s dead cold eyes piercing through him as an allegation against him which was false had spread.

    He had a father, mother and a little sister. His mother loved him dearly and he had a little sister aged 10 to take care of.

    His father however, despised his own son.

    ¡°Here is your suitcase, welcome to Beijing and have a nice stay!¡±

    He snapped out of his daydream and stared at the airport attendant who gave him his suitcase. He had lost countless emotions when he was left to rot without any support from his family. He felt nothing, his eyes void of happiness, anger nor sadness. Just emptiness.

    He left the airport and went to the hotel he had booked before.

    As soon as he came to his room, he then opened up his laptop and called the old man.

    RING RING

    As soon as the ringing stopped, an old man¡¯s face with a fedora appeared. He had grey hair and beard, with glasses and had an already lit cigar in his mouth.

    ¡°Oh~ its you Yun¡¯er. I got some stuff to send you about this mission, but this might take years. Although I was hesitant about giving you this mission, this mission is extremely important to our organisation and the whole world in general¡±

    As soon as he called, the old man already started babbling about how important this mission is. Sky Yun did not listen to a word he was saying. After 10 minutes of constant chatter, Sky Yun opened his mouth.

    ¡°Old man, you talk too much¡­ Details and clues about mission please.¡±

    The old man puffed his cigar and had a cold look, although he seemed bubbly towards Sky Yun he was actually known as the ¡®The Baphomet¡¯.

    His fame came from his work as a mercenary working in the underworld. He had killed countless people.

    ¡°You know young man, although this is a mission, I want you to live a life from now on. Something is going to happen soon and although you might wish to participate this perhaps could lead a huge war in the underworld.¡±

    Sky Yun¡¯s eyes bulged as he heard the old man¡¯s words. He is sent on this mission not because it is a mission, but it seemed it is a retirement.

    Sky Yun is currently 27 years old, he has been working as a mercenary working in the old man¡¯s company since he was 16 years old. The old man saved him from great despair and now it seemed the old man wishes to save him again.

    ¡°What¡­ sort of thing will lead the underworld to a war that could make you make me leave?¡±

    The old man heard Sky Yun¡¯s words and again, took another puff of his cigar and stared deep into Sky Yuns eyes.

    ¡°Although on paper, you are the heir to my company you are truly more than that. I have never had a family nor could have one for that matter. But you are like a grandchild to me, you are what I shall never risk in my life ever. You need to find your happiness. Start something new, live a life and have a family. The lifestyle that we both lead only ends in 1 way, death¡±

    Sky Yun looked at the old man and stayed silent. He then nodded and said,

    ¡°I will live a peaceful life looking for the artefact, but only if you return safe. You are getting old, you need to rest before you die. If you die, then I don¡¯t know what I ca- ¡°

    Sky Yun hasn¡¯t teared once for almost a decade, the old man was family to him when his family didn¡¯t want him.

    ¡°HAHAHA! I haven¡¯t seen you cry since the first day of training! Little boy, do not worry about me. I shall be safe and alive for the day you get me a great-grandchild!¡±

    The old man returned to his bubbly attitude as he smiled and laughed like a child.

    The call ended after the old man had stuff to do. Sky Yun then laid back on his bed with his focus on the ceiling.

    ¡®To start a normal life huh¡¯.

    He does not know how to have a normal life, but from countless cultures from different countries he remembered something he wanted to start if he retired.

    ¡®Oh yeah, lets open a coffee shop¡¯.

 Chapter 2

    The Past And The Future

    ¡°Chen Yun, you are a disgrace to this whole family and its generations before! Therefore, as the head of this family, you are hereby expelled from the Chen Family and must live out the rest of your life without the name Chen!¡±

    Chen Yun looked at the man in front of him, his big stature and menacing appearance might cause many to be in fright when they come in contact with this man.

    However, this man isn¡¯t a stranger towards Chen Yun. This man is his father, Chen Long.

    Chen Long was the head of the infamous Chen Family of Beijing, they control most of China¡¯s shipping industry, and has created countless individuals considered as the new head of their generation.

    He had only one son and one daughter, his daughter was a child and therefore he had unrequited love for his daughter, despite his cold demeanour. However, Chen Yun his only son, the kid who will take over the throne after he is gone from this world; was a disgrace to his eyes.

    Chen Yun didn¡¯t have any good qualities, he couldn¡¯t lead nor had the charisma to do so. He was a quiet child who was bullied constantly throughout his school years. By the age of seventeen, he still was someone that Chen Long considered to be weak and feeble.

    However, his wife, Yang Su loved Chen Yun nonetheless, and although Chen Long hates his son, he must accept him as part of the family or else, the Su family will not partner with them.

    One day, an incident occurred when the young miss of the Lin family was sexually harassed by someone.

    This hooded person was identified to be 17 years of age, and had a cut across his neck.

    Although the identity of the hooded person was not found, Chen Long had decided to plant all the evidence on his son ¡®Chen Yun¡¯ so that the next in line was someone worthier.

    Chen Yun was his flesh and blood, but Chen Long did not care. He only wished for the Chen Family to rise up as the most powerful family in Beijing.

    In the middle of the night, as an inspector, sent from the Lin family, came to check the Chen Family¡¯s grounds to see if the perpetrator was here, Chen Long ordered someone to leave a scar on Chen Yun¡¯s neck, whilst he was asleep.

    The inspector was someone that the Lin family had asked to help, but little did they know that the inspector was someone the Chen Family had a good relationship with, and was ordered to plant everything on Chen Yun.

    When Chen Yun woke up he was taken to a room with countless people from both the Chen and the Lin family, except for the daughters of each family. Chen Yun¡¯s mother, father, the head of Lin family and his wife were present.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    He knew he was set up the second he was told, before he could speak, his mother screamed.

    ¡°SHUT UP! I CARED AND LOVED YOU LIKE A SON YET YOU DO THIS? HOW DARE YOU!¡±

    Chen Yun loved his mother, from childhood to now she has never hated him for anything and believed him for any wrong doing others did to him.

    In the dark world he lived in, his mother was his light and hope.

    Now that she has abandoned him, he had no one left. His heart shattered when he heard this, he was sentenced to banishment, as the Lin family had decided to then stop the charges.

    He left the Chen Family in embarrassment, with no family and money in hand, he travelled to Shanghai.

    He was left on the streets of Shanghai alone, sleeping in alleyways he had resigned to his fate. However, one fateful night occurred.

    As Chen Yun was pickpocketing for money so that he could eat, he met a strange old man with a fedora.

    His teeth, although a few lost was filled with shine as if the gods were shining upon it.

    The old man stared at Chen Yun and laughed like a mad man for a while, and after a brief talk on who Chen Yun was and why he was there, the old man gave Chen Yun a ultimatum.

    ¡°Young man, you truly are a forsaken child! But I got a deal that perhaps you might want¡­¡±

    ¡°Come work for me! A contract between me and you for 10 years. After 10 years of service with all the money you earn from this you can start a proper life from then on. Agreed?¡±

    The contract, and the bind between an old man and the former Chen heir was created. For the next 10 years, Chen Yun had taken the old mans last name, Sky, and became a man many feared across the underworld known as the ¡®Lonely Swordsman¡¯, a man who took no mission as  a group and killed countless with the blade he acquired from the old man years ago.

    Sky Yun wakes up after the long dream, his flashbacks were a daily occurrence with most being bad and a few being good. This sort of life he had chose was something that perhaps both saved¡­ and cursed his life.

    He then got up from his bed and had a shower, he packed his bags and headed towards Shanghai¡¯s University to check out the coffee shop for sale.

    As soon as he arrived after leaving his bags at a hotel near the university, he was then approached by an elderly couple.

    ¡°Are you the young man that wishes to buy our shop?¡±

    The old man asked, with a weak voice.

    After years of experience in the field, he learnt to tell if someone is dying. The old man, although able to talk had only a few months to live and the wife beside who also seemed to have a few months to live.

    ¡°Yes, please tell me the price of this shop¡±

    He went straight to the point; Sky Yun took out a notepad and pen whilst waiting for the offer.

    ¡°50,000 RMB, young man can you afford this price?¡±

    ¡°Yes, here is a cheque.¡±

    The old man was at first shocked to see a man in his late twenties being able to afford such a pricey shop.

    Without explaining, he then took out the cheque and the elderly couple took off.

    All the furniture and other items within the shop before were taken out leaving an empty shop with nothing in it.

    Sky Yun had hundreds of millions in his bank from countless missions. Some wish to spend it on luxury and others useful items, but Sky Yun did not spend much at all. His food and clothes were relatively cheap and his weapons were given to him by the old man.

    With the amount of savings, he has acquired, he could buy a huge skyscraper, refurbish it and still have money left.

    Sky Yun looked at the future coffee shop and remembered that this is his new life from now on. He removed the scarf he has never taken off when outside, and revealed a tattoo across his neck with a quote written on it, in a unique font.

    ¡®Alone in the dark world¡¯

    Something he had made during his first mission, he felt he was alone in the dark world and perhaps he still is today.

    Perhaps that could change one day.

    Perhaps¡­ One day

 Chapter 3

    Who Told You?

    After the purchase of the future coffee shop, Sky Yun decided to contact a building agency in order to refurbish the building.

    After a few rings he was greeted by a deep voice, on the other side of the phone.

    ¡°Hello this is Xiao¡¯s Refurbishment how may I help you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking for my shop to be refurbished. I am looking for your highest quality, no matter the price.¡±

    Sky Yun did not care about spending his money, it was just an object to him.

    ¡°Oh? We currently offer a high-quality service that is around 25,000 RMB¡± The voice on the other side was pretty shocked to hear Sky Yun say that he could afford high quality furniture. From what he could tell, the caller was either a hoax or a really huge deal for his establishment.

    ¡°Yeah, I will accept that deal. Also, some other furniture is needed for my home which is located within the shop. I wish to buy a service for that also.¡±

    The home inside the coffee shop was perfect for Sky Yun, it was a single bedroom apartment located at the back of the shop with a living room, kitchen and bathroom.

    ¡°Deal, that service would cost how much??¡±

    ¡°25,500¡±

    Sky Yun then gave the address to the man on the phone, and headed straight out for a walk around the area.

    Shanghai University Campus, filled with young individuals and professors walking around talking and socialising with one another.

    Sky Yun never experienced such an atmosphere, for years he was used to the war zone atmosphere and espionage missions, which led to him leaving after completing a mission.

    School was something he did not enjoy, the constant bullying and pressure to gain the best grade from his family took a toll on his mindset. This sort of mindset was nothing to Sky Yun now, due to experience or age perhaps.

    He was currently wearing a black tight polo shirt, with black jeans and a scarf across his neck

    This caught the eyes of many around him, his robust figure, long black hair and handsome face caused many reactions from both genders. Many looked in envy and others in drool.

    He did not care however, and after walking endlessly for an hour across the campus he decided to return to his hotel room.

    As he walked, he spotted a woman.

    Curly hair, freckles and blue eyes. Her smile shining brightly with a man beside her.

    Sky Yun was fascinated by her, but as soon as he saw that she was with a man, he snapped back to reality.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    He looked at her face, trying to remember every detail of her face, so that if he sees her next time he could, perhaps, introduce himself.

    Sky Yun was never a man who felt the emotion love since he was picked up by the old man. Perhaps the feeling he has isn¡¯t love, but something similar to intrigue.

    He headed towards the hotel and picked up his laptop. He browsed the web for awhile and then suddenly received an email.

    ¡®Mr Sky Yun, this is The Chinese People''s Liberation Army,

    We received word from one of our contacts that you have arrived in China and had retired from the mercenary industry.

    As a fellow Chinese man, I believe you can find that joining the army is very beneficial for you and for us in China.

    At 5:30 PM, we shall send General Wu to discuss about you joining the army.

    Speak soon.¡¯

    Sky Yun checked the clock and massaged his head.

    5:29

    China, although is where he is from, was a country he does not care at all for. He does not feel any patriotism towards China, nor cares if it gets invaded by other forces.

    KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

    Sky Yun opened the door to see 5 armed soldiers pointing M14 rifles towards him. He did not seem fazed, however, as he looked at them.

    The soldiers suddenly shivered, the eyes of Sky Yun from countless individuals slayed by his hand is in the thousands.

    ¡°Now, now Mr Sky Yun, you do not need to frighten my soldiers like that!¡±

    A middle-aged man, with a green jacket which had countless emblems, which signify that he is a general, appeared.

    ¡°General Wu, I just read the email now, and my answer is¡­ no.¡±

    Sky Yun without inviting the General into his room rejected him and walked back. General Wu at first widened his eyes, then realised that this man he is confronting isn¡¯t normal.

    There have been countless reports on Sky Yun, the strongest mercenary in the world who has never failed a mission.

    The Lonely Swordsman, The Onyx, The Plague of the Western World.

    These nicknames held significant meaning in the mercenary world, with many backing off, if they were ever approached by the man in front of the general.

    China did not have any sort of knowledge on him, however, till an anonymous source was given to them explaining that the strongest mercenary has retired and returned to China.

    ¡°Mr Sky Yun, our offer is something that is very beneficial for yo- ¡°

    Sky Yun suddenly interrupted General Wu.

    ¡°Why is it beneficial for me? I do not need the support of the army, nor China for that matter. I do however wonder, who told you I retired and returned to China huh?¡±

    Sky Yun was slightly surprised at the fact that China had gotten knowledge from his retirement. It has been only two days since his retirement and only him and the old man knew about this.

    ¡°It was given to us by an anonymous source, now back to the point, I understand that perhaps we are not beneficial to you but we can give you anything you wish. Only if you accept training our younger troops for at least 10 sessions only.¡±

    China did not need Sky Yun for duty, but to train their younger troops in the art of war. Sky Yun has been in countless pseudo-wars, which had families against families, gangs against gangs and companies against companies.

    The experience from these wars and Sky Yun being known for his fantastic marksmanship with his signature pistol and unique swords style left China with a great way to teach their troops and perhaps strengthen their army.

    Sky Yun pondered over the deal for a while, he thought that this meeting was so that he was to serve in the army but since it was training younger troops, it was very easy for him to do so.

    ¡°I accept, but only if you agree to my two requests¡­¡±

    ¡°First, you wipe any indication that I have returned to China. Second, give me a title within the army so that I have some sort of background whilst I live here.¡±

    General Wu was surprised that Sky Yun¡¯s requests were very simple, with him training the troops he can be given the title ¡®Honorary General of the Army¡¯ and also his record can also be wiped completely and nothing can be leaked if anyone tried to find out information, which they do not need to know.

    ¡°Great, these requests can be easily handled within a day. Your first day of training these troops begin in 2 months, please come to the command college in Tianjin. See you soon, Sky Yun!¡±

    General Wu turned around and walked away with his soldiers.

    It has only been two days, two hectic days, which led the former mercenary to become a coffee shop and a teacher for the Chinese Military.

    ¡®Now, let¡¯s begin setting up the opening of the coffee shop¡­¡¯

 Chapter 4

    Nightmares make us Human

    ¡°Papa¡­ Mama¡­ Where¡­ where are¡­ they¡­¡±

    In a small alleyway, with the moon shining bright, lies a young girl aged 6 with a deep hole in her chest. With her, is a man with a hood.

    ¡°The sky looks bright huh¡­¡±

    She couldn¡¯t even finish her last words, as her eyes dimmed and her breath ceased.

    Sky Yun opens his eyes, the nightmare of him witnessing the young child dying in his arms still haunts him to this day. Although he has witnessed cruelty in many other places, the events that happened on that day will stick, and forever be with him.

    Although that fated day happened years ago, this nightmare reminds him that he is only a human. This feeling of being haunted reminds him that he is not some sort of demon that kills without remorse.

    Today was the day that his newly refurbished coffee shop is complete, and although he had told the builders that he is fine with a normal coffee shop look he took weeks sorting out what sort of furniture is needed, and where should it be placed.

    After a few weeks of continuous back and forth with the building company, they called Sky Yun to visit to the coffee shop now that it has been refurbished.

    The past few weeks hasn¡¯t been anything special for Sky Yun, with repeated talks with the builders and him scoping out the campus, he has now familiarized himself with the area.

    He got off his bed, went to shower and walked towards the shop.

    Although he can easily afford a car, this little walk to the coffee shop has been an interest of his. Perhaps because he wanted to take in the life of being normal.

    He hasn¡¯t spoken with the old man since he retired, perhaps because he does not want to remind himself that the old man was like a father to him.

    The coffee shop has changed completely from when Sky Yun had bought it, with the entrance having a double black door with a huge, blank black sign above it.

    The windows placed on the side of the building allowing people to walk by, whilst being able to see the coffee shop¡¯s interior.

    The inside of the coffee shop is filled with many paintings, styles from modern time, to times many, many years ago, created by famous painters.

    The table layout is simple, with a table having 4 chairs each. The counter is located in front of the table, having 6 stools.

    Mr. Xiao, the man who owns the building company walks up to Sky Yun with a huge smile on his face.

    ¡°Young man, after a few weeks we are done now. The payment of 25,000 RMB has been sent to us and it has been a pleasure doing business with you!¡±

    Mr. Xiao had a huge smile on his face, this sort of job for him although tedious has been extremely beneficial.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    ¡°Yeah, you can go now.¡±

    Mr. Xiao left with a smile on his face, followed by his crew.

    Sky Yun walked around the newly built coffee shop and looked at the blank side above his shop. The sign was where he could place the shop¡¯s name and he has not decided on anything just yet.

    After sitting down on a table, and looking at the coffee shop in front of him, he remembered the day that the little girl died in his arms. Her last words¡­

    ¡®The sky looks bright huh, Sky¡¯s Caf¨¦ seems appropriate right?¡¯

    His last name is Sky, although he had taken the last name from the old man, the name ¡®Sky¡¯s Caf¨¦¡¯ could mean ¡®Sky Yun¡¯s Caf¨¦¡¯ but in his heart the meaning behind the name is so that the memory of the little girl lives on.

    He grabbed a ladder, left in the toolshed which was given to him by the old man for free, and climbed the ladder with white paint.

    SKY¡¯S CAF¨¦ was written in English, he had learnt countless languages in order to complete espionage in different missions.

    After packing away the ladder and paint, he walked towards the house he had also requested to be built.

    He opened the door and was greeted with a huge living room, with a couch and TV. He checked out the rest of the house. It had a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom with a spare room which was emptied out.

    He then quickly returned to his hotel room, packed his bags and went towards his new home.

    After doing that, he needed to buy a supply of coffee beans in order to provide coffee. He called a coffee bean farm located in Yunnan.

    ¡°Hello, who is this?¡±

    Sky Yun was greeted with a female voice, something soothing about the voice made Sky Yun slightly smile. Perhaps this is because it seemed to innocent.

    ¡°Yeah, I would like to purchase some coffee beans for my shop¡±

    ¡°Wa! A customer! Wait let me call my father!¡±

    Hearing that Sky Yun wanted to buy coffee beans, the female ran off with the phone. All he could hear where footsteps going down the stairs with loud thuds and a door opening.

    ¡°FATHER! A MAN CALLED FOR YOU!¡±

    The female voice screamed loud and a deep voice replied,

    ¡°Okay! Pass me the phone, you seem really energetic Xue¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Hello? Who is this?¡±

    ¡°Hello, my name is Sky Yun and I am here to discuss a deal for your coffee beans¡±

    The voice was slightly surprised, most didn¡¯t deal with him due to his competitor which had been destroying him in sales for years.

    ¡°Oh? You do know that there is another coffee bean farm, right?¡±

    Sky Yun looked on the internet quickly and found that the coffee bean farm, which the voice referred to, had dominated the coffee bean farm industry in China for years.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to work with a company that has loads of people already buying from them. You are a better choice.¡±

    Sky Yun¡¯s response had caused the voice to be silent. This was his first deal in years, and perhaps his final deal if this does not go well.

    ¡°What types of coffee beans and how much?¡±

    ¡°1.25 million RMB worth of Kopi Luwak imported raw from Vietnam¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    The voice started to get loud, this deal was unheard of, that sort of order showed the voice how unordinary the person he is currently dealing with.

    ¡°Do we have an agreement?¡±

    Sky Yun asked, he wished to quickly get the deal in order to start the coffee shop as.

    ¡°Yes, no problem it would take around a month for it all to arrive, however you must put a deposit of 500,000 RMB before I make the order.¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Sky Yun agreed to the voice¡¯s request.

    The call ended and Sky Yun lied on his new bed, his eyes closed feeling joyful but the memory of the little girl haunts him again.

    That fateful day will forever be etched in his heart, perhaps this sort of thing can be considered a curse.

    But this ¡®curse¡¯ is what makes Sky Yun feel human again.

 Chapter 5

    How should I proceed?

    A few days later, the meeting between the coffee bean farm and Sky Yun happened.

    The coffee bean farm was located in Yunnan, after a long tedious journey on the train he finally made it.

    Sky Yun walked across the long barren land, devoid of any sign of life and filled with wheat. After a few hours of walking, he was met with a huge sign.

    ¡®LING FAMILY¡¯S LAND¡¯

    He knew this was the place. As soon as he walked in, an old man with a cane approached him with wheat in his mouth.

    ¡°Are you Sky Yun?¡±

    Speaking whilst chewing on wheat, the old man in front of Sky Yun was the same man on the phone a few days ago.

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    Sky Yun looked at the old man and discovered that although he was walking with the cane, his body was filled with energy that could rival a man aged in his early twenties!

    They walked towards a house which was only two stories tall, with a porch and a rocking chair next to the door.

    The conversation between the two was strictly about business, learning about how long the farm takes to collect the beans and when shipping can come, it was a very productive conversation.

    The old man was surprised that a young man, who seemed to be similar age to his daughter, was accomplished enough to have a coffee shop business.

    What surprises him even more was that Sky Yun was opening a coffee shop in the first place! Usually, men who retired from their job typically open a coffee shop in order to enjoy their retired life, however, Sky Yun was still in his twenties.

    ¡°Say, young man, are you from a rich family by any chance?¡±

    The old man was curious, such a young fine man should be from a rich family in the city.

    ¡°I am an orphan, I only have a single old man that took care of me.¡±

    Sky Yun¡¯s response was stoic, unemotional, to the point that the old man was even more sceptical.

    However, it seemed that Sky Yun was an orphan, which meant that somehow, he had worked for this coffee shop business somehow.

    As soon as they approached the house, a woman ran down the stairs.

    She was pretty, with short brown hair reaching her shoulders and a birthmark on her upper lip.

    ¡°Father! Did you meet with the ma- ¡°

    As soon as she met eye contact with Sky Yun, she quickly ended her sentence and squinted hard.

    ¡°Hmmm¡±

    She inspected Sky Yun from head to toe, her eyes were constantly on Sky Yun, which slightly made him irritated.

    ¡°Something interesting?¡±

    Sky Yun asked slowly, his eyes slightly twitching as he looked at her.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s just that I have never seen such a handsome man before! I only seen beautiful men on TV but you are way better than them!¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    ¡®Should I take that as a compliment?¡¯

    The old man was looking at this scene with a smile on his face, he loved his daughter with all his heart, but he knew that one day she will leave him for a husband.

    The old man has seen countless suitors that wish to marry his daughter, but his daughter never accepted them once, with the excuse being that they are ¡®annoying¡¯.

    However, there has been one man that kept pestering her and after the news broke out that the family of that man is involved with the army, that made the situation even worse.

    Laws were placed in China that forcing another to a marriage is illegal, however due to the apparent influence that the young man¡¯s family made the law practically useless. The police were more aligned to follow a family member of a solider rather, than a farmer.

    As he was in deep thought, a huge Range Rover suddenly stopped right in front of his house, lifting lots of dust into the air whilst doing so. The doors swung opened and 2 individuals came out.

    One was a young man, in his mid-twenties with slick back hair and a suit, his face was filled with arrogance.

    The other man was a middle-aged man who was wearing a green army camo outfit and had a pistol directed on his left hip.

    ¡°Oh, my beautiful Xue¡¯er! Please come out with me to dinner!¡±

    The young man said, his voice filled with confidence and beside him the middle-aged man smiled.

    ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t that you Mr Ling! My nephew really wishes to ask your daughter out for dinner. Is this fine with you?¡±

    The middle-aged man smiled and tapped his left hip slightly. This was seen by Sky Yun which caused him to turn and look at the two individuals.

    ¡°Please, you have to help me. That guy over there wants me to marry him but I don¡¯t want too!¡±

    The girl beside Sky Yun pleaded, her voice reached the two men and they looked at Sky Yun with confusion.

    ¡°Say, Mr Ling, who is this young man?¡±

    The middle-aged man was wary of the young man in front of him, he has been serving in the army for a few years due to a lucky encounter with a commanding officer, who found him, and accepted him as an underling.

    After working in the field for a few years he can tell easily that this young man in front of him was dangerous. But, how could a young man be dangerous¡­ especially towards a soldier?

    The son of the middle-aged man however, had a distorted face, and looked at Sky Yun.

    ¡°Hey! How dare you be close to my woman like that!¡±

    Sky Yun looked at the guy in front of him, although they seemed to be a few years apart in age, Sky Yun felt like he was an adult looking at a child throwing a tantrum.

    ¡°Who said I was your woman! I never liked you, and don¡¯t want to be with you!¡±

    The girl beside Sky Yun held Sky Yun¡¯s arm and interlocked it between her arms.

    ¡°This man right here is my boyfriend! I am already taken. So scram!¡±

    Sky Yun looked at the girl beside him in amusement.

    ¡°Listen, since you are in the army, I do not want to really get you in trouble but tell me why a solider is currently away from his post?¡±

    Sky Yun turned towards the middle-aged man and looked at him with cold eyes. The man felt scared looking at Sky Yun and turned his eyes away, he then answered Sky Yun¡¯s question.

    ¡°General Wu is currently training us in a camp about 10 minutes away, how about it huh? Mr Ling, if your daughter doesn¡¯t come with me right now, I shall get my superior and tell him to arrest you, hahaha!¡±

    The middle-aged man regained his confidence, but Sky Yun pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled a number.

    ¡°Come to my location now, Ling¡¯s Farm. If you do not, the deal between us is off.¡±

    Sky Yun quickly hang up and everyone was confused.

    ¡°Wait a few minutes.¡±

    Sky Yun sat on the rocking chair and decided to patiently wait.

    After a few minutes of waiting, countless army cars drove towards the house. The middle-aged man¡¯s eyes were widened heavily.

    All the soldiers lined up shoulder to shoulder in front of the seated Sky Yun. General Wu then came out of the car and saluted.

    ¡°Honorary General Sky Yun, I am here on your request!¡±

    Everyone saluted in front of Sky Yun with admiration in their eyes, they heard from their general that the young man in front of them is the legendary mercenary that is known for being the strongest man in the world today.

    ¡°ALL REPORTING TO HONORARY GENERAL SKY YUN, SIR!¡±

    Mr Ling, his daughter, the middle-aged man and his nephew had their mouth opened in surprise and shock.

    Sky Yun looked at the soldiers in front of him and smirked.

    ¡®Now, how shall I proceed¡­¡¯

 Chapter 6

    What is this feeling?

    ¡°SIR!¡±

    In a perfectly straight line, all the soldiers salute Sky Yun, who on the rocking chair, looks at them.

    Mr Ling, his daughter, the middle-aged man and his nephew looked at the situation with their jaws wide open.

    ¡°Mr Sky Yun, when I heard your call, I was shocked that you wished to stop the agreement between us! Is there something that I can help with?¡±

    General Wu looked at the seated Sky Yun, he did not expect the call at all. And when Sky Yun said his location, he immediately called every solider at the camp to come with him.

    But from what the current situation looks like, it seemed it was nothing big that he had expected.

    ¡°General Wu, this man says that you are his superior to, he wishes to force an innocent girl to marry his nephew with brute force. Deal with it or the contract between us is over.¡±

    Sky Yun did not wish to be involved in the beginning, but when the girl pleaded, his memory flashed back to when the small girl died in his arms.

    ¡®Perhaps I am getting too soft¡­¡¯

    All his emotions, from anger to happiness gradually faded as time went by. The nightmarish flashback that always comes in his dream is the only time he feels an emotion.

    The only time he feels human.

    General Wu looked at the middle-aged man with widen eyes and sighed heavily.

    ¡°Lin Xin¡­ what have you done¡­¡±

    General Wu felt embarrassed, so embarrassed due to the fact that the man he picked up felt he had the power to break the law just because General Wu is backing him.

    Lin Xin was in absolute shock, he only wished for his nephew to be happy, yet with how the situation is currently going he had no idea how to get out of it.

    He fell to the ground, kowtowing in front of General Wu repeating ¡®please forgive me¡¯ constantly.

    Sky Yun looked over and felt nothing, he lost his sense of pity and forgiveness a long time ago.

    General Wu looked at the uncle and turned his head to Sky Yun.

    ¡°Can you forgive him, perhaps? I know he has done some wrongdoings but please, do not ruin our contract between us just because of this.¡±

    General Wu was slightly desperate, after the meeting with Sky Yun he received praise from his superiors. If the contract was broken because of a matter such as this he would be at fault.

    ¡°Do not ask me, ask her.¡±

    Sky Yun did not bother and pointed to the girl standing beside him.

    Ling Xue has never been in a situation like this before, she was about to be forced into going out with a guy she loathed.

    Although she just met Sky Yun, she felt protected by his side, and pleaded him to help her

    She did not expect that Sky Yun could help, with soldiers saluting to him as well

    He seems to be around the same age as her, and was yet so powerful.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    When General Wu looked at her, she had a troubled expression on her face.

    ¡°Mist-mister Yun can decide¡­¡±

    Ling Xue felt the decision was too difficult for her to handle, she felt pity for them yet hated them for forcing her to do things she didn¡¯t wish to do.

    She looked at Sky Yun for support, she did not know why she felt safe around him but all she could do is currently rely on him.

    ¡°Let them be, they learnt their lesson.¡±

    Sky Yun felt this situation was pointless, he felt that his message towards the two men was clear enough.

    Lin Xin was crying, grovelling at the feet of Sky Yun, being grateful to him.

    Half an hour later, General Wu took his soldiers and both the middle-aged man and his nephew with him back to the training camp close by.

    Sky Yun decided silently to leave the farm, but before he could leave, Ling Xue grabbed his arm.

    ¡°He-hey wait!¡±

    She saw that Sky Yun wished to leave but she wanted to get to know him better.

    Sky Yun looked at her and was amused slightly, no one has grabbed his arm like that and was still alive to this day.

    ¡°Ca-can you stay for dinner? Please!¡±

    Mr Ling who was looking at this situation was very surprised to see his daughter being smitten by Sky Yun.

    He liked Sky Yun¡¯s character even more after this situation, he never was arrogant nor disrespectful to Mr Ling despite him having such power.

    Sky Yun has never been invited to dinner by anyone before, even when he was ¡®Chen Yun¡¯, his family never let him go to dinners nor parties at all.

    Sky Yun¡¯s heart was beating faster and faster, although his expression was calm, a slight hint of warmth appeared in his eyes.

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    When Ling Xue heard he was coming for dinner, a bright smile was plastered all over her face, she grabbed his arm and took him into her home with giggling noises, coming out of her mouth.

    Mr Ling nodded his head and went to the kitchen, whilst Ling Xue took Sky Yun to the small living room.

    It had a few chairs, a television and a table right in the middle. Ling Xue sat on the right of Sky Yun and stared at him for a long time.

    ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±

    Sky Yun although irritated last time when she had stared at him felt that this time something was different.

    Ling Xue blushed heavily as she turned her head, she has never felt this way before.

    Her heart was pounding harder and harder, she has always been a lover of fairy tales and when Sky Yun saved her, like her knight in shining armour, she was infatuated.

    Sky Yun has never experienced love before, however he could easily tell that Ling Xue has some sort of liking towards him.

    Mr Ling walked in and saw his daughter¡¯s bright red face and right next to her Sky Yun looking at her. Something was different with how Sky Yun looked at her however, it had a hint of warmth despite him having an emotionless expression still.

    ¡°Ah! Da-dad¡­¡±

    Ling Xue stuttered as soon as she saw her father standing outside the door. She covered her face with both her hands and ran out of the room.

    Sky Yun stood up, and walked towards Mr Ling.

    ¡°I need to go, I¡¯ll be back for the coffee beans in a month.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you staying over for dinner?¡±

    Mr Ling was surprised to hear that Sky Yun was going to leave before dinner was made.

    ¡°I need to go back, it¡¯s a long journey.¡±

    After saying that, Sky Yun opened the front door and left.

    Ling Xue ran down the stairs to see that Sky Yun had left and her father in the kitchen.

    ¡°Dad, where is Mr Yun?¡±

    She looked all over the house, she couldn¡¯t find Sky Yun anywhere.

    ¡°He said he needed to leave, he will be back in a month for the coffee beans¡±

    When her dad said that, Ling Xue¡¯s eyes widen and stomped her foot.

    ¡°I invited him for dinner and he doesn¡¯t even stay? Gosh!¡±

    Mr Ling laughed loudly, Ling Xue did not expect that and was confused.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, I realised my daughter has finally found someone, hahaha!¡±

    Ling Xue¡¯s face went bright red and she ran out of the kitchen. Mr Ling smiled as he continued to make dinner.

    On the train back to Shanghai, Sky Yun was thinking about Ling Xue.

    Her bright smile, her constant stuttering around him and giggles were etched into his mind.

    He has felt something that he has never felt in a long time.

    The feeling of love.

    ¡°She¡¯s actually quite cute.¡±

    He muttered to himself.

 Chapter 7

    The old man called

    A month later, he received his shipment of the coffee beans from Mr Ling¡¯s farm. Although he was scheduled to meet them at the farm, Sky Yun decided to not visit the farm and focus on opening the coffee shop.

    When Ling Xue however, heard he wasn¡¯t coming to visit, she cursed him for the whole day.

    ¡°Here is the shipment for the coffee beans sir, are you a Mister Yun?¡±

    The delivery finally arrived to the coffee shop, which meant that after a few months of idling he can finally open the place up.

    ¡°Yes, please leave it over there¡­¡±

    Sky Yun pointed towards a secluded corner next to the counter.

    ¡°Sign here, and thank you for using our service.¡±

    The delivery man after placing the year-worth of coffee beans to the corner, then left with his crew.

    Sky Yun looked around the shop, after 2 months of planning the coffee shop is ready to open. As soon as Sky Yun was about to clean up.

    RING RING~

    His phone started to buzz.

    ¡°Oho~ Young man! It''s been a long time since I''ve spoken to you!¡±

    It was Sky Long, his old man who had called him.

    This was the first time he had been contacted since he was ordered to retire and live a normal life for his last mission.

    Sky Yun didn¡¯t expect the old man to call him, especially since he doesn¡¯t work for him anymore.

    ¡°You called me for?¡±

    With a cold yet calm voice, Sky Yun asked.

    ¡°Ara~ Young man, you really haven¡¯t changed a bit you unemotional robot! I just wanted to check on you of course, after all you took on my last name; you''re family now!"

    Many years ago, the old man whose last name is Sky took Yun in. Chen Yun at the time lost his family name, had no direction nor goal in life. After training him for 2 years, the old man decided to accept Sky Yun into his family.

    The old man has no relatives so Sky Yun is the only man left to carry on his legacy and family name.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Although Sky Yun seems expressionless on the outside towards the old man, he has already accepted this old man as his father.

    ¡°I''m good. I''ve opened a coffee shop and I am going to op-¡°

    Before Sky Yun could finish his sentence, the old man screamed like a mad man out of nowhere.

    ¡°NO WAY! YOU? OPENED A COFFEE SHOP? HAA?¡±

    The old man never expected Sky Yun to open a coffee shop at all, he thought Sky Yun wasn¡¯t the type to do so.

    ¡°Do you need anything?¡±

    Sky Yun was getting impatient, he didn¡¯t want to continue this conversation as he felt the old man would lead it astray.

    The old man¡¯s voice calmed down, he took a deep breath.

    ¡°Listen, the underworld is currently in chaos. I just need you to know this; do not, and I repeat do not, search for the artefact I had told you to find.¡±

    Sky Yun did not expect the old man to give a warning, he has never given a warning to Sky Yun ever, even in life threatening situations

    ¡°Old man, I was about to search for it - ¡°

    ¡°DO NOT, AND I REPEAT DO NOT, SEARCH FOR THE ARTEFACT.¡±

    The old man cut off Sky Yun¡¯s sentence with a clear and loud statement.

    Sky Yun felt curious, however the old man forbade him to look for the artefact, which meant that he must follow his command.

    ¡°I understand sir.¡±

    Sky Yun, without a second thought, decided to not search for the artefact.

    The phone call then ended, and with the coffee shop about to open it was time for Sky Yun to put in some work.

    He first placed all the coffee beans into separate containers, which was then placed into a cupboard below the counter.

    The plates and cups were also placed into the cupboard, and after sweeping the floors and removing any dusts, the shop was ready to open.

    ¡®I should open tomorrow¡­¡¯

    He did not wish to advertise the shop, perhaps it was his preference for the shop to be unpopular.

    After a long day¡¯s work, he went into his bedroom and lays down on his bed.

    His arm draped over his shoulder as the other pointed towards the ceiling.

    ¡®Do not search for the artefact huh¡­¡¯

    Something is going on; the old man hasn¡¯t been like this ever to Sky Yun yet today he seemed anxious.

    ¡®What could possibly happen to get the old man scared¡­¡¯

    In a small room, Ling Xue was lying in her bed with a pillow wrapped around her arm.

    Today was the day she was meant to see Sky Yun, however the man didn¡¯t even show up but rather asked for the coffee beans to be delivered.

    ¡®Sky Yun¡­¡¯

    She does not know why she has thoughts about him, she thinks about the way he saved her, the way he talks, the way he moves, the way he acts.

    This sort of feeling is something that she does not know what it is.

    She closes her eyes, trying to remove any thoughts of Sky Yun in order to sleep however the simple mention of his name makes her face go red.

    ¡®He probably has a lover right? I mean, he is super handsome¡­¡¯

    The thought of another woman with Sky Yun causes Ling Xue to mentally breakdown.

    ¡®Wha- who would like that unemotional guy right?¡¯

    Her mind was all over the place, after a few hours of twists and turns, Ling Xue closes her eyes.

    ¡®Sky Yun, please visit me soon¡­¡¯

 Chapter 8

    Opening day

    Today was the day Sky Yun¡¯s Caf¨¦ opens.

    As Sky Yun woke up in the morning, he continued his daily exercise and cleaning up before opening the coffee shop.

    As he opens the doors for the first time, Sky Yun then walked to the counter and sat on the chair. He then took a book and read the book till his first customer arrives.

    DING~

    The door opens and a few university students walked in, most were looking for a peaceful place to study and had stumbled upon Sky Yun¡¯s caf¨¦.

    ¡°Excuse me, can I get milk coffee please?¡±

    One of the females came up to Sky Yun, who had his face buried in the book he was reading.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Sky Yun lifted the book from his face, to then see 4 females looking at him with bright red faces.

    ¡°Milk coffee? Okay.¡±

    He stood up from his chair and went towards the table behind him preparing the milk coffee.

    ¡°Oh my god, he is so frickin¡¯ handsome!¡±

    One of the females whispered to her group of friends, she did not expect such a handsome man to run a small coffee shop like this.

    Sky Yun turned his head, looking at the group in front of the counter.

    ¡°Any other orders?¡±

    His stoic expression and masculine voice made the girls start to squeal whilst covering their faces. Sky Yun was slightly irritated that they weren¡¯t answering his question, and that something is going on inside their heads.

    ¡°Orders...?¡±

    He was losing patience, and when the girls snapped out of their fantasies, they then proceeded to order.

    Sky Yun for the past few months, learnt how to make handcrafted coffee, which was why he was taking longer to make the coffee unlike other shops.

    However, the girls didn¡¯t mind at all and were seated in a table centre of the shop. They were whispering as low as they can, and peeked at Sky Yun making the coffee at time to time.

    Sky Yun knew they were looking at him, which bothered him slightly because he did not know what was wrong with them at all.

    ¡®This scarf is really bothering me when I make the coffee huh¡­¡¯

    He was currently wearing his trademark scarf around his neck, he knew that it was not needed however out of habit he continues to wear it in public.

    He felt today though, that the scarf was abstracting him from making the coffee, so as he took of the scarf, the bold tattoo across his neck was visible.

    ¡°Kyaah~¡±

    The girls, after witnessing him taking of his scarf made a squeal noise whilst covering their mouth.

    His tall stature, his perfect body and handsome look was already enough. Yet, although tattoos are unpopular with the older generations in China, for some it made men even more handsome.

    Sky Yun finished making the coffee, and then served it to them.

    After everything was done, he went back to his seat and sat down.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The girls knew that he does not wish to interact with them, so they then started to chat amongst themselves.

    ¡°Hey, I got a text from Fei, she is coming over¡±

    ¡®Fei¡­¡¯

    Sky Yun had a sister named Fei once, she was doted upon by everyone within the Chen family when he was around.

    He loved her, although he was weak, he protected her from harm even when he had to risk his own safety.

    She doesn¡¯t even remember him probably, she might even not even know she had a brother. After all, she was 8 years old at the time.

    DING~

    The door opened, and Sky Yun looked over and saw 2 young men coming in.

    The girls looked uncomfortable however, so Sky Yun knew that this could be trouble.

    ¡°Hey girls, listen we got a reservation at a nice restur-¡°

    Before one of the guys could finish their sentences, the girl who ordered first to Sky Yun stood up.

    ¡°We do not like you, please leave us alone you two!¡±

    She shouted, her friends nodded whilst having a disgusted look on their faces.

    Yun Sheng did not change his expression however, his friend next to him looked dejected however.

    Xiao Xin, I know that I have cheated on you but please forgive me, I promise that I am a changed man¡­¡±

    The girl to the left of the person who first spoke up, stood up also and looked straight into his eyes.

    ¡°Zhao Tuo¡­ I loved you yet you.. you did that to me¡­¡±

    Sky Yun watched over the incident, just in case it went out of hand. He did not care for anyone in this matter at all, however he did not want to have a fight or any illegal activities in the caf¨¦.

    ¡°Ouyang Na, I have always liked you. Please, let me show you what type of man I am¡­¡±

    The girl on the right, stood up and looked at the situation with a troubled expression on her face. Yun Sheng has never done anything to her ever, yet she felt cautious due to the incident between her friend and her ex-boyfriend.

    Sky Yun decided to read his book whilst he watches over the incident, to him this was like a child fighting another child and that he was the parent.

    ¡°Please, can we sit down and talk¡­¡±

    Zhao Tuo was persistent in trying to persuade Xiao Xin, after going back and forth for a bit, she felt like hearing him out once.

    Yun Sheng sat down next to Zhao Tuo, and the table filled up quickly.

    ¡°Ordering?¡±

    Sky Yun finally opened his mouth, his eyes still focused on his book.

    ¡°Yeah, a latte¡­¡±

    ¡°Same as him¡­¡±

    Both answered Sky Yun politely, they knew they had caused a slight commotion in the shop yet he had not interrupted them once.

    Sky Yun made them their coffees and placed them on the table. The two guys were shocked to see a guy who is still in his twenties running a coffee shop.

    Sky Yun returned to his counter and continued to read his book. The book was a Japanese book he picked up during his mission there to infiltrate the infamous Kriya Yakuza, which was known for their clan chairman who liked art.

    He had lots of rare books, including a book forgotten by many called ¡®The Art of Ninjutsu¡¯ which was written by a assassin who fought during the Edo period in Japan.

    The book discusses different ways of assassinating another person, how to infiltrate strong holds without being detected and other things needed in order to become a good assassin.

    Although Sky Yun was retired, he had no other skills in life, and the only thing he was good at was fighting and killing.

    DING~

    ¡°Sorry I am late, classes just finished¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay Feifei, come seat next to us.¡±

    The girl who walked in the room went to take a seat next to her friends, she had a questioning look however as she saw Zhao Tuo in the table as well.

    ¡°Why- ¡°

    ¡°Long story, I am hearing him out¡­¡±

    The girl nodded and took a seat, after speaking with her friends and understand what was going on, she massaged her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get a cup of coffee, please do not start talking till I come back.¡±

    As she walked towards the counter, she saw a man who was reading his book in silence.

    Before she ordered, she took a glance at the book and found out that the book is Japanese. She was shocked however, as she could tell that the man in front of her is Chinese based on looks however.

    ¡°Hello, can I get a coffee¡­¡±

    Sky Yun lifted his face from the book and stared at the girl in front of him. His eyebrows raised as he stared at her as he recalled something, it was his sister he held dear to his heart.

    ¡°You have grown Fei¡¯er, I¡¯ll get you your coffee¡­¡±

    When Chen Fei¡¯er heard him say her name intimately, she gave a shocked expression. Only a few people in her family has ever called her that, yet this man¡­

    ¡°Excuse me¡­ Do I know you?¡±

    Sky Yun turned his head, and chuckled slightly.

    ¡°Of course, you are my little sister after all.¡±

 Chapter 9

    Who do you remind me of?

    ¡°You are my sister after all¡±

    Chen Fei widened her eyes as she heard the bold claims from the man in front of her. She has never heard such nonsense in her life, for she doesn¡¯t remember having a brother who runs a coffee shop.

    However, he did resemble someone she knows¡­

    ¡°Sister? Who said I am even related to you?¡±

    She retorted back coldly, she felt uncomfortable that this man called her his sister.

    Sky Yun knew she doesn¡¯t remember him from looking at her reaction, so he decided not to bring up the subject. He does not care if the family finds him or not, he has cut ties with them in his mind a long time ago.

    There was a time however, he wanted revenge. But that¡¯s all in the distant past now, he grew up and realised that revenge is a sign of weakness and he should move on and focus on himself.

    He turned around, and started to make coffee. Chen Fei looked at him, and was confused on why he did not respond to her.

    ¡®Come to think about it, he did not even look at me when I came in either¡­¡¯

    Ever since she was in high school, men turned and looked at her no matter where she was. Her beauty mesmerized many, including now in Shanghai.

    ¡®He perhaps did not realise I came in¡­?¡¯

    She did not know why she felt the need to think about it, but something does not feel right.

    As she was in deep thought, Sky Yun handed her coffee and sat back down on his stool and continued to read his book.

    Chen Fei was still in thought, until her friends called her name.

    ¡°Feifei, hurry up so he can start talking!¡±

    She snapped out of her thought, and realised that her coffee was already in front of her. She was about to shout at Sky Yun, till she realised he was focused on reading his book rather than caring about her at all.

    This was a first for her, she was a part of the famous Chen Family of Beijing, she was always the centre of attention and was the dream girl of many. Yet this man who claimed to be her brother wasn¡¯t bothered by her at all.

    She decided to not think about it at all, so she grabbed her coffee and went towards her friends table.

    Sky Yun, who knew that Chen Fei was confused, chuckled.

    He finished reading his book, checking the time on his watch it was nearly lunch.

    The counter had a kitchen, installed with a stove and fridge filled with ingredients he bought from the market close by.

    Sky Yun had one hobby for many years, that was cooking.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    He felt calm and in peace whilst cooking, his mind only focused on what he is making rather than what¡¯s going on in his life.

    The table filled with university students were in a deep discussion, he did not care about the drama they were having.

    He stood up from his seat, and went towards the fridge.

    He decided to make mixed vegetable stir fry, something he liked to eat and was extremely healthy for the body.

    He took out ingredients from the fridge. He then went inside the cupboard to find a large wok and placed it on the stove.

    He placed 1 tablespoon of oil and started to fry the broccoli. After a minute of frying the broccoli, he added a splash of water and covered the lid for 3 minutes.

    He began to then peel the garlic, then crushed it into 4 garlic cloves. Then he sliced the ginger and grated it, he peeled and sliced the carrots too.

    He chopped mushrooms, and cut the asparagus into bite sized pieces.

    This took 3 minutes, and already the broccoli was done.

    He lifted the lid, then tipped all the vegetables that he was preparing into the pan for 5 minutes.

    During this whole sequence of events, the university students were all looking at Sky Yun. The smell coming from the counter made them drool and distracted them from their talk.

    ¡°What is he cooking?¡±

    ¡°I think it is stir fry?¡±

    Chen Fei was looking at Sky Yun with squinted eyes, he reminds her of someone she knows, but she does not know who she is resembling him towards.

    ¡°Feifei, I have never seen you look at another man this much before. No way, the goddess of Beijing is in love??¡±

    Ouyang Na, who was known for her cheeky remarks to her best friend was shocked to see the cold beauty was looking at another person, let alone another man!

    ¡°Wha- no! He just reminds me of someone I know that¡¯s all¡­¡±

    Chen Fei turned her head and stared at her friend next to her.

    ¡°Anyways, Zhao Tuo, you cheated on her because you thought she was cheating on you? What is this nonsense?!¡±

    Back to their talk, Sky Yun heard everything they were talking about despite focused on cooking. In terms of looks, Sky Yun did not look like his father at all. He was known for looking like his mother so much that if he wore a wig people would think it was her.

    However, after years of missions and a more healthier life style, he looked more completely different from when he was younger. However, he still had the big bright eyes that were like his mothers.

    He went back to focusing on cooking, after frying the vegetables, he placed a slurry of soy sauce and cornflour and drizzled it over the vegetables and stirred it to coat it evenly.

    He then placed it on a plate, and grabbed a fork and started to dig in.

    The conversation at the table was over, and from what Sky Yun could see, Zhao Tuo was forgiven and everything was harmonious.

    They stood up from their seats, and went towards the counter and paid for their coffees.

    Chen Fei looked over at the man who was eating his food alone, she was racking her mind, trying to figure out who he resembles so deeply in her mind.

    Xiao Xin, Ouyang Na, Yu Sheng and Zhao Tuo all turned their heads and stared at Chen Fei, she did not care anymore and continued to think harder and harder¡­

    Then she realised¡­ why does he look exactly like her mother?

    He even said he was her brother as well, now she was truly confused.

    Sky Yun, who was eating, looked up at her and stared deeply into her eyes.

    ¡°You really do look like that fucker huh¡­¡±

    Chen Fei really did look like that bastard of a father, which irritated Sky Yun slightly. Although he does not hate his sister at all, just the thought of that man causes him to feel disgusted.

    ¡°You mean¡­ my father?¡±

    Chen Fei hesitantly said.

    Sky Yun then continued to eat his food, not answering that question at all. Chen Fei took the hint and walked out with her friends who were confused at their interaction.

    ¡®I need to meet mother¡­ and ask her what is going on¡­¡¯

 Chapter 10

    Do I have a brother?

    Sky Yun looked at his departing sister, realising that once she goes back to the Chen Family, they will find out that he is still alive.

    He finished eating his stir fry mixed vegetables, and washed his plate. He continued to keep the coffee shop opened for a few hours, with only a couple of people ordering.

    As he stood up from his seat, he then walked towards the door and closed the shop. The first day was very relaxing for him, he now understood why retired men preferred to open a coffee shop rather than a business.

    RING RING~

    His phone was ringing, it was weird however, since no one called him at this time.

    As he checked the number, it was from Mr Ling. He saved his number in case he needed more products from the farm, but Mr Ling has never called him though.

    He picked up the phone, put it on speaker and focused on cleaning the coffee shop.

    ¡°Hello? Mr Ling¡±

    No one answered for a while, but after a few seconds a nervous female voice spoke.

    ¡°Er-erm, is this Sky Yun¡­?¡±

    Sky Yun knew it was Ling Xue, Mr Ling¡¯s daughter. He had saved her when he visited the coffee shop a while ago from a forced relationship.

    ¡°Yeah, how are you Ling Xue¡±

    What came out of his mouth was very unusual, even for him. He has never started a conversation that was meaningless yet for some reason he had asked a question that felt caring.

    ¡°Owah! I-I am re-real-really good, so good, super great!¡±

    Sky Yun could tell Ling Xue was really nervous, which surprised him. He did not understand why she would be nervous talking to him.

    ¡°Good, why did you call me tonight.¡±

    Sky Yun went straight to the point, although he said it with a caring voice.

    ¡°I ju-just wanted to say hi¡­¡±

    He did not know why, but when he heard what Ling Xue had said, he felt something warm inside him.

    He met Ling Xue once, and felt she was an innocent girl that was extremely beautiful in his eyes. Although not compared to others, he felt that she has someone unique that made him feel mesmerized.

    ¡°Well, is that all?¡±

    His emotions were in a spiral, although he did not show it, he felt his heart pounding faster and faster.

    ¡°N-no um¡­ Ca-can I call you tomorrow??¡±

    Sky Yun did not have a problem with her calling, no, he felt something more than that. He felt happiness, warmth and pleasure from her calling, which was odd.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Anytime, just call me on this number. I will hang up now then.¡±

    He quickly hanged up and placed the mop in which he was using in the corner. After locking the coffee shop door, he quickly walked towards his bedroom threw himself to his bed.

    His mind was filled with thoughts of Ling Xue, but he did not know why. Is it because he saved her? Is it because she had something that made him interested? Or is it perhaps because she called just to say hi on a person who has always been alone.

    This sort of feeling could only be love, but Sky Yun did not want to accept it as love just yet, he wanted to know why he loves her rather than having these feelings.

    He held his phone on his right hand and clinched it tightly, realising that he will find out the answer to his question very soon.

    In Mr Ling¡¯s house, Ling Xue held her father¡¯s phone close to her chest. The words said by Sky Yun repeating over and over again in her head.

    ¡®Anytime, just call me on this number¡¯

    Ling Xue squealed in delight, after a long time of contemplating on if she should call him, she finally got the courage and it paid off.

    She has never felt this before; all she thinks about is Sky Yun.

    His elegance, cold self. His beauty that can steal any woman if he wants. Him saving her¡­

    She has met him once, yet it felt like a lifetime. This sort of feeling is only seen in stories yet to her, it¡¯s a reality.

    ¡®I¡¯ll call him tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that¡­¡¯

    As she closes her eyes, a huge smile appears.

    For a week, Sky Yun has continued to run his coffee shop. His sister hasn¡¯t been to the shop since he exposed himself slightly but he did not care. He just wants peace, without drama nor mess.

    He lived his life in peace, with him running the coffee shop during the day and at night¡­

    ¡°Hi a-again Sky Yun¡­¡±

    Ling Xue calls him.

    He does not know why, although they talk on the phone for a minute or 2, he has felt really happy.  However, he does not show that to Ling Xue.

    ¡°How are you.¡±

    The repeated conversation from the previous days, Sky Yun asks if she is fine, Ling Xue says she is good and then they hang up.

    ¡°I-I want to erm¡­¡±

    Ling Xue seemed hesitant, Sky Yun realised this.

    ¡°Hm? Anything wrong?¡±

    Although it was said unemotionally, it was clear to Ling Xue that Sky Yun worries about her wellbeing, which boosts her confidence.

    ¡°Can I vi-visit your place tomorrow?¡±

    Sky Yun went silent for a few minutes. He wished to see her however, he does not know how to express it without sounding too cold.

    ¡°Su-sure¡­¡±

    He quickly hanged up the phone and realised he had lost his cool. He held his hands to his face and breathed heavily, from all his battles he has never hesitated in any situation yet now¡­

    Ling Xue looked at her phone in complete silent with a gasped expression.

    ¡®He said yes, oh my god he said yes!¡¯

    She pumped her fist in the air and started to pack her bag. Mr Ling was standing outside her door, listening to everything that had occurred with a smile on his face.

    ¡°Oh, Fei¡¯er, you came home! It isn¡¯t the holidays, already right?¡±

    Chen Fei walked into her mother¡¯s room, and silently closed the door. Her mother who was eating her food, placed her fork on the plate, realising something had happened stared at her daughter.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong sweetheart?¡±

    Chen Fei hesitated, she wanted to know the answer so badly yet she felt she would be involved in something big. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth after staying silent for a few seconds.

    ¡°Mother, I met a man in his late twenties claiming to be my brother. Tell me, do I have a brother or not.¡±

    Her mother dropped her plate and looked at her daughter in complete shock.

 Chapter 11

    The Truth

    ¡°A man¡­ in his late twenties you say?¡±

    Chen Fei¡¯s mom froze in the spot as she gave a shocked glance at her daughter.

    ¡°Yes, he looks exactly like you. It took me a while to figure it out but after I confirmed it, he said I looked like that ¡®bastard¡¯.¡±

    Chen Fei twitched as she remembered the words said by her so called ¡®brother¡¯, to call her father a bastard is considered blasphemy in Beijing due to his immense influence.

    Her mother who heard that he said that, knew it was him already. She loved her son Chen Yun, however after she heard news of him sexually harassing a young girl from the big family in Shanghai, she lost all love in her heart and abandoned him.

    ¡°So, he is still al-alive¡­ good good¡­¡±

    Chen Fei looked at her mother, who was crying silently. She has never seen her mother cry, nor show any other emotion except love and happiness.

    She does not know why her mother and her father divorced, she was only 12 years old at the time and could not find out the reason from both her mother and father at all.

    ¡°So, he is my brother?¡±

    Chen Fei breathed in heavily, she could not believe that she had a secret brother all along.

    ¡°Fei¡¯er, do not tell your father. If he gets word that he is still alive, Yun¡¯e- I mean that brother of yours would be killed on the spot.¡±

    Her mother choked on the intimate name she was about to say, she could not bring herself to say such a thing to her son who she had abandoned.

    When Chen Fei heard she could not tell her father, her eyes widened and looked at her mother with a surprised look.

    ¡°Is there something going on that I must know?¡±

    Her mother stared at her eyes, maybe it is time Chen Fei knew the truth.

    ¡°Do you know why I divorced your father?¡±

    Chen Fei looked at her mother and shook her head, that question has been on her mind for so many years yet she could not muster the courage to speak up. When she was only 12 years old, her parents divorced without telling her the reason at all.

    ¡°When you were only 8 years old, you had a big brother named Chen Yun. He was 18 years old and the heir to the Chen Family, perhaps you forgot since we never spoke about him ever since.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Chen Fei was shocked; she could not remember anything about having a brother. She was 8 years old but she must have some recollection yet there was nothing in her memory.

    ¡°I loved him, no I still love him. Yet, your father hated him because he felt that he was incompetent, weak and had no quality whatsoever in order to run the Chen Family.¡±

    Chen Fei took a seat and sat down, listening attentively, without skipping a word, to what her mother has to say.

    ¡°One day, your father found out that your brother was being bullied in school, rather than being a parent and protecting his son, he felt disgusted by him. He once told me that no child of his could be bullied and left your brother to his own demise.

    I still protected your brother, trying to figure how who it was and talk to their parents like a normal mother should do. But then, a huge problem occurred.¡±

    Chen Fei¡¯s mother took a deep breath, closing her eyes and continuing on.

    ¡°A rumour had spread, that your brother had sexually assaulted the eldest daughter to the Lin family. I thought it was a rumour, perhaps it wasn¡¯t true yet every single person including the Lin Family all said it was him.

    I did not know what to do, how to protect him. My heart felt betrayed at the time, my son who I have shown so much love and had protected committed a crime that betrayed my trust. So, I also blamed him and agreed to banish him from the Chen Family without any support.¡±

    Chen Fei felt disgusted now, who could do such a thing to the innocent daughter of the Lin Family who she treated like an elder sister.

    Yang Su, who saw her daughter making such a face sighed.

    ¡°Let me finish the story¡­¡±

    Chen Fei looked at her mother and waited for her to continue on.

    ¡°A few years later, I listened in on a secret phone call from your father, at the time I thought he was committing adultery but what I found was much worse¡­

    Your brother was framed, the whole incident was planned by your father and the Lin Family in order to kick out Chen Yun and also secure a deal in marriage between the eldest daughter of the Lin Family and Chen Beixun!¡±

    Chen Fei then stood up in shock as she heard what her mother had just said. Her brother was framed by her own father? No way! Her father was someone who loved everyone, she has never seen him act in such evil ways but she could not say it was a lie because her mother had told her.

    ¡°Mo-mother, this can¡¯t be true? Father would never do such a thing¡­¡±

    But then again, Lin Yue and her cousin Chen Beixun¡¯s relationship was very complex, they did not show love to each other at all and were married.

    ¡°Perhaps you think of your father as someone benevolent, someone kind and forgiving. But that man is evil, despicable and has made me lose my only son, my only so- ¡°

    Yang Su suddenly cried, she thought of all the days she had with Chen Yun and the unbreakable relationship between them. But she abandoned him to a fate much worse than death, abandoning him with no family, no home nor a job at the age of 18.

    Chen Fei walked towards her mother and bit her lips; she did not know what to say. The man at the coffee shop looked so lonely, cold and apathetic.

    ¡°Fei¡¯er, where is he, where is my son, where is your brother?¡±

    Yang Su looked at her daughter in anticipation, her son was alive! He must be working for another company, or could be homeless¡­

    ¡°He owns a coffee shop near my university¡±

    Yang Su looked at her daughter in confusion.

    ¡°A co-coffee shop? What?¡±

 Chapter 12

    Advancing The Relationship?

    After the usual closing hours of the coffee shop, Sky Yun was sweeping the floors whilst in deep thought.

    Today was an important day for him, but he does not know why.

    ¡®Ling Xue is coming to visit now¡­ What should I do? What should I say?¡¯

    Yes, Ling Xue was coming to visit Sky Yun, as planned a few days ago. For Sky Yun, he felt nervous slightly. This sort of emotion is something that he does not ever have, even after countless missions with life and death situations, he has never felt nervous.

    Although he has denied it in his mind countless times, he does understand that what he feels towards Ling Xue is more than just intrigue.

    At first, their meeting was just a simple encounter between him and his supplier. But perhaps its because she calls to just say hi, that he feels that he is somewhat cared by someone.

    No one cared for him, his parents left him and even the old man didn¡¯t care for him as much. Ling Xue calling and asking if Sky Yun is doing well, despite his cold indifferent attitude, just shows that she cares about him.

    Even her coming to visit him today, although it was their 2<sup>nd</sup> meeting, shows that she cared enough to visit him.

    KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

    Sky Yun walked towards the door slowly, every footstep he takes his mind filled with what to say, what to do. Although on the outside, his face is emotionless, his mind is currently being flooded with emotions and feelings, which he doesn¡¯t know how to control and describe. They are things which he has never felt before¡­

    As he opens the door, Ling Xue stands there with a small suitcase. Her short brown hair, big eyes and freckles makes Sky Yun stand there in a daze.

    Ling Xue also stands there in a daze, her body swaying back and forth.

    They stay silent for a few minutes until Ling Xue finally speaks up.

    ¡°H-hi¡­¡±

    ¡°Hello.¡±

    Compared to the nervous Ling Xue, Sky Yun continues with his composed cold attitude. Ling Xue however, realised it was different however, as Sky Yun¡¯s eyes were warmer than when she previously saw him at the farm.

    ¡°St-stop looking at me, you are making me nervous y¡¯know!¡±

    Ling Xue dropped her suitcase and covered her face, Sky Yun was amused by her appearance and grabbed her suitcase.

    She couldn¡¯t afford to stay at a hotel close to Sky Yun so he offered her to stay over while he sleeps on the couch.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Ling Xue protested, but Sky Yun did not care about where he slept due to him being in worst conditions.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll only be h-here for only a few days so please ta-take care of me!¡±

    She bows slightly, Sky Yun was taken back but turned around and walked towards the bedroom.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, you should sleep because tomorrow you¡¯ll work at the coffee shop with me.¡±

    Sky Yun quickly turned around however; his shirt was grabbed by Ling Xue suddenly. Sky Yun turned around and saw Ling Xue with her red face staring right at him.

    ¡°Go-good night!¡±

    She then ran towards the bedroom and closed the door, Sky Yun stayed where he was for a while, with a slight hint of red on his cheeks.

    The next day, Ling Xue woke up to see breakfast already prepared for her by Sky Yun. After yesterday, she couldn¡¯t look at Sky Yun once.

    The coffee shop opens and the usual Sky Yun grabs a book from his shelf located behind the counter and sat on a stool. Ling Xue who had nothing to do also sat on the stool next to Sky Yun.

    She gazed at the reading Sky Yun, she knew she fell in love with Sky Yun, but she does not know how to proceed.

    She looked at his handsome face, then at his huge tattoo across his neck.

    ¡®Alone in the dark world¡­ he is alone?¡¯

    Ling Xue wanted to know more about Sky Yun, who he was and how he has lived his life.

    Sky Yun knew she was looking at him, so he stopped reading and gazed at Ling Xue also. Sky Yun was a man of few words, so he did not know how to speak to Ling Xue.

    ¡°Ling Xu- ¡°

    ¡°Please, call me Xue!¡±

    Without hesitation, Ling Xue closes her eyes and interrupts Sky Yun.

    ¡°I feel like you always act too po-polite, you don¡¯t need to be around m-me!¡±

    Sky Yun widened his eyes, and a slight smile on his face appears.

    ¡°Xu-xue, thank you for visiting me.¡±

    Ling Xue¡¯s face reddened like a tomato, and just at the perfect time, a customer appears.

    ¡°Wh-what do you wish to order si-sir!¡±

    ¡®She is really cute when she gets all timid¡¯

    Sky Yun finally accepted the emotion that he wishes to deny having. He always thought he will be alone in the world with no person to be with him at all. But for the first time, he feels loved.

    ¡°Yun! Milk Coffee!¡±

    ¡®Yun? Who was the last ever person to call me Yun?¡¯

    Sky Yun stood up in a daze and started to prepare the coffee, Ling Xue looked at the working man in front of her and felt happy.

    ¡®I said his first name! hahaha!¡¯

    She couldn¡¯t believe it; she advanced the relationship and now they can be considered close friends.

    ¡°Xue, here is the coffee¡±

    Sky Yun handed her the coffee on a tray, she walks towards the man and handed the drink to him.

    ¡°Thank you, I hope I don¡¯t interrupt you lovely couple.¡±

    Ling Xue looked at the customer with a really red face, Sky Yun heard what he said and covered his face with a book.

    The next few customers came and go, both Ling Xue and Sky Yun felt comfortable working together as hours came by.

    DING~

    ¡°May I take your order ma¡¯am¡±

    Ling Xue walks towards the woman who walked in, Sky Yun looked up and placed his book down.

    He knew this day would come, but he did not expect it to happen soon.

    ¡°Yun¡¯er¡­ You are alive. Oh my god, you are alive¡­¡±

 Chapter 13

    The Reunion

    Ling Xue looked at the woman crying and didn¡¯t know what to do, it was so sudden.

    Sky Yun stood up, took his jacket and walked towards the front door.

    ¡°Xue, can you look after the shop for a few hours? I have¡­ something I need to attend¡­¡±

    Ling Xue knew something was off, compared to the indifferent cold Sky Yun.

    ¡°Su-sure, Yun¡­¡±

    Yang Su looked at the departing son and stood up quickly and followed on. Ling Xue was completely stunned, she was confused by the current situation. But she knew it was something personal, and although they had advanced their relationship slightly, it wasn¡¯t enough to know who Sky Yun is.

    Sky Yun walked towards a discreet restaurant near the coffee shop, it had no customers and was secluded from everyone. This conversation was something that he does not want anyone to hear.

    He sat down, waiting for his ¡®mother¡¯ to come and sit. Yang Su caught up after him and sat down, she still had tears in her eyes and couldn¡¯t look at Sky Yun¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Long time no see. What do you want?¡±

    The cold and apathetic tone from Sky Yun shook Yang Su heavily, she knew that after all these years she can¡¯t just return to being his mother. But knowing he is still alive was enough, and she wanted him to know the truth.

    ¡°I-I am so sorry!¡±

    His mother bowed her head towards Sky Yun, but he did not care. All emotions between him and his family were all gone from the day he was left abandoned.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know the truth till a few years after you was abandoned, I divorced that bastard and lived a life in solitude. I left my son, the pride of my life alone in the streets with no family. I-I¡±

    Sky Yun heard his mother¡¯s rushed explanation and did not care, he does not hate his mother at all, he just doesn¡¯t have any feelings towards her.

    ¡°Oh? You divorced that fucker?¡±

    Sky Yun although did not care about the apology was surprised to hear she divorced him, knowing that it probably gave a massive blow to Chen Family¡¯s power in Beijing made him feel satisfied slightly.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to forgive me or d-¡°If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°I forgive you.¡±

    Yang Su stopped her words and stared at Sky Yun with confusion and shock.

    ¡°Forgive me already? I left you alone with no family nor money! I practically gave you a death sentence! Why¡­¡±

    Sky Yun looked at his mother and sighed. He forgave her years ago, even during the days when he wished for Chen Family to be destroyed, he never had the thought of killing his mother.

    ¡°I forgave you a long time ago, but you should understand that we can¡¯t be family anymore¡­¡±

    She knew that, but she didn¡¯t know what to do or say. Her son struggled for 10 years and she knew that they can¡¯t return back to their old loving relationship.

    ¡°I know, but please, pl-please¡­¡±

    Yang Su hesitated, she knew this request was probably impossible, but she just wanted Sky Yun to do one thing¡­

    ¡°Please, just call me mother¡­¡±

    Sky Yun froze, call her mother? But he knew, she was the only person who he can ever call mother.

    ¡°Mother.¡±

    After minutes of thought, he finally said it. Yang Su smiled like a child and stood up, Sky Yun stood up with her and stared at each other.

    Yang Su hesitantly placed her hand on his cheek, looked straight at her sons¡¯ eyes and hugged him. Sky Yun let her do so, after all, she probably faced years of regret towards what happened.

    ¡°Goodbye, and please look after Fei¡¯er, I know you love her as she is your only sister that hasn¡¯t wronged you.¡±

    Yang Su walked off, although this could be their final meeting, just knowing Sky Yun was alive removed so much burden off of her.

    Sky Yun looked at the departing Yang Su, his mind filled with the days of her treating him when he was ill, protecting him when he was bullied and so on. She is his mother, and no other person could take her place.

    He walked back to the coffee shop, to see Ling Xue handling customers on her own. His solemn mood lifted slightly knowing that perhaps, he won¡¯t be alone as time goes on.

    In a small room, the old man Sky Long was seated doing paperwork. Although he was writing, his thoughts were occupied on one thing.

    ¡®The Round Table Conference¡­¡¯

    The conference filled with different powerful organisation in discussing the current state of the Underworld.

    It was Sky Longs fifth time going to the conference which was only held every decade. Each time he went, it was a huge mess filled with arguments leading to small fights. But it was easily fixed by the head of the Underworld, however this year was different.

    A few months before Sky Yun retired, news broke out that the Head of the Underworld was assassinated. This meant that this year¡¯s conference is to elect the new Head of the Underworld.

    However, after reports of small skirmishes between the powerful organisations and families, it seemed that this year will be filled with bloodshed.

    He did not want Sky Yun, who was active at the time, to be involved, so he quickly ordered him to retire.

    Sky Long sighed, he stopped writing and lit a cigar.

    ¡®Should I see that brat one more time before I go?¡¯

    After contemplating for a while, he called his secretary and booked a ticket to Shanghai. He knew that after this meeting, the amount of bloodshed will not go unnoticed, and the United Nations might get involved.

    Sky Long stood up and walked towards his windows, he looked at the view in front of him. He chuckled at himself slightly, and smoked his cigar.

    ¡®This will be interesting¡­¡¯

 Chapter 14

    Stay with me for the rest of my life

    After the reunion between him and his mother, Sky Yun and Ling Xue continue their life running the shop. As time went by, both became accustomed to their progressive relationship.

    In the coffee shop, Sky Yun is seated reading a book and Ling Xue sits next to him with a laptop on her lap. Although both haven¡¯t admitted their feelings towards each other, slowly as time progresses, they have become comfortable being close to each other.

    Sky Yun looks up and glances at the girl next to him, tomorrow Ling Xue will return back to her home and although their time was short it felt like she was part of the coffee shop, rather than a temporary worker.

    Ling Xue also looks up, and quickly looks away. She really loved her time with Sky Yun and knew that today was her last day to finally make her move. She knew that Sky Yun would never say anything, as that is his character.

    Time went by and night approaches. Ling Xue slowly walks to her bedroom but turns around to Sky Yun who was lying on the couch.

    ¡°Yun, come with me¡­¡±

    Sky Yun who heard her voice raised his eyebrow. He did not expect Ling Xue to call him over.

    She walked towards the bedroom, and Sky Yun felt something was off. Ling Xue pulled him into the room and shut the door.

    ¡°Y-Yun, I.. I¡­¡±

    She was hesitating, what happens if Sky Yun rejects her? Thoughts surfaced into her mind and she felt dizzy.

    However, she couldn¡¯t give up, today was the perfect day to finally express her love and she knew this was a risk that was necessary.

    She quickly removed any negative scenarios in her mind, and looked straight at the dazed Sky Yun.

    ¡°I really, really, really like you!¡±

    Sky Yun stood there frozen; he did not expect her to confess to him. But after quickly snapping out of his daze, he looked straight at her and sighed.

    Ling Xue felt something was wrong, from her knowledge from romantic novels she has read, sighing meant rejection. She felt like crying, however¡­

    ¡°I like you too¡­¡±

    Slightly stunned, she raised her head to see a bright smile appear on Sky Yuns¡¯ face, she has never seen such a beautiful smile in her life. Ling Xue started to tear up and quickly hugged Sky Yun.

    Sky Yun didn¡¯t know what to do however, he wasn¡¯t used to being hugged but after awhile of doing nothing he wrapped his arms around her back and tightened the hug.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Yu-Yun, should we d-d- do it¡­¡±

    Sky Yun widened his eyes, he was a conservative man at heart and didn¡¯t know how to reply.

    After a few minutes of staring at each other, Sky Yun removed his arms from her back and stood a few steps back.

    ¡°Listen Xue, I can only ever have sex with you if you marry me. If you do marry me, it means my life is your life, and that we shall never part¡­¡±

    Ling Xue was slightly surprised to see Sky Yun reject the offer, but she felt relieved anyways. It meant that Sky Yun truly respects her.

    ¡°Th-then... would you marry me now?¡±

    Sky Yuns¡¯ mind completely went blank.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Sky Yun asked, Ling Xue looked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

    ¡°Yun, I am turning 25 soon, and I haven¡¯t even had a lover once in my life, and I truly believe that you are the one for me in my life.¡±

    Sky Yun listened to the explanation, although in his mind it didn¡¯t make sense at all. He did feel the same way, regarding her, being the only woman that has slightly opened his heart.

    ¡°Are you truly ready to accept me as a husband, rather than starting out as boyfriend and girlfriend. If one day you felt like both of us aren¡¯t working out, you¡¯ll have to go throu- ¡°

    ¡°We will work out, because I shall never love another man in my life except you. The days of working together, the day you saved me, the daily phone calls with you asking if I am good, it really made me love you.¡±

    Ling Xue interrupted Sky Yun and loudly confessed that she loves him again. In Sky Yun¡¯s mind, this situation is so mad that he does not know how to respond.

    ¡°Will you, Ling Xue, marry me?¡±

    Sky Yun bent his knee and looked up towards the girl in front of him, Ling Xue looked at the usual cold and apathetic man who now has a smile on his face in front of her.

    ¡°I do!!¡±

    Today has been a crazy one for her, from friends to lifetime partners, now she has become the wife of Sky Yun, the man she has crushed on for months.

    Ling Xue jumped into his arms and kissed him. Sky Yun was stunned from the sudden action and picked her up and took her to the bed.

    After hours of continuous battling in the bed, Sky Yun lays down with Ling Xue who has her arm on top of Sky Yun¡¯s torso.

    ¡°Tomorrow, before you leave, you wish to tell your father or do we go to the registration office?¡±

    Sky Yun asked, although in a normal marriage, you should go through asking the family first, he felt that this relationship advanced way too quickly and it might strain the relationship between him and his father-in-law.

    ¡°Hmm, we should first become married officially, and then I will tell him that I forced you to marry me haha!¡±

    Ling Xue was really overjoyed, she finally has become the wife of the man she loves. Although them advancing the relationship this quickly is very weird, she knew that this was the right choice.

    Sky Yun looked at his new wife, who he had finally accepted that he loves her only a few days ago.

    She placed her hand over Sky Yun¡¯s body which was filled with cuts, gunshot wounds and scars from his years of being a mercenary.

    She then slowly moved her hands towards his neck with the tattoo ¡®Alone in the dark world¡¯ was written, she then looked at Sky Yun who was looking up at the ceiling.

    ¡°Yun, I really want to know, who are you really¡­¡±

    Sky Yun looked at her, knowing that it was the perfect time to tell her.

    Tell her the story of how he became the man he is now.

 Chapter 15

    The Story of Sky Yun, Part I

    After the Chen Family kicked Chen Yun out, he then walked for days with the little money he had in his pocket prior to being kicked out.

    ¡®I know have enough for journey outside Beijing, but where do I go from here¡­¡¯

    He was in despair, for days he had cried till he had no tears. He now understood that from this point onwards, he is not Chen Yun but just Yun, a man with no home nor people to go back to.

    He then took a train journey, and decided to go to Shanghai and lived a life of sleeping in alleyways, pickpocketing anyone in sight, and trying to survive in the dark cold world.

    One day, he finally found a good target to rob, it was a old man with a dusty old suit and a fedora. Although the old man looked as if he was poor, with Yun¡¯s knowledge on clothing as a rich heir to the Chen family, he knew that the suit the old man was wearing was worth 1.3 million Yen!

    He slowly approached the man, who was by himself. He hid behind crates and walls and after half an hour of trailing he finally made his move.

    Yun reached his hand towards the pocket of the seated man in front of him, however his hand was caught out of nowhere and looked up to see the old man staring at him with cold eyes.

    Yun felt scared, he did not know what to do or how to escape, he closed his eyes and accepted his fate.

    But nothing happened.

    He opened his eyes, to see the old man smiling with his white shining teeth at him.

    ¡®Wh,wha?¡¯

    Yun was confused, he had just attempted to rob the old man yet he was smiling¡­

    ¡°Good, good¡­ HAHAHA!¡±

    The old man started to laugh like crazy, Yun felt uncomfortable at this point.

    ¡°I have never met someone who has ever tried to rob me, Sky Long in years and yet you kid, had the balls to do so!¡±

    Sky Long looked at Yun, and after a minute of silence he stood up.

    ¡°Listen up kid, you want to work for me?¡±

    Yun was completely dazed; he had just robbed the old man yet he was offered a job?

    ¡°You¡­ you look like you have no goal in life¡­¡±

    Sky Long gazed at the kid in front of him, and sighed.

    ¡°I can give you a purpose, something to live for, but you must work for me for 10 years.¡±

    Yun was in a dilemma, although this situation was very beneficial for him, he does not know what he is getting himself into. Sky Long noticed it and nodded.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Very smart, you wish to know what the job is right? Simple, I give you a task, you must complete.¡±

    ¡®Servant?¡¯

    Yun thought, the task in his mind were chores such as cleaning and tiding.

    ¡°These tasks aren¡¯t your average jobs either, you will have to do things that many consider evil and vile. I won¡¯t get into much detail unless you accept my offer¡­¡±

    Evil and vile? Yun was slightly confused on what he meant, but he knew that this job was a way for him to survive.

    ¡°I accept.¡±

    With a determined face, Yun agreed to the 10 year offer from Sky Long.

    ¡°What is your name kid¡­¡±

    ¡°Yun, just Yun¡­¡±

    Sky Long mumbled to himself and nodded his head.

    ¡°You, you have no surname?¡±

    Yun shook his head, his family abandoned him and he had signed a contract stating his name is no longer associated with them.

    ¡°Good, good, follow me.¡±

    Sky Long walked off towards a alleyway, Yun quickly followed him and was led towards a black range rover with tinted black windows.

    The window was lowered and Yun saw a huge 7 foot tall man wearing a black suit and sunglasses.

    ¡°New recruit, take him to the house and get him settled. After a day, start his training.¡±

    Yun didn¡¯t understand what was going on, but he went into the car anyways. He knew that from this day onwards, his life has completely changed.

    For months, Yun was taught in the arts of marksmanship, close-combat and the art of stealth. In his spare time, he learnt the way of the sword, reading manuals on sword styles and techniques from different cultures including Japan and England.

    He understood that the job he had taken wasn¡¯t a butler job but of a mercenary, with him taking missions set by the old man and completing it.

    In the beginning, he was hurt and scared of what life has installed for him. But after months of vigorious training, his fear turned into bravery and had quickly accepted the life he had chosen.

    After 2 years of continuous training, he finally undertook his first mission which was to retrieve an amulet which was in the hand of the biggest family in France. It took him a month to complete, which had completely shocked both the old man and his trainers.

    They expected him to finish in half a year, but after contemplating, they finally accepted the result as a ¡®fluke¡¯. But as time went by, and the missions done by Yun started to pile up, they finally acknowledged that Yun¡¯s skill was top-notch.

    His name throughout the underworld spread and many were fearful of him, and were rightfully so.

    Sky Yun stopped narrating and Ling Xue pinched him.

    ¡°Why did you stop? What happened next? What did you do during the missions?¡±

    Listening to the explanation of Sky Yun, she was shocked to hear that he was abandoned by his family at the age of 17 and was fending for himself in the streets.

    He had also told her that he took a job for 10 years and was taught how to do his job, and he done very well and was known for being the best.

    He stopped so suddenly, and she had so much questions to ask.

    ¡®Why did I marry her?¡¯

    Maybe he felt alone, maybe it was what the little girl said to him before she died in his arms.

    ¡°Mister, do you have someone with you? Like my mommy and daddy?¡±

    The horrors of that night stuck by him, and after years of loneliness perhaps now he has someone he can say is his lifetime partner both on paper and in heart.

    Sky Yun looked at his wife, and stared into her eyes. He doesn¡¯t want her to know what he was, what he has done, and what sort of monster he had to become in order to survive.

    ¡®My silence is the only way to show that I love you¡­¡¯

 Chapter 16

    The Story of Sky Yun, Part II

    ¡°Get down!¡±

    In a small alleyway, a man and a young girl are running.

    Behind them, countless shots are being fired at them with smoke grenades impairing their vision. The man holds the young girl in a cradle as he covers her head with his arms.

    ¡°Mommy! Daddy!¡±

    The girl in the arms of the man screams for her parents, trying to wiggle out of the man¡¯s protection but it was no use, the man kept hold of her and ran as fast as he could.

    ¡°Please let me go! Mommy! Daddy!¡±

    The girl was relentless, she kept resisting till she grew tired. The man sighed deeply as he kept running through the smoke, looking for an exit away from the gunfire.

    Let¡¯s rewind time a bit.

    Sky Yun was given a mission during his 4<sup>th</sup> year to protect the biggest family in France, the Brodeur family.

    It was set by the head, as he had told them that a war was about to start in the French capital of Paris.

    Knowing that it might risk his family¡¯s safety, he had employed Sky Long¡¯s mercenary group to protect his wife and 10-year-old daughter.

    Sky Long then offered the job to his best man, Sky Yun, who had a 100% completed track record, without no fail.

    ¡°The job is to stick with the mother and daughter, follow them and if any threat comes in, eliminate them.¡±

    Sky Yun nodded, he then walked off getting set to travel to France.

    After a 13-hour flight, he quickly went to the Brodeur Mansion in Paris and started a 24-hour surveillance.

    Without any breaks, he watched the family for 3 weeks straight. He mainly focused on the daughter, as the wife rarely left the Mansion grounds knowing that her life maybe in danger.

    The daughter however, had to leave to attend school. Sky Yun followed her and watched out to for any sort of attempt to harm her every time she went out to school.

    One day however, the unexpected happened.

    Although he had detail on every single family that posed a threat towards the Brodeur family, he did not expect that the teachers were bribed to move the students towards a secluded area, in which the assassins moved in to kidnap the little girl.

    He rushed towards the location, and unfortunately found that the girl was kidnapped. He quickly warned his employer, telling him that it was unsafe for his family to move out. Sky Yun ran across the whole city, trying to find any detail on where they had taken the little girl.

    After hours of running around, he was told to return to the Brodeur family, as they had found a lead.

    He went in, and saw the panic-stricken mother and the head of the family Samuel Brodeur racing back and forth.

    They then realised Sky Yun walked in, and quickly told him about the situation that they are in.

    The kidnappers had asked for both the parents to visit the abandoned warehouse by themselves, with no support. If they do, then the kid is released.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Although they knew it was a trap, they had to go in order to know that their daughter was safe.

    Samuel and his wife travelled towards the abandoned warehouse, and found their daughter tied up with several men wearing balaclavas and holding M4 Carbine rifles.

    ¡°Samuel Brodeur, come forward and we shall release your daughter.¡±

    In French, the main guy who was in front of everyone instructed Samuel, and his wife, to walk forward.

    They didn¡¯t know however, that Sky Yun was camped out by a bush near the warehouse door waiting for a way to attack.

    However, his plan went to waste when¡­

    BANG!

    Gunshot were fired, Samuel and his wife planned without Sky Yun¡¯s knowledge, to bring their men in and attack straight away.

    Sky Yun knowing that there was no point in hiding, quickly grabbed the tied-up daughter, who witnessed the entire thing, and ran.

    He quickly located Samuel and his wife, but before he could get to them, an army van ran them over at full speed.

    The scene was dreadful, the daughter who witnessed the situation thing went silent. Sky Yun, although used to such a scene, couldn¡¯t help but feel depressed but he had no time to think about what he saw.

    After running through the smoke, and finally finding a place to hide as the gunshot smoke start to fade away, Sky Yun and the little girl took a breather.

    ¡°I want to see my mommy and daddy¡­¡±

    In a small whisper, the little girl continued to beg to see her parents. But Sky Yun knew that it was impossible, the velocity in which that van hit the parents was fatal and the fighting that was currently ongoing would seal their fate as dead.

    Sky Yun knew that he failed his mission, but at least he saved one of the targets.

    ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t worry. Mommy and Daddy will¡­ forever stay by your side¡­¡±

    Sky Yun smiled as much as he can in make the little girl sad, and it worked. The little girl knowing that her parents are going to be by her side forever cheered up slightly, and Sky Yun¡¯s heart crumbled seeing the naivety of the girl.

    He stood up, and the girl stood up too.

    ¡®I¡¯ll take her in, and hopefully she can live a go- ¡®

    Before he could finish his fault, his senses start to tingle.

    BANG!

    A sniper shot that came from the building in front of him was fired, and Sky Yun knew that he could not dodge it. He closed his eyes, expecting himself to be shot. However¡­

    ¡°Gwah, it hurts!¡±

    The sound of a young girl¡¯s cry filled the dark alleyway, Sky Yun opened his eyes and his mind went blank.

    The young girl was shot, her torso covered in blood and her mouth starting to bleed also.

    ¡°No no no, don¡¯t die on me little girl, please don¡¯t die!¡±

    Sky Yun dropped to his knees and support the young girl. He ripped a piece of his shirt quickly, and held it on the gunshot wound, but he knew it was useless.

    ¡°Uncle, am I going to see mommy and daddy soon?¡±

    The young girl asked weakly, her voice started to slowly quieten and still had the sense of innocent.

    Sky Yun stared at her, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears.

    ¡°Yes, you will¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you have a mommy beside you? Like daddy has?¡±

    Sky Yun who heard what she said, choked up and placed his forehead on hers.

    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°N-no way, you¡­ are¡­ th¡±

    Before she could finish her sentence, she breathed her last breath. Sky Yun sat there for minutes, staring at the dead child in his arms.

    ¡°RAHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡±

    He cried and cried, till there was no tears left in his body. His shoulders shaking and he kept repeating ¡®I am sorry¡¯ under his breath.

    GASP!

    Sky Yun woke up from his sleep, looking at the clock it was only 5 am in the morning.

    Ling Xue who cradled his arms felt him move, had woken up at the same time. She rubbed her eyes, seeing that it was Sky Yun next to her, she smiled and went back to sleep.

    Sky Yun looked at the ceiling, remembering that day was a reoccurring nightmare. The blood squirting out of the girls body and the pure innocence she still had before she died, kept replaying over and over again in his mind.

    He pulled his drawers, and took out pills. He quickly swallowed them before getting up from his bed.

    A start to a new day.

 Chapter 17

    Certificate

    After his morning workout, he went into the coffee shop to see two plates of toast and tea on the table.

    He looked at Ling Xue, who was seated eating her breakfast. Her hair was tied up and her face filled with joy.

    ¡°Is this¡­ for me?¡±

    Ling Xue looked at Sky Yun as if he was an idiot.

    ¡°Of course, we are the only two here dear.¡±

    Ling Xue continued to eat her toast while Sky Yun stood there with an amused expression on his face.

    ¡°Dear? You decided to call me that now?¡±

    Sky Yun, after last night, he had lost all of his cold, apathetic feelings for Ling Xue. He sat down on his chair across from her and started to eat his breakfast.

    ¡°Yun, let¡¯s go get registered before I go back to the farm.¡±

    Ling Xue asked, Sky Yun nodded his head and went to get changed.

    After getting ready, they both took a taxi to the marriage registration office. After arriving, they see a small line with a huge sign saying ¡®MARRIAGE¡¯ on it. They both stood in line, which was filled with youngsters in their early 20s.

    Many looked at Sky Yun and Ling Xue, for the men Ling Xue is seen as an average ¡®beauty¡¯, so they didn¡¯t pay attention as much. However, the girls with the men were staring at the handsome Sky Yun, with sparkling eyes.

    Sky Yun didn¡¯t care however, and just had decided to act as if they didn¡¯t exist. However, Ling Xue looked at the girls and grabbed Sky Yun¡¯s arm. Sky Yun looked at Ling Xue, who was teasing the disappointed girls and smiled.

    ¡°NEXT!¡±

    Sky Yun and Ling Xue were up next, they walked towards the counter and was handed a form.

    ¡°Fill the questions in and then hand it in quickly.¡±

    The old woman who was in the counter had a distorted expression on her face. Sky Yun sighed and grabbed the pen given to him and started to fill it in.

    The questions were simple, it asked for his name, parents and where he lives. Ling Xue also filled in her side and they both finished after 2 minutes.

    ¡°Congratulations, you are officially married. Here is your certificate.¡±

    The old woman, with an expressionless tone gave them their certificate. Ling Xue grabbed the certificate and started to jump up and down whilst laughing.

    Sky Yun who rarely expresses emotions had a smile on his face and hugged Ling Xue. His life was filled with dark moments, and Ling Xue is something that sheds light to it in his mind.

    They both walked out the office, and went back to the coffee shop. Ling Xue started to pack her bags to return to her family home.

    After finishing up, she grabs her suitcase and walks to the door.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell dad that I married you, but it might not go so well¡­¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Their marriage was a flash marriage, which now in Chinese society has increased over the past few years. Ling Xue¡¯s dad, Ling Wang, might not like that they had married and might split them up as he is part of the older generation that were more conservative.

    Even if he tried to split them up, Ling Xue would just ignore her father¡¯s wishes and live together with Sky Yun, if that was the case.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just be safe on your journey back.¡±

    Sky Yun hugged her and turned around, Ling Xue looked at the back of the man she now calls husband and walks out of the shop with a happy expression on her face.

    A day later, Sky Yun opens the coffee shop once again and continues his daily life.

    DING~

    The door opens, and a woman comes straight in and walks towards Sky Yun. He looks up to see his sister, Chen Fei, who he hasn¡¯t seen since him and his mother had spoken.

    ¡°Y-Yo¡­¡±

    Chen Fei looked at the ground refusing to gaze at Sky Yun. Sky Yun remembered his mother¡¯s words to him and sighed.

    ¡°Need anything, Fei?¡±

    Chen Fei looked up at her brother and tears started to form. She could only remember getting brotherly affection when she was really young but after her parents divorced, she has been all alone without any help nor support.

    Her brother, asking if she needed anything, was all she wanted. Someone she can depend upon.

    Sky Yun was confused, he did not expect Chen Fei to cry. He quickly stood up and grabbed a tissue box on the kitchen table.

    Chen Fei wiped her tears and stared at Sky Yun.

    ¡°Should I c-call you Yun or Brother Yun or ¨C ¡°

    ¡°Anything that makes you comfortable.¡±

    Sky Yun went back to reading his book in silence, with Chen Fei standing there with nothing to do except look at him.

    ¡°Big Bro Yun, why did you say I look like that bastard? You mean dad, right?¡±

    Chen Fei didn¡¯t expect to see Sky Yun suddenly closing his book and staring straight at her.

    ¡°Listen closely, that fucker isn¡¯t ¡®my¡¯ dad. Remember this, I am related to you, and mother only. But that bastard isn¡¯t my family.¡±

    Chen Fei was scared, the cold stare and heavy atmosphere from Sky Yun made her shiver to her bones.

    She knew that Sky Yun hated her father, but did not expect to see this reaction at all.

    Sky Yun, after hearing her mention his name got agitated. Although he had abandoned the thought of revenge towards the Chen Family, the mere mention of the man causes him to release slight killing intent.

    He sighed, and looked at his sister.

    ¡°I am sorry, but that man left me for dead. He didn¡¯t love me like a son, so why should I treat that man as a father? I know you might see the man differently, but do remember that you are his daughter and not some other person.¡±

    Chen Fei listened to her brother¡¯s reasonable explanation. She remembered that her mother called her dad bastard too, which meant that perhaps he was someone different to what she had thought.

    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t be sorry. I was the one who mentioned him. Can you help me with something?¡±

    Chen Fei quickly changed the subject and finally asked what she had come here for.

    ¡°What do you need?¡±

    ¡°Well, I need you to come with me during the charity ball coming up. Are you free next week?¡±

    Sky Yun grabbed a calendar book under his desk and looked to see if he was free. He had bought this book after signing the contract to become the instructor of the Chinese Army so that he remembers which dates he must attend.

    ¡°I am free for the whole week. Just come to the shop in the morning of the day and I¡¯ll get ready.¡±

    He starts his Instructing job in 2 weeks, so next week he is completely free.

    ¡°Cool! Can I come tomorrow to visit?¡±

    Sky Yun nodded, and Chen Fei stood up and walked towards the door before turning around.

    ¡°See you tomorrow, Big Brother!¡±

    She ran off chuckling as Sky Yun sat in his usual seat with a book in hand staring at the door in a trance.

    ¡°My little sister really grew up huh¡­¡±

    He muttered.

    ¡°Welcome to Shanghai, Mr Sky Long.¡±

    A Chinese airplane attendant said to the old man seated in front of her.

    ¡®I have arrived, let¡¯s see how that little devil is doing.¡¯

 Chapter 18

    The Old Man''s Visit, Part I

    DING~

    ¡°Hey Big Brother!¡±

    Chen Fei walked in the coffee shop, it was the next day and she planned to stay here till her lesson begins in the afternoon.

    She sees Sky Yun, in the kitchen making breakfast. On the table, a package box with an address and a name ¡®Ling Xue¡¯ on it.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this?¡±

    Sky Yun turns his head to see what Chen Fei was talking about, and then went back to cooking.

    ¡°It¡¯s for my wife, I bought her a ring.¡±

    Sky Yun said without turning his head around.

    ¡°W-W-WIFE!?¡±

    Chen Fei was completely shocked, this man who has never smiled or shown any emotion in front of her has a wife?

    Sky Yun didn¡¯t bother looking at her, but Chen Fei stood there in a daze.

    ¡°Can I meet B-big sister then?¡±

    ¡°You already did, when mother came in.¡±

    Chen Fei tried to recall any memory of seeing someone, but to no avail. She left when she took her mother to Sky Yun as she wished to be alone with him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember, but I want to meet her.¡±

    Sky Yun finished cooking after she had said that and looked at her.

    ¡°Sure, she¡¯ll be back in a month¡¯s time.¡±

    Ling Xue had told him that she has to stay with her dad for a bit before moving over to his home, Sky Yun didn¡¯t mind as he was meant to go work as an instructor for a month too.

    He grabbed a plate, and filled it with his breakfast and sat down on the table. Chen Fei followed suit, and sat on the chair across from him.

    ¡°When is the ball.¡±

    ¡°In 2 days, many families will take part but since fa- I mean that man is not coming, I¡¯ll have to come on his behalf.¡±

    Chen Fei was about to say father but remembered the hatred Sky Yun had on him. Sky Yun listened in and felt conflicted slightly.

    ¡°So, I¡¯ll have to be part of the Chen Family?¡±

    He hated the Chen Family, he wished for it to burn to the ground but after promising his mother to love and protect his sister he did not wish to say no.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll represent yourself but some people might recognise you though.¡±

    Recognise? It had been 10 years since he was kicked out and his appearance changed a lot. His physique and height also changed dramatically, so to recognise him would be shocking.

    Chen Fei knew this and slapped her forehead, what a stupid question she had asked. But Sky Yun didn¡¯t care, as he sat there eating on without saying another word.

    After finishing his meal, he then started to set up the shop. Chen Fei had asked Sky Yun to work in the coffee shop till her lesson starts and he agreed.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    He opened the shop, and sat down reading his book with Chen Fei also reading her book on a stool beside him.

    DING~

    The door opened, and the same group from his first day came in. Yun Sheng, Xiao Xin, Zhao Tuo and Ouyang Na walked in and went to the counter.

    Chen Fei who was reading looked up to see her friends come in, and stood up.

    The group stood at the counter, and turned to see their good friend Chen Fei standing there with an apron on.

    ¡°FEIFEI?¡±

    Xiao Xin yelled; she couldn¡¯t believe the university cold beauty was working in a coffee shop. The rest held a dumbfounded expression on their faces too.

    ¡°What would you like to order.¡±

    They didn¡¯t answer but instead looked at the man who was seated reading his book in silence.

    ¡°Hey, how did you get the Chen Princess to come work at this shop?¡±

    Yun Sheng asked, the rest also had the same question in their head too. Sky Yun glanced at them for a second before reading his book. His cold, apathetic attitude irritated Yun Sheng.

    ¡°You¡­ can you speak?¡±

    Chen Fei looked at the situation and sighed.

    ¡°He is my brother; I came to work here to repay a favour I owe him.¡±

    Brother? When did she have a brother? They weren¡¯t convinced and felt something fishy was going on.

    ¡°Feifei, you don¡¯t need to lie to your best friend. Do you fancy him? You like that handsome man right?¡±

    Ouyang Na, teasing Chen Fei as usual, continued to pester her with questions.

    Sky Yun placed his book down and looked at the group in front of him.

    ¡°Do you want to order or not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it Big Brother Yun, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Looking at the two, the group was really surprised that Chen Fei acted the way she is currently.

    Chen Fei had countless suitors, many being heirs to huge families across China. She usually was cold and didn¡¯t care for anyone¡¯s well-being except those truly close to her.

    ¡°Fei, are you really in love with him?¡±

    Xiao Xin whispered; Chen Fei shook her head.

    ¡°He is really my biological brother, my mother told me and asked him to look after me.¡±

    Xiao Xin decided to believe Chen Fei, as Chen Fei has never lied to her before, and wouldn¡¯t lie in this situation.

    The group finally settled in and ordered, and Sky Yun quickly made it for them.

    The day continued normally, with the group still in the shop talking. Lunch was approaching and Sky Yun walked in the kitchen to make food.

    DING~

    Two huge men walked in with black and white suits, both looked as if they were part of the movie ¡®Men In Black¡¯.

    They opened the door in a serving manner and in came an old man with a cane and a fedora hat on. His mouth was covered with a lit cigar and was laughing as he walked in.

    The group felt threatened by who came in, Sky Yun walked in behind the counter, as if no one came into the coffee shop.

    ¡°HAHAHA, Little devil, you are not going to say hi to this old man.¡±

    Sky Yun looked up and saw the old man, Sky Long in front, of him. He was very shocked as he did not expect this at all, but he quickly got his head straight and raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°You do realise the meeting is in a month, shouldn¡¯t you prepare?¡±

    What Sky Yun was referring to, was the Round Table Conference. He had heard about it during his training by the old man and understood that the conference was a way to keep organised crime, ¡®organised¡¯.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, I came to visit you because I heard you got a girl now!¡±

    Sky Long looked at table that Xiao Xin, Yun Sheng, Ouyang Na and Zhao Tuo were, and saw Chen Fei who was wearing an apron standing there.

    ¡°Is it this young lass? Man, you were like me when I was young HAHAHA!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my sister.¡±

    Sky Long stopped laughing, and looked at Sky Yun.

    ¡°So, she is the Chen Family¡¯s princess. You going there anytime soon?¡±

    Sky Long knew the hatred that Sky Yun had for the Chen Family. But not to his expectation, Sky Yun shook his head.

    ¡°I gave up a long time ago.¡±

    Sky Long started to laugh like a madman before taking a seat in front of Sky Yun. Sky Yun looked at the bodyguards and turned his gaze to the old man.

    ¡°They are releasing killing intent, my customers will feel scared.¡±

    Sky Long then ordered his bodyguards to go back to the SUV parked outside.

    Chen Fei and her friends were scared and shocked, they did not expect that the old man and Sky Yun to know each other.

    Chen Fei was confused, she looked at her brother and realised he wasn¡¯t what she thought he would be.

    ¡®Who exactly are you, big bro?¡¯

 Chapter 19

    The Old Man''s Visit, Part II

    Sky Yun looked at the group who were sat there frozen, his sights gazed only at Chen Fei who was looking at him as if he was an alien.

    ¡°Fei, the shop is closed. Go prepare for your lessons elsewhere.¡±

    Without waiting for Chen Fei to respond, he then turned and looked straight at the old man who was acting as if it wasn¡¯t any of his business.

    ¡°You better explain why you came over; I know you just don¡¯t go to anywhere without a certain goal.¡±

    Sky Long continued to feign ignorance, he stared at Sky Yun whilst smiling like a child eating sweets.

    ¡°Oi, if you don¡¯t answer then fuck off. Simple as.¡±

    Sky Yun did not wish for the old man to stay, although he considered the man his real father, his abrupt visit has caused him to feel that the situation currently is not good.

    ¡°Alright, jeez. You really are a cold bastard; you should really be considerate of this old man¡¯s feelings.¡±

    The old man started to laugh but as soon as he saw Sky Yun¡¯s serious look, he quickly removed his facade and stared straight at him.

    ¡°The Conference starts in a month¡¯s time, and the factions are getting restless as the head of the conference was assassinated. Although the many claims to not know who assassinated the chairman, it was obvious after reports from my spies that the Hashimoto Clan of Japan was behind the assassination.¡±

    Sky Yun listened in, at first, he was shocked to hear that the chairman was assassinated and he knew the type of power that man had over the underworld.

    He recalled the phone call he had with the old man last time, talking about an artefact that at first Sky Yun was supposed to investigate.

    ¡°Is it about the artefact?¡±

    The old man¡¯s face started to distort; Sky Yun raised his eyebrows as the atmosphere around him started to be filled with killing intent.

    ¡°The artefact¡­ I guess you have some questions about it huh¡­¡±

    Sky Long placed is cigar on the table, he sighed as he looked straight into Sky Yun¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I had a family once, a wife and son, many years ago¡­¡±

    ¡°They were my world, I worked hard so that I can provide for my family. I took high risk missions when I was contracted as a mercenary that gave me huge rewards, just so that my family lives in luxury.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    One day, I stumbled upon a mission to retrieve a certain sword. I did not know what sword it was at the time, but the pay check was so high it could even give the next generation of my family a luxurious life. I just couldn¡¯t reject it and so I accepted it and went to the mission location Yorkshire, England.

    I only then realised that the sword I was trying to retrieve was actually the mythical sword ¡®Excalibur¡¯, at the time I thought I was sent on an impossible mission and regretted accepting it but then after countless weeks of researching on the topic, I then realised that the sword was real.¡±

    Sky Yun was sceptical, how could research prove such a sword was real. He thought that seeing was believing, and that any sort of research can be proven false.

    The old man knew Sky Yun didn¡¯t believe him and sighed.

    ¡°You think that we just did research? At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but after different stories from different beliefs and faiths about a sword that had the power to destroy a mountain with a single strike, we started believing it more and more.

    We then continued to find leads to where the location might be, which led us to Rome, Italy. After months of walking to places that were dead ends, we nearly gave up on the mission. But then, I saw it.¡±

    The old man stopped there, the killing intent before increased to the point that if any ordinary citizen walked in, they would faint.

    Even Sky Yun felt uncomfortable, so he continued to listen in on the story.

    ¡°It was the most beautiful sword in the world, the gold handle with the shape of a goat, at the end of the hilt, the steel shining brighter than any light I¡¯ve ever seen. It was mesmerising.

    I picked it up, and I felt like I was in a dream. I dreamt of the stars and what I could have been, the life I could have chosen.

    But then I woke up, and realised that I wasn¡¯t where I was before. I was standing in my own house, sword in hand and blood covering the floor.

    I looked around, and found my wife and 8-year-old son dead on the floor.¡±

    The old man didn¡¯t look at Sky Yun, but lowered his hat as tears rained upon his face. Sky Yun was shocked, it was impossible for a sword to just make a man dream and suddenly wake up in his own home.

    But he knew it couldn¡¯t be false. For the first time, he had seen the old man cry. The invincible old man, the demon of the underworld, crying silently as he remembered the family he had lost.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense; then would it be that you had murdered your own family?¡±

    Sky Yun couldn¡¯t resist not asking, but he had to in order to understand what the artefact has to do with the current situation.

    ¡°The sword is magic; how could I murder my own damn family?!¡±

    ¡°This sword is a fucking curse, I placed it on a boat, and let it loose to the ocean. I did not care where it would end up, but then I realised that I just committed the biggest mistake.

    Before the conference chairman had retired, he told everyone that one of his spies located a sword with a gold handle in a shape of a goat. He had explained that it was the most beautiful sword he had ever seen, and I realised that it was the sword I had thrown away many years ago.

    I planned for you to retrieve it, by retiring you and making you secretly search for the artefact before the chairman did, so he wouldn¡¯t get his hands on it.¡±

    Sky Yun listened in, and asked a question of his own.

    ¡°So¡­ why did you stop me.¡±

    The old man lifted his head, his eyes still wet with tears but he had a serious expression.

    ¡°Then, the chairman was assassinated.¡±

 Chapter 20

    The Old Man''s Visit, Part III

    ¡°Boss, we just got intel that the Chairman of the Round table was assassinated. It was a silent job, sniped cleanly as he walked towards his limo. We got the intel late, so other networks already got the news.¡±

    Sky Long who was drinking his tea choked, assassinated? The situation is already heated with many of the round table members disputing on what territory they run.

    ¡°What was he doing before his death?¡±

    The spy opened a document that he prepared for Sky Long, in it contained different images of the chairman walking into and out of different buildings.

    Sky Long was handed the document and read it carefully for any clues. His instinct tells him that something occurred before the chairman¡¯s death.

    His gaze looked at a certain photo, which was the chairman walking into a building and left with a huge box.

    The box although looked normal, was filled with locks, and the chairman had his hand cuffed to the handle.

    He then looked at the chairman minutes before his death, the box wasn¡¯t in his hand no more. He quickly recalled the previous announcement; his mind went blank.

    The memories flooding back to him, his wife and son dead on the ground, his hand with a sword so beautiful shining brighter than any star he has ever seen.

    ¡°Sky Yun, he is searching for it, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    He grabbed his phone and told the spy to keep an eye on the situation at hand.

    ¡°Oho~ Young man! It''s been a long time since I''ve spoken to you!¡±

    ¡°Do you need anything?¡±

    ¡°Listen, the underworld is currently in chaos. I just need you to know this; do not, and I repeat do not, search for the artefact I had told you to find.¡±

    ¡°Old man, I was about to search for it - ¡°

    ¡°DO NOT, AND I REPEAT DO NOT, SEARCH FOR THE ARTEFACT.¡±

    The old man cut off Sky Yun¡¯s sentence with a clear and loud statement.

    After the conversation, his previous positive attitude he just had completely gone and his body slouching on the chair.

    ¡°Sir, we just got word that the Hashimoto Clan and the Italian Mafia had agreed to a partnership and that the new chairman will be both Franklin Russo and Kazuma Hashimoto.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    Sky Long didn¡¯t answer, the spy felt the atmosphere thicken with killing intent and stood there with shivering legs.

    ¡°Leave.¡±

    The simple command caused the spy to run out of the door. Sky Long sat there with his head looking at the ceiling above him.

    Sky Long stopped talking, Sky Yun sat there staring at the old man and both haven¡¯t spoken a word for a few minutes.

    ¡°Old man, if this sword is real¡­ Then shouldn¡¯t you run¡­¡±

    Sky Long looked at Sky Yun, and nodded his head.

    ¡°I have thought about running many times, but that would be disrespectful to my son and wife¡­¡±

    Sky Yun folded his arms, the situation is dire to the point that anything can erupt and the whole underworld will be in chaos.

    ¡°I will come out of retir- ¡°

    ¡°No.¡±

    Sky Long interrupted Sky Yun, he had retired Sky Yun at first to find the sword but now he wishes for Sky Yun to stay away from the underworld.

    ¡°You have a girl, one day you will have a child. Kid, the world we we¡¯re a part of is something too dangerous. Look at me, I had a family whilst being a mercenary, and both, my wife and son, ended up dead.¡±

    Sky Yun just looked straight at the old man, and nodded his head.

    ¡°Life is not a game, young man. We live only once, and in the world we¡¯re a part of, you should understand that the outcome of your life, would be death.¡±

    Sky Long lowered his fedora once again and stood up, he called in his bodyguards who were in the car and walked towards the caf¨¦ door.

    ¡°Listen up, I¡¯ll be here for the charity ball. I know your sister is coming, so I want to tell you a secret. The head of the triad, Dong Dewei, will be in attendance. The Chen Family knows this also, and wishes for Chen Fei to meet him, and perhaps sway Dong Dewei in helping the Chen Family.¡±

    Sky Yun heard this and slowly stood up, the bodyguards¡¯ legs were shaking and even the old man, who felt this intense killing intent pouring out of Sky Yun, felt dizzy.

    ¡°So, they wish to give my sister¡¯s body in order to gain support for the triad?¡±

    Each word, filled with immense power caused the bodyguards to faint. The old man sighed and picked both of the men up before turning to Sky Yun.

    ¡°That man, your father. He really is a piece of shit.¡±

    The old man walked out, Sky Yun stood there and was breathing heavily. His sister is innocent, and the love apparently given to her by that bastard was so much that she cherished him. Yet, he is willing to sell his daughter just so that he can gain a favour from the triad?

    RING RING~

    His phone was ringing, and he checked to see who it was.

    It was Ling Xue, Sky Yun calmed down and answered the phone.

    ¡°Yun, how are you?¡±

    He heard her voice, and slowly he regained his usual demeanour.

    ¡°I am okay. How is your father?¡±

    ¡°You mean our father! Sheesh, anyways he is fine and when he heard that we got married at first, he stood there shocked. Afterwards, he kept telling me to ¡®get him a grandchild¡¯ soon. I haven¡¯t seen him this happy ever.¡±

    Ling Xue chuckled, at first, she had thought that her father would be mad about marrying without his consent but it seemed he was delighted.

    ¡°Listen, Xue¡¯er. I am currently busy, call me tonight.¡±

    Sky Yun hanged up without allowing Ling Xue to answer, his mind was occupied with the thought of his sister being sold to the triad.

    He closed his eyes, he slowly drifted to a deep sleep.

    The same nightmare repeated again, the girl dying in his arms and the tears he had wept all coming back to him.

    But it was slightly different to what he usually dreamt however.

 Chapter 21

    The Warning

    DING~

    ¡°H-hey brother Yun¡­¡±

    The following day after the old man visited, Chen Fei came to the shop in the morning. She hesitated at first, after all, yesterday shocked her completely and realised that her brother was not who she thinks he is.

    When she walked, she sees Sky Yun sitting down on his usual chair, book in hand without greeting her back. At first, she felt angry but after awhile she realised that it is how he is as a person.

    Sky Yun looked up, and placed his book on the counter and stared at Chen Fei. Chen Fei felt uncomfortable, the stare he is giving her is different to how he was yesterday.

    ¡°Fei, you are not going to the ball.¡±

    Sky Yun then grabbed his book and continued to read as if the conversation never happened, but Chen Fei raised her eyebrow as she didn¡¯t understand what he meant.

    ¡°What do you mean, I have to go. This concerns the Chen Fami- ¡°

    Sky Yun looked into her eyes once more, Chen Fei felt her bones shiver and her legs wobble. She felt frightened.

    ¡°Oho, the Chen Family? You want to know a secret that I found out?¡±

    He started to chuckle coldly as he stood up slowly. Chen Fei then sat down on the chair and started to breathe heavily; she has never seen her brother act like this.

    ¡°I just got word that the Chen Family is selling you off like a fucking slut to the Triad in order to gain a good impression. So tell me, this is the sort of family you chose to be a part of?¡±

    Chen Fei didn¡¯t believe anything Sky Yun had just said, selling her off? She believed that her father wouldn¡¯t do such a thing to her.

    She looked at Sky Yun, ignoring the dark atmosphere surrounding the room and stood up with a disgusted expression on her face.

    Sky Yun sighed and removed the killing intent he had displayed. He can¡¯t prove to the girl who loves her family that they do not care about her at all.

    ¡®She will soon find out the truth, then I¡¯ll save her. Fuck me, the Triad will really be annoying in the future¡¯.

    He wasn¡¯t scared of the Triad, in fact, he once killed a whole corporation, which was easily more powerful than the Triad, by himself during a mission in South Africa.

    His plan was for Chen Fei to go with the Chen Family¡¯s plot, and save her by killing off the Triad head in secret.

    Seeing Chen Fei leave the caf¨¦, the day was the same as usual. Customers came and ordered and Sky Yun continued to read his book in silence.

    The charity ball will happen in 3 weeks¡¯ time, which is good for Sky Yun as tomorrow, he shall go to his post as instructor of the Chinese army.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    He had received a package with his uniform and a manual. The manual contained simple knowledge, including what he must teach to the troop and also what would happen if a situation arrived.

    The next day, he closed his shop with a sign saying ¡®closed for the month¡¯ and prepared his suitcase for the journey to the camp.

    After a few hours of travelling to the camp, he finally arrived at the gate which had 2 men standing guard with guns in their hand.

    ¡°HALT! State your business.¡±

    One of the guards saw Sky Yun walking towards the gate and halted him, Sky Yun was tired and couldn¡¯t be bothered to respond so he just took out his pass which was given to him through package.

    The guards looked at the pass, and scoffed.

    ¡°This could be forgery, how could someone as young as you have a pass with the highest authority?¡±

    The guard didn¡¯t buy the fact that a young man that looked like he was in his mid to late twenties had the authority to visit the camp with the highest authority which had the same power as a general was able to have.

    Sky Yun was fed up, the journey was already tiring yet he was in this situation. He then just walked passed the guard.

    ¡°Where the fuck do you think you are going?¡±

    The guard rushed up trying to subdue Sky Yun, but that was a mistake.

    Sky Yun reacted with a spinning roundhouse kick out of nowhere which hit the guards head. The guard then dropped to the ground unconscious and the 2<sup>nd</sup> guard who was his partner rang a bell.

    ¡°What is going on?¡±

    The guard who saw the man walking to him saluted with a stiff motion.

    ¡°General Wu sir! This man came in with a pass we suspected to be forgery, and then kicked the guard who was trying to subdue the imposter!¡±

    General Wu turned and saw Sky Yun who had a cold expression on his face. He realised that the situation had caused Sky Yun to be annoyed and sighed.

    ¡°Sorry, Instructor Sky Yun. We did not expect our guards to not accept you through the gates although I was the one who prepared the pass.¡±

    The guard who had heard that stood there with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

    Sky Yun, who heard General Wu¡¯s apology, turned around and walked into the camp.

    General Wu who saw this, quickly followed on. He turned around and gazed at the guard and mouthed ¡®see me later¡¯.

    ¡°So, Instructor Yun. Let me direct you to the living quarters and get you settled.¡±

    General Wu then walked towards the living quarters which was a huge apartment-complex type building.

    They walked inside, and went to the highest floor, where all the generals were placed.

    Many of the soldiers glanced at Sky Yun, who was being led by the general who was very respectful which caused a slight uproar.

    ¡°Yo, do you see that young guy being treated respectfully by General Wu?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he looks weak as fuck though hahaha¡±

    ¡°Hahaha, true true¡­¡±

    A few of the soldiers mocked the young man, not because of hate but merely jealously as the soldiers don¡¯t get to be treated well by the generals.

    ¡°Here is your living quarters, Instructor Yun. Tomorrow will be your first day on the job, so I¡¯ll come and take you to the yard where we train the troops. Now, will you excuse me¡­¡±

    General Wu walked out of the room and Sky Yun threw his suitcase on the ground and jumped to the king-sized bed.

    He closed his eyes; he wasn¡¯t tired physically but after the old man had told him about the Chen Family¡¯s plot caused him to feel a headache.

    But he knew that the charity ball will be the end of the Triad, as he planned to eliminate any threat towards his sister at all cost.

    He removed every thought of the issue, and focused on the task of training the troops. This was the first time he has ever trained anyone, although unwilling to do so he wanted to keep the title in order to have some influence in China.

 Chapter 22

    First Day on the Job

    ¡°Attention!¡±

    The whole yard went silent, everyone looking at the general before them, awaiting orders.

    Many of the soldiers were new, each had reasons as to why they had joined the army. Many joined for wealth, others join due to being forced or pressured, some joined to protect China from harm.

    But Sky Yun didn¡¯t care.

    Each of the soldiers in front of him were sheep, and he was hired to be the shepherd.

    ¡®My first-time teaching, interesting¡­¡¯

    From learning to becoming a teacher, Sky Yun felt a slight nostalgia remembering his time training with the old man.

    ¡°Please receive your new trainer. I shall tell you this, don¡¯t underestimate this man in front of you! He has done things, and seen things, that you puny little shits won¡¯t fucking understand. You got that?¡±

    General Wu screamed from the top of his lungs. Sky Yun was slightly amused with the new attitude displayed by General Wu who was usually calm.

    The soldiers although confused as to why a man who was the same as them was instructing, but they could not refuse the order of the general.

    Sky Yun walked up, he stood across from the huge line consisting of the young soldiers that were in a stiff salute.

    ¡°No more saluting, we will start with hand to hand combat.¡±

    Sky Yun knew that teaching hand to hand combat was the best way to temper your body and also toughen it in order to survive on the battlefield.

    ¡°Everyone, get in a pair, and stand face to face from each other. Do not overlap with the other groups around you and have a solid space, enough for you to not interrupt the other groups.¡±

    Every solider who heard the order at first didn¡¯t comply, but after General Wu looked over and gave a menacing glance, they rushed into groups and followed Sky Yun¡¯s orders.

    Sky Yun did not care though, he only came to do his duties in which he was asked to do in order to have his honorary title within the Chinese army.

    ¡°I will teach you Krav Maga, a non-combat technique that has only one goal, to inflict as much damage to your enemy as possible.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    Sky Yun then turned to the baffled General Wu who blindly walked towards Sky Yun.

    ¡°Follow my steps and repeat after me.¡±

    Sky Yun then grabs General Wu¡¯s neck and pulls his leg to the other free hand, he then threw him as hard as he can, causing the general to groan.

    ¡°Your turn.¡±

    The whole yard went silent, their general who was the strongest in their eyes was thrown like a rag doll. They now understood why the general was vigilant in offending Sky Yun.

    The soldiers started to copy the moves Sky Yun had done but to no avail, most had forgotten about the movements due to the brief shock.

    ¡°You want me to do it again? Fine.¡±

    Sky Yun then forcefully grabbed General Wu¡¯s arm whose face was in total despair. He then repeated the throw once again causing the General to cough blood.

    The soldiers although were still shocked remembered the sequence and tried it out for themselves.

    Sky Yun who saw this, then turned around to leave.

    ¡°Instructor Yun, shouldn¡¯t you stay and help the soldiers?¡±

    General Wu stood up and saw that Sky Yun was leaving to his apartment.

    Sky Yun turned around with a deadpan expression.

    ¡°These kids won¡¯t learn anything. The only way for them to learn is to actually give them experience rather, than training them in camps. That won¡¯t benefit their mentality inside a battlefield.¡±

    Sky Yun had a valid point, although he stood there for a few minutes and only demonstrated a move, he could tell that the soldiers weren¡¯t ready for war.

    It was seen even more so when Sky Yun had thrown the general, their mentality to Sky Yun showed that they underestimated him, which is fatal in a battlefield.

    General Wu stood there and shook his head, he knew that when he was training to be a solider the camps were a lot tougher and stricter to what it was now.

    The soldiers in the line practicing weren¡¯t simply ¡®soldiers¡¯ rather ¡®civilians with a better physique¡¯.

    ¡°Could you please make them into soldiers? Give them tips, techniques and train them so that we don¡¯t lose the prestige that China has.¡±

    Sky Yun shrugged; he did not care if they turn into soldiers but he was given a task to train them till he leaves.

    General Wu knew he won¡¯t get a definite answer, so he stayed silent and returned to the yard whilst Sky Yun went back to his home.

    Sky Yun went inside his apartment, and called Ling Xue, who had called him a few times but as he was in the yard he couldn¡¯t find the time to talk.

    ¡°Yun, how are you¡±

    The sweet voice on the phone loosened Sky Yun up, he stared at the ceiling whilst lying on his bed and stayed silent for a few seconds.

    ¡°I am good.¡±

    The simple response was what Ling Xue needed, she knew that Sky Yun wasn¡¯t a talkative person in nature, but she still cares for her husband nevertheless.

    ¡°I am coming back to the caf¨¦ in 3 weeks, I hope you will be there to see me¡±

    ¡°I will be there by then, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    The conversation turned silent; both didn¡¯t say a word for a while.

    ¡°I love you, see you soon."

    Ling Xue then hung up the phone, and Sky Yun just lied on his bed whilst closing his eyes.

 Chapter 23

    Useless & Arrogant

    ¡°Get up. If you give up, just leave this place and don¡¯t ever come back.¡±

    The next morning, Sky Yun decided to improve their physiques by breaking past their limits with intense physical training. However, the intense training caused many of the soldiers to fall down after an hour.

    Sky Yun was really annoyed, how could solders be this useless? To join the army, one would expect them to be fit enough to survive the wilderness for a very long time yet this ¡®elite¡¯ group can¡¯t even survive training.

    General Wu was really embarrassed with this crew, although some joined the army to protect this country, most were forced to join and had no motivation to improve themselves whatsoever.

    As Sky Yun told them to get up or leave, many of the soldiers were contemplating on leaving. This slight hesitation was seen by Sky Yun, which led him to leave the camp without saying anything.

    General Wu didn¡¯t wish to ask Sky Yun to come back, knowing that the new instructor was really not in the mood.

    Sky Yun didn¡¯t care for the soldiers, however as a person who always give 100% in any given situation, this was something that really made him angry.

    He walked not towards his place, but took a bus to the nearest city from the camp. The city at this time was packed, filled with cars and people walking the streets and going into shops.

    Sky Yun walked towards a restaurant to have his lunch, as he walked inside, he was greeted by a waiter.

    ¡°Sir, do you wish to have a table.¡±

    ¡°That table close to the window.¡±

    He was then directed towards a table, where no one can see him and he looked at the view of the town. The street itself was filled with stalls filled with different items consisting of shirts, watches and other items.

    ¡°What would you like?¡±

    Sky Yun returned his gaze to the waiter awaiting his order.

    ¡°Give me your most popular meal.¡±

    He did not care what he ate, he was just hungry and wished to sit in peace. The waiter, although surprised at the customer¡¯s order at first, returned to the kitchen to get his order.

    Sky Yun sat waiting for his order in silence, however he was disturbed when a certain customer came in.

    ¡°Hey, I want the table that young man is sitting on. Give it to me. Now!¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    A middle-aged man with a solider uniform walked in with air filled with arrogance. His finger pointed towards Sky Yun¡¯s table as he yelled at the waiter who was supposed to take him to his table.

    As the waiter and saw Sky Yun was seated at that table, he knew that this situation was going to go downhill.

    ¡°What are you hesitating for? I am a lieutenant colonel of the Chinese army. You are saying that I am less important than the customer over there? What has that man done for the country?¡±

    The ¡®colonel¡¯ held his head high, his arrogance made Sky Yun feel disgusted. Although arrogance was something that Sky Yun doesn¡¯t mind, to be arrogant you must have some sort of quality.

    Being a higher rank in the Chinese army isn¡¯t something worth having arrogance over.

    ¡°Customer, I am sorry but can that man have your seat?¡±

    Sky Yun gazed at the colonel; his gaze left the colonel feeling a shiver down his spine.

    ¡°You, who do you serve in the army.¡±

    The colonel was shocked at the question that the young man had asked, so he held his head high once again.

    ¡°My superior officer is General Wu, he is currently in the camp training the troops so I was advised to take time off until the training finished!¡±

    ¡®General Wu, you really are a useless person recruiting absolute idiots¡­¡¯

    Sky Yun really was fed up with General Wu, this was the 2<sup>nd</sup> time someone acted this way towards him and was recruited from the army by General Wu.

    He took out his phone, and called the General once again.

    The middle-aged man was impatient, he wanted to have his meal yet the man in front of him wasn¡¯t getting up but rather making a call.

    He became a colonel after continuously sucking up to the General which enabled him to gain the job. He had the power, the woman and the money. This lifestyle was something he has wished for since he was young.

    After a few years of being a colonel, arrogance was in his bones and he thought he was better than most.

    ¡°Young man, get the fuck off the chair before I beat the living shit out of you.¡±

    Sky Yun however, didn¡¯t even look at the man once. He waited for someone to pick up, and after the phone connected, he didn¡¯t even allow the general to even say hello.

    ¡°I decided to not do the job anymore, you really have idiotic men in your service. Goodbye.¡±

    He hanged up, and looked at the middle-aged man and scoffed. After paying for his uneaten meal, Sky Yun stood up and walked out with the ¡®colonel¡¯ standing there in a slight daze.

    Who did the young man speaking to? He felt a bad omen was about to fall on him but after a few seconds of being in a dazed he decided to ignore it and continue to eat his food in peace.

    In the camp, General Wu looked at his phone and was fuming. Someone within service annoyed Sky Yun now he has lost his greatest benefit. He took his phone to his office and opened his tracking app which allowed him to track the location of phone calls.

    After seeing that the phone was located within a restaurant in a city, he then took his jacket and travelled towards the restaurant.

    Sky Yun walked around the streets; many sellers came to him advertising their products. He ignored them and continued walking forward, he then found another restaurant which was slightly inferior to the previous one but this place had less customers which suited Sky Yun.

    ¡°Welc- ¡°

    A girl greeted the man in front of her, but her mind was in a daze because she recognised him straight away.

    Many things about the man changed, but his eyes were the only thing that caused her to remember.

    ¡°Che-Che- Chen Yun??!?¡±

    ¡®Ah, it is the class president during high school.¡¯