"Hey, Jack, Jack?" A hand waved in front of his eyes. "What are you grinning about? You’re spacing out at the night market?"
"Nothing much." Jack Young slapped his own cheeks.
Wasn’t I supposed to leave the past behind? So why dig it up again? But those damn memories—always popping up and causing trouble.
Looking at the excited Lillian Lee, Jack Young smiled—without realizing it, his smile grew gentle. "Anywhere else you want to go? Got any recommendations? I’ll come with you."
Lillian Lee glanced at Jack Young, her cheeks turning red as she looked away. After a deep breath, she suddenly spun back around. "Jack, come with me. I need to talk to you."
Lillian led Jack down the street, and before they knew it, they’d wandered into a quiet, secluded alley.
Looking at the nervous, slightly trembling Lillian Lee in front of him, Jack’s mind started screaming: "No way! Is this really happening?"
After a moment’s hesitation, Lillian Lee suddenly looked up. "Jack, I don’t like men who are weaker than me. If you ever manage to beat me when I’m going all out, maybe—just maybe—I’ll consider you."
Seeing her bashful yet bold expression—yep, this is definitely happening!
Jack took a deep breath, lost for words. All he could manage was, "Uh..."
Scratching his head, Jack figured he’d better clear things up: “So, uh, Miss Lee, about that whole dantian-sensing thing today, I think…”
“No need to explain, I get it!” Lillian Lee cut Jack off at lightning speed. “Tonight’s market was a blast, and I’m glad you humored me and went along with my nonsense. Alright, that’s enough for today—I’m heading out!”
She rattled off her words faster than a stand-up comic reading a grocery list, then bolted like something nasty was chasing her—gone in a flash down the dark alley.
Jack couldn’t help but chuckle. This girl was pure fire—her personality kinda reminded him of ‘her.’
Wait, why do I keep comparing her to ‘her’ without even thinking? That’s ancient history… let it go, man.
Man, this alley’s dark as a coal cellar—hope nothing sketchy goes down. But with Lillian’s skills, ten guys wouldn’t stand a chance against her. Nah, she’ll be fine. Time to head home.
Just then, a familiar shout echoed from deep in the alley—the kind Lillian only makes when she’s fighting flat-out!
Jack’s heart skipped a beat and he dashed forward like a sprinter. In a split second, he was at the source of the noise. What he saw made his skin crawl—Lillian was sprawled on the ground, silent, and right beside her stood that masked assassin he hadn’t seen in ages!
The masked assassin’s eyes locked onto Jack, cold and murderous—like a pair of throwing knives flying straight at him.
Jack’s hair stood on end. He was bracing for the assassin, when—whoosh!—something whipped past the back of his head. Crap, there’s another one! No time to dodge!
With a heavy thud, Jack felt the world spin, and then—lights out. Totally KO’d.
...
When Jack came to, he realized he was locked up good and tight. Thick iron chains had him strapped to a wooden cross, mouth gagged so tight he couldn’t even bite his tongue or yell for help.
He tried to wiggle—nope, those chains weren’t budging. Everything hurt, like he’d been worked over by a gang of thugs. He rolled his eyes around, peeking at his surroundings, and figured he was on a boat. Lillian was tied up next to him, already awake, shooting him a look to say, ‘Don’t do anything stupid.’
Jack gave the tiniest nod, keeping quiet and not struggling. With his head locked down, he couldn’t turn to see the whole cabin or spot any clocks. Judging by the sunlight, it was morning—he must’ve been out cold for hours.
No one came in, and there wasn’t a peep from outside. Jack just felt the boat gently rocking as it moved, but besides him and Lillian, there didn’t seem to be a third soul onboard. Either they were just left here, or someone was lurking, keeping watch. But that second option? Way more likely.
Or maybe whoever nabbed them was a real pro at hiding their tracks—so stealthy, even with two prisoners, they kept it ninja-level quiet.
Jack’s brain was spinning at full speed.
In this day and age, the main enemy of that certain Sun was the Qing Dynasty. The bald brute from the train was a eunuch, so that pointed to Qing connections. The assassin and the brute were working together—definitely some shady Qing business. Their moves were a bit different, but those signature four-pointed throwing stars? Total déjà vu.
Wait a sec—could they be Japanese ninjas?
Eh, forget it for now. If they wanted him dead, they’d have done it already. They must have some kind of plan. Until they get what they want—or totally flop—he was probably safe.
Probably...
Time crept by, dead silent—absolutely nothing happened. The shadows on the floor shifted from morning to noon, noon to dusk. A whole day passed, and not a single soul came in. No questions, no beatings, no torture. And obviously, no food or water either.
By evening, when the sunlight turned orange, the whole boat suddenly stopped with a dull thud.
Landfall! Jack perked up, and so did Lillian. After a whole day of nerve-wracking silence and uncertainty, finally—someone to see!
The cabin door swung open. In came the masked assassin, followed by a bunch of masked goons. Jack took one look at their outfits and those classic bow legs—yeah, he could pretty much guess who they were.
"Take them away." The masked assassin’s voice wasn’t old—sounded maybe thirty-ish. And yep, he spoke in Japanese.
The rest of the masked guys came up and loosened the chains just enough for Jack and Lillian to walk, but their hands were still locked up tight. There was some kind of trick with the cross—they heard a click, and the horizontal beam dropped off, so they could move but not fight.
This chapter ain’t over yet~.~ Click next page for more wild stuff!
Jack stumbled after a few steps. Being tied up all day with no food or water left him weak and wobbly. Lillian wasn’t looking much better, either.
Out of the cabin, they found themselves in a wild forest—no signs of civilization anywhere. Jack and Lillian were marched into the woods, and soon reached a clearing where a bunch of shirtless muscle-heads were waiting. Leading the pack was a hulking brute—bald and brawny—the same guy from the train!
"Ha! Fancy running into you again!" The bald brute swaggered over and socked Jack right in the chest, sending him flying. Jack felt like he’d been hit by a truck—bones cracking, blood trickling from his mouth.
"You little punk, bet you didn’t think I’d survive, huh? I’m invincible, nobody can kill me! Since I’m still breathing, it’s your turn to kick the bucket!"
The bald brute cracked his knuckles, grinning wickedly, ready to throw another punch. But the super-assassin cut in, "Don’t make trouble. I brought the goods. The rest is your business." Jack noticed his Beijing accent was flawless—none of that awkward foreigner stuff.
"Hmph, let’s get down to business." The brute pointed at Lillian, "Take this one away."
"Yes, sir!" The shirtless goons moved in, grabbing the chains around Lillian. One of them snickered, "Boss, this chick’s pretty cute—look at that figure! Mind if I cop a feel?"
"Feel her up? Go for it—heck, grab all you want." The bald brute’s grin twisted, "Women aren’t my thing, but watching you rough her up sounds fun. Take her away, do whatever you want."
With the brute’s green light, the goons burst out laughing and lunged at Lillian. She struggled, terrified, and Jack let out a furious roar, trying to rush over, but the brute just punched him down again.
Lillian wasn’t your average damsel—she kneed one guy, spun around, and used the wooden cross like a meteor hammer, knocking goons left and right. But there were too many of them; soon she was pinned down, unable to move.
"Feisty little thing, huh? I love wild girls—makes things way more fun!" One goon laughed, grabbing for Lillian’s chest. "Let’s see how tough you are now!"
Lillian’s eyes filled with despair as she turned to Jack, who was raging but could only watch as the brute kept pounding him.
Just then, a cold, sharp voice cut through the chaos: "Enough! Hands off!"
Everyone froze and turned—surprise! It was the super-assassin who’d spoken.