Chapter 64: Mom

  "Say... respected guest, can you tell me... why from the very bottom, all the way up here... and yet, not once detected by our surveillance devices?" He spoke softly, as gentle as a spring breeze in March, as if he was still facing a noble lady, rather than an intruder who had trespassed into forbidden territory.

  My hand stiffened on the door handle as I numbly looked around at the group of black-clad men surrounding me, and the guns in their hands.

  It's no use... over thirty guns, even if I were a god, it would be impossible to dodge that many bullets.

  My eyes narrowed habitually, and I slowly scanned the surroundings. Except for the dark-colored carpet and the people in front of me, I didn't see any signs of a fight... So what was with the gunshot earlier? Where was the silver-haired kid? Had he been taken away... or had nothing happened at all? That gunshot was just a trap to lure us over!

  Just as I thought of this, I heard a voice from behind me: "What just happened..."

  Before the word "ma" had even left his mouth, I kicked a gun out of the hand of a guy standing next to me and quickly retreated, slamming the door shut. Then I pounced on the silver-haired kid and pushed him away!

  "Bang bang bang......" After a few gunshots came from inside the door, I immediately took advantage of them not chasing out yet and pulled the silver-haired kid to run to the top floor.

  "That was a trap! They used the gunfire to lure us over!" I explained while running: "If we stay here any longer, we'll get caught. You escape first! I have to find my mother!"

  "In the middle place! Just now in a room in the middle of downstairs heard strange sounds from upstairs! So... if there is only one possibility, it is in the dark wall of some room in the middle!"

  The silver-haired kid finished speaking and I quickly rushed to the room in the middle of the top floor according to his instructions! The guards on the top floor were no less than those downstairs, especially in front of an iron door stood two muscular big men.

  I quickly rushed to the front of the iron gate and knocked on it with my left hand, then pinched the "muscle" on the right side with my other hand: "Open the door! Tell me where the room is that's holding my mom!!!!!! Tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

  That lump of "flesh" was clearly already suffocating from my pinch, his face turned blue and his neck turned purple, finally he fainted with a white eye and foamed at the mouth.

  I kicked him away in anger and pushed open the iron gate and walked in.

  Can't find it, can't find it! Where is the dark wall?! Where is the passage?! Where is mom?!

  In my haste, I punched the wall beside the sofa, and it instantly collapsed... Amidst the swirling dust, I saw a middle-aged woman leisurely holding a cup of tea in an armchair while using the remote control to change channels on the huge color TV across from her... As she changed channels, she said: "Why do today's serial dramas have so many commercials..."

  "Mom... Mom?!" I almost widened my eyes and rushed in three steps, snatching the teacup from the middle-aged woman's hand: "You, what are you doing here?!"

  "Ah, it's Little Tea, you're back."

  "What I've come back to! Do you know how anxious I was when I heard you'd been caught?! You're actually here, leisurely drinking tea! I risked being shot full of holes from the lowest level all the way up to the top to find you!!" I'm so furious I almost crushed the teacup in my hand.

  "Look at me, I'm fine, aren't I? It's because your friend said you could be found here that I came. I went to your school twice and was stopped by the security guard both times."

  "Where's Dad?! Is Dad still alive?! Mom, you must know where Dad is, because you're also... " Just as she was about to say the word "dead", she was suddenly hugged by her mom...

  It's been a long time... since Yayoi moved near my house... Mom hasn't hugged me at all... This is the first time, the first time after I grew up... Mom hugged me.

  "Ah...... my child......" Suddenly, it was as if I had entered a dream, with cherry blossom petals fluttering everywhere, each one seeming to carry an exquisite soul...... My mother gently hugged me, her tenderness almost freezing the rotation of the universe and the movement of all things between heaven and earth...... Her eyes seemed to hold a thousand words, but when they met mine, they suddenly cooled: "My child...... I'm sorry...... Mom loves Dad more than she loves you......"

  Take good care of what you think is most precious... just like mom takes care of dad...

  The strength in my body seemed to vanish in an instant...

  Mom loves Dad... more than she loves me... It's something I've known all along, but hearing her say it out loud still shocks me.

  When I was very young, my mother always smiled gently, and that gentleness was only shown to my father. When I hugged the old teddy bear, standing outside the dimly lit door, I saw my mother in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, beautiful like a fairy who didn't eat human food, her gentle smile, curved eyebrows, slightly twinkling eyes, and long hair shining brightly under the sunlight, as if wrapped in a layer of fluorescence. The cherry blossoms flying outside the window fell one by one, drifting into the bright room...

  From that moment on... I fell in love with mom's smile, fell in love with the warm and cozy floor-to-ceiling windows, fell in love with the sound of petals falling in the wind...

  "Little tea!!!!!!" Suddenly, the silver-haired boy Qi He Lan, who had been standing behind me watching this place, rushed up and pulled me out of my mother's arms!

  The dream in my mind suddenly dissipated, and then my whole body went limp on Qi He Lan's body...

  Why... why did Mom use Spirit Energy on me?! Why?! I came to save her, why did she use Spirit Energy on me?! Mom is here voluntarily... Yes, Mom came here voluntarily, she wanted to protect Dad, she came to the Kwan Moon Clan to protect Dad! Did she make some kind of deal with the Kwan Moon Clan?! A deal that wouldn't let Dad get hurt, and would always protect him?!

  I pushed Qihelang away with all my might and stood in front of Mom: "MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell me! Tell me where Dad is... I, I can... I can protect him! I can protect Dad! Don't let him get hurt, don't let him suffer, don't let him encounter any danger! Tell me... tell me where Dad is?! Tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!