Novels by Camellia

Kane held out a cigarette. "Have a drag."Ivor shook his head hastily. "I-I don’t smoke."Another slap landed, far harder than the last. Stars burst across Ivor’s vision, his cheek swelling up instantly.Kane’s gaze turned razor-sharp. "You turn down a kind gesture when it’s offered?"Ivor flew into a full rage. "What the hell do you want from me? Let me out of here, and I’ll get you back sooner or later!"Ignoring the threat entirely, Kane cut straight to the critical question. "Were you the one who buried Darion and Ivy?"Ivor stiffened on the spot and feigned ignorance forcefully. "I don’t know those people."Kane repeated his question. "Want that cigarette?"Ivor flinched and shrank backward.A third slap crashed into his face, sending blood pouring from his nostrils once again."Do you think I would dare lay a hand on you without solid proof?" Kane spoke rapidly, pressing him relentlessly with each word. "Thirty-five kilometers out in the wilderness, headlights killed at the fork

The entire household of five survived solely on the meager wages the young couple earned working at the Barbie Entertainment Club. Their life was plain and poor, yet peaceful and secure—until the massacre shattered everything completely. Their toddler was not yet three years old, the elderly matriarch lay bedridden with severe illness, leaving only the aging grandfather to hold the family together, wandering day and night to plead for justice. Penniless and abandoned, the family could not endure much longer.Suffering hung thick in every corner of the shabby house, a scene of utter desolation. All selfish calculations faded away from Kane and his men, replaced by burning indignation. At that very moment, the weight of their police uniforms settled heavy and unmistakable upon their shoulders."Pool some cash together," Kane ordered.None of the officers had spare money, yet they scraped together a little over a hundred US dollars and laid the bills on the table."We can only offer this

Early the next morning at police headquarters.Word spread through officers chatting in the office wing. Public suspicion had fallen squarely on Atlas as the killer behind the disappearance case. Furthermore, he had been maintaining close contact with Wade’s faction as of late, with rumors circulating that the two sides were working together to consolidate the local criminal market.Kane halted in his tracks upon hearing the talk.Dusk spoke plainly. "This is the textbook unsolved case protected by powerful figures. The victim was just an ordinary civilian, so no one bothers digging into the truth, and those in high places have suppressed every trace of the incident."A stern look settled over Kane’s face. "Fetch the case file. We’re going over every detail of this case."……On the opposite side of the city.Brown slouched against his sofa and gripped the phone, questioning in a frigid tone. "Are you certain the entire shipment has been delivered long ago?"The voice on the other end

Moments later, a red-haired young man named Atlas led his crew into the room; they commanded well-established local turf power. Close on his heels were three rising figures from Novara, each sharp, capable and backed by solid local foundations.Ford finished the brief introductions and wasted no time leaving twenty minutes afterward. Weston stayed behind to help Wade socialize and hold the crowd together.Old factions merged quietly with rising forces, and a storm poised to sweep across the whole city had already begun brewing beneath the surface.……One week later inside the Sergeant’s office wing.Kane was taking statements from civilian complainants when an enraged shout suddenly boomed from the doorway.Ezra’s face twisted with malice as he lost his composure entirely out in the open. “Kane, get out here now!”Every officer in the room fell dead silent and swiveled their heads toward the commotion. It was extremely uncommon for a superior to publicly pick a fight with his subordin

He scanned the room from windowsills to floors and hidden corners—every inch had been scrubbed spotlessly clean. All dirty laundry had been washed and neatly folded. For all the boy’s stubborn, sharp tongue, deep down he was riddled with inferiority and oversensitivity. His harsh words from the previous day had cut deep into the kid after all.Living under another’s roof was the cruelest torment for the soul. Terrified of being cast out, Dash had opted to slip away without a word.Kane bolted out of the house at once and raced straight to Margo’s shop for any trace of Nova. He then chased out of the city well into the night.……A frigid night hung over Novara’s border checkpoint.Sparse streetlights glimmered as a long line of freight trucks idled at the barrier, while soldiers rotated guard duty in shifts. Dash huddled alone on the roadside, staring blankly at the streams of vehicle headlights passing by.These past three months had marked the very first time in his life he had known

"There is no other way," Kane gritted his teeth. "Going to Cole for help would be pathetic, like a kid still clinging to his mother’s apron strings. This mess landed on my watch, so I will handle it myself."He stubbed out his cigarette and headed upstairs.The light in Jude’s office remained lit. The deputy superintendent had stayed late into the night, putting on an air of solemn authority.Kane knocked and stepped inside, tamping down his hostility and softening his tone deliberately. "Superintendent, sorry to trouble you at this hour. The boy I took in acted out of ignorance and wounded a man while defending himself on the street. He is far too young. Could you show some leniency? We will pay restitution and accept any fines; just spare him custody and keep this from ruining his entire life."Jude brushed a strand of hair back from his forehead, his expression hardening at once. "Law enforcement officers must know how to recuse themselves from conflicts of interest. Your direct me

Eikichi Takahashi burned with unbridled rage, his voice choked with resentment. "Father, you must track down that Chinese man and kill him to avenge me!"Masachi Takahashi gave a grim nod and said coldly, "Rest assured. I will spread word immediately and have men hunt down his whereabouts."Eikichi pressed on urgently. "Father, once you find him, I want to kill him with my own hands!""With your own hands?" Masachi frowned. "Look at your arms right now. Are you even capable of killing anyone in this state?""Ugh." Hot tears streamed down Eikichi’s face. "Then I’ll have a blade strapped to the sole of my shoe! One way or another, I will slaughter him personally!"Masachi nodded and spoke in a solemn tone. "We cannot act too brazenly for the time being, though. Negotiations with the Bruce Family are still ongoing. If we openly hunt this Chinese man down and execute him in Tokyo, the Bruces will surely grow displeased with us."Panic washed over Eikichi at once. "Father… you wouldn’t spa

Eikichi Takahashi’s face darkened instantly. He understood Louise was subtly warning him to curb his arrogance. His conflict with the stranger had stemmed entirely from his own overbearing conduct—he had hurled insults and ordered his bodyguards to attack, which ultimately landed him in his current miserable state.Louise’s words stung his pride deeply.Nevertheless, he had no choice but to swallow his simmering rage. For one thing, the Bruce Family backing Louise wielded far greater power than the Takahashi Family. For another, he harbored romantic feelings for Louise.Louise turned to the street musician and asked gently, "Young lady, you claimed you do not know that man. Why would he step forward to defend you then? I noticed he retrieved some cash from the man who got hit by the car and returned it to you."The girl replied earnestly, "I can assure you wholeheartedly that the gentleman is a kind person.""I’ve been busking on this street with no one paying me any mind. He gave me

With that, Louise went on speaking. "You were clearly at fault from the very beginning of this incident, yet you attacked Mr. Takahashi viciously for no justifiable reason. Your actions cannot be justified either morally or logically."Alan let out a mocking chuckle. "Young lady, you do not strike me as a malicious person, so why are you defending these two Japanese men—two worthless scumbags at that?""Scumbags?" Louise shot back. "Then explain this to me. If they are such terrible people as you claim, why did one end up in a car crash because you chased him down, and the other get maimed at your hands?"Alan said dismissively, "The phrase 'cannot see the whole picture due to a single leaf blocking one’s sight' describes shallow people like you perfectly."Louise’s temper flared, and she demanded sharply. "Excuse me? Did you just call me shallow?"Alan nodded plainly. "That is exactly what I said. You are extremely shallow."After a short pause, he continued. "Shallow people always t

"How dare a mere Chinese man defy me, Eikichi Takahashi, out on a busy Tokyo street? This is nothing short of suicidal!""As the heir of the Takahashi Clan, I cannot afford to lay a hand on you myself with so many onlookers watching. Otherwise, I would have crippled you with my own two hands without hesitation!"Eikichi Takahashi waited expectantly to watch Alan left gasping for his last breaths. Instead, horrified, agonized screams suddenly burst out from within the ring formed by his more than a dozen elite bodyguards.Right after that, several men on the outer edge of the circle went flying backward one after another."Is this monster some kind of freak?!"The shrill, desperate shouts echoed out as the bodyguards were hurled through the air before crashing heavily onto the pavement.One of them flew straight and landed sprawled right at Eikichi Takahashi’s feet.Alan had grabbed the man by the neck and tossed him forcefully out of the fray. The guard slammed into the ground beside

He waved sharply at the cars ahead and behind him, and more than a dozen burly men in black suits stepped out from the Rolls-Royces at once.Every single one of them was a bodyguard of the Takahashi Clan, each a top-tier elite fighter.The bodyguards surrounded Alan the second they got out of their vehicles. All of them kept their eyes locked on Alan while glancing toward Eikichi Takahashi, ready to attack him the instant Eikichi gave the order.Inside the car, Michael and Louise exchanged a quick glance, then Michael spoke up. "Do you think this whole thing’s a trap?"Louise shook her head. "I doubt it. If someone had spent ages plotting against us, they’d never strike on a busy downtown street in central Tokyo. The elevated highway we took from the airport into the city would’ve been a far better spot for an ambush."Michael relaxed and chuckled. "Eikichi Takahashi must be utterly humiliated. He just finished bragging that no local jaywalks, and boom, we hit one straight away."He r

They might end up shouting themselves hoarse without ever throwing a single punch.But that was just how the underworld worked. Three parts relied on imposing aura, another three on prestige, and only the remaining four depended on brute force and fighting prowess.Yet this man had casually demanded his right arm the moment he opened his mouth. Did he think a human arm was a motorcycle tire, something he could rip off without blinking an eye whenever he pleased?!Seeing the thug refused to yield, Alan lost his patience and said coldly, "I originally planned to leave you one arm, but you insist on being unreasonable. Don’t blame me for being harsh now."Ryuji Onizuka was eaten up by fear, yet he roared at the top of his lungs. "You bastard! You Chinese ought to keep a low profile! This is Japan! Tokyo! Aren’t you afraid my brothers will hack you to pieces?!"Alan smiled faintly. "Your brothers? They’re all laid out in the shrubbery over there."Onizuka shouted sharply, "The Bunkyō Bōsō

Staring at this legion of abominations arrayed before them, every cultivator present knew a brutal battle was unavoidable.To demolish the Ten-Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillar, they first had to wipe out all these fiends standing guard over it.Worse still than the newly emerged High Wraith Fiends was the swirling vortex that had formed deep within the blood pool as more and more monsters surfaced. At the vortex’s core floated a pale, circular egg roughly one meter across, seemingly crafted from countless layered human skins. The egg greedily gulped down the surrounding blood, and grotesque, contorted faces bulged outward across its shell.A terrifying wave of malevolent malice emanated from the egg, as if some horrifying entity was gestating inside its confines.Before anyone could utter a word, the hordes of monsters and wraith fiends surged out of the blood pool like a raging tide, charging straight for the group of cultivators.“Stand your ground and fight!”Ida’s features hardened

Albert turned his head and caught sight of Ida, Waldron and the rest of their group.Powerful surges of soul force still emanated from their bodies, the treasure artifacts in their grips radiating sharp, menacing auras. Several of them bore fresh wounds across their frames, clear proof that they had endured a savage battle.Both parties brightened up upon spotting one another, yet they held back from immediate contact. After a brief round of cautious identification checks, they confirmed each other’s true identities."Albert, glad to see you’re still in one piece. I half expected you’d end up strung up as one of those lanterns," Ida let out a quiet breath of relief upon seeing Albert unharmed.Everything they had faced had been lethally perilous. Even cultivators at the Peak Advanced Heavenly Spirit Realm had fallen victim to the curses here, so Albert’s mere Heavenly Star Realm cultivation level had put him at a massive disadvantage in this deadly zone.Albert let out a helpless chuc

At that very moment, the Curse Barrier Array shielding the city’s outer perimeter shattered with a thunderous crash. Countless pitch-black runes materialized out of the void and plummeted downward like swarms of dead insects.It looked just like a torrential downpour of black rain."The Curse Barrier Array is broken?!" Shock washed over every face in the crowd.Toni stared ahead in bewilderment. "Does that mean the fourth altar has been destroyed too? Who took it down? Why was there no signal flare?"The rest shared her confusion. Per their prior agreement, every team was obligated to send up a signal upon completing their objective, yet the fourth altar had been neutralized completely silently with no prior warning whatsoever.There was no time to dwell on the anomaly, however. With the curse array fully dismantled, all the floating human-skin lanterns high above the ground came tumbling down one after another.The disciples afflicted by the curse gradually began regaining their sens

Beneath the scarlet flames, countless crystal dewdrops seeped out from the lotus leaf. The droplets trickled toward the hollow dent at the leaf’s center and gradually pooled into a tiny puddle.A miraculous sight then unfolded. Faint wisps of purple light coalesced within the puddle, eventually solidifying into a palm-sized fish colored in violet and gold.The small fish swam slowly through the water, emanating an astonishing aura of sentience with every subtle movement.Every person present stared in shock at the sudden violet-gold fish. Toni stood dumbfounded for a long moment before something dawned on her, and she blurted out in shock, "This is... the Lotus Spirit Essence?""The Lotus Spirit Essence?" Albert’s eyes sharpened upon hearing Toni’s exclamation. Legend held that when large clusters of Enlightenment Spirit Lotuses grew together, there existed an infinitesimal chance for a Lotus Spirit Essence to spawn. Simply put, it was the condensed amalgamation of all the lotuses’ co

Albert stamped his foot against the ground with a flicker of anticipation. This was undoubtedly the place.Having finished recuperating, all the cultivators gathered before the Spirit Summoning Altar.Above the altar, the white mist writhed like a living creature, constricting to form a defensive barrier for a final stand."Strike together and shatter this barrier!"Their joint assault left the mist with no chance of holding firm. At Toni’s command, the fully rested party unleashed their attacks. Surging torrents of soul force slammed into the mist wall, tearing open countless fissures across its surface.The mist barrier crumbled quickly, scattering bit by bit until it faded completely, laying the altar fully visible to everyone’s eyes. The weathered stone platform bore a sickly pale hue, and a white Spirit Summoning Banner fluttered slowly at the altar’s core. In that instant, countless eerie, indistinct whispers welled forth abruptly, flooding deep into their minds like insidious d

"He is also the only person in our academy who has mastered the Ten-Thousand Slash Bone Refining Art.""The Ten-Thousand Slash Bone Refining Art?" Albert asked, suspecting this was an extremely brutal practice just from the name alone.The disciple of Holy Radiance Ancient Academy spoke with a tone of admiration. "It is a high-tier secret art exclusive to our academy. Cultivating it feels as though countless blades are slicing into your bones, bringing agonizing torment far beyond what ordinary people can endure. Its greatest merit lies in requiring very few cultivation materials, earning it the moniker of the Commoner’s Secret Art. Among all recent batches of students, only Senior Peter has managed to fully cultivate it. For that reason, many students from humble family backgrounds look up to him as their idol across our academy."A sense of genuine admiration for Peter stirred within Albert after hearing the explanation. Enduring such inhuman agony spoke volumes about his iron willp