The Hidden Master

Chapter 2

Sarah paused, looking at him keenly.

The way he said those words, they flowed with so much confidence that the only way not to believe them was the alternative truth that stood right before her.

The moment those words fell off from his lips, Sarah's laughter burst into the air, cold and mocking.

She had met powerful people that could end armies in just a single word, people that could influence the world economy with just a snap of their fingers.

"For someone so broke, you definitely have a loud and big mouth, but don't worry, you will be put right in your place very soon."

"Would love to see how you intend to do that!"

"Lady Sarah!"

"Lady Sarah!"

Voices echoed through the woods, torchlight and the sounds of breaking branches filled the whole arena almost in an instant.

A smile carved out from Sarah's face, intended to send chills down the spine of Twenty, but he stood without a trace of expression on his face.

Sarah's stomach tightened into a knot. She expected that he was going to start running for his life, but he stood rooted to the ground like that meant nothing.

What kind of beggar doesn't run?

"Bastard! You really need to be given a lesson don't you..."

Soon, the footsteps got to them, a group of elite looking warriors instantly circled Sarah, led by Christian, Sarah's brother.

His eyes pricked at Twenty, with a bitter taste of disdain rising through his throat.

"Who is this runt!" He could not help but stare at the being standing before him with utter disdain.

From the looks of it, his battered clothes and his poorly shaved hair all pointed to one fact, he was a part of the lower class of the society and for this reason alone, he was trash.

"Hope this filth didn't try to steal from you sister..." He turned around towards her.

"He did, he even tried to attack me!" Sarah lied.

She could not bear to tell them that the fool had tried to take advantage of her, it was going to be a stain on her records forever, especially with the fact that she was getting married soon enough.

But telling them that he had the audacity to steal from her was just enough reason for them to break a few bones on his body.

Christian's eyes instantly burned bright red and his teeth, they gnashed against each other.

He had dared to try and not only touch the gem of the city but to steal from her.

"Paupers and the sheer level of their audacity!" He snapped, turning around towards the men that came with him.

"If I don't hear his limbs breaking, you all are done for!" He called out.

The men, taking their clubs in their hands launched at Twenty without hesitation.

Sarah watched with a grim smile on her face. She could not wait to see it, the crack on that grim and heavy built mask of his, the satisfaction that would come rushing through her veins when the man that was once so cocky begged her for mercy.

But the only thing that she got was an exhausted sigh from Twenty.

He stood rooted to the ground, not moving even the slightest inch from where he stood.

"Seems I overestimated city folks didn't I."

The first club launched at his head but instead of a cry of pain, the stick broke.

Sarah faltered, shock peeling through her face almost instantly like layers of skin.

"It had to be weakened already. There's no way that he would have been able to withstand the impact." She said to herself.

But what followed next was beyond her.

Twenty caught the hands of the men that launched at him, some got blows in their stomachs, slaps tore into their faces sending them flying through the air, and soon, the cries of heavy masculine men, built from steel, crying like little babies filled the air.

Shock arched into the face of Sarah and she faltered back in her steps as she watched Twenty with keen eyes, he had done all of these without even breaking a sweat.

Her heart hammered hard against her chest.

Who was this monster.

And just beneath the layers of her shock was anger and rage pulsing through her veins.

Christian kicked into the stomachs of the guards violently.

"Pathetic, that's what you all are. Pathetic."

"You can't blame them, when they've met with a force that is way stronger than them!" Twenty noted.

The words caused Christian and Sarah's faces to burn bright red even further.

"And you wouldn't say that I didn't tell you, no one can pin me down against my wishes!" He said once again.

Sarah couldn't contain her rage, same with Christian.

The Young group was one of the most powerful groups in the city as it stood, if words got out that a pauper had made ridicule of their royal guards like it meant nothing, then they would not be able to show their faces in public again.

Sarah's ego was bruised.

Christian's hands bolted. He picked his phone calling the elite guards that were around.

A smile cut through his face seeing the dozen men that instantly flooded into the place.

The wave of their energies alone was enough to make anyone break into a fit of panic.

The guards rolling in pain smiled in their despair.

"He's a finished man!" They muttered to themselves.

"He got himself into this, there's definitely no way that he can escape from it!" Another added, the satisfactory feeling that they were soon going to be avenged causing a calm in their hearts.

The elite guards of the Young group soon surrounded Twenty who stood with a playful gaze.

"You're done for!" They uttered.

But before they could attack Twenty, sleek cars rolled instantly into the place, they counted from one until the rolls of the cars were up to a dozen.

Their breaths caught in their lungs as they all instantly recognized the elephant logo that shimmered with bright radiance on the car.

"The Jade Group Patron? What's he doing here!"

Sarah was taken aback with so much shock, her eyes fixed on the display before her without even blinking.

The Jade Group even for the Young group was one to be feared. They were the third most powerful corporation in the city and their influence spread even beyond the continent, ranging from military to economic power.

They weren't a group to be messed with.

The guards stepped backwards, and Christian's face squeezed into a frown at their sheer cowardice.

"What are you all doing? Take out this bastard right now!" He groaned.

A silver haired man rolled off calmly from the rear Mercedes that had rolled into the place.

Though he remained calm, the aura that pulsed off from him was beyond suffocating.

Instantly, a slap tore right through Christian's face, causing him to turn around instantly towards the direction of the offense.

Sarah's eyes blazed into his.

"There are some people that you shouldn't mess around with!" She growled.

He had just returned to the city after going abroad to study and didn't know much about the city's hierarchy.

"That's more like it!" Victor Jade said before walking straight towards Twenty ignoring everyone else.

"This way Mr. Twenty!" He said the words almost instantly in a whisper, words that only Twenty could hear.

Victor Jade bowed slightly, his voice laced with so much respect and reverence.

"Welcome Mr. Twenty. Sorry for the delay, I came to your location the instant that you told me that you were in the city." He said, not daring to raise his head from the spot until Twenty released him from the position.

Twenty nodded his head subtly and stepped into the sleek Mercedes without sparing another glance at the dumbfounded crowd.

Victor Jade followed, bowing once more before the convoy of luxury cars rolled out of the forest just as quickly as they had arrived, leaving nothing but shattered air and heavy silence behind them.

Sarah stood frozen, her eyes still fixed on the empty path where the cars had vanished, shock peeling through her face like layers of skin.

The guards who had been rolling in pain slowly picked themselves up, staring at each other with confusion written across their battered features.

"What... what just happened?" one of them muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Christian's face squeezed into a darkening frown as his mind scrambled for an explanation that made sense. The alternative truth that his ego desperately needed.

Then, a cold chuckle escaped his lips.

"Obviously that beggar crossed the Jade Group somehow," Christian declared, the bitter taste of disdain returning to his voice. "You saw how quickly they bundled him into the car. The Jade Group doesn't associate with trash—they were taking him away to deal with whatever trouble he caused them."

The guards grasped onto this explanation like drowning men clutching driftwood.

"That makes sense," one agreed quickly. "Someone like him... he must have stolen something or offended them somehow."

"Exactly!" Another added. "Did you see Mr. Jade's face? That wasn't respect—that was anger. That pauper is definitely finished now."

Sarah's stomach loosened slightly. The knot of confusion and fear that had been twisting inside her began to untangle itself.

Of course. That made perfect sense. Someone adorned in rags crossing paths with the Jade Group could only mean trouble. The respect she thought she saw must have been a trick of the forest shadows.

But he was just a by the way, she needed to focus on her research on finding a cure for the pandemic that was ravaging through the city.

She looked at her skin, safe and perfect, even when she had been exposed to the high and toxic air from the biohazard plants that had been all around them and trying to pick them without advanced technique having not recognized the plant.

For a moment, her mind tried to believe that he might actually be telling the truth, but she instantly pushed the thoughts away, whispering to herself.

"There's no way in hell that he had anything to do with it. The vaccine that Jackson had created against the flu must have really worked, now we have to start mass producing it while that fool deals with whatever mess he walked into with the Jade Group!"