Wu Dishi's face looked like he had eaten a fly. How could his formidable master be scared of anything? It didn't make any sense to him at all.
It rather sounded like a joke. The biggest joke!
"Connor, I know you're my senior in Master's squad but don't try to fool me like this." Wu Dishi tried to smile but didn't dare to disrespect the dead.
"Connor isn't lying to you." Adia jutted in making Wu Dishi even more perplexed.
He observed the expressions of the five people around him before saying, "Are you guys serious?" The five heads nodded simultaneously. "But how can Master be scared of anything or anyone?"
"Every person has fear," Jack remarked softly.
"And Master is also a human," Jake added along.
"Yes. But..." Wu Dishi still had something to argue with when Adia stopped him.
"Just because you've seen master being almighty all the time, doesn't mean that master doesn't have his own fears."
Wu Dishi thought about it a bit before nodding understanding her meaning. "But what is master scared of?"
The five people beside him shared a look before they spoke together, "Himself."
'What? Master is scared of himself?' Wu Dishi's mind was reeling with this information. "Why?" He couldn't help but ask.
Connor crouched down to pick up that abandoned katana as he spoke, "You didn't see the look in Master's eyes when we came. If he had picked up this katana tonight, all of our heads would have been served to him."
Wu Dishi's eyes widened up while Connor went on, "Excluding the attack in the tea house, Master has killed more than 100 people in the past ten days. He's not lying low because he's scared of those stunted assassins. Rather, our master is scared of losing his own rationality all over again."
"You don't master the way we do," Adia jutted in to complete Connor's words. "You heard rumors of him being a monster. We have seen him acting like a Grim Reaper instead."
Suddenly the memory of that tall figure clad in black with silver dyed hair and green cold eyes flashed through her mind.
"I'll never forget the day I met the master. He was drenched in blood and his sword was trailing behind him making a cringy sound as it was being dragged on the concrete floor. From head to toe, all I saw was his cold green eyes and his hair dyed in silver color." Adia narrated the scene from her memory vividly. "The mercenary where I was training was one of the best in the world and yet, it took master only an hour to wipe its existence from this world."
"Lord Alev Knight is feared for a reason. He does have a reputation worthy of him. He has no mercy. You should be glad that the master has dropped his sword years ago. Otherwise, there was always bloodshed around him." Edmund also added his part of the understanding of Ru.
"Master didn't become Lord Alev Knight overnight but he had certainly trampled on Underworld Syndicates overnight and ruled over them. And during that time, Master wasn't rational at all. If you dare to cross his way, he'll cut your throat without even blinking." Connor's voice held the great respect which he felt for his master. There was no doubt that each one of them was the most loyal to her. Not because they were scared of her. But also because she gave them respect as a human being and gave them a chance to create a self-identity and value.
"I've never seen master with a sword." Wu Dishi voiced out while seeing them lifting the dead bodies off the ground.
"Then you're lucky," Jake said with a smile.
"Why?"
"Because once that sword was sheathed, no one was left to tell the tale of it."
Wu Dishi's heart jolted at this remark.
"The sword is master's personally forged weapon and it was named The Bloody Moon."
"The Bloody Moon? Any specific reason?"
"Ask Connor, he's the only one who got to see it up close."
Wu Dishi looked Connor with an earnest look.
"There is a phrase written on the silver blade," Connor started in a hushed tone as he quoted, "It says, 'It was a full moon, just drowning in the blood of night.' As for the meaning, don't bother prying if you value your life."
All of them got busy, not knowing that at the corner, a lone figure was concealed in the darkness to puff out the wispy smoke while listening to each word.
Ru's lips upturned slightly as she whispered the other half of that phrase, "Perhaps it was just a curse... Or an illusion... But she was left to drench in the pool of blood that night."