Chapter 100: Your limits.

Qin Qianyu watched Xiong Jianguo as he was frothing at the mouth from his frustrations.

She knew she didn't have much time left, so she sponged him for as much information as she could possibly get.

Qin Qianyu found out that he was the one to contact the gang initially. Then he himself put in motion all of the events that took place.

He didn't care that he systematically caused many villagers to be slaughtered, on a fake search. He wasn't worried he'd ever be caught either.

He had accessed the latest in spy technology from the four winds taskforce TNT, the Tiger Nether Team.

This was the spy and assassin team of the four winds. He had made several face masks from a special new latex that was developed for all of TNT's missions.

She learnt that he had made the mask on the person faking to be Grandpa Wú, his own of Hao Zhiming, even that contact she met at the abandoned warehouse was Xiong Jianguo in disguise.

Xiong Jianguo reached the point of no return, so, Qin Qianyu retrieved her needles and after wiping them off, she stowed them away.

Qin Qianyu looked around to find Bai Saan. She found him nudging the dead person on the stone slab with its head.

She removed the paper thin mask off Xiong Jianguo revealing his true face. Qin Qianyu checked his pulse to make extra sure Xiong Jianguo was dead. After she verified that he was, shee paid no more attention to the man and went to where Bai Saan and that fake Grandpa Wú were.

She removed his mask too and soon saw the true face of the man underneath.

She surmised that he was a local that Xiong Jianguo had kidnapped for this charade of his. Qin Qianyu found a spot and dug a grave for the man.

She found a stone slate and scribed on it,

"Here lies the remains of an unknown man, killed, by the delusions and whims of a very sick stranger."

Qin Qianyu looked at the masks and found them intriguing.

"Hmm, Maybe I can copy the formula to this fake skin for a washable and reusable face mask product for nighttime routines."

She thought to herself as she looked them both over and marvelled at the quality and craftsmanship. Qin Qianyu then collected her belongings and aptly squared herself away.

Once she was done she decided to take a quick nap. She only did so because she was now certain that Grandpa Wú was out of danger.

She called for Bai Saan and used him as her pillow as she dozed off for a few hours.

When she woke, Qin Qianyu had a quick meal. She made one for Bai Saan too, however he turned his nose up at the heat and eat meal.

"I wonder if the scent of the chemicals is a little too much for his nose?"

Qin Qianyu mumbled, she turned to Bai Saan then continued,

"Well, it's up to you! Don't complain that I didn't share with you."

"Awoar! . . "

"Hmph! . . Don't give me that, it's only Mg + 2H2O → Mg(OH)2 + H2 [+ heat (q)] that's all you're smelling! . . . The meat is really good though!"

Qin Qianyu uttered out the chemical formula for the heating pack that heats the meal. She sighs and shakes her head at the tiger as if it should know this.

"Alright, although I enjoy our conversations, it's getting in the way of me eating."

She said nothing more after that and ate. Bai Saan started whining and ambled off down a passageway.

When Qin Qianyu was done, she tidied up her mess then looked to Xiong Jianguo who now lay in a heap on the ground.

"If you only knew your limits and didn't cross my bottom line."

Qin Qianyu went for a look see around. She soon found Bai Saan scratching away at a door.

"Big hand problems huh?"

Qin Qianyu quipped as she opened the way into the sealed room. She checked the battery life on her phone and plugged in a power bank.

The flashlight on the phone made for a good alternative torch. She also checked her Chem sticks just in case. These are chemical flares used to illuminate the darkest of places.

She found that the chamber she was in had a few plant life she hadn't seen before.

Curiosity took over immediately. Qin Qianyu started collecting samples to take back with her.

"Could this have been an apothecary garden?"

She mumbled as she examined each plant she extracted from their soiled dwelling. This made her even more excited. She'll have a chance to extrapolate their data and even replant them in her own once she figures out their properties and possible uses.

As Qin Qianyu went in deeper, she soon came across a pond. At its centre, sat an extremely large species of the nymphaea family.

Qin Qianyu didn't recognise this particular flower, the lilies she was use to seeing were of the six to 18 leaf varieties.

However, this one had a lot more leaves.

" . . 97 . . 98 . . 99! 99 petals!"

Qin Qianyu thought for a moment, her mind retraced and recalled the information that Xiong Jianguo had shared about the Asura.

Specifically, the marriage between Śankrit and Kama. Her mind then connected what she knew about the flower.

"It's an auspicious sign when gifted during a wedding, wishing a happy union for 100 years. Nine is also seen as a good number because it represents completeness, and the flower itself also represents reincarnation. . . "

"That's lore and legends, scientifically though, it's weird that in this dark room, it's able to stay in bloom even though it's sunlight outside, there's no sun rays to "wake" it up in here. It's all very peculiar don't you agree Bai Saan?"

The Tiger gave a throaty roar the went up to the pond and started lapping up the water with its tongue.

Qin Qianyu took a sample of the water with her too. The properties for that flowers growth and it's weird abilities could be linked to it.

Qin Qianyu wanted to carry on exploring the room. She couldn't get over how huge it all was.

However, she took a single step away from the pond when a violent bout of vertigo hit her, and it it her hard.

Qin Qianyu stumbled a bit, then fell flat on the ground.

Qin Qianyu was now in an unconscious state. While she lay there, on the island of Cebu, the sun was just beginning to rise.

An old man sat in his room taking on the phone in an agitated voice.

"What do you mean you don't know where she went? . . Well do you at least know who she's been speaking with?"

"Elder Wú, I can only apologise. We only know that she's been helping out at the hospital as of late due to the quarantine of everyone in the VIP ward."

"What's that kid doing there!? Tell me what's going on at the hospital?"

Lin Xie explained to Grandpa Wú about Xiao Yixuan, Wen Wú Ting and the incident with the worms that are the reason for the quarantine.

He filled Grandpa Wú in on Lu Mingyu and Mu Liang and how they are also involved.

"Parasites? . . Hey, keep an eye open. Seems that things aren't as simple as it may look like in the surface."

"Should I summoned the members of UQT and have them deployed?"

Lin Xie asked. The members of this team make up the final taskforce of the four winds. These people essentially made up the core of the four winds.

Urbane Qilin Team or UQT are as the name implies. They are highly polished, refined special ops soldiers consisting of mainly Ghosts.

"Not yet, leave them be for now,"

"I understand Elder. Oh wait there was also a report from Ma Chen and his sister."

Lin Xie then spoke about the Tā de incident involving Song Zhaoge and the others. And also Xiong Jianguo.

When Grandpa Wú heard his name he frowned a bit in concern.

"Get in contact with Xiong Jianguo for me, ask him what they spoke about. I already made it clear that Xiaoyu has her own plans and that we're just supporting her a little. I want her to learn a little bit at a time so that she isn't that overwhelmed by everything. Make sure he keeps his mouth shut and doesn't say or do anything he shouldn't."

"Yes Elder Wú."

"I'll be back to the mainland in a few days, a week at most to escort this guy home. Until then, find out were that girl went and make sure she's . . she's alright."

"As you say."

Grandpa Wú sighed when he ended the call. If he had it his way he'd be back by now. Instead. He's only here in the Philippines because Hao Zhiming's research lead him to an endangered species of orchid, the Monarch Dendrobium which was here.

Grandpa Wú learnt from Hao Zhiming that It's a special type of orchid that's also known as the Dendrobium Empress of the orchidaceae family and once it's fully bloomed, the flower can stay like that for over 1000 years.

Grandpa Wú then opened his bag and pulled out an old scroll. It was a map of some sort, but he wasn't sure were it would lead him.

He had taken it from the base camp they were holding Hao Zhiming in when he was rescued.

The reason he took it, was because of the seal at the bottom of the map.

"If it's you, if all of this is you, I'll end your dog damn life!"

Grandpa Wú says to himself. The seal he saw on the map was that of Feng & Xiong.

Although a highly professional and successful law firm, the origins of the firm was made up of several old families in mind.

These seven families became a collaborative group with a single purpose, to right wrongs.

Seven families in total made up this group, of those seven, only three remain active to this day, with the rest in a semi active state.

The Xiong family, that Xiong Jianguo belonged to. The Lin family that Lin Xie belongs to and the Xi family who's patriarch is Xi Jiangshan, father to Xi Susu and Grandfather to the Wen siblings.

These three families are the only ones still active of the original seven.

The other four families were the Yang's Yang Mingchun's family, the Hao's, Hao Zhiming's family, Wú Haodong and Feng Qingxuan Grandpa Wú's master.

These families broke away from each other following the end of the war. There was no need for the group to exist anymore.

That was the reason given, however, only a few people knew the real reason. Not even insiders knew the whole truth.

But, what they all understood was that the brake away stemmed from an order given. It was all because two people were sent off to die for the cause.

They were Wú Haodong and Feng Qingxuan.

The one to send them off was none other than Xi Jiangshan himself. This was what caused a split in the seven families. The Hao's and half the Xiong family stood by Xi Jiangshan.

The others all stood with Wú Haodong.

Before the pair went on their death mission, they put their entire affairs in order.

Grandpa Wú created Gaoshan. It's purpose was to keep ex soldiers and their families employed following the end of the war, when that time came.

Feng Qingxuan along with the left over Xiong family started Feng & Xiong. This was to help those of the families to have some kind of legal representation for when things got tough.

The Yang's stayed with Secondhand, that Wú Haodong created and owned. Yang Mingchun modelled their current ethos on Gaoshan's.

The Hao's went into academia and the Xi's into politics and the military.

The Lin family stayed loyal to Grandpa Wú and Feng Qingxuan but strayed away from the rest of the world keeping themselves well hidden.

All of these families were the original taskforce of the now famous four winds.

Grandpa Wú looked at the map in his hand then to his phone. He made a call.

Unfortunately, the call didn't connect. Grandpa Wú grumbled,

"Dammit! . . Where the hell are you!"

He then dialled another number.

"Hello . . "

"It's me,"

"I have caller ID you know,"

" . . . "

"What's wrong? You wouldn't have called without a reason."

"Xiong Jianguo, has he been behaving?"

"Oh? . . Seems you just found out that he met the young Miss."

"Mhm, I . . I'm just a little worried. Do you have any information at all?"

The person Grandpa Wú was speaking with was Yang Mingchun. The first member and creator of PIT.

"I thought it strange at first when he turned up, at an event I was at. It seems he was trying to inject himself into Qin Qianyu's life. He even had the people from Feng & Xiong salute me letting everybody know my past identity. I have no idea what he's up to but it got me curious."

" . . . "

"I sent a few of my girls out. It seems he's been very busy lately. He's met with a few members of TNT, he had gone to Myanmar, he's been in contact with the Hao's and also slipped in with the people around the young Miss. I've heard he's in Laos right now."

"What about Xiaoyu?"

"She's there too apparently. Where, I can't exactly say."

"Mhm, alright. Thanks."

"What? . . Is that it? No how's life? Nothing?"

"What more do you want?"

"Haaa, . . Have you heard all about the people quarantined at the hospital?"

"Mhm, the parasites, what about it?"

"In the old days, we had picked up on chatter regarding these worms that could control a persons mind, we had flogged it off as utter nonsense from drunk soldiers then. But, . ."

" . . thinking about it now, those worms and these worms, this maybe a continuation of all that. Scientists and science as a whole have proven many a stranger thing, true."

"You think a rouge group from the invaders has returned and planing some kind of attack?"

"I don't think it's from the invaders side, I think it's an internal thing. I've found that those involved are our own people. The person that these worms came from was the lover of one of my girls. She was the commander of PIT's Xiao Yixuan's lover."

"It was like they were targeting her from the start. Another worm was placed in "his" cute grandson, but our young Miss saved the boy in time."

"Hmph! . . He's not that cute, I was better looking in our time."

"Hahaha! . . Why do you sound jealous?"

"Don't mistake jealousy for annoyance! . . I think I'm bias as he's a splitting image of Xi Jiangshan."

"Please don't say his name, it still creeps me out."

"Oh . . Sorry . . Anyway, it looks like wheels are starting to turn, do your very best to keep your people safe. It's not like how it was in our time."

"You do the same."

"Mhm . . . Is there anything else?"

"Nope. Just this little trip down memory lane, it made me think of her."

" . . . "

"Mhm, . . I miss her a little too."

The call ended and Grandpa Wú soon fell into a rage.

Wú Haodong cast his glance over to the room Hao Zhiming was staying in. He scowled as he did so.

"Why does all of this reek of betrayal? . . Tsk! You fools, you should all know your limits!"

Clutching the map in his hands Grandpa Wú made a decision and left the room.