The estate was quiet now, the joyful sounds of his sister's home fading behind him as Li Xian wandered the halls alone.
He kept his steps soft, careful. Not because he feared anyone — but because his mind was already racing.
Dad… what are you really planning?
The sudden wedding, the talks between his father and her husband, the strange urgency… none of it made sense if it were just about family or politics. Something deeper, darker, lingered beneath the surface.
Li Xian's jaw tightened. His usual playful self felt far away — tonight, he was serious. Fully aware. Fully calculating.
Earlier that day, he had remembered the mark he had seen on the attacker in the forest. He sat quietly for a long moment, reproducing it on a scrap of paper — carefully, exactly as he had seen it.
I've seen this before…
When he was little, he had caught a glimpse of this symbol somewhere. A gang. A secret one. Dangerous. Rumors said they had vanished decades ago.
Then why… why now?
That thought wouldn't leave him alone.
As night fell, he quietly made his way to a small, rarely used room — a storage room for old documents, maps, and letters from years past. Dust floated in the air, but Li Xian barely noticed.
He searched. Slowly. Methodically. Every old ledger, every forgotten file, every yellowed piece of paper.
And then… he paused.
A faint memory surfaced — the symbol matched something he had seen in one of the gang reports as a child. Files of a secret organization, erased from public records. They had disappeared without a trace… until now.
But why return now?
He traced the lines of the mark once more, staring at it in silence. His mind was flooded with questions.
Is it connected to Dad?
Is someone trying to use it against me… or my sister ...or Zhao Han....??
But why him...what is the connection with him...Is this all connected?
Li Xian exhaled slowly, forcing his thoughts to focus.
I need to know more. I need to understand.
He rose, folding the paper carefully, tucking it into his sleeve. Tonight, no one would know what he was planning.
The gangs disappeared years ago… but why now are they showing themselves again?
The question hung in the air like a shadow.
And somewhere deep in his chest, Li Xian felt the first prickling of unease that this was bigger than he had imagined.