The visit
CHAPTER 60
The car came to a quiet stop at the foot of the mountain.
Adrian stepped out slowly, shutting the door behind him. The night air was thin and cold, carrying the faint scent of pine and damp earth. Above him, the mountain rose like a silent giant, its peak hidden among drifting clouds.
He lifted his gaze.
Memories surged instantly.
This mountain was not just stone and soil–it was sweat, pain, and discipline. It was where he had spent countless days leaping across cliffs, running until his legs trembled, collapsing only to rise again. Where his master’s voice echoed endlessly, demanding perfection not just in acupuncture, but in the body itself.
“Medicine without strength is weakness,” his master used to say.
“And strength without restraint is destruction.”
Adrian scoffed softly.
“So dramatic,” he muttered.
He rolled his shoulders once, then decided–on impulse–to test himself.
Without ceremony, he stepped forward and leapt.
His body moved instinctively, pushing off the rocky slope, landing on a jutting stone, then springing upward again. His breathing stayed controlled, but his muscles protested immediately.
Not bad…
But not the same.
He could still do it but slower. Less sharp. The seamless flow he once had was dulled by years spent behind desks, in boardrooms, commanding empires instead of mountains.
By the time he reached the upper slope, his breath was heavier. Sweat dampened his shirt.
Finally, he pulled himself onto the summit–and promptly fell backward onto the ground.
He lay there, staring at the sky.
“…Guess I really am rusty.”
Before he could sit up-
WHOOSH.
A sharp pain exploded across his shoulder.
Adrian’s body reacted instantly, rolling to the side as a blade embedded itself in the rock where his head had
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been seconds before.
A sword.
His eyes narrowed.
A voice rang out, sharp and alert.
“Who are you?! Thief!”
Adrian froze.
That voice-
He smirked.
Slowly, casually, he reached up, grabbed the embedded blade, and yanked it free with a wince he did not bother hiding.
“Still throwing before confirming,” Adrian said calmly. “Some habits never die.”
Silence.
Then hurried footsteps.
A man emerged from behind the rocks, sword raised, eyes sharp and ready to strike again—until their gazes
met.
The man froze.
His pupils contracted.
“…Ryan?”
Adrian straightened fully now, brushing dust off his clothes.
“Took you long enough,” he said lazily.
The sword clattered to the ground.
The man stared for a full second–then shouted at the top of his lungs.
“RYAN?!”
In the next moment, he rushed forward and wrapped Adrian in a crushing embrace.
“You bastard!” the man yelled, laughing and half–choking. “You’re alive?! You’re actually alive?!”
Adrian stiffened, then sighed. “You’re still too loud, Kai.”
Kai Lorne—his junior, training partner, and the only disciple besides him who had survived their master’s harsh methods.
Kai pulled back, gripping Adrian’s shoulders, eyes scanning his face like he was afraid Adrian might vanish.
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“I thought–everyone thought-
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“I know,” Adrian said quietly.
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Kai swallowed, then laughed awkwardly. “I thought you were a thief. Who climbs this mountain at night like that?”
Adrian raised an eyebrow. “You shot first.”
Kai scratched the back of his head. “Reflex.”
Adrian rolled his shoulder, wincing slightly. “That reflex still hurts.”
Kai’s eyes widened. “Ah–sorry! I didn’t-”
“It’s fine,” Adrian waved him off. “It’s my fault. Hayen’t trained in years.”
Kai stared. “You climbed this mountain after years of no training?”
Adrian shrugged. “Almost died at the top.”
Kai burst out laughing. “You left early, you know that? You learned nearly everything in record time. I needed five more years just to finish what you completed in two.”
Adrian smirked. “Someone had to be talented.”
Kai snorted. “Arrogant as ever.”
They sat on a flat stone, the mountain silent around them.
“I missed this place,” Adrian admitted.
Kai nodded. “Master always said you’d come back.”
Adrian looked at him. “He did?”
“Yeah,” Kai said softly. “When everyone said you were dead–when your mother said it was an accident–he shook his head. Said he had a feeling you weren’t gone.”
Adrian’s gaze darkened slightly.
“…He always knew.”
A beat passed.
Then Adrian asked, quietly, “Where is he?”
Kai’s smile faded.
“He’s… not well.”
Adrian’s posture changed instantly.
“Sick?”
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Kai nodded, expression heavy. “Serious. I’ve been searching for a cure for years. I read all twenty–one volumes of the Acts of Illness. Every forbidden theory. Every lost technique.”
“And?” Adrian asked.
Kai shook his head. “Nothing. No solution.”
The mountain seemed colder suddenly.
“What illness?” Adrian asked.
Kai hesitated. “Internal decay. His meridians are collapsing one by one. His mental force is… eating him.”
Adrian closed his eyes briefly.
The irony was cruel.
A man who healed countless lives–unable to heal himself.
“When?” Adrian asked.
“Come,” Kai said. “You should see him.”
Adrian stood.
This wasn’t just a reunion.
This was the beginning of something far heavier.
And for the first time since accepting the Ventress challenge-
Adrian felt true pressure.
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