"You did what?” Rogue asked, rubbing his forehead. He couldn’t believe it. First, it was the revelation that the Alchemists had something which could turn the entire region upside down, and now it was that somehow, his Black Hand family had offended the Tiger Fist family.

‘Should I send word to father?’

“I was hurt,” Mika said, pouting up at the Head.

Rogue scratched the corner of his forehead with his thumb, trying to understand how it could have been that he would be given such a challenge. It was one thing to offend a family, but the Tiger Fist family? He could only hope that the Patriarch was level headed, for his Black Hand family still had some relation to the Black Fist family.

‘No. I can’t simply allow that to defend us. If they are the type to attack a cripple, then they may be the type to escalate the situation.’

“The Elder and the Tiger Fist family are at odds so they attacked me.” Mika stared into the Head’s eyes. “The Elder said he would deal with the matter.”

‘Are you really that naive?’ Rogue let out a soft sigh. ‘I will need to speak with the Left Hand about what to do in this situation.’ Rogue continued to think deeply about the matter. Elder Yan Starr and he were similar in one way, in that their fathers were great figures, though even Rogue’s father could only pale in comparison to someone like the Elder’s father. It was one thing for Elder Yan to pick a fight with the Tiger Fist family, and another for Mika and the Black Hands to pick a fight.

While Rogue and the Left Hand spoke of what to do, the Elder received word from Mika about the topic. It was in the evening when the Elder personally arrived onto the Black Hand estate. Such news would have travelled across the town to the ears of the other families, but what else could he do?

“I apologise for not informing you of the matter,” Elder Yan said, bowing his head.

“There is no need to apologise,” Rogue said, not meaning it in the slightest. Such a thing had caused the entire family alarm, and had put them on high alert.

Elder Yan sipped his tea, noting how decent it tasted. He looked to the servant beside him. ‘So you are Lina.’ He continued to sip the tea, enjoying himself as he closed his eyes, before placing down the cup. The tea jiggled slightly before it fell completely still, and the Elder opened his eyes.

Rogue began to sweat slightly, noting that the Elder’s eyes were full of defiance, and a fighting spirit he hadn’t expected to see from an Alchemist. ‘How could you be so confident, Elder?’

“Allow me to explain the full story, in case the young Page has not,” Elder Yan said, leaning back on the sofa, as though about to look down on the Head. He told the story in great detail to the Head, who could only appreciate the Elder’s thoroughness, sipping through several cups of tea in the time it took for the Elder to regale the tale.

“Since it has come to this, we should prepare,” Elder Yan finally said. “The Tiger Fist family has already revealed that they do not play by our rules, that which keeps us civilised.” It was empty talk, since anything could be twisted into being civilised. If they failed, then the victors would be considered to be the civilised group, hence why they were victorious.

“My Left Hand has begun to work on preparations, just in case,” Rogue said, though his voice held no hope. Truly, if the Tiger Fist family wanted to, they could have sent a squad or two of their Experts, led by a single Elder, and the entire Black Hand family would find themselves in the cycle of reincarnation by dawn. However, they could at least take one or two of the bastards down with them.

“I do not believe that the Tiger Fist family would be so brazen as to come and attack your family overtly,” Elder Yan said, understanding where Rogue’s head was at. Even he knew they weren’t that stupid, since the family was still run by the Patriarch, and not the Young Master.

“It would be awkward for even the Tiger Fist family to intrude on the domain of our Town Lord,” Rogue agreed, though that didn’t assuage him. There were plenty of stories when something like that shouldn’t happen, but they did, and Rogue wasn’t going to be left in the footnotes of history because he decided to let down his guard.

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“Since this matter began with our Alchemy Guild, we would like to offer our assistance in the planning against any untoward actions of the Tiger Fist family.” Elder Yan leaned in. “It would put our guild in an awkward spot if the Black Hand, Storm Fist, or Moon Moth families were put in danger because of our actions.”

‘Ah,’ Rogue thought, understanding what the Elder was doing. He wasn’t sure about allowing the Alchemist to lead the situation, but when he mentioned the other two families, Rogue understood plan the Elder had in mind.

However, the Elder had certainly changed from what he recalled. Seeing the Elder like this, it was as though he had begun to outgrow the small town in which he had trapped himself. The Elder, who once could have become a name across the entire empire, had retired to a no name village, in the same way the Head had. Yet, now, the Elder had decided to go on the offence, to spread his name far and wide.

‘Is that why he caused so much chaos?’ Rogue thought, before recalling the products the Elder had brought onto the market. It was then Rogue realised that the three families wouldn’t be fighting alone, since the Elder Alchemist was no doubt far too valuable for the other nearby families, not just the main families of their town, but also the families of the nearby cities.

The Tiger Fist family couldn’t overtly attack the guild, so it was obvious they would go for the Black Hand family, and perhaps the other two families. However, with the Elder’s influence, they could find support within other families.

‘We’re relying too much on the Alchemists…’ Rogue did not enjoy the fact that his family’s existence relief on foreign support. Elder Starr could give up the Black Hand family if it meant the survival of his guild, but…

‘Mika.’ Rogue was sure of it, now more than ever, that the young boy was the key to this all. He knew that the boy was more than what he appeared, and that he had something to do with the recent changes of the Alchemist.

“I understand,” Rogue finally said, bowing his head.

Elder Yan smiled, before placing down a contract. It was a new contract, one full of peculiarity. It was filled with mention of strange, foreign concoctions, those which Rogue wasn’t familiar with, as well as…

‘Weapons?’

The contract mentioned the weapons the Alchemy Guild would supply the Black Hand family, and not just weapons, but defensive treasures and armours too. ‘Why are Alchemists in the business of weapons and armours?’ Rogue’s eyes filled with suspicion. ‘Had he already prepared for this? Was this a plot of the Alchemists? What would be the point of weakening our three families? Was it for the Town Lord?’

“The Starr Alchemy Guild has long decided to invest in your great family,” Elder Yan began. “We have already tied ourselves together in more than one way, and we would like to deepen that bond. If you have any reservations, you may take the time to think on the matter. We will also be offering the same contract to the Storm Fist and Moon Moth families.”

Rogue found no way to reject the proposal, so accepted the Elder’s deal with gratitude, all the while trying to think of countermeasures against the Tiger Fist family with the Left Hand.

A few days after signing the contracts, Rogue wasn’t sure how to feel, noting the influx of weapons, elixirs, and pills. Each were of a greater quality than he imagined, only casting more suspicion on the Alchemy Guild.

‘Is this because of Mika?’

The boy in question was currently relaxing in the Alchemy Guild, popping an exotic fruit into his mouth as he read his book. “I’m sure the Head is feeling awkward, but he’ll cheer up soon enough.”

Jon let out a long sigh, staring at the ingredients he needed to refine into more pills and elixirs. Typically it would require him over an hour of intense focused refining, but he could now refine them within a few minutes, all the while holding a casual conversation with the boy.

“The Storm Fist and Moon Moth families are the weakest link of the plan, since they probably won’t share such items freely with their families, but we can just use whatever guards they assign and assist them.” Mika turned the page. “We’ll write in the contract that those guards will be available for the Alchemy Guild’s use, so they don’t get any bright ideas.”

‘The kid must love his family deeply,’ Jon thought.

“I’ll leave Elder Yan in charge of making sure my sister is safe,” Mika said, yawning as he popped another piece of fruit, tasting how sweet it was. “It would be a shame to burn down the guild after working so hard to build it up.”

Jon cleared his throat. “We’ll do our best.”

“If your best was good enough, I wouldn’t have had to accelerate the plan,” Mika stated, simply.

The words cut deep into Jon’s heart. “Do you have to bully us that much?”

“If you think this is bullying, just you wait until I catch you slipping,” Mika said, turning the page. “If you weren’t passable at cultivating, I would have to make a move personally. What use would your Alchemy Guild be if I were to move myself? I want to live a long, slow, peaceful life.”

Jon sighed, pouring more poison into the young Page’s tea, which the boy gently sipped. His face tensed slightly as black veins began to bulge across his face. “A long, slow, peaceful life.” ‘You sure dream big.’