The Thorne of Destiny
Chapter 124: NEWS

Chapter 124: NEWS

The quiet mewl from inside the house was followed by the soft pattering of paws as Storm trotted out into the courtyard, blinking sleep from his eyes. His silver wings fluttered slightly as he leapt onto a low stone bench, yawning wide enough to show off tiny, sharp fangs.

Olivia followed behind him moments later, still in her nightgown and rubbing her eyes. "Storm woke me up," she mumbled, then blinked when she saw the two boys. "You’re sparring without me?!"

Adrian laughed, tossing the wooden sword to the side. "Didn’t want to wake you. Come join us. We’ll have breakfast later," He glanced at their servant John, whom they had bought sometime ago.

Adrian had also given him a cultivation technique, allowing him to embark on the journey of cultivation. He was only at the first level of the Qi Condensation realm, meaning his talent was just ordinary..

He nodded his head, indicating he understood Adrian’s words as he left to go about his duties.

"You promise?" she asked with mock suspicion, already grabbing a third wooden sword from the rack beside the wall.

"I swear on Storm’s tiny wings."

Storm let out a huff as if offended.

The three siblings played and sparred in the courtyard until the sun fully rose. It was peaceful, something Adrian hadn’t known in a long time. And for a brief moment, it felt like the world outside didn’t exist.

Meanwhile,

But peace was a luxury he knew wouldn’t last.

After breakfast, Adrian sat in the study—if one could call the old wooden desk and ink-stained scrolls in the corner of the house a study. He rolled out a worn map of Stonehold City and the nearby territories. His fingers traced along the path he took to escape the Misty Mountains, then to a hidden cave he had marked in the region beyond Stonehold’s western ridge.

That cave... It was where he first realized the Blood Star could absorb living beings.

It wasn’t just a hiding place. It might be something more. Maybe even part of the Blood Star’s history.

He needed to go back there.

A knock at the door drew his attention. Olivia poked her head in. "There’s someone at the gate."

Adrian stood slowly, alertness replacing the calm in his gaze. "Who?"

"I don’t know," she said, frowning. "He’s wearing a courier badge."

Adrian stepped outside and saw a young man at the entrance, dressed in the grey-blue uniform of a city-run courier guild. The man bowed respectfully.

"Message for Mr. Aiden of South Courtyard," he said, using the false name Adrian registered the house under. "Paid delivery."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he accepted the sealed scroll. There was no crest, no name—just wax and red string.

"Who sent this?"

"Didn’t say. Left at the station early this morning."

Adrian nodded, passed him a copper coin, and dismissed him.

He broke the seal.

Inside, the parchment was crisp and plain, the message short and neatly written:

We know you returned. You have something we want. Come to the Broken Dagger Tavern before dusk. Alone. Or your siblings won’t be safe.

Adrian’s grip tightened.

They had found him.

He burned the parchment immediately with a flick of Qi, reducing it to ash in his palm. Then he looked toward the house where his siblings were laughing with Storm. A deep breath later, his expression was carved from stone.

Whoever sent that message made two mistakes. First, they threatened the only people Adrian truly cared about.

And second, they assumed he’d come unprepared.

By late afternoon, Adrian had already mapped his approach.

The Broken Dagger Tavern was a seedy den of mercenaries and rogue cultivators, situated near the city’s eastern warehouse district. If someone wanted to remain anonymous or conduct shady business, that was the place to do it.

He wasn’t going to walk in blindly.

Dressed in an unassuming traveler’s cloak, Adrian entered the tavern with a calm stride. His Qi was completely restrained, his soul concealed beneath a cloak of nothingness—one of the techniques the Blood Star inheritance had taught him.

The place was dimly lit and reeked of old ale, pipe smoke, and sweat. A few heads turned, but no one gave him more than a passing glance. He scanned the room carefully.

Then he saw them.

In the farthest booth sat three men. One of them had an unmistakable aura—subtle but refined. A cultivator likely at the peak of Foundation Establishment, maybe even Half-Step into Golden Core.

And beside him, looking far too smug for his own good, sat a man Adrian recognized immediately.

Julian.

So. He had returned to the city.

Julian noticed him too—though he didn’t recognize the disguised face under Adrian’s subtle aura masking.

The man beside Julian gestured. "You’re late."

Adrian didn’t respond. He slid into the booth slowly, watching them both. No words for the moment. Just silence and weight.

"You’ve caused quite a stir, mysterious one," the other man said with a crooked grin. "You slipped out of the Misty Mountains like smoke and fire. Everyone’s been trying to figure out how. Some of us"—he gestured to Julian—"think you’re in possession of something... valuable."

Julian leaned forward. "You were there. You saw it. That beast. The artifact. The way the formation collapsed. I was right, wasn’t I? You’re not just some nameless rogue. You found it, didn’t you?"

Adrian’s voice was calm. "And if I did?"

Julian’s grin widened. "Then we strike a deal. Or..."

He didn’t finish the sentence. He didn’t need to.

The implication was clear.

Adrian’s fingers tapped the table once.

Then he stood.

"You’re barking up the wrong tree," he said, voice barely above a whisper. "And you should stop before you wake the dragon sleeping in the wrong cave."

Julian’s grin faltered.

"I’ll consider that your final warning," Adrian added.

Then he turned and left the tavern.

That night, as the moon hung low in the sky, Adrian stood on the roof of his home, his hand resting lightly on Storm’s head. The cub sat beside him, eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

Things were shifting.

Julian was getting bolder.

Whoever he was working with—whether it was the War Machine Sect, mercenaries, or someone else—they wanted the secrets of the Blood Star.

But they weren’t getting anything.

Not without stepping over Adrian’s dead body.

And even then... he doubted they’d succeed.

Because he wasn’t that same noble scion from a year ago anymore.

He was a shadow, a storm, a ghost in the mist.

And the next time someone came for his family, they’d learn what it meant to face a thief of a hundred faces... and a boy who had walked through illusions and lived.

The streets of Stonehold City felt quieter than usual as Adrian walked away from the Broken Dagger Tavern. The low hum of life still filled the air—street vendors peddling their goods, merchants shouting deals, children playing—but it all felt muted beneath the weight of the encounter he just left behind.

Julian was alive.

And more importantly, he remembered Adrian’s voice.

That alone meant his identity was now a ticking time bomb. The moment Julian decided to act, the tenuous safety net Adrian had maintained since his return would snap like a brittle thread.

Adrian took a turn down a narrow alley, his steps quick but steady. He didn’t return home immediately. Instead, he walked to the edge of the outer city and climbed onto a lone watchtower that had long since fallen out of regular use. From there, he could see the wide expanse of Stonehold. The city’s wall loomed in the distance, separating it from the wilderness beyond. Somewhere out there, Bella and her people were still looking.

And now, Julian was looking too.

Adrian exhaled slowly and pulled the bamboo hat from his storage ring. The Veil of a Hundred Shadows shimmered faintly in the light. He could only use it in short bursts for now, but he had to make those moments count.

This wasn’t going to stop here.

Julian was greedy, but he wasn’t stupid. And the fact that he was working with someone else—a Golden Core realm cultivator at that—meant he had backers. Adrian didn’t know who the black-robed man was, but something about his gaze reminded him of the inner regions. Cold. Predatory. Calculating.

’They’re going to come again. And next time, it won’t be in a tavern.’

Adrian clenched his fist around the brim of the bamboo hat. He couldn’t afford to sit idle. He needed to prepare. He needed allies. But more than anything, he needed to understand the full capabilities of the Blood Star.

If Bella, Julian, and that man were coming for him, then he had to make sure they regretted ever starting this chase.

Back at the small courtyard house, Storm was perched on the roof, tail flicking lazily in the breeze. The cub had grown a little in the past few days, and its wings fluttered occasionally as if testing the air currents. Jayson was below, sharpening a practice sword, and Olivia sat cross-legged on the porch, trying to coax the beast into performing a "trick."

Adrian returned just before the sun reached its peak. He didn’t show it, but his mind was already racing with plans.

"Brother!" Olivia leapt up the moment she saw him, but paused mid-run. "You look serious. Did something happen?"