บท 68: Things of the past and the present (Part II)

"Then, let's talk somewhere else," Eric Wu suggested. However, without waiting for anyone to reply, he began to move. Bella Lim took a deep breath before she started to follow him. Lu Fei was the last to move, attempting to help Bella Lim although he was already occupied with the stuff in his hands. Alas, he could only watch her from behind after being rejected by her stubbornness.

Bella Lim thought that their destination was either the study room or the writing studio on the first floor. Instead, Eric Wu stopped right in front of a wall of abstract geometric sculptural reliefs. A section that always made her wonder, because, among the familiar geometrical shapes, an odd hand sculpture blended in. It wasn't until Eric Wu place his fingers on the odd sculpture did she understood its existence.

'A hidden room?' she thought while watching the wall moved slowly until it stopped to an opening that could fit a person up to 6 feet tall. The room was in the shape of an octagon with no windows and minimal furniture. A writing board and a bulletin board occupied each corner. Somehow, it looked like a secret base to hide confidential information. In the middle of the room was a table and cushions that surrounded it. These were the only furniture available.

Without anyone telling her what to do, Bella Lim walked from a corner to another, spending an amount of time to read the information available. Eric Wu exchanged looks with Lu Fei and the two men decided to wait as they sat on the cushions.

Lu Fei glanced at his surroundings and frowned. This was the second time he had entered the room and somehow it looked crowded compared to the first time he got access to the room.

"Amazing... Eric, how much do you know about the Yang clan?" he asked while switching on his laptop. He took a glance at Eric Wu who was watching Bella Lim went from one corner to another.

"Enough to help her understand the conflict we have with the Yang clan," Eric Wu answered. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Lu Fei nodded his head.

"Good idea. I was thinking of how to explain everything to her. I had forgotten that you have this room. Say... are you making a move this time around? All these while, you've only asked your people to watch their moves. It makes me wonder if you're serious at all," Lu Fei finally revealed his inner thought. The doubt he had towards him.

Eric Wu chuckled as his fingers tapped on the table. "Lu Fei, have you heard of the Sapphire Growlers?" he asked.

Lu Fei who was contemplating whether he had spoken the wrong topic was surprised. "Not much. I only know that it was a notorious underground gang which disbanded many years ago," he explained, looking interestedly at Eric Wu. He wondered why he suddenly talked about the Sapphire Growlers. Was this gang also involved?

"I haven't told you guys about the person who exposed Yang Wan's ambition. Since it has come to this, it's better to reveal everything. The leader of that gang was the one who told me everything. I found it hard to believe in the beginning, but he told me that if we don't find the prince before Yang Wang, we're doom," he said, taking a breath before continuing.

"He also explained the frightening truth if Yang Wan becomes the real Master of the Yang clan. Guess what it is?" a sneer followed after the last question. Lu Fei fixed his eyes on Eric Wu, he knew something serious was about to follow. However, he remembered to shake his head for he had no specific things in mind.

"Weapons. Deadly weapons... the drug the twin talked about is one of them. It is indeed effective to cause amnesia, however, if it is taken without following the right prescription, he or she would eventually lose the ability to think,"

"What!" Lu Fei punched the table beside him as he looked at Eric Wu in shocked. His breathing uneven as he tried to suppress the sudden anger in his heart. If it was indeed something like what he just said, the three countries were practically doomed. If such a dangerous drug was mass-produced and released to the public, holy... what would happen?

"Worry not. The drug the twin told you was the initial product. The one I referred to is its advanced version which had long been burnt,"

Lu Fei was unconvinced. "How certain are you?" he asked as he clenched his teeth, still angered at the unprecedented news.

"I've seen the real one. The one in your hand was the initial version of it. The leader knew someone from the Yang clan was trying to steal it so he only revealed this version," Eric Wu explained. Lu Fei nodded, relieved to hear his confirmation.

"But, why do they want a slot at my N project?" Lu Fei was baffled which soon turn to frustration since he couldn't think of anything.

"Because your knowledge of the human brain is what they needed. The memory consolidation they talked about wasn't enough to make someone a puppet," Eric Wu shrugged his shoulder.

'At least, Bella Lim wasn't...' shudder! That was what happened to Eric Wu's body when the thought appeared in his mind. The last word made him feel fear. An emotion that never once bothered him. Yet, that single thought was capable to evoke such emotion in him, enough to stimulate cold sweats to form on his forehead and his body to shiver.

"Btw Eric, where is the leader now? He seemed a good person to ally with," Lu Fei half asking, half suggesting.

Eric Wu shook his head for he had no clue where the man was. Deep down, although he was thankful for his help, he actually wished not to meet him again. The mask that hid his face, plus the way he spoke so highly of himself annoyed him. That was the first time he felt his ego being toyed with and it was exasperating.

"I'm sorry... but, it sounded like the leader is even more dangerous than Yang Wang,"

A delicate voice interrupted the conversation between the two men. Eric Wu and Lu Fei noticed that Bella Lim was already sitting on one of the cushions across them. She looked calm as if what she just read didn't mean anything to her.

"What?" she asked them.

"Do you need either one of us to explain?" Eric Wu asked as he pointed at one of the writing board. Lu Fei stared at Eric Wu before nodding repeatedly. He was actually disappointed to see her calm face. From the beginning, he was ready to unleash his brotherly love to comfort her in case she was affected by the truth. Now, it was useless...

"No, I understood most of it. So, the Yang clan...no, Yang Wan has the ambition to unite the four countries into one land as described in history, right?" she asked with an eyebrow arched. She remembered learning the history in the past while lazying around on the internet. It was an interesting read. However, she wasn't a patriotic person. Things about the past weren't something she needed to worry about because she and little pumpkin's life was the only thing that mattered.

Bella Lim noticed that Eric Wu was just staring at her without giving an affirmation. It was Lu Fei who nodded, confirming her facts.

"However, right now, he is yet the real master of the Yang clan as the last descendant of one of the elders in the main clan is nowhere to be found?" she asked another question, however, it felt like something wasn't right. She clasped her fingers, trying to think what was missing.

"It is still unknown to the public but the Yang clan is now divided into two again. Black and white like what had happened before---"

"Ahh...I see," Bella Lim looked gratefully at Eric Wu. That was it - the thing that she couldn't comprehend earlier. Yang Wan was indeed the 13th Master but he had not much support from the clan itself. She recalled reading that he needed the last elder's approval before he had the full right to use the Master seal.

Thinking up to this point, Bella Lim felt her blood rushed to her head.

"Little pumpkin... you guys suspected that he is the last descendant of the fourth elder?" she voiced out. Her tone was calm yet the anger in her eyes was bright enough to tell the two men that she was furious.

"Yes, the criminals that tried to kidnap little pumpkin were Yang Wan's people," Eric Wu explained although that information was already written in one of the writing boards in the room. Deep down, he wished that he could have fixed the problem, but upfront, there was nothing wrong with Yang Wan. All his underhanded tricks were carried out by his loyalist who was more than willing to die for the sake of keeping him clean.

Bella Lim looked sharply at Eric Wu. Yes, those people, how could she have forgotten about them.

"Where are they? Let me see them," she said, demanding. Lu Fei was also looking at Eric Wu, waiting for his response. His busy schedule was the reason why he couldn't get an update regarding the kidnapping attempt from him. But, since Eric Wu was the one who handled it, he wasn't worried. This man must've had enough fun playing with those people.

Eric Wu's face twitched. He wished he could reverse time so that he could accomplish his promise to let her meets with the criminals. Who would have known that the night after the torture, those men were seen exploding one by one? After investigating, he found out that a mini time-bomb was installed inside their body.

"Eric?" Bella Lim called after receiving no reply from him.

"The one who revealed that little Ryan was important to Yang Wan was one of those criminals. That's the reason why I suspected him as the prince. Because no one is more important to that man except the prince," Eric Wu finally spoke. Once again his fingers danced on the table, creating rhythmical tapping sounds.

"Who would've known that the day after the investigation, their bodies suddenly exploded," he laughed. A short and humorless one. After a while, he looked at Bella Lim and apologized, "I'm sorry for breaking my promise," he said. He peered on her face to see the disappointment of learning the things regarding the criminals. However, all he saw was her scrunched eyebrows.

Indeed, Bella Lim was a bit disappointed to learn the things that befell the people she wished to meet. But, she was also surprised to hear Eric Wu's apologies. It was true that she had requested to meet the criminals and he promised to fulfill it, but that was no longer important after the body explosions. No one was expecting that to happen, so, he wasn't in the wrong. In fact, he had done a good job of obtaining their motive to kidnap little pumpkin.

"It isn't your fault. At least, we know why they wanted to kidnap little pumpkin," she tried to smile to ease his burdened mind while also trying to accept the fact, that little pumpkin as the prince was a high probability if not, the truth.

Was it her karma... No! If she wasn't reborn, the thing that happened to little pumpkin could be worst. Maybe, he would be in the hand of...

Bella Lim flinched. She would do anything to avoid the thing from happening.

Wait... so who was she really? How was she related to little pumpkin? What was her significance?

"So, who am I? Why can't I remember anything of the past?"

Eric Wu and Lu Fei looked at each other. Finally, they heard the most important question. Tonight was going to be a long night for the three of them...