The Inconceivable Flame: A Fallen Angel's Disguise

"What did you just say?" Xiao Zhi-Ren’s voice was dramatically loud as he demanded an answer from the amass of ten bodyguards reporting to him. "You’re actually telling me that someone dared to slap my younger brother and he didn’t even react?" His voice was abrasive with a tinge of disbelief.

"Yes, Mr. Xiao!" The senior most bodyguard spoke with the utmost respect and related the whole events of the day to him.

Xiao Zhi-Ren waved his hand making them leave him alone with his complicated thoughts. Since when did his younger brother let other people touch him and what more this person actually slapped him? Saying that he was shocked would be an understatement at the moment.

He knew better than anyone that his brother was as stubborn as a mule.

In his daze, he didn’t realize when Qin Qu had walked inside his office and was now seated right before his huge mahogany desk. Qin Qu had to knock on the tabletop to break Xiao Zhi-Ren out of his reverie.

"Where are you lost?" Qin Qu asked keeping his voice calm while knitting his brows together.

"Huh?" Xiao Zhi-Ren jolted a bit and looked at his best friend’s prying eyes. "Oh, nothing much. What about you? Do you have anything for me?"

Qin Qu gave a skeptical look but decided not to ask anything. "I have an invitation from a charity auction for you." Qin Qu informed him keeping his professional look.

"I’ll take a rain check on that. You can go on my behalf. I have to spend some quality time with my brother." His voice was surprisingly crisp.

Qin Qu rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to argue but he was interrupted by Xiao Zhi-Ren. "Don’t try to make this a bone of contention[1] between us. I really need to give some time to Xiao Zhi-Yuan."

Qin Qu heaved a long sigh before taking his leave. Xiao Zhi-Ren didn’t stay for a long time at the office. He arrived home earlier than usual and made his way to the apartment.

When Xiao Zhi-Ren opened the door and walked in, he saw Xiao Zhi-Yuan sitting on the swing chair in the balcony with his legs tucked under him. He was cradling the laptop in his lap. He was so immersed in whatever he was reading on the laptop that he didn’t notice his elder brother’s presence until Xiao Zhi-Ren tapped on his shoulder.

"Hey, big bear! How are you back so early?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan asked in a surprised way.

"I thought it’s been a while since you and I have spent time together. So, let’s spend this evening together. We’ll do whatever you want to do?" Xiao Zhi-Ren told his younger brother with a gentle smile and tender eyes.

Xiao Zhi-Yuan eyed his brother suspiciously for a while before agreeing, "Okay! Let’s go out for a game of basketball?" He looked up expectantly at his brother’s eyes imploring him to say yes.

Xiao Zhi-Ren smiled lopsidedly and said, "That sounds good. Go and get ready!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan immediately got up and ran to his room in excitement. Back in America, both brothers had a tradition to play basketball on weekends but because of moving to China, Xiao Zhi-Ren was as busy as a bee and couldn’t spend time with his brother.

Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a long sigh as he determined, "I have to give my time to Yuan. No matter what, he’s my priority!"

The wind was getting chilly as the darkness cascaded over the sky. Under the starry night, two tall figures were seen playing on a basketball court. The fluorescent lights illuminated the concrete court surrounded by metal chain link fences.

Sweat was dripping down his face as Xiao Zhi-Yuan kept dribbling the ball while Xiao Zhi-Ren kept trying to steal it from him. Xiao Zhi-Yuan spun his body escaping from Xiao Zhi-Ren and jumped up to throw the ball.

The ball went straight through the hoop making Xiao Zhi-Yuan look triumphantly at his brother saying, "I won!"

Xiao Zhi-Ren was panting with his hands on his waist. He grinned looking at Xiao Zhi-Yuan’s contemptuous expression.

He walked up to a bench on the side of the court and pulled out a water bottle before gulping it down. His fair skin was blemish-free but at the moment, it was covered with beads of sweat. He took a towel to pat his face dry and threw another water bottle towards Xiao Zhi-Yuan who caught it with ease.

"Big Bear, you’re losing your spark." Xiao Zhi-Yuan took advantage of his victory and teased his brother but Xiao Zhi-Ren didn’t react much. He only smiled at his brother.

’Not losing my spark. Just don’t want you ever lose.’ Xiao Zhi-Ren kept his inner thoughts to himself. After losing his mother at the age of 18, Xiao Zhi-Ren realized that he could face all the storms in the world. But oddly, he didn’t have the heart to see his only brother upset.

Xiao Zhi-Yuan sat beside his brother when he heard the question, "So, how’s school?" Xiao Zhi-Yuan stiffened a bit. He didn’t like this question. Not at all!

"It’s fine." He replied in a dull tone.

"If there is something bothering you. Just tell me," Xiao Zhi-Ren tried to pry him again but to no avail.

"I’m fine, big bear. I’ll tell you if something is wrong." Xiao Zhi-Ren nodded his head at his words deciding to believe him for the time being.

"Oh, big bear! I looked into that Lord Alev Knight." Xiao Zhi-Yuan diverted the course of conversation but it stunned Xiao Zhi-Ren. He wasn’t expecting his younger brother to actually take interest in these business-related problems.

Xiao Zhi-Ren cleared his throat trying to compose himself. "So, what did you find?"

"Well, to be honest, there is nothing much reported about him," Xiao Zhi-Ren heaved a sigh of relief but it got stuck at Xiao Zhi-Yuan’s next words. "But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to report."

Xiao Zhi-Yuan smiled deviously to himself. "I think he’s more interesting than scary. What do you think?"

Xiao Zhi-Ren studied his brother’s expression for a while before speaking, "Yes! Lord Alev Knight is surely interesting with his weird obsession for power."

"Mhmm..." Xiao Zhi-Yuan nodded his head in agreement. "But you know his secret organization is considered one of the most formidable one." He rummaged out his tab from the backpack with an elevated look and went on, "Look! According to rumors, there is a hierarchy of power within the organization and the Black Mist squad is considered at the top. They are a group of top-notch martial artists."

Xiao Zhi-Ren listened attentively even though he was aware of everything Xiao Zhi-Yuan was saying. "But that’s wrong, big bear!" Xiao Zhi-Ren furrowed his brows at his younger brother looking perplexed. "The one at the top of the hierarchy is actually just one person, ’The White Shadow!’" As Xiao Zhi-Yuan’s words fell, Xiao Zhi-Ren was stunned at his place.

"What? What are you talking about, Yuan?" He asked with a set jaw.

"Oho! Big Bear, at the top of the hierarchy, is color ’White’ which represents spirit. The black comes at second which represents ’Soul’. Although I don’t know why he named it this way."

"Look!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan pulled out some photos of disfigured people saying, "The world thinks that the people who targeted them were different. But they missed a single detail."

"And what’s that?"

"All these targets had a slight scratch from a needle on their necks and after that, they are left in this miserable state. There are no traces of poison in the body at all." Xiao Zhi-Ren saw the photos of a couple of targets. One was a photo of a woman who was quite beautiful once but now, only her bones and breath was left as she laid in hospital waiting for death. "Big bear, this woman used to be involved in human trafficking and now, look at her." Xiao Zhi-Yuan clicked his tongue in mock sympathy.

He swiped to the next photo where a man was laying on the hospital bed with several nails and metal thingies holding him in place. Xiao Zhi-Yuan looked at him with disdain and said, "And this one, he’s the monster who actually experimented his drugs on young girls. Good thing that now, he can only breathe. He can’t even lift a finger for the rest of his life."

Xiao Zhi-Ren looked dubiously at his younger brother. "How are you sure that this is done by ’The White Shadow’ and how is he related to Lord Alev Knight?"

"Intuition!" Xiao Zhi-Yuan replied matter-of-factly.

"Yuan, stop paying attention to such things. It’s not your age to even dig this deep about something."

"But I was just interested in Lord Alev Knight. That’s why I did all this research." Xiao Zhi-Yuan defended himself.

"Yuan, no arguing! Focus on studying. Promise me that you won’t try to dig any more deeper," Xiao Zhi-Ren sternly looked at his brother. Xiao Zhi-Yuan made a face but he knew that he had no way out of this. So he gave in.

"I promise that I won’t!"

"Good boy! Let’s go home!" Xiao Zhi-Ren seemed happy from the outside but his mind was not calm at all. ’Was this ’The White Shadow’ and the one from hacking competition different from each other? What if they are the same? Then what’s the connection between Lord Alev Knight and him?’ Xiao Zhi-Ren felt like his mind was going to explode at this rate. He shook his mind and focused on whatever Xiao Zhi-Yuan was telling him.

[1] "Bone of Contention": A topic which remains a dispute for discussion.