Chapter 77: Brotherly Love and Fraternal Respect

It was said that his illegitimate brother had come back to life, and Hitomi Yaita rushed over at once.

“Master, do we really need to hurry there like this?” The young attendant following Hitomi Yaita grumbled.

“What do you know! Zhao Zeyi alone is nothing to fear. The real danger lies with those old men—if they truly intend to support a puppet, that will be a disaster! We must not give them that chance,” Hitomi Yaita replied firmly.

Naturally, upon arriving at the Golden Rooster Ridge base, Hitomi Yaita displayed not a hint of hostility. Though most people understood his true purpose for coming, he masked it well, maintaining the same gentle demeanor and refined manners.

When young master Zhao Zeyi came upon him, Hitomi Yaita was chatting with the person in charge at Golden Rooster Ridge—the Lord of Future City—paying no attention to Zhao Zeyi’s entrance.

“Master, he’s here!” the attendant whispered to Hitomi Yaita.

Hitomi Yaita seemed to snap back to himself, speaking with a hint of apology, “Brother, Father sent me here to communicate, and to bring you home with me! I’m truly sorry—I should have come sooner! You’ve suffered here alone. Lord Jin hasn’t mistreated you, has he?”

Lord Jin joked, “Nonsense, sir! Even if you lent me ten guts, I wouldn’t dare touch a hair on the young master’s head.”

“Then I’m relieved!” Hitomi Yaita said, moving to Zhao Zeyi’s side. Bending close to his ear, he whispered, “It’s a pleasure to see you—Miss Zhao Zeyi!”

He deliberately emphasized the word ‘Miss.’

Zhao Zeyi’s face shifted subtly, but he calmly replied, “I’m equally glad to see you, my dear brother!”

“Is that so? Seems you’ve missed me these two years—perhaps you’d like another taste of my knife. Tsk tsk, there’s nothing left down there now, so it’d be quite a challenge!” Hitomi Yaita said with mocking irony.

“One day, what you owe me—I’ll pay back twice over!” Zhao Zeyi replied through gritted teeth.

“Awaiting…” Hitomi Yaita’s words were interrupted by Lord Jin behind them, who called out loudly, “You two brothers, save your private chat for later! Don’t make this old man just stand here and watch!”

“My apologies, Lord Jin!” Hitomi Yaita turned to call out, then leaned to Zhao Zeyi’s ear again, whispering, “Do you wish to savor again the pleasures of being groom night after night?”

“There’s no ruined field, only exhausted oxen! Honestly, I think I’m great as I am now. But you—mind your own health!” Zhao Zeyi retorted sharply.

They both took their prearranged seats, smiling politely at Lord Jin, but saying nothing.

Lord Jin knew well the feud between the brothers, given his position. Yet, he pretended ignorance, and to be safe, feigned not only ignorance, but even spoke in the opposite direction.

“You brothers truly have deep affection! Makes this old fool envy you!” Lord Jin laughed heartily, as if unaware of any enmity between Hitomi Yaita and Zhao Zeyi.

This old fox was indeed cunning, thought Hitomi Yaita. Since no one exposed the truth, he had to give a convincing performance of brotherly harmony.

What followed was a series of insincere inquiries about each other’s well-being, feigned curses on whoever harmed his brother, and mock laments for their mutual misfortunes.

This masked encounter finally ended amid laughter and apparent merriment.

Yet beneath the calm surface, the storm was already brewing.

After returning to his quarters, Zhao Zeyi had nowhere to vent his rage, smashing his table in fury. The man who had once ruined him still lived freely and elegantly, while he himself was left alone, with nothing, living under another’s roof. Worse still, he had no way to strike back. Fate was cruel. No, he must not bow to it.

Hitomi Yaita, on the other hand, appeared much calmer after leaving the reception room. In fact, he had always been unflappable, no matter how great the risk. But this time, he was more confident than ever.

Two years ago, even with his own troops and commanders, he suffered defeat after defeat; now, mere survival was all that Zhao Zeyi could claim—he was hardly a threat. If not for the old man’s intervention, he would have rooted him out long ago. Why wait any longer, giving him a chance to rise again?

Hitomi Yaita picked up the phone. At the other end was his teacher, also his strategist. Besides reporting his safe arrival at Golden Rooster Ridge, he described the situation there and sought his teacher’s advice.

The teacher’s opinion was: since Golden Rooster Ridge was under close official scrutiny, it was best not to linger. Better to observe from the sidelines, or even stir the waters further, making it easier to use others as tools and avoid future trouble.

Hitomi Yaita found this reasoning sound, deciding to return as soon as possible—setting his departure for the day after tomorrow. One more day would suffice.

Lord Jin was not as much of a good-natured old man as he appeared. Whether concerning past events or future plans, he could guess most of it. Still, he had no desire to interfere, so long as no one targeted Future City. He could turn a blind eye to anything, but on his own turf, even if uninvolved, he would always have people keeping watch.

News spread that VIPs had arrived in the city, and the Falcon Brothers were immediately intrigued. What was happening lately? How had this small Golden Rooster Ridge gathered so many powerful figures?

Their superiors demanded they quickly investigate the city’s situation—no easy task anywhere, but information brokers knew everything down to the finest detail—sometimes even more than the people involved. A little incentive, and they laid out the truth.

Sorting through the data, they were surprised to learn that the new arrival was Zhao Zeyi’s brother, named Hitomi Yaita. Though the name sounded Japanese, it didn’t change the fact that he wielded real power among the enemy.

More important, the brothers were at odds—bitter enemies. Who would have thought that the shadowy organization had its own version of the historic “Nine Sons Competing for the Throne” incident? That was something worth exploiting.

Sure enough, on the second day of Hitomi Yaita’s arrival at Golden Rooster Ridge, they received another secret letter. This time, it wasn’t an invitation to meet, but a direct revelation of a major secret about Golden Rooster Ridge.

The matter was urgent—they reported it at once to the National Security Bureau, which took it seriously, immediately dispatching troops to prepare for action.