Ch 218 - The White Beauty and Grandma

Alex was scared and hurt by her attack. He said, "Get off me! This is what that grandma taught me when I was in New York."

"A grandma? What does she look like?" asked the beauty in white.

He wondered whether the beautiful woman in white and grandma knew each other. He said, "She looks a bit like you, but she wears red. She could do some of the things you do or things like the tricks you do. I don't really get it, to be honest."

The woman was surprised, and then happily said, "I know her! She seemed both young and old, didn't she? She looked old one day, and then the next time she looked like a teenager, right?"

He said, "How did you know that?"

Her face brightened as she whispered, "It's her! Where is she now? You must take me to her."

He was puzzled and asked, "The person you want to kill is not that old grandma, right?"

She sneered, "Of course it's her. You will take me to her, and, after that, I'll reward you! Where is she?"

He was startled. He remembered that day in the villa when he had seen the old lady, and she had said something about an enemy named Zora Cook. Grandma appeared to be very afraid. Was it the beautiful woman in white in front of him? He asked, "Are you her enemy?"

The woman said with a smile, "It seems that Georgina Fox told you about me. How much has she recovered now? You must tell me where she is."

Alex shook his head and said, "Even though I know where she is, I can't tell you."

"What! Why can't you tell me?" Zora asked, "Do you want to die?"

Her eyes went cold, and she raised her hand. Her white robe rushed toward Alex like it was a living creature and wrapped around his upper body.

Zora said coldly, "There are tens of thousands of steel wires as thin as a hair woven into my white silk robe. If I tighten it, it will act much faster than a knife, and your two arms will be cut off. Are you afraid of me?"

He tried to wiggle free of the robe, but his upper body was tied tightly. He looked at her and asked, "What's going on between you and grandma? Please just tell me about it. Why do you have to kill people?"

She said coldly, "I have a deep hatred of her. What can I say? I just hope to cut off her flesh bit by bit, so that she can die slowly! Did you talk about me with her?"

She pulled the silk, and the white silk robe that was wrapped around his body began to shrink. He couldn't help but let out a cry as it felt like his skin was being stabbed by sharp blades into his arm.

She said with a smile, "Can you feel it? If you don't tell me, I'll cut your limbs off. I'm asking you again. Where is Grandma Georgina now?"

Looking at the woman, he said faintly, "Sorry, I can't tell you."

Her face appeared angry as she said coldly, "Well, I'll cut your two arms off first." She began to pull on the robe.

He was forced up into the air, and then fell onto the ground. He thought his arm had been broken from the fall. But, to his surprise, his arm wasn't broken, and it was still attached to his body. There were only a few small blood stains that must have been from the steel wire in the white silk robe. If she had really wanted to go through with it, his two arms would have been cut off.

He looked at her in surprise. "You didn't cut my arms off!"

She glanced at him and said, "Boy, you have some courage. Today, I'll be merciful." Her eyes moved to the bracelet poking out from a pocket on his pants. She asked, "What's that in your pocket?"

When he looked down and saw the bracelet, he was surprised that she had managed to spot it. The bracelet was part of a set. He had bought it at a night market, where the seller claimed it would connect two lovers even if they were far apart. But the old grandma had shown him other ways the bracelet could be used to communicate. Now she used it to bother him and try to get him to bring her the live chickens she demanded every day.

After he had left for Washington D.C., she had continued to nag him using the bracelet, and he had finally taken it off to get a bit of peace. He had been carrying it in his pocket ever since.

Her hand quickly stretched out and snatched the bracelet from his pocket.

She pinched the bracelet in her hand, felt it for a moment, and then said with a smile, "It is indeed the grandma who has formed a connection with you!"

She put the bracelet on her wrist and shook it gently. The bracelet reacted, and the white beauty's finger moved. It was obvious that Grandma Georgina had felt the wearer of the other bracelet.

She said with a smile, "It seems that Grandma Georgina thinks you're very important?"

He said, "I'm just helping her by delivering live chickens. I don't know how she's been doing in New York since I came to Washington, D.C."

She chuckled and said, "That's great. With grandma's narrow-minded nature, she's obviously upset that you left when she's in the most critical stage of her healing. She's very angry, so it seems that she will come to Washington, D.C. to find you. That's perfect, as I won't have to go all the way there to find her. Thank you."

He glared at her and said, "You shouldn't be too happy too soon. I've seen grandma's martial arts, and it's really good. You'd better stay away from her."

She nodded and said, "She's more than forty years older than me, and her martial arts are better than mine, as they should be. To make sure that she can be killed, you should help me."

"What! Why me?" he exclaimed.

She said, "It must be you. I'll teach you how to do it, so you can watch for the opportunity to attack her and give her a fatal blow when we fight."

He shook his head and said, "Grandma and I have no resentments or hatred for each other. She's been very kind to me. I can't do that to her!"

Her eyes flashed with a trace of ferocity as she coughed. She had covered her mouth with her hand, and, when she pulled her hand away, there was a bloody stain on her palm.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked in shock. She looked fine, so how could she be coughing blood?

She wiped the bloodstain from the corner of her mouth and said weakly, "I got to a critical point in my martial arts practice. When you used Georgina's technique to shoot the blade, I thought it was Grandma Georgina who had come to get me at last. I had a very... physical reaction to even the idea of her presence. She injures me just by existing."

"Ah, I'm sorry," he replied.

She said slowly, "You didn't intend to do this, so I don't blame you. I'm just weaker than she is with martial arts. I'm afraid I'll be killed by her."

"Then don't meet with her," he said.

"No, I'll take my revenge out on her even if I die!" she said so passionately that he didn't dare argue with her. "What do you think, young man? I'll teach you, so when we fight, you'll be able to help me. If I can't beat her, you can help me save my life. Will you promise me that you'll do this for me?"

"This—" he hesitated.

"You just walked in on me and saw me naked without my permission. I could make things very difficult for you if I wanted," she said coyly.

He sighed. "Well, I guess I have to help you."

He thought that he had already learned the special skills. When Zora and Georgina met to fight each other, he thought he could try to mediate and resolve the conflict between these two ancient beauties.

She said with a smile, "Since you have promised me, let's start practicing now. I'll teach you. You will learn the forms carefully, and, tomorrow morning, I'll teach you the recitation."

She proceeded to demonstrate in the middle of the room. She was dressed in white with bare feet. Her figure was graceful as she practiced kicks and turns. She had just bathed, so there were bursts of fragrance as she moved. Her face appeared sad sometimes, but she also smiled with an evil look.

She finished after a few minutes.

When she thought about the past, the time that the three disciples had practiced martial arts together at the foot of the mountain, she couldn't help but have mixed feelings. She turned and wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, so Alex couldn't see her. She turned back and said, "What I just practiced were the thirty-six basic skills. Now you show them to me."

"I… I only remember a few of the moves," he said, feeling embarrassed.

"If you don't remember them all, then I'll teach you again," she said.

He had no choice but to perform the moves that he could remember. He finished most of the first ten moves correctly, but, when he got to the end, he had forgotten the rest and just stood there looking at the woman in embarrassment.

She sighed a little and then walked over to him to guide his movements. He was pulled by her delicate hands, and her soft voice whispered into his ears. Sometimes her soft hair brushed his cheek, distracting him from what he was doing.

She had been teaching him for more than one hour, and it was late. He decided it was time to sleep, so he turned to go back to his room.

"No, just sleep in my room. So you'll be safe from Grandma Georgina," she said.

He was surprised, but he stayed in her room. She had asked him to sleep with her on the bed, but he insisted that he didn't need to do this. Finally, he asked the hotel for an extra quilt and spread it on the ground. He was exhausted and slept soundly on the quilt.

**

While Zora taught Alex these techniques, Fergus went to the hospital. He had just been pushed from the emergency room to the intensive care unit when he saw David waiting for him.

"What's going on?" David had been puzzled by the news of Fergus's failure. They had said that two fingers and his foot had been cut off. He thought that sounded too dramatic to be believed. Yet Fergus did indeed look injured.

Fergus said, "David, I'm sorry. I didn't finish the task you gave me."

"What happened to you?" David asked. When Fergus thought of the warning that the beautiful woman in white had given him before she had left, he trembled. He couldn't tell David that it had been the beauty in white. He could only put the blame on the little loser.

He said, "It was that little loser named Alex."

"He cut off your fingers and foot?" David asked.

Fergus nodded and said, "Yes, it was him. David, he's a cruel character!"

David slowly looked out of the window, and his eyes flickered with anger. His hands tightened as he said, "You loser. You keep destroying good things for me. This is going to cost you!"