Lion's Den

"Sir, you are surrounded." Phil sounded almost panicked. The number of hostile individuals is overwhelming.

"Come down, they want my power for themselves. They know I have no ambitions to be amongst the powerful factions I just want to be left alone, Iam not much of a threat to them. Bedsides, if something goes wrong I will enter the magic space." Kai consoles his companion.

"That makes sense." He is calm now.

"Kai Waters. Why Waters if I may ask?" Old man Huo asked Kai as soon as he entered the house followed by his bodyguards. The old man looked the strong looking men standing up straight with their faces covered by that terrifying mask.

"Not something I want to share." Kai sat in front of the old man directly without being granted permission. This is a sign of disregard for the host but Kai didn't ask to be here. In fact the faster they let him return the better.

"I heard what happened that day. What do you have to say for yourself?" The look on the man's face is very serious.

"I just wanted to go home. People kept standing in my way." Kai said neither humble nor arrogant. It is obvious he is not regretful of his actions that day.

"And my grandson?" The old man asked with clenched teeth.

"He shot at me. With a sniper. Was I supposed to smile and say thank you?" Kai asked with the same tone. Against people like the Huo family it is better to be forceful or you will end up naked and dead. Robbed of all your belongs and even your life.

"I see. This territory was bought fairly by my Huo family and you refusing to leave is a problem we need to fix." The old man said.

"Let's fix it then. How about I pay rent?"

"Hehe...we are beyond that. You have to become part of my Huo family. The word will get out and people will laugh at us for failing to manage our territory. You have to become one of us to cleanse this humiliation." At first Kai thought the old man is joking but looking at him, he is dead serious.

"Look old man I know I don't look it but I don't have much time for chatting. Please get to the point so I can go back to my work." Kai tried to say it with a kind tone but it still came out rude.

The old man looked at him him patience. He then gestured for someone to come forth, a beautiful girl of about 17 years came with a permanent frown on her face.

The old man gave her a stern look but she didn't budge. When her eyes fell on Kai, she is stunned by his good looks but then she regained a disdainful expression on her face. Her face is a rare beauty even with that ugly expression on.

"This is Huo Fang she is 18 next month. You will marry as soon as we consolidate our power. You will take our family name and have a son as soon as possible." The old man spoke as is he is ordering ordering one of his servants around.

"Hahaha. No. I am only 15 years, If I am going to marry an older woman she should at least be clean." He looked at her as she widened her eyes in what seems to be rage.

"Even if you want to give me herpes it shouldn't be so obvious. Get that treated by the way." He looked at her inflamed lower body with a scowl and shook his head in disgust.

"Secondly I will never change my surname even if the demon lord's daughter showed me open legs." The crude words made everyone in the room frown.

"Thirdly, how dare you? I would get engaged first and see if she or he is to my liking and maybe a year later finally marry that lucky person should I decide to marry. Hehe...next month. Old people crack me up."

The old man's kind and patient expression cracked. He slapped the table hard. "This is my own home! You will show some respect. Or I will have you gutted and fed to the zombies. You are just an orphan boy with a bit of power, I am showing you kindness be grateful and take what I give you or it will be a coffin you get instead." The old man shouted.

Kai only regarded him with amusement. He leaned closer looking at the old man as he comes down from his anger and realized he lost his composure.

"Be clear when you speak. Am I getting an intact corpse to be buried in a coffin or am I being gutted to be fed ro zombies?" He asked the old man as if he is genuinely confused.

"Why don't we do something else instead huh? Tell me why you are really bothering with me? It can't be because you stopped caring for your two thousand or so men I had my people gun down by the main gate right? No, you want something from me." Kai came closer to the old man when he tried to avoid eye contact.

"Why don't you tell me what is it that you have been festering silently for all these days? What are you really up to old man? I am an introvert, I may not be good with human interactions but even I can tell you want to archive something fishy with this bogus marriage." Kai pointed at the spot where the girl had been standing a moment ago.

"If you don't want to say then don't say. But you and me have nothing to speak about. Whoever bothers me next I will make good on your promise to have them gutted and fed to the zombies." Kai rolls his eyes and attempted to stand up.

"I tried to make your bracelet and I failed. I want you to show me hiw to make one."

"Why?" Kai asked bored. He had thought this man had figured out that his army is made of robots.

"I am a world class mechanic with colorful medals on computers and science. But this watch is a complete knew thing."

"Thats it? Did you promise them they can kill me when you get all the information out of me?" The old man said 'no' but then Phil finally spoke.

"He is lying sir."

"So I see. Since we can not be honest with each other, there is nothing to talk about. Let me leave you with a bit of young people's wisdom, old man Huo because I genuinely like you." He looked at the old man with a smile that is not a smile.

"Try not to antagonize me I just want to be left alone and in case you get an itch to pick a bone with me remember that I am an up and coming alchemist who is overly comfortable with torture." He smiled when the fake flat expression on the old man's face disappeared.

"There is no need for all that, that one was just my first offer, the next one should be to your liking and he is from the closest branch to the main family branch." He called his son and whispered something to his ear.

Mr Huo Guo left and came back with a boy slightly taller than Kai. He dyed his hair green and has a yellow nose piercing making him look like a colorful disco ball. He looks very gay and a shou to boot. Kai felt a headache coming.

"Is all this necessary? Can't you say I will be your distinguished guest or something?" Kai doesn't have time for dramma.

"He is really a Huo family member, we are not proud of his lifestyle but it can serve the family this time. To answer your question, no there is no other way that doesn't make us look weak." The old man said sounding tired.

"The most important thing is that you want something from me." Kai said looking at the boy who is also looking at him as if studying him.

"The bracelet yes. But I am more interested to find out how you can put living people inside your storage space." The old man said.

"You know we could have a peaceful relationship without these social nuisances if you can just stay out of my way. I am generally a very pleasant boy. I never antagonize people unprovoked." Kai tried to talk the old man down from a marriage train.

"I know that but to level with you, the alliances we have forged for this period are with very proud people. Any percieved sign of weakness from us will result in significant losses."

"To tell you the truth, I just need this done quickly. So if you're as busy as you say you are, then agree to my proposal and we will be on our marry way." The old man said while pouring himself a glass of juice.

Kai gave it some thought. "Then I have a solution, adopt someone and then engage them to me. That way you seem to be in a position of authority and I don't kill whoever it is in their sleep because they look like that old man. Deal?" Kai pointed at Huo Guo and asked the old man with a chuckle when both Huo Guo and Huo Jun had ungly expressions hearing what he said.

"Just, keep it clean. I am a doctor so I'll know and I would hate to take my anger out on anyone. Hey Jun Jun, how is that shoulder? Think it will hold a sniper any time soon?" Kai smiled at his crush. Still so handsome.

Huo Jun couldn't hold his curiosity and gritted out a question. "I thought we were friends?"

Kai walked towards him "We were, until you took a shot at my head. Then the gloves came off. I only have one life handsome. I can't give it away even for a face as exquisite as yours. Besides, it was a stab wound and a shattered kneecap. Be a man about it." Kai dodged an in coming punch to the face.

"So violent." He clicked his tongue.

"I'm violent? You ordered the death of two thousand eight hundred people, Kai....I'm violent? What a joke." Kai showed a sad expression to his words.

"I hope you don't let that one event define me Jun Jun, I am more than that. I have at least 4 different kinds of poison that can kill someone without making them bleed and 2 ways to destroy the body leaven no trace behind. Baby I am like an onion. So many ways to commit murder." Kai said sounding a little deranged making the scalps of the listeners numb.

"I can't adopt but if you tell people that you are part of the Huo family we will leave it at that." Huo Guo said from the side.

"I am not anyone's dog..." Anymore. But they didn't need to hear that last part.

"Then we are at an impasse." The old man sounded exasperated.

"Great." He went back to his seat seeing as ruffling Jun's feathers achieved its purpose. He was indirectly telling them he will poison them all if they fuck with him.

"What is wrong with this one?" Old man Huo asked. Pointing at the boy seated next to him.

"It's not about him. It's about what you want which is something you might have had a chance of getting in the past but now, no. I am not sharing anything with you." He said with finality.

"That is fine. I need to settle this little problem of you staying on our territory by force." Old man Huo finally came back to the main point.

"I offered to pay rent." Kai shrugged.

"We have no need for money. How about you make those flying swords you were going to make for me before and we can consider it even?" Huo Guo said.

"My apologies. That is too much work fir a group of people I do not like. I know what I can do for your family and still stay here withoutit being made into this big deal." Kai said with eyes lit up at the idea.

Intrigued, old man Huo asked. "What would that be?"

"I can build a hospital." Kai said.

"Where would we get the staff and the materials? And what do you want in return?" Huo Guo understood the need for a hospital during these times. If they could really have a fully equipped hospital during such a time their reputation will soar to the heavens.

"I want a building, I will go and rob a hospital for the other things. But I will charge a very high sprice for consultation. Of course I will not be the attending doctor but the place will belong to me and you will not interfere."

This is an undoubtedly the most advantageous proposal for them. They will only provide the land and a building. If the Huo family has a hospital, it will attract more talent. This is really good.

"This is very advantageous for your family. You will also have to pay for medical consultation in my hospital so don't even try to be greedy." Kai said.

"It is our building!" Jun said out of the blue.

"The important thing about this hospital is that I will be available once a week for helping those who can afford synthetic limbs. And before you insult me, yes I have done it before and yes, the transplanted limbs have feeling. Now, are we done with the useless marriage proposals or what?" Kai asked arrogantly.

"If you can do it, if you can really build a hospital and not need any help from us, if this hospital has all the necessary resources a normal hospital has and you have your own medical staff. You can stay as long as you want in the Huo territory." Old Man Huo sounded excited.

"Now would you marry me?" Kai looked at Huo Jun with a sudden love struck expression.

"Still a no." Huo Jun found himself not able to keep up with this youn man's ever changing attitude. One minute he is threatening him, at the drop of a hat he is flirting.

The young man on the table who hasn't said anything watched as Kai played around with the Huo family head members and finally brought them to an excited close with him getting what he want and able to profit on the property of the Huo family without paying rent.

...