Destiny or fate? (2)

As the discussion goes on, so did they progress to another place. They were into the conversation, roaming around with no specific place to settle in mind. Allowing their legs to do the work, they ended up in a small restaurant, nestled north of the memorial park.

Until now, the boy still had a lot to say, and Acre was all ears. Levinte had buried his passion inside for a long time, and now, he had found the perfect person to let everything out.

When Levinte paused to catch his breath, Acre smiled and looked around. When his eyes caught sight of a waiter, he raised a hand and instantly got a response.

"What would you like to order?" The waiter wiped his hands with a handkerchief, gaze shifting from Levinte to Acre with bright eyes and a wide smile.

Acre looked at Levinte and bobbed his head, "What do you want? It's my treat." He then ordered his selection of food and drinks. Smiling broadly, Levinte quickly told the waiter his choices.

Levinte smiled, leaning closer. "Thanks for the treat, mister."

Acre chuckled, waving his hand, "Don't mention it. You should continue."

Nodding, the boy took out a thick file from his bag, placing it on the table. It demonstrated its heaviness as the table shook when the file made contact with it. Acre raised his brow, silently staring at the boy who was currently searching through the pages.

After a while, Levinte found what he was looking for. He rotated the file to enable the other to read it. Acre leaned forward and his eyes began to scan the text. Oddly enough, his lips curved, as if unable to contain his laughter, but he quickly covered his mouth. The young one was too busy talking and did not notice his behavior.

Levinte: "As I was saying earlier, the event where Ewis Mado had nearly escaped death during the raid plotted by Lord Zuopi. You're hinting that there's a large misunderstanding concerning this matter?"

The occurrence happened before the fall of the border, where it is said that Lord Zuopi had arranged an invasion in Arnayisa city to capture a hostage and that was exactly Ewis Mado. How the story ends was a little confusing for those who paid attention to little details such as the time, the people and the place.

They say that Jeanius, one of Lord Zuopi's underlings, battled — or to be precise — chased Ewis Mado. Even though the lucky man was well-known for his exceptional talents, it was not that kind of exceptional fighting ability. Rather, his talents in speaking, writing, and memorizing were said to be extraordinary. He was a great speaker, an incredibly good writer with beautiful handwriting, and his method of memorising was used until this day.

Ewis Mado was chased by Jeanius when a mysterious figure struck the chaser from behind. The remarkable person was never to be recognized because he never showed himself. Jeanius, being defeated in one blow, felt ashamed of himself and fled the scene to report to his lord. Lord Zuopi was enraged and ordered to attack the Arnayisa Empire in full force.

For someone like Levinte himself found the event quite funny and weird at the same time. Jeanius was the 'First Lord Lóng'; the overseer of the Lóng who is second-in-command of the Empire of Qiang. How could such a strong man be overthrown that easily by an unknown man? Even the great General Kurl did not dare to look down on Jeanius.

Second, how could Ewis Mado keep up with Jeanius? Understanding Jeanius through his malicious actions, he would not have wasted time using such a tedious method to chase Ewis Mado. However, one could only say that everything was made possible because of Ewis Mado's good luck.

Although his inquiries sounded vapid and irrelevant to others, he was truly confused.

As if Acre knew the young one's mind by reading his expression, he smiled, "The story sounds silly, doesn't it? When you think about it carefully, why couldn't the general take Jeanius out, but the mysterious person could, just like that? And how could Ewis Mado's luck be related in any way?"

Levinte: "If you know the real story, tell me already! I'm dying to know."

Acre: "Would you believe me if I tell you? It's not like I have evidence to convince you."

'That's right, how could he have known the facts of something that happened centuries ago?' Levinte thought. According to his observation, the man before him looked like he was in his twenties and possesses commendable knowledge. Based on his inference, Acre had a big brain, who could formulate unthinkable hypotheses and theories, someone who graduated top of his class.

Noticing how wordless Levinte was, Acre rested his chin on his hand and smirked, "If I just tell you, would you be convinced by my story?"

Eyes narrowed, Levinte also rested his chin, as if challenging the other. "We'll see."

Just when Levinte prepared all his senses to focus on listening, the food arrived on time. Levinte did not budge, but Acre shifted from being serious to all smiles, pushing the file away and grabbing the eating utensils instead of continuing.

Levine's face twisted, slamming the table. "Hey!"

That startled Acre as he slightly jumped. He grinned, "Let's eat first. I'll tell you later."

The boy gasped, feeling betrayed. "Tell me while we're eating!"

Acre: "If I do, you won't eat your food. We'll chat later, okay?"

With a grimace, the boy clicked his tongue. Annoyed and impatient, his movements became aggressive, stabbing his food with chopsticks and began eating with an unsatisfied face.

After a while, Levinte could calm down thanks to the food. However, he was eager; consuming the food fast like a hungry beast.

Acre looked at the boy and sighed. He drank and wiped his mouth with a tissue before speaking, "Alright, I'll tell you. You should slow down, you might choke."

When he said that, Levinte coughed and quickly took a sip of water, beating his chest. The boy looked like a child in Acre's eyes. He chuckled and gave him a tissue.

Acre: "I'll be honest with you. The whole story was false, to begin with."

The statement made Levinte cough again. "What?!"

Acre asked in a serious manner, "Have you heard of Yano Rui?"

"Yano Rui..." Levinte lowered his eyes and furrowed his brow. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had encountered the name before but could not manage to imagine the text. "I feel like I've heard of him but I can't remember. What about it?"

Acre smiled, "Then I'll honest with you. Yano Rui schemed the raid and framed it all on Lord Zuopi."

Stunned, Levinte was speechless for a long moment. The more he listened, the more his face twisted and his jaw dropped. His innermost view of life was deeply shaken.

Considerating the young one, Acre gave him time to process everything.

Levinte pursed his lips into a moue. "Are you shitting me?"

For him, it was like saying the earth is flat. The bullshit could be smelled from the moon.

Beyond frustrated, the boy clutched his hair and stared down at the table, his brow knitted with great confusion. Finally, he said, "So you're telling me that it wasn't Lord Zuopi who caused the war, but him?"

Acre seemed to be pondering and scratched his cheek, "Not really, it was still Lord Zuopi who initiated the war. He only made it early."

Levinte was about to go crazy. He yelled, ignoring other customers. "And how do you know that?!"

His tone surprised the elder. Acre backed away to distance himself from the loud voice of the young one. It was quite understandable, so he did not scold him to quiet down and heaved an exhausted sigh. "As I said, you won't believe me. How about this, since you've decided to follow me, I'll take you all over the place to prove my words. In exchange, you'll show me around this new world."

Without thinking it through, Levinte fervently agreed.