The Mage of Primordial Chaos

"...How do you know we have a map?" I asked with a smug grin on my face.

The smile on his face faltered for a second, and he froze in place, but soon put up his kind mask once more.

"Whatever could you mean?" the man asked with a smile so wide his eyes turned to slits. "You had said that you had something that may serve, so the first assumption that came to mind was a map."

I smirked. He was going to continue this act, I suppose. The girls seemed to have caught on to this as well.

"Not necessarily," I replied. "I could've meant some sort of tracking device, for example."

"Besides, we never said whether we were looking for a place or an object. Why did you automatically assume it was a location we were searching for?" Yu An Xue added.

The man's smile quickly diminished as his expression now resembled a scowl. "I see...you had set up that trap on purpose."

I said nothing, and merely smiled just as widely as he had a few moments ago in response.

"You're more clever than I thought, boy," the man continued. "But that won't help you against me."

I narrowed my eyes. He was an enemy, alright. But I didn't know who. "Who are you?"

The man smiled once more, this time in a devilish fashion. "Heheh...you may call me Ghosteye. Think of this as a token of my sincerity. Not just anyone can call me that, you know...not even the head elder of the Yu family..."

Yu An Xue widened her eyes at the mention of her uncle. "You have some sort of connection with my unc-" she paused, correcting herself. "-the former head elder?!"

"Yu An Xue. We're in public," I muttered, giving her a glare. I didn't know who could be listening, and this was confidential information we were discussing.

She received my message and backed down, apologetic.

I understood her impatiency though. This was regarding her own family, after all.

"You mentioned something about sincerity. What do you mean by that, Ghosteye?" I asked, keeping my tone low.

The man glanced around at our surroundings, and expertly avoided the question. "Let's move somewhere more...private, shall we?"

The three girls seemed nervous at this invitation, but I accepted. "Deal. But not today. It's nearing curfew for us."

"Hm...how about tomorrow at 6 PM, then? At the restaurant over there," he said, pointing at the second floor of the Coastal Metropolis Central Mall. There was a food court there, with countless different restaurants, from cheap to luxurious.

"Which one in particular?" Qing Yue asked. "There're dozens of them up there in the food court."

The man turned around, and as he began to walk away, he gave his answer.

"The Midnight Lily. See you there."

*****

"The Midnight Lily, huh?" I muttered quietly to myself as the four of us walked back to school together. Lots of other boys stared at me in jealousy on the way back (since I'm walking together with the 3 top beauties of Shenzhen), but I ignored their envious gazes. Not important.

"About that man..." Yu An Xue began, looking towards me. "He said something about my uncle. You don't think...?"

I nodded, immediately understanding her concern. "That man...is almost certainly the same one that invaded the Yu family and took away your sister all those years ago. He certainly has the strength to do it, based on his aura. It was in no way inferior to our principal, Song Qian Long's."

Yu An Xue averted her gaze and stared forward, at nothing in particular. She clenched her fists tightly, a deep look of hatred in her eyes.

"He's on the same level as the Dragon of Shenzhen?" Qing Yue asked, surprised. The Dragon of Shenzhen was a nickname for Song Qian Long, and his unsurpassed dominance in Shenzhen. The 'Long' in his name meant Dragon, so it made sense.

"He was able to appear behind me in an instant, not even giving me a chance to react, much less notice his presence. My senses have always been sharp, yet they didn't stand a chance against his cloaking ability," I explained. "His strength is clear."

"If that's the case...then why did you accept his invitation?" Feng Mian asked, scratching her head slightly. "It's almost certainly a trap."

"There's a saying called 'turning your opponent's trick against them'," I replied calmly. "We'll beat him at his own game."

*****

- The Next Day, After School -

The four of us met outside the front gates once more, and headed off to the Coastal Metropolis. Our destination this time was a restaurant by the name of The Midnight Lily, located in the 2nd floor of the central mall.

We soon arrived at the familiar entrance of the Central Mall, and quickly headed upstairs without any hesitation. I glanced at Qing Yue's phone. 5:58 PM. We should be able to make it.

The four of us entered the food court and Qing Yue led us to the restaurant by the name of The Midnight Lily. She was familiar with the Coastal Metropolis, having been here many times before (or so she claimed).

The Midnight Lily looked more or less like a normal restaurant. I say 'more or less', because it had a dark and creepy theme that didn't exactly welcome customers. At the same time, however, a delicious and inviting aroma could be smelled from where I was standing, 10 meters away from the front of the joint. It was contradictory, yes, yet somehow drew people in with that very same paradox.

Then, suddenly, a figure appeared behind me, and the chill that went up my back was familiar, though I didn't want it to be. I breathed in and out twice to calm down, and spun around to face the man.

"Oho...you managed to notice me this time, without me saying anything," the man said.

"I would be dead by now, had you really wanted to kill me," I said in return, giving a glare full of killing intent.

"Ahahaha!" he laughed loudly. "Well then...let's get a move on, shall we? Follow me." the man neither confirmed nor denied my statement, and merely beckoned us to follow him into a narrow corridor to the right of the restaurant. From what I could see, the path took a left, circling around to the back.

This was a dangerous decision. No one knew where he would take us. And with his strength, he could easily defeat all four of us even if we came at him together, not to mention he surely has backup.

Besides, it wasn't just me operating alone. The lives of those three girls behind me rested on my shoulders right now. I had to consider this carefully. If I decided to back out now, we may never find the culprit to Yu An Yan's disappearance years ago, and the solution to her current state with a shattered mind, filled with pieces of memories unable to put together. On the other hand, we would be safe from danger. For the time being, at least.

But with great risk comes great reward. I took a deep breath, and gave my answer.

"Lead the way, Ghosteye."