Zephyr Lodge, on the outskirts of town, was now the base for Kirin Gang. Dustin had gone there to lay low after he left the Hill family residence.
The Hills were upset. So, there was no point in trying to explain himself to them. The best course of action was to uncover the truth to prove his innocence. Who was the one who murdered Paul? Why did the murderer set him up?
With those questions in mind, Dustin ordered everyone in Kirin Gang to uncover the truth. Everyone available was sent out to gather information.
Time was of the essence. They had to stabilize the situation before things got worse.
“Sir Rhys!” Nelson barged into the meeting room with sweat running down his face. “Sir Rhys! We’ve got trouble! The Hills and their men are headed for Zephyr Lodge!”
“So soon?” Dustin frowned.
They had just started using Zephyr Lodge as their base. Only a handful of people knew its location. He never thought they would be able to track him down within mere hours. It was obvious that someone had been keeping an eye on him and his whereabouts.
“It’s not just the Hills. The higher-ups in the alliance and many martial artists have joined them!” Nelson said anxiously.
“Sir Rhys, things aren’t looking good for us. You should escape while you can. I’ll hold them up!” “I’ll stand my ground, come what may,” Dustin said. “Escaping will only make me look guilty. I’ll have to face them sooner or later.”
After a moment of hesitation, Dustin finally stepped out the door. Running away wasn’t going to solve anything.
If he didn’t clear his name, he’d become the public enemy of the entire martial world in the future!
“Get the hell out here, Dustin! You murderer! Get out and accept your fate!”
By then, there were hordes of people gathered outside Zephyr Lodge. At a glance, there were more than a thousand of them.
The Hill family stood at the center, with the Balerno martial arts alliance on the left and the Glenstead martial arts alliance on the right.
Behind them were martial artists who came after hearing about Paul’s death. They were ready to seek justice on his behalf.
“Dustin! I know you’re inside. Come out, or I’ll burn this place down!” Autumn, known for his temper, shouted angrily.
The doors of the lodge were slowly pulled open with a resounding creak. Soon after, Dustin and Nelson stepped out and faced the thousands of furious gazes.
“You’ve finally decided to come out, Dustin!” Autumn huffed indignantly.
“I’ll give you a chance to atone for your sins by killing yourself right here in front of everyone. At least this way, you’ll die a more honorable death!”
“Kill yourself! Kill yourself!” The crowd clamored and shouted.
Their voices thundered across the skies, echoing over Zephyr Lodge. It was a long time before the voices died down.
“Sir Paul’s death has nothing to do with me! Someone tried to frame me! Please be reasonable,” Dustin said seriously.
“Nonsense! So many of us saw it! How could we all be mistaken?” Autumn yelled.
“You only saw the surface of things,” Dustin explained, “I planned to meet Sir Paul this morning. But when I got to the bamboo house, he was already dead.
“Then you guys charged in when I was examining his body. I’m sure everything was deliberately
set up to frame me!”
“You claim that it’s a setup? Very well. Look here and tell me what this is?”
With a cold expression, Spring whipped out a bloody dagger.
He shouted, “This was a gift Sir Reeds presented you yesterday. It’s also the weapon that
murdered my father! What do you have to say about this?”
