Chapter 616 The Eight Respectable Families
Given the current state of matters, war could break out between Asura’s Office and the respectable families at any time. As a result, if Jonathan could recruit one of the families as his ally, they would be of tremendous help to him.
Even if the Blackwood family wasn’t willing to help, Jonathan still wanted to know the reason for the decision. Since Lauryn had chosen to side with him, he wanted to know the Blackwood family’s true intentions before deciding what kind of attitude to adopt toward them.
Face with Jonathan’s candor, Lauryn hesitated momentarily. Nevertheless, thinking back to the events that happened in Summerbank Abyss elicited a helpless wry smile from her.
“Jonathan, if it wasn’t for your mind-blowing performance in Summerbank Abyss, you wouldn’t have caught my eye, let alone that of my family.”
After downing the coffee in a single gulp, Lauryn added, “The Blackwood family’s position is simple—they will never submit to Asura’s Office. When I returned home, I tried my best to convince my father to not participate in the actions against you. Unfortunately, he locked me up and wanted to force me to marry Jay. Why can’t he see that I’ve trained so hard just to show him that I’m not weaker than anyone else? I do not need this so-called marriage alliance to prove my worth. However, why does he not recognize all the effort that I’ve put in—”
“You’re digressing!”
Jonathan quickly stopped her when he noticed her veering off-topic.
Upon being interrupted, Lauryn gently shook her head.
“I’m sorry. My emotions got the better of me.”
“It’s fine. I understand.” Jonathan poured Lauryn another cup of coffee. “By the way, who are you supposed to wed for the marriage alliance again?”
Despite Jonathan’s casual tone, Lauryn felt a faint sense of murderous intent from him.
“Jonathan…”
“I’m asking you who it is!” Jonathan repeated his question, his voice icier than before.
“Jay Osborne!” Lauryn replied with a slight hesitation.
At that moment, behind Jonathan’s indifferent expression, an uncontrollable amount of spiritual energy began to swell within him.
Subsequently, waves of spiritual energy burst out into the open. Lauryn—who was sitting opposite him—felt as if she was a directionless ship thrown about in a thunderstorm and was at risk of being swallowed by his raging energy.
“Release!”
Upon Lauryn’s barely audible command, a Grandmaster Realm force field cocooned her and blocked Jonathan’s spiritual energy on the outside.
Sensing the fear within Lauryn, Jonathan—with gritted teeth—finally calmed himself down.
Utilizing the Ancient Sacred Dragon Technique at full force, his spiritual energy was tamed within a few breaths.
“It wasn’t aimed at you. It was Jay. Anyway, please continue,” Jonathan remarked in a deep voice although the murderous intent in his eyes had yet to recede.
Jay was one of those on Jonathan’s kill list, for he was the main reason why Sophia was lying in the operating room then.
After dispelling her force field, the traumatized Lauryn stared at Jonathan.
Working with someone like Jonathan is extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake might end up costing us our lives.
“Jonathan, even though I’ve failed to persuade my father, I’ll still support you with everything I’ve got. However, can I ask this of you? Please don’t harm the Blackwood family if they have not laid a finger on you.”
“Lauryn, ever since we worked together, you have never provided me with any useful information. Hence, you’re in no position to negotiate,” Jonathan rejected her with furrowed brows.
“Don’t you know the location of the Osborne family? Tell me.”
Jonathan’s words caused Lauryn to subconsciously lower her head.
“I’m sorry… Actually, I have no idea where they are.”
“What?”
Amidst the crisp crack of his coffee cup, Jonathan locked his hostile gaze on Lauryn.
“Back at Summerbank Abyss, you told me that you knew where the Osbornes were. And now, you claim ignorance? Are you taking me for a fool?”
“Of course not.”
Lauryn frantically explained, “Jonathan, I only know that they are somewhere in Drieso.”
“Drieso?” A frosty expression descended on Jonathan’s face. “Drieso is almost two hundred and fifty thousand square kilometers. Are you asking me to comb the entire place?”
In response to Jonathan’s reaction, Lauryn quickly clarified, “A respectable family’s ancestral home is their biggest secret. Even their core members who are not even eighteen don’t know where it is, let alone an outsider. There are eight respectable families in Chanaea in total. Other than the Blackwood and Osborne families, the other six are the Henderson, Leeson, Mallory, Gray, Welsh, and Salladay families. All of them are hiding in their respective hideouts. All these while, the respectable families have always fought against each other for a larger piece of Chanaea. Hence, whenever one of them shows themselves, the rest will hunt them down like predators. That’s how the respectable families have survived all these years.”
“All these while, the respectable families have always fought against each other for a larger piece of Chanaea. Hence, whenever one of them shows themselves, the rest will hunt them down like predators. That’s how the respectable families have survived all these years.”
Lauryn’s rapid answer finally placated Jonathan’s anger.
At the same time, he was further intrigued by them.
“When you mentioned that the core members do not know the location of their respective families until they’re eighteen, what do you mean?”
Jonathan’s question elicited a long sigh from Lauryn.
Compared to the Jonathan in Summerbank Abyss, the one she was facing now had grown significantly more dangerous.
Although she had no idea what had happened, it was clear to her that Jonathan’s state of mind was now different from the time he was at Summerbank Abyss.
After gathering her thoughts, she continued, “Before any of the core members of the respectable families are eighteen, they are not told of the location of their ancestral home—a form of security mechanism that works both ways. Not only is the ancestral home of a respectable family protected, but it also sends out the message that it’s useless to take advantage of the children. In other words, the children are inadvertently protected by the arrangement too.”
Upon hearing Lauryn’s explanation, Jonathan knitted his brows. “Are you saying you don’t return to your ancestral home until you’re eighteen?”
“What do you mean by return? We grew up there, for that’s the best place to raise us.”
Cognizant that Jonathan had misunderstood, Lauryn quickly clarified, “We grow up on our ancestral land and leave to see the outside world too. It’s just that during the journey back, we will be blindfolded and have someone to guide us. That way, the children will never know their exact location.”
Lauryn’s words caused Jonathan to be briefly stunned.
This method… where have I heard of it before?
When Jonathan turned to look at No. 8 Villa, his mind began to delve into the matter.
Previously, Yasmin and I talked about Paradise Island before. As the true mastermind who controls Xiara—ninth on the Heaven List, Paradise Island wields significant power.
Also, to prevent their location from being discovered, they too adopted the same method as the respectable families. Is this just a coincidence? It’s certainly too much to be one!
