NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: Past Confrontation
"You're treating me like a princess, Sister! I don't want to be locked up or stand by your side all the time. I want to live freely and make my own decisions!" Li Min's words cut through her memories like shattered glass, each syllable dripping with years of suppressed resentment.
"Your choices are wrong." Li Hua's response came like winter frost, each word precisely chosen and delivered with the same clinical detachment she used when selecting targets.
"So what! Let me learn my fucking lesson!" Li Min exploded, her composure shattering like fine porcelain. Tears glazed her eyes, turning them into pools of liquid anguish as she screamed, her perfectly maintained facade crumbling beneath the weight of her desperation.
"So you want me to stay out of your life?" Li Hua asked, her tone dry and cold.
"No!" The word tore from Li Min's throat like a wounded animal's cry. "I want your support!" Her voice cracked, raw and bleeding with emotion.
"Impossible." Li Hua's response fell between them like an executioner's blade. "I don't agree with your choices, why should I support them? You either want me in your life or you don't want me in your life. It's as simple as that." Each word was measured, precise, final—the same tone she used when delivering death sentences.
Li Min's knees hit the floor with a dull thud, her tears finally breaking free to stream down her face. Through broken sobs that shook her entire body, she whispered, "Ok, you win, Li Hua. I want you in my life." The words came out mangled, twisted by grief and surrender, each syllable a testament to a spirit thoroughly broken.
Without another word, Li Hua left the mansion and got into a black Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII Extended Wheelbase, its Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament gleaming like a silent witness to the destruction she left in her wake. The $1.2 million vehicle's suicide doors closed behind her with a soft, final click, sealing her away from her sister's broken sobs as effectively as a fortress wall.
"Master, where to next?" A woman in a crisp Tom Ford custom-tailored white suit sat beside her, the $8,000 ensemble's immaculate silk blend catching the afternoon light filtering through the Phantom's tinted windows. Her Hermès silk scarf, artfully draped around her neck, spoke of the same refined extravagance that surrounded everything in Li Hua's world—a world built on power, precision, and absolute control.
But as Li Hua stared through the tinted windows, her reflection a ghostly overlay on the manicured gardens beyond, she caught a glimpse of something unfamiliar in her own eyes—doubt, perhaps, or the weight of power wielded too absolutely.
"Anna, am I being too harsh?" Li Hua asked, a quiver in her tone betraying the iron control she usually maintained.
Anna, caught off guard by this rare display of uncertainty from her usually unshakeable master, hesitated before responding. "Master, you are no longer just a lone Assassin completing missions for the guild. You are now the guild master and the CEO of Hua-Ning Pharmaceuticals. A multi-billion-dollar empire rests on your shoulders. Sometimes, harsh decisions are necessary to protect what matters most." Anna's words echoed in the luxurious cabin; each syllable weighed with truth Li Hua wasn't ready to accept. She closed her eyes, the memory of her sister's tears burning behind her eyelids like acid against her conscience.
"Sister! Sister! It's braised pork! You're favorite!" Li Hao shouted, pulling her back to the present. Li Hua blinked away the memory of Li Min's tears, her brother's voice piercing through the fog of past regrets like a shaft of sunlight through storm clouds.
The scent of soy sauce and star anise wafted through the air, mingling with the earthy aroma of fresh ginger and green onions. A soft rumble emanated from her stomach, a startlingly childlike response that still caught her off guard. These moments of pure, unguarded reaction—so at odds with her former life of calculated control—were becoming more frequent.
She watched as Li Hao bounced on his heels by the kitchen doorway, his eyes bright with anticipation, and felt herself being drawn into his simple, uncomplicated joy.
"Little Firefly?" Li Hua asked in her mind.
"Master."
"The soul of this body, will she be re-incarnated?" Li Hua questioned him softly.
"Yes, master. The soul has already moved on and perhaps would be starting its new life as we speak."
A wave of relief washed over Li Hua, followed immediately by a pang of guilt. She had been worried that in taking this body, she had somehow trapped its original soul in the void between worlds.
"Little one," Li Hua whispered, her voice soft as morning dew, "thank you for entrusting me with the love of your family. May your next journey be long and filled with the warmth and tenderness I never knew in my previous life. I promise to cherish what you've left behind." The words settled in her heart like cherry blossoms on still water, delicate yet profound.