During the month of June, Bayside City was a field of greenery; even the cemetery outside the city was green and lively.
However, the greenery here was covered with a layer of sorrow and solemnity; buried deep under the greenery was once a vivid life.
There were black and white photos of old and young people attached to rows of tombstones. Each person had a simple epitaph summarizing their lifetime; some of them led ordinary lives, while others had magnificent ones.
A man with a head full of white hair arrived with a handful of chrysanthemums. Then, he placed the flowers in front of a tombstone that neither looked old or new.
The man in the photo looked very young; he had healthy black hair with fine features and a bright, happy smile. He probably didnât know that this photo would appear on his tombstone one day.
The white-haired man placed the chrysanthemums in front of the tombstone as he squatted down. He placed a hand on the tombstone and stared at the picture of the young man dazedly.
The name âQuinton Clarkâ was engraved on the tombstone; there was even the story about how he had sacrificed his life to save his students who had been kidnapped by some terrorists. He died a heroic death in his thirties.
The man had been squatting there for a while when he heard footsteps from behind him all of a sudden.
As he stood up and turned around, he saw a young man walking toward him. The young man looked unfamiliar as he wore gold-rimmed glasses that made him look like an intellectual, and he was also holding a bouquet of bright chrysanthemums.
âYou areâ¦â asked the old man in confusion after he wiped away the tears from his face.
The young man held the flowers as he bent down and placed them in front of Quintonâs tombstone. After that, he glanced at the black and white photo that would remain on the tombstone forever and gave a small smile. âI was Quintonâs former colleague; my last name is Fletcher.â
The old man collected himself as he took a tissue from his assistantâs hand and wiped his face. He then replied, âAh, you are Hopeâs colleague. Iâm his father.â
The young man named Fletcher nodded respectfully at Jackson. âHello, uncle.â
The two of them stood in front of the tombstone and stared at the picture on it.
Jackson sighed. âHopeâs mother had brought him to me. When I first saw the child, I knew that he was destined for great things; he was smart, understanding and kind.â
Even though his son had passed many years ago, Jacksonâs eyes filled with pride when he spoke about him.
âHope was only fourteen when he came to my house with his mother, but he had already finished all his high school courses. He was accepted into Bayside University the following year, and he became the youngest student in their class. He was such a kind-hearted child; he would volunteer at the orphanage every month and was such a good boy, but unfortunatelyâ¦â
Jackson let out a deep sigh and kept quiet.
Meanwhile, the young man said nothing. He merely listened to Jackson as he talked about his son with sadness in his eyes.
The young man eventually left, and Jackson stared at his back dazedly.
He had never met this young man before, but why did Jackson feel like they had crossed paths somewhereâ¦
On the other hand, the young man had not left the cemetery as he walked over to the Fletcher Familyâs ancestral grave site; many chrysanthemums were placed on each tombstone.
The young man came to a mausoleum, and the photo on the tombstone was also of a young man who looked unusually heroic and handsome.
It was Theoâs tombstone, and had been dead for more than 30 years.
As the young man stood in front of the tombstone, he stared at the photo that resembled himself in a daze. After a while, he bent down and placed a bouquet of chrysanthemums in front of it.
They had finally moved Elizabethâs grave next to Theoâs tombstone. They couldnât be together when they were alive, and they couldnât be in the same grave when they were dead. After watching Theo being buried into the ground, Elizabeth bought a plot on the other side of the mountain and arranged her affairs in order before commiting suicide; she had been watching her husband lovingly from the other side for decades.
A few years back, the Fletcher Family finally got around to registering their marriage certificates and moved Elizabethâs grave from the opposite mountain.
Quinton sat down in front of the grave as he took out a bottle of wine and two glasses. He poured two glasses of wine, putting one glass in front of the grave while he drank the other glass.
With that, he drank one glass after another while sitting quietly in front of the tombstoneâ¦
Suddenly, he hid his face and broke into tears; as he cried, he continued to drink.
All of a sudden, someone stood behind him. Since Quinton was a well-trained assassin, he had a strong sense of awareness; he already knew that someone was standing behind him, but he chose to remain silent.
One was standing while the other one was sitting; the two of them had faces with the same temperament, and there were some similarities in terms of their features.
They both had the same father, but each possessed a completely different fate.
In the end, Michael was the one who spoke first.
âI knew that youâd be hereâyou even visited the Clark Family.â
Michael felt like there was still hope for Quinton; he found out that the latter had secretly visited his stepfather when he snuck back into Cethos. After all, he always had a good relationship with his stepfather.
Quinton was quiet. He drained the wine in his glass and placed it gently in front of the tombstone.
Looking at Theoâs black and white photograph, he said, âYou want to know about the Blade, right?â
He continued in a hoarse voice, âI once fought with Blade over a business deal. His abilities arenât weaker than mine, but his overall strength isnât as powerful as ours if heâs fighting alone. I remember that business deal; I got the targetâs head to the client before him and obtained the reward money, but he was so mad for being a step late that he killed the targetâs entire family.â
Michael listened silently and didnât interrupt.
Quinton continued, âThe assassins on the leaderboard arenât just based on their killing skills, but also their undercover skills. Blade does not know my identity; likewise, I have never seen Blade in person either. I donât know what sort of disguise he is wearing.â
Michael quickly asked, âWho hired Blade?â
Quinton confessed, âThat person is as influential as Cooper. Just like Cooper, he is also good at hiding his real strength; it is far from what is simply seen.â
Michael fell into utter silence.
In Bayside City, there were only a few people who dared to compare themselves as equals to Cooper;
Michael had only seen one before.
Quinton said, âA few years back, he was the one who secretly helped me to capture Sophia. He wanted me to stall and crush you; he even guessed that youâd ask Linus for help. Hence, he sent a traitor in advance to stir trouble in the Michel Family and diverted Linusâ attention away from you. During the time of Sophiaâs incident, you couldnât contact Linus because he was being held back by the family; he couldnât even take care of himself.â
If that person was really just as Quinton had described him, his current strength was definitely not weaker than Cooper. In fact, he even hid himself better than Cooper.
That person was also Cooperâs old rival. Back when Cooper was in trouble, they suspected that he and Alex had teamed up and planned it behind the scenes, but there was just no evidence.
Quinton continued, âAlso, that person once asked me to kidnap Carmen. When I didnât obey his orders, he went to look for Blade. Other than thatâ¦â
Quinton looked up and stared at Michael with his bloodshot eyes. âBlade and Katrina were once a couple.â