Silas found her minutes later, his face a mask of cold fury. He had tracked her phone's GPS when she deviated from her usual route. He bundled her into the car and drove to a private clinic owned by one of his contacts, a discreet doctor who asked no questions.
The diagnosis was a cracked rib and severe bruising. As the doctor patched her up, Silas debriefed her.
"His movements… they weren't normal," Ye Xia gasped, the painkillers starting to take effect. "He was fast. Too fast. And he hit me… it felt like being hit by a car, but it was just his hand."
Silas's expression was grim. "I believe you were attacked by a cultivator."
The word, coming from Silas's practical, military mouth, made it terrifyingly real.
"You know about them?" Ye Xia asked.
"I've heard whispers," Silas said, his voice low. "In my former line of work, you encounter stories. Men and women who can perform feats that defy physics. Most dismiss it as legend. But your mother… she believed."
Ye Xia's heart leapt. "My mother?"
Silas nodded. "She never practiced herself, but she knew of the world. She called them the 'Brethren of the Pulse.' Ancient families who have guarded the secrets of Kai for millennia. She said the Yun family's true power wasn't just their wealth, but their lineage in this hidden art. It's why she feared them so much."
The pieces were crashing together. The hidden giants were cultivator clans. Their wealth was a byproduct, a tool to maintain their secrecy and fund their pursuit of greater power.
"The man said he wanted 'the key'," Ye Xia said. "From Zurich."
Silas's face darkened further. "The key to the safety deposit box was a symbol. There must have been something else in that box, something we missed. Something related to cultivation."
Ye Xia thought back to the contents. The will, the financial statements, the deed, her mother's letter… and the small, brass key itself. It had seemed like a simple key. But what if it was more? What if it was a key in a more metaphysical sense?
"We need to find out who sent him," Ye Xia said, her voice strengthening with resolve. The pain and fear were being replaced by a cold, sharp anger. She had been preyed upon because she was weak in this new arena. That would change.
"The attacker's description matches no known operative," Silas said. "But the fact that he knew about Zurich narrows the field. It has to be one of the ancient families. The Yun, seeking to tie up a loose end. Or… another family, trying to acquire a potential asset—or eliminate a potential rival."
The world had just become infinitely more complex and dangerous. The financial wars were a sideshow. The real battle was just beginning.