novelraw Chapter 135 135
Chapter 135 135
Aiwei walked in the hallway.
After waking up in the physical world, Akashi had just slapped him a few times before leaving through the doors.
Akashi didn't mention anything about Zaheer, nor did he go to the matriarch and tell her about Aiwei's involvement with Zaheer. After all, Akashi had the proof on him. Yet, he didn't tell anyone.
This got Aiwei into a state of freaking out. He was afraid from the unknown for sure. He just hoped that he could get done with this as soon as possible.
Seeing a shadow that looked like Akashi's, Aiwei hid behind a metal statue, his heart beating loudly. But it was only someone else.
Aiwei placed his hand on his heart, muttering, "He's not interested in me, but in Zaheer, who doesn't believe that Akashi is strong enough to defeat tens of thousands."
Aiwei had yet to realize that he was right in his thoughts.
Akashi held no interest in him and had viewed the consoler as a way to find Zaheer.
Now that Akashi had partially achieved his goal, the old man didn't matter to him. To Akashi, that old man was someone with political views but had no power to do harm. And since this city was thriving thanks to his efforts, Akashi had no desire to kill him. Not even to arrest him. After all, that old man wasn't worth 0.001% of the required experience for the next level.
Akashi walked to Lin, who was walking around with her nieces and nephews.
"Lin, I'm going back," Akashi said.
They paused.
"Oh? You're done this fast?" Lin asked, already knowing about Akashi's hidden agenda.
Akashi nodded.
"But what about that man?" Lin asked.
"I got what I need from him. He poses no danger," Akashi said.
"Excuse me," Suyin interjected, looking at Akashi, "I've heard that you have suspected Aiwei of working with the Red Lotus order. It's a serious accusation. If you think you have proof, then we'll hold a trial. If not, you'll need to apologize to him. I'm only easy-going on you because you are soon to be my brother-in-law."
Akashi narrowed his eyebrow.
Suyin was talking to him with a tone as if he were a child.
Well, it's logical since she had kids as old as him.
"The proof is him walking suspiciously in the hallway," Akashi replied, sighing. "But if you want real proof, go to the bank transfers made under your husband's accounts back in November, seventeen years ago. I've traced the funds, and they had been used to buy information from private inspectors about the Avatar at that time. If your men are incompetent to link stuff, I'll be happy to send it through the fax."
In this world, they had phones, they had radios, and they had fax.
Suyin slowly turned to Lin, who smirked, as if saying, 'that's my boy.'
"He's serious?" asked Suyin.
"He was the best detective in the police department. Not even I, mother, or anyone I've worked with, was like him," Lin said.
"Was?" asked Suyin.
"He retired for my sake."
Suyin put her hand on her forehead. She was getting surprised over and over. First, her trusted consoler is being suspected of being a criminal—which she overlooked since she had made up with her sister. Her sister was going to get married. And the younger man was the one who retired for her sake—it should be the other way around.
Then, she thought about it some more. 'Maybe she works and provides, while he's a house husband.'
"Forget it," Suyin turned to one of her sons and said, "Put Aiwei under surveillance. Once we have proof, we'll hold a trial for him."
"Alright," said that man.
Akashi got closer to Lin and asked, "Are you staying or leaving?"
"Hmm… I'm staying, provided you fly me later to Republic City," Lin nodded.
Akashi leaned to her and kissed her on the lips. She smiled as she looked at his back, walking away. Akashi got to a near window, and then, vanished from sight, as if he were never there.
'No matter how much I think I know him, he keeps surprising me,' she thought, feeling her soon-to-be husband mysterious. 'I love it.'
-x-X-x-
There was one major proof that Akashi got about Zaheer that exposed his location.
Zaheer may be a smart man, a very calculating one.
But there would be something that he would never calculate. And it was Akashi watching the cartoon.
Zaheer, in the spiritual world, had a shaved head.
It meant that he had made his way to the temple and was going to act as Tenzin's disciple. Zaheer was a man obsessed with the air nomads' cultures, and he would never dismiss the chance to learn more about them.
Akashi thought about everything as he flew in the sky, heading all the way to one temple. After arriving at one temple that he had left the air-nomads at, Akashi found a member of the White Lotus Order, telling him that Tenzin was moving with the disciples, heading to a certain temple. Akashi figured out that Tenzin would be collecting another air bender on the way, and Zaheer would find his chance to slip through—if he hadn't already.
While flying, Akashi had time to think about a few things.
'Why Zaheer's clothes in the spiritual world, and hair style, match what's on his physical body. I didn't know that souls dress like you.… but what I wonder is, if I transferred my soul to the spirits world, threw my clothes to the portal in the South Pole. Would I find my spiritual clothes in physical form… And wouldn't that make it an infinite clothes glitch. If I could do it, I can hire a team, and we can make a company to sell clothes.'
By the time Akashi arrived, he had thought about many things. How to start new projects. What to name his child. You name it. Flying was a good way to have some alone thinking time. At the horizon, Akashi saw some flying bison dancing, with some people dressed in red above them, trying to move around.
Looking down, he saw some people standing on the yard, doing some airbending moves, creating tornadoes here and there.
Tenzin was around, running, correcting the mistakes of his students, and doing more.
Akashi smiled. Tenzin never put effort into training him as he was putting into these guys. Akashi realized that Tenzin got less lazy when his dream of a new air-nomad culture unfolded overnight.
Akashi stretched his arms up and descended from the sky, landing behind Tenzin.
Tenzin and many others paused and turned in the direction of the fallen object.
But since Akashi had shown his ability to fly before and most air nomads were transferred by it, they didn't freak out, and they smiled at him, waving their hands and calling him.
Hand on his own heart, Tenzin turned to Akashi and sighed in relief.
"My heart almost stopped for a second. Glad to see you coming for a visit, Akashi. Now, quickly, change your clothes and help me with the trainees." Tenzin leaned to Akashi and whispered. "Most of them are a walking disaster."
Akashi smirked, "Not having an easy time with them."
"I think I was under the wrong impression that everyone was like you and my kids. Quick to learn," Tenzin complained. "The way they are improving makes me think guilty for having thought Korra had no talent for airbending. They make her look like a talent that appears once in a thousand years."
"Yeah…" Akashi put his hands on his hip and shook his head, "To be fair, some of your kids could bend when they got out of the womb. And these guys got their talent late in life. So, go easy on them. And I'm not here to help you train."
"Huh? Really. Don't be lazy now," Tenzin replied, clearly not wanting to take 'No' for an answer.
"I would love to," Akashi shook his head. "But first, show me your best student." He then looked in one direction, behind a shrine.
Out of all the people who were around, Akashi could sense someone sitting in the corner, reading a tablet, ignoring everyone and everything else.
Akashi smiled, as he didn't need his eyes to see who.
He walked there, and Tenzin gave him a confused look, as if wondering what Akashi's purpose was.
Akashi went to the man with a shaved hair, sitting cross-legged, and reading a tablet, seeming to be immersed in the wisdom that the ancestor monk had written.
Akashi placed his hand on the man's shoulder, saying, "Excuse me for interrupting you… But we need to talk."
"A day has enough hours, so you can wait until I finish, and we talk," replied the man who looked exactly like Zaheer.
"Sorry about that," Akashi said, as he sat, "I'm curious, what are you reading?"
"It's a wisdom about leaving the earthly achievements. It was written by the only monk who was known to be able to fly," said Zaheer, clearly oblivious.
"Hmm… but I can fly, and I have earthly attachments," Akashi replied.
Zaheer paused for some time, and then, he slowly began turning his head.