Chapter 253: Rooftop

“Ma’am, you’re back,” the housekeeper, Rie, greeted with a bow as Tani Akiko walked in through the door.

“How’s Baby?” Tani Akiko asked while changing her shoes.

“She’s already asleep. Have you eaten? Should I cook something for you?”

“No need, I’ve already eaten. Where’s Kuang Dao-san?”

“He’s on the rooftop.”

“What is he doing up there?” Tani Akiko asked, puzzled.

“I’m not entirely sure, but he’s been going up there almost every day whenever he has time. He won’t come down until it’s time to eat. Oh, right, Kuang Dao-san mentioned he had something to discuss with you. If you’re back, he said to find him.”

“I understand. I’ll go find him on the rooftop now.”

Placing her handbag on the sofa, she slipped back into her high heels at the entrance and stepped out the door.

Just as she was about to reach the rooftop, she suddenly heard a strange sound.

When she opened the rooftop door, she was stunned by the sight before her.

In the middle of the rooftop, several large iron frames had been installed in mid-air at some point. Hanging from these frames in an oval arrangement were over a dozen thick wooden logs, each suspended by iron chains, allowing them to swing freely in all directions.

In the center of these logs stood a tall man. He was holding an iron rod in each hand, striking the logs that came hurtling toward him.

The logs were propelled toward him because, after being struck away, the reactionary force caused them to swing back toward him along the chains. Each time the logs came close, Kuang Dao would strike them away again, creating a continuous, cyclical impact.

This was Kuang Dao’s current training method. Unable to find an opponent at his level to spar with, he resorted to this crude but effective practice, similar to fighting through a corridor of wooden dummies. His aim was to enhance the agility and striking power of his current body.

Although Kuang Dao considered this method crude, to an ordinary person, it was downright astonishing.

Each of the wooden logs was as thick as an adult’s thigh, and the impact force created by the swinging motion was far beyond what an average person could endure. But what shocked Tani Akiko the most wasn’t just the size of the logs—it was the sheer danger of the setup. The logs were arranged in an oval pattern, tightly enclosing the man in the middle. In other words, he had to deal with attacks from all directions, never knowing when or where a log would swing toward him. A single mistake could result in serious injury.

Is this man insane? she thought, shivering as she glanced at the massive logs.

What surprised her even more was that, despite the speed of his movements, the man’s expression remained calm and composed, without a hint of panic. And so far, not a single log had managed to strike him. The repeated thump, thump sound of the logs being struck was the same sound she had heard earlier from outside.

Watching him deflect the logs with the speed of lightning, Tani Akiko realized she had completely underestimated this man.

When she first saw him at the bar, effortlessly taking down over a dozen gang members, she had already been deeply impressed. Later, after getting to know him by chance, she found that while his speech and demeanor were rough, he was straightforward and trustworthy—hardly a bad person. That’s why she had asked him to stay and protect her child. But now, witnessing his training, she was utterly awestruck by the terrifying extent of his skills.

Though she didn’t understand kendo, she had seen enough kendo performances and matches on TV over the years to know that what this man was doing had far surpassed anything remotely related to kendo.

After a while, Kuang Dao suddenly quickened his strikes, simultaneously deflecting several logs at once. Seizing the moment, he stepped out of the log enclosure with fluid ease.

After casually tossing the iron rods aside, Kuang Dao took a deep breath to calm himself. He was drenched in sweat. As he turned around, he found Tani Akiko staring at him, wide-eyed.

When did she arrive? Upon seeing her, Kuang Dao suddenly felt a little disheartened.

In the past, no matter how hard he trained, as long as there was someone or something nearby, he could sense it instantly. But now, his body had long passed its prime for martial arts training. Even though he spent a lot of time practicing every day, he couldn’t regain the peak condition he once had.

What made him feel a bit more at ease, however, was that Lei Yin seemed to be in a similar situation. Otherwise, if it were Lei Yin at his peak, that night in the forest, with just one move, he could have easily defeated him, who still hadn’t fully mastered his current body.

“Did you just arrive?” Kuang Dao asked Tani Akiko.

“Yes,” Tani Akiko replied. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little scared of him.

“I was actually looking for you,” Kuang Dao said with a dark expression.

“What’s the matter?” Tani Akiko felt the atmosphere grow heavy at his tone.

※※※

The next morning, during breakfast, Tani Akiko asked the housekeeper, Rie, “Has Baby not come down yet?”

Rie smiled and replied, “Since it’s Sunday, the young miss won’t get up until at least ten.”

Tani Akiko stood up and said, “I’ll go wake her up.”

She knocked on the door but received no response from inside. So, she twisted the door handle and entered the room filled with cartoon dolls.

Seeing her daughter still sound asleep, Tani Akiko couldn’t help but smile.

“Baby, time to get up,” Tani Akiko said as she gently shook her daughter’s body.

The little girl, awakened and unwilling, covered her head with the blanket and grumbled, “Rie, don’t wake me up.”

Tani Akiko chuckled and continued shaking her, saying, “Baby, it’s Mommy. Get up now.”

After a while, the little girl suddenly pulled the blanket from her head, her eyes wide as she looked at Tani Akiko.

“It really is Mommy! When did you come back?” The girl sat up excitedly.

“Last night. You were already asleep when I got home. Come on, get up for breakfast.”

“Oh!” The little girl happily jumped out of bed.

Once she finished washing up and sat down to eat breakfast, Tani Akiko suddenly said, “Baby, how about Mommy takes you to the amusement park today?”

The little girl immediately looked up, her face filled with joy. “Really?”

“Yes, after breakfast, we’ll go.”

“That’s great!” The little girl cheered loudly.

Seeing her daughter’s excited expression, Tani Akiko suddenly felt a wave of guilt. She had completely forgotten the last time she took her daughter to the amusement park. That man wasn’t wrong—she truly was a negligent mother.

Just then, the sound of a door opening came from outside. Kuang Dao, who had just finished his morning run, walked in, dripping with sweat.

Upon seeing him, the little girl immediately ran over excitedly and said, “Kuang Dao-ojisan, Mommy just said she’s taking me to the amusement park! Will you come with us? Please?”

Kuang Dao looked up, casting a meaningful glance at Tani Akiko.

At the sight of his gaze, Tani Akiko suddenly felt a burning sensation on her face. She quickly lowered her head and said, “Kuang Dao-san, I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Kuang Dao looked away and then lowered his head to address the little girl, “I’ll go with you, but I need to take a shower first. By the way, did Rie save me some breakfast?”

“I’ll go ask her!” Seeing that he agreed to join them, the little girl became even more excited and immediately bounced to the kitchen to find Rie.

Kuang Dao remained silent and returned to his room to get his change of clothes.

Tani Akiko watched his retreating figure, her expression complicated.

※※※

“Uncle Kuang Dao, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“But you don’t look very well.”

“Nonsense, I’m in perfect condition.”

“Well, since you’re fine, let’s go on the pirate ship ride. It’s so much fun, even more thrilling than the roller coaster!” The little girl pointed excitedly at the pirate ship ride ahead.

Looking at the pirate ship, which swayed back and forth at an angle of more than 180 degrees, Kuang Dao suddenly felt a bit nauseous.

Just moments ago, when the roller coaster slowly climbed to the highest point and then suddenly plunged down, Kuang Dao, who was used to being tough, almost couldn’t help but scream like everyone else. Only then did he realize that not only had this body passed its prime for martial arts, but it also had a fear of heights. As a result, riding the roller coaster with the little girl felt like being trampled by hundreds of wild bulls.

Strictly speaking, a fear of heights is a condition between the physical and psychological, so it’s hard to say if this problem had ever existed for the man before. After all, roller coasters didn’t exist 500 years ago, and he had no experience with cliff diving, so there’s no way to verify it. But no matter what, after getting off the roller coaster, he felt dizzy, as if the world were spinning. He vowed to never ride it again.

Seeing that the little girl was still eager to try the pirate ship, Kuang Dao deliberately said, “What’s so fun about that? It just swings back and forth. It’s boring as hell.”

“But I want to play! Uncle Kuang Dao, you’re not scared, are you?” The little girl suddenly grinned mischievously.

“Bullshit, I’m not scared of anything!” Not wanting to be looked down upon by this little brat, Kuang Dao retorted firmly.

“You said it! Let’s go line up! Mom, you wait here. We’ll be back soon.”

Tani Akiko smiled and replied, “Okay.” She was afraid of those high-altitude rides, so she didn’t join them in their excitement. However, she was also grateful that Kuang Dao was there, or else the little girl would have been disappointed since those high-altitude rides required an adult to accompany her.

After getting off the pirate ship, Kuang Dao felt weak, as though he had just fought a hundred people at once.

Damn it, who the hell invented these infernal, rage-inducing rides? Kuang Dao cursed the creators of these games inwardly.

“Uncle Kuang Dao, let’s go try that one! It looks fun too!” The little girl, still full of energy, pointed at another unfamiliar ride nearby.

Looking at the ride, which tossed people up and down like monkeys, Kuang Dao felt like he might even contemplate suicide.

“Alright, Baby, you’ve already been on two major rides. Let’s take a break. It’s almost time for lunch anyway.” Seeing the man’s expression, which looked like he was being tortured, Tani Akiko forced herself to hold back her laughter as she spoke.

Upon hearing her, the little girl stopped insisting. After playing for so long, she was a little hungry too.

Kuang Dao couldn’t help but sigh in relief in his heart.

At the fast food restaurant, Tani Akiko watched, slightly headachy, as the man devoured his food like someone who had just been released from prison.

Aside from his constant swearing, what bothered her the most was his table manners. He didn’t care at all about how he appeared to others. Whether at home or out, he ate like that. Another thing that gave her a headache was that the little girl was also being influenced by him, and her eating habits weren’t much better. Tani Akiko had no choice but to constantly correct her daughter’s eating habits.

Suddenly, she happened to glance at their reflection on the glass beside them. For a moment, she had the illusion that they were just an ordinary family out having fun together.

At this thought, she suddenly felt uneasy all over. Instinctively, she stole a glance at him.

Around 5 PM, the little girl had finally played on nearly every ride in the amusement park and was now sound asleep on Kuang Dao’s back as they left the park.

Sitting in the taxi, Tani Akiko’s gaze softened as she looked at her sleeping daughter.

After a moment, she looked up at Kuang Dao and said, “Kuang Dao-san, thank you so much for today. No, I should say, thank you for protecting Baby these past few days.”

Kuang Dao remained silent for a while before saying, “How’s the person I asked you to find? Have you made any progress?”

Tani Akiko replied, “I’m sorry, there’s no news yet. But I’ve entrusted three detective agencies to look for the person you need. I believe we’ll have definite information soon.”

Kuang Dao nodded without expressing any dissatisfaction. Hiring a proper detective agency was indeed much faster than doing it on his own. Now, he only hoped the person was really in Tokyo; otherwise, the search range would become even larger.

After a few minutes of silence, Tani Akiko spoke again, “Kuang Dao-san, I’ve thought a lot about what you said last night. I truly am an irresponsible mother. I’ve been too neglectful of Baby’s feelings in the past. From now on, I’ll try to spend as much time with her as I can. If it weren’t for your reminder, I wouldn’t have realized this. I’m really grateful to you.” She then bowed deeply to him.

Seeing her so serious and sincere, Kuang Dao didn’t know what to say. He merely responded with an indifferent murmur and turned his gaze toward the window, looking out at the scenery.

※※※

In a quiet, elegant restaurant, a young girl in a white skirt walked in.

A waiter immediately approached and asked, “Hello, miss. Are you here alone or meeting someone?”

The girl replied, “I’m here to meet someone. Is there a Miss Takeshima who made a reservation?”

“Please wait a moment. I’ll check for you.” The waiter walked to the front desk.

After a while, the waiter returned and said, “There is indeed a Miss Takeshima with a reservation. Please follow me.”

The waiter led the girl to a corner inside the restaurant. However, when the girl arrived at the reserved table, she saw that someone was already sitting there.

The person wasn’t the one she was waiting for, as it was a young man in a suit.

Upon seeing him, Kazumi frowned slightly. She hadn’t expected that Takeshima Shinobu would have invited this guy as well.

I’m sick so chapters today took a while.