"I... I should know you?" Violet Frazier paused once more.
Before this moment, knowing that the person before her was the King of the West, Commander Gardner, she had been avoiding direct eye contact. Now, upon hearing Billy's words, she subconsciously looked at Billy's face.
"Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" After a while, Violet Frazier spoke, a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Do you still remember who gave you this jade pendant around your neck?" Billy asked with a smile.
When he had just come in, he noticed the jade necklace that Violet Frazier was wearing. It was a birthday gift he had given her when she was eight years old. Although the red string had been replaced, he remembered the pendant clearly because he had carved it himself from a single piece of jade into the shape of a sword.
"Ah!" Violet Frazier exclaimed. Her face displayed endless shock, and her body trembled slightly as she wore an expression of disbelief. After a slight pause, she continued, "Are you Casper?"
Before this, when she saw Billy, she had a faint sense of familiarity. She had been searching her memories for someone from her past. However, when Billy mentioned the pendant, her memories locked onto a childhood friend. Though more than ten years had passed, with this reminder, she immediately recognized Billy. But she couldn't believe she would meet Billy again here since she used to believe that Billy had been killed five years ago.
"You finally recognized me?" Billy patted her head.
He used to do this when they were children. Back then, as one of the most talented members of the Frazier Clan, she would spend her summer and winter breaks at the Stuart Clan, practicing martial arts alongside Billy, who was of the same generation. Among their peers, she and Billy were the closest, practically inseparable. In Billy's heart, he treated her like a younger sister, and she thought of him as her elder brother. Although they weren't bound by blood, their bond was stronger than many siblings. Later, after the incident, they had never met again for over a decade.
Of course, before Violet Frazier was confined, Billy had seen her once when he accompanied his adoptive father on a trip. At that time, Violet had already grown into a beautiful young lady. However, she didn't recognize Billy, and he didn't acknowledge her. They passed each other by.
"Are you really Casper..." Violet Frazier cried out in joy and embraced Billy, sobbing in his arms.
"It's incredible! Casper, you're alive! I thought I'd never see you again in this lifetime."
"Violet, don't cry. I'm safe and sound." Billy said after a while, smiling as he patted her back.
"Yes?" Violet Frazier wiped away her tears and continued in a choked voice.
"Casper, I heard... five years ago, you were supposed to... How are you still alive, and how did you become the King of the West, and, Commander Gardner?"
"We'll talk about all that later. Tell me, where is your father?" Billy helped her wipe away her tears.
"Father... Father lost his cultivation five years ago. He's been imprisoned in the rear mountain these past years." Violet Frazier sobbed again.
"Is it because of me?" Billy took a deep breath and asked.
"Three years after you left the Stuart Clan, they sent people to the capital. They ordered my father to use all his resources to find your whereabouts." Violet Frazier continued, tears still flowing.
"He couldn't stand what they were doing, and he refused to carry out their orders. This led to a conflict, and it ended quite unpleasantly. Five years ago, they learned that you were in Ozin and sent people to the capital again. They wanted my father to retrieve a jade pendant from you and specifically instructed him to silence you once he had it."
"But he refused. Later, I don't know what kind of agreement they reached with Estelle Stuart, but they stripped my father of his clan leader position, and Iain Frazier took over as the leader of the house."
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