Van Thien and his father finally arrived at Uncle Ut's house. As the pickup truck pulled into the courtyard, Uncle Ut emerged from the house, greeting them warmly.
"You two finally made it!"
After inviting them inside, Bao Uyen headed upstairs to her room. Thien's father and Uncle Ut sat down in the living room.
"You both must be exhausted," Uncle Ut said. "Take a short rest. Later, I'll take you out to see the construction sites."
A while later, Thien's father and Uncle Ut prepared to leave. Before heading out, his father instructed, "Stay here, Thien. Feel free to go upstairs and keep Bao Uyen company."
Thien smiled. "Yes, Dad."
He glanced upstairs and saw Bao Uyen standing there. When she realized he was looking, she quickly darted back into her room, leaving him with a face full of confusion.
Meanwhile, at the bank of the Thuy Nguyen River, inside the command ship, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon summoned three soldiers clad in black armor. He gazed at the holographic display.
"The three of you, go to his location. Consider this a friendly greeting from us."
The soldiers bowed. "Understood!"
Back at the house, Thien was sitting on the porch, watching the clouds drift through the vast sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he felt someone spying on him. It was Bao Uyen, hiding behind a wall.
"Why are you hiding there? Come out," he said.
Startled, she slowly stepped out, her head lowered. Thien looked at her, tilting his head slightly.
"What's wrong? Why is your head down?"
She remained silent, still looking down. Thien stood up and gently walked over to her. When she finally looked up, his face was inches from hers. Shocked, she recoiled and nearly fell backward. Thien reacted instantly, catching her and using his own body as a cushion to support her. She ended up sitting directly in his lap.
When they both regained their composure, she scrambled to her feet, bowing. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, brother Thien..."
Thien sat up, giving a soft laugh. "It's alright. I'm just glad you aren't hurt."
As she remained standing with her head down, he noticed the necklace around her neck. A strong sense of familiarity washed over him; he felt as though he had seen it somewhere before. He looked up at her.
"The necklace around your neck... is it possible..."
Hearing this, Bao Uyen immediately clutched the necklace, her eyes locking onto his. "You... you remember?"
Thien was bewildered. "Remember... what?"
The moment those words left his mouth, her expression turned to disappointment, and her face puffed up in a pout. "Never mind!" With that, she ran straight upstairs.
Thien stood below, scratching his head. Did I... say something wrong?
Up in her room, Bao Uyen lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, still pouting. "He... is such an idiot."
What she didn't notice was that outside her window, six red eyes were staring intensely into her room.
"Target located."
At that same moment, out on the river... the water suddenly became eerily still. There was not a single ripple, no sound of rushing water, as if something down there had forbidden the current from flowing.
Downstairs, Thien was preparing to head out when he heard a terrified scream erupt from Bao Uyen's room.
He instantly sprinted upstairs. When he burst through the door, he saw the three black-clad soldiers preparing to abduct her.
"Who are you people?"
Seeing they were discovered, one of the soldiers lunged.
WHOOSH!
He appeared directly in front of Thien, preparing to throw a punch. But before his fist could connect, Thien's hand clamped onto the soldier's face.
SLAM!
With a brutal slam, the soldier's entire body was crashed onto the tiled floor like a heavy sack of cement. All the gravity from Thien's palm converged on the back of the man's neck as his head hit the stone with violent force. The impact caused the floor to crack. The necklace around Thien's neck pulsed with a faint glow.
At that exact second, far out on the river... the water's surface suddenly dipped inward, as if something had just received a "signal." A solitary ripple expanded outward and then vanished. No one in the house realized what had happened—except for the entity deep beneath the water.
Thien glared at the other two soldiers. "Release the girl."
One of them pulled a serrated knife from his belt and charged at Thien. He closed the distance in the blink of an eye, the blade aimed directly at Thien's heart like an arrow fired with lethal precision.
Bao Uyen panicked. "Brother Thien... careful!"
But before the blade could sink into his chest, Thien used his leg to sweep the man's feet from under him. As the soldier lost his balance, Thien connected with a powerful punch.
THWACK!
The soldier was sent flying into the wall.
The last remaining soldier pulled Bao Uyen toward him, pressing his knife to her throat. "Freeze! If you take one step closer... I'll kill her!"
Thien didn't say a word.
VUT!
He instantly appeared directly behind the soldier, grabbed him by the head, and slammed him face-first into the floor.
SLAM!
The man was slammed into the ground, knocked unconscious. Thien quickly rushed over to check on Bao Uyen.
However... the soldier he had just knocked out abruptly regained consciousness and lunged from behind, his knife sweeping dangerously close to Thien's neck.
Bao Uyen saw him approaching. "Brother Thien... watch out!"
She grabbed a pillow from her bed. As she did, her necklace suddenly ignited with a powerful glow. She slammed the pillow into the black-clad soldier's face with all her might.
THUD!
The impact of the "pillow" was so intense it sent the soldier flying through the closed window, leaving Thien staring in absolute shock.