Chapter 45: Downfall of a Great Master
"I fell victim to the elaborate schemes of the Cardils."
Samuel’s voice was laced with anger so palpable that Jethru could feel the heat radiating from his body.
Jethru sighed. The Cardil’s. They were the ones who framed him, which caused his imprisonment and expulsion from the Zen Warriors Sect.
He had tried to explain everything to his master, but the evidence was so damning that even his master’s hands were tied.
"Master, you indulged Julian Cardil too much. That’s why this happened."
"I did not. I just treated him the same way I treated you. It was just that he was too ambitious and harbored malicious intent."
"When you escaped, I continued investigating and discovered the evidence of you being framed. But what use was it? You were gone, and we don’t even know if you are still alive." Samuel said in an aggrieved voice.
"And why would I stay?" Jethru’s voice was low, bitter. "I am a wanted person, and my parents died in that fire. There was nothing left for me in the capital." A forlorn look crossed over Jethru’s wrinkled face.
A heavy silence settled between them, thick as smoke.
Samuel exhaled slowly, then spoke, each word a dagger. "Your parents’ deaths were no accident."
Jethru felt the air leave his lungs. It was as if a bomb had been dropped and detonated before him. "What do you mean, Master?"