CHAPTER 7 – The Letter Hidden Inside the Staff
Three days after Victor Kane was taken away in handcuffs, the Ancient Dragon Temple was finally quiet.
Workers cleared away the rubble.
Students rebuilt the broken gates.
For the first time in forty years...
Peace had returned.
Or so everyone believed.
As Noah carefully polished Evelyn's old wooden staff, he noticed something strange.
The bottom of the staff wasn't solid.
There was a tiny dragon-shaped carving hidden beneath decades of wear.
He twisted it.
Click.
A hidden compartment slowly opened.
Inside was a yellowed envelope sealed with red wax.
Across the front were six handwritten words:
"Open only after Victor is defeated."
Noah's hands trembled.
He carried the letter to Evelyn.
The moment she saw it, tears filled her eyes.
"I thought it was lost forever..."
She carefully broke the ancient seal.
Inside was a single letter written by Grandmaster Liang—the founder of the Dragon Temple.
Evelyn read it aloud.
"If you are reading this... then the darkness has finally ended."
"The Dragon Scroll was never our greatest secret."
"The greatest secret... is the child who was never meant to survive."
Everyone looked at Noah.
But Grandmaster Liang wasn't talking about him.
There was another photograph inside the envelope.
A baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
On the back, only one sentence was written.
"The second guardian lives."
Silence filled the room.
Noah stared at Evelyn.
"You told me I was the last guardian."
Evelyn's face turned pale.
"I believed you were."
Then another item slipped from the envelope.
An old train ticket.
Dated exactly forty years earlier.
Destination:
Raven's Hollow.
Along with a tiny silver key.
On the key was the same dragon symbol...
But beneath it was a number.
17.
Before anyone could speak, Noah's phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
He answered.
Only silence.
Then a young woman's voice whispered...
"You finally found the letter."
"I've been waiting for you my entire life."
The call ended.
A text message appeared seconds later.
DON'T TRUST EVERYONE BESIDE YOU.
Noah slowly looked around the room.
Every student.
Every master.
Every friend.
One of them...
Was hiding the greatest secret of all.
The war against Victor Kane was over.
May you like
But the hunt for the Second Guardian...
Had just begun.
