"Stop. This is the Zoldyck Family's private property. Outsiders are forbidden to enter. Anyone who crosses this line will be killed on sight." Canary's voice was steady, but her fingers had gone white around the whip.
"We're here to see Killua! Let us in!" Leorio stepped forward.
"I only obey my master's orders. All unauthorized visitors must leave."
Gon crossed the white line without hesitation.
"I'm going to see Killua."
The whip cracked through the air.
A jolt of electricity erupted an instant before it struck Gon's chest. He flew backward and hit the gravel, a bloody welt rising across his shoulder. He coughed, got up, and crossed the line again.
She knocked him down again.
He got up. Crossed. Fell.
By the thirteenth time Gon stood, blood had soaked half his clothes. But his steps were steadier than before. There was no wavering in his eyes, only something Canary knew well—the same stubborn resolve she had seen in the eyes of stray dogs while scavenging through the ruins of Meteor City.
"Why?" A crack appeared in Canary's voice, and the tip of her whip drooped. "You can't beat me. If you keep this up, you'll die."
Gon wiped the blood from his mouth. "Because Killua's my friend! I promised I'd come get him!"
Canary's whip stopped in midair. She remembered Killua giving her a skateboard when he came home. She remembered how the Zoldyck Family had taken her in as an orphan from Meteor City and made her a butler. Slowly, she lowered her whip.
She stopped attacking and dropped to one knee. "Please... save Master Killua! He came back three days ago, and he hasn't slept since!"
Before she could say another word, a gunshot tore through the night.
The bullet entered through Canary's shoulder blade. She pitched forward, splashing blood across the white line. Wutong stepped out from behind the trees, smoke still curling from the barrel of his silver pistol.
"Rules are rules." Wutong's face was expressionless, but he had angled the gun half an inch aside. He could have hit her heart. "Take her with you. Her life is in your hands now."
He put away the gun and disappeared into the shadows without another glance.
Canary pressed a hand to her shoulder, blood welling between her fingers. She bit her lip and stood. Her face was deathly pale, but a spark had flared back to life in her eyes.
Clutching the wound in her shoulder, Canary struggled to her feet. She did not look at Wutong. She looked at Gon.
"Follow me." She bit her lip. "I'll take you to the butlers' quarters."
Wutong put away his pistol without expression and did not stop them.
Canary led Gon and the others along the gravel path through the courtyard and into the butlers' quarters in a side wing of the Zoldyck residence. The room was spacious and solemn, with polished darkwood floors and a dragon-crested emblem on the wall. The butlers already stood in formation. Tea things and a medical kit had been set out on the table, as though they had known the visitors were coming.
Wutong stood behind the long table with his hands folded before him. "Welcome to the butlers' quarters. Master Killua is on his way. Please wait a moment. Why don't we play a little game until he arrives?"
"If you guess wrong, you will lose your chance to see Master Killua forever."
"We don't have time for this. We need to see Killua now!" Leorio said.
Wutong ignored his protest and took a coin from his pocket. "The rules are simple. I'll toss the coin and catch it in one hand. The three of you must guess which hand it's in. Anyone who guesses wrong is eliminated." He tossed the coin. His hands crossed and shifted so quickly they were impossible to follow, then he held both fists out in front of him. "Answer within three seconds."
"Left!" Leorio shouted.
Kurapika watched Wutong's hands. "Right."
Gon said, "Right."
Wutong opened his hands. The coin was in his right. "Mr. Leorio, you're eliminated."
Leorio's eyes widened, but before he could protest, Wutong tossed the coin again. This time his hands moved even faster, leaving little more than afterimages. "Again. Three seconds."
Kurapika and Gon exchanged a look.
"Right," Kurapika said.
"Left," Gon said.
Wutong opened his hands. The coin was in his right. Kurapika's expression did not change; he only gave a slight nod. "Mr. Kurapika, you're eliminated."
Now Gon was the only one left.
Wutong looked at Gon and fell silent for a moment. "You're the only one left. I'll make this harder." He beckoned, and two butlers came to his side. All three put their hands behind their backs. Wutong tossed the coin, and their hands crossed rapidly as they passed it between them. At last, all three held their fists out front. "Guess. Which hand has the coin?"
Gon studied their hands for a long time. Canary had swollen his left eye shut, leaving his vision blurred. Suddenly, he picked up the short knife Leorio had left on the table and sliced into his swollen eyelid.
"Gon!" Leorio shouted.
Gon wiped away the blood and tied a strip of gauze tightly above his eye. His vision cleared. He looked again at Wutong and the two butlers' hands.
"The coin isn't in any of the hands you're holding out," Gon said. "It's in the pocket of the butler behind you."
Wutong and the two butlers froze. The butler behind Wutong slowly took the coin from his pocket.
Wutong was silent for a long time. Then he began to clap softly. "Impressive. You have a keen eye, and you're willing to hurt yourself for a friend."
Wutong put away the coin, his tone turning grave. "Master Killua is the heir to the Zoldyck Family. His fate weighs heavily on him. I want you to remember this: deep inside him, there is a dark switch. If he ever truly loses control, I hope you can stop him. Or... kill him."
"I won't kill Killua." Gon looked straight at Wutong. His voice was quiet, but every word was firm. "I'll stay with him and help him find his own path."
Wutong was silent for a moment, then bowed slightly. "Please take care of Master Killua."
Just then, the door to the butlers' quarters flew open. Killua rushed in.
"Gon!"
Killua ran up to Gon. He spotted the fresh cut on his face and the whip marks covering his body, and his brows drew together. "Hey! Gon! What the hell happened to you?"
Gon looked at the bruises on Killua's face. "What about you, Killua? What happened to your face?"
"Nothing. That bastard Milluki hit me."
Killua turned his head away so Gon could not see the injuries on his face. Then he went over to Wutong. "Wutong, you don't need to follow my mother's orders."
"Yes, Master Killua."
Killua turned to the three of them and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "Let's go! We're getting out of this place!"
The four of them left the butlers' quarters together. Sunlight streamed through the corridor's arched windows, casting neat patches of light across the floor. Gon walked in front, and Killua followed him with a faint smile.
As Killua was about to catch up, he stopped short.
His pupils dilated for an instant, then contracted sharply. He pressed a hand to his temple, his knuckles turning white, but it lasted only half a second. He took a deep breath and quickened his pace as though nothing had happened.
Kurapika walked last. He glanced back at the open door to the butlers' quarters at the end of the corridor.
A terrible chill rose in his heart.
Wutong still stood where he was, frozen in a bow.
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