Cursed Blessings: Tales of Twisted Fates

Unexpected Guest

After Jaxon left, Ayan quickly freed his hands and legs, the ropes slipping off easily after a few tries. Looking back to what had just happened, he found the whole situation rather bizarre.

'How did Jaxon manage to follow my speed and pinpoint my location so accurately?' Ayan wondered.

He hadn't even brought up the earlier incident, even though he clearly knew Ayan was one of the culprits. It all felt off—almost like Jaxon was more interested in sharing more about the organization than trying to capture him.

'Why knock me out and tie me up if he wasn't planning to turn me in?' Ayan thought, puzzled. 'I thought he was exposing me to get punished for the incident or something, but he didn't even ask too many questions—just talked about that organization as if he's trying to recruit me.'

Annoyed, he muttered to himself, "Damn, Jaxon. Did you really knock me out and tie me up just to intimidate me? Can't we have a normal conversation?"

He sighed. "There must be a lot of restrictions in being under the contract of such a secretive organization. I need to figure out more about them before jumping into this contract or the exam."

Ayan looked at the still-burning fire, and he grumbled, "He didn't even bother to put out the fire. Seriously, he could've easily caused a forest fire!"

As he went to extinguish the fire, something caught his eye—an unopened can of instant noodles left beside the fire. "He's at least sensible enough to leave some food for me," Ayan said, stroking his belly.

He opened it to find a plastic spoon, some seasonings, and dry noodles inside. He decided to cook the noodle but he realized he didn't have water. He went to a nearby river, filled the can with enough water, added the seasonings, and heated it using the flames. Once the noodles were cooked, he enjoyed his meals and started heading home afterward.

Rumble

After walking for some minutes, Ayan felt a sudden churn in his stomach, followed by a large borborygmus. Realizing the situation, he quickly ducked near the bushes to relieve himself.

But the relief was short-lived. As he continued his journey, the irritation in his stomach returned, forcing him to stop again and again to relieve it.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath. "That old bloke. It's definitely his work. What the hell did he put in the noodles? That also without opening the can?"

He trudged onwards, despite the frustration, his pace slowing as he dealt with his stomach's rebellion.

-----

Ayan finally arrived home in the late afternoon, exhausted and relieved.

As he entered his house, he noticed an extra pair of unfamiliar shoes outside. Curious, he went inside to see who the new visitor was. He noticed a woman wearing a yellow-colored jacket and jeans pants sitting on a chair in the dining room with a cup of tea in her hand, eating a millet flatbread. As he got closer, he was shocked to find that she was Sonia, the blonde woman that he saved from drowning.

She turned around and, seeing his shocked expression, chuckled softly. "Hello there," she greeted, her voice warm but with a strange accent that made her words sound foreign to him.

Though her accent was unfamiliar to him, he understood her words. But, instead of replying, he went to the kitchen.

Aunt Tsering, busy turning a flatbread, noticed him and shot him a sarcastic glance, "Well, look who finally decided to come home. What were you doing all day since the morning?"

Ayan scratched his head, offering a sheepish grin, "I went around the forest searching for a place with a better network signal...... got too carried away and went a bit too far so it took a long time to return."