Chapter 231 - Mysterious Willow Stone

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“The chessboard is a balance of white and black squares, and so is life. Life is just like a game of chess.”

Finn Taylor said only two sentences, but that threw Willow Stone into deep thought. ‘Is the black that I see really black? What’s the white that you see?’

“Yvette, where’s the chessboard?”

Hearing that, Clarine Landon got excited. She knew that Willow Stone was finally going to show off her chess skills for the first time in a long while.

She was naturally going to bring Finn Taylor down this time.

“In the chess room.” Yvette Larson walked into the chess room with the rest following behind her.

“Since Ms. Stone says that I have a bad reputation, I shall take the white pieces.”

Willow Stone didn’t refuse and sat on the side with the black chess pieces.

Finn Taylor started first, making a simple move.

Willow Stone put up a fight, not allowing her opponent to take the lead.

Then, the tiny chessboard became a fierce battleground.

The chess pieces were no different from valiant soldiers that were fighting tooth and nail with no rest.

Neither Yvette Larson nor Clarine Landon were exceptionally good at chess, but they did know a thing or two about it because of Willow Stone’s influence. It was exactly because they understood the game that they felt shocked.

In their hearts, Willow Stone was undefeated, yet she was being suppressed by Finn Taylor throughout the game and didn’t even have the chance to fight back!

Finn Taylor made his last move, bringing the game to an end.

Willow Stone had lost, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Finn Taylor had even let her off easy because of what he had said earlier. Yet, she hoped that she was wrong and that everything was simply a coincidence.

The thought of it being otherwise was terrifying. Not only had he won, but that wasn’t even his best!

Willow Stone wasn’t one who could admit defeat easily, but she stood up and stared at her opponent. “You won.”

Before Finn Taylor could say anything, Clarine Landon spoke up.”Humph! Don’t get so smug. You only won because you started the game.”

Finn Taylor was helpless. “Yes, yes. I got lucky this time.”

The more humble Finn Taylor behaved, the more afraid Willow Stone got of him.

Along her way here, she’d heard a lot about the useless matrilocal son-in-law of the Larson family. But now, those rumors seemed like nothing but lies.

Unknown to her, Finn Taylor was sizing her up too. ‘There’s much more to this girl than what meets the eye.’

Yvette Larson had made the other out to be an average and meek girl, but one’s true personality would show when they were unaware. For example, Willow Stone’s thirst for victory was nothing like the gentle and meek personality Yvette Larson described her to have.

Of course, it could also be that Finn Taylor was overthinking it—perhaps she simply wanted to win.

Willow Stone didn’t know how to feel when she heard her friend speaking up for her. Although she felt grateful toward the latter, she knew full well that it would be difficult for her to beat Finn Taylor even if she started first.

“Are you participating in the competition too?”

“Yes.”

“I look forward to playing against you then.”



The next day, Finn Taylor received a call from Logan Yeats, saying that Hunter Sullivan had returned but was now in the hospital!

“What’s going on?” He was stunned. ‘I asked Hunter Sullivan to finish Jerry Wood off. Logically speaking, Jerry Wood isn’t strong enough to hurt him, so why is he in the hospital? I’d better not over-analyze it and just go to take a look at him first.’ 

“Are you going out?” Finn Taylor was just about to leave when Willow Stone walked down the stairs. She was dressed in a pink mini-skirt that revealed her long and slender legs.

Last night, Finn Taylor had been chased out of his room by the three girls, who had also taken over his bed.

“Yes, I have something to do.”

“Last night, Yvette said that you’re always very busy. Don’t tell me that you’re hooking up with other women.”

Finn Taylor said only half-jokingly, “You seem to be very interested in me.”

“No, not really. I just don’t want Yvette to be hurt.”

“If you’re really worried about her, you can use your own powers.”

Willow Stone evidently paused after hearing the other, but she quickly regained her senses and smiled. “Protect her using my chess skills?”

Finn Taylor merely smiled in return and waved at her. “I’m leaving.”

His earlier words had been meant to test Willow Stone. Based on her reaction, he couldn’t help but suspect that her personality and character were nothing more than a front. ‘She didn’t turn up at our wedding, not because she didn’t want to come but because she couldn’t. If that’s the case, I really have to conduct a thorough investigation on this girl. Who knows what else she’s hiding?’

Very quickly, Finn Taylor arrived at the hospital.

The situation was much worse than he had expected—both of Hunter Sullivan’s hands were fractured.

This was Wampus of Peregrine Hall they were talking about. Even with his skills, he couldn’t protect the other!

“Who was it?” The first person who came to mind was none other than his own mother—Wendy Jensen—because the other knew that he wanted to kill Jerry Wood.

“I don’t know. When I arrived at Jerry Wood’s house, a man suddenly appeared and beat me up. I couldn’t defend myself, and he broke both my hands.”

“Could you recognize him? Is he from Peregrine Hall? Did Wendy Jensen send him?”

“No, he probably isn’t from Peregrine Hall. I don’t think Madam sent him either because he didn’t even know me. He just said that my martial arts skills resembled those of someone he used to know and that he wanted to test me.”

Hunter Sullivan’s words threw the others into confusion. ‘Who’s this mysterious person that showed up out of nowhere?’

“Help me look into this person.” Finn Taylor took out a photo and handed it to Alexander Scott.

The latter glanced at the photo of Willow Stone. “Who’s this?”

“My wife’s close friend.”

The four guardians were stupefied. In fact, their expressions seemed as though they were looking straight at a monster.

They were just short of saying that he wouldn’t even let his wife’s best friend off. Was he still human?

“Don’t think too much about it. She’s Yvette’s college friend and a good friend of hers. She recently visited us, and I feel that she’s a little mysterious.”

Hearing that, everyone’s eyes shot toward the photo. Yet, not a single one of them could understand what Finn Taylor meant by that. ‘She looks like a very typical and beautiful young lady. If we were to talk about her unique points, it’d probably be her long and slender legs. However, there are tons of women with such long legs! Do you mean they’re all mysterious? Finn Taylor is just making an excuse.’

Finn Taylor couldn’t be bothered to explain himself, and he simply asked Hunter Sullivan an important question. “Do you have any way of finding that person?”

“You can try the beach.”

Finn Taylor nodded as Hunter Sullivan described a location to him.