CHAPTER 43: Family Jade

Hilo follows Tar’s lead to an abandoned farmhouse, where Tar’s crew has captured the teenage thief wearing Kaul Lan’s untouched jade. Seeing Lan’s beads and cuffs on a nobody inflames Hilo’s conviction that jade cannot be democratized without destroying Green Bone order. He removes Lan’s jade and pockets it.

The teen identifies himself as Mudt Jindonon and accuses Tar of killing his father, Mudt Jin, whom Tar confirms was a Mountain spy and criminal. Refusing to let the grievance stand, Hilo forces three of his own jade studs into Mudt’s mouth and has Tar and Doun seal him in a metal box with an air tube, then bury it deep, ensuring a drawn-out death by accelerated jade overexposure without shine.

After the grim work, Hilo thanks Tar’s Nails—Doun, Tyin, and Yonu—and quietly acknowledges Tar as his closest brother in arms, praising his reliability. He notes Tar’s recent pressure moves, including whispering Koben Ento’s name, and considers future uses for the team with Espenian expansion.

Returning home before dawn, Hilo sits in the dark with Lan’s jade. When Niko wanders in, Hilo shows him the cuffs and beads, tells him they belonged to his father, and promises to keep them safe until Niko is grown and a Green Bone, affirming the Kaul family legacy.