Caster gave Holfman and his team the biggest honor. “Master Otter!” Maxine and the others exclaimed, feeling embarrassed. “Shut up!” Caster cocked his head back and yelled angrily, “You are all useless! You embarrassed yourself and the family.“Thank goodness it was Dr. Wright here today. He’s a highly respectable man. “If it had been someone else, you all would have ruined the family name.” Caster smiled wryly at Holfman. “Sorry, you had to see that, Dr. Wright.” He humbled himself for a reason. Caster knew that if word got out about today, his family would lose credibility in the field. The Otters dabbled in medicine for generations, establishing themselves in Riverbank for years of reputation and skills. The support and patronage of the elites and respectable in Riverbank had been the cornerstone of the Otters’ long-standing reputation. Holfman was one of the three greatest doctors in the West State alongside Leo and Xavier. The Otters’ students made numerous
Caster pulled a long face. However, since Holfman sipped his drink without a word, Caster could not get involved in the conflict among the young generation.“Let’s have a match then, June.“If you lose, just apologize to us. We’re not asking for much since you’re Dr. Wright’s student,” Maxine and the others said curtly while gathering in the middle of the hall.Sebastian, who stole the show with total domination, said with a smile, “As you all know, June only became Dr. Wright’s student three years ago, but her talent for medicine is exceptional. “To be honest, if I’m in a match with her, I’ll perform no better than the rest of you.” Sebastian’s modesty led to silence in the room. Maxine and the others were shocked. Sebastian’s remark was not hurtful, but it was extremely insulting. The gap between the Otters’ team and Sebastian was plain to see. Yet now, Sebastian expressed his inferiority to June. His intention was clear. Sebastian was saying that they were unworth
Caster was helpless. It would be a family catastrophe.“No need to ask my teacher, Master Otter. I know who it is.” June said curtly, “The guy who slandered my teacher is Kaze Lee. I heard that he took his wife’s family name.“Are you telling me that the Otters can’t keep a moocher in check?” The crowd was shocked. The Otters turned toward the end of the hall. Kaze? He slandered Dr. Wright? “Y-You’re a bastard!” Caster pointed shakily at Kaze, nearly passing out. He did not think that Kaze was the cause of this. Kaze brought disaster to the family. No wonder Holfman’s student mentioned Kaze when contacting the family. Out of everyone, why Kaze? Caster should have known. Knowing Kaze, Caster was not surprised that he upset Holfman. “Don’t be mad, Master Otter.“Kaze started it. It has nothing to do with you.” Maxine and Max got up from the ground and helped Caster from falling. They turned and snapped angry looks at Kaze. “You’re a monster! Just admit to
Holfman frowned without a word. He would not mind a mindless comment from a passerby. However, Kaze was a different story. He said those words to Faith. Holfman knew that Kaze must have something to back himself up to say that to Faith. Kaze was not bluffing about his medical competence as the Otters thought he was. “I’m talking to you. Did this remark come from you?” Ignoring Maxine, June stared coldly at Kaze. Kaze gave it a thought. It was true that he said to Faith that only he could treat her. The three greatest doctors could not help Faith. Faith must have embellished the story a little to stir up trouble. “I did. What’s wrong with it?” Kaze nodded without any intention of explaining himself. It was not as if they could do anything to him anyway. “Bastard!” Caster slammed the table and pointed at the ground. “What makes you think you can slander Dr. Wright? You have the audacity. “Who do you think you are? “Get on your knees and apologize to Dr. Wr
Did Kaze say to Holfman that he would not get it? Once again, the room fell silent. Everybody looked at Kaze as if he had lost his mind. Kaze just challenged Holfman’s comprehension in the field he excelled in. It was ridiculous and funny coming from Kaze who knew nothing about medicine. Even Holfman grimaced and said grimly, “Don’t be cocky, young man. You should know that there will always be someone better out there.” “Don’t try all preachy with me. Even if there is someone better, that person won’t be you,” Kaze said nonchalantly.He paused and said, “Here’s a word of advice to you, Dr. Wright. Just give it up. “You can’t help Faith.“But without my help, she’s destined to remain unconscious forever. “You’re only risking your reputation, your life, and upsetting Faith further by insisting that you can help her.”Kaze was not trying to get on Holfman’s nerve, but Faith’s condition was a result of overtraining in ancient martial arts. She needed the expertise of a
June looked at Kaze defiantly. She believed there was more to Kaze since he knew what was wrong with Faith. Even Holfman wanted to get Kaze’s opinion. Nevertheless, June doubted that Kaze could win her in a game of poison. “No! It’s not happening.” The Otters made faces. Even Caster said curtly, “You caused this, Kaze. Don’t get my family involved. “Just get down on your knees and beg for mercy.” As if Kaze stood a chance against Holfman’s student. The family’s young generation lost to Sebastian. June had a higher attainment in medicine than Sebastian. The Otters were not at an advantage. Sure, June said that everybody in the Otter family could help Kaze in the match. However, there was no way Caster, a man pushing eighty, would compete with a young woman. Even if Caster was able to put his ego aside, he would risk being the laughingstock once the word got out. No one thought Kaze was qualified to have a match with June. They believed June proposed the match t
June’s expression was one of sheer defiance. Kaze said indifferently, “If you’re afraid of dying, we can add a condition where no one will risk their life. “Before we administer the poison, we should have the formula of the antidote ready. When one party loses, the other party should administer the antidote right away. “If the lethal dose ends up taking a life, that person has to go to jail.” Kaze chose to go through with it. Even Holfman was skeptical. Kaze could be a skilled doctor for all he knew. “Alright. Let’s go with it.” June said grimly, “You’re going to bow down to me, Lee.” She turned to Caster. “Please let us use your family’s laboratory.” The Otters, a family of medicine practitioners, had their own laboratory and supply of medicinal ingredients. The room was also available to the family’s young generations to study medicine. At this point, Caster could say nothing but nod. “Fine.” “Hang on.” Kaze said, “You only mentioned what you expect me to d
Still, June was not going to give Kaze an edge. She went straight to the medicine cabinets. Each tiny drawer was labeled with the ingredients, but June did not even have to look at these labels. She grabbed the ingredients without thinking twice. Though the arrangement of herbs may vary from one to another laboratory, there was a certain system in place. June was familiar with these herbs. Soon, she pulled out over a dozen ingredients and combined them in several different ways. It was all about efficiency in creating poisons. There was no time to prepare the cure in many unexpected circumstances. Hence, it was best to make do with whatever material that was available on hand. The process of formulating the poison was straightforward. The herbs were crushed and mixed in water. There was no brewing involved. The method was ideal for matches. The poison was potent enough to be effective but not as strong to cause death, making a good compromise between efficacy and saf