An elderly retainer remained impassive as he growled, "Why waste your breath? Just kill him and be done with him.""I agree." Another retainer in his fifties nodded in agreement. "Don't blame us, brat. Blame your tactlessness and refusing the olive branch Mr. Turnbull extended!"However, just as they were ready to attack, the doors to the reception hall opened."Eh?"Frank, Glen and his retainers all turned to find a man with short hair striding in, his eyes flashing murderously.And it was none other than Titus Lionheart himself."I warned you never to show up in Morhen, didn't I?" He smiled. "Well, now that you're here… prepare to die."He was escorted by several Ascendant rank elites, one of whom had reached peak Ascendant rank.In an instant, the pressure was suddenly on Frank and he was caught on the backfoot."W-Where's the patient? I'm busy," someone spoke in inarticulate Draconian just then. A middle-aged balding foreigner with blonde hair and blue eyes strode in jus
Frank scowled and barked, "I won't say a word if you're insulting me alone, but you are insulting Draconian tradition, and I must set the record straight."He learned medicine from Mystic Sky Sect, and it was the most orthodox and oldest discipline in Draconia. And what were the medicine men from abroad doing while Draconia medicine was already saving lives? Their solution for clubfoot back then was amputation, and without anesthetic, leaving the patient's up to fate! And now they were belittling Draconian tradition?However, Frank's reaction was exactly what Titus wanted.He had certainly been humiliated in Riverton, and had not the guts to tell his family what happened.But now that he ran into Frank in Morhen, he would properly show him.He would return his humiliation at Frank's hands by a hundredfold, and hurting his pride was just the first step.As the heir of the Lionhearts, he had seen as many maladies as healers. Even Abel Loggins—the best healer in Morhen—only amount
Frank was silent for a moment before nodding and agreeing to it.This was obviously the Turnbulls' bottomline, and they were ready to snap if he kept pressing his luck.And he was certainly unlucky today, running into Titus Lionheart and his Ascendant rank retainers—he did not have the advantage if a fight started.Still, meeting Vicky would have to be done for now, since he had questions for her anyway.Glen was clearly relieved that Frank was playing along too.The details from Zac suggested that Frank was actually Ascendant rank… Even peak Ascendant rank.If they really drove him over the edge, things would really get out of hand."Where's the patient… Can 't you hurry?" Professor Roberts snapped impatiently right then, clearly unaccustomed to the messy diplomacy of Draconia."The professor's right. Come on, my father's more important." Glen nodded.Having come to an agreement, Glen had his people get a car to take everyone to a building at the edge of the Turnbull Estate.
"What…" Frank frowned. "Examination is vital in Draconian traditional medicine, and gloves aren't a part of it. I need direct contact to examine the patient's body temperature, skin texture, and other details to properly diagnose him—""Shut up!" Kendra clearly could not stand his long-winded explanation, almost spitting out her dentures. "Put those gloves on, or get out of here! We never asked for you! Some hillbilly like you doesn't get to touch my husband—I care for hygiene even if you don't!"Frank almost snapped at Kendra's outburst.He had every intention to help George, but his family repeatedly harassed him, clearly having no intention to let him live!"Hmph."He snorted, but decided to bear with it and put on the gloves for the sake of seeing Vicky."Now, now, Mr. Lawrence." Titus chuckled even as he put on the gloves. "You don't get to blame those gloves if you misdiagnose Mr. Turnbull.""Draconian traditional medicine doesn't even observe proper hygiene. How scandalou
"No rush." Frank rubbed his chin as he continued, "If it's deer musk, it'd be mixed with water, no?""Nothing you said was right!" Kendra lost all patience and strode up at Frank, pointing at him as she snapped, "Get out of here and stop wasting our time!""Why don't you just give up already?" Titus Lionheart added gleefully."That's right—you should leave," Glen agreed, posturing himself as head of the Turnbulls. "We won't stop you, but you don't get to mention Vicky ever again or set foot in our house, you hear?"Frank narrowed his eyes but eventually nodded. "I have an idea of what Mr. Turnbull has been infected with. The symptoms started a week ago, catalyzed by deer musk which he consumed frequently, and not in solid form…"Taking out the needles he always carried with him, he looked around at everyone and said, "I will now perform acupuncture. If the information you've given me is right, Mr. Turnbull will wake up soon.""Stop it!" Glen snapped, frowning. "Don't bother forci
Glen then leaned in to speak into his mother's ear, saying, "This is also our chance—we can pin blame on Frank so that Vicky hates him, and we have more reason to stand against him."Kendra's frown eased right then, and she nodded. "Good. We will go with that!"Frank could hear them whispering to each other and knew right away what they were intending.Though he did not care, he was still frustrated nonetheless.If Kendra had allowed him to touch her husband in the first place, he did not need to resort to tricks to get the details from them, and he would have been able to diagnose George more accurately.Still, he had deduced that George was infected by an earwig from the South Sea. It was not a particularly profound technique, but once the earwig's eggs were consumed, the eggs would hatch into larvae with certain medicine or martial techniques. With that, the larvae would reproduce within the victim's innards, building hives and eventually devouring their insides clean.At
Frank expected George to awaken in under five minutes with his treatment, with the scarab eggs in his gut purged.He said ten minutes just so that he had time to spare—everyone's constitution was different, and it was his style to be conservative.However, it was soon ten minutes, but George was not showing signs of recovering, and his cheeks were still darkened.Frank checked the pill he made and eventually came to a frustrating conclusion. "Wait… Could they be lying to me?" If they were lying, his diagnosis would be inaccurate and his solution incorrect.If that was really the case, his treatment would be meaningless in a minor case, but George could get killed if it was serious.But before Frank could ask anything, Glen raised his wrist pointedly to check his Patek Philippe and shook his head."It's been twelve minutes, Dr. Lawrence," he said, emphasizing 'doctor' to add insult to injury. "How much longer do we have to wait?""Hehe…" Professor Roberts chuckled but otherwise
Even so, Frank decided to put in one last effort and said quietly, "I'm a healer, but I'm not omnipotent. I can't diagnose a patient without touching him, or when you're lying to me about his symptoms! It's Mr. Turnbull's misfortune to have a wife like you!"The last part was certainly a bombshell. Kendra leapt up to her feet instantly, leaping straight at Frank, ready to claw his face and eyes out."You vermin! Watch your mouth!" she screamed unreasonably. "I-I'll kill you! Glen, call in every man you have—I'll make him wish he was dead!"Glen did not stop her and was actually glaring at Frank. "Do you know what you just said?! Say it again, I dare you!"Frank met his angry glare, took a deep breath, and chuckled coolly. "You want to hear it again? Fine—I'll say it as many times as you want! Having people like you for family is why George Turnbull will die! You're all scum who would rather have your father and husband die!"Everyone was left stunned by Frank's outburst, and Glen
Frank was not only the smart guy out there in the whole right world. In other words, Mr. Creston had that in mind too!He was helping because he had felt insulted after Frank flexed on him earlier, and Dani was still useful to him—for now.When she handed over the company, however, he would not hesitate to kick her out! On top of that, he would make sure that she took the fall for all the dirty deeds they did together.In the end, she would not even be able to defend herself, while suffering lawsuits and public condemnation!Even so, she said, "I understand now. But it's never too late—I swear I'll change if you give me a chance!"Frank simply turned to Zein. "Actually, this man had the right idea—if he gave you a chance, who would give him one?"We're all adults here, so act your age. I'm sure you understand how a good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.""I get it!" Dani quickly said. "You don't have to keep me around, just—""No!" Frank snapped and crushed her left hand und
Dani was under the impression that even if the goons were not the best, they were on the cusp of reaching that level anyway.It turned out to be just her wishful thinking—when against the truly powerful, she was a lamb at the mercy of the butcher's knife, no matter how many people she brought! "To be honest, I'm curious as to what you're thinking." Frank snorted as he strode up to Dani. "Why dump a man who loves you dearly for some prick you don't even know? Being abused in that state and still thinking that you'd chosen wisely—do you actually have a brain?"Seeing her launching, he knew she was not listening, and he tore her ear off!The horrific pain jolted Dani to her senses, and she was left clutching what remained of her ear as she stared at the seemingly handsome man.She was under the impression that Frank would let her live even if she lost, but it was once again wishful thinking.He would kill her, and savagely at that!And she was certainly right, since Frank had ne
Drunken Moon quickly shook her head. "Don't worry about rewarding us. Nothing's better than getting you back on your feet. Did you know that you looked just like a zombie when I saw you again? You really gave me a scare there."Zein chuckled. "Can't help it—I really had no idea what I could do against them, so I could only flounder. But with this man recovering my mother's ashes, it's over for them."Turning to Frank, he nodded. "Don't worry, brother—I'm no ingrate. I'll definitely make this worth your while."Frank shook his head too.It was a simple thing for him to do, and he had volunteered in the first place. Why leverage grace for trinkets?Even as the thought crossed his mind, someone kicked open the door, and soon, a dozen goons stormed inside. With their black tank tops, machetes, and muscular figures, they were clearly not to be trifled with.And they were led by none other than Dani herself, striding inside like a queen, as if she had everything under control.Zein
"Argh!!! This place is haunted!!!"Horrified, Dani clung to Mr. Creston, eager to earn his comfort.Contrary to her expectations, Mr. Creston was much more knowledgeable and pushed her away, growling, "There's no such thing as haunting, only reckless brats. So tell me, who are you, boy?"Frank smirked. "I'm surprised you're that knowledgeable. But to be honest, who I am doesn't matter—what matters is that you're a subhuman piece of shit!"Then, as Mr. Creston and Dani looked on, the box of ashes vanished.While Dani screamed again, Mr. Creston was ready to call for help when he felt someone seizing his throat, and he could not make a sound."Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you—I'll just make sure your reputation would go up in smoke before you go to jail. That's the best either of you could hope for."As Frank's voice became distant, Mr. Creston could move again and promptly slapped Dani across the face.Amusingly, she did not get upset from that. In fact, she hung her head
It was superstition, as even fools knew that reincarnation was not real. But the richer they were, the more superstitious they got.Still, Drunken Moon said, "I'll get your mother's ashes back."Zein signed. "Thanks for the offer, but it's too dangerous. And she'd really do it if she's pushed too far."Drunken Moon would not want to bother Frank since this was her friend's problem and not hers, and he was not obliged to help. However, she honestly did not want to let people like Dani strut and leveled a pleading look at Frank.She simply did not know that Frank was always eager to help, and he had to agree that Dani was too sickening to be left at large.Putting a hand on his chest, he assured Zein, "Just tell me where the urn is. I'll definitely recover it for you."Zein was rubbing his brow as he said, "The people you're dealing with aren't as simple as they appear."Frank chuckled. "That applies to others too."And with those words, he disappeared.Zein—who had been lou
As Frank and Drunken Moon chatted, a thirtyish man opened the door. His tailored suit was draped lopsidedly, and stubble grew all over his chin.On top of that, there were wide dark circles under his eyes, both of which were bloodshot."Drunken Moon?" His eyes lit up when he realized who it was, but only for a second as his gaze soon dulled again.Drunken Moon turned to Frank. "Allow me to introduce you to a friend, Lugh Frankton. Lugh, this is my friend Zein Dunham. You can just call him Zein."After the men shook hands, Zein ushered them inside and made them tea.Then, he curled into himself as he sat on a couch, looking miserably insomniac."You don't look like yourself," Drunken Moon pointed out, puzzled. "Did you suffer some sort of trauma?"Zein smiled wryly. "You never know what could happen to you, I guess. Live and let live."Drunken Moon looked around and realized that all of Zein's wedding photos were gone.In fact, anything that had to do with Dani Farron, Zein's w
Damn their horrible luck! They would not be in this situation if Lanky Man was not eager to get himself a wife!Meanwhile, as Frank and Drunken Moon left, the latter giggled and asked, "Hey, could you come along while I visit a friend? It's rare that I can be out and about, so I'll just treat this as a holiday. That means I should properly unwind instead of going back right away."Frank nodded. He had nothing else to do anyway and followed Drunken Moon to a luxurious residential area.They could have entered directly, but since Drunken Moon did not know which house her friend lived in, she asked the security guard, "Do you know Zein Dunham? I'm a friend. Would you happen to know where he lives?"Though Drunken Moon was very polite, the security guard studied her from head to toe before scowling in contempt. "You can't go in without an appointment, lady, and I definitely can't give you any resident's address either—I'd get fired."Stepping out of the security shack, Drunken Moon ap
Lanky Man could not help flashing a thumb-up at Frank.However, the gesture changed just as Frank was not watching—with a flash of blue light, countless needles rained down on Frank!Nonetheless, Frank did not move.The needles continued toward him before clanging loudly as they came to a stop near him, as if striking a wall.Lanky Man could not help being stunned—that was his killing stroke, and he launched it at Frank when he let his guard down.However, the kid was somehow able to cast some barrier that nullified his attacks. What the hell was that even?!"Curious, aren't you?" Frank asked just then. "I'm sure the people you butchered would've been curious about your powers too. Now that the tables have turned, I must ask—has it ever crossed your mind that you're the same as them?"At those words, Lanky Man's knees buckled and he dropped to his knees.It was only natural that he imagined his defeat, but not one this pathetic.Frank never even broke a sweat, but nothing work
Despite Drunken Moon's agility, a needle struck her in the left shoulder after she dodged them multiple times.Gritting her teeth in pain, she smirked. "I'm surprised you're this strong."Lanky Man laughed. "It's not just you—I don't know why I'm this good either."Ever since I was a child, every person I've met, regardless of age or sect, could never win against me. It's really a pain being so strong—normal folk really wouldn't catch my eye, so I was hoping you'd change your mind, priestess."Drunken Moon sighed. "Then it's a shame that you've run into someone you shouldn't, or you might really have gotten your chance at showing off."And with those words, she chanted her incantation.Soon, blue light converged and formed a human silhouette.It was naturally Frank himself in the flesh!Even as Frank studied his own body, he actually found it interesting—in a way, he was able to teleport.In that case, would he not be making bank if he worked as a courier or pizza boy?"Who a