After saying goodbye to his seniors, Richard finally stepped out of the clinic, and immediately he noticed a line of luxury cars just parked nearby.
It was strange as this wasn’t a place that often saw such display of wealth, but he brushed it off and kept walking. “Excuse me!” a voice called out. Richard looked and saw a young, beautiful woman approaching him, with a man behind her. “Hi, sorry to bother you. Is Dr Jung available today?” she asked, a hint of urgency in her tone. “No, he isn’t. He left the clinic a long time ago.” Her shoulders slumped slightly as a quiet sigh escaped her. “How long? When will he be back?” she desperately asked. “For about two years now and I don’t know when he will be back. Do…” “Two years?!” Daniel, the man with Janae snapped, his voice sharp with frustration. Their grandfather was seriously ill and they had come, hoping that the legendary Dr Jung could treat him. But unfortunately, their hopes were shattered. “I knew this crap was a fraud!” Daniel yelled in frustration and slammed a card on the floor. “Why promise that anyone with this card could receive his treatment when it is clearly a lie??” He ran his fingers through his hair, his face beginning to redden with growing anger as he began to pace back and forth. Janae on the other hand, sighed heavily, on the verge of tears. They had consulted every renowned doctor in the city for their grandfather’s illness, all to no avail. And the card was literally their last hope. Richard caught a glimpse of the card and immediately recognized it. “This card is not a fraud,” he said, picking it up. The card was indeed one of his master’s exclusive cards and only ten of them existed. Dr Jung rarely treated anyone, and only people in possession of this card had access to his rare and highly selective care. “Who is the patient if I may ask?” Richard said. Janae’s eyes immediately shot at him, “Oh! Do you know where Dr Jung is?” she eagerly asked. “Maybe you can take us there or…” “No, no,” Richard interrupted. “I don’t know his whereabouts but I’m willing to help treat the patient.” Now that his master was gone, it was naturally his responsibility to honor his master’s commitment himself. Janae and Daniel glanced at each other, their brows knitting together with suspicion. “Are you sure about that?” she asked. “Dr Jung is… well, he is a legend. And you… you are?” she said, slowly scanning Richard from head to toe. “I am one of his apprentices..” “I’m not sure what you’re hoping to gain here,” Daniel interrupted, his mistrust evident in his demeanor. To him, Richard‘s sudden offer to help felt suspicious, maybe he just wanted to get money from them. Richard could tell what they were thinking from their body language, but before he could respond, a weak, rasping cough echoed from the car behind them. His head snapped toward the sound, his brows furrowing as he recognized the extent of distress in that cough. “The patient is in the car?” he rhetorically asked Janae. “That cough is clearly coming from the edge of the lungs,” he stated, his brows furrowing deeper. “He is experiencing labored breathing, with fluid buildup causing that heavy rattle, and with chest tightness and a chronic fever.” Janae and Daniel exchanged shocked glances, wondering how he could correctly tell their grandfather’s condition from a single cough. “How… how could you tell his symptoms correctly without even seeing him?” Janae asked, her voice trembling with disbelief. She turned to Daniel in awe, “We’ve consulted countless doctors and none of them have been able to understand grandpa’s condition like this...” “Janae, don’t get too excited yet. I’m sure he just luckily guessed right,” Daniel said. “Is that really possible though?” “C’mon I know scammers like him,” he concluded. Richard let out a small chuckle, “That cough will worsen. In a few hours, the patient will begin to experience severe shortness of breath, possibly even cyanosis.” He continued with a steady voice, “In case you don’t know, cyanosis is where the lips and fingers start to turn blue due to lack of oxygen. The chest tightness will also escalate and the fever will spike.” “The fluid buildup will worsen and he will lose consciousness from the lack of oxygen,” he concluded. At this point, Janae was sweating profusely after all she heard. “Here’s my card just in case you change your mind,” he gave it to Janae and walked away. There was no need to make them believe him as he only offered to help for the sake of his master’s promise to them. Just then, Janae’s phone began to ring. “Hi dad… Oh my God! Okay dad, we’ll be on our way home now.” She couldn’t contain her joy as she immediately turned to Daniel, “Dr Ben has agreed to treat grandpa.” “Wow! Isn’t he like one of the top ten physicians in the country? Let’s hurry!” They immediately left with their grandfather and zoomed off. Meanwhile, Richard was already on his way to Ironvale. Ironvale was one of the city’s most luxurious neighborhoods in Kora. On his way, Richard fed his eyes with its beauty and realized not much had changed since when he lived here, years ago. Hours later, he arrived at the Morrigan villa. “What are you doing here?” a sharp voice, filled with disdain fired at him the moment he walked in. “Good day to you too, Delilah,” he replied calmly. Delilah stood at the top of the staircase, her posture was haughty and her eyes narrowed. She was shocked to see him but she was more displeased. “How dare you show your face here after I dumped your insignificant ass? You’ve got some nerve, I see,” she said, descending down the stairs. “Didn’t you get the letter? Or better still, are you here to beg?” she asked as her eyes swept over him with a look of utter arrogance. Before he could talk, she continued, “You’re nothing more than a penniless village man to me, Richard. And yet you come here, as if you have any right to seek me out after I canceled our engagement.” She paused and slowly approached him before stopping just inches away from him. “Anyways, sorry for you, the Crimson Valkyrie does not waste her time with men… like you.” Despite her rudeness, Richard remained calm. Because why not? He wasn’t here to pressure her into marrying him; he simply wanted to see Sir Morrigan. Richard finally spoke when he realized she was done. “I’m here to meet Sir Morrigan to cancel the engagement himself.” “You can’t be serious right now!” Delilah angrily snapped. “I know you know my grandfather has been seriously ill and in a coma for a long time now, so what game are you trying to play?” Richard’s brows furrowed in confusion at the news. “It’s obvious you’re doing this because you know my grandpa is unable to wake up to cancel the engagement himself,” she shot at him before he could even speak. “No…” “Just admit it— you want me and you are here to beg. I mean… who wouldn’t want the Crimson Valkyrie of Kora?”“Look, I had no idea Sir Morrigan had fallen into a coma. In fact I’d like to see for myself.”Delilah frowned, “Are you trying to insinuate that I’m lying or something? You know what, follow me,” she ordered and led him to a room. She decided that she wouldn’t argue with him. She would just take him to see for himself then maybe he would finally give up on the engagement. Richard’s eyes widened slightly at the sickly old man lying unconscious on the bed. He increased his pace to take a look and it was really Sir Morrigan. All the color from the old man’s face had drained. Even his lips were chapped and purple. Every breath he took seemed to drag on forever and he looked as if he were barely hanging on, like a light slowly dimming. Richard lifted his hand gently and took a look at his palm, “Oh no! He has been afflicted with Viperis.”“What the hell is Viperis?” Delilah asked, her face twisting into a scowl. Richard’s expression grew grim as he shook his head, “Sir Morrigan is s
”I’ve only been able to keep him stable for now but he’s still unconscious, and his stability won’t last very long,” Doctor Ben stated. Despite the tension, he had managed to make the old man stable, though his breathing was shallow and irregular. Collin wiped the sweat from his aching forehead. “Please doctor,” he implored with a trembling voice. “Whatever it takes to save him, do it. Anything at all, just save him. We can’t lose him.”With a deep, reluctant sigh, the doctor spoke up. “There’s one more option,” he murmured, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “It’s the only option left. It might be able to temporarily keep him alive, but it would put him in a permanent coma with uncertain chances of waking up.”Collins‘ brows shot upward in fear, his eyes widening as the words sank in. “A coma… with no guarantee?” He swallowed hard, his eyes darting around as he wrestled with the decision. He hesitated as the risk was high, but the thought of losing his father without trying eve
Lydia raised an eyebrow and let out a short dismissive laugh. She opened the door wide and stepped aside, “Richard, the Rolls-Royce you rented and the actor you hired are here for you.” Without giving it a second thought, she already assumed that Richard had formulated all of it to pretend he was wealthy in front of them. “Good day sir.” The young man bowed. “Your ride is right outside.”Richard immediately recognized that they were from Janae and got up to leave. “I’ll be on my way now,” he told Sir Wilson and bid him farewell. Lydia kissed her teeth loud enough for him to hear, “You’re so pathetic, for real. At least you should have made your looks align with the wealth you’re trying to fake before anything.”Richard ignored her, walked past her and left. Lady Wilson crossed her arms and laughed. “Did he really think we’d be that gullible? Renting a top luxury car and bringing in actors.”“He thought we’d be dazzled and fall at his feet,” Lydia replied and laughed. Sir Wilson
Seeing how Dr Ben was in utter awe at what Richard had done, Collin became quite confused. “Dr Ben, why are you staring at his retreating figure like you’ve just seen a ghost?” Collin asked. “What he did was incredible but it’s just acupuncture, isn’t it?”Ben averted his awestruck gaze to Collin and said, shaking his head rapidly, “The Katharos Needle Technique is not just acupuncture.”“I have only seen this technique in a rare medical manual my teacher treasured so much. And even though I studied it for several years, I couldn’t master it!”“Wow!” Collins' eyes widened, realizing that they might have seriously underestimated Richard.“Janae,” he called, “go after the young man now!”A cold sweat formed on Ben’s forehead as he began to regret his earlier disrespect, realizing that he might have offended someone with such great skill. He wiped his brow and quickly followed Janae, hoping to make amends and apologize to Richard as well.As soon as Janae got outside, she saw Richard j
“Since when did determining who stays and leaves this restaurant become your job?” Richard asked her, raising an eyebrow. Lydia angrily pointed her index finger at his face, “This is why I don’t like you; you’re a nobody but still very arrogant,” her brows furrowed in irritation. “You’re shit!”Richard chuckled lightly. “Well, I do not need you to like me, Lydia.”“And just in case you’re worried I might end up marrying you, you have nothing to worry about,” he added. “In fact, I will let your father know that the engagement would be canceled.”Lydia’s brows furrowed deep, pulling together at the center as her eyes narrowed too, “Why are you pretending like you wouldn’t kill to be engaged to a beautiful lady like me??”Her brows furrowed deeper then she let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I see it now. This whole act of yours– pretending to be uninterested in me… I know it’s just some twisted way to get under my skin, isn’t it?”She leaned forward with an intense gaze, “You think by ignori
“I’m sorry, Ms Delilah,” he said, his heart heavy with regret. “I was unable to get his contact information especially after I had disrespectfully doubted his skills.”Delilah nodded thoughtfully, “It’s fine doc, I understand.” She knew that she’d do the same if she were in Ben’s shoes; it was naturally unbelievable that a young man could surpass the legendary Dr Ben’s expertise. “Thank you doc,” she said. Atleast, she’s now got a chance to cure her grandfather.“I’ll handle it,” she added confidently before hanging up. Without wasting any more time, she decided to meet the remarkable young doctor through the Vester family herself.On the other hand, Richard finished his luxurious, sumptuous meal and proceeded to leave the restaurant. He stepped outside, feeling pleasantly full when his phone buzzed. He quickly answered after seeing it was Sir Wilson. “Hey son! Are you out of town yet?” “No sir..”“Good!” he happily said. “Why don’t you come stay with me for the night?” Richard
After hearing the employee mention the black card, a ripple of murmurs spread across the lobby.Some whispered in awe, while others stared in disbelief, trying to catch a glimpse of the big wig holding the black card!“Oh my God! It’s really the Supreme black card!” Ty Dwayne, one of the city’s elite exclaimed in a low tone.The Supreme black card was an extremely rare symbol with only a few dozen people in the world possessing one. While only five people in Kora had it. It represented the highest of the highest wealth and status, reserved for the ultra rich. The employee straightened up, “P-please, this way, sir,” she said, nervously leading him to the verification area. Richard calmly strode behind her, paying zero attention to the murmurs. The eyes of the customers followed the card as he moved, gazing at it with curiosity and surprise. Lydia, who was conducting her business at a nearby desk couldn’t help but notice the commotion. Her eyes narrowed in curiosity, and then wid
“Oh,” Janae muttered, her brows lifting as she realized that the high figure Dr Ben had mentioned to Richard at her house was actually Delilah. Delilah’s expression became serious. “If you can provide me with information about this Doctor, I would owe your family a favor,” she said. “A favor I promise to honor whenever you might need my help,” she added, leaning forward with a deliberate tone and her steady gaze fixed on Janae’s.Janae’s brows knitted together as she glanced down, biting her lower lips, uncertain but giving the offer a thought. Janae was aware of Delilah’s power and influence, and knew that with her support, her family’s prospects could significantly improve, but she was still hesitant.She remembered that Richard didn’t want to help Dr Ben. And she didn’t want to go against his wishes just for her family’s gain, especially after knowing how great his medical skill was. ‘Offending Dr. Richard isn’t an option,’ she thought. She heaved a sigh but gave it a last th