Chapter-111
Everyone watched wide–eyed as Dustin administered the fiery beetle.
The moment it entered Sheila's body, the effect was immediate. The cold air around her began to dissipate, and in less than three minutes, her body had gone from icy cold to being at a regular temperature. She gained color in her cheeks, and her breathing steadied.
Then, under the disbelieving gaze of the crowd, she whimpered and came around.
"She's awake?" Astonishment was evident on the crowd's faces.
The fact that a rascal like Dustin was able to cure Sheila of her condition when even Dr. Shane was unable to was beyond them. It was shocking indeed!
"H–How is this possible?" Xavier's eyes widened, bewildered.
How could an unknown doctor possess such skills?
"How did he do it?" Claudia was equally amazed and terrified. She struggled to come to terms with how something she had always thought was evil had healing properties.
"I never knew that the mystic arts had such amazing effects!" Malcolm's eyes lit up as he marveled at Dustin's skills.
His unconventional means of healing were undoubtedly a groundbreaker. Malcolm, who had initially thought that he no longer had any room for improvement in the medical field, finally found new hope.
"Sheila! How are you feeling? Are you experiencing any discomfort?" Caden and Lily were both happily surprised.
They had not held high hopes, to begin with, and they were more than pleased to be met with such a miracle.
"Dad, Mom How weird. I no longer feel the coldness within me. It's as though it has vanished!" Sheila patted herself all over, a surprised expression on her face. She had never felt so warm before.
"That's great! That's absolutely great! Thank you, thank you so much for saving her!" Lily was so ecstatic that she was about to bow to Dustin to thank him.
"Mrs. Murray, please, there is no need to bow!" Dustin reached out to hold her up. He was not used to such unbridled expressions of gratitude.
"Was it you who saved me, kind sir?" Sheila was delighted to see Dustin. It had just been a day, and they had met again! Was it not fate?
"Sheila, it's all thanks to Mr. Rhys here that you're still alive! If not for him, you might very well still be unconscious," Lily remarked.
"Thank you, kind sir!" Sheila bowed deeply.
"You're welcome. After all, I get paid for saving you." Dustin smiled.
"So is my daughter completely cured, young man?" Caden asked cautiously.
He had consulted many experienced and well–known doctors regarding Sheila's condition, and all of them had expressed that the condition could only be suppressed, not completely eradicated. So he had to be sure.
"I wouldn't say that she's completely cured of it, but she won't be bothered by it for the next 10 years," Dustin guaranteed.
"Why is it only for 10 years? Can't you get rid of it completely?" Caden frowned.
"It's Polarfrost. It can't be eliminated so easily. Unless you are able to get some extremely rare herbs that can improve her circulation and metabolism, the only solution is to use the fiery beetle to extend her life, and a fiery beetle only has a lifespan of ten years," Dustin clarified.
"10 years is good enough. At least it will give us more time to find other means of solution." Lily smiled.
It was already a pleasant surprise that her daughter's life had been prolonged by 10 years. She dared not ask for much more.
"Mr. Murray, now that your daughter's life is not on the line, is it time you deliver your end of the deal?" Dustin went straight to the point.
"It's the Gozoraberry you're after, isn't it? Please proceed to the lounge. I'll be there in a while," Caden said lightly. Caden gestured to the butler, who immediately got the message.
"This way, please, Mr. Rhys,"
"Sure." Dustin nodded and followed the butler to the lounge. He took a seat and waited. It was a long wait.
It wasn't until he finished his third cup of tea that Caden appeared with several men in tow.
"I really appreciate you saving my daughter, young man. Here's a ten–million–dollar check. Consider this your pay." Caden sat down and motioned to one of his men, who presented a check to Dustin.
"What? Thank you for your kind intentions, Mr. Murray, but this isn't what I want." Dustin stared at the check, puzzled.
"It doesn't matter whether you want it. What matters is that this is what I'm paying you for a job well done." Caden sipped on his tea.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dustin's eyes narrowed.
"Don't you get it? The Gozoraberry isn't yours. All you're getting is the money." Caden spelled it out in plain words.
"Mr. Murray, we had a deal. I cure your daughter, and you give me the Gozoraberry. Why are you going back on your words?" Dustin's expression darkened.
What was the meaning of all this? Were they turning their backs on him once they no longer had use of him? Had he just been taken advantage of?
"The Gozoraberry is not only a precious herb used for healing, but it is also remarkably beneficial to practitioners of martial arts. Don't you know that, young man?" Caden suddenly asked.
"So?"
"It would be a waste of precious resources to give you such a valuable treasure, so I made the decision to give it to someone else," Caden justified himself.
"You gave it to someone else? Who?" Dustin's brows furrowed deeply.
"Who else but me?" Xavier made his way in haughtily. He had in his hands a small, red, wooden box that held the Gozoraberry.
"Hey, buddy! Uncle Caden's given me the Gozoraberry. It's mine now!" Xavier patted the box smugly with a Sneer.
"So what if the rascal stole the limelight today? Ultimately, I'm the one who benefited from it! At the end of the day, he's just a lowly peasant!" Xavier thought.
"Caden Murray! You are an influential person with high social standing, and you carry the honor of the Murray family with you! How could you go back on your words and betray someone who has helped you? Are you not afraid that you'd be ridiculed?" Dustin slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He was truly angry.
He could understand Caden's previous change of mind, as it was a matter pertaining to his daughter's health condition.
Malcolm had a reputation for having great expertise in his field, which naturally made him more deserving of trust on Caden's end. But now, it was a different case altogether.
Caden was going back on his word after Dustin had saved Sheila! That was downright outrageous!
"Ridicule? Hah! Who'd dare to ridicule me? Do you really think that a few words from you would be able to tarnish the Murray family's reputation? You're really thinking highly of yourself!" Caden scoffed.
He looked at Dustin as though he were a fool.
"Are you really going to disregard your honor?" An icy glint flashed in Dustin's eyes.
"Cut the crap! Take the money and scram, or I'll get my men to throw you out!" Caden ran out of patience.
How dare this peasant go against him?
"What? Are you threatening me now?" Dustin lifted his gaze.
"So what if we're threatening you? I'm warning you, Rhys! You better get out of here now, or I'll make you!" Xavier roared.
At that, a group of well–trained guards rushed in bearing malice. It seems like they came prepared.
"Hahaha!" Dustin was so infuriated that he laughed out loud when he saw the guards rush in.
Anyone would have assumed that such a prestigious family would at least put in some effort to uphold their reputation. Who would have guessed that they would act so shamelessly?
Not only did they go back on their word, they even betrayed someone who had offered them help in their time of need! And now that things didn't go their way, they resorted to violence and threats. How tyrannical and despicable!
"Caden Murray! Are you about to repay kindness with ingratitude?" Dustin's gaze frosted over, and an imposing air came over him.
"Young man, you'd be smart to back off now. Ten million dollars is enough to last you a lifetime. You better not get greedy!" Caden warned.
People in his position were only interested in what benefited them. Naturally, he would place connections with the Horst family above an unknown doctor like Dustin.
"Am I being greedy, or are you the one taking advantage of me? Do you really think that I'm an easy target whom you can mess around with however you please?" Dustin retorted sharply.
"Uncle Caden, let's not waste time on this scumbag! Just throw him out and get rid of this eyesore!" Xavier got impatient.
He was green with envy at how Sheila had called Dustin 'kind sir. She had never addressed him as such!
"I'll give you one last chance, lad. Take this money and leave, and I'll pretend that nothing has ever happened today." Caden gave his ultimatum.
"And I'm giving you your last chance too. Give me the Gozoraberry, or you'll be sorry!" Dustin threatened authoritatively.
"Hah! You're really making things hard for everyone, aren't you?"
Finally, Cader could hold it in no longer. He exchanged a look with Xavier. "Throw him out! Do whatever you like. Just make sure that he doesn't die."
"No problem! Tie him up and throw him out! Break his legs if he resists!" Xavier sneered as he waved the guards over.
"Yes, Sir!" The guards rushed up at his command.
"Insolent bastards!" Dustin seethed. He met the guard's head–on.
With just a few simple swings of his arm, he delivered slap after slap to the guards' faces.
They cried out as they were sent sprawling across the lounge. None of them was a match for Dustin.
"Huh?" Caden and Xavier were surprised at what they saw. They had not expected that a mere doctor like him would be so skilled in combat techniques!
"So it turns out that he's a practitioner of the martial arts! No wonder he has the guts to behave so pompously!"Xavier scoffed as he slowly took off his coat.
"It's been a long time since I've loosened up. Well, let's have some fun today, shall we?" With that, Xavier got ready to attack.
"Hold it right there!" Lily, Sheila, and a few other people burst in hastily.
"Caden, what's going on? Dustin saved Sheila! Why are you guys attacking him?" Lily questioned.
*This is none of your business, Lily. Bring Sheila back to her room to get some rest." Caden frowned.
He had brought Dustin to the lounge because he didn't want his wife and daughter to see what they were doing.
But in the end, they still caught wind of things and came over.
"Is this because of the Gozoraberry, Caden? We made Dustin a promise! Why are you backing out on your words? If word got out, how do you think it's going to affect our reputation?" Lily got the picture the instant she saw the red box.
"What would a woman know? Get out!" Caden was ashamed, but he lashed out at Lily with his frustration.
"Dad! You've always told me to be an honest person, but what are you doing now?"
Sheila took a step forward and demanded, "Dustin just saved my life, but not only are you not grateful towards him, but you've also resorted to using violence against him. Since when were you so unreasonable?"
Caden's expression changed when he heard her words. He couldn't care less about what others thought about him, but he couldn't disregard how his daughter saw him.
He had always kept his dirty deeds hidden from his daughter. It was unfortunate that he was caught red-handed today.
"Sheila, Uncle Caden had nothing to do with this. I was the one who wanted the Gozoraberry."
Xavier stood up to take the blame. I'm just one step away from advancing my skills to the next level, and a Gozoraberry is exactly what will give me the extra push to help me progress. That's why I shamelessly requested it from Uncle Caden."
"Even so, you should not have resorted to violence!" Sheila scowled.
"Sheila, you don't understand! I had planned to buy the Gozoraberry from him for 10 million dollars, but not only did this fella here reject my proposal, he even insulted me! I really couldn't take it!" Xavier argued indignantly.
"I don't care! Since you've agreed to give Dustin the Gozoraberry, then you can't just back out at the eleventh hour!" Sheila reached out, snatched the box from Xavier's hands, and passed it to Dustin.
"You…" At a loss, Xavier could only look to Caden helplessly.
Caden looked none too pleased, but in the end, he only shook his head. He had an image to keep in front of his daughter, so they could only let it slide.
"Dustin, I'm really sorry that you were startled. My father wasn't in the right state of mind for a while back. there. I apologize on his behalf for offending you. I hope you'll find it in you to forgive him." Sheila said apologetically.
Seeing the sincerity in her gaze, Dustin was appeased. It was true that Caden was despicable, but he had to admit that Lily and Sheila were both very understanding and reasonable.
"Mr. Rhys, please have the Gozoraberry. From now on, the Murrays are indebted to you!" Lily said.
"Please do not feel indebted to me. All I ask is that Mr. Murray would not take revenge on me," Dustin remarked lightly.
"No, he won't! My father's not like that!" Sheila shook her hand and turned to look at Caden, throwing him a threatening glance.
Caden had no other choice but to nod. "What happened today was just a misunderstanding, please don't take offense."
"If that is the case, thank you. I have other arrangements made, so I'll be taking my leave now." Dustin turned to leave.
"Dustin, will we meet again?" Sheila suddenly asked.
"We'll leave that to fate." Dustin walked out the door with a wave.
Before he got out the door, he heard a low voice by his ear saying. "You're lucky Sheila came in the nick of time, you scoundrel. She just saved your sorry ass!"
"You're the one who lucked out that Sheila came when she did. Otherwise, you'd be a dead man by now." Dustin left with a scoff.