"Master, you haven't eaten anything for two days, you must be hungry, please eat these buns," Lily pleaded happily.
She had a bit of a blush; this was the first time Zeke hugged her like this.
"Thank you," Zeke nodded, he noticed Lily's tired state, and immediately understood that she had been working hard nights again to earn some money.
The Khan did not provide enough for Zeke to survive; thus, he had to rely on Lily to provide.
As he was heavily injured, he figured Lily must have worked twice as hard to nourish him back to health.
As he gently held Lily's delicate hands, he noticed the horrible scars and wounds on her hands.
Her wounds were slightly swollen; but they did not have enough money to treat them.
"Lily , you don't have to push yourself anymore!" Zeke said.
"It's ok, I can handle it!" Lily replied with a slight smile.
Zeke's injuries were severe, his body was weak.
He knew she would see to it to nourish him back to health.
"If I asked you not to go, don't go," Zeke said sternly.
"I have an idea to earn big."
Based on what he has learned in his previous life, money was nothing more than a bunch of numbers to him now.
"Tsk… who knew that you were so resilient!" a cold, shaky voice suddenly ringing through the shack.
Zeke was slightly disturbed after hearing that familiar, venomous voice.
He lifted his head towards the door, and saw a small, grey, old man, squinting at them. His stare was as unnerving as a viper.
"Weasley!" Zeke stared at him coldly, a bout of anger rising within him.
Weasley was one of Lincoln's lackeys. He was stronger than Zeke, and a wicked character.
It was him who stole Lily away and sent her to Lincoln.
If it was not for Zeke, Lily would have been defiled by that b*stard Lincoln.
"I will kill this man!" swore Zeke silently.
When Lily saw Weasley, she was petrified, and further burrowed herself into Zeke's embrace, unable to look back.
Zeke protectively hugged Lily , gently patting her back.
With a murderous and cold look towards Weasley, he asked, "What do you want?"
"You little sh*t, you got lucky back there! The great Master Lincoln is a forgiving man, he does not bother with past trifles… he sent me to examine you." Looking wryly, he took out a pill bottle.
"Here's a spirit pill, take it and heal yourself, never forget the exalted one's kindness!" he spat.
Seeing the bottle, Zeke couldn't help but snicker in his mind.
As suspected, Lincoln was scheming to slowly poison Zeke.
"Hey Zeke, take care of yourself, alright?" Weasley placed the bottle down and cackled coldy while exiting.
"That's weird, why would Lincoln give you a spirit pill?" Lily said with a worried look.
"I figure he's scared; I am the young master after all. If he murdered me, I don't think he'll get out that easily," Zeke said with a relieved smile.
However, his demeanor changed after smelling the pill; once again, it had been tampered with.
…
Half a year passed, and in that span of time, Zeke trained day and night, the Way did not disappoint.
In the 6 months that he had been training, his powers grew beyond what he could have imagined, and it utterly satisfied him.
Moreover, the Way allowed his body to break to new levels.
Even though he has not fought anyone since Lincoln, Zeke knew that he could take on those beyond his current level.
He knew he had been training hard — with some help from Lincoln's spirit pills — but was still surprised with his improvements.
As Lincoln was keen on slowly poisoning Zeke, he had Weasley deliver a poisoned spirit pill each day.
Little did he know, the pill eased Zeke's training manifold.
"Ptui!" he spat.
Zeke slowly opened his eyes and stared at the inky black liquid that was spat out.
An empty smile appeared.
"Lincoln… you probably never considered that a dragon's Might can so easily be rid of your poison," Zeke thought mockingly. "I've been training for so long, I'm almost beyond my current level," he pondered.
"However, the pills are starting to lose their effect on me," Zeke concluded worryingly.
Zeke glanced at the three pill bottles nearby, and an idea suddenly popped into his mind.