Master Vail was momentarily thrown off balance, uncertain of his next move.
Chyntia’s voice cut through the tense silence like a knife. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid to face a little challenge? You call yourself a master of heaven, yet you cower at such a trivial matter?”
Master Vail scowled, his face darkening with anger. “How dare you suggest that I, Master Vail, could be afraid?”
But then he changed the subject, sneering arrogantly. “You almost had the old man fooled, didn’t you? Dr. Simmons willingly challenged me yesterday and conceded defeat. Logically, he should hand over this clinic to me. But now he’s hiding like a coward, refusing to show his face. You’re just a slick kid trying to stir up trouble. I’ve already won, so why bother betting with me again? What’s the point?”
Chyntia smiled slyly, looking the old man in the eye. “Hey there, old guy. One of us wants to keep up, but I’m not talking about you. I recorded the entire challenge just now with my camera. Are you really going to back down? Because I won’t hesitate to post these videos online, especially on overseas networks…”
“A clinic is just a drop in the bucket, only worth a few million. So what if I give it to you? As long as you’re not afraid of embarrassment and losing more than you gain, you can take this clinic.”
Turning to Xyla, he asked, “Did you get it all on camera, Xyla?”
Xyla nodded vigorously. “Master Wade, I recorded everything!”
As she spoke, Xyla slung her black leather bag off her shoulder and opened it up.
From inside, she pulled out several action cameras and glanced back at the bag. Upon closer inspection, there were four or five small, circular holes dotting the bag’s surface, likely meant for the camera lenses.
It was just that the cameras and the bag were both black, and Master Vail had been too distracted to notice them before.
Now he realized that he had unwittingly walked into a trap set by this clever kid.
If he agreed to another competition, then all of these women would surely catch him in the act, their ages impossible to determine. It would be proof that he had cheated yesterday and his reputation would be destroyed. But if he refused to compete, then the kid would simply upload the video online and ruin him anyway.
Master Vail’s mind raced as he pondered his options. “The key is that I can’t kill or silence anyone. Too many people are watching. If I were to do something like that, I’d be a wanted man across the entire country. If I tried to flee abroad, I’d be pursued around the world and my reputation would be ruined.”
It was only then that he realized just how devious this kid’s intentions were.
He thought carefully to himself, “If I play hardball with this kid, I’ll only bring about my own destruction. Instead, I might as well extend an olive branch and make peace. That way, I won’t suffer any further losses…”
With a heavy sigh, Master Vail put on a show of magnanimity. “Fine, I can see that you’re deliberately trying to help Dr. Simmons keep this clinic. I’ll be the bigger man today and give it back to him. I don’t want it anymore.”
He stroked his beard thoughtfully with one hand, adjusting the hem of his long gown with the other. Then, with a confident stride, he turned to leave.
Chyntia wasn’t about to let Master Vail off the hook that easily.
He stood his ground and spoke with biting sarcasm, “Don’t even think about running away, old man. You tried to frame Dr. Simmons yesterday, tarnishing his reputation in Aurous Hill. You can’t just turn tail and pretend like nothing happened.”
Master Vail was starting to panic. “Well, then what do you want?” he asked anxiously.
In that moment, Master Vail regretted ever getting involved with Dr. Simmons’ clinic. He never expected that it would land him in such a dire situation. Now that he was ready to throw in the towel, his opponent refused to let him go.
Chyntia grinned mischievously as he looked at Master Vail. “I heard from Dr. Simmons that you made a bet with him yesterday, and the stakes were a medicine cauldron. I couldn’t help but notice that the bag on your person seems to be bulging. Is that what I think it is?”
Master Vail took a step back, his eyes wide with fear. He clutched the bag tightly, stammering out, “You want my medicine cauldron?”
Chuckling, Chyntia replied, “Now hold on there. It’s not me who wants it, it’s you who used it as a bet yesterday. But let’s face it, you cheated. Cheating is equivalent to losing, plain and simple. So, if you’re admitting defeat, you need to hand over the bet stake. Do we have an understanding?”
Master Vail seethed with anger, gritting his teeth and cursing under his breath. “I won’t stand for this nonsense! I didn’t lose, it’s clear that the old man won yesterday. And today, he’s feeling generous. But you, you just can’t resist trying to take his things. You’re so greedy!”
His veins bulged with rage, and he shouted at Morten, “Boy! I don’t want to start anything, but if you keep pushing me, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Chyntia simply snorted and motioned to the ones that Xyla had hired. “You guys can go, you’re not needed here anymore.”
The onlookers couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief when they heard that the two rivals were calling a truce. They quickly dispersed, eager to avoid any potential fallout.
Once the coast was clear, Chyntia turned to Xyla and said, “Go close the door. This old bastard isn’t leaving until he hands over what he owes us.”
Master Vail was livid. He punched Dr. Simmons’ consultation table with all his might, reducing the solid wood to a pile of shattered debris.
Then, jabbing his finger in Chyntia’s direction, he snarled, “Boy, you clearly don’t understand the meaning of the word ‘dead’.”
Master Vail had thought that his menacing words would have Chyntia trembling at his feet, begging for mercy. But to his surprise, Chyntia didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he sneered at the old man with a look of pure disdain.
“I know all about death,” Chyntia retorted, his voice dripping with contempt. “And I know exactly how to spell it. If you don’t cough up what you owe, I’ll call up a buddy of mine who’s an expert in human calligraphy. He’ll use a knife to carve the Chinese and English characters for ‘death’ right onto your wrinkled forehead!”
Master Vail was beside himself with frustration. He had traveled far and wide, earning respect and admiration wherever he went. But here, in Aurous Hill, he found himself face-to-face with a young man who had no respect for his reputation.
This insolent youth was threatening to carve words into his forehead with a knife! Master Vail gritted his teeth and glared at Morten, his fists clenched tight.
“Do you really think I won’t kill you?” he snarled. “I’ll give you one chance to live. Get down on your knees and kowtow to me ten times, delete all those videos, and I might spare your pathetic life. Otherwise, your head will end up like that broken table over there!”
Chyntia just sneered. “Old man, it’s not that I don’t respect you. It’s just that with your meager skills, you couldn’t even touch the tip of my shoe. You’re just talking out of your ass!”
Master Vail had completely lost his mind. His teeth were clenched so tight that they felt like they might shatter.
His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Morten, and he roared in a cold, angry voice, “You’re courting death, boy!”
With that, he swung his fist with all the strength of an eight-star warrior, aiming directly at the door. The force behind an eight-star warrior’s punch is equivalent to that of a fully loaded heavy truck. As the power coalesced into the four fingers of his fist, it created a terrifying wind that was almost suffocating.
Chyntia could feel the strength of the wind, and even Xyla, who was standing two meters away, felt the surge of air like a hurricane.
Her heart raced with fear, and she couldn’t help but cry out, “Master Wade, be careful!”
