The horde of pharmacy owners was united in their demands, and Aurelius was forced to cave in under immense pressure.
After paying up an exorbitant amount of money as compensation, his plans for the Pill of Life Exchange drew to an end. However, his plan did not yield any profit, and he had to deal with a crucial issue.
Soon, the owners left cheerfully after collecting their money, leaving the Damrons with sour faces.
“Master Damron, are we going to let them walk away with the money?”
“What other options do we have? Their union will expose us for wrongdoing if we do not pay up. What will the Nolans then think of us? After paying them, we are all in the same boat. So, if one of them dares to leak this information,” Aurelius was enraged as he spoke.
“Those dang shorties have cheated on us!’
Baltazar claimed the Pill of Life Exchange would cause minimal side effects to the body during the previous meeting. On the other hand, Aurelius had no idea that the adverse effects could be fatal until the incident happened.
“Useless fools! Now, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot.” After Aurelius was done screaming and shouting, he barked out a command to his men.
“The Holy Doctor Competition is about to begin. Let’s get ready to head back!”
After all, that was the most important matter at hand.
“What are we going to do about Emsgate’s miracle doctors?”
Although he was infuriated, his objective was to form an alliance with those miracle doctors.
‘Ha! Since we’ve come this far, we shouldn’t throw away our hard work.’
When he was reminded of that, he sighed in frustration. “I’ll invite them to join us later.”
Following that, the Damrons concluded their conversation.
Meanwhile, Baltazar was slumped in a chair out of despair. His blank gaze was fixed on the lifeless body of his beloved disciple on the bed.
Although the windows were open, a faint scent of incense lingered in the room. Then, Alvaro brought the incense urn closer to his nose and took a whiff of the ashes, and his expression abruptly changed.
“Soul-scattering powder has been mixed into the calming incense.”
Although the calming incense could mask the scent of soul-scattering powder, he could smell it. The other elders also found a container of soul-scattering powder hiding in Zayn’s top.
The investigation led them to the conclusion that he committed suicide because he was so depressed over the prospect of accepting a life of being useless after being a prodigy.
“Oh, Zayn, why did you get so worked up over such a trivial matter? What am I supposed to do without you?‘ Baltazar’s eyes were red, and he sobbed.
“We are sorry for your loss, Master Baltazar.”
Regardless of their dissatisfaction with him, no one would speak up, as his disciple had passed away. So, when they noticed how distraught he appeared, everyone immediately came forward to console him. Moreover, it took a long time for him to overcome his despair.
Later, he motioned for them to leave. “Please take a break and thank you for everything. I’d like to spend a few more moments with Zayn.”
Everyone left the room while shaking their heads and heaving helpless sighs.
When Baltazar heard the footsteps dwindle, his sadness quickly disappeared.
Instead, he grinned broadly and said, “Oh, Zayn, you didn’t have to do this.”
He stroked Zayn’s cheek before pulling out Zayn’s phone. Then, he reached out, grabbed Zayn’s hand, and unlocked the phone with his finger. Next, he disabled everything that could be used to record sound or video and any automation features. Soon, all recordings that could be used to reveal his wrongdoings had been erased.
He had harbored the desire to murder Zayn for a long time, but he had never had the opportunity to carry it out.
All the other doctors in the same field were as skilled as he was, and some were even more skilled. So, if he made a move, it would undoubtedly be discovered.
Baltazar had not anticipated that his disciple would find his temperament intolerable and attempt to murder him with soul-scattering powder.
So, how could he pass up such a golden opportunity?
Therefore, to test his hypothesis that some herbs could negate the effects of others, he mixed in something extra with Zayn’s food. Moreover, the antidote Zayn had taken was immediately negated and rendered useless.
Ultimately, it led to his disciple’s demise.
