Chapter 61 A Lose-Lose Situation
When Marie hung up the phone, she was met with Lizzie and Mr. Harris'' angry stares. Since Marie had
put the call on loudspeaker, they had both heard the conversation between Marie and Shawn, loud and
clear.
Neither Lizzie nor Mr. Harris had been aware of Shawn''s scheme to extort money from Marie, and the
knowledge of it now made their blood boil. Lizzie, for one, was incensed at Shawn''s tant
shamelessness. Here she was, taking care of a debilitated Mr. Harris, all the while Shawn had been
trying to use his illness to make a few quick bucks. "What a despicable guy," Lizzie thought.
When Mr. Harris turned to address Marie, his tone was firm and resolute. "Don''t worry, youngdy. You
don''t have to pay him a single cent. When he gets back, I''m going to give that ingrate son of mine a
piece of my mind—" Mr. Harris'' angry tirade ended in a series of violent coughs.
"I understand your frustrations, Mr. Harris," Leo said, stroking Mr. Harris'' back. "But you can''t do
anything until you''ve regained your full health."
When he''d finally stopped hacking and coughing, Mr. Harris shook his head and gave Leo a pained
look. "Oh, Leo..." A wry smile tugged on his lips. "I know you mean well, but you have to be realistic
here. My health is long gone."
Instead of replying, Leo looked towards Marie. "Get me a trash can."
A sense of puzzlement filled Marie''s mind at Leo''s request. "What on earth does he need that for?" she
thought.
Still, sheplied and reached for the trash can stashed underneath the bed.
"This might hurt a little, Mr. Harris," Leo said. "Please bear with me, okay?"
Without waiting for Mr. Harris'' reply, Leo gently lifted Mr. Harris'' wrist and began massaging a spot near
his wrist bone.
At first, Leo kept a steady and slow rhythm. But gradually, his ministration became faster and more
forceful.
Mr. Harris breathing became increasingly ragged and his face pale. At one point, his throat began
constricting, and he felt like throwing up.
Momentster, Mr. Harris felt his stomach expanding. Tightening his grip on the trash can, he bowed
over the rim of the can and hurled out his stomach''s contents.
Everyone in the room could stare in shock as the torrents of dark liquid poured out of Mr. Harris'' gaping
mouth. Leo suspected that Mr. Harris had been fed herbal medicine that had gone way past its expiry
date. And from the looks of it, Leo was right.
"Oh, my God! Dad! Are you okay?" Lizzie said, already moving towards the bed but was held back by
Nadine.
"He''s fine," Nadine said in a calm tone.
"This is to empty the contents of Mr. Harris'' stomach," Leo exined. "The herbs he consumed have
yet to be digested, so he should be fine after this."
A momentter, Leo pulled out a silver needle, the same needle he''d used on the young man the other
day.
But rather than pain, Mr. Harris felt a sense of relief the moment Leo pushed the needle into him.
With the needle in hand, Leo worked deftly with his fingers, poking and pulling with fluid precision.
When sweat began to dot Mr. Harris'' forehead, Leo gave Marie a subtle nce. "Sweat."
"Oh," Marie said, bursting into action.
Secondster, Marie reappeared at the bedside with a wet towel and began dabbing Mr. Harris''
forehead with the towel.
Leo gave her another nce. "I meant my sweat."
Marie''s hands stilled. "Huh?"
Shock coursed through Marie the moment her eyesnded on Leo''s face.
Leo''s face was drenched. Somehow, Leo was sweating even more than Mr. Harris.
Nadine was the only one who knew the reason for that.
The chill had already seeped into Mr. Harris'' heart and lungs, so it would take a long time to get expel it
with medication alone. Nadine, as well as anyone else who was highly trained in martial arts, knew that
there was only one way to save Mr. Harris at this point; Qi.
Getting rid of the chill using one''s Qi was the most effective way to cure Mr. Harris illness.
However, performing Qi healing was by no means a simple task. Rumor had it that only one in ten
million martial artists possessed the skills to master''s one''s Qi. And the exceptional individuals who had
mastered their Qi formed what was known in the martial arts world as the Inner Circle.
Not even Wace Spencer, who was a decent martial artist, had mastered his own Qi; at least not in
this life time.
Unlike everyone else in the room who waspletely in the dark about what Leo was doing, Nadine
knew better. She understood that he was forcing the chill out of the older man''s body using his own Qi.
Ten minutester, Mr. Harris let out a soft groan. By then, the color had returned to Mr. Harris''
When Leo removed the needle, everyone''s gazes were drawn to the tip of the needle, which was red
and sizzling hot, like the residual embers of hot steel. The needle''s burning tip sizzled the moment it
met the cool air of the room.
Tossing the needle into the trash can, Leo wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled at everyone. "All
done."
Mr. Harris sat on the bed for a few moments, feeling his body. Gone were the chilly sensations he''d
been feeling ofte. His limbs felt strong, and he no longer felt lethargic. Mr. Harris swung his legs over
the side of the bed and slowly climbed down the bed. When he took a few tentative steps, he knew. He
knew that he''d been cured.
"I... I feel great." Mr. Harris nced at Lizzle. "I''m... cured."
"Oh my, God. Please tell me I''m not seeing things," Lizzle whispered. "He''s... He''s cured? Just like
that?"
While Lizzle was gaping at the sight of a healthy Mr. Harris, he himself couldn''t believe that this was his
body. Just moments ago, he was weak and dying. But now, he felt strong; stronger than he''d ever felt
before.
Marie, who had been shooting furtive nces at Leo, finally found her voice. "I know you''re my brother-
inw and all that," she mumbled. "But who are you really?"
On the surface, he seemed like a normal, unemployed man. But after the marvelous feats that he''d
pulled, Marie wasn''t so sure anymore. First, there was the limited-edition Rolls-Royce parked outside.
Then, there was the fact that he had a woman like Nadine doing his bidding. And now this? Marie
would be blind if she couldn''t see that Leo had just performed one of the miraculous medical feats ever.
"Who are you, really?" Marie thought.
Moments passed in silence until Marie broke it again.
"It''s almost five," Marie said, giving Leo a look of concern. "What should we do?"
Right now, Marie couldn''t help but want to follow Leo''s lead. It was as though he possessed some kind
of magical power, like she just knew that everything would turn out okay if she let him handle it. In a
way, this was true. Before they came here, Marie saw the whole situation as hopeless. She couldn''t
see a way out of her conundrum until Leo showed up and gave her a ray of hope.
It took Leo a long while before he finally answered. "If I''m not mistaken, Middlehill Garden is quite far
away from the city center." He looked towards Marie. "It''s a secluded, greenified area with plenty of
trees."
Marie shook her head. She wasn''t a local, so she had no idea where Middlehill Garden was. Lizzie, on
the other hand, had heard of the ce. "It''s a very remote ce, yes," Lizzie said, nodding anxiously.
"Nobody hangs around there. I heard..." Lizzie''s voice shook with fear. "A few murders took ce there
a few years ago. The bodies were found buried in the ground."
"Then it''s time we take a trip to Middlehill Garden," Leo said in a serious tone before turning to Mr.
Harris. "I''m sorry to trouble you, Mr. Harris. But I''m afraid you''ll need toe with us."
"Of course, I''ll go with you," Mr. Harris said, his expression serious and earnest. "You saved my life,
Leo. I think I owe you that much. Besides, I wouldn''t miss this chance to teach that useless son of mine
a lesson he''ll never forget."
***
Forty minutester, Leo and his fourpanions arrived at Middlehill Garden. Nadine was with him as
usual, as were Marie and Mr. Harris. Lizzie had decided to tag along as well, but only because she was
worried about Mr. Harris.
The sun had already set, so Middlehill Garden was swathed in darkness and a deafening silence.
Trees and shrubs surrounded the area. Beyond the dark silhouettes of the thick foliage, the wide
surface of ake could be seen. It was imed that the water in theke came from Emerdale River.
Leo and Nadine kept walking ahead,pletely unbothered by the darkness. Marie, on the other hand,
was starting to feel unsettled. "It''s rather dark here, don''t you think?" Marie nced around nervously.
"Shouldn''t we head back?"
Leo gave Marie a sidelong nce. "Ah. So, you''re afraid of the dark."
That remark instantly raised Marie''s hackles. "Who says I am?" she snapped.
Leo chuckled and kept walking.
About a hundred yards from the meeting ce, Leo turned around to face Mr. Harris and Lizzie. "You
two should stay behind. I''ll go with her."
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Mr. Harris nodded. "Please be careful."
Leo and Marie walked along a narrowne until they arrived at an open space where a man stood
waiting for them.
Shawn Harris looked up from his watch when he noticed Leo and Marie''s arrival. Smirking, he crossed
the space between them and stopped in front Leo and Marie. "I thought you weren''ting." Shawn
gave Marie a smug look. "So... Did you bring the money?"
Leo smiled. "Nope."
"What?" The smug look on Shawn''s face vanished. "Did I just here you right?"
Then again, Shawn had expected this, which was why he came prepared. Shawnughed darkly. "So
be it, then."
Shawn pped his hands twice.
A series of rustles sounded as the surrounding shrubs shook. A secondter, dark shadows emerged
from the shrubs and headed towards Leo and Marie. In an instant, Leo and Marie found themselves
surrounded by a group of men all dressed in ck.
"Get the girl," Shawn said, pointing at Marie. "As for the man... Kill him."