Chapter 4
1555 Words
Wilheim stared at his hand for a while, unaware that he was taking too long to finish what he had to do. Karen’s slap brought him out of his reverie. There were a lot of questions on his mind. But for now, he had to cure his niece.
Karen had other thoughts. She wouldn’t allow a murderer to touch her daughter.
Karen attempted to push him away from Katherine but Wilheim grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. She flinched in pain and was about to scream. However, he had already let her go. Rod was just watching the scene unfold.
Wilheim returned his focus to the little girl. He covered his hand with his mana and discreetly eased Katherine’s complexion. Her little body needed to be supported. Whatever was in her body was eating her insides.
With more focus, Wilheim could make out the shape of worms inside her body. He could use his skills to see the nature of the sickness. This one felt familiar.
Taking the chance again, Karen fisted her hand and attempted to punch. Feeling the hostility, Wilheim glared back, forcing Karen to instinctively step back.
Karen has met a lot of people during her business trips. She has seen all kinds of personalities. But this was the first time someone’s glare sent the chills down her spine.
She thought she couldn’t fear anyone because of her position. But right now, she was terrified. It felt as if Wilheim would take her life the moment she hit him again.
It was as if the Grim Reaper was looking at her soul.
“If you don’t want your daughter to die, stay still. I don’t have tolerance for bullshit.”
It was a life on the line and this woman had the audacity to interfere. Wilheim didn’t like it when other people came between him and his patients.
Rodrick sighed when he saw the tension ease. He couldn’t help but feel satisfied deep down. There was bound to be someone who would put his wife in her place.
To be honest, he didn’t expect her to be home. If he knew she was, he wouldn’t have brought his brother at all.
“If anything happens to Kathy, I will have your skin as a hide. Both of you will be buried with her.”
Rod balled his fists, trembling in rage. Wilheim didn’t miss any of that. He sighed deep down. Apparently, his brother really didn’t have it easy.
There was no time to waste on this drama. Wilheim opened Kathy’s mouth and examined her tongue. For suspicious reasons, he could see that none of his medicinal abilities were sealed. He learned from his master how to use the hidden sight to unravel signs normal eyes could never see.
There were faint black lines on her tongue that were spreading.
He furrowed his eyebrows, feeling complex. There was no doubt about it.
“How long has she had this illness?”
Rod stopped glaring at his wife and replied immediately. “Approximately… three months!”
So one more month and the girl wouldn’t even have the chance to continue living.
Wilheim knew very well of this illness. They were artificial worms that ate the host from the inside, slowly. It gave agonizing pain the closer the host is to death.
Katherine started convulsing again, coughing violently. Black lines spread further down her face and her neck. This time, some of them were clear to the human eye.
“What did you do to my daughter?” Karen shouted.
Karen was worried about her daughter. This has never happened to her. Not those horrible black lines.
She believed Wilheim did that.
The doctor, on the other hand, felt compelled to finish treating her quickly. This kind of disease was human-inflicted. It was a slow poison meant to kill.
No doubt about it! The same mission that destroyed his life! They were supposed to investigate the laboratory. When they realized what the laboratory was developing, they had to destroy it. He couldn’t understand why this specific worm was in the country.
Back then, the disease wasn’t fully developed but now, it is complete.
Anger flashed in Wilheim’s eyes. How could someone inflict such a thing on a child?
Karen felt intimidated. The man didn’t even look at her, and she stepped back, terrified.
Rod had no choice but to pacify her. “At this point, let him try. You know very well what the doctors said.”
“What?” she scowled.
“He’s using acupuncture.”
Her spit landed on Rod’s face. It was baffling how her husband trusted a murderer.
Even the famous doctor who was highly skilled in old medicine couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t even dare use acupuncture easily. It wasn’t an easy treatment that anyone could perform.
Wilheim took out a box of needles the leader gave him before they separated. This was the first time he could check the equipment. Certainly, they were made by the blacksmith he used to know. A slight happiness was inside him. It was good to see that the old man was still alive.
He ignored Karen’s tantrums and picked up a silver needle. Before long, Kathy’s neck had a few needles pointing out. Wilheim was grateful for his brother’s trust despite what happened in the past.
“Stop killing my daughter.”
“He’s saving her life, Karen.”
Karen kicked Wilheim in the back and was about to do more. But Rodrick held her back. Karen slapped Rod instead. The man didn’t do anything to stop her from hurting him.
“If it weren’t for Kathy, do you think you’d have the comfortable life you have now? If she dies, you’ll be buried next to her. And you,” she pointed at her brother-in-law. “Go jump off a building if anything happens to her.”
“She’ll die, Karen. Everyone said that she had no chance to live. Why can’t you understand that?”
Wilheim let his brother take care of the nuisance. He had to focus hard. His forehead was sweating profusely. He had to stop the black lines from spreading and detoxify the body. He did that numerous times before. But this was the first time he did it to someone who was infected with the worm-eating disease. That was how they called it back then.
It took more than an hour for the treatment to end. When it ended, Wilheim was exhausted. His mana depleted quickly.
On the sofa, Kathy’s eyes twitched slightly. Then she slowly opened her eyes. She was blinded for a second. The first face she saw was Wilheim’s. She Thought he was like her fierce teddy bear. The toy also had a scar over his right eye.
After checking on her thoroughly with his ability, Wilheim stepped back and itched for a cigarette. He walked outside, leaving the parents alone with their daughter.
Rodrick was overjoyed. He couldn’t believe that his daughter’s face was better. In the past, her face was growing paler, as if her blood was sucked away.
“Kathy woke up,” he almost cried. “She woke up.”
He glanced at his wife. After their argument, she got exhausted and waited for Wilheim to finish.
She hurried to her daughter. “Baby, how do you feel?”
“Mommy… I can’t move.”
She tried to raise her hand. It raised slightly before falling back.
Karen glanced around, looking for Wilheim. He wasn’t around. She wanted to ask him what he did to her daughter. But before she moved from her position, Kathy coughed blood.
Rodrick rushed to bring the closest trash can and lowered his daughter’s head. Karen yelled for Wilheim to come over.
Her brother-in-law walked back inside.
“What did you do to my daughter? What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry!” Wilheim replied. “She is in no danger. That’s a good thing that she vomited.”
After Kathy stopped vomiting, Rod put the trash can aside and asked his brother. “Is she cured now?”
“You can say so. She just needs to eat well and replenish the blood she lost.”
This was the first time since his daughter got sick that he heard someone saying that she was well. Everyone was adamant that she’d die. Rodrick’s eyes filled with tears.
“The doctors couldn’t understand her sickness,” Karen started. “What did she have?”
“I don’t think you’ll be happy to know,” Wilheim replied.
“But I still want to know.”
“It’s a worm-eating disease. It’s bacteria that is man-made. Once it enters the body, it develops into small worms that eat the host’s body. It’s a deadly disease. If not treated in time, the host dies in six months. Usually, in case of a weaker body, it takes less than that.”
Wilheim pulled a small necklace from his bag. It had a fang in the middle. He crouched next to Kathy and took her small hand. He put the necklace inside and closed her small hand around it.
“I prepared a gift for you, Kathy. This fang will protect your dreams from nightmares.”
“Do you mean that someone wanted to kill my daughter?” Karen asked, horrified.
- Writer
