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Chapter 159 159 Stubborn One
Chapter 159 159 Stubborn One
Chapter 159 Chapter 159 Stubborn One
The woman bowed, and scuttled across the wooden planks- leaving a very bewildered atmosphere behind her.
"So, you were saying I'm like this because I started using narcotics huh? Is that right?"
The manager stiffened. But Nexus held her gaze firmly;
"Ma'am, forgive my forwardness, but this isn't the time to play semantics. This is serious. You need to begin treatment as soon as possible. If you don't, you'll probably only get worse and. . ."
The woman's body suddenly heaved as she coughed violently on the bed. Her white hair poured freely across her face. In tense vibrating movements, she forcefully expelled the dry air in her lungs in sharp guttural noises- spluttering into the white towel on her hand.
The manager promptly surged forward to her side. Bending low at her side, he kept muttering;
"I'm so sorry ma'am. . .easy there. . .easy. . ."
Growling, she snapped at him as soon as her cough cleared up;
"I'M FINE!!"
About six feet away from the hammock, with Crystal behind him, Nexus watched her carefully.
He understood.
The white haired woman must have been very eager to boost her own fighting strength. So, to her, the Icecore elixir must have been like rocket fuel to her engine. Undoubtedly, she must have consumed it in epic proportions- eagerly pushing herself to the limit each time.
But unfortunately, she had completely failed to anticipate the blow back.
Sighing as quietly as he could, Nexus' chest deflated slowly- leaving him in a hunched over stance.
'Damn,' he thought; 'Excessive Yin qi is a real bitch. . .'
He remembered Mrs. Russell's case an he cringed inwardly.
In many ways, excessive Yin qi was like a double edged sword. No doubt, it could actually boost a mage's fighting prowess to a bastard level. But underneath all that energy and hype, it had a nasty habit of slowly gnawing away at the host's body- eating it within like a subtle cancer, showing only when the damage had been done.
Nexus sighed again.
If Selina was fifteen years younger, her body might have been able to take the strain, and regenerate burned out cells after every burst of power. But she was well into her thirties.
For her age, she looked good and was pretty healthy. But all of that meant jackshit to the inescapable consequences of excessive Yin qi. This was the second case now. He couldn't help but think that this was starting to become a thing. . .
"Well, you've stated your case–" she said weakly as she reclined her head back;
"–what drugs do you recommend? My manager will get it, and hopefully, this can all be sorted out soon."
Nexus took a step closer to the hammock;
"Uhm I afraid that's not how this is going to work."
She dropped her head, and shot him a querying look;
"What?"
"I mean drugs won't do much. At best, they'll try to speed up the cell regeneration process. But it won't match the rate at which the cancerous Yin qi is using up your body."
"Using up my body?"
"Yeah, well, that's just a pretty way of putting it. But you already know what I mean. Right now it's just your tissues. Your internal organs will most likely come next, followed by outright respiratory, and circulatory system failures. Your body, unable to keep up, might then fall into a coma."
"Damn doctor," she protested weakly; "Do you have any good news at all?"
"As a matter of fact- I do." He took a step forward again, this time, darkening her sprawled out body with his shadow; "Drugs won't help. The excessive Yin qi has to be purged from your body."
In the distance, a flock of birds fluttered from a flowering tree- taking off in formation, and in? a burst of wings- distorting the stillness of the landscape.
Squinting at him suspiciously, she asked;
"And I'm guessing you have some way of doing this?"
Nexus nodded;
"I do."
"I'm listening."
Assuming a serious expression, he brought his hands together on his upper chest;
"Well, my method require a very hands on approach. With my knowledge of anatomy, I'm going to have to massage certain parts of you to get it all out. . ."
Crystal's eyebrows shot up.
The manager shot Nexus a crazy look.
And Selina's shoulders vibrated as she burst into a fit of hysterical laughter;
"Please doctor, tell me that is just another one of your 'pretty ways of putting it.'"
But Nexus' face remained unchanged. Selina's face darkened immediately;
"Wait, you're being serious?" she rasped; "Absolutely not!"
"Ma'am, that is the only way this can work–"
The manager cut in;
"Doctor, Lady Selina does not do physical contact. I'm sorry but that option is completely off the table. Isn't there some other way we can do this?"
Nexus shook his head sadly;
"I wish there was, but unfortunately, there simply isn't. You see, no drugs can successfully purge you of the Yin qi budding inside of her. The only way to do that is to target special pressure points on her body, and manually force it out."
Selina's cloudy grey eyes flashed stubbornly;
"Doctor, that's not gonna happen. So you might as well forget it. The only reason I haven't had you thrown out yet is because of that badge your're wearing around your neck. . ."
Nexus instinctively looked down at his chest.
". . .trust me, any other stranger that dared ask to lay hands on me, would not only have been thrown out, but would most likely have been possibly jailed as well."
The acknowledging look on the manager's face told Nexus she wasn't exaggerating at all.
"Lady Selina," he began; "I strongly urge you to reconsider your–"
"Manager!" she suddenly barked- silencing him,
"Yes my lady."
Too weak from the strain of calling for him, Selina beckoned on him to come closer with just a nod of the head. The manager shuffled closer, bent himself over the hammock, and lowered his ears to the lady's mouth.
Nexus watched as Selina whispered her orders into his ears, and then closed her eyes- as if done with the meeting. Mechanically, the manager stood up straight, turned right towards Nexus, and repeated her word for word;
"Your astute diagnosis did not go unnoticed, as well as the fact that you seemed to be well versed in this field. So, in the mean time, you will be staying on the premises as my in-house consultant. Hopefully, you can think of other innovative ways to combat this affliction."
Without even waiting for an answer, he called for the housekeeper.
In a moment, the matte haired housekeeper came swirling in with eager eyes. Smelling like vinegar, she breezed right past Nexus and Crystal in a haze of beige, and stood over the hammock with both arms clasped in front of her;
"Yes mister manager."
"Lady Selina wants these two as guests here. So, for the time being, they will remain on the property. Kindly factor their presence into the daily rations."
The woman simply nodded.
Then to Nexus and Crystal, he repeated the same words again from earlier on;
"Shall we?"
------------------------------------
"Your boss is quite the stubborn one isn't she?"
Behind the manager, Nexus trudged along the well tended soil- shoulders slumped in defeat, and eyes mooping under their heavy lids.
"Ha-haha-aha," the manager laughed aloud- croaking, and snorting in an ungraceful blend; "You have no idea doctor, no idea at all–"
The golden sun shone on his well-styled curls- causing them shimmer with a luxuriant glow;
"–still though, you should be grateful she didn't kick your butts out."
"Hey, I'm just tryina help okay? She doesn't have to like it. It's called medication for a reason."
"I hear you," he nodded; "I hear you loud and clear doctor. . ."
Through a path that ran from the luxurious scene of the manor's backyard all the way inland, the group left snaked their way through the sea of lilies, lavender blooms, roses, and a host of other plants that Nexus did not recognize.
In the very air all around them, like a cloud of fragrance, was a thick fruity scent that hung low in the atmosphere. Each unique scent rose up from the petals, and curled into the air- forming a symphony of scents.
In silence, their feet thudded against the earth- one at a time, until unconsciously, their steps fell into a predictable rythym.
Suddenly wondering where they were going, Nexus and Crystal featsed their eyes on the view of the well-tended hedges. They flanked the path on bothsides- gifting Nexus a clear sight of just how much Selina loved nature.
"Uhmm, excuse me mister manager," Crystal chirped from behind; "The house is all the way back there, so where exactly are we headed?"
Almost instantaneously, from behind a swirl of trees, a small cottage appeared at the end of the path. Away from the main building, in isolation from the rest of the estate, the small bungalow sat there like a semi-modern boys quarters- surrounded by pink, and red flowering trees.
The manager replied;
"Why? Your new home of course."
The lines of both their eyes squinted into narrow slits, as puzzled expressions stole across heir faces. In a smooth decline, their steps slowed down dramatically. With careful observant eyes, they slowly roved their eyes all over the small-wooden house together.
At the end of the path, and under the spread out branches, Nexus sharply swung his head sideways and stole a quick glance at Crystal by his side.
The same look of surprise was plastered on her face.
Obviously, she had also been expecting to be put up in some hotel-like lodgings. Or maybe even the guest house.