“I’m coming along.”
Without thinking, she shot him down. “You have a cold now and should take a good rest.”
She was genuinely worried about Callum and thought he shouldn’t be up and about when he was having a cold because it would be bad if it became worse.
Knowing her worries, he gazed at her and smiled gently. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Nobody knew how he was feeling better than himself, and he was sure he would be fine. However, when Elspeth saw the blush on his face, her heart raced with anxiety. Somehow, she had a feeling that it wasn’t a cold as it seemed more like a fever.
“Don’t worry. I’ll let you know when I feel unwell,” he said, pushing down the gas and starting to drive.
The black market was located in the suburbs and rather hidden, where an average person wouldn’t be able to find out its location. However, Elspeth wasn’t any regular hacker, and she knew all about the underground black market of each city.
After entering and seeing that almost everyone was a stranger to her, she put her mind at ease.
Holding Callum’s hand, she searched around for the herbs that she needed and came to a stop in front of an old man in the end.
In this warm underground black market, this old man was tightly wrapped in a long-sleeved top.
“I would like these herbs from you. State a price.”
The old man in front of her didn’t answer immediately and asked calmly, “What are you using it for?”
“Burns,” she answered honestly.
Startled, the old man narrowed his eyes. “These herbs are mainly used to treat chest burns. Why do you have the idea to use it on burns?”
“My mentor taught me that using these herbs to treat burns will bring surprisingly good results.”
Since this old man didn’t know who her mentor was, she reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to mention something like this.
“Are you Sonny Schwartz’s student?”
Surprised, Elspeth didn’t think he could tell she was Sonny’s student just because of the herbs. Does he know Sonny? Are they connected?
“Sir, do you know… Sonny Schwartz?”
Both of them knew Sonny differently, and the old man could hear it from her tone. “We’re more than acquaintances. I hate him so much that I want to kill him.”
The hate in his voice caught her by surprise. “What do you mean?”
Realizing that he was too hostile, the old man didn’t answer and slowly kept away the herbs in front of him. “I’m not selling it.”
When she saw that he was acting weird, she couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you not selling it suddenly, sir?”
“No reason. Go away and don’t get in the way of my business,” he said, chasing her away and looking very impatient.
“Sir, I went through the entire black market, and you’re the only one with these herbs. If it’s possible, will you tell me exactly what’s going on? I really need these herbs.”
Her tone was tinged with anxiety. In addition, she had an earnest attitude, and a pained look appeared on the old man’s face.
“These herbs can’t treat burns at all.”
His words threw her into confusion because she remembered witnessing Sonny treating a lot of patients with burns using these herbs.
“What do you mean?”
“These herbs… They can relieve burns for a while, but take a look at my hand.” He rolled up his sleeve and showed her the wound on his arm. “Look, this scar is a result of the treatment I received from Sonny Schwartz twenty years ago. At that time, it had turned better, but the condition relapsed after that, and the wound became more serious than before!”
Elspeth checked his arm, which was a gruesome mix of mottled burns and old wounds.
“These are not merely burns.”
Next to them, Callum had been silent the whole time, and both of them turned to him when he spoke suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you saying I inflicted these wounds myself?” the old man snapped, irritated.
“That’s not what I mean.” Gently, Callum felt the old wounds on his body with a cold look in his eyes. “These aren’t burns. Most probably, someone poisoned you and caused the wounds to decay.”
After listening to him, the old man turned even more solemn. “Did Schwartz poison me?”
In reply, Callum shook his head. “Certainly not. Mr. Schwartz has always had an excellent reputation and is a person with integrity. Furthermore, it will affect his reputation if he fails to treat you to recovery, and reputation is the biggest taboo for medical practitioners. He probably won’t do something such as smashing his toe with a stone.”
“So, what are you trying to say?”
“Did you offend anyone previously?” Callum asked, looking straight at his face. “It’s almost impossible to find this poison in this city, but it’s very common in Willowton.”
The old man thought carefully. Suddenly, his eyes flickered as he recalled a familiar person. Willowton… There’s only one person, then.
“I got it. Thanks for telling me this. I’ve always thought that the burns were not treated well, but I didn’t think it was because I was poisoned!” The old man’s heart shuddered, and he took out the herbs from behind and passed them to Elspeth. “These are free. You can have them.”
The last thing she was expecting today was solving an old case randomly, but she couldn’t take these herbs without feeling guilty.
“I’ll pay you according to the market price. You shouldn’t give it for free.” Taking out a card from her chest, she then passed it to the old man. “There’s one million in here. If there’s any extra, take it as my apology gift to you. After all, all these happened because of my mentor.”
“Although I don’t need all this money… Sonny Schwartz has a very fine student!” A hearty chuckle escaped the old man’s lips. “If you’re still single, I’d really wish to introduce my son to you.”
Hearing this, she could feel the air around the person next to her dropping.
Oh, no. This guy is angry again. “Thanks, but it’s fine.”
“Oh, well. You can still come back and look for me if you guys break up. I’ll save my son for you.”
The edges of Elspeth’s lips twitched as she kept the herbs away and left.
Beside her, Callum stared at her face and couldn’t stop himself from kissing her as punishment, which made her jump a distance away in surprise, holding her face.
“What are you doing?”
He snorted and said, “You’re catching unwanted attention.”
“I didn’t ask for it. Moreover, shouldn’t you be proud that your girlfriend is so popular?” she asked, and his face relaxed. “By the way, I have a question for you, Callum.”
A light flashed past his eyes. “What is it?”
“How did you know that the wound is caused by poisoning?”
A few seconds went by quietly before he slowly said, “Because I was poisoned as well when I was young.”
That was a terrible past, and he chose to forget it but was forced to recall it today.
“Who poisoned you?” she asked with a frown.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me