Not A Small-Town Girl

Vivian choked back tears. "Matthew just has some minor injuries, he’s fine. But you... you’re so seriously ill and still worrying about your brother?"

Danielle forced a smile. Ever since she learned about this poison, she had gotten used to the constant torment it caused her body. It was nothing new, but recently, the toxins had become increasingly uncontrollable.

"I’m fine," Danielle said.

Everyone in the room stared at her, especially David, whose eyes were filled with uncontrollable concern.

"Little girl, this poison seems to have been in your body for a long time. How have you been controlling it?" Jason asked, eyeing her as if she were a rare specimen. If there were a laboratory nearby, he’d probably want to study her.

Danielle looked at the old man with the sly grin, her expression flat. "Just... controlled it, that’s all."

Jason blinked, caught off guard. "Controlled it? How exactly? Tell me more." He rubbed his hands together, eager like a student waiting to hear a story.

Howard, Vivian, and David exchanged glances, wondering why this felt less like someone trying to cure a poison and more like someone here to gossip.

"Are you really that interested?" Danielle asked dryly.

Jason nodded enthusiastically. "Extremely interested! You’re the one who’s lived the longest with Luna Stalk...!" Then, realizing his slip-up, he clamped his mouth shut. "I mean, it’s incredible! Your vitality is so strong."

As she thought about the poison and then remembered her master, her heart sank. Why hadn’t she heard anything from him? He promised to find a cure for her, but where was it? In this age of instant information, her master stubbornly refused to own a phone and insisted on writing letters. She hadn’t even received a reply.

Jason waved his hand in front of Danielle, noticing her silence. "Little girl, are you... poisoned into silence?" He chuckled, unsure if he should take her lack of response seriously.

"What are you trying to do?" Danielle finally snapped out of her thoughts, annoyed by the man who kept chattering in front of her.

"I’m just asking if you know how to cure the Luna Stalk poison?" Jason grinned mischievously.

Danielle gave him a look as if he were crazy. If she knew how to cure it, why would she still be poisoned? That was ridiculous.

"I don’t know." Jason sighed dramatically, a touch of regret in his voice. "Ah, well, Luna Stalk has no cure. How could there possibly be an antidote?"

"You might be wrong about that," Danielle countered.

She made a move as if to get up, but David quickly stepped forward to support her.

"Mom, Dad, David, let’s go back," Danielle said. There were too many things she needed to sort out. The next time the poison acted up, she had to be ready. Also, there were those masked figures and the woman in the cave... she needed answers.

"Alright," her father agreed, though he was still anxious.noveldrama

"Wait." Nathan spoke up, placing a suitcase on the table in front of Orion. He opened it to reveal a pile of cash.

"Orion, we’ve been a bit of a disturbance these past few days. Here’s three hundred thousand dollars for Blackpool Village. Tomorrow, workers will come to build a signal tower for both Blackpool and Whitepool Villages, and install phones in every household. We’ll also repair the roads. The real estate company problem has been handled, and they won’t cause any more trouble."

Nathan placed another suitcase in front of Jason. "This is a token of thanks for helping Mrs. Charrington delay the poison’s progression."

He handed over a gold-embossed business card. "If either of you ever need help, please don’t hesitate to contact me."

"Yes, I agree," Jason added, almost in embarrassment. "I’ve only made some medicine. The money is too much."

Nathan and David, however, insisted. "Please, take it. It’s our sincere gesture. You’ve helped us too."

Jason and Orion hesitated, but David spoke up calmly. "Once I give something, I don’t take it back. Who knows when we might come to trouble you again?"