Chapter 6 The Young Man

• The woman who had just revived Clyde yelled at him urgently, "Hey! Didn't I tell you to leave? Why are you still here?"
• "Willa, did you bring him back here?" The middle-aged man glared at her.
• "Sorry, Dad. I found him unconscious and bleeding on the roadside earlier, and you know Grandpa always said to help others, so I brought him back. I didn't expect..." The woman known as Willa quickly explained.
• "How's Grandpa?" She asked, worried.
• Upon hearing Willa's words, the middle-aged man quickly turned to the old man in the coarse clothes and asked, "Master Birch, how's my father...?"
• Master Birch's face crumpled with despair. "D@mn, that ruckus messed up my silver needles technique on Old Mr. Wildrose! The poison has infiltrated his vital organs now, and there's no way he's gonna make it."
• Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man became enraged. He whirled around and stormed towards Clyde, radiating a violent aura. "This is all your fault, you fool!" he bellowed.
• Just then, Clyde interjected abruptly. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "There's still a chance to save this gentleman!"
• The middle-aged man stopped, but he didn't look convinced. He sneered and said, "You think you can lie your way out of this? You're gonna pay for what you did to my dad!"
• Seeing the man's distrust, Clyde hurriedly explained, "Master Birch was trying to use the needle to channel the psychic swirl into him to expel the poison. But he shouldn't have gone for the forehead, instead through the temple – that's the key point! That way would've allowed the swirl to flush out the poison."
• Clyde was shocked by what he had just said. He didn't know where it came from, but it seemed like he had always known it and blurted it out.
• The middle-aged man was speechless by Clyde's sudden confidence. He glanced at Master Birch standing beside the urn.
• Master Birch looked stunned, too. Then, his eyes widened like he had an idea. In a flash, he whipped out a pair of silver needles and swiftly pierced Old Mr. Wildrose's temple.
• The old man let out another yelp of pain, but this time, a black liquid started seeping out of both his ears.
• Witnessing this, Master Birch burst into laughter and exclaimed, "Ha! We did it! The old man will be alright!"
• The middle-aged man, no longer concerned about Clyde, rushed back to be with his father. "Master Birch, you said my father is saved? Are you for real?"
• Master Birch squinted at him, looking mysterious, like he knew something they didn't. "Yeah, I remember my old master teaching me this silver needles trick called 'Cheat Death.' It's super dangerous, and he warned me never to use it unless desperate. Well, seeing Old Mr. Wildrose was fading fast, I took a chance. Luckily, he's pretty tough and resilient and pulled through the risk. He's fine now!"
• The middle-aged man beamed. "Thank you, Master Birch! You saved Dad! I owe you big time!"
• Master Birch just waved him off like it was no big deal. "Nah, it's all good. Saving lives is my job."
• Meanwhile, Willa was perplexed. Just a minute ago, Master Birch said her grandfather had no hope for survival.
• Then, after that man talked, Master Birch used two needles and saved him! Now, he claimed some fancy technique his master taught him. Willa wasn't buying it.
• "Master Birch," she said, staring hard at him. "Consider how effective and efficient you claimed your death hacking technique is. Why didn't you use it sooner?"
• Master Birch scowled. "Excuse me, Ms. Wildrose. Are you questioning me?"
• Seeing his anger, the middle-aged man scolded Willa. "Willa, watch your word and apologize to Master Birch!"
• "Dad, I'm not trying to be rude," Willa argued. "it's just weird that Grandpa got better only after Master Birch listened to that guy..."
• She gestured towards where Clyde had been standing. But when she looked back, Clyde was gone!
• "Hmph! That kid is all talk," Master Birch said in a superior tone. "those silver needles techniques take years to master. He's just a kid! Why would you listen to him? If he was so good, he wouldn't have run off like a scaredy-cat! Rude!"
• Willa couldn't find the words to argue. She just stomped her foot in frustration.