After having failed to get his hands on the Icarus Root, Christopher could only follow Noah back to the latter’s home to try and temporarily alleviate the symptoms of Hilda’s illness. After a careful assessment of Hilda’s vitals and ensuring that he had not missed out anything in the prognosis, Christopher declared grimly, “Director Turner, her aversion to the cold is what’s sapping her energy and draining her of her life force. Judging from the looks of it, her illness is at its peak at the moment. Without the Icarus Root, I can only alleviate the symptoms for a week, during which Harold must deliver the herb so that Hilda can be cured of her illness.” Upon hearing that, Noah heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t care what they had to do as long as they could save Hilda’s life. However, a second later, he gave Christopher a skeptical look once more as he asked, “Will Harold really personally deliver the Icarus Root?” Christopher nodded firmly to show that he was sure of his own prediction. Then, with embarrassment, he asked reluctantly, “Director Turner, with regards to relieving your daughter’s symptoms, I’m going to have to perform acupuncture on her and I’m afraid the acupoints are rather... sensitive.”He wasn’t lying when he said this and he found himself grumbling at how ancient healing practices could be so lewd and embarrassing. Nevertheless, he felt that he was better off explaining these things to Noah beforehand. Meanwhile, Noah had caught on to what Christopher was trying to say and he blinked out of his initial shock as he replied hastily, “Oh, there’s no need for you to worry about that. My daughter is on the brink of death as it is; wherever the acupoints may be, you just go right ahead and do whatever you must to save Hilda. If she doesn’t wake up, then I won’t tell her about this.” With that, he exchanged a nod with Mabel and the both of them glanced at Christopher with anticipation, silently giving him the permission to proceed with the acupuncture. Following their agreement, Christopher told them to give him some space and he made his way into Hilda’s bedroom, thereafter pulling up a chair next to her bed. He was slightly trembling as he took a deep breath to steady his heartbeat. One of the acupoints was on the chest and the other was between the legs. He wasn’t sure whether there was any way to describe the way he was feeling at that moment as his fingers worked to dispel Hilda of her dress. After all, he was a man and he would be lying if he said that he was neither flustered nor excited by the prospect of undressing a beautiful woman. However, given the present circumstances, he could only try to ignore the lustful thoughts that filled his mind and focus on the acupuncture instead. Alas, this task required quite the heroic effort on his part. As he gazed upon Hilda’s pallor, he quickly snapped out of his lewd reverie and made haste to unzip her long dress. However, as soon as Christopher caught a whiff of her pleasant scent, he could feel his blood rushing downward to a very specific area. Flushing, he shifted in his seat and clenched his thighs together before he set himself to work on her acupoints. Having committed the workings of the human meridian system to memory, he did not hesitate as he inserted thin needles into her acupoints—including the two aforementioned key acupoints. After having done so, he wiped off the beads of sweat that had broken out on his forehead and let out a sigh of relief. After a while, he removed the needles and he found himself drained by the end of the procedure. His back was drenched with sweat and he thought it was the hardest acupuncture session he had performed in his lifetime.The challenging part had nothing to do with the precision that was required of him. Rather, he only found this session nerve-racking because of Hilda; he finally understood the frustration of not being able to do anything despite having a beautiful woman within his easy access. When he had finally caught his breath and calmed his racing heart, he moved to clasp her bra and zip up her dress. However, while he was doing those movements, Hilda’s eyes suddenly snapped open and as the astonishment registered on her face, she fixed her cold, hard gaze on Christopher. At that moment, things took an awkward turn. It went without saying that he was unfazed by Hilda’s abrupt awakening, seeing that he had told Noah of the rather intimate nature of the acupuncture. With that in mind, he explained nonchalantly, “Miss Hilda, your father has asked me to perform treatment for your condition and I’m afraid this will continue for the next few days until we manage to get our hands on the Icarus Root.” When Christopher was done speaking, he seemed impervious to the bewildered look on her face and he did not blush even as he straightened the rest of her clothes, seeing as he had already dressed her halfway. It didn’t take long for Hilda to regain her composure and as the initial surprise wore off, she noticed that she was feeling much better. She drew a deep breath and responded, “Thanks for your help! Still, the fact remains unchanged that you basically saw me stark naked.” She was still weak at the moment and she lay idle on the bed as she spoke. Christopher, on the other hand, pursed his lips, looking resigned as he hummed in response and answered, “I owe your father a favor and this is my way of returning it. In two days, we’ll have the Icarus Root and you will be cured then.” After having said all this, he did not wait for Hilda to ask any more questions before rising from his seat and leaving the room. When he saw that Noah and Mabel had been anxiously waiting in the hallway, he nodded at them and said, “She’s awake and her symptoms are alleviated for now.” Upon hearing that, Noah and Mabel broke into surprised smiles. He turned to glance at Christopher and when he saw the wounds on the latter’s back, he grew grim. “Don’t worry, Christopher. I promise you that Jacob will be severely punished for what he did.” After a short conversation with Noah, Christopher changed out of his shirt and decidedly went home. He left Noah’s home and hailed a passing taxi, but the car had only just pulled away from the curb when a figure suddenly darted out from nowhere. Within seconds, the taxi knocked into the person’s leg and the whole car shook with the impact. Christopher was just as shocked as the taxi driver and the both of them exited the car only to see that the car had bumped into an old man. The old man’s face was smeared with dust and dirt, which only accentuated his wrinkles and made him look older. He appeared to have a crooked back and the crutch he had been carrying lay a couple of feet away from the scene of the collision. Presently, he had his hands wrapped around his leg and he was trembling as he cried out in pain. As Christopher’s gaze trailed down the old man’s leg, he saw that there was blood trickling down from it and pooling at the heel. “Oh, how could you bump into me, young man? Can’t you see that I’m old and weak? I’m sixty years old and at the speed you were going, you could have killed me!” the old man groaned in helpless protest, looking devastated as his eyes reddened and tears spilled down his cheeks. Meanwhile, Christopher was frozen in place as he stared at the old man. While the blood was real, he couldn’t help but feel like something was off here—the taxi had only just driven away from Noah’s home, so how could someone have risked death by deliberately knocking themselves against a moving car? While Christopher was deep in thought, a man carrying a gunny sack and dressed in tattered clothing scurried out from the side and approached the scene. He was a middle-aged man and his face was covered in dirt and dust as well; he looked like one of the homeless who collected trash and recyclable items for a living. When he finally staggered over, he knelt down next to the fallen old man and immediately burst into tears. “Dad! Are you alright, Dad? I’m sorry for not being able to take good care of you. I’m so useless that I can’t even give you the comfort you deserve and I can only pick up trash for a living. What am I supposed to do now that you’ve been knocked down by a car? Is your leg okay?”