Chapter 4

Following a loud thump, Shawn began bleeding from his head. A light from the ceiling had fallen straight down on him. Luckily, it wasn't a very big light. Otherwise, he wouldn't simply be sporting a head wound. He could've died from the impact instead.

Shawn was kneeling on the floor, clutching his head as he yelped in pain.

"What's the matter, Shawn?" Lydia hastily cried out.

"Are you blind? Can't you see that I got hit?" Shawn roared.

Lydia immediately teared up, feeling aggrieved at the way he lashed out at her right in public with so many people watching.

Seeing this, Cassian scoffed. "Serves you right!"

"What did you say?" Lydia shrieked. Glowering at Cassian, she wagged her finger at him and accused, "You did this, didn't you?"

"Oh? Did you see me do anything?"

"Why would the light fall for no reason if you didn't do something?"

"As they say, nothing escapes divine judgment. Fate is simply punishing Shawn for twisting the truth."

"What utter bullshit! Get out of here with your mystical crap," Shawn snapped before barking at Lydia. "Hurry up and help me up."

"Oh!" Lydia rushed over to Shawn to help him.

A nurse happened to be passing by, and for some strange reason, she slipped and stumbled. As a result, the two bottles of ethanol she was holding flew out of her hands and landed squarely on Shawn's head. Immediately, the glass bottles smashed into pieces, and the ethanol got all over his head.

The ethanol soaked into the head wound Shawn sustained from the light that fell on him, and the pain was pure agony.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

Howling in pain, Shawn clutched his head and began rolling around on the floor.

Panicked, Lydia screamed at the nurse, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you look where you're going?"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…"

"If anything happens to Shawn, I'll make you pay!" Lydia screamed at the nurse once more before waving over the nurses at the information desk.

"Two of you, come over here and help!"

Two nurses ran over to Lydia at once.

"What do you need us to do, Dr. Nixon?" one of the nurses asked.

"What do you need to do? Are you blind? Can't you see that Shawn is injured? Quick. Help me take him to an examination room so that I can bandage his wound."

The two nurses were displeased, but they dared not disobey Lydia. After all, in a hospital, doctors outranked nurses.

Thus, Lydia and the two nurses supported Shawn and rushed him toward the elevator. Alas, tragedy struck again. Shawn got sandwiched between the elevator doors!

Technically, with the two nurses holding him up, there was no way that Shawn would get caught between the elevator doors. However, after entering the elevator, the two nurses released him. One of them said to Lydia, "Dr. Nixon, we can't leave our post while on the clock, so we won't be able to escort Dr. Goff Jr. any further."

"Get out then."

As soon as the two nurses turned around, Shawn was squeezed by the doors.

"Ouch! That fucking hurts…" Shawn howled.

This time, it caused such a commotion that even the security guards came running over. They were just about to pry the doors open and rescue Shawn when… The power went out!

What an unlucky coincidence that was.

Shawn wished the ground could swallow him up. Why did it seem like fate was out to get him today? He was hit with misfortune after misfortune. Even he couldn't help but wonder if divine retribution truly existed.

He had no clue that this was all simply a trick Cassian pulled. Following the instructions in the Compendium of Madiora Charms and Spells, Cassian secretly used a Misfortune Hex. He didn't expect it to be this effective.

Having fully enjoyed the debacle, Cassian left the hospital in a good mood, his previous feelings of anger and indignation gone.

…

Mirror Lake was right along Cassian's way home. Every evening, it was bustling with elderly folks exercising and playing chess, as well as children who giggled as they played. There were even fishing enthusiasts who gathered at the lake to indulge in their hobby.

Cassian was strolling by the lake when he heard a shriek.

"Oh, no! Someone fell into the lake!"

Cassian quickly looked over and saw a young boy approximately five years old struggling desperately in the water. He looked like he was about to drown.

The elderly men and women by the shore of the lake were fretting.

"Whose kid is that? Where are his guardians?"

"Quick, call 911!"

"It's too late. The kid's about to drown!"

In such a dire situation, Cassian had no time to think. He immediately jumped into the lake. Like a fish, he swam deftly toward the little boy. After hooking an arm around the boy's waist, he swam back toward the shore.

Once he pulled the boy out of the water, everyone crowded around them. Having swallowed quite a bit of water, the boy was already unconscious. His face was pale, and his lips were turning blue. It looked like he was about to die.

"The child might not make it. He needs to be taken to the hospital at once!" someone said.

Without speaking, Cassian pulled the boy up into a sitting position and used his right hand to smack the boy's back. After two hard thumps, the boy started coughing up water. After about half a minute, he opened his eyes.

"He's awake!"

The crowd was relieved to see that the boy had been saved.

"Thank you, sir," the young boy said weakly.

Smiling, Cassian asked, "Where's your family?"

"I don't know where Grandpa and Mr. Hudson are."

As soon as the boy said that, an old man and a middle-aged man came running over. Scooping the boy up in his arms, the old man asked anxiously, "Henry! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Grandpa. I fell into the lake just now, and this man saved me," Henry Drakeford replied as he pointed at Cassian.

Thiago Drakeford, the old man, quickly said to Cassian, "Thank you so much, young man."

"I don't mean to be rude, sir, but how can you be so careless at your age? What if something happened to the child? Not only will your family blame you for what happened, but you'll carry the guilt with you for the rest of your life, too," Cassian lectured sternly.

Before Thiago could say anything, Claude Hudson, the middle-aged man beside him, spoke up.

"Hey, you! Do you know who you're talking to? Let me remind you that this is—"

"Claude!" Thiago shot Claude a glare, shutting him up at once.

Turning back to Cassian, Thiago smiled. "I'll be more careful from now on. I am truly grateful for what you did today."

"Don't worry. It was no trouble at all."

At last, Cassian took a good look at Thiago. He was dressed in a retro-looking suit with his hair perfectly combed, not a single strand out of place. He also wore a black thumb ring and gave off a commanding presence.

Meanwhile, Claude had a steely expression and a pair of fearsome eyes. He didn't look like an ordinary person either.

"What's your name, young man?" Thiago asked.

"Cassian York."

"You're probably working right now, am I correct?"

"What's the matter? Are you looking into my background?" Cassian asked with a chuckle. "It's getting late. I need to head home. Goodbye."

He turned to leave, but Thiago quickly called out to him, "Please wait."

After retrieving a debit card, he passed it to Cassian.

"What's the meaning of this?" Cassian asked with a frown.

Smiling, Thiago said, "Thank you for saving my grandson. This card gives you access to a bank account with 500 thousand dollars. I hope you won't think that's too little. Do accept it."

Cassian was taken aback. The fact that Thiago could offer him 500 thousand dollars at the drop of a hat proved he was no ordinary man, but nevertheless, he wasn't tempted.

"I didn't save him for money," Cassian said before taking a step forward.

Seeing that, Claude sneered to himself. To think that Cassian claimed it wasn't for money…

However, Cassian didn't take the debit card Thiago was offering him. Instead, he stared fixedly at Thiago's face. After observing him for a full 30 seconds, Cassian asked, "Are you ill?"

"I'm perfectly fine! I just got my health check a few days ago, and I'm in the pink of health," Thiago replied with a chuckle.

"That's strange," Cassian remarked, frowning.

"What's strange?"

"Something tells me you're ill, and it seems like a rather serious condition as well. I just can't tell what it is right now. Perhaps I'm mistaken. I hope you don't take it to heart," Cassian said apologetically.

"I don't mind at all," Thiago replied with a smile.

"I'll be off then."

Cassian took off after a quick wave. As soon as he did, Thiago's demeanor changed. Just moments ago, he seemed like a kindly older neighbor while talking to Cassian, but now, he was giving off the imposing air of a man in power.

"I spent all these years consulting numerous renowned doctors, and not a single one could tell that I've been suffering from a severe ailment. Yet, this young man recognized it right away. Could it be that fate has decided to show me mercy and allow me to live a few more years?" Thiago wondered.

"Claude!"

"Yes, Lord Drakeford! What do you need me to do?" Claude asked respectfully.

"Look into this man, Cassian York. I want to know everything there is to know about him."

"Got it!"