“Could it be a break-in?” Josiah speculated as he pulled open the door.
However, the door was still perfectly locked. It didn’t look as if anyone had forced their way into the house.
“What exactly happened? The door is fine, though.” Josiah tried to push the door forcefully from another direction, but the door still wouldn’t budge.
“Let me try. Master once told me that the password is Harrison’s birthday,” Winnie said as she stopped Josiah in time.
“His grandson’s birthday? Do you know when it is?”
Winnie furrowed her brows. “Don’t rush me. I need to think.”
With that, she closed her eyes and tried digging through her memories.
Soon, a series of numbers popped up in her mind.
She quickly keyed in the numbers on the lock pad. As expected, the door opened with a click.
After that, they immediately went to check on Sebastian’s condition.
Seeing that his breathing and complexion were normal, Winnie breathed a sigh of relief.
“This doesn’t look like a sudden illness. There isn’t any external injury to Master’s brain either. But why did he faint out of the blue?” she asked while pinching Sebastian’s philtrum acupoint.
Not long after that, Sebastian’s eyelids moved a little.
“It’s working! Continue doing it, but a little harder this time,” Josiah said.
Winnie did as he said. A few moments later, Sebastian opened his eyes.
Everything looked blurry to Sebastian for a few seconds before he could focus normally, and he could finally see Winnie and Josiah in front of him.
“Nini… You’re back! H-Hurry! Go check on Xavier!”
“What happened to him?” Winnie was shocked to hear what Sebastian said. She couldn’t believe that she had forgotten about Xavier because all she thought about was Sebastian’s condition.
“Here…” Sebastian said wearily as he took out a thin syringe.
Josiah recognized the item with just one look. “I gave him this tranquilizer. Why do you have it?”
Sebastian stood up slowly with Winnie’s help. “There was a little accident when I removed the needles from him. In the end, it triggered the nerves in his brain. After that, he had a relapse and started to become aggressive. Even then, he had strong self-control. He gave me this tranquilizer and asked me to inject him with it. At that time, I almost injected all the medication into his body, but who would’ve thought he would go berserk at the last second? He grabbed the syringe from my hand and injected the last few bits of the medication into my body. After that, he started messing up the entire place. I wanted to stop him, but I couldn’t move because of the tranquilizer. If you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t know how long I would have continued lying unconscious on the ground.”
Winnie’s expression changed after she heard that.
However, she was still able to think logically. “Usually, when someone in a frenzied state rushes out of the room, there’s no way he will close the door behind him. But the door was perfectly locked when we came in, so he should still be here. Master, please sit down and rest. I’ll look for him with Josiah.”
“Go on! Don’t worry about me. I’m sober now.”
“Okay,” Winnie said before she dashed toward the consultation room.
The room was small, so she didn’t leave any spots unchecked. Even so, there was still no sign of Xavier.
Suddenly, Josiah shouted from another room, “Winnie! I found him! He’s here!”
“Where?” Immediately, she ran out.
“Here!”
He knew that he was in Yolanda’s room, but he had to pretend that he didn’t know so that Sebastian wouldn’t suspect anything.
What will Old Mr. Xander think of me if I said I’m in Yolanda’s room and if he knows I’ve been watching Yolanda’s every move?
However, Sebastian was oblivious to Josiah’s concerns.
He pointed Winnie in a specific direction when he saw her walking out of the consultation room.
“It’s right in front. Yolanda’s room is next to the study. Hurry!”
The next moment, Winnie rushed toward Yolanda’s room.
Other than wanting to see how Xavier was doing, she was thinking about something else.
She had wanted to get rid of Yolanda from Sebastian at the same time so that she could search Yolanda’s room, but who would’ve thought that she would enter Yolanda’s room with Josiah like that?
Things didn’t go as Josiah had planned in the early morning.
Yolanda had locked her door from the outside, so logically, no one could open it without a key.
But now, the lock was broken, and the room was a mess too.
Anyone could tell the mess was Xavier’s doing with a glance.
Winnie sighed as she approached Xavier and touched his forehead. “How is he? Is he all right?”
“He’s fine. A situation like this is normal for him. I guess he’ll wake up after he sleeps for a few hours. I just hope there won’t be any more problems with his brain after he wakes up. We’ll talk later. Let’s bring him outside first. We can’t let him continue to sleep in Yolanda’s room,” Josiah said as he put Xavier on his shoulders.
Winnie agreed and grabbed Xavier’s other arm as she helped Josiah support Xavier’s weight.
Soon, both of them got Xavier on the couch in the living room, and Sebastian quickly felt Xavier’s pulse.
“His pulse is gentle and steady. I think the tranquilizer is working. Let him rest for a while. Give him some medication once he wakes up.”
“Okay. Master, how about I clean up the place with Josiah since Xavier has made a mess, especially Ms. Xander’s room? The lock is broken. I’ll get someone to change a new lock later. As for the medicine, we have it at home, so I think it should be fine if I give it to Xavier after we get home,” Winnie said after exchanging a glance with Josiah.
“That’s a great idea. I’ll leave this place to you two. I’m still a little unwell, so I’ll go back to my room to rest now,” Sebastian replied.
“I’ll help you.”
“That won’t be necessary. I can get into my room by myself. Just let me know when you leave.”
After Sebastian returned to his room, Winnie and Josiah immediately walked into Yolanda’s room.
Even after the two of them searched all over Yolanda’s room for a long time, they still couldn’t find anything else suspicious. All they could find was a small box of hypnotic incense.
They had already found out about the hypnotic incense, so they weren’t shocked to find it.
Josiah started cursing out of irritation after he rummaged through the closets and couldn’t find anything.
“I’m sure she’s hiding something in this room. But where? Must we dig the ground to find it?” he asked while stamping his foot.
Although what Josiah was doing looked like a futile move, Winnie didn’t stop him. What if she’s really hiding something underneath the ground?
When Winnie considered whether she should knock on the walls, her phone suddenly rang.
“Grandpa, how long have you known her? Why do you believe everything she says? Do you know what she did to me? She got a man to stalk me and hit me with a stone!”
“I know. She told me everything, including what happened today. But have you thought about why she did all that?” Sebastian asked with a grave expression.
“Why should I think from her perspective? Grandpa, are you my grandpa or hers? Why are you helping an outsider?”
“So, you still won’t admit it?”
“I can only say that I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“All right. You’re still not admitting it, are you? Then, get out of my sight! I don’t have a granddaughter like you!”
All Yolanda needed to do was admit it, but she wouldn’t compromise. Sebastian knew she was stubborn, but he was still mad about it. His words were harsher because she still wouldn’t admit it even after Winnie and Josiah almost had the evidence.
Since Yolanda had a bad temper, she had no intention of compromising even after hearing what Sebastian said. She turned around and left.
Winnie knew that Sebastian only said all those out of anger, but she didn’t want to chase after Yolanda. Therefore, she nudged Josiah’s arm.
Josiah reluctantly shouted at Yolanda, “Come back!”
Before he could go after her, Sebastian said, “Stop! Let her leave!”
Josiah almost believed Sebastian. Right when Josiah was about to stop, Sebastian suddenly continued, “Perhaps it’s better for you to take a look. See how she’s doing. She’s not familiar with this area. Don’t let her get too far.”
Josiah was speechless.
What else could he have done? Of course, he had to go after her.
After Josiah left, Sebastian asked Winnie to sit in front of him.
“Winnie, you’re a very gifted student. It’s indeed Yolanda’s fault in this matter, but I’m your master. Instead of telling me about this immediately when you noticed it, you chose to get someone to stalk her, resulting in a conflict. I don’t think this is the right way to handle things. We should talk things through when there’s a disagreement or misunderstanding, don’t you agree?”
Winnie opened her mouth but said nothing.
Although Winnie didn’t know Yolanda that long, the former could tell that Yolanda was a stubborn person who had her own thoughts. If Yolanda didn’t want to say something, no matter how nicely anyone talked to her, she would never cooperate.
Sebastian had been living with Yolanda for all those years, so there was no way he didn’t know her temper.
Seeing that Winnie didn’t say anything, Sebastian continued, “You two shouldn’t keep fighting like this. You’re very intelligent. You’re more flexible than she is in both medical skills and self-conduct. For example, how you took the initiative to tell me about what had happened had completely pressured her. But Winnie, I have to tell you. At this age, I already passed my prime a long time ago. I’m not the same man I was who prioritized my career anymore. Before I’m your master, I’m Yolanda’s grandfather. Honestly, I’m not very happy with what you did to Yolanda. She’s at fault for what happened to Mr. Fairchild, so I’ll do everything I can to treat him and teach you everything I know about acupuncture. But after you learn everything, I will no longer be your master. In the future, you’ll handle the acupuncture sessions for Mr. Fairchild, and you and Yolanda won’t cross paths anymore. I’ll talk to Yolanda too and ask her why she did all that. So, for my sake, can you forgive her?”
Sebastian meant everything he said.
It is human nature to put family first.
Of course, Winnie could understand that.
It’s his choice to choose his granddaughter over an apprentice like me. I won’t force him, nor do I have any right to do so. I’ll respect his decision. Besides, he has already shown me plenty of respect when he reprimanded Yolanda so harshly earlier.
Therefore, Winnie nodded seriously.
“Once a teacher, always a teacher. Perhaps our bond as master and apprentice isn’t that strong, but deep down, you’ll always be my master.”
Sebastian sighed.
When he was about to say something, they suddenly heard Xavier’s voice.
“Winnie… Winnie…”
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