Chapter 51: Fighting Over Ownership of the Medicine

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Fighting Over Ownership of the Medicine

Inside the stone house, a slender young female wrapped her pale arms around a male’s neck, crying heartbreakingly.

Miche’s sobbing grew louder. Hearing it, Loki felt a ripple of emotion and his heart ached for her.

"Loki, I don’t want to leave you. Please don’t send me out of the tribe, okay?"

Loki raised his hand to gently wipe the tears from Miche’s cheeks. "I won’t," he said softly. "I won’t send you away from the tribe."

Seeing his beloved little female’s eyes red from crying, Loki felt an overwhelming sense of regret for ever suggesting that they expel the sick.

"Really? Don’t lie to me. I really can’t live without you."

"Really. I won’t send you away."

"But if this continues, will I die?"

She gazed at Loki with tear-filled eyes, the moisture soaking right through his beast skin tunic.

"You won’t. When I went to the Golden Dragon Clan this time, even though Ophelia refused to take Amy in, Laxus gave me some medicine. He said it’s herbal medicine that can cure fevers.

"I can spare one pack for you. Once you drink it, you’ll recover."

Hearing this, Miche’s tearful eyes lit up, and her heart swelled with wild joy. She thought, "Doesn’t this mean my illness can be cured and I won’t be kicked out!"

Miche suppressed her ecstasy and put on a worried expression. "But this is the medicine Laxus gave Amy. I can’t steal Amy’s medicine."

"It’s fine. He gave me three packs, and each pack can be brewed three times. Sparing one pack for you won’t be a problem."

"But if only Amy and I get to drink it, won’t the other tribe members have complaints if they see us?"

Right now, countless eyes in the tribe were fixed on Loki. The slightest disturbance would be magnified by the tribe members. Miche was still counting on enjoying a life of luxury once Loki became the Clan Leader. If the tribe members developed a grudge against him, not only would he lose the chance to become the Clan Leader, but she might also become a target.

"If the tribe members ask, I’ll say you two are testing the medicine. If it works well, I’ll just go ask Laxus for more."

Loki knew full well that he only got these three packs of herbal medicine because Laxus was looking out for Amy. But if it truly worked, he would just drag Amy over there to throw another pity party. It might trigger Laxus’s sympathy again, prompting him to hand over a few more packs.

Miche hesitated for a couple of seconds before shaking her head. "No, no, this is for Amy.

"Maybe the medicine Laxus provided is just enough for her to recover. What if my drinking it delays Amy’s treatment?

"That won’t do."

Miche continued to shake her head. She wore a look of reluctance, yet feigned complete devotion to Amy’s well-being.

This only further stoked Loki’s protective masculine pride. Miche’s considerate and understanding demeanor was a stark contrast to Ophelia’s cold ruthlessness. Amy wasn’t even Miche’s biological daughter, yet Miche still thought of her during such a life-threatening illness. But what about Ophelia, the girl’s own biological mother? Amy had cried so heartbreakingly, yet Ophelia still callously refused to save her.

"Enough, say no more. You dote on Amy so much; it’s nothing for you to drink one pack of her medicine. In fact, she’ll be happy about it."

With that, Loki headed straight toward Amy’s stone house without looking back. As he passed by Galen, Loki specifically instructed, "Take care of Miche for now. I’ll be right back."

As soon as he entered Amy’s room, he picked up the small Beast Skin Bag on the stone table. Worried that the herbal medicine might spill, Laxus had wrapped it securely in multiple heavy layers. Loki found it quite a struggle to untie.

Amy had been crying ever since Loki left. Huddled under her covers, she choked on her sobs until she drifted into a hazy sleep from exhaustion. Now, Loki’s movements woke her up. She opened her eyes, poked her head out from the blankets, and followed the noise with her round eyes. She saw her father already taking the herbal medicine out of the Beast Skin Bag.

"Father, are you going to brew the medicine for me?" Amy’s voice was weak but filled with anticipation. She thought, "Father came back. He still cares about me very much."

"No, this is for Ms. Miche. She’s sick too."

The smile that had just touched the corners of Amy’s lips froze instantly. Not only was her father abandoning her while she was sick, but now he was taking the medicine Uncle Laxus gave her and giving it to Ms. Miche? She wondered why he would do this when it was clearly her medicine.

"But... but Father, this is the medicine Uncle Laxus gave me. You can’t..." Aggrieved tears began to patter down Amy’s face once more. She wondered, "Is Ms. Miche really more important to Father than I am?" She felt immensely wronged. Compared to her mother, who had turned a blind eye to her suffering, her father’s blatant favoritism disappointed her even more.

"You have three packs of medicine. Can’t you share one with Ms. Miche?

"Don’t you usually like Ms. Miche the most?" Loki couldn’t understand why his daughter was suddenly being so stingy.

"Father, I don’t want to give the medicine to Ms. Miche. What if..."

"There are no ’what ifs.’ Miche treats you so well; you need to know how to be grateful. How can you be as selfish as your mother!"

Loki grabbed a pack of medicine and left angrily without sparing Amy another glance. Looking at his resolute back, Amy broke down into heartbroken tears once again. In the large room, there was only the sound of her choking sobs.

Loki was brewing the herbal medicine in the small adjacent room of the stone house, which was very close to Amy’s room. When he left, he hadn’t closed the door. Amy only needed to lift her head slightly to see her father’s busy figure in the kitchen.

The first thing Loki did upon entering the kitchen was to follow Laxus’s instructions. He poured all the medicine from the Beast Skin Bag into the stone pot, added a generous amount of water, lit the firewood, and began to boil it. With the fire lit, the small room became stuffy and hot. After a flurry of activity, a thick layer of sweat beaded on Loki’s forehead, which had even gotten smudged with soot.

Amy witnessed the entire process. She thought, "He added so much water to the stone pot. Surely he can spare a bowl for me, right? Father wouldn’t just ignore me. If that’s the case, I’d still be willing to share a portion of my medicine with Ms. Miche." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

About half an hour later, Loki checked the herbal medicine in the stone pot. He saw that the clear water had reduced significantly, replaced entirely by a black broth that was bubbling and gurgling—BUBBLE BUBBLE. He guessed the medicine was probably done! He found a piece of beast skin cloth, folded it several times, placed it against the edge of the stone pot, and used it as a makeshift pot holder to pour out the medicinal broth.

A great deal of steam wafted up from the Stone Bowl filled with herbal medicine, condensing into tiny beads of moisture on the bridge of Loki’s nose. Wave after wave of the herbal medicine’s scent drifted through the doorway into Amy’s room. The piping hot steam seemed to form a long, thin trail of white smoke that snaked inside.

Watching her father divide the medicine into two Stone Bowls, Amy assumed that one of them must be for her. Keeping her eyes on his figure, she forced herself to sit up in bed. To save her father some effort, she proactively reached out her hands, ready to receive the bowl. Her mouth even opened slightly, words of gratitude already on the tip of her tongue.

Instead, she saw him carry both Stone Bowls and walk straight out the door. He completely forgot that his own biological daughter was still sick in the stone house behind him.