The heavy wooden door creaked open and the interior came into view. An old man in his eighties or nineties dressed in worn-out clothes was sitting on a lounge chair in the room. He lifted his gaze when he heard the sound, and his cloudy eyes lit up when he saw Gonzalec.
He replied with a hoarse voice, “Gonzalec, you’re back!”
“It’s me, grandpa! I came back to visit you!” Gonzalec forced a smile and walked towards the old man.
The old man reached out to hold Gonzalec’s hand. Gonzalec subconsciously withdrew his hand as he did not want to be held by his grandfather.
Silas had observed that Gonzalec was afraid of any skinship with the old man, and there must be a reason behind it.
As Gonzalec refused to be held, the old man sighed and said, “You haven’t come back to visit me for more than a decade. You came back for a favor to ask, right?”
“Yes, grandpa. I want the medicine that you have given to my friend last time. Do you still have it?”
“Nope!” the old man shook his head and continued, “Those are the last few pills and I’ve given them all.”
“Can you still make it?” Gonzalec asked again.
“No! Some of the ingredients can no longer be found,” the old man shook his head and continued, “Gonzalec, that medicine is dangerous. Why do you want it?”
“No, not me. It’s my friend who wants it. Grandpa, can you help me?” Gonzalec begged.
“It’s not that I refuse to help you, but I can’t get my hands on a few ingredients. Gonzalec, the medicine is harmful. Did your friend use it to do something bad? ”
“Yes. Grandpa, so can you still do it?”
“We have sinned!” The old man shook his head and continued, “This dangerous drug should not have existed. But, it was also because of me back then… sigh…”
“Grandpa, can you give me the formula? I’ll make the drug myself,” Gonzalec asked.
The old man shook his head again and said, “I can’t as I have gotten rid of the formula.”
“How can it be?” Gonzalec glanced at Silas who was as calm as the sea. However, his blank expression made Gonzalec shudder.
He fell to his knees and begged, “Grandpa, please save me! My wife, children, and parents are hanging by a thread. If you don’t give me the medicine, they will be as good as dead!”
“Did you harm others?”
“No, but the man who came to find you last time had done it. The victim has come to seek revenge on me! Grandpa, I don’t care if I die, but my family is innocent. Help me, please!
The old man continued to shake his head and said, “I told you before that this drug is harmful and the victim will not let you off the hook. Have you learned your lesson now?”
“Yes, grandpa. But I have no other choice left. So please, help me!” Gonzalec begged while crying buckets.
The old man glanced at Silas who stood there and asked, “He is the revenge seeker, isn’t he?”
“No, I’m not. I’m just here as a representative to obtain the antidote for Sir,” Silas replied.
“Sir? Are you his servant?”
“No, I’m his bodyguard!”
“The man must be of high status seeing that he has a professional bodyguard like you!” the old man took a closer look at Silas and replied with a sigh, “I reap what I sow as I have sinned!”
Silas stood there and glanced at him without saying a word. The old man then stood up slowly from his chair and told Silas and Gonzalec, “Follow me!”
Gonzalec did not make a move as he watched his grandfather entered the room and said, “I’ll wait outside.”
Silas then marched towards the room while glancing at Gonzalec whose eyes were filled with fear.
The room was very dark and emitted an unpleasant smell. The old man then closed the door disappointedly as Silas was the only one who followed him into the room.
The old man opened the cupboard and a giant python poked its head out. Silas stood there nonchalantly while watching the python hiss.
“Aren’t you afraid?” Gonzalec’s grandfather looked at Silas in surprise.
“What?” Silas sneered and continued, “It’s just a long and giant worm. What’s there to be afraid of? To tell you the truth, I can get rid of it within a few seconds.”
The old man glanced at Silas confusedly and sighed. He then bumped the python away and rummaged through the closet while talking.
“I have lived for 93 years and have experienced many things throughout my life. When I was young, I did harmful things including drugging others. Now, my karma has come. I am old but no one cares about me and I am waiting for death. However, it might be that I have sinned too much so I have to suffer all alone in this world.”
“Your children are successful. Why don’t you follow them to enjoy your retired life there?” Silas asked.
“I want to, but I’m a drug lord who even my son and his wife are afraid of me. Didn’t you see how my grandson behaved around me? He’s afraid that I’ll hurt him. It’s heartbreaking that even my own family distance themselves from me!” The old man said in despair.
Silas was out of words as Gonzalec’s grandfather must have caused a lot of harm to others. He didn’t deserve to be pitied as he finally got a taste of his own medicine.
After rummaging through the cabinet for a while, the old man took out a wooden box and handed it to Silas, “This is the stuff that you have been looking for.”
Silas reached out to take the box and the old man was a little surprised, “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll hurt you? I’m a drug lord and can hurt others at any time.”
“No, I’m not afraid,” Silas said nonchalantly, “I was actually a professional killer before I worked as a bodyguard and had blood on my hands. It will be a joke if I am timid.”
“I see!” the old man murmured and said, “This drug was formulated by a cursed bug that was then crushed into powder. This box contains an antidote and there is only a single portion of it.”
“You have two portions of the drug, right? Why is there only an antidote instead of two?” Silas asked.
“I have spent a fortune to make a few drugs, but they were sold at a high price. However, I only made one antidote as it is not easy to make it. I thought that I wouldn’t be using it in this lifetime.”
“What about the formula?” Silas asked.
“The formula is also in the box and you can take it with you alongside the antidote,” the old man then continued, “However, I shall remind you that the antidote is not easy to be formulated.”
“Alright, thank you!” Silas put the box away carefully and offered, “You can tag along if you no longer wish to live here.”
“No thanks. Living and dying alone is the end of my story for doing numerous bad things in my life. However, I hope that you can let my grandson and my family off the hook after I gave you the antidote and the formula.”
“As long as the antidote is effective, we will not lay a finger on Gonzalec. However, if that is not the case, I will rip the hell out of Gonzalec and your family even without Sir’s instructions.”
Silas had threatened Gonzalec’s grandfather and the old man smiled bitterly, “Are you worried that I will deceive you with the antidote? Don’t worry about it as I won’t take a gamble on my family’s life.”