When Colin picked up the jade pendant and slowly rose to his feet, everyone sensed something different about him.
The dozen or so thugs surrounding him all felt a chill crawl up their spines.
"Get him, Brock! Look what he did to me!" Gerard pointed at his grotesquely swollen face, screaming with rage.
"Move in!"
The tattooed brute glanced at Colin, then waved his hand.
"I'd like to see who dares!"
A commanding female voice cut through the air as a breathtakingly beautiful woman strode toward them.
It was Marjorie, flanked by two bodyguards in black.
The moment Gerard laid eyes on her, despite his bruised and battered face, his heart skipped a beat. What a knockout!
Those legs in silk stockings—absolutely exquisite.
"Deal with Mr. Cox's problem."
Marjorie surveyed the scene, her delicate brows drawing together.
One of her bodyguards stepped forward and made short work of the thugs.
Even Brock caught a vicious slap across the face before scrambling away in a panic.
The Floyd heiress's bodyguards were no ordinary men.
Colin narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected this woman to handle his trouble for him. But the Serpent-Ember Jade was shattered now, and the Dragon Seal was broken.
The Dragon Lord had returned.
"Colin, who are these two...?" Marjorie looked toward Kate and her son.
Before Colin could respond, Kate shrieked, "So that's how it is! No wonder you were so eager to divorce my daughter—you've been keeping a little mistress on the side! This shameless hussy—"
She never finished. Marjorie's palm connected with her cheek.
A woman of her standing would not tolerate such slander.
A vivid handprint bloomed across Kate's pale face.
"Ahhh—!" She let out a piercing scream. "How dare you hit me! Do you have any idea who I am? I'm President Iris Fox's mother! You're finished—"
"My precious boy, kill these two! Avenge your mother!"
"You bitch! You hit my mom—you're dead!" Gerard charged forward, blood streaming down his face. But before he could get close, a bodyguard's kick sent him flying.
His body slammed into the security door with such force that the solid wood panel caved inward.
"Ahhh..."
Gerard lay on the ground, howling like a slaughtered pig.
His arm was broken, no doubt about it.
"You... that was brutal!" Kate pointed at Marjorie, then at Colin, snarling, "My daughter is Iris Fox! You broke my son's arm—I'll make sure you pay for this!"
"Break her jaw!"
Marjorie was already in a foul mood. She had no patience for this woman's threats.
The bodyguard moved to comply, mechanical in his obedience to the young mistress's orders, regardless of the target's gender.
"Forget it. Let them go." Colin spoke up.
Marjorie immediately waved her hand.
"This isn't over!" Kate spat, refusing to back down even in defeat.
Supporting the half-dead Gerard, she reached down to grab the calligraphy scroll from the floor.
"Leave the scroll."
Colin's voice was flat.
"What are you doing? You beat my son, and now you want to steal my family's treasure?" Kate's expression shifted.
Colin scoffed. It was his calligraphy. When had it become her family's treasure?
Well, technically it might have been while he was married. But they were divorced now.
Despite her devastating beauty, Marjorie was a woman of decisive action—she wouldn't be running the Longtide Group otherwise.
One look from her, and the bodyguard snatched the scroll from Kate's hands.
"Fine! Just you wait, you cheating pair! If I don't get my revenge, I'm not human!" Kate ground out through clenched teeth.
"Slap her."
The moment Marjorie uttered those words, Kate grabbed Gerard and fled.
"Hm? This is Master Ashen's calligraphy... an original?" Marjorie's eyes swept over the scroll, and her expression transformed. "That shrew had a genuine piece by Master Ashen!"
"It's mine." Colin extended his hand.
"No!"
Marjorie clutched it to her chest. The iron-willed businesswoman from moments ago had vanished, replaced by something almost childlike.
"Colin, let me have this. Master Ashen's work is my grandfather's greatest passion. If I gave him this piece, he'd be over the moon."
"Please?"
Those mesmerizing eyes of hers shimmered with a look that could break any man's resolve.
Her grandfather, despite his status, owned only one original by Master Ashen, which he treasured and hung in his study.
Though those particular four characters weren't exactly refined—"Senile Old Fool!"
Yet her grandfather cherished them like a priceless artifact.
These four characters, "Spring Pool's Gentle Charm," were far more elegant.
"I'll pay for it. Name your price..."
Marjorie was actually tugging at Colin's sleeve now, pleading.
"Fine. Take it." Colin sighed. For the old man's sake, she could have it.
Marjorie's face lit up with joy. She quickly tucked the scroll inside her coat, pressing it against her chest.
"Didn't you have something you needed me for?" Colin asked.
"Right."
Marjorie quickly composed herself. "Yesterday, over a dozen Longtide Group employees collapsed with severe abdominal pain and vomiting after eating lunch in the cafeteria. The doctors are completely stumped—they're calling it some kind of mysterious illness."
"They've all fallen into comas now. Their lives are hanging by a thread..."
"If they all die, Longtide Group will face serious consequences."
Colin considered this briefly. "Let's go. Take me to them."
The Dragon Lord was unmatched in both medicine and martial arts. Though his cultivation was gone, his medical expertise remained.
Soon they arrived at Riverview General Hospital, the finest in Seacliff—built with Floyd family investment.
Two muscular men in black suits stood guard outside the ICU.
"Miss Floyd, Second Master already brought in Dr. Murphy, the most famous physician in Seacliff. There's no need for you to go in." One of them blocked Marjorie's path.
"Where is Dr. Murphy?"
"He's finished his acupuncture treatment. He's having tea with Second Master in the reception room."
Marjorie turned to Colin. "Want to take a look inside?"
Colin peered through the window, and his brow furrowed. "Let's go in."
"Move aside." Marjorie faced the two guards.
"Miss Floyd, Second Master gave strict orders—no one goes in. Please don't put us in a difficult position..."
Slap!
Marjorie backhanded him across the face. "Out of my way."
Both men immediately lowered their heads and stepped aside.
Inside, Colin found thirteen patients lying on beds. A dark miasma clung to each of their chests, their faces twisted in agony.
Their shirts had been removed, and their torsos bristled with silver needles.
"What happened here?" Marjorie demanded.
One of the suited men hurried to explain. "Dr. Murphy said they've been poisoned. These are detoxification needles—they need to stay in for two hours to draw out the toxins. Under no circumstances should they be removed before then—"
His words died in his throat, his face draining of color.
Colin had stepped forward and ripped every needle from the patient's chest.
