The Rise of David
Copyright© 2025 by RichXpower
Chapter 42: A Tricky Situation
Josephine felt a tingling warmth flow from his hand into her body.
Lowering her head, she mumbled in a barely audible voice, “W-What do you think you’re doing? There are too many people here!”
“What did you say?” David asked.
She ducked her head lower and whispered in an even softer voice, “I said, don’t do that here! There are too many people around! Let’s go among the trees!”
David let go of her hand. “Why should we do that? Come on. Let’s get moving. Otherwise, we won’t be able to catch up to the others.”
Stunned, Josephine gazed up at David and saw that he was looking at her with a mischievous grin.
She shot him a death stare and rushed at him.
“I’m going to kill you!”
However, Josephine had only taken a few steps before she realized she was not as tired as before. Her legs were also not aching anymore. In fact, she felt refreshed and energetic, just as when she first started the climb!
“Why are you spacing out? Hurry up!” David called out when he saw her standing motionless.
“Oh. Right.”
Coming to her senses, Josephine quickly hurried after David.
They soon caught up with Walter and the others, who were surprised by David’s and Josephine’s speed.
“Josephine, didn’t you say that you were tired?”
William studied Josephine carefully, but she did not appear the least bit exhausted!
“I don’t know what happened either. Anyway, I’m not tired anymore. I feel quite refreshed,” Josephine replied, also looking puzzled.
As soon as the others heard her response, their gazes fell on David. They guessed that he must have had something to do with it.
“Let’s get going. It’ll be dark soon,” David said, hastening his pace.
After an hour, they finally reached the summit. However, it was so crowded that the monastery had closed its doors, and everyone could only wait outside.
David and the others pushed their way to the front of the crowd. Two monks were standing guard at the entrance, and they stopped them at once.
“Please don’t try to force your way into the monastery. We won’t be allowing anyone else in today,” said one of the monks.
Walter’s face crinkled up in a smile as he said politely, “Excuse me, but we’re friends of Abbot Erasmus. Could you please let him know that Walter Grange from Horington is here?”
“We’ve been told not to let anyone in. Master Leonidas is in the middle of treating our master’s daughter and must not be disturbed,” the monk responded airily with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Walter did not appear to be angered by the monk’s response. He reached into his pocket, took out some money, and slipped it into the monk’s hand.
“I’ve also brought someone to treat her illness. Your master knows about it, so you only need to let him know we’ve arrived.”
The monk broke into a grin when he saw the money in his hand. He stuffed it into his pocket and said, “Ah, so you’re our master’s friends! Please wait here for a while. I’ll go and announce your arrival.”
Walter watched the monk run into the monastery with a smile. This is a prime example of a situation where it’s trickier to deal with the lower ranks than the higher-ups.
David sneered, “A monastery with an attitude like this will never have the ability to cure the girl.”
The group exchanged exasperated looks. Such was the world now where even places like a monastery were money-minded. Instead of calling it a monastery, it would be more accurate to refer to it as a tourist attraction.
Soon, the monk ran back up to Walter and bowed respectfully.
“Sir, our master has allowed you to enter.”
Walter nodded, then led David and the others into the monastery.
Other tourists had purchased incense sticks and lit them while praying for good fortune. Hence, a thin veil of smoke from the burning incense sticks surrounded the monastery.
As soon as they stepped inside, a bearded man wearing robes rushed forward to welcome them.
Erasmus said, “Mr. Grange, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please forgive me.”
Walter bowed his head respectfully, then gestured toward David.
“This is Mr. Chance, the person who needs the spiritual brush and cinnabar rosary. I’ve brought him here to have a look at your daughter.”
Erasmus glanced at David with his brows slightly furrowed, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled.
“There’s no rush. Why don’t we go inside and have something to drink? My senior is checking on my daughter’s condition now.”
As Erasmus spoke, he motioned for the group to follow him. Just as David was about to enter the main hall, he felt a sudden chill in the air.
It was so strong that a shiver ran through him despite the sweltering heat.
Noticing the shift in David’s expression, Walter asked, “Is something wrong, Mr. Chance?”
“Oh, nothing!” David smiled and shook his head.
Erasmus turned to David, smiling disdainfully.
“You can feel that it’s suddenly much cooler inside this hall, right? It’s because there’s an old well behind the monastery. The water in the well is freezing cold all year round. Hence, we’ve directed it around the monastery so that the temperature would be much cooler inside.”
David merely gave a polite smile in response without saying anything.
Everyone followed Erasmus through the main hall into a small courtyard at the back. When he opened the door to one of the rooms, David felt the chill in the air intensify drastically.
However, none of the others seemed to sense anything amiss.
A young girl with delicate features was lying on a bed inside the room. Although she had a thick blanket over her, her face was deathly pale as if she was suffering from frostbite. In fact, there was even a thin layer of frost on her skin!
An elderly man sat at the side of the girl’s bed with a jade scepter in his hand. He would occasionally tap it on the girl’s forehead and mutter something under his breath.
“This is my senior, Leonidas. He says that he has to get rid of the frosty energy within my daughter’s body to cure her. We tried doing it once last year but failed. This time, he has found a jade scepter made of warm jade that can absorb the frosty energy inside her body,” Erasmus explained softly.
A warm jade was created by subjecting the gemstone to immense heat. What was so remarkable was that it would then be able to retain heat all year round. Even if one placed it in freezing cold temperatures, it would return to its original temperature in less than half an hour!
It was rare to come across a warm jade, and the chances of finding one large enough to craft a jade scepter out of it were even scarcer.
Erasmus’ explanation piqued their curiosity, and they turned to gaze at Leonidas with interest. However, Leonidas appeared cold and distant, and there was a glint of mockery in his eyes. He did not even bother to glance at them.
Every time Leonidas tapped the girl’s forehead with the jade scepter, they could see it absorbing her frosty energy little by little.
After repeating the action more than ten times, Leonidas stopped and set the jade scepter aside.
“Is she going to get well soon?” Erasmus enquired eagerly.
Leonidas shook his head. “It won’t be that easy. There has been a large amount of frosty energy trapped within Renee’s body for a long time, so we can only take things slowly. The jade scepter has lost its warmth for now, so I need to let it rest for a while.”
Erasmus nodded. “I see ... Then how long will it take to dispel all the frosty energy from her body?”
Frowning slightly, Leonidas pondered for a moment. “At least three days, but it could also take as long as six months.”
Erasmus fell silent when he heard Leonidas’ answer, worry etched across his face.
“It wouldn’t matter even if you could do it in half a month. Judging by how much frosty energy the jade scepter can absorb each time, I suppose even a lifetime won’t be enough. Moreover, she only has three days left to live at most,” David remarked slowly.
Leonidas’ brows drew together sharply, and he glared at David.
“Erasmus, who’s this ignorant brat? How dare he spout such nonsense?”
“He’s the person Mr. Grange asked to help cure Renee. As you know, Mr. Grange has been a loyal patron of this monastery,” Erasmus replied hurriedly.
Leonidas snorted angrily. “Even so, this greenhorn has the cheek to doubt me! Get him out of here!”
It was clear that Leonidas had taken offense to David’s remark.
“This...” Erasmus paled instantly.
Due to his close friendship with Walter, he did not think it appropriate to dismiss David so unceremoniously.
“What’s the matter? Do you really believe that brat can cure your daughter? In that case, I’m leaving!”
Leonidas picked up the jade scepter and prepared to leave.
“Please calm down!” Erasmus cried out as he reached out to stop Leonidas. Then, he turned to Walter uneasily and said, “Mr. Grange, perhaps it’d be better if you and your friends left us for a while. My senior prefers not to be disturbed.”
He shot David a torn look as he spoke. He trusted David, but there was nothing he could do.
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