However, things didn’t develop in the direction Heather had hoped it would. Instead of giving her a chance to talk about her measures, Dr. Turner resolutely said to her, “I don’t need anyone’s help.”
She looked at Dr. Turner with a baffled expression. This doctor is unable to tell good from bad, she thought to herself. She was a little angry; not only had Dr. Turner turned her down repeatedly, she didn’t even get to know how good his medical skills were. This put her in a totally unfavorable situation. “Aren’t you afraid that you might suddenly die before you can treat the forest?” She continued to persuade him, believing that everyone had their own weaknesses.
However, Dr. Turner cast Heather an emotionless glance. “I’m a doctor, so I’m well aware of my own condition.” He was unmoved, for he knew that he still had time.
“Accident and tomorrow—who knows which might come first?” Heather was still unwilling to give up hope. She believed her hunch, and she just knew that Dr. Turner possessed an effective prescription to cure Robert with.
“You don’t have to persuade me anymore. Perhaps I’ll have an accident as soon as I come out of this forest.” Dr. Turner’s wise appearance made people wonder if he was actually serious or talking nonsense.
“What a pathetic person you are. You’ve confined yourself to a designated area, and you’re afraid that you might have an accident once you leave such confines.” Heather was fond of making sarcastic remarks, and this time was no exception.
However, Dr. Turner didn’t let himself sink to Heather’s level; he just wanted to get rid of this trouble as soon as possible. “Your friend should’ve regained consciousness by now. Just get out of here early before the sky darkens.”
Heather thought it would be useless to continue wasting time here. In that case, she would go back and make some plans first. Evidently, asking Dr. Turner to come out of seclusion was much more complicated than she had imagined this time.
Meanwhile, Leon had heard their entire conversation loud and clear. Since Dr. Turner was already telling them to leave, it would be pointless for him to continue feigning unconsciousness. Opening his eyes instantly, he gazed at everything unfamiliar around him and had to admit that this log cabin was quite picturesque. Then, he got up from the bed and walked over to Heather.
Heather finally noticed him when he was about to get close to her. Then, she turned her face around and looked at the man. Even Leon was planning to leave, so she had nothing to hesitate about.
“Your friend seems to be recovering well. In that case, you two should leave as soon as possible!” Dr. Turner continued to show them the door without hesitation.
Heather gave a slight nod in response. After all, it was pointless to keep on staying here, so she’d better go back and draw up a plan first before coming back to Dr. Turner again. So much for repeatedly requesting someone’s help, she thought to herself.
On the other hand, Leon followed Heather and left directly without saying a word, which was very unlike him. After all, he was a polite gentleman, and thanking people was the most basic etiquette. “Don’t be angry, Heather. Dr. Turner is a bit stubborn, but he isn’t an evil person,” he comforted the woman. In reality, he hadn’t said a word more than necessary to Dr. Turner just now because he feared that it would make Heather unhappy.
Meanwhile, Dr. Turner gave a soft sigh as he watched the two figures slowly disappearing into the forest. Young people nowadays were indeed young and impetuous, and he couldn’t help being reminded of what had happened back then. He had also been daring and energetic at the time, thinking that he could change this world. Only now did he realize there were few changes he could make—it was already good enough not to be changed by this sophisticated world. In other words, he had lost the lofty aspirations he had back then. If it weren’t for the promise he made to the woman he loved, he would rather go to the netherworld to search for her. He only feared that the woman he loved had drunk from the river Lethe, forgotten about him, and reincarnated early. He had asked her to wait on the Bridge of Judgment, but more than ten years had passed since then. He feared that he wouldn’t be able to find her if he died a bit later.
Dr. Turner dragged his own lumbering body back to the bamboo hut, knowing that his bodily functions were deteriorating rapidly. This forest was probably the devil’s dwelling, for it could cause people to age rapidly inside out. He didn’t wish any outsiders to come here, nor did he wish the two young people to come ever again. He hadn’t found out how this forest impaired ordinary people’s health, so he was worried that a person’s presence in this place would cause hidden dangers to their health.
Meanwhile, Heather and Leon had come out of the forest. Those in the village had fallen asleep by now, making it seem like they had arrived at a no man’s land. As they walked together, Leon suddenly suggested to Heather, “Why don’t you bring your grandfather over? Dr. Turner won’t turn down a patient who comes to him on their own, right?”
Heather shook her head. “That won’t do, of course. Didn’t you hear what he said? The smell given off by this forest is harmful to the human body. Grandpa is in very poor health right now, so how could we let him come to such a place?” Heather was somewhat agitated, and it seemed as though she hadn’t recovered from the atmosphere just now.
“In that case, we’d better leave as soon as possible! Such a hell of a place will probably eat away at our health as well,” Leon urged worriedly as he still wanted to enjoy a long life.
In the meantime, Heather looked at Leon apologetically as she didn’t expect such a place to be so dangerous. She shouldn’t have dragged him along, and she would be tormented by guilt if anything happened to him. “How did you feel when you smelled that faint fragrance today?” she asked worriedly. Leon had shown discomfort earlier today, so she was wondering if she should take him to the hospital tomorrow for a checkup.
“I didn’t feel anything else except for dizziness.” Leon could tell that Heather was worried about him, and it seemed like she wasn’t that cold-blooded. Leon liked being cared for by Heather.
“We’ll go to the hospital tomorrow for a checkup,” the woman said to him. She knew that it wouldn’t work if she asked Leon to go to the hospital alone. As such, they would undergo medical examinations together.
“Since when have you become so careful, Heather?” Leon knew that she didn’t like hospitals, so he felt very gratified when she agreed to go along this time.
“You’re full of crap.” Heather was back to her aloof, sharp-tongued, and proud self again.
Leon couldn’t help but protest as he said, “You talked quite a lot of nonsense there with Dr. Turner just now.” He still remembered how he had done everything he could to woo Heather a long time ago. Not only did he have to put up with her sharp tongue at that time, he could even turn the other cheek if she slapped him on the left. However, as time went on, their relationship slowly changed from one between the suitor and the wooed to an ambiguous relationship that fell somewhere between friendship and love, and Leon began his journey of fighting back. Therefore, it was completely thanks to Heather that he had a sharp tongue right now. Even so, he liked the feeling of squabbling with her. Although he knew that he might not be a suitable match for her, he was sometimes reluctant to give her over to someone else. Could they continue to roast each other freely like this if Heather really had someone else by her side one day? That was probably impossible since bosom buddies would always become ordinary friends because of their boyfriend’s intervention.
“It’s getting dark. Do you plan to walk using your tongue?” Heather asked contemptuously. She was in no mood to continue engaging in a battle of words with Leon since many matters were awaiting them.
“Where is our car?” Leon was more concerned about this. Without a car, they would have to walk back on foot—that was practically impossible.
Heather smiled mysteriously. “Don’t worry, I got them to park the car along the route we used, so we can definitely find it as long as we retrace our steps,” she said while taking out the car keys.
Meanwhile, Leon felt simply helpless as he looked at the road ahead of them. They had spent that entire day traveling outdoors on foot. Moreover, this trip was technically a waste of time since their hard work didn’t convince Dr. Turner. In an instant, he felt rather disappointed.
“Why do you look so down?” Heather asked caringly as she could tell that Leon’s morale was quite low.
He shook his head and forced a smile at Heather. “Nothing. I just feel that this trip hasn’t been worth it.”
Heather looked at him with a half-smile. “That’s not the case. Have you never gone on sales calls yourself?”
Leon shook his head. He was totally uninterested in his family’s business, so it was even more impossible for him to go on sales calls. Hence, his knowledge of how to run a business was purely theoretical.
“You might think that there aren’t any benefits when you first go on a sales call, but that actually isn’t the case. We met Dr. Turner today and collected a lot of useful information. He used to only exist in rumors, but he’s a solid human being now that we’ve met him in person. With that, I can unravel more details about him.” Needless to say, Heather felt quite satisfied with today’s results. She didn’t have much time, but she was still willing to spend some time on Dr. Turner.
However, Leon felt that the chances of convincing the doctor was low. “How do you plan on persuading Dr. Turner, Heather? He’s so stubborn.”
“There’ll always be some way.” Heather was confident about the future. The fact that a problem couldn’t be solved right now didn’t mean that it couldn’t be solved in the future.
“I can never be as self-confident as you are, Heather.” Leon smiled at her, and his bright smile lightened her mood.
“I’m not self-confident; I just have my feet on the ground. Besides, Dr. Turner isn’t as unreasonable as he seems, for he’s much better than those unaccommodating clients of mine. The way I see it, it’ll only take some effort to deal with him.” Heather now treated this matter as a company project so that she could get fired up.
“What do you plan to do next, Heather?” Leon asked curiously. After all, he didn’t have any good ideas himself.
“Our next step is to have a physical checkup before continuing to intrude Dr. Turner’s quiet life in the bamboo forest.” Heather thought they should deal with the doctor by pestering him ceaselessly, for she believed he couldn’t hold out against them.
Meanwhile, Leon shook his head sympathetically. “Dr. Turner is unlucky enough to have met you.” He couldn’t tell if he felt sympathy or wanted to laugh when he imagined how Dr. Turner’s quiet life would be intruded upon in the future.
“That can’t be helped, for Grandpa needs him to bring him out of danger. I can do anything wicked for Grandpa’s sake.” Heather was totally unashamed in front of Leon. After all, she was such an unscrupulous businesswoman.
“Just look at how you exhibit the qualities of an unscrupulous businesswoman again, Heather. That’s why you shouldn’t restrain yourself. You’ll definitely become a successful profiteer,” Leon remarked with a sinister smile. He had always thought very highly of Heather.
“Just shut up and hurry on our way. Otherwise, we’ll be going down the mountain in the dark,” Heather reminded him. They had been walking at a very slow pace, and this made her feel anxious.
“Don’t worry, Heather. I have excellent night vision, so I’m not worried at all about hurrying on our way in the dark.” Leon laughed slyly. He liked the dark night, and it had been a long time since he last traveled during twilight.
