Trevor exclaimed, "But I'm with you! We're fighting on the same side. Why would you want to kill me?"

Matthew coldly replied, "Have you ever heard the advice to take out the goody-two-shoes first before going to war?"

Trevor stayed quiet. He gaped at Matthew and was too shocked to say anything for quite a while.

Moments later, he couldn't bring himself to sit upright anymore and slumped in his seat as if he had lost his confidence. Like a deflated balloon, he looked completely downcast.

His voice turned soft and powerless. "How am I a goody-two-shoes? I'm a soldier, ready to give my life for my country in a war. I'm the kind who charges headfirst into battle and spills blood."

Matthew snarled, "Scholarly Tradition, the medical literature, is the Afflictan Sect legacy. It's a compilation of more than one thousand years of medical practices and the essence of traditional medicine.

"The Eastorians stole our knowledge of traditional medicine and rebranded it as Willoris medicine, but it didn't work out. That's why they came to steal our medical literature.

"Marcus, Renae's late husband, was killed by them. Haley brought me and Renae to meet the buyer, but it was really just a trap. They had set it up to kill us and snatch the Scholarly Tradition. "Haley led us straight into the trap, and Carmelo was the mastermind killer among them.

"I almost died there, and Renae almost ended up as Carmelo's plaything. You're seriously whining about me killing an old man and a woman?

"You're such a bleeding heart. Before any battle, you'd get a hundred lashes, and you'd deserve every single one of them."

So, that was what went down.

Trevor broke into a cold sweat, clearly shaken up by Matthew's words. "I thought we were all on the same side in this peaceful time and that they were just people losing their way for money. I didn't expect Eastorians to be involved. I was wrong. I made it out to be too simple."

With a grim expression, Matthew added, "I don't care if they're Eastorians or anyone else. If they're my enemies, I'll take them down without hesitation. A goody-two-shoes like you is getting in the way. Maybe you should stay away."

According to Brad, the Wood family had sent their men after Matthew. These people would be his enemies as well, and he wouldn't think twice to take them out. Trevor being there might complicate things.

Trevor got to his feet and said, "I admit I was wrong. Please don't send me away. I'm ready to go through hell and back for you."

It finally hit Trevor that Matthew was in a life-threatening situation. He'd been way too soft-hearted. On top of that, Trevor hadn't finished the task Brad had assigned him. He couldn't face going back. Was Trevor really willing to do whatever it took?

Matthew pointed at Renae's front door. "Break the door down with your fists."

Out of the blue, Matthew gave

Trevor a ridiculous order. Nevertheless, Trevor headed straight for the door and punched it without a second thought. After a bang, one punch landed, and his fist

started bleeding.

He clenched his teeth and kept smashing the door with his fist. After three consecutive punches, the wooden door cracked, and his fist was covered in blood and bruised.

Trevor threw another punch and made a hole in the door with a crack. Then, he stopped. His fist was trembling, and blood dripped from his knuckle.

Ignoring his injury, Trevor walked up to Matthew and saluted. "Task completed, sir. Reporting for further orders."

Matthew approvingly nodded. It

wasn't about breaking the door, but the trust that Trevor would follow orders without question. Otherwise, having a softie like that around would be a problem.

With the way Trevor acted at this moment, he got to stay around Matthew. Matthew waved at Renae, who was watching in the yard. "Can you bandage him up?" Renae was utterly baffled. She wondered why Trevor had suddenly smashed the door.

Upon hearing Matthew's words, Renae looked for something to patch up Trevor with a baffled look. "What are you guys doing? Why are you hitting the door? Your hand is all messed up." Matthew smiled and explained, "He wanted to see if the door was sturdy, and now we know it isn't. I'll get someone to install a metal door for you."

Matthew didn't see a point in explaining it to Renae and made up something.

Seeing Trevor stay quiet, Renae looked him over and realized he might have been just checking the durability of the door.

"Thank you. A metal door will be better. I'll get to sleep peacefully at night now. Anyway, the bandaging is done, and the food is ready. I'll serve them for you."noveldrama

Soon enough, the dishes were served.

After preparing the meal, Renae took out the Golden Wisdom Pen from the kitchen. It looked like it had just been rinsed and was still a little wet.

"Good thing it was hidden under the kitchen stove, or it'd have been gone by now."

Matthew grabbed the Golden Wisdom Pen and examined it closely. Just as he thought, it had some fine print on it.

"The 13 Phantom Needles shouldn't

be taken lightly. Don't hand them out

casually. Also, don't share the

details, either verbally or in writing.

Only the owner of the Golden

Wisdom Pen can receive this legacy.

"Start by using the needles to locate the 13 acupuncture points for the Phantom Needles..."