Chapter 6: So You Do Care

Words : 1832 Updated : Oct 23rd, 2025

Madison lay on her bed, replaying the day's events, baffled by how Gabriel had changed. "Maybe I imagined it. He just got lucky today, that's all," she told herself. With that, she drifted off to sleep. Next door, in the room that was supposed to be a storage room, Gabriel sat cross-legged on his single bed. Wisps of white vapor curled above his head. It was quite a sight. Since fate had given him a second chance, he wasn't going to waste it. Following the martial technique etched in his mind, Gabriel continued to try to awaken his core. He had once been a Martial Grandmaster. With a top-tier martial technique to guide him, regaining his strength wouldn't be hard. Around midnight, he felt a muffled thump from deep within. A deep, wordless relief washed through him. His core had recovered; inner energy and true essence gathered once more. He opened his eyes. For a heartbeat, his eyes flashed. He lowered his hands, releasing the hand seal, and murmured, "I can finally walk the path of martial arts again." At dawn, Gabriel got up as usual to make breakfast. Even though true essence had begun to pool again in his core the previous night, he wasn't about to stop being the Ades family's live-in son-in-law just yet. In the past, his enemies had lurked in the shadows. Now he was the one moving unseen; it would make digging into the past far easier. When Madison came to the dining room after getting up and saw Gabriel bustling in the kitchen, she thought, "I must've been so tired yesterday I was seeing things. He's still the same loser." "Breakfast's ready. Come eat," Gabriel said with a smile, as if he'd sensed her arrival. He set the dishes on the table and turned to head back to the kitchen. "Why are you up so early today?" Madison asked, her voice cool. Gabriel turned to her and said, "I get up this early every day. The only difference today is that Mom isn't home." Madison studied him. It had only been a night, yet something about him had shifted. She couldn't name it. He wore the same clothes. The breakfast smelled just as good. Everything said, he was still Gabriel, the man who lived in the kitchen. Except his eyes. His eyes were different today. There was something new there: confidence, the kind he'd never had before. "Eat up," Gabriel said, looking at her. "If you're late, your family will be on your case again." He returned to the kitchen, sat on his usual little stool, and dug into his breakfast. They'd been married three years. Gabriel had never been allowed to sit at the dining table. That was a rule set by Lauryn, and Madison had never challenged it. Madison heard the barb in Gabriel's words. Her mother nitpicked him every day, finding fault with everything. "Where did Mom go?" she asked. "No idea. She left early," Gabriel replied, and they fell silent. After she finished eating and started back toward the door, she turned back and said, "You could look for a job." "A job? Then who cooks?" Gabriel said evenly. "It's been three years. Every time I went out to find work, your mother dragged me back. I get it. She just wants to keep me dependent on the Ades family." "You say I don't make any money and I'm a deadbeat, but have you ever given me a chance not to be one?" Madison frowned hard. "If you had real ability, how could my mother call you back every time?" Gabriel let out a short, scornful laugh and said nothing. He turned and started tidying the kitchen. His attitude stoked her anger. "I'm doing this for your own good. What's with that attitude?" "Even if we end up breaking up, if you had a skill, you could make a living." "If you've already decided we'll split, don't worry about me," Gabriel said, spreading his hands. "Who said we're splitting? You're impossible!" Madison yanked the door open and stepped out. "Oh? So you do care?" Gabriel's voice held a teasing lilt. "You!" Bang! The door slammed. Out in the corridor, Madison felt ready to explode. Gabriel was still Gabriel. Still a deadbeat. No, not just a deadbeat, shameless to boot. After she left, Gabriel went out as well, not to find her but to visit a clinic. If he wanted to recover quickly, he needed a Bone Cleansing Pill. To achieve that, he needed to refine it himself. He headed to Everson Lane in Zerton, a street lined with traditional medicine clinics. He picked a quiet clinic and stepped inside, handing his prescription to the apprentice behind the counter. An elderly traditional-medicine practitioner with ash-gray hair sat inside. He spared Gabriel a glance, then shut his eyes again to rest. When the herbs were gathered, Gabriel approached the old man. "Sir, do you have a pill furnace and a golden needle for sale?" he asked. The old man opened his eyes and shot Gabriel a look. "Young man, what do you need a pill furnace and a golden needle for? Are you a doctor too?" "I only need those two things," Gabriel said. "If you don't have them, I'll try elsewhere." He paid for the herbs and turned to go. He reached the doorway and collided with someone coming in: a woman clutching a child. Both were about to fall. Gabriel moved in a flash and caught them, keeping them from hitting the floor. The woman had no time to scold him. She rushed toward the old doctor instead. "Johnny, the kid fainted again!" she cried. The doctor sighed. "Annabella, this is just a small clinic. I've told you, you need to take the child to a major hospital." "But, Johnny, we don't have the money. He's my whole world. I can't just leave him like this..." Tears streamed down her face. "I'll wake him first." Johnny pulled out a silver needle and reached toward the boy. Gabriel glanced at the child in Annabella's arms and said, "You're draining the child's life by doing that." The moment the words left his mouth, all three in the clinic stared at him in disbelief. "Shut it. My master is treating a patient. Who asked you?" the apprentice snapped from behind the counter. Johnny frowned at Gabriel. "Are you a doctor, young man?" "I know a bit," Gabriel said with a nod. "A bit? Then how can you be so sure I'm draining the child's life?" Johnny's tone cooled. Gabriel let out a soft sigh. "There's a black line on the boy's back, isn't there? It's already crept toward the heart." Johnny hurriedly lifted the child's shirt and looked. Sure enough. "How could this be?"

Chapter 6: So You Do Care

Comments (0)