Chapter 212
Suppressing the excitement in her chest, Suzy answered calmly and respectfully, "You’re Jason’s uncle. Since he came to ask for help, of course I was willing to help you."
Isaac froze briefly before bursting into hearty laughter. The laughter made his chest ache faintly, but he still laughed openly and freely.
He looked toward Jason and reached out to smack him on the shoulder again.
"You brat. Looks like your uncle didn’t spoil you for nothing all these years!"
If Jason had not gone to bring Suzy over, Isaac did not even dare imagine what state he would be in now.
And that thought reminded him of something Jason had mentioned earlier... Suzy had used her treasured family medicine and ointment on him.
"Young lady, don’t call me Commander Hunter anymore. Just call me Isaac."
Suzy did not stand on ceremony. "Very well, Isaac."
The man immediately smiled, clearly pleased.
Jason seized the opportunity at once, inching closer carefully. "Uncle, since you said that, then I won’t be polite anymore. Suzy...she needs cement. I mentioned it to you before..."
Isaac glanced at him, then at Suzy, one brow lifting.
"One thousand bags?"
Jason’s heart tightened instantly, thinking his uncle was about to back out.
He hurriedly added, "Uncle, Suzy isn’t asking for them for free! She said she’s willing to trade supplies for them!"
"Alright, alright." Isaac waved him off impatiently. "I already said it. Suzy saved my life. What’s a little cement compared to that? One thousand bags it is. Robert, go make arrangements."
Robert nodded. "Understood."
Jason nearly exploded with excitement. "Suzy, did you hear that? Uncle agreed!"
Suzy smiled at him before turning toward Isaac again.
"Thank you, Isaac."
The man waved dismissively. "What’s there to thank me for? No need to be so polite with me, girl."
Then suddenly, his tone shifted. "Young lady, are you willing to sell that medicinal balm and medicine?"
The room instantly fell silent. Suzy glanced at him, then smiled faintly and shook her head.
Isaac did not seem upset by the refusal at all.
"That’s fine. If you don’t want to sell it, then don’t. In the future, if you ever need anything, come find me."
Isaac still needed rest and recovery. Seeing that his mental state was stable now, everyone gradually left the room one after another.
Only Riato remained behind to continue observing Isaac’s condition.
Once everyone had departed, silence finally settled over the room once more.
Riato walked back to the bedside and picked up the now empty medicine bottle.
Then his gaze fell onto Isaac’s arm, which was already visibly improving, and lingered there for a very long time.
His expression was dark. Like someone who had spent half a lifetime practicing a craft, only to suddenly witness another person casually making out a masterpiece forever beyond his reach.
Leaning against the headboard, Isaac watched him and could not help laughing.
"Doc, that expression of yours looks even uglier than when I was injured."
Riato let out a long sigh and dragged over a nearby chair before sitting down.
The two had been friends for years. With no outsiders or juniors present anymore, Riato dropped the formal front he usually maintained.
"Isaac, your arm really doesn’t hurt anymore?" he asked again, unable to stop himself.
"Yeah." Isaac raised his arm and examined it himself. "Not at all. It feels cool instead. Pretty miraculous, honestly."
He paused before adding, "Your medicine always felt bitter and rough. Sometimes it even stung. But her ointment feels cool and refreshing, like rubbing mint onto the skin. Comfortable as hell."
Riato clicked his tongue in annoyance. He wanted to argue, yet had absolutely no grounds to do so because Suzy’s medicine was simply too monstrous.
He had practiced medicine for thirty years. He considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, someone who rarely admired others.
But today, he was convinced.
Not because Isaac had awakened. Not because the wound had begun healing. But because an infection he had failed to control for half a month had started improving within mere minutes after Suzy applied her medicine.
"Isaac, what do you think that girl’s medicine actually is?" Riato muttered.
Isaac shot him a strange look. "If even you don’t know, how the hell would I know?"
Riato nodded. "True enough. Guess I asked a stupid question. If even I can’t figure it out, there’s no way you would."
"...Now that’s just offensive." Isaac’s face darkened immediately.
"Doc, what kind of tone is that? You make it sound like I’m that much worse than you."
Riato glanced at him silently, but the expression on his face practically screamed: You absolutely are.
Isaac burst out laughing from sheer irritation. He raised a hand as if to smack him, only for his arm to pause halfway before lowering again.
Arguing over nonsense was pointless.
The room fell quiet for a while.
Riato unconsciously rubbed the empty medicine bottle between his fingers, his gaze drifting repeatedly across its surface. He looked as though he wanted to say something but could not quite spit it out.
Isaac finally lost patience watching him hesitate.
"Enough already. If you’ve got something to say, then say it. Stop acting like some nervous old woman hemming and hawing over there."
Riato choked on the words, glaring at him irritably before finally speaking.
"Isaac...do you think that girl’s medicine could..."
He did not finish the sentence, but Isaac already understood. One brow lifted as he looked at Riato with amusement.
"You want some?"
Riato’s old face reddened instantly. But just as quickly, he forced himself back to composure.
"It’s not for me," he said stiffly. "I just want to study it. Medicine that effective...if we could identify the ingredients and mass produce it, think about how many people it could save."
Isaac snorted. "Cut the crap. What ’research’? You’re just coveting the girl’s formula."
Riato opened his mouth to argue, only to realize he had no real rebuttal.
Because Isaac was right. He truly was tempted.
Not because he wanted to steal the formula, but because he was genuinely curious. He had practiced medicine for thirty years. He had seen countless herbs and studied countless prescriptions.
Yet with Suzy’s medicine, he could not identify a single ingredient or discern its medicinal properties. The frustration clawed at him like a cat scratching inside his chest.
"I’m just curious," Riato muttered, his voice lowering slightly.
"Isaac, you don’t understand. Knowing something is extraordinary yet having no idea why it works...it’s unbearable."
"Doc, the problem with you is that you take everything too seriously."
Riato remained silent.
After a moment, he finally spoke again, a rare trace of awkward pleading slipping into his voice.
"Isaac...could you talk to the girl for me? I don’t want her formula. Just a little ointment. A tiny bit is enough. I can trade for it. I’ll exchange whatever she wants."
Isaac laughed. "Well, I’ll be damned. Doc Riato actually begging someone for once."
Riato shot him an annoyed glare. "So are you helping or not?"
"I’d like to help," Isaac replied helplessly, "but didn’t the girl already say she wasn’t selling it?"
Riato immediately answered with a perfectly serious expression,
"Then you should beg her."
"What?!"