Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Chapter 36

Joshua and Marvin, well past middle age, fell into heavy silence after broaching such a somber topic. Finally, Marvin sighed and urged, “Alright, our old bones can still hold up.

“Let’s give youngsters more time. When the moment comes, they’ll definitely do better than we did back in the day. Go on in, don’t keep Briar

waiting.”

Joshua nodded, waving Marvin off. “Go on, scram before our close contact draws attention.” With that, he shut the lab door,

Bored of waiting in Joshua’s office, Briar got up to check out the space. The room was simply furnished–just a desk and bookshelves lining

the wall.

Alongside traditional medicine texts, the shelves held countless specimens of rare herbs, some of which Briar had only seen in Tristan’s private vault.

But what truly caught her eye was an old picture frame nestled amongst the specimens. The photo showed five young men. The one in the center was clearly a younger Joshua.

A

To his left stood Marvin, whom she’d just met. To the right, she recognized Griffin in his youth. The man next to Griffin was unfamiliar to her.

But the real shock came from the long–haired, black–rimmed man on the far right–he was the spitting image of a young Tristan.

‘Whoa, she thought, ‘didn’t know Tristan was such a trendsetter back then.‘

walked in, he caught Briar staring at the photo frame. “Briar,” he chuckled, “bet you can’t guess who’s the hottest in

with a smile. “Obviously you, Mr.

burst out laughing. “Excellent taste! For that alone, I’ll make sure you get the best

stern, old–fashioned Joshua to be so witty. “I’ll study

lab first and introduce you to your seniors. In our traditional medicine

warm demeanor sparked a flicker of

‘Who would’ve thought I’d ever

practitioner families. With Dasmieca cracking down on traditional practices

had a brutal 8:2 male–female ratio,

so, enrollment in Shoneport’s Traditional Medicine department

Joshua deemed exceptional enough to join his lab was rare. Including two new

students.

eleven students, there are ten males and only one female. So this young lady instantly became the beloved

pretty, doll–faced Briar, every guy in the lab stopped what they were doing. Their eyes

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Chapter 36

his hands and announced, “Alright, let me introduce–this is Briar, our new transfer student in first year. She’s 18, but don’t let her age fool you–she can already see

there, I’m James, head of the lab and this

fourth year.”

in, “Hey, Briar. I’m Karl, also