Chapter 601: Doctor

    Gu Luoxin heard the soft scrape of the door sliding open, followed by quiet footsteps that stopped just right on the edge of his vision.

    "Father," Ares greeted in a formal and respectful tone. No hint of intimacy or warmth could be detected in his voice. He sounded so distant, as if the person he was talking to was his superior rather than his blood-related father.

    And Master Grinu’s tone mirrored his— cold and apathetic, tinged with a barely concealed anger. "Have you forgotten what day it is tomorrow?"

    "I haven’t," Ares responded quietly with his gaze lowered.

    Alas, his lukewarm demeanor seemed to stoke the embers of rage in Master Grinu into a blazing wildfire, for his stern voice boomed across the open hallway in the very next second,

    "Then what are you doing now?!"

    His roar thundered in the air, nearly startling Gu Luoxin’s heart out of his mouth. In an instant, the temperature plummeted to rock bottom. Even the leisurely breeze and the gentle rustle of trees seemed to halt, leaving nothing but an oppressive silence.

    Gu Luoxin’s fingers curled tensely against the wooden floorboards. Like the other servants, he dared not even breathe too loudly, fearing that any smallest sound might provoke the Master of the Sky further. They were akin to a row of rock statues, desperately trying to shrink their presence as much as possible.

    A brief silence lingered without Ares’ answer, and all of a sudden—

    BAM!

    Ares crashed heavily to the ground.

    Gu Luoxin’s eyes widened, and he barely stopped himself from jerking his head up.

    "You useless wretch!" The whip sliced through the air with a sharp whizzing sound before landing on Ares’ body, tearing off a layer of skin and flesh and drawing blood. But Master Grinu did not relent. He kept swinging the whip— again and again. Each lash was severe, forceful, and merciless. "Are you trying to embarass me? Huh? Is that why you are so intent on going against my words?!"

    In the span of one breath, crimson welts appeared on the young master’s fair skin. Blood splattered on the ground and splashed onto the servants nearby. Pieces of bloodied feathers fluttered weakly to the ground.

    Gu Luoxin stared at the crimson droplets that landed on the back of his hand, his face pale.

    W-What the hell... could this still be called a punishment? In the first place, what exactly had the Young Master done wrong to incite such fury from his father? Gu Luoxin had been following him all this time, but he hadn’t seen Ares do anything out of the line!

    With each strike that landed on his body, Ares would instinctively jerk and twitch. And yet not once... not even once had he made a sound. He simply curled himself up and accepted the punishment, like he had long been resigned to fate. Blood seeped out of the corner of his lips from where he had bitten the inside of his cheek too hard, and that face— the face which was nearly identical to Gu Luoxin— was distorted as he silently endured the excruciating pain.

    As if sensing the gaze on him, Ares’ eyelids cracked open a sliver, and their eyes met in midair.

    Don’t look, the Young Master mouthed at him.

    Gu Luoxin began to tremble, his breath escaping in harsh, ragged gasps. He clenched his fists, feeling his palms turn clammy. Why— Why didn’t Master Grinu stop? Would he only be satisfied once he beat his son to death? Why hadn’t anyone stopped him yet?!

    —No matter what you see or hear later, keep your head down and stay silent.

    At this moment, Gu Luoxin suddenly understood how this warning had come about. It must be because this had happened countless times before, so much that the servants dared not recklessly step in any longer. They would rather preserve their own lives first and foremost instead of defending their young master.

    However...

    Looking at the pallid face nearby, Gu Luoxin silently grounded his molar.

    It’s not like he was soft hearted or he had developed attachment to the Young Master of the Garuda after spending some time together. He wasn’t foolish enough to treat the other person like a fellow human being. This was not his world, and he would return in the next three days. By then, they would never cross paths again. It’s just that face... watching Ares lying in a pool of blood with a face that was so similar to him gave Gu Luoxin intense goosebumps, it was as if he was seeing his own fate in the future. He almost couldn’t breathe properly.

    Please, he prayed fervently. Just stop. Don’t hit him anymore...

    "Enough," a pleasant male voice rang out.

    Someone stepped forward to stop Master Grinu— much to everyone’s surprise.

    "I understand your anger, Master Grinu, but now is not the time to vent it on the Young Master. Tomorrow is the banquet; we wouldn’t want him to show up disfigured, would we?"

    Who’s that? Gu Luoxin wondered before he noticed the servants on his side seemed to tremble even more violently. And the more surprising thing was, Master Grinu actually listened to him!

    "You’re right, Doctor. It is my oversight," the middle-aged man heaved a troubled sigh. "But this useless son of mine still cannot fly even until this day. How are we supposed to let him represent our faction tomorrow?"

    "Please be rest assured," the Doctor’s gentle tone carried a smile, yet for some reason, Gu Luoxin only felt chill down to his bones. "Haven’t we conducted a thorough examination for the Young Master? His physical evaluation came out fine. If there’s nothing wrong with his body, then it can only be— his mind."

    "His mind? Are you saying that my son has a mental illness?!" Master Grinu’s face promptly darkened. What a joke! He gnashed his teeth angrily. How could his, Grinu’s son possess such a humiliating defect even after being raised in luxury? It’s not like he had ever deprived his son of anything! Wealth, status, power— Ares possessed everything countless garudas could only dream of attaining in a lifetime, so what was he being dissatisfied about?!

    Grinu’s anger nearly erupted again the more he thought about this. But looking at the Doctor’s composed demeanor as if he had everything under control, he barely suppressed himself and asked in a gruff voice, "Is there anything you can do to cure him, Doctor?"

    "Naturally, yes. Isn’t this the reason why I am here today? I guarantee with my life, Master Grinu," the Doctor’s smile deepened as he stated with confident ease, "I will present the most perfect version of the Young Master tomorrow."

    That bold and assertive remark cleared the gloom on Grinu’s face in an instant. He let out a hearty laugh, "I know I can count on you, Doctor! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s start now!"

    "Of course, let’s bring the Young Master to the clinic." Footsteps approached before a pair of black boots stopped right in front of Gu Luoxin.

    "You."

    Gu Luoxin felt the back of his collar being lifted, and he raised his head subconsciously, only to meet a pair of smiling eyes as dark and bottomless as the abyss.

    "Carry your Young Master and follow us, will you?"