However, Yed saw Ned walking toward their father and taking out a yellow pill, and he promptly bellowed, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Before Ned realized what was happening, Yed had leapt up, knocking the pill out of his hand and stamping it into pieces.
Naturally, his overreaction caught Abel and Lothar’s attention. “What? What’s going on here?”
“Uncle Lothar!” Yed bellowed as he pointed at the remains of the yellow pill. “That bastard was going to feed father some poisoned pill, but I noticed in time and destroyed it!”
“It’s not poison!” Ned retorted loudly to clear the suspicion against him despite his doubts. “It’s a pill given to me by Mr. Lawrence! It can stop the poison and keep father alive for another few days!”
“Mr. Lawrence who?!” Paula chimed in, shrieking. “The way I see it, you’re worried that Mr. Loggins can save Ciril now that he’s here, and you want to poison him dead! You’re despicable!”
“I’m not!” Ned bellowed, wheezing.
“The proof is right here, and you’re still trying to lie your way out of this?!” Yed bellowed, grabbing him the wrist sand squeezing.
Even as Ned dropped to his knees, sweating buckets in pain, Yed growled, “I guess this Mr. Lawrence who sold you the poison must be from Hundred Bane Sect! Do you really think that you can run after we saw what you did with our eyes?! Die!”
“Stop!” someone shouted before Yed could kill Ned.
Surprisingly, it was not Lothar but Abel.
He had hurried over and dropped to a crouch, brushing his finger over the remains of the pill and tasting it.
“What? Impossible!” he soon exclaimed in shock.
“What? Isn’t that poison, Mr. Loggins?” Lothar came over, frowning in worry.
“No… No! Far from it!” Abel shook his head repeatedly, his expression excited. “It’s just… There’s hope for Mr. Janko yet!”
“What?!”
While everyone gape in shock, Abel turned eagerly to Ned. “Young man, where did you get this pill?”
“Ah…” Ned was still stunned, surprised that a pill that Frank threw him so nonchalantly left a man with Abel’s reputation so enthusiastic.
He refrained from telling the whole story, frowning instead as he said, “My friend, Mr. Lawrence, gave it to me. He said it will work against ice-type poisons.”
“Exactly!” Abel nodded repeatedly as he pressed keenly, “Do you have more?”
“No, just the one…” Ned muttered blankly.
“Oh…” Abel appeared disappointed but turned towards Lothar urgently since that was not the point. “Go! Gather what remains of the pill, mix it with water and feed it to your brother!”
“What?!” Lothar did a double take, surprised that the pill Ned took out would send Abel into such a frenzy.
Beside him, Yed asked in disbelief, “Are you sure, Mr. Loggins? That pill… Will it really save my father?”
“Why would I lie to you?” Abel snapped impatiently. “I remember reading it in an old medical text. It’s called the yellow something…”
“My friend called it the Yellow Shrive,” Ned suggested with perfect timing.
“Yes, that’s it!” Abel exclaimed.
