Villain: The Play of Destiny

When the shock finally wore over, Celine narrowed her eyes and kept staring at him. But the polite smile on Keith's face did not falter and his eyes stayed clear of any deceit.

"Little Keith... Don't give me hope." She sighed and looked away, still finding it hard to believe that he knew what her ailment was.

"How about my Aunt lets me perform a quick procedure on her, and we will see if I am right or wrong?" He smiled and said.

Her mood was already depressed now, and it did not really matter to her if he failed. There was a glimmer of hope in her heart, and no matter how bleak it was, she wanted to bet on it.

"Acupuncture and Moxibustion?"

"No." Keith lightly chuckled at her words. "Though I am well-versed in Chinese Medicine, it won't be of much help in this matter."

He politely pulled off the comforter and then helped her sit up, with her back facing him. Her body was really frail, so he had to be extra careful when helping her move, and just staying in that sitting position for five seconds had shortened her breath.

"It will be fine in a while. Please preserve." He gently whispered and then started tracing her back with his forefinger whilst supporting her with his other hand.

At first, Celine felt nothing but the numb ache that had been there for many years, but soon after, a ticklish feeling bathed her nerves. It was a strange touch of cold and hot at the same time, and it was so soothing that she lost herself to the sensation, entering a trance-like state.

Keith was sweating profusely as he performed the Node Tracing, a healing method that involved the use of Aura to stimulate the Nodes or Acupuncture points, guiding the Aura in specific patterns around the body, to improve the vitality of the patient.

He was already at the Peak of the Foundation Profound Realm, having achieved the competition of all three stages of Foundation Profound Realm, Aura Circulation, Body Refinement, and the Formation of Aura-Soul, all thanks to the Miraculous Aura-Soul Potion. However, it was just merely the Peak of Foundation Realm. If he did not have the Medical Knowledge that he had received after upgrading the Skill to Expert Level, he would have not been able to use Aura to perform this specific procedure as it required a very precise manipulation of Aura which no Foundation Profound Realm Cultivator could possess.

Normally, Cultivators could only manipulate Aura out of their bodies once they reached the Nascent Profound Realm, but exquisite Medicine Skills did allow a few exceptions.

Finally, when he had managed to stabilize the flow of blood in Celine's body and vitalized it a little, he traced his forefinger to her heart and started tracing that area on her back in a swirling motion.

His body started feeling weak not long after, but he knew that it was nothing dangerous. He was using his Vitality to eliminate the Poison inside her body. A good rest would fill up his Aura reserves later, returning his Vitality, and it was also a good opportunity to test his Medicine Skills and push himself to the limits. How could he miss on that?

Yes, Celine was not suffering from a disease, but she was actually poisoned by a special Poison. And the one who had poisoned her was her own daughter when she came into this world.

Half n hour later, Keith knew that he had reached his limits and stopped.

As soon as the Aura stopped soothing her heart, Celine came out of her trance-like state and heard Keith panting heavily behind her.

She turned around and found his handsome face and shirt drenched in sweat. Their faces were really close to each other, and her cheeks started warming up because of how charming he was, but she was not some silly girl and did not lose her focus.

"Little Keith, are you okay?" She worriedly asked.

"I am fine, Aunt Celine," Keith replied while panting. "Just give me a few minutes, and don't call the Nurse inside."

"Okay." She readily nodded her head, believing in his words. She watched him stagger back to the chair, and plop on it before closing his eyes.

When she saw his breathing calm down after a few minutes, she finally felt relieved and then her focus turned to the state of her body, and with every passing second, her mouth opened a little more in disbelief.

She waved her arms in the air like a silly girl, and she could feel every single part of her body. The aching pain that had numbed her senses was no longer present, and when she looked at herself in the mirror that was on the wall, her heart thumped hard in shock.

Her skin, which had lost its luster was once again rosy, and even the sunkenness around her eyes had diminished. Additionally, her posture was straighter and much more graceful. It was just like she had de-aged nearly a decade. And It was only then that she realized that she was sitting without any support. The realization soon flooded her heart with excitement.

When Keith opened his eyes again, he found Celine on her feet, walking gingerly. It had been a very long time since she had walked without support, and her muscle memory needed some time to familiarise herself with this feeling once more.

"Be careful." Keith stood up and offered his hand to her, which she gladly accepted, allowing him to escort her as she walked around the spacious ward.

"Little Keith... I don't know how to thank you." Tears spilled out of her eyes when finally got the hang of walking. And driven by her emotions, she went forward and hugged him, burying her face in his chest.

He was still sweaty, but she did not care, instead, her curiosity was aroused by how pleasant his smell was. It was not like the odor of sweat that people usually had. Strangely, it felt like a soft scent, and she could not help but inhale it in her lungs.

When she finally separated from him, she found Keith wearing a gentle smile. There was no hint of mischievousness in his eyes, and she felt relieved that he had not discovered her liking to his smell. It would have been so embarrassing.

"Little Keith... If you have any request, your Aunt promises you to fulfill it." She spoke from the bottom of her heart. "Your Aunty won't feel easy if you ask for nothing in return." She sternly said the last words when she saw him start shaking his head.

"Aunt does not need to fret over it. I did not help you because I wanted something in return." He smiled at her with clear eyes. What kind of a Villain would he be if he was not good at lying? It had always been his forte. "And Aunt needs to calm down a little. You are not fully cured yet."

As soon as she heard those words, a worry sparked in her mind, but within a few seconds, she managed to gather herself, waiting for him to say that he can fully cure her.

"Right now, I have suppressed the ailment and eliminated a fraction of it. But to completely get rid of it, I need to do it progressively over a long period of time. I can do it in a year, but there might be some side effects that your body would suffer from, so I have an 18-month plan. I will perform this procedure on you once every month. And you have to be very careful to not stress yourself in that duration. Only keep to light exercises and try to always stay in a peaceful mood. Eat healthy, preferably lighter food. Also..." Keith had a light smile on his face at this point. "Please do not indulge in any intense sexual activity for the duration of the treatment."

Even if she knew that he was saying it as her Doctor, she couldn't help but blush at his words. However, she did not shy away from his eyes and nodded her head.

"I will listen to you."

Keith gratefully nodded back to her and then took a deep breath.

"I know it is now inevitable, but I would like not to be harassed by people coming after me for my Medical Skills. So try to keep it a secret to only your close family members." Seeing that Celine understandably nodded to him, he smiled at her again. "I can tell you that there is possibly no other doctor in the world that can help you with it, so I would like it if you would not approach other people for the treatment. It is also a matter of my dignity as a Doctor."

She giggled when she heard his last words, but nodded her head again, agreeing to his request. Even if he had not said it, she would have not approached any other Doctor. She already had seen the best of the specialists the world had to offer, and they had all even failed in diagnosing her successfully, let alone treating her.

"Your Medicine Skills are fierce, Little Keith!" She passionately spoke. "I dare say that you are the best Doctor in the world."

"Of course!" Keith narcissistically nodded his head, which prompted Celine to burst out in giggles.

"By the way, Little Keith, what am I suffering from?" She curiously asked.

"I would rather not tell you." He apologetically told her. "But rest assured that it was a natural phenomenon and that I can cure it. I can say it with a guarantee that there is no other woman in the world that suffers from this ailment."

"Oh! So it is a disease that only women suffer from." She picked up on that information and playfully smiled. However, she did not pester him about it.

She was about to invite him to sit down with her to chat about his life, but at that moment, the door of the ward opened, and someone came in calling out for her anxiously.

"Mama!"