Chapter 20 Laughed to Death

• Ian reached for the half-empty bag of potato chips on the coffee table and shoved one into his mouth. He smiled slightly at Gregor and said, "The game requires that each of us tell a joke. If your joke makes me laugh, how about I bark like a dog while circling the hall ten times?"
• "If that's the case, if your joke makes me laugh, do I also have to bark like a dog?" Gregor stared at Ian, convinced that he was a blockhead at heart. He was probably playing the fool to get himself off the hook.
• Aiden was sitting on the ground, his heart pounding with rage. He got the impression that Ian was taking the matter of Cindy's innocence lightly. If he had any real skill, he should use it right away to defeat this ranked master of the Iron Tiger Circle.
• Take Cindy and leave if you don't have any real skills. What's the point of telling jokes? Does he really believe he can fool a ranked master of the Iron Tiger Circle so easily?
• Desmond sighed quietly, thinking Ian was a pathological liar. He'd lied to his daughter and convinced himself into believing him. 
• Now, it appeared that all he wanted was to pander to Gregor so that he could be the only one to make it out alive.
• Cindy was the only one who believed in Ian. She even remarked to Gregor, saying, "Ian is incredible. He can kill you just by telling jokes!"
• Gregor became more interested after Cindy said that. He said with a smile, "Fine. You can start by telling your joke. I'll see how funny it is!"
• Ian gave a nod. He smiled and said slowly, while holding a potato chip in his hand, "Alright, here's my joke: I'm going to kill you right now. It would be as easy as killing a dog or an ant. You will be powerless to fight back!"
• "Hahaha… You are a genius! This joke is well-told. I haven't felt this good in a long time! Hahaha! You are free to leave now. I'm not going to kill you! Hahaha..." Gregor laughed and pointed to the gate.
• The laughter abruptly stopped, and Gregor fell to the ground like a brick. His eyes remained wide open. It happened so quickly that he might not have even realized what had happened just before he died.
• The pressure point under Gregor's arm, which was also one of his body's most lethal points, was revealed at the exact moment he raised his arm just now, and only Ian knew that.
• Ian had used the potato chips in his hand as a covert weapon, shooting it directly into Gregor's pressure point and killing him. Although how he killed him was not very open and forthright, the Ranked Master of the Iron Tiger Circle deserved it for threatening the lives of ordinary people.
• When he saw the stunned audience, Ian casually laughed and said, "I guess the Iron Tiger Circle's Ranked Master isn't all that. He died from one joke!"
• "I've already told you that Ian is fantastic. You can all see for yourselves. He needn't even flex any muscles. People can die from his jokes! Do you trust me now, Dad?" Cindy cheered and walked over to Ian, taking his arm in hers. She wore a radiant smile that was even more brilliant than the living room's crystal chandelier.
• Even if Desmond had been on the battlefield for years, he could not figure out how a formidable, ranked master of the Iron Tiger Circle could laugh himself to death.
• However, once the crisis was over, Desmond felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. He then nodded and stated, "Yes, it's all thanks to Mr. Griffin. Barnaby, you handle the situation, and I'll accompany Mr. Griffin to dinner."
• "Yes, sir." The middle-aged man nodded and donned white gloves.
• Aiden stood up, and his face was ashen. His head was buzzing, and he felt as if he were in a dream. Was it really a joke that killed a ranked master of the Iron Tiger Circle, who had easily subdued him and engaged him in combat on the ground?
• Did Ian just get lucky, or is he a diamond in the rough?
• However, it did not matter because Gregor was dead.
• When Aiden noticed the twinkle of admiration in Cindy's eyes, he knew his chances with her had dwindled. He sighed inwardly and said, "Mr. Jones, I have something else to do, so I'll be taking my leave."
• "Let's have dinner together, Aiden. I've already made a reservation," Desmond spoke quickly. Aiden did not kill Gregor, but he did fight with him just now, which was commendable courage.
• "Heheh! Aiden, don't leave. My joke would not have worked if you hadn't just fought Gregor and injured him internally!" Ian said, smiling. He thought Aiden was pretty good because he did not flinch when he faced Gregor.
• "Yeah, Aiden! You were so handsome when you were fighting earlier!" Cindy smiled sweetly at Aiden.
• Despite her dislike for Aiden, Cindy was willing to be friends with him because the Hayes family had some clout in Riverdale.
• "Heheh! Is that so?" Aiden sheepishly ruffled his hair. He was powerless whenever Cindy smiled.
• They chatted and laughed as they made their way toward the garage, got into Desmond's Bentley, and rode off in the direction of Riverdale's largest five-star hotel.
• Ian slept until after ten o'clock the next morning before opening his eyes contentedly. Not only did he have a feast of delicacies last night, but Desmond also gave Ian a bank card with a three-million-dollar reward.
• Ian accepted the reward without protest because he needed money badly right now.
• He was ready to deal with his problems, now that the Jones family issue had been resolved. Ian left the Jones family villa as Cindy looked on reluctantly.
• He had not gone far when his phone rang in his pocket. He took it out and discovered it was a phone call from Wilbert. "Hello, Mr. Ashford?" he said after pressing the answer button.
• "What are you up to these days, Ian? I've been trying to find you!" Wilbert's voice could be heard on the other end of the line.
• "Nothing much. I've just finished repairing the cauldron. It has been repaired, and you should be able to use it next month." Ian assumed Wilbert was calling to inquire about the cauldron, so he responded glibly.
• He had previously lived under the bridge, and charging his phone was inconvenient, so he kept it turned off most of the time. It made sense that Wilbert couldn't reach Ian, since the battery had only been fully charged at Cindy's house last night.
• Wilbert had no idea Ian had been living so miserably for the past half month, and he continued to speak in hushed tones, "There's no need to rush with the cauldron, Ian. This time, I'm looking for you to ask about the box of antibodies. Whoever dares to harm you, I'll settle the score with them myself!"
• "Heheh! Forget about it. It's been so long, and I can’t be bothered about it," Ian said. He could not bring himself to despise some megalomaniac wannabe like Kyle. There were far too many people like him around.
• "Okay, let's put this matter aside for now. There's one more thing, by the way. Tomorrow is my birthday. Why don't you come over if you're not too busy?" Wilbert said.
• "Tomorrow? Sure! I just happened to have something to discuss with you!" After giving it some thought, Ian decided to accept Wilbert's invitation. Since Wilbert practiced holistic medicine, he should know where to get the required components for the cure.
• After hanging up, Ian returned to the underpass.
• He went to rent an unremarkable small farmyard after retrieving the already-repaired cauldron, ready to live there temporarily and distill cures to heal his body.
• Meanwhile, Rosie was feeling mentally and physically exhausted as she sat outside the ward. She had to worry about Wilhelm's health, in addition to having to deal with unwanted attention from Kyle.
• She had already moved past Ian. He was nothing more than a jerk who nearly killed her father. How could she possibly forgive him?
• Rosie's eyes narrowed slightly at the thought. When she was feeling down, the commissioner called and said flatly, "Mr. Ashford's 80th birthday is tomorrow, and he is the most powerful man in Riverdale, so the banquet's security is critical. I'll delegate this to your team."
• "Okay. I promise to complete the mission." It wasn't the first time Rosie had brought in the police squad to maintain order for important people. She agreed right away, seeing as this time it was the real Wilbert. Perhaps she could speak with the old man and persuade him to come and treat her father.
• Rosie never agreed to make out with Kyle, so he purposefully left her hanging and did not administer a more effective treatment.
• Rosie felt trapped and helpless. If she could not meet Wilbert the next day, she planned to take her father abroad. Perhaps the doctors in other countries could prescribe a more effective treatment.
• Rosie massaged her temples. She walked into the ward, looked at Wilhelm, who was already semi-conscious, and left the hospital with red eyes. She still had a mission to complete the next day, so she could only go back to sleep and leave the ward to her mother.
• A woman with a plump face hung up the phone and looked at a photo on her phone in another villa. It's Rosie Young.
• "What a beautiful vixen. How dare she seduce my husband just because she was young and beautiful?" she scoffed to herself. "I'll absolutely tear you into pieces."
• The plump woman was Megan Lowe, who was Kyle's wife. She ran her own business and had a volatile personality because her brother served as the secretary of the municipal party committee.
• She had just gotten word from the hospital that her husband had been hooking up with a cop named Rosie Young for the past two weeks.
• Megan was enraged and immediately requested that someone quickly learn everything there was to know about Rosie. When she found out that Rosie was going to Wilbert's birthday party tomorrow to keep order, she immediately had an idea in her head.
• I'm bringing a few people to Wilbert's banquet tomorrow to confront Rosie. I'll rip off her clothes and publicly humiliate her to make sure the slut understands the repercussions of seducing someone's husband.