Chapter 9 The Efio Vine

• "Huxley!" Bernice's initial joy swiftly morphed into anger as she exclaimed, "Why have you returned? Haven't you inflicted enough pain and suffering upon our family? Leave at once!" Leon and Audrey's faces brightened momentarily at the sight of Huxley, but soon their expressions clouded with sadness. What good could come from Huxley's return? Not only had he failed to alleviate their plight, but he also risked exacerbating their troubles.
• "Oh, back from your stint in jail?" Julius sneered at Huxley, his tone dripping with disdain. "Young man, my sister's family has already gone above and beyond for you. You've caused them more than enough anguish; do you intend for them to perish before you're satisfied? Leave now, or I won't hesitate to escort you out!"
• Ignoring Julius, Huxley headed straight to Leon and Bernice, pleading desperately. "Mom and Dad, I've disgraced you and caused you so much pain!"
• Tears filled Bernice's eyes as her hands trembled, wanting to stop Huxley but ultimately holding back. "Go away. We've disowned you. Don't come here again; it's best if you disappear."
• Leon and Audrey exchanged uncertain glances. They wanted to speak up but stayed silent.
• "Mom, please give me a chance to make things right!" Huxley begged.
• "You…" Seeing Huxley's pitiful state, Bernice's heart softened. "Why are you doing this? Stop it. You can stay!"
• "Bern, what are you doing?" Julius exclaimed, his tone weighted with concern. "He beat up Mr. Maclean today. You'll be implicated again!"
• "All I've done, I did it for your family's sake. Think about it. If Huxley hadn't been involved with Mr. Maclean's woman back then, would Drey have ended up disfigured? Would she have faced expulsion? And what about Leon's legs? Would they have been broken? Huxley has brought nothing but misery to your doorstep. Are you really planning to treat him kindly after all he made you go through?"
• The Sioux family sat in stunned silence, unable to muster a response.
• "But even if you cut ties with Huxley now, I'm certain Mr. Maclean won't let you off easy!" Julius persisted, noting their silence and striking while the iron was hot. "Considering what I've laid out, sell your house to me, take the money, and start fresh in another town!"
• The Sioux household remained quiet. This was their home, where they had put down roots. How can we just abandon it?
• Huxley stood up slowly, locking eyes with Julius, his smile strained. "Julius, can you honestly in good conscience think you can justify buying a house worth three million for a mere hundred grand?"
• Julius responded self-righteously, "I'm doing this for the betterment of their family, for goodness' sake. I'm doing a kind deed. My conscience is clear."
• Huxley narrowed his eyes and abruptly shifted gears: "I can't help but notice you're looking rather pale and under the weather, displaying symptoms of a serious ailment."
• Caught off guard, Julius retorted, "Are you trying to taunt me with your mind games? Don't insult my intelligence!"
• "For the last fortnight, like clockwork, you've been hit with excruciating stomach pains at one in the morning, lasting an hour each time!" Huxley stared unwaveringly at Julius. "And if my assumptions are right, you've made a few trips to the hospital for a check-up, only to come back with a clean bill of health, correct?"
• Julius looked at Huxley in disbelief and stammered, "H-How did you know?" Just as Huxley had described, for the past two weeks, his stomach would throb with agony every night at one in the morning, leaving him in agony. Despite consulting numerous hospitals and specialists, the diagnosis remained consistent. He wasn't ill, and his stomach was in perfect health.
• Huxley fixed a mysterious gaze on Julius and declared, "I'm even aware you vomited blood last night. It was red with black streaks and had a faint fishy odor."
• "You... you..." Julius was utterly taken aback, his eyes widening. "Not even my wife knows about this. How did you find out?" At that instant, the Sioux family stared at Huxley in amazement, equally curious to know how Huxley knew all this.
• "I know what ails you, and I hold the remedy," Huxley raised an eyebrow, dropping any pretense. "If you're willing to believe me, reveal the true motive behind your desire to purchase my home, and I'll share the cure. If you don't believe me, you'll face your fate. If everything goes according to plan, within a minute, you'll vomit blood like last night. Within two days, you'll succumb to the illness."
• Julius's expression froze in suspicion, his eyes narrowing as he fixed them on Huxley.
• The Sioux family looked at Huxley in stunned silence. Vomit blood within a minute? Does he consider himself a soothsayer? Can he predict the future?
• "Blech!" In under thirty seconds, Julius doubled over in pain, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Just as Huxley had foretold, the blood was red with black streaks and carried a faint fishy odor. "This... you... how..." Julius's complexion turned ashen, his eyes glazing over.
• "No way..." The Sioux family stood there, utterly stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief. It was unreal; Huxley had said it would happen within a minute, and it did.
• "Hux... Lee, I'm your uncle. You have to help me!" Julius was in a frenzy, tears rolling down his cheeks. He now had complete faith in Huxley without a shadow of a doubt.
• "Did you forget what I said?" Huxley reminded him.
• "I... I..." After stammering for a while, Julius made up his mind and came clean. "I... I blew all my savings on gambling two nights ago, and I even borrowed over twenty grand at sky-high interest rates just to keep gambling! The lender somehow caught wind of the upcoming redevelopment in the old town and pressured me into using that one hundred grand to buy your place!"
• "He promised me that once I buy the house from you, he'll wipe out my debt and throw in an extra hundred grand for me!" Julius cast a pitiful glance at the stern-faced Bernice, pleading, "Bern, I was backed into a corner. If I refused, they would've killed me! Please talk to Lee and ask him to help me out. I swear, from here on out, I'll straighten up, start fresh, be a better man! Bern, won't you say something? Do you want to see me die before your eyes?"
• Initially filled with anger, Bernice's expression softened as she beheld Julius's pitiful state. She glanced over at Huxley and let out a soft sigh. "Lee, tell him how he can be treated."
• "Of course," Huxley replied, nodding. He turned to Julius and said, "Your condition is actually quite simple to treat. Just take some laxatives. It'll clear it up."
• "What? Laxatives?" Julius burst out in frustration. "You're joking, right? You brat! I've never heard of laxatives curing anything!"
• Huxley shrugged nonchalantly. "Believe it or not, your life is at stake."
• "You... Blech..." Julius began, but he spat out another mouthful of crimson blood. At that moment, he was genuinely alarmed. Panic etched across his face as he turned to Huxley. "Are you... are you sure you're not deceiving me?"
• Huxley smiled, offering no response. In truth, Julius wasn't actually sick; he had mistakenly ingested a slightly rare yet toxic herb called the Efio Vine. Few people knew about it. It was tasteless, colorless, and didn't dissolve in the bloodstream. Instead, upon ingestion, it adhered to the stomach lining, evading detection through conventional means.
• Unless familiar with the Efio Vine's toxic properties, or if a thorough examination was done by stomach dissection, its toxicity would remain unnoticed. The Efio Vine's poison wasn't lethal; it just caused discomfort for a while, leading to three or four episodes of vomiting blood before it naturally dissipated.
• Earlier, he had remotely induced vomiting, making Julius vomit blood twice, effectively purging the toxin. Telling Julius to take laxatives was just his way of making Julius suffer a little.
• "You better not deceive me. Otherwise, you'll face a gruesome end!" Julius's expression briefly changed before he left hastily after delivering the harsh warning.