Chapter 22

Adelina couldn’t help but eye Winnie with skepticism, her brows furrowed in doubt.

“So young and already a master… Really?” she mused aloud, her voice tinged with disbelief. “Carola, don’t tell me you’ve been duped again?”

Her gaze shifted to Carola, filled with suspicion.

Carola flushed with a sign of her discomfort. “Mom! Master Bryant may be young, but she’s the real deal. Please, don’t be disrespectful.”

The last thing she wanted was to offend Winnie.

Adelina scoffed, unconvinced that such a young girl could possess any noteworthy skill.

In her mind, this little girl probably just had the gift of gab.

Carola might have been well–educated, but when It came to Judging a person, Adelina trusted her instincts above all.

Thankfully, she had the foresight to invite other esteemed experts over. Relying on this youngster would leave them out in the cold.

Indeed, this family needed her steady hand in Adelina’s opinion.

Adelina aimed to take the wind out of Winnie’s sails. “You claim to have real skills? Then show us something. Can you at least wield a Palo Santo stick like a true master?”

“Mom!” Carola was laced with anger, fearing that Adelina’s attitude might provoke Winnie. She quickly turned to Winnie, apologizing, “Master Bryant, I’m so sorry. Please don’t take this to heart.”

Winnie nodded at Carola and brushed past Adelina and the performing master, making her way to the bedside Since her arrival, she had noticed Lucy lying motionless in bed, unaffected by the commotion swirling around the room.

The master who had been keeping an eye on the scene, constrained by his’ongoing ritual, pretended not to be disturbed. He carried on, undeterred, until he caught sight of Winnie approaching the bed. That was when he bellowed with authority, “Stay back! Your interference will disrupt my workings!”

Winnie merely glanced at him before returning her focus to Lucy, gently taking her hand for inspection.

The master, irked by Winnie’s blatant disregard for his warning, halted his ritual and turned to Adelina in a fury. He questioned, “My lady, what is the meaning of this? Didn’t I make it clear that no one should interfere while I’m conducting my ritual?”

Adelina, also annoyed quickly apologized to him. “I’m so sorry, Master Lance. I’ll have them leave at once.”

She turned to scold Winnie but found that Winnie had already released Lucy’s hand and was now facing Master Lance with a gaze as clear and unclouded as a mountain spring.

“You’ve been conducting a ritual, Master Lance. Have you diagnosed Ms. Sanchez’s ailment, right?”

Master Lance scoffed at her inquiry. “Ms. Sanchez has attracted a malevolent spirit. I was banishing it when you rudely interrupted. The spirit has now fled amidst the chaos!”

The implication was clear. Any failure in the ritual or any reason Ms. Sanchez remained. unresponsive was on Winnie’s shoulders. And he had nothing to do with it.

Winnie let out a soft chuckle, her eyes on Master Lance as if she were looking at a charlatan.

“Anyone with a hint of sensitivity could tell that this room is devoid of evil spirits. Ms. Sanchez’s coma is not due to a malevolent spirit but a curse aimed at stealing her lifespan.”

At Winnie’s words, Malcolm and Carola paled and rushed over.

“Master Bryant, what curse? Is someone after Lucy’s life?” They asked in anxious.

Winnie turned to them explained, “Not exactly. In Mystical Sects, it’s known as life stealing Ms. Sanchez is blessed with a fortunate destiny, one that should grant her a trouble–free existence. And that’s why someone coveted her fate, seeking to steal her lifespan for themselves She pointed to a faint red mark on Lucy’s thumb. “This birthmark was made when she was tricked into giving her consent for this stealing.

The incident likely occurred during the ten minutes she was unaccounted for as Carola had mentioned.

Malcolm and Carola leaned in to examine Lucy’s hand, indeed finding the subtle red mark that had been carefully cleaned, nearly invisible.

They had been too consumed with worry to notice such a detail.

Adelina, ever the skeptic, also peered in close.

Malcolm, more concerned with Lucy’s fate than Adelina’s disbelief or Master Lance, turned to Winnie with a grave expression.

“Master Bryant, has my daughter’s life already been taken? Can we reclaim it?”

Winnie nodded, “Yes.”

Master Lance, feeling his authority slipping, opened his mouth to belittle her further when a handsome young man who had entered with the Sanchez family, stepped closer.

His tone was calm, yet his words sent a chill down everyone’s spine. “Shut your mouth. One more word against my sister, and I’ll make sure you leave the Sanchez family in shame.”

12:18 At that moment, Winnie efficiently pulled out a pen and an Amulet from her backpack.

She traced a symbol on the Amulet and then placed it gently on Lucy’s forehead.

Malcolm and Carola, standing by the bed, thought they saw a wisp of dark smoke flit across the Amulet, which then vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Next, Winnie took out several Charms, seemingly aware of Horace’s subtle gesture, and glanced at Master Lance’s resentful face.

As Winnie recalled the comical gyrations he had performed earlier, she couldn’t see the appeal. in such antics, yet the crowd seemed convinced that a bit of a show added to the credibility.

It seemed like just moments ago Adelina had dared her to show off some real skills..

Mulling it over, Winnie knew she wasn’t a dancer, but when it came to showing her skills, she could hold her own.

With this thought, she suddenly stepped back, her delicate and radiant face quickly masking all emotion, as her entire demeanor shifted to one of fierce concentration.

Her hands rose, palms facing each other. As she pulled them apart, the five playing Charms that had been pressed between her palms seemed to be caught by an invisible force, standing rigid and aligned within her grasp like soldiers in formation.

This single move alone made everyone in the room, including Master Lance, widen their eyes in amazement.

Her lips parted slightly, murmuring some magic spells.

As she uttered the final command, she thrust her palms outward, and the playing Charms that had been hovering neatly in the air zipped towards Lucy on the bed like arrows loosed from a bow.