Chapter 15

"W-What are you talking about? As if I'm curious about you!" Ruth's face turned red instantly, and she leaned back hastily. Icarus glanced at her and asked, "Yesterday, you said there were two medicinal herbs you couldn't find. Which ones were they?" "Huh? Oh! It was these two. I saved them in my phone's notes." Ruth, still flustered by Icarus' earlier comment, took a moment to gather her thoughts. She took out her phone, opened the notes app, and showed it to Icarus. "We couldn't find any Lunaria Bloom and Stellanus Plant. We asked dozens of stores, but none of them had even heard of these medicinal herbs," Ruth said softly as she looked at Icarus. Icarus thought for a moment and said, "I might have those medicinal herbs at home. After school today, you can come with me to get them." "Really? That's great!" Ruth exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "But I have one condition—from now until the end of the school day, don't look at me even once," Icarus stated. What kind of condition was that? "Fine, I won't look. It's not like I want to look at you anyway." Ruth huffed and turned her head away. Icarus folded his arms and laid his head on the desk. Then, he closed his eyes to rest. After school, Ruth followed Icarus out of the school gates. She asked, "Where do you live? Should I ask Uncle Isaac to give us a ride?" Icarus shook his head and replied, "I prefer walking home." "Alright, I'll let Uncle Isaac know," Ruth said as she ran to the parked Mercedes-Benz ahead. When Ruth told Isaac that she was going to Icarus' house and didn't need him to accompany her, Isaac felt uneasy. Although Icarus had gained Michael's trust with his medical skills, Ruth's safety was still of great concern to him, so he remained vigilant. Moreover, Icarus' insistence on walking instead of taking the car was strange. Could he have ulterior motives? "I… I need to inform your dad about this," Isaac said hesitantly. "Uncle Isaac, it's just a small matter. Why bother my dad? Besides, if I bring the medicinal herbs home, it'll be a nice surprise for him," Ruth insisted. Before Isaac could respond, Ruth added, "I'm leaving now, Uncle Isaac. Don't worry." "Ruth..." Isaac tried to call after her, but Ruth had already run off. After some thought, Isaac decided to follow Icarus and Ruth just in case Icarus tried anything. That way, he could intervene if necessary. Meanwhile, Xavier exited the school and saw Ruth running toward Icarus before leaving with him. Upon seeing this, his expression soured considerably. He had clearly warned Icarus to stay away from Ruth. Not only had Icarus ignored his warning, but he had also humiliated Xavier in the basketball match that morning. Throughout that entire day, the whole school had been discussing how Icarus overpowered Xavier and humiliated him on the basketball court. "Damn it, Icarus! I will make you pay!" Xavier glared daggers at Icarus' back. "Xavier!" A pretty girl spotted Xavier and approached him with a delighted look on her face. It was Ruth's best friend, Edith. Xavier turned around. When he saw that it was Edith, his expression softened slightly. "What's up?" "Nothing. Can't I say hi to a classmate?" Edith said with a smile, her eyes sparkling with joy as she looked at Xavier. Xavier was well-versed in matters of the heart and had long known that Edith had a crush on him. Suddenly, he remembered how close she was to Ruth. An idea began to form in his mind. He asked, "The weather's nice today. Are you interested in grabbing a meal together?" Edith's eyes widened, and she pointed at herself. "Are you talking to me?" "Yes," Xavier affirmed with a nod, smiling at her. "Of course, I'd love to!" Edith was so happy she nearly jumped with joy. Xavier had personally invited her to a meal! This was a dream come true for many girls in school. "Great, wait here for a moment. I'll have my supercar brought over," Xavier said, pulling out his phone. "Okay!" Edith nodded enthusiastically, standing in place and gazing at Xavier with adoration. ... Icarus and Ruth walked down the road. They maintained a distance of about three feet between them, with Ruth following behind. The two of them remained silent, so the walk was pretty awkward. After passing four traffic lights, Icarus led Ruth into an underdeveloped neighborhood. Ruth had rarely been to such places in her life. "How much farther is your house?" she asked. "We're almost there. It'll just be a few more minutes," Icarus replied. As they turned down a narrow alley, a van pulled up beside them and stopped. The door slid open. Several bare-chested and tattooed thugs who were armed with iron rods jumped out of it. They had a clear target—they immediately began swinging their rods at Icarus. Icarus dodged their attacks with ease. Meanwhile, three more vans entered the alley, and another dozen or so thugs wielding iron rods jumped out. Without a word, they charged at Icarus. A middle-aged man stepped out of one of the vans, watching Icarus coldly in the crowd. It was Walter. He shouted, "Leon, Benny, today I'll personally avenge you! I'll break this brat's arms and legs and make him kneel and apologize to you both!" The sounds of the iron rods clanging noisily echoed in the alley. As the thugs swung their rods, Icarus dodged each strike and countered with effortless punches and kicks that sent the attackers flying. Behind Icarus, Ruth stood paralyzed by fear. Having grown up under the protection of the Talbot family, she had never witnessed such a brutal scene. One of the thugs, being blinded by rage, swung his iron rod at Ruth's head mercilessly. Ruth's eyes widened in terror, and she couldn't react. A loud clang rang out as the rod came into contact with something hard. Icarus had blocked the rod with his right arm! Unexpectedly, the iron rod snapped in half. The thug holding the broken rod was dumbfounded. At that moment, all he wanted to do was run away and go home. But Icarus didn't give him the chance. He delivered a swift and powerful kick. The thug spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying over 30 feet. Then, he collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness. Walter, who had been confident moments before, began to panic now as he watched his men being taken down one after another. He knew Icarus was skilled in fighting, but he hadn't expected him to be this much of a menace. He had brought 24 men with him today, yet more than half of them were already down. "No… No way…" Walter's legs grew weak as he retreated to the van shakily to make his escape. Icarus gave him a sideways glance and grabbed a thug nearby, whom he threw at the van. The thug slammed into the van's front, shattering the windshield. Walter trembled in fear, frantically trying to start the van. The next moment, Icarus grabbed another thug and threw him directly into the passenger seat. "Ah!" The thug's bloodied face was mere inches away from Walter, who screamed in terror. Icarus walked over to the van and kicked the door to the driver's side open. He dragged Walter out unceremoniously. Walter was as helpless as a child in Icarus' strong grasp. "Are you Walter?" Icarus asked. His frosty gaze caused Walter to shake uncontrollably. Walter broke down and started sobbing disgracefully. "I-I'll never do it again. Never! Please, spare my life." Icarus threw Walter to the ground. Walter immediately scrambled up and grabbed Icarus's calf while continuing to cry and beg. "Please spare me. Please... Have mercy..." "What's going on? Are you alright, Ruth?" Isaac, who had been tailing them, finally arrived at the scene. "I'm fine, Uncle Isaac. Go check on Icarus," Ruth said with slightly reddened eyes. Although she wasn't hurt, she was badly shaken by what was happening. Upon seeing the 20 or so bloodied thugs lying scattered on the ground, Isaac was deeply shocked. Where was Icarus? Isaac turned and saw Icarus a short distance away, standing with his foot on Walter's face. Icarus sensed Isaac's gaze, so he looked up and met his eyes. Isaac felt his heart tighten as if gripped by fear. He had never seen such terrifying eyes throughout his entire life!