I opened a clinic in the Abyss World

Gibran and Lovell squatted in the grass until their legs went numb before noon finally arrived, but instead of them coming out, a tree-man appeared and handed two chickens through the window.

"I mean, are they living and eating inside? Wouldn't that mean we've been stuck here for nothing?" Lovell said with a strange expression.

"I don't think so. They'll definitely go home to sleep after get off work tonight," Kahlil Gibran said confidently.

The two of them continued to squat, and squat...

Until it got dark.

The tree people stood guard in front of the potion workshop, and light shone through the windows as they continued to refine potions.

"These people never leave work. Why don't we just storm in? I'm covered in bug and mosquito bites. I've never been treated like this before," Lovell said through gritted teeth.

"Take it easy, they'll definitely be off work soon. We just need to wait a little longer." Gibran stared at the carriage not far away. Their purpose in keeping watch here today was to investigate the apothecary's work route so they could make preparations when they got back.

Another four hours passed.

The doors of the potion workshop finally opened, and a lover emerged from the workshop with two elven girls and an orc girl, heading towards a carriage parked nearby.

"Finally out!" Lovell perked up immediately, leaning forward slightly to stare at the four people, and whispered, "Which one is the apothecary?"

Kahlil Gibran observed the four people for a moment, then quickly focused his gaze on Ino and Eunice, lowering his voice to say, "It's those two elven girls. There are still some potion powder residue on their hands, and their clothes also seem to match."

"Shall we act now? Two elves, one for each of us, we'll go back to Calva and arrange for them to sell off their property, then we'll leave tonight." Lovell stared at the two elves, a wicked glint in his eyes. "This elf girl is quite beautiful. Capturing her will not only give us the formula, but we can also enjoy her to our hearts' content. If we go back with other people, things will get complicated, and we might be more easily exposed. If too many people know about the formula, it won't be as valuable."

  

Upon hearing this, Gibran's eyes showed a hint of struggle and hesitation. Lovell's words were indeed correct. If they joined forces with the others to arrest people again, they would have to deal with the issue of dividing the spoils. With more people, it would be easier to cause trouble.

Now that the two of them are working together, each grabbing a pharmacist, they'll have both people and a pharmacy, so they won't have to worry about not being able to concoct potions.

As for Kalva's assets, he should go back today and take all the treasures he can carry, then run away with his family. With these prescriptions, he won't have to worry about making a lot of money later.

"Alright, let's do it together." Kahlil Gibran was not one to hesitate, and immediately nodded in agreement.

"Let's go and ambush them up ahead. There are abandoned houses along that road, so no one will know if a fight breaks out," Lovell said in a low voice.

Under the cover of darkness, the two men bypassed the bushes and crept forward, hiding behind a low wall to prepare for an ambush.

Ino and her two companions boarded the carriage and looked at Charlotte sitting inside, their eyes filled with surprise.

"Shh." Charlotte put her finger to her lips to make a shushing gesture. After the three of them were inside the carriage, she patted a soundproof talisman on the carriage. "Someone has been hiding outside the potion workshop. I suspect they're planning to harm you, so I came to pick you up."

"So, how did you sneak into the carriage right under their noses?" Martha asked curiously.

"This is a movement technique. You all stay in the carriage for a while. Don't come out unless I tell you to." Charlotte instructed them, then climbed out of the carriage and whispered to Kerry, "Kerry, I'll drive the carriage back today. I'll bring them to work tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Kerry replied in a low voice. At noon, Amos had already told him that bad guys were eyeing the potion workshop, so he naturally wouldn't make a fuss or ask any questions. He crouched down and disappeared into the darkness, returning to the potion workshop.

Charlotte wore a large gray robe, tucked her legs under the robe, and slightly hunched her back, making her look not much different from a dwarf in the darkness.

He turned the carriage around and drove forward.

With his current strength, the two people hiding behind the low wall were right under his nose, with no way to escape.

Charlotte also noticed that they had set up a magic array on the road, clearly intending to directly kidnap the person.

Charlotte smiled slightly, pretending not to know anything, and continued driving forward.

Ten meters, nine meters, eight meters...

Hidden behind the low wall, Gibran and Lovell held their breath, their eyes fixed on the slowly approaching carriage.

Kill the dwarf coachman, then steal the two apothecaries from the carriage.

Lovell also had her sights set on that orc girl; a fleeting glimpse of her made her incredibly envious.

They wanted to keep the carriage so they could take people away from the abyss; they had already sent their own carriage away that morning to avoid attracting attention.

When the carriage had traveled about five meters, a light suddenly appeared on the ground in front and behind, and two ice walls rose up one after the other, blocking the carriage's path in front and behind, and the carriage immediately stopped.

At the same time, an ice spike flew towards Charlotte's heart as she drove the car.

puff!

With a soft sound, a sharp ice spike pierced through the gray robe, and Charlotte collapsed onto the carriage shaft.

"Let's go, let's catch them!" Gibran and Lovell's eyes lit up, and they immediately crawled out from behind the broken wall and walked towards the carriage.

"We can each have one of these apothecaries, but you definitely don't want that beast-eared girl, so give her to me." Lovell grinned lewdly, quickening his pace.

Kahlil Gibran gave him a somewhat disgusted look, but didn't say anything more, only saying, "I have to choose the potion first."

"No problem, you can choose whatever you want, just give me the rest," Lovell said nonchalantly.

The two arrived at the carriage one after the other, only to find that the driver was dead. The carriage stopped, and the interior was quiet, which seemed a bit eerie.

"Why is there no movement?" Gibran had a bad feeling.

"What's there to be afraid of? We've already checked on the three little girls. Only the beast-eared girl is a bit fierce; the other two elves aren't magicians." Lovell climbed onto the carriage, saying, "You drive, I'll go in first and subdue those three little wenches."

"Wait, I need to choose my apothecary first. You can't touch my apothecary." Gibran hurriedly stepped forward. He knew Lovell's character very well. If the elf was defiled by him and then tried to kill herself and refused to hand over the prescription, then all his efforts would be in vain.

The two men reached for the carriage door from either side, each trying to get there first.

Just then, a pair of hands suddenly reached out and grabbed both of their hands at the same time.

The two were startled and looked at each other, only to find that the coachman, who had been dead, had somehow stood up again. His gray cloak fell down, revealing a young and handsome face.

Their eyes widened, revealing a hint of panic.

"Charlotte! How did you become a coachman!" Lovell couldn't help but exclaim. Almost everyone in Calva knew this face and had seen his portrait.

"Surprised? Unexpected?" Charlotte asked the two of them with a smile.

It was more than just a surprise; it was downright terrifying for the two of them. They immediately tried to pull their hands back, only to find that Charlotte's hands were like iron clamps, firmly holding them in place, as if their bones were about to be crushed. There was no way they could pull their hands back.

Gibran moved his left hand, which was hidden behind his back, preparing to use a spell to strike Charlotte at close range.

Charlotte was much faster than him. She snapped off both of their right hands in one swift motion, and then easily grabbed their left hands, twisting them upwards and breaking them off as well.

what--

Both of their hands were severed, and the two let out a scream.

However, the place they chose was indeed excellent; there was no one around, so even if they shouted at the top of their lungs, no one would know.

"Misunderstanding...it's a misunderstanding!" Gibran, pale and covered in cold sweat, hurriedly shouted at Charlotte.

"Misunderstanding?" Charlotte laughed, picking up the ice spike she had previously aimed at him and plunging it into his thigh. "So, you were just messing with me with that ice spike, weren't you?"

"Don't kill me! I'll give you anything you want, anything at all!" Gibran was mentally broken. His hands had been broken, and now an ice spike had been stuck in his leg. Charlotte's methods were too ruthless; he, a magician, was completely unable to withstand them.

Charlotte pulled out the ice pick and swung it into the groin of Lovell, who was cowering nearby. She had heard everything Lovell had said earlier; he was a complete old lecher.

Lovell let out a sharp scream and rolled on the ground, writhing in agony.

Kahlil Gibran's eyelids twitched violently as he stared at the smiling young man before him, his eyes filled with terror.

Charlotte was very strong; he even suspected that she had already broken through to become a Sky Knight, and she completely suppressed the two of them.

Normally, a mage is destined to be utterly defeated in close combat with a knight of the same rank, but this feeling was even stronger against Charlotte; it was beyond words.

"Speak, what are your goals, and who are your accomplices?" Charlotte looked at him coldly and asked, "You'd better not lie. I'll interrogate him again later, and if what you say is even slightly different from what he said, your fate will be ten times worse than his."

"I'll tell you everything," Gibran hurriedly said, afraid that Charlotte would continue to attack him if he hesitated even a second longer.

The carriage door opened a crack, and Martha poked her head out. Looking at Gibran kneeling in front of the carriage and Lovell rolling on the ground, she sneered, "I thought they were some big shots. Turns out they're just two old men. You dare to rob a carriage with such low skills? Even if the boss wasn't here, you'd probably still end up in my hands."

Ino and Eunice cautiously peered out, but Martha was blocking their view, so they couldn't see very clearly. However, the thought that someone was trying to hijack the car made them feel a little scared.

Kahlil Gibran was so ashamed he wanted to disappear into the ground, but now that he was in Charlotte's hands, he was truly in a dilemma, not even knowing if he could save his own life.

"Speak," Charlotte said coldly, looking at him.

"I am Gibran, the president of the Calva Pharmacist Association, and the one on the ground is Lovell, the vice president of the Pharmacist Association. We came to the Abyss because the Abyss Medical Center's potion trading center is so popular that our potion shop has been completely overwhelmed. So last night we gathered together to discuss countermeasures and finally decided to investigate the Abyss Medical Center's background, intending to create some trouble for the Abyss Medical Center so that the potion trading center's business will be unable to continue," Gibran said hurriedly.

"The potion trading center is booming, but instead of running the potion trading center, you've come to the Abyss to set up the Abyss Medical Center. Do you think Jenny is someone you can't mess with, and I look like an easy target?" Charlotte asked him with a smile.

Gibran said with a bitter expression, "We only found out you were the owner of the Abyss Medical Hall when we arrived in the Abyss. Given your current reputation, we naturally didn't dare to touch you. Later, we heard from the noodle shop owner that your potions were all produced in the potion workshop, so we wanted to capture the apothecaries, get the potion formulas from them, and then leave Calva to open a potion shop elsewhere."

"They came for you two," Martha said, turning to look at Ino and Eunice.

Both Ino and Eunice showed a hint of fear on their faces. If their teacher hadn't anticipated that these two would make a move tonight, they probably would have been captured, forced to reveal the prescription, or even humiliated. They didn't even want to think about it.

Charlotte could tell he wasn't lying; the action against the potion workshop did indeed seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision.

However, just because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision doesn't mean there weren't any problems. They had this idea and put it into action.

If Amos hadn't discovered it in time and reported it to him, Kerry would have died under their ice spikes tonight, and Ino and Eunice might have been captured. Even the confident Martha might have been violated.

"Besides the two of you, who else is involved?" Charlotte asked.

"Only the two of us came to scout ahead today. Last night, we formed an alliance with..." Gibran said a list of names, a group of nine people, all owners of apothecary shops.

Charlotte hated associations more than anything in her life, such as the Physicians' Association and this Pharmacists' Association.

A group of old fogies getting together doesn't necessarily mean they can come up with anything worthwhile; instead, they set up a bunch of rules that completely block any avenues for advancement.

The medical association harmed him, and now even the pharmacists' association wants to harm him.

He really does attract jealousy no matter what he does.

However, compared to the Physicians' Association, this Pharmacist Association is far too meager. The president is a legendary mage, and the entire association only has twelve members. Nine of them are plotting against the Abyss Medical Center, so they are almost all going to be wiped out.

When Gibran noticed something amiss in Charlotte's eyes, he quickly said, "Please don't kill me. I originally didn't intend to do it. It was Lovell who got carried away by lust and kept urging me to take her away."

"You're the president, and you spearheaded this whole thing. It's a bit late to try and shift the blame now," Charlotte grinned, revealing a smile.

"Kahlil Gibran, you coward...you'll die a horrible death..." Lovell, who was writhing on the ground in pain after being doused with a bucket of dirty water, couldn't help but curse.

"Shut up! If you hadn't said you wanted to snatch him today, we wouldn't be in this situation now!" Gibran said through gritted teeth. He regretted listening to Lovell and ending up like this.

"You dare blame me! I'll kill you..." Lovell struggled to her feet and limped toward Gibran.

Charlotte raised her hand and struck his chest with a palm strike, the force of which flickered slightly before she withdrew her hand.

Lovell staggered back a few steps, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He looked down at his chest in disbelief, his face turning ashen, and his voice trembled as he said, "You...you destroyed my magical essence?"

Gibran was also shocked to hear this. Destroying a magician's magical essence was no different from killing him. Charlotte was so ruthless.

"What? It's just the destruction of your magical essence? I had mine destroyed back then too," Charlotte said with a smile. "Why don't you consider becoming a knight again?"

puff--

Lovell coughed up a mouthful of blood, swayed, and fainted from anger.

Charlotte then looked at Gibran.

Gibran panicked and said, "You...you can't kill me! I'm a resident of Calva. If you kill me, Calva won't let you off the hook, and you'll be on the expulsion list again."

"Who said I was going to kill you?" Charlotte retorted with a smile.

Gibran felt a little more at ease. It seemed that Charlotte wasn't completely insane after all. His mind raced as he considered how to negotiate terms and leverage with her.

"Look, he's even more disgusting than you. I only destroyed his magical essence; I'm still alive."

Charlotte's next words plunged Gibran into an icy abyss.

Lovell was still alive, but it was worse than death for her.

What's the point of living for an old man whose magical abilities have been destroyed and whose hands have been severed?

"I've already told you everything..." Kahlil Gibran's eyes were filled with despair.

"If confessing everything is enough, what's the point of the law?" Charlotte retorted with a smile, raising her leg to kick him in the chest.

boom!

With a muffled thud, Gibran fell backward, his magical energy destroyed and him falling into a coma.

"Dead?" Martha asked.

"They're not dead. I knew my limits. I spared their lives so I could send them to Jenny as an example tomorrow." Charlotte waved her hand, severing the ice walls in front of and behind the road. Then she got out of the carriage, picked up the two of them, and casually piled them on the carriage shaft before turning her horse around and returning to the apothecary workshop.

Charlotte tied the two men up with ropes and locked them outside the warehouse. She instructed Kerry to deliver the two men, along with the potion, to the potion trading center first thing the next morning, along with a letter from him.

He had already explained the whole story in the letter, including the list of the seven people who conspired but did not appear together, and asked Jenny to handle it.

Charlotte's idea was that even if the seven people weren't arrested, they should at least be given a good talking-to so that they would never dare to have any bad intentions towards the Abyss Medical Center again.

After finishing all that, Kerry drove everyone back to the clinic.

"Don't be afraid. In the abyss, as long as I am here, no one can hurt you," Charlotte comforted Ino and Eunice, who were clearly frightened.

"But teacher, you can't pick us up and drop us off at get off work every day," Eunice said softly.