Heal

"It's exactly as she said, I asked her to heal everyone in the sect before coming to me." The Matriarch said with a smile.

Patriarch Colton was baffled by the sudden revelation, "Why would you do that?! We could have had you all better by now if you hadn't asked for something like that. I thought Noel was just taking her sweet time getting here."

Noel laughed at the sudden claim, "While I do like to mess with people it's not to the extent I would waste my time healing random people for no reason." Noel explained with a smile on her face.

James was also shocked that someone like the Matriarch would put so many others before herself. It was truly impressive to James since he didn't know if he could do the same himself.

"W-well now that you're here let's get on with the healing. This poison is driving me insane." The Matriarch said with a pained expression as the poison had clearly taken a toll on her body after all this time.

"James I'll need you to step outside with the Patriarch for a moment." Noel said while releasing his hand.

James felt an immediate loneliness in his hand and looked at her confused before she explained why, "If you're in here then I won't be able to focus on this woman for even a second~" Noel said with a teasing smile before James smiled back and walked outside without asking anything else.

After James stepped outside it didn't take long for Patriarch Colton to come outside as well with a complicated expression on his face, "Don't worry she will be alright. If I have confidence in anyone it would be Noel." James said with reassurance.

Patriarch Colton smiled at the thought, "I would have never thought an Outer Disciple would need to reassure me but if it's from you it's fine. I just want my Hannah to be safe and sound." Patriarch Colton said revealing the Matriarch's name for the first time.

The two of them sat in silence for a while enjoying the quietness before James suddenly thought of something he had been wondering this entire time, "Patriarch, how did the Matriarch get poisoned like that in the first place?" James asked curiously.

James had been thinking about it hard and even though the top people in the sect might not be the most powerful in the world it definitely wouldn't be easy to poison the Matriarch much less even reach her.

When posed with such a question Patriarch Colton let out a deep sigh before he spoke, "The thing is, we have no idea. The particular poison she was given was a long-acting poison meaning it could have been in her body for who knows how long. Only the person who cultivated the plant can activate the poison whenever they want. What we do know is that she ingested it through a meal at some point. Somehow someone had put that damn plant in her food putting her in this state." Patriarch Colton said with anger at the last few words.

"Why would someone want to harm her? There doesn't seem to be a reason to harm this sect or the people in it. I feel we are pretty peaceful and it's not like we are the biggest or richest in the world either." James said thinking out loud.

"That's what I thought as well. As much as I hate to even think like this I believe it might have been someone within the sect." Patriarch Colton explained.

"Inside the sect?! What would be the point of doing something like that?!" James asked in confusion.

"Well, there are many things such as my position as Patriarch. They could make Hannah sick which would make me not have time for my duties. They may have even been sending a threat to me but regardless I'm not going to back down just because of something like this. Them targeting my wife will only make their punishment that much more extreme when I find them." Patriarch Colton said with a dark smile.

James shuddered at the scary smile Patriarch Colton was giving. It reminded him of the kind of reaction Noel or Cara makes when people mess with James and the other way around. James had found himself looking in the mirror many times confused about why he held such a scary reaction he didn't even know he could make.

"If I hear anything I will be sure to let you know." James said with a smile.

"Thank you for that." Patriarch Colton replied with a smile of his own.

After this James and Patriarch Colton sat in silence for a long time waiting for Noel to come out. James didn't waste the time sitting in silence but instead cultivated moving closer and closer to the end of the Elementary Realm.

It was only a matter of time before he broke through but at the same time, James felt like he was still missing a key part to break through. He would have to ask Noel or Cara for some more pointers later on.

*Click Click*

After waiting for over 20 minutes the sounds of the door to Matriarch Hannah's room opened. Soon after Noel came out with a slight bead of sweat coming down her forehead, 'That's the first time I have ever seen her slightly tired.' James thought in shock as he looked at Noel.

"The poison has finally left her body. However, even though it's gone it will take a few days to recover. Phew! I have no idea how someone got their hands on such a potent poison but they had the intent to kill her." Noel said with a serious look on her face as she spoke about the person's intentions.

Patriarch Colton gulped at the harsh words and hardened the look on his face before speaking, "Thank you I will never forget this. I will make sure something like this never happens again as long as I live. Once I get my hands on that person I will make sure they never see the light of day. For now, I'm going to go spend time with my wife, thank you again." Patriarch Colton said before bowing to Noel with respect and heading back into the Matriarch's room.