Chapter seven: Damsel in trouble

Lucas stood there, his thin frame tense, eyes cold as he stared at Mrs Smith.

"When I was five years old, my grandfather passed away. Before he died, he entrusted me to you, asking you to take good care of me. To ensure you wouldn't mistreat me, he left twelve thousand dollars and even let your family move into our house."

Lucas's eyes turned fiery red, like a wild beast on the brink of madness.

"But after he died, what did you do?"

Tasha's head drooped like a wilted plant.

"All these years, when have I ever had a decent meal in my late grandfather's place? I ate worse than pigs! When I got sick at eight, you didn't even look at me. You just left me in this same temple to fend for myself."

"When I was ten and needed money for school fees, you said there was none. When I asked about the money my Grandpa left, you got angry and beat me."

"At fifteen, I had no clothes for winter. You wouldn't even let me wear Micheal's old clothes, saying I was strong enough to survive the cold."

"When I was fifteen and needed money to go to high school, you beat me again when I asked for it. In the end, I had to work odd and menial jobs and collect scraps to barely gather together the fees."

"So Tasha Smith, tell me, what kindness have you ever shown me?"

Lucas's voice was filled with the flames of hatred as he spoke slowly, once more.

"You've just been living off my late grandpa's sweat, indulging yourself with luxury like a big fat cow, and raising your useless and worthless son like a pig."

Tasha's face was ashen, unable to defend herself because everything Lucas said was undeniably true.

"Yesterday, your stupid son took my things. When I asked for them back, you attacked me with a rake. I was lucky to survive, but it made me realize something. From now on, I have to take control of my own destiny, and with this in mind, I'm giving you three days to pack up! and get out of my house" Lucas said coldly holding up three fingers.

"If you and your useless son Micheal aren't out of my grandpa's house in three days, don't blame me for being ruthless. Get out!!!!..." Lucas roared as he kicked Michael hard.

Michael's hefty frame, weighing over 400 pounds, was sent flying several yards away by the kick, rolling a few times before coming to a stop.

"Son... Son!" Tasha rushed over, cradling Michael while shouting,

"Lucas, you just wait! I'm calling my brother to deal with you when I get back."

"Thomas, that jerk?" Lucas smirked coldly, saying, "Sure, I'll be waiting! anytime, any day"

Under Lucas's icy gaze, Tasha pulled Michael up, and the two of them stumbled away in a hasty retreat.

Lucas let out a long breath, feeling a sense of relief as he finally unleashed over a decade's worth of pent-up anger. But as he relaxed, a wave of dizziness hit him.

He knew it was because he wasn't in great shape and had overexerted himself just now. He then turned and went inside the temple.

Inside the temple, Lucas ate some tomatoes, which made him feel a bit better.

"Whether here in this temple or back home, I need money to live. I can't keep borrowing from people. But how do I make money?" Looking around the empty temple, Lucas pondered for some time, then slapped his thigh and stood up.

"I have a lot of herbal knowledge in my head. Why not gather some herbs to sell?"

With that thought, Lucas grabbed a shovel and slung a basket over his back, heading into the deep forest. The forest was known for its dangerous snakes, wolves and other wid animals scaring off most herb gatherers, but it was no big deal for him.

"Woof woof!" His dog, Rufus leapt up to follow him.

After about an hour, Lucas and his dog walked on the soft leaves into the depths of the forest, and he began searching for herbs.

Good herbs were picky about their location, and Lucas searched for a long time without finding any, so he decided to sit down and rest.

"Woof woof!"

Hearing Rufus barking, Lucas walked over to find that Rufus had caught a small wild rabbit and was playing with it.

"It's been a while since I've had meat. Time to treat myself to a treat" Lucas chuckled, about to turn around when he spotted a large patch of waist-high plants with red and purple flowers.

"God damnit!" Lucas was thrilled. He had just sighted a very medicinal herb call " Motherwort". He quickly rushed over to pluck them, very excited.

Just as he was about to gather some, a nearby plant with white flowers, about twenty inches tall, caught his attention.

"Angelica? There's a whole patch of it here too!" Lucas was overjoyed. After searching for so long without finding any herbs, he stumbled upon two kinds, and in abundance.

Weighing the pros and cons, Lucas decided to harvest the angelica. It fetched a higher price, and more importantly, it was heavier. A basket of motherwort might weigh only about twenty pounds, but with angelica, it could be forty or fifty pounds.

Half an hour later, Lucas, with a basket full of angelica, began his journey back to the temple. He planned to sell it in the big city the next day for some cash.

"Please, don't do this. Let me go..."

He hadn't walked far when he heard a panicked voice. His dog, Rufus, was about to rush over, but Lucas held him back, wanting to assess the situation first.

"Heh, this girl is a real beauty. Those white stockings, long legs, and especially that face. Flight attendants are something else" a short, stocky man leered, his eyes filled with lust.

"Jacky remember, the boss said not to touch her" a sidekick reminded him.

"What are you afraid of? The boss won't know if we have some fun with her or not. Besides, it's too late now." Jacky was even more excited as the flight attendant's face turned redder.

"So hot... Please, let me go... I feel so uncomfortable..." The uniformed girl's face was flushed, her voice soft, unintentionally letting out a moan.

The sidekick who had just tried to reason with Jacky was taken aback, his eyes turning red, forgetting his earlier warning as he stared at the flight attendant, swallowing hard.

The girl was stunning, standing at about 5'9", with a slender waist, fair skin, and a flawless round face. The sound she made was utterly enchanting.

"What are you staring at? Get in line. You can have your turn after I'm done" Jacky kicked the dazed sidekick.

"Yes, yes...." the sidekick quickly stepped aside, but his eyes never left the flight attendant.

"Heh heh, sweetheart, I'm here to take care of you. It won't be hot for long," Jacky chuckled sleazily, stepping closer to the girl.

"No, don't come any closer... I'm begging you... Help! Somebody help me..." The girl's legs kicked frantically, her remaining sense telling her what was about to happen. Her face was full of terror, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Heh heh, sweetheart, there's no point in screaming. Even if you shout until your voice is gone, no one's gonna hear you out here in the middle of nowhere..."

"And who says there's no one who would hear her cry and come to her rescue"

Lucas stepped out from the shadows, standing tall and firm like a pine tree.