Chapter 447 The Lost Child
When Ulysses visited Trevor, James had just finished surgery and was sound asleep in his hospital bed.
This sleep was deeper than any he had ever experienced, and he woke up feeling incredibly refreshed. By the time he opened his eyes, it was already noon the next day.
Sitting up in bed, James practiced the Shadowless Heart Sutra, which made him feel even more invigorated.
He then noticed that the wound from the bullet extraction had already healed.
Although he wasn't back to his peak condition, after a night of rest, James felt full of energy again.
"Hey, you're awake?"
At that moment, the door opened gently, and Byron walked in. "How are you feeling?"
"Thanks for asking, Mr. Reyes." James touched the wound on his head and smiled. "I'm almost fine. It's nothing serious."
"Really?" Byron was a bit skeptical. He stepped forward to check and was surprised to find that James's wound had indeed healed. He then smiled at James.
"Your body is truly extraordinary. For an ordinary person, a gunshot wound wouldn't even start to scab over in ten days to two weeks. You healed overnight. It's incredible."
He was increasingly impressed by James, admiring his medical skills, martial arts, courage, and physical condition.
"I can only credit the doctor's excellent surgery." James gave the credit to the doctor and then changed the subject. "Mr. Reyes, I need to thank you for last night."
"What are you talking about? I should be the one thanking you." Byron looked at James and said, "If it weren't for your timely information about Sky Wolf's secrets, we wouldn't have known that someone was secretly betraying The Dragon's Breath."
"And Bruce's connection with the Blood Medical Sect explains several unresolved cases from the past."
"You've done a great service for The Dragon's Breath."
He patted James on the shoulder in gratitude. If James hadn't informed them and killed Bruce in time, Bruce might have continued to harm The Dragon's Breath.
Even Byron himself had his family's ancestral graves in Glowing Oasis betrayed to the Blood Medical Sect by Bruce.
"Mr. Reyes, can you tell me more about Bruce?"
Hearing Bruce's name made James feel a bit sad. "What mistake did he make back then that left him destitute for so many years?"
Byron hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to hide the truth from James. Besides trusting James, Bruce was already dead.
"Bruce was a member of The Dragon's Breath. Over twenty years ago, he was escorting Mrs. Williams and her son back to Celestia for a ritual when they were ambushed by a group of enemies."
"The attackers were highly skilled and well-prepared, making the battle particularly brutal."
"Mrs. Williams, worried about her newborn son, instructed the injured Bruce to take the child and leave while she and the guards held off the enemies."
"So Bruce took the child and fled to the outskirts. He couldn't go any further and thought they were safe in the city."
"He found a corner to rest, planning to contact Mrs. Williams after a short nap."
"But he was too exhausted and had lost a lot of blood. He ended up sleeping for an entire day."
Byron sighed. "When he woke up, he found the child was gone."
James was shocked. "Gone?"
"Yes, gone. Probably taken by someone." Byron nodded heavily. "Bruce was terrified and searched the area for a day and a night but found no trace of the child."
"Meanwhile, Mrs. Williams had been rescued by reinforcements but was injured and unconscious. Mr. Williams contacted Bruce and sent people to pick him and the child up."
"Bruce, feeling guilty and panicked, didn't tell the truth. Instead, he stole a child from an orphanage to replace the lost one."
"He brought the baby back. Since the kid was only a month old and hadn't developed distinct features, and Mr. Williams rarely saw the child, he didn't notice anything off."
"Two weeks later, when Mrs. Williams woke up and held the baby, she immediately knew it wasn't hers."
"Bruce had no choice but to come clean."
"Mr. Williams was furious but understood that Bruce was too exhausted at the time. So, he didn't punish him according to the rules or strip him of his status."
Byron recounted the events. "He just sent Bruce back to Glowing Oasis to reflect on his actions."
James nodded instinctively, thinking that this Mr. Williams was quite reasonable. In other families, Bruce might have been killed for losing the child.
"But this reflection lasted over twenty years. Bruce lived in self-blame and frustration, his life becoming increasingly difficult as he gave in to despair."
Byron had gathered a lot of information.
"If it weren't for your adoptive father's support and comfort, he might have committed suicide long ago."
"Later, the Blood Medical Sect somehow learned of his identity and coerced and enticed him to join them."
"You have to admit, the Lumaria people are skilled. They managed to reactivate a broken man like Bruce."
"The Blood Medical Sect had Bruce report to The Dragon's Breath, and he found an opportunity to infiltrate the Blood Medical Sect, asking if he should carry out any tasks."
"At the time, The Dragon's Breath was closely monitoring the Blood Medical Sect, believing that this seemingly legitimate organization harbored malicious intentions toward Celestia."
"After discussions among several elders of The Dragon's Breath, they decided to use Bruce as a pawn to gather intelligence from within the Blood Medical Sect."
Byron shook his head lightly. "But no one expected that this was exactly what the Blood Medical Sect had planned. They used Bruce to spy on The Dragon's Breath's actions."
James's expression darkened. This was the life of a double agent, but unfortunately, Bruce sided with the Blood Medical Sect.
"Over the years, The Dragon's Breath obtained a lot of information from Bruce, thwarting several of the Blood Medical Sect's attempts to steal secret formulas and uncovering their plots to infiltrate Celestia."
Byron continued. "The Dragon's Breath also took down several pharmaceutical executives who had been bribed by the Blood Medical Sect."
"Bruce made significant contributions."
"During this time, several of The Dragon's Breath's early agents in Lumaria were exposed and killed."
"There were also several missions where The Dragon's Breath operatives were ambushed and annihilated by Lumaria officials while pursuing traitors carrying secrets."
"At the time, we didn't suspect Bruce, who had made significant contributions. We thought the Lumaria people had coincidentally learned of our plans and set up ambushes."
"Looking back now, it's clear that Bruce was the source of the leaks."
"Because the people being pursued entered Lumaria through ships arranged by Bruce. Only he knew their whereabouts."
Byron's voice carried a hint of sorrow, and his eyes showed a trace of sadness.
"Those were good people."
James remained silent. If Bruce's initial mistake was unintentional, his subsequent actions were a series of deliberate betrayals. One could change for profit, but there had to be a limit.
At the same time, he felt even more disdain for the Blood Medical Sect. To establish Bruce's credibility, they were willing to sacrifice some of their own people to gain The Dragon's Breath's trust in Bruce.
Just then, James's phone vibrated. He picked it up and answered, hearing Clarence's voice on the other end.
"James, we've cornered Aurelia."
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