Chapter 53 - Rejection
Walking in the splendid banquet hall, Lin Li suddenly felt a little amused at the situation. He had never expected the redheaded beauty to apologize to him out of the blue, and even more so to request to become his apprentice. From what Lin Li saw, this request was absolutely ridiculous to the core!
To be honest, Lin Li was not a stingy person, and he definitely did not have the habit of thinking highly of his own doings. Otherwise, he would not have given Andoine his best guidance back in the Sunset Mountains. Strictly speaking, Andoine really had no talent in pharmaceutics. He was in his hundreds, yet he couldn’t even remember the simplest potion formulas and was brash and clumsy when concocting the potions, blowing up the potion lab on every occasion.
By comparison, Rowling, who was proficient in medicinal studies, was actually more suitable to become Lin Li’s student. Medicinal studies and potion making had too much in common. Lin Li could even be sure that as long as he was willing to guide her with all his heart, Rowling, with her superior medical skills at such a young age, would be able to achieve good results in pharmaceutics within a year.
However, Lin Li had no intention to teach her at all. What happened at McGrenn’s house had left too bad an impression on him.
Perhaps it was because his experiences were different. Lin Li had always felt that there was nothing more precious than life in this world. All lives should be respected; especially as a doctor, one should absolutely respect the patient’s life.
Lin Li was essentially an introvert who preferred to keep things to himself. Unless someone—like Cromwell, who repeatedly provoked him and even spat directly in his face—picked a fight with him, Lin Li would not show any extreme behavior in general.
Lin Li could tolerate a lot of things, for example Rowling’s self-righteous character.
He could even understand that such character was a privilege of a beauty, not to mention that Rowling was the daughter of the Castellan.
But she should never use this kind of self-righteousness on her patients. This was what Lin Li really could not tolerate. A self-righteous doctor, even if he mastered advanced pharmaceutics, would still be bringing lifelong misfortune and disaster to the patients.
After having experienced this bizarre transmigration, Lin Li had become more mature, completely over the age of being disoriented with a woman’s beauty. Besides, he was not the kind of person who couldn’t walk at the sight of a beautiful woman from the start. Rowling might be attractive in other people’s eyes, but in Lin Li’s eyes, she was merely a quack who almost killed her patient.
Rejecting a little redhead beauty was not much of a psychological burden to Lin Li at all…
However, whether it was Lin Li who had breathed a sigh of relief or Rowling who was secretly weeping, none of them had noticed that the scenario at the secluded corner had fallen into the eyes of a young man.
“Mr Anthony, do you know this mage?” The young man looked to be in his twenties. He had a handsome, fair face and gorgeous blond hair, dazzling like sunshine under the crystal chandeliers. He wore a well-tailored dress suit, which, judging from the fine craftsmanship, had been made by a famous designer. He had no other accessories—except for a ruby ring on the fourth finger of his right hand.
He’d merely held out his right hand and pointed pettily at Lin Li. The ruby reflected a pure and dazzling light under the crystal chandeliers.
“Looks a little unfamiliar, but he came with Mage Kevin, so he should be his attendant or apprentice of sorts…” Although he did not know the true identity of this young man, Anthony had maintained a respectful attitude throughout the conversation. This young man was introduced by the Castellan, who said that he had come from the capital of Felan Kingdom. From the way they talked and behaved, Anthony could clearly see that they were in no ordinary relationship.
Since the rise of the Guild of Magic, the Rolin Family had shown signs of declining. Seeing that he had been pushed to the border of the 11 mage families, and even the thief leader dared to compete with him fo the Arcane Magic Potion at the auction, Anthony had watched with an anxious heart. He had attended the banquet meaning to claim a relationship with the Castellan. In addition, when he heard that the young man had come from the capital, Anthony’s speech and manners were all the more flattering and enthusiastic…
It was a pity that the Castellan had divulged too little information, and the young man was so secretive about his origins that, so far, Anthony only knew his name was Bathrilor, from the capital city Alanna of the Felan Kingdom.
“Is it…” Bathrilor nodded and did not question further. He excused himself and walked to Lin Li with a glass of red wine in his hand.
“Don’t you think you should apologize to Miss Rowling?”
“Ah?” Lin Li was distracted with his own thoughts when he suddenly heard someone talking to him. From the voice, it seemed to be coming from a stranger. Lin Li turned around in doubt, only to see a handsome young man standing in front of him, carrying an expression that Lin Li didn’t like…
It was an undisguised sense of superiority, just like how when Cromwell had told him “the Merlin Family does have a say in the Guild of Magic”…
“Do I know you?” Lin Li had always detested the idea of superiority, so it was natural that there was no politeness in his words. He merely took a glance at Bathrilor from the corner of his eyes. It looked like he was looking at some thing or a mass of air.
“You don’t have to know me.” Bathrilor’s expression was still full of superiority. “Of course, you’re not qualified to know me as well. A small mage like you should feel utterly honored to be able to step foot in this banquet hall. Why do you not know what is self-respect? Did you not look in the mirror to see what your status is before you pestered Miss Rowling?”
“When did I pester her?” Lin Li’s eyes widened with anxiousness at his words, and in his heart, he was filled with injustice. He’d like to ask Rowling: did I ever pester you?
“You didn’t pester Miss Rowling? Are you going to tell me that Miss Rowling was the one pestering you?” Bathrilor scoffed at Lin Li’s excuse, and his handsome face was full of a disdainful smirk.
“Duh!” Lin Li rolled his eyes and decided not to pay anymore attention to him. In his heart, he thought, This person might have some psychological issues, I should suggest he sees a doctor some other day…