Doctor Ryan and His Healing System

Chapter 16: The Showdown

Robert placed ten cherries on a table on the far side of the room. Then, as he cleared a path to create a range, he said, “Here are the rules: We take turns shooting, and whoever hits the most cherries is the winner.”

Ryan smiled and said, “Easy peasy.”

Robert’s face turned red when he heard this. “What do you mean by that?” he growled. “I could make it harder if you’d like!”

“It’s up to you…” Ryan shrugged indifferently.

“We could shoot pumpkin seeds,” Robert suggested. “If cherries aren’t enough of a challenge. Is that what you want?”

The audience thought that Robert’s idea was crazy. After all, pumpkin seeds are smaller than arrowheads. Still, they were very curious to see how this would play out.

“It is up to you,” Ryan replied. “We could stick to cherries, though, if that is preferable. I would hate for you to lose face in front of all your friends.”

“You had better worry about yourself,” Robert muttered.

Ryan shook his head in disbelief. He actually felt bad for Robert. He thought – He is so cocky, but he would not be so eager if he actually knew what he was getting himself into. He has been waned, though… “Alright,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

“Why don’t we make this interesting?” Kevin suggested. “I will put one thousand dollars on Robert; ten to one odds. Is there anyone willing to put money on Ryan?”

Without hesitation, Linnet raised her hand. “I’ll take that bet!” she shouted.

“Good, good.” Kevin laughed. “Any other takers? I will also take bets for Robert to win, but with a significantly lower return.”

Suddenly, everyone began to talk very loudly amongst themselves, and it wasn’t long before the place sounded like a chaotic casino. Like all rich people, Den and his guests loved to gamble. Most people put their money on Robert, but there was a surprising amount of people that bet on Ryan. They had heard what he had done as a physician. They had seen what he had done at the piano, and he did not strike them as someone who would say that he could do something that he couldn’t.

Once the bets had been laid, Kevin turned to Ryan and said, “How about you? You seem rather sure of yourself. Do you care to place a wager?”

Ryan thought about it for a moment, and then he said, “Is there a limit to how much I can bet?”

“Just place your bet,” Kevin smirked. “No amount is too big.”

  “Will you take fifty million dollars?”

A sudden silence descended over the crowd. If Ryan won, Kevin would have to pay him five hundred million dollars. As far as entertainment went, this was a Prime-Time Event. Even Robert was taken aback. He thought that Ryan was poor. Thus, he had not expected him to place such a large bet. Now that Robert knew that his opponent was rich, he had a great admiration for him. That being said, he was still determined to mop the floor with him.

“It’s a deal,” Kevin replied. “Let’s do it.”

Ryan nodded to Robert and said, “The champ should go first.”

“Thank you.” There were three pumpkin seeds set on the table. Robert drew the arrow, aimed at the seed for a second, and fired. The arrow ran through the seed and lodged in the wall behind it.

The audience broke into rapturous applause, and once their cheering died down, he drew again. Again, his arrow hit the seed. He did not give anyone a chance to cheer this time. Before anyone knew it, he had drawn and loosed the third arrow.

Robert lifted his bow in the air triumphantly and everyone shouted his name. “Five-time champion!” he exclaimed. “Let’s see this chump beat that!”

Gradually, people turned their attention to Ryan, and once all eyes were on him, he set the put bow down. “What are you doing?” someone asked. You can’t just give up, not with fifty million on the line!”

“Yeah!” someone else shouted. “Nobody expects you to beat that, but you should at least try!”

Ryan lifted his hand for silence. “I’m not quitting,” he said. “This is how I am going to shoot the seeds.” He reached into his pocket and began to rummage around for something.

The audience stared at Ryan as if he was a lunatic.

When Robert saw what Ryan pulled out of his pocket, gave him a look of disbelief and he said, “Don’t be absurd. You are making a fool of yourself.”

Linnet was worried about Ryan’s plan, so she stepped forward to talk to Kevin. “I have a favor to ask,” she said. “Could you please cancel the competition? You’ve proven that Robert is the champion.”

“No.” Kevin shook his head. “He has to keep his words and pay me fifty million dollars.” He was sure that Robert would be the winner, and that Ryan would be financially ruined.  

“I am ashamed of you,” Linnet muttered. “I thought that you were a nice person…”

In the past, Robert had considered the term “nice person” to be a compliment, but he had learned better. “Well?!?!” He smirked. “You thought wrong!” Then, without another word, he turned around to look at the table where the new pumpkin seeds had been set up.

Linnet sighed sadly. She thought - If Ryan loses the competition, I will help him pay his debt. 

Ryan showed everyone the blindfold that he had pulled out of his pocket. He placed it over his eyes, and then he picked up the bow and arrows. Next, he positioned all thee arrows on the bow, turned it sideways, and let them loose.

It was the most incredible thing that most of the people there had ever seen. Ryan had hit every seed.

Just then, the sound of a bird could be outside the open window. In a blur of motion, Ryan grabbed another arrow, notched it, spun around, and shot it through the head.  

There was a shocked silence as the audience tried to process what they had just seen. “How is it possible?” they asked each other. “He shot the bird while blindfolded！It is beyond the ability of any human…”

“Isn’t it?”

Once the initial shock wore off, Linnet began to clap, and it was not long before the whole room was cheering. Even Robert was clapping. He had to admit that even he could not shoot down a bird with his eyes blindfolded. Until today, he would have said it was impossible.

Robert patted Ryan on the back and said, “Well done.”

When everyone saw that Robert was being a good sport, they added his name to their chants.