Prince Luther Ling's face shifted between gloom and uncertainty; Quinn had voiced his deepest concern.
Leonard Goodwin had been the Crown Prince’s childhood tutor. The Crown Prince was older than him and held the position of heir—if the difference between a prince and a commoner was like heaven and earth, then the gap between a crown prince and a regular prince was just as vast.
Leonard Goodwin would never show him any respect. On the contrary, not only would he refuse, he'd make things difficult for him at every turn.
He could be certain of that now.
"I won't interfere in matters between you and Leonard Goodwin."
Prince Luther Ling made up his mind and said, "But you must be careful. Leonard Goodwin isn’t like the previous Grand Rector—he doesn’t have that gentle, nurturing spirit."
Quinn nodded. "Don't worry. At worst, Leonard Goodwin will just make things difficult for me—he won't dare go too far."
Prince Luther Ling looked at him strangely. Quinn sounded far too confident—where did that certainty come from?
Could it be that he and Seventh Sister already...
A troubling thought crossed his mind—if Quinn really became the imperial son-in-law, then he truly would have nothing to fear from Leonard Goodwin.
Prince Luther Ling was silent for a moment, then said, "I plan to leave the Academy and head to the frontier to command troops. I'm a Roving Cavalry General with an official post, and it's about time I went out to lead soldiers. But I'm worried about Seventh Sister..."
Quinn reassured him, "Don't worry, Second Prince. I'm here."
Prince Luther Ling's eye twitched. He thought to himself, "It's precisely because you're here that I'm worried."
Quinn chatted with the siblings for a bit, then stood up to take his leave. "I've just returned from a trip, haven't even unpacked yet—I need to get back to the Scholars’ Quarters first."
Prince Luther Ling escorted him out of the Royal Courtyard. After a moment of silence, he said to Lynn Ling, "Doctor Quinn's outlook isn't like a young man's. He sees things clearly—he's destined for greatness. Just now, his words struck right at my heart."
Lynn Ling giggled. "Who says he's so grown up? He doesn't understand a thing—always calls me fat, and can't say anything romantic at all."
Prince Luther Ling shook his head, saying, "I'll be submitting a memorial to Father soon, to leave the Academy and resign as a scholar. Now that Leonard Goodwin is Grand Rector, he probably won't treat you kindly. If you can't stay at the Academy, you might as well come to the frontier with me."
Lynn Ling nodded. "Don't worry, Second Brother. If I can't stay, I'll definitely come find you at the border. But I still want to train under Libationer Barrett."
Prince Luther Ling glanced at her, fully aware of her little schemes, but said nothing more and simply shook his head.
Quinn returned to the Scholars’ Quarters, with the massive Dragon-Qilin following behind. As they walked, many scholars watched, full of envy.
Elias Yun hurried over, grinning. "Sister Fox, I've finally scraped together the ransom—can I buy back my clothes now?"
Lina the Spirit Fox took the purse, weighed it, and nodded. "Wait here, I'll fetch them for you."
Elias Yun thanked her profusely.
Lina returned from inside with his clothes and called out loudly, "Anyone who owes me money, hurry and pay up—come redeem your IOUs!"
After a while, a few scholars came over with sullen faces to buy back their IOUs. Lina was very satisfied. "Next time you lose to young master, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."
One scholar shook his head. "He's an Academy Fellow—a sixth-rank official. Who would dare make a move against him?"
Lina the Spirit Fox froze for a moment, then turned to Quinn. "Young master, our source of income has dried up. At this rate, we'll eat ourselves into poverty—we can’t afford to feed this big guy anymore!"
The Dragon-Qilin shrank his head, mumbling, "Even just a pint of Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills a day would be fine... as long as I get something to eat..."
Quinn comforted him, "Don’t worry, I can afford to feed you. By the way, do you have any saliva? Fill a bottle for me—I want to see if I can sell it."
Lina fetched a jade bottle and collected a vial of dragon spittle. Quinn stowed the bottle away, told them to stay home, and headed for the Imperial Medical Hall. Inside, several elderly imperial physicians were studying pill recipes. When they saw him, their faces lit up. "Little Miracle Doctor, you’re finally back! What kind of spirit pills are you planning to make this time? If it’s anesthetics or poison, you’d better warn us in advance!"
Quinn greeted the physicians. "I’m here today to ask you to test a medicine." With that, he took out the small jade bottle.
The physicians saw the bottle and their faces changed dramatically. Physician Yu trembled, "I recognize that bottle—is it another anesthetic?"
"No, it's a sacred healing medicine."
Quinn had just said this when Physician You took out a small knife, hesitated, then sliced Physician Ding’s arm, drawing blood.
Physician Ding was furious and about to explode, but Quinn quickly stepped forward, opened the jade bottle, and dabbed some dragon spittle on the wound. Instantly, the cut began to heal—within a few breaths, it was as good as new, with no scar left behind.
The physicians were astonished and crowded around. Physician Yu asked, "How severe an injury can this sacred medicine treat? Could it reattach a severed limb?"
Quinn nodded. "It can. Someone once had their waist severed, and I used this medicine to reconnect it—good as new. But it’s only an aid; you still have to join the muscles and nerves, which takes real skill."
Physician Ding saw Physician You raising the knife again and shouted, "Try cutting me again and I'll poison your whole family!"
Physician You couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he went outside. After a while, he came back with a scholar. The other physicians quickly shook their heads. Physician Yu stomped his foot. "Old You, are you crazy? Even if we’re testing medicine, you can’t just chop off his hands and feet!"
The scholar turned pale with fright and bolted. Physician You tried to chase him, but the other physicians blocked his way. "No, absolutely not. Scholars are eighth-rank officials—if you chop off their limbs, you’ll be hauled before the courts. Daoist Rowan’s immortal crane fought Libationer Barrett’s green ox a few days ago and broke her leg. Go fetch the crane and cut off her leg, then reattach it!"
Physician You left and soon returned with the crane. Physician Qu pinched the crane’s beak; the bird was terrified and struggled, but Physician You chopped off her injured leg along the wound.
The physicians cleaned up the broken bones and waited for Quinn to treat her.
A moment later, Daoist Rowan burst in, ready to explode—only to find Quinn reconnecting the crane’s broken bone, joining muscle and nerve, and clearing the marrow.
Daoist Rowan held his tongue, and only when Quinn finished mending the leg did the physicians let go.
The crane immediately stood up, tried out her legs, and stared in amazement. Then she bowed deeply to Quinn, her voice crisp and clear—it was a little girl’s voice.