Being a savior of the suffering is no easy task, and Serena had never thought of herself as a Buddha here to save the world. Once the wounded were stabilized, she prepared to head back to her tent for some rest.
After a whole day of work, Serena was exhausted and thirsty. What she needed most right now was food—though a hot bath would be even better. The first was something she could still dream about; the second, she didn’t dare hope for at all.
Up here on the mountain, even drinking water was scarce—how could there possibly be enough for a bath?
But then...
"What’s this?" As soon as Serena stepped into her tent, she saw steaming dishes laid out on the table, and—unexpectedly—a folding screen that shouldn’t have been there. Behind the screen was a bucket of hot water, still sending up white clouds of steam.
Who had prepared all this? Serena stood frozen at the entrance, a warm current flowing through her heart—she couldn’t help feeling a rush of joy, her chest swelling with emotion.
Serena quickly turned and stopped a passerby to ask, "Did anyone just come into my tent?"
"Huh?" The girl paused, then realized what Serena meant. With a look of envy, she said, "You mean the hot water in your room? It was Ninth Royal Uncle—I saw him carry the water for you. Wow... Miss Serena, you’re so lucky! I always thought Ninth Royal Uncle was hard to approach, but it turns out he’s just like a regular person. He even carried water and prepared food for you."
The girl’s eyes sparkled, her whole face dreamy and nearly swooning with delight.
"So it really was him." Just as she’d expected. Serena let go of the girl and turned back into her tent.
She knew it—no matter if Ninth Royal Uncle disagreed, he would always respect her decisions. That full bucket of hot water was the best proof.
Even with the screen in place, Serena didn’t dare actually bathe in the tent; she could only wipe herself clean, just enough to feel refreshed.
After washing away the day’s exhaustion and changing into clean clothes, Serena ate the slightly cooled meal with rare satisfaction.
In stark contrast to Serena’s good mood, Damien of Southlyn and his crew were fuming. He couldn’t tell if Serena and Ninth Royal Uncle had seen through his plan and decided to turn his own tricks against him, or if it was all just a coincidence.
"I clearly told them to hold back, to make the injuries lighter—so why were they still sent down the mountain?" Damien couldn’t figure out what Serena was up to.
After hearing that Serena had persuaded the first critically injured man to go down the mountain, Damien had ordered his men to be careful, not to hurt anyone so badly they’d need to be sent away for treatment. But what happened?
They’d already been careful, but Serena still managed to convince plenty of people to leave. He hadn’t been able to wipe them all out this time—where else would he find such a perfect chance to gather everyone together for a massacre?
"Maybe it was just coincidence. After all, there really isn’t enough medicine up here—I’ve already had people check, and Serena wasn’t lying." The speaker was tall and unnaturally thin, even more so than most; his face was covered in black growths, making him look fierce and terrifying, like a cursed demon.
This man was one of Damien’s helpers brought back from overseas. He had plenty more like him—each one strange-looking, but all of them skilled fighters.
Banished overseas, these men had quickly struck up a partnership with Damien, eager to return to the Nine Provinces and stir up chaos in the martial world.
Damien couldn’t think of any other explanation and just nodded. "After tomorrow’s operation, I’ll go down the mountain myself and deal with those people too."
Once he’d intimidated all the top fighters from the major sects, he refused to believe anyone down below wouldn’t submit to him.
"Alright." The tall man agreed without hesitation, his tongue flicking over his lips with a sinister, bloodthirsty look.
At that same moment, Ninth Royal Uncle and Sean Xuan were standing at the cliff’s edge—just like last night—in the exact spot where they could see Skyvault Fortress.
"By tomorrow afternoon at the latest, Fortress Lord Ling will learn that Skyvault Fortress has burned," Sean Xuan said.
"Mm." Ninth Royal Uncle responded with a simple sound, showing he understood.
"Why would you give such a foolish order, burning down Skyvault Fortress? What does it even accomplish? As long as Fortress Lord Ling still has his businesses, he can just build another one. Honestly, burning it only makes things more complicated—I have no idea what you were thinking," Sean Xuan grumbled, clearly frustrated.
Ninth Royal Uncle said nothing; he just glanced at Sean Xuan and turned away.
Even though Skyvault Fortress was burned, Ling Mo’s follow-up had been handled well—it bought them at least a day, and that was enough.
"And another thing—why didn’t you stop Serena today? If she’s too exhausted, how are we supposed to get down the mountain tomorrow?" Sean Xuan continued to scold Ninth Royal Uncle, but he still didn’t answer.
Sean Xuan talked for ages, only to realize Ninth Royal Uncle hadn’t responded at all. Suddenly, he felt just like one of those nagging subordinates in Skyvault Palace—babbling on while Nolan barely listened. He lost all interest in continuing.
"Why’d you stop talking?" Ninth Royal Uncle turned and asked.
"Were you even listening?" For a moment, Sean Xuan wanted to punch Nolan’s stone-faced expression—it was just so infuriating.
"I was." He just didn’t bother to respond—none of it was worth the effort.
"Well, thanks for not leaving me to monologue by myself." Sean Xuan found his own good manners slipping in front of Nolan—he honestly didn’t know how Serena put up with him.
"No need." Nolan was as blunt as ever. Without waiting for Sean to respond, he cut straight to business: "Tomorrow, people from Heaven’s First Consortium will help you. Your job is to expose Damien’s identity, stall his men, and let the others escape first."
The topic shift was abrupt, but Sean Xuan couldn’t complain—this was serious business. "What about you?"
"I’ll take Serena away myself."
"That’s a tough job—better leave it to me. Your Highness, your noble status means you shouldn’t take such risks." Sean Xuan joked, trying to undermine Nolan’s plan.
He wasn’t one of Nolan’s subordinates, after all—yet Nolan assigned him tasks with such authority, never even asking his opinion.
"It’s definitely dangerous, but since my martial arts are just a bit better than yours, I’ll have to handle it myself." Ninth Royal Uncle replied with a straight face, so serious that Sean Xuan was left speechless.
"You really are shameless." Sean Xuan couldn’t help laughing, finally blurting that out.
"I’m just following your logic." Nolan stayed cold and serious, not joking at all.
Sean Xuan realized he was no match for Nolan, so he gave up. "Forget it, I’m done talking to you. No matter what, you always come out on top." In the end, he decided he’d just help Serena and not take Nolan too seriously.
"I’ll be the one to capture Damien." Nolan, worried Sean Xuan might get too frustrated, added that kindly. Only then did Sean Xuan leave, satisfied.
After Sean Xuan left, Ninth Royal Uncle stood alone by the mountainside for a long time. Only when the night was deep and silent, with no one around, did he finally head back to his room.
Not long after Nolan returned, a shadowy figure darted out to the very spot where he'd stood. The figure searched the ground for a while, finally uncovering a smooth stone from the dirt. Holding it up to the moonlight, they checked it carefully, then vanished into the night...