This isn't Serena Feng's first time performing an amputation, nor is it her first time operating under such harsh medical conditions. She’s faced far worse environments before—this is actually pretty good compared to those.
Serena naturally took over command, assigning everyone to their roles and preparing for the surgery.
She knew Simon Sun was skilled in medicine, but lacked the ability to take charge, so as she organized, she guided him step by step, determined to help him become independent as soon as possible.
The old doctor was stunned. He’d already found it strange that a young woman like Serena knew medicine, but now, watching her instruct Simon Sun, he was completely flabbergasted.
Is this era just full of prodigies? How could someone so young have such skills?
Master?
So this girl is actually that little fool’s master? The world is changing too fast—he can’t keep up. Has he been hidden away so long that he didn’t realize how amazing young people have become? Not only are they skilled doctors at a young age, but they can even be teachers.
The old doctor looked at Serena and Simon with a bewildered expression, rubbing his thumb along his chin and muttering to himself: "Are these two really not prodigies? They seem even more gifted than Chi Lian Shui and Guo Baoji. Just what kind of monster taught these little monsters? Did they start learning medicine at birth? Otherwise, how could they have this kind of experience at such a young age?"
He felt as if his mind was being scratched by a cat, almost ready to write 'please explain' on his face. Serena saw at a glance what he was thinking, but deliberately ignored it, taking Simon along to set up the improvised operating room and leaving the old doctor aside.
"Ahem, is there anything I can help with?" The old doctor snapped back to reality, realized he'd been left out, and shamelessly stepped forward to ask.
"Prepare a suitable dose of Ma Fei San for the patient and have someone bring it over quickly," Serena instructed. She hadn’t brought any anesthetic, and wasn’t sure about the exact dosage for Ma Fei San, so she had to ask for help.
Well, she really didn’t hesitate to put the old doctor to work.
The old man left immediately and had someone bring over a bowl of Ma Fei San.
This stuff was never in short supply at the wounded camp—he couldn’t let the seriously injured soldiers die from pain.
"Feed it to him," Serena ordered crisply, not wasting any words. The old doctor found he couldn’t get angry, because Serena herself was already swamped with work.
The three of them worked together with impressive efficiency. The old doctor wasn’t just skilled—he was a great team player, too. After a brief adjustment period, the three developed a solid rapport. Serena checked the patient’s condition and then announced the start of surgery.
Serena had wanted to let Simon Sun perform the surgery, but given the military setting and extremely poor medical conditions, the risk of failure was high. Not wanting to put unnecessary pressure on Simon, she took the lead herself and had him assist.
During the surgery, they had to maintain both infusion and transfusion at all times—Simon handled these tasks, since Serena couldn’t do everything herself.
"You’ve got a great master," the old doctor said to Simon Sun, immediately understanding Serena’s intention and feeling some envy.
His own master hadn’t been so kind—he still remembered nearly being killed by a patient’s family after his lack of skill led to a death.
Back then, his medical skills and adaptability were both weak. If his master had spent a bit more time on him, maybe he’d have achieved more, instead of ending up like this—always running from danger, stuck as a junior army doctor.
Simon Sun nodded proudly. Anyone who didn’t know better would think the old doctor was praising him.
This master-disciple pair was truly entertaining. The old doctor suddenly realized his days as a junior army physician might get a lot more interesting from now on.
Serena had no idea that in just half a day, she and Simon had already caught people’s attention. Gripping her scalpel, she operated as usual, never missing a chance to explain the procedure to Simon while she worked.
"The incision is at the rear of the stump."
"Separate beneath the fascia and flip the skin flap upward."
...
"At the transection plane, ligate and cut the great saphenous vein."
...
"Saw through the femur and remove the diseased limb."
...
Serena’s explanations weren’t very detailed, but both Simon Sun and the old doctor were experienced enough to understand with just a few words. The old doctor had originally wanted to leave—after all, it was taboo to share master’s techniques with outsiders, and he felt like he was stealing. But seeing that Serena didn’t care about outsiders learning, he shamelessly stayed.
Fine, he admitted he wanted to see how these two young doctors would handle such a high-level amputation.
The necrotic thigh was removed. At this point, Serena had no time to explain—she had to deal with the posterior blood vessels and nerves, then stop the bleeding and suture the fascia and skin.
This part was extremely demanding; Serena couldn’t split her attention at all. Even though several lamps were lit, the light was still insufficient, so to keep the patient safe, she didn’t dare blink—one wrong move and her hand could slip.
Simon Sun held his breath, careful not to disturb Serena. He memorized every move she made, planning to practice on animals later.
The steps of the operation weren’t difficult—the challenge was in mastery, and that only came with practice. No one could help with that.
As the surgery reached its critical stage, sweat poured down Serena’s forehead. Simon had just wiped it away, but fresh beads kept forming. If her clothes weren’t thick enough, she’d probably be soaked by now.
Surgery is physically demanding—it tests not only a doctor’s skill, but also their stamina. That’s why there are so few female surgeons in the field.
Serena could handle an amputation easily—if only she hadn’t already worked ten-plus hours at high intensity, and hadn’t been operating on an empty stomach.
When Serena finally announced the success of the operation, her voice was hoarse, and even her hand—healed ninety percent by the Jade-Flora Orchid—started to protest. Now wasn’t the time to push herself; she knew she shouldn’t keep working.
"Simon, I’m leaving the rest to you. I need to rest." Post-op infection and bleeding are the biggest risks after a high-level amputation—the patient needed careful monitoring.
"Got it, Master." Simon Sun stepped up, taking over for Serena and hanging the anti-inflammatory drip for the patient.
"Senior, how long will your dose of Ma Fei San keep him asleep?" Simon needed to know when the patient would wake so he could plan ahead.
There was still a crowd of wounded waiting for him outside—he couldn’t stay here forever, so he asked the junior medicine boy to keep watch.
Serena saw Simon and the old doctor working together and knew Simon could handle things on his own. She didn’t linger, dragging her exhausted body outside. By then, dawn had broken.
"We actually worked through the whole night," Serena muttered, shaking her head and wanting to rub her temples to clear her mind. But when she raised her hand, she remembered she hadn’t washed up after surgery.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—there simply wasn’t any usable water left in the wounded camp.
Serena gave a wry smile, lowered her hand, and kept walking. The moment she stepped out of the camp, she stopped short, staring at the man standing not far away. Her smile vanished instantly, and it took her a while to react: "Why are you here?"
Judging by the dampness on his clothes, he must have been standing there for a long time.
"Waiting for you. I wanted your first glance after coming out to fall on me." Ninth Royal Uncle remained perfectly still, his gaze deep and unwavering, staring at Serena as if trying to imprint her into his soul...