A Life So Hard to Kill, More Valuable Alive Than Dead

The accident at the riding grounds shattered everyone’s nerves. Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t give the Emperor any face, humiliating him on the spot, and for the first time, William Wang openly declared his stance—leaving the Emperor furious and deeply embarrassed.

“Investigate! I want to know who had the guts to cause trouble right under my nose!” The Emperor couldn’t punish Nolan Dongling or William Wang, so he vented his anger on the palace guards.

“I accept the order!” Dominic Zhai responded without hesitation, making the Emperor’s expression soften a little.

After such a commotion, no one felt like lingering at the Menagerie Grounds. The Emperor swept his sleeves and returned to the palace; the harem consorts followed, trembling and subdued, unsure whether from fear or something else.

As the greatest victim of this incident, Su Rou was gravely injured—her body covered in severe burns, especially her face. Even if she survived, she was essentially ruined.

As for Serena Feng, whose condition worried Nolan Dongling and William Wang the most...

“You call this a burn injury?” The Master of Mystic Healer Valley pointed at Serena Feng lying on the bed, half-smiling at Nolan Dongling and William Wang.

Weren’t these two men supposed to be the smartest in the realm? Yet they couldn’t even tell if someone was hurt. He was honestly speechless.

William Wang let out a sigh of relief. As long as Serena was safe, that was enough.

“Serena Feng is still unconscious.” Nolan Dongling knew he’d lost his composure out of worry, but he stubbornly refused to admit it, only urging the Valley Master to hurry and treat her.

With such a huge fire, Serena Feng was right in the middle of it—yet there wasn’t a single burn mark on her.

Fine, he admitted he’d lost his head at the time, never even checked Serena’s condition. All he could think was to get her back to Feng Manor as fast as possible and let the Valley Master save her—never realizing she didn’t need saving at all.

“She was just stifled by the smoke. She’ll wake up naturally in half an hour,” the Master of Mystic Healer Valley said gruffly. Anyone would be annoyed if they were dragged out of the latrine mid-business.

Hmm.

With the Valley Master’s diagnosis, Nolan Dongling stopped paying attention to him. Instead, William Wang stepped forward, his deep, gentle eyes tinged with doubt: “Valley Master, are you sure Serena will need half an hour to wake up?”

“Of course. What, are you questioning my medical skills?” The Valley Master acted casual around Serena, but in front of others, he was absolute authority—no one, not even the Wang clan patriarch, could challenge him.

William Wang shook his head lightly. “Valley Master, you’re a master of medicine—I wouldn’t dare question your skills. It’s just…”

“Just what?” The Valley Master cut him off impatiently, glaring fiercely at William Wang.

Daring to doubt his medical skills—clearly asking for trouble.

William Wang wasn’t intimidated. He pointed at Serena Feng on the bed, smiling: “It’s just that Serena seems to already be awake.”

“What?” The Valley Master whipped around, only to see Serena Feng’s lashes trembling and her eyelids fluttering. If that wasn’t waking up, what was?

“Serena Feng!” The Valley Master roared so loudly that even Victor Yun, recuperating in another courtyard, heard it. Victor dug at his ear and said calmly, “If the Valley Master is that mad, Serena must be fine. I worried for nothing.”

“Young Master, Miss Feng is all right!” The servant who’d gone to ask for news rushed back, panting.

Victor Yun’s smile deepened. He waved the servant away with elegant gestures—though paired with his bald head, it looked a bit comical.

Just as the Valley Master diagnosed, Serena Feng wasn’t burned—she’d only been stifled by the smoke, her throat a little injured. Waking up meant she was fine, but she’d come to too soon, ruining the Valley Master’s grandmaster image.

“Serena Feng, you little rascal—how could you wake up so early?” The Valley Master’s mood now was much like the Emperor’s.

Serena Feng always managed to ruin their big moments at the worst possible time.

“So noisy!” Serena’s throat was scorched by the smoke, her voice slightly hoarse.

“Noisy? And who’s to blame for that?” The Valley Master grew even angrier, convinced Serena Feng was his nemesis—he never got the upper hand with her.

Serena Feng shot the Valley Master a glare and motioned for a maid to pour her some water. Before the maid could move, Nolan Dongling had already poured the water and handed it to Serena.

Serena Feng paused, met Nolan Dongling’s cold gaze, said nothing, and took the cup, draining it in one go. After a couple of light coughs, she finally felt a bit better.

Seeing how calm Nolan Dongling and William Wang looked—neither rushing up to say, “Serena, thank goodness you’re all right!”—Serena didn’t bother mentioning her injuries. She knew perfectly well she wasn’t hurt.

Serena cut straight to the point: “What happened? Why did the Menagerie Grounds suddenly catch fire?”

“There was oil on the water. The details are still under investigation. What exactly happened at the scene?” Nolan Dongling gave a brief account, then immediately shifted the topic.

He couldn’t possibly tell Serena that he and William Wang were so worried about her safety they ignored everything else—never checked the scene, just rushed her straight to Feng Manor.

So, they actually had no idea what the scene was really like.

“At that moment...”

It had been a dangerous situation. When Serena stepped onto the bridge, she noticed something off about the water below—a slick of oil. She was about to turn back, but Su Rou was already closing in, cutting off her retreat. Thinking about the wooden bridge and the oily water, Serena guessed there was danger ahead.

Serena quickly wrapped her face with her robe and hurried forward, but before she could even raise her whip, the water caught fire. The flames surged up, instantly engulfing the whole bridge.

Fortunately, there was no oil on the bridge itself, so it didn’t burn through right away. That gave Serena time to steady her breath, calm the horse, and charge out of the inferno as fast as possible.

Serena could have escaped first, but just as she was about to leave, Su Rou’s voice rang out behind her: “Serena Feng, save me! Please!”

“Please!”

“Save me!”

Serena Feng wasn’t a saint; she wouldn’t soften just because Su Rou begged. Besides, the bridge was about to collapse—she had no time or energy to save Su Rou, and Su Rou’s fate wasn’t her concern. But...

Su Rou seemed certain Serena would save her. As the bridge was about to break, Su Rou recklessly leapt from her horse, lunging toward Serena, still crying, “Serena Feng, please!”

Fine, Serena admitted she hesitated for a moment. Then she realized Su Rou alive was more useful than Su Rou dead. And pulling Su Rou along wouldn’t endanger herself, so she flicked her whip out toward Su Rou.

As it turned out, Su Rou’s life was tough. Serena just casually flicked her whip, and somehow managed to hook Su Rou.

Serena dragged Su Rou out of the inferno with her, but Su Rou wasn’t as lucky—her burns were severe.

“Su Rou’s life is really tough,” Nolan Dongling and William Wang remarked after hearing Serena’s account.

“It really is. I don’t know if Su Rou’s luck is a blessing or a curse—she’s so badly burned, she’ll never make it into the palace now.” Serena, for once, actually spared a thought for Su Rou.

Su Rou schemed endlessly, but in the end... it might all come to nothing.