Torture, Ninth Royal Uncle Is Not Easy to Talk To

This was pure torture—again and again, they were submerged in water. The crushing pressure, the suffocating sensation beneath the surface, made them feel death was close, so close. Yet every time they thought they were about to die, they survived, only to face the threat of death all over again.

It was sheer torment!

Serena watched as the heroic figures from a moment ago turned into drenched, bedraggled chickens in the blink of an eye. It was impossible not to feel a little sorry for them, but more than sympathy, she was worried about something else.

"Ninth Royal Uncle, aren’t you worried they’ll seek revenge later? You know, for a doctor, killing someone is all too easy." Although Serena wasn’t trained in traditional medicine, she wasn’t clueless either. In Poison Doctor Marcus Guile’s eyes, any plant could be a weapon, and if he could mix chemical toxins as well, everyone in the villa would be doomed.

After all, defending against a master of poison isn’t easy. The best solution would be to kill them outright, but from the look of Ninth Royal Uncle, he clearly didn’t intend to do that.

"With you here, what’s there to be afraid of?" Ninth Royal Uncle rubbed the ring on his thumb, a bright gleam flashing in his deep eyes.

"Me? What does this have to do with me?" She didn’t even know those two.

"What do you think the Crown Prince used to lure them here?"

With that, Ninth Royal Uncle’s words made Serena realize: "You mean…the Crown Prince used his illness to bait them—and then sold me out?"

Crown Prince, you’re shameless.

"You can’t say the Crown Prince sold you out. These two came specifically for you." With so many days to investigate, Ninth Royal Uncle had already figured out why Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile had left their mountain. After all, for two such famous doctors to suddenly appear in the martial world, not checking into it would be reckless.

Even without the Crown Prince, Serena would have crossed paths with them sooner or later. Meeting them now was actually a good thing for her.

"Is it because of Victor Yun’s illness?" Remembering what Ninth Royal Uncle said about Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile’s devotion to medical study, Serena easily guessed their true purpose.

Ninth Royal Uncle nodded. Seeing Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile thoroughly worn out, he waved his hand, and the men hauling the net stopped at once. They dragged the two doctors out of the water—still tangled in the fishing net, of course.

"Junior Brother, I’ve never been this miserable in my entire life." Dr. Redwater’s long hair was tangled around him, and his devilishly handsome face showed not a trace of a smile—he looked truly pitiful.

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I swear I’ll make sure these people can’t get out of bed for ten days." Marcus Guile was just as ragged, his usual scholarly elegance nowhere to be seen. He lay there weakly, letting them drag him along.

So what if their martial arts were strong? So what if their medical skills and poison arts were unmatched? They hadn’t even had a chance to strike.

"You really can’t mess with royalty. If I’d known, we never would’ve come with that so-called Crown Prince." Dr. Redwater grumbled, and this time Marcus Guile didn’t respond. Before they’d come to challenge the villa, the Crown Prince had warned them not to try it—his royal uncle was petty, and if you pissed him off, he’d make you wish you were dead.

Senior Brother didn’t listen. The more the Crown Prince tried to stop him, the more determined he was to come and provoke them—and this was the result.

Dragged into the room, still tangled in the fishing net, Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile said nothing. They knew these men were just following orders.

The two sat on the floor, using the time to steady their breathing while waiting for the Ninth Royal Uncle the Crown Prince had mentioned. Since he hadn’t killed them, he must have figured out who they were.

They didn’t have to wait long. Ninth Royal Uncle entered with Serena, and Dr. Marcus Guile and Dr. Redwater felt as if a beam of light shot into the room. Their eyes blurred, and when they could see again, a man and woman stood before them, backlit and surrounded by a faint halo.

"What a stunning pair..." Dr. Redwater blurted out, but remembering his own sorry state—caused entirely by these two—he choked back the compliment and switched to disdain: "Vicious man and woman!"

"God-doctor Redwater?" Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t angry at the outburst; he simply called out his identity.

"That’s me. What of it?" Dr. Redwater ignored the fact that he was a prisoner and answered with pride.

"Nothing at all." Ninth Royal Uncle replied mildly, then turned to Serena: "One’s too loud, the other’s too toxic. Make them quiet."

"Hey, you wouldn’t dare—"

"Alright."

Dr. Redwater and Serena spoke at the same time—the former could only glare in protest, while the latter moved straight into action.

Serena signaled the attendant holding the medicine tray to follow, then crouched before Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile. "My apologies to you both for the offense."

Serena picked up the syringe from the medicine tray, expertly expelled the air, and held the needle upright in front of Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile—a chilling sight.

"What are you doing?" Marcus Guile moved to shield Dr. Redwater, glaring at Serena with cold, murderous eyes.

Serena wasn’t fazed at all. She smiled, "Don’t worry, you two are just too dangerous. I just want to quiet you down—so we can all get along."

With that, she signaled for the guards to pin Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile down, lifted their arms, swabbed the skin with a cotton ball, and gave Marcus Guile the first injection.

This silent middle-aged man made Serena feel truly dangerous.

"What is that thing?" Dr. Redwater, realizing his life wasn’t in danger and unable to resist, stopped struggling and asked Serena.

He was genuinely intrigued by the syringe in Serena’s hand.

"Intravenous injection. It’s the fastest way for medicine to take effect. You’ll understand soon enough." Serena gave Dr. Redwater an injection as well. Instead of resisting, he seemed fascinated, watching Serena push the drug into his vein and asking, "Do you aim for the blood vessel?"

"That’s right." Serena finished the injection and returned the syringe to the tray. Dr. Redwater never took his eyes off the syringe, while Marcus Guile stayed silent, clearly unhappy.

Serena knew why Marcus Guile was upset. After all, both men had earned their legendary reputations years ago—being treated like this, how could they stay calm? But there was nothing she could do about it.

Ninth Royal Uncle had already played his role; now, for her own survival, Serena had no choice but to follow through.

"This medicine works fast." Before long, Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile realized something was wrong—they grew drowsy and quickly fell asleep.

Far stronger than knockout powder—those old tricks never worked on them.

"Alright, you can proceed now." Serena said to Ninth Royal Uncle.

"Clean them up." Ninth Royal Uncle gave the order and left. These two weren’t worth his time—they were neither the Valley Master nor useful to him.

God-doctor, poison-doctor—strip them bare and all their skills are useless. As for using poison? Forget it. No one’s stupid enough to try and control a god-doctor and a poison-doctor with toxins.

While Dr. Redwater and Marcus Guile lay helpless, the Crown Prince and Prince Colin finally arrived. The Crown Prince was tactful as ever and apologized immediately: "Uncle Nolan, Serena, I’m truly sorry. I never imagined the two gentlemen would be so impatient. If they’ve caused any offense, please don’t take it to heart."

They’d already said their piece—what more could you do? Serena shrugged it off; she hadn’t lost anything anyway. But Ninth Royal Uncle wasn’t so easy to appease…