With William Wang's advice, Serena Feng finally made up her mind to go to the Night City front. After carefully arranging everything at Feng Manor, she prepared to take the Eighteen Riders to the front lines, leaving Zuo An, Logan Ling, and the Snow Wolves behind to protect everyone at the estate.
When Simon Sun learned about the situation at the front, he packed his bundle, grabbed his medicine chest, and walked up to Serena. "Master, I want to go too," he said.
There are thousands upon thousands of wounded on the battlefield. By going, he can save lives and also improve his medical skills—especially in treating trauma and external injuries, where he can make further progress.
"Sixing, on the battlefield..." Serena began to refuse, but Simon interrupted her: "Master, the wounded are all settled in camp tents. If they're fine, I'll be fine too."
Not only did Simon Sun inherit Serena's medical skills, he also picked up her stubbornness. No matter how Serena tried to persuade him, he insisted on going to the front, so in the end, she could only agree.
Since Simon was going, Logan Ling naturally wanted to go too. Logan's throat wound was no longer serious, though he still couldn't speak and had to drink liquids, but it wouldn't affect his ability to travel.
With Logan protecting Simon, Serena felt much more at ease and naturally had no objections.
With both 'masters' of Feng Manor preparing to leave, the whole household was thrown into busy preparations. Even Bella Qin, who was usually kept at the margins, soon heard the news.
Bella deliberately chose a time when both Serena and Simon were present, and quietly expressed her wish: she knew some medicine too, could help at the front, and wanted to go as well.
Serena patiently listened to Bella's request, then answered in a single, extremely concise word: "No."
"Why?" Bella wobbled, and for a moment Serena thought she might fall, but after a couple of shaky steps, she steadied herself.
Serena knew this girl had a strong tolerance, so she didn't bother being polite: "Can you ride a horse?"
"No." With carriages available, why would she need to ride a horse?
"Can you wash clothes or cook?"
"No." Aren't there servants and maids for that? Why should she need to do these things herself?
"Can you pitch tents or build a fire?"
"No." Isn't that what the Eighteen Riders are for? Was Serena deliberately making things difficult for her?
Bella blinked her big, watery eyes and voiced all her doubts. Serena, in a good-natured tone, replied: "We're in a rush, so there will be no carriages. We'll be riding hard through the cold wind. Along the way, it'll just be us and the Eighteen Riders—no maids to serve you."
Seeing Bella still didn't understand, Serena spelled it out again: "On the road, the Eighteen Riders' job is to protect us. All chores must be done by ourselves. If Miss Qin thinks she can manage, won't drag us down, and won't get sick because she's delicate, then she's welcome to join us. After all, one more person means one more helping hand."
"I... I'll think about it." It wasn't that Bella was timid or shrinking back; it was just that everything Serena described was truly beyond her abilities.
"Take your time deciding, Miss Qin. We're leaving in two days," Serena kindly reminded Bella, so she wouldn't miss the departure.
Bella softly acknowledged and turned back to her room, her figure looking somewhat desolate and lonely. Simon sighed quietly and withdrew his gaze.
Some things have to be figured out on your own; Serena didn't try to persuade Simon, leaving space for him to think it through.
As the departure date approached, the staff at Feng Manor actually had less to do, and Serena herself was free. She spent these days with Feng Jin, sorting through fabrics so Spring and the sewing maids could make clothes for him.
Children change day by day, so Serena insisted that Feng Jin's clothes be tailored to his current measurements, not made too large. After all, their household didn't lack fabric—the Empress Dowager had gifted so much fine cloth that it filled several storerooms. Rather than let it mildew, Serena decided to have more outfits made for Feng Jin.
The day before leaving, Serena was discussing colors and patterns for Feng Jin's spring clothes with Spring when the steward came over and said, "Miss Feng, the master of Heaven's First Consortium requests an audience."
"Heaven's First Consortium? Who's that?" Serena didn't react at first, then realized it was Storm Cloud Bu, and naturally smiled, thinking he was here to pick up Bella.
Finally, the trouble would be sent away.
Bella might not be hard to feed, but she always needed to be coaxed and fussed over. If left alone, she'd fall into depression and get sick. With such a delicate 'living Buddha' in the house, Serena felt enormous pressure.
Bella was so physically frail and prone to melancholy that if something happened to her in Feng Manor—if she got sick or worse—Serena truly wouldn't know how to answer to Lance Quinn.
"Go let Miss Qin know that Master Bu has arrived," Serena instructed, making no effort to hide her wish to send Bella away now that her escort was here.
Previously, Serena had concealed this attitude so the staff wouldn't dare slight Bella.
"Yes," the steward replied with a quiet chuckle, sending a maid to inform Bella.
"Storm Cloud Bu, what's happened to you?" Serena sensed something was wrong as soon as she stepped into the flower hall.
Storm Cloud Bu was covered in dust, his beard unkempt, eyes bloodshot, looking decades older—a desolate, broken middle-aged man.
"Qingchen..." Storm Cloud Bu choked out her name in grief, making Serena's heart sink and her voice drop unconsciously: "Storm Cloud Bu, what happened?"
His condition was far too abnormal—something catastrophic must have happened, or Storm Cloud Bu wouldn't be like this.
Storm Cloud Bu squatted down, curled into himself, covered his face with his hands, and groaned in pain: "Qingchen, Qingchen, Nineqing, Nineqing he..."
"What about Nineqing? Is he hurt?" Serena pressed urgently, but Storm Cloud Bu just clutched his head and sobbed, refusing to answer. Desperate, Serena kicked him.
Caught off guard, Storm Cloud Bu tumbled backward. Just then, Bella hurried in, saw Serena kick Storm Cloud Bu and send him rolling on the floor, and rushed over, lifting her skirt to kneel beside him, helping him up and anxiously asking, "Brother Jingyun, are you alright?"
Storm Cloud Bu still said nothing, just shook his head, his hands still covering his face. If he hadn't mentioned Lance Quinn, Serena would have suspected Heaven's First Consortium had gone bankrupt.
"Sister Qingchen, how can you hit Brother Jingyun? Even if he did something wrong, you could just talk to him. Look at him now, how pitiful he is." Bella dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.
Serena had no patience for Bella and kicked Storm Cloud Bu again. "Stop playing dead, Storm Cloud Bu. Tell me what happened to Lance Quinn!"
"What? Something happened to Lance?" Now Bella was stunned. "Brother Jingyun, what happened? What's wrong with Lance? Tell me!"
Bella had no time to worry about Storm Cloud Bu now, grabbing his sleeve and anxiously questioning him, her face pale and pitiful. Even Serena felt a twinge of sympathy, let alone Storm Cloud Bu.
"Bao'er..." Storm Cloud Bu finally uncovered his face, tears streaming down as he looked at Bella. Torn between reluctance and necessity, he hesitated again and again, then finally closed his eyes and shouted, "Bao'er, Nineqing... Nineqing, he's gone..."