Pecked by a Wild Goose, Even Cold Water Chips the Teeth

Mmm... Serena Feng let out a muffled groan, shivering from the pain as sweat streamed down her cheeks. But this was not the end—only the beginning.

After removing her undergarments, Serena's leg was still wrapped in bandages, now discolored and stuck fast to the wound.

Serena took the cloth out of her mouth, caught her breath a few times, then bit down again. She pulled out scissors from the Smart Med‑Pack and began cutting away the bandages stuck to her inner thigh, nearly fused with her flesh.

Ssshh— The bandages ripped off along with the flesh. Serena gasped in pain, sweat popping out on her forehead, her hands trembling uncontrollably...

Her hands hadn't trembled this much in a long time.

Serena took a few breaths to ease the pain, then kept tearing at the bandages. They were soaked through with blood and crusted with scabs—the layer closest to the wound was buried deep in her flesh. Serena had to use forceps to hook and pull them out before she could tear them off.

The cold forceps pressed against the rotten flesh—enough pain to wake the dead. But Serena didn't dare make a sound, afraid that if she cried out, she might lose control and start to cry.

Honestly, it hurt too much.

Serena wiped the sweat from her forehead and kept her head down, battling the wound on her inner thigh. She thought of her burn patients—every time they had their bandages removed, they suffered just as much. If they could endure it time and again, so could she.

After the Easestream City prefect hurried off, he didn’t go back to rest as Serena expected. Instead, he went to the yamen and respectfully reported to a richly dressed middle-aged man: "Sir, the visitors came from the Capital, bearing a Prince Samuel Manor command token and riding a fine warhorse. But it’s not just a woman—it’s a man and a woman. I tested them, but they’re tight-lipped and wouldn’t even reveal their names."

"A man and a woman? Is the woman strikingly beautiful, graceful in figure, dignified and poised—not at all like an ordinary, delicate girl?" Could the intelligence be wrong? Was Serena Feng not traveling alone? The middle-aged man grew restless, pacing back and forth across the room.

At this time, the only woman who could appear in Easestream City with a Prince Samuel Manor command token was Serena Feng—there could be no other.

"Yes, sir. The woman is truly extraordinary—no one dares look her in the eye or defy her. When I received her with full honors, she didn’t seem surprised at all. She acted as if it were perfectly natural." The prefect thought for a moment, then nodded.

Though the woman looked travel-worn and tired, her stunning beauty was impossible to hide. Her manner and bearing were unlike any other noblewoman he’d met; he’d assumed this was the fashion in the Capital, but now realized it was unique to her.

"That settles it. At this moment, there’s no other woman with such presence who could come here. Everything goes as planned—do not let them leave the city alive. Understood?" The middle-aged man turned and gave the order to the prefect.

"Yes, sir. Please rest assured, I will see to it personally." The prefect answered at once.

The middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Once this is done, your position will be secure. If my master is pleased, you might even rise higher."

"Thank you for your support, sir. I will not disappoint you. I’m willing to risk life and limb for your sake." The prefect, reassured by the promise, pledged his loyalty repeatedly.

"Good. Get to work, and remember—I want her corpse brought back to me." The middle-aged man reminded him again and again.

Living, I want to see her in person. Dead, I want to see her corpse.

The prefect didn’t dare hesitate and immediately went out to mobilize his men, surrounding the prefecture compound.

He refused to believe that the man and woman could escape such a tight encirclement. Even if they did, he would hunt them down himself. After twenty years in this wretched place, no one would stop his promotion.

The wound on Serena's inner thigh wasn’t too deep, but the skin was completely gone. With an injury like this, she couldn’t touch water—her hope for a hot bath was dashed. After applying medicine, Serena re-bandaged the wound.

She still had to ride and walk tomorrow, so Serena didn’t dare wrap it too thick—just a few layers to keep the blood from seeping out. She wiped herself down quickly, exhausted and ready to dry her hair and sleep when the door suddenly rattled with heavy knocks.

"Who is it?" Serena forced down the urge to curse and yawned.

She was dead tired and someone dared disturb her sleep—they must have a death wish.

"Serena Feng, it’s me. Open up." Felix Fuller’s voice was taut and explosive.

"Felix, what’s going on so late?" Serena was startled and quickly threw on an outer robe.

"It’s huge." Felix wasn’t exaggerating—this really was a big deal. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be banging on Serena’s door in the middle of the night.

As soon as Serena opened the door, Felix rushed in, quickly shut it behind him, and sized her up with a sharp, assessing gaze, looking ready to explode at any moment.

Even if Felix’s gaze was clean and free of desire, Serena was still annoyed to be stared at by a man while her clothes were disheveled.

Felix’s behavior was downright disrespectful. Serena’s face darkened. "Felix, you’d better have a good reason for this."

She needed Felix’s help, yes, but that didn’t mean she had to flatter or cater to him.

Felix narrowed his eyes, his expression grave. "Serena Feng, who are you really? Who did you offend?"

While Serena was guarding against Felix, Felix was guarding against her. Two strangers with no understanding of each other—being wary was normal. If either of them opened up completely, they’d be fools.

If Felix hadn’t seen Serena’s clueless, half-dressed state, he would have already attacked her. Few people in Easestream City could command the prefect, and the only one he knew was Serena.

Serena immediately caught the tone in Felix’s voice and knew something was wrong. "What happened?"

Trouble? Here, of all places?

"We’re surrounded." Felix kept his eyes on Serena. At first, he’d thought this was a trap for him—Serena trying to have him killed. But now it was clear the plot targeted her, and he was just unlucky enough to be caught up in it.

"Surrounded? By the prefect? He’s got some nerve." Serena threw on her clothes, grabbed her backpack from the table, pulled out her handgun, and strapped several small knives to her legs, arming herself in an instant.

"Let’s go." Serena was full of energy, nothing like someone who’d just spent days on the road.

"Go? How? Where to?" Felix retorted sarcastically.

They were surrounded by the Easestream City prefect—men packed around the compound. Right now, they were like turtles in a jar. Where could they possibly go...

There was simply no way out!