Men, Su Wan and Princess Yara Valen Come to the Door

Inside the room, Lance Quinn fed medicine to Serena Feng mouth-to-mouth, taking the opportunity to sneak a little advantage—cough, cough, it was just that Lance wanted to prevent the medicine from spilling, so he went a bit deeper than necessary.

Outside, Storm Cloud Bu squatted gloomily at the door, drawing circles in the dirt with a twig...

Maybe he was thinking about the House of Duke Zhen again. He couldn’t let that old crone get her way—he had to drag her into the dirt before she died, clear his grandmother’s name, and restore his father to the clan. But... could Serena Feng really be that person?

Everyone knew something was fishy about what happened back then, but no one could prove it. All the people who helped frame his grandmother were dead, and the ones who knew the truth were gone too. Even Lance’s master had cast a divination: this case wouldn’t be easy to solve—unless a noble benefactor appeared.

He’d always thought that benefactor would be Lance, since Lance promised to clear his grandmother and father’s names. But Lance’s master said that, in this matter, Lance’s help would be limited.

Storm Cloud Bu looked up at the sky, silent and heavy-hearted. More than thirty years had passed—his grandmother must resent him and his father for never fulfilling her last wish, for never bringing her back to the clan...

The next morning, Serena Feng woke up in her own home, feeling perfectly fine—almost as if nothing had ever happened.

Serena sat on her bed hugging the quilt, dazed. Was everything yesterday just a dream?

But... it felt so real.

Wait—the gun.

Serena Feng tore apart her bed looking for the gun, but found nothing. She searched her Smart Med‑Pack for ages, but the gun was still missing. As she got out of bed, a small jade bead slipped from her neck.

Serena was sure this wasn’t hers—she never wore jewelry. Feeling the gentle warmth from the bead, she muttered to herself.

"So everything that happened yesterday was real? That means someone rescued me... But where’s my gun?"

"Did I lose it in the bamboo grove, or did someone else pick it up?"

Ugh... Serena flopped onto the bed and rolled around in frustration.

Either way, it was bad news for her.

Wuwuwu... That gun was her lifeline! Without it, how could she handle top fighters? Her few grappling moves were useless against someone like Lance Quinn—she couldn’t even get close.

"I must be cursed with the House of Duke Zhen—every time I run into them, nothing good happens. My gun, my gun!"

Serena was all kinds of frustrated. She figured the gun was probably lost in the bamboo grove, but she really didn’t dare go back there—it was terrifying. Just thinking about what she "saw" in the grove yesterday made her shiver.

If not for what happened yesterday, she wouldn’t even know she was still so afraid of that incident. She thought she’d gotten over it long ago.

Serena let out a breath and patted her cheeks. "Forget it—no use dwelling on it. Maybe losing the gun will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. It’s gone, and with the bullets used up, it wouldn’t help anyway. Time to find another way."

Serena refused to let herself stay trapped in yesterday’s ordeal. She had a surgery scheduled today—she couldn’t afford to get distracted. One slip and there could be a medical accident.

No matter how minor the operation, if the lead surgeon isn’t in top form, mistakes can happen—and those mistakes could cost a patient their life, or leave them with irreversible harm.

She’d heard stories of surgeons, either too nervous or unfocused, leaving clamps, scissors, or gauze inside patients during surgery.

Serena had nothing but contempt for doctors with no professional ethics—she thought they disgraced the whole profession and didn’t deserve to be called doctors at all.

Serena went early to the small wooden hut and carefully prepared everything for surgery. To avoid making Simon Sun suspicious, she skipped modern anesthetics and used ma fei san instead.

All the other instruments and medicines were ones Simon Sun had seen before, so she didn’t have to worry. After triple-checking everything, Serena lit the lamps and arranged the luminous pearls Ninth Royal Uncle had given her—the operating room was instantly dozens of times brighter.

"I really don’t get it—why did you give me these luminous pearls? I thought maybe you had feelings for me. Not that I was imagining things, but... turns out I was just overthinking."

Ninth Royal Uncle had used her, and saying she wasn’t hurt would be a lie. But Serena believed that, given enough time, the pain would fade.

Feelings need nurturing—if you don’t think about them for long enough, they fade, just like heartache: hurt long enough and you go numb.

Serena locked up the operating room and went out to wait for Simon Sun, but instead of him, Su Wan of Southern Lyn and Princess Yara Valen of Lyndaria arrived together.

Serena knew Su Wan, but Princess Yara Valen...

If she remembered right, the siblings who came for treatment that night—the younger sister was Princess Yara. That meant the person she saved was the Lyndarian Crown Prince?

Serena froze at the doorway, unsure whether to go forward or just turn back.

Why did she always end up tangled with troublesome people? She just wanted to be an ordinary doctor—was that so hard?

Both Princess Yara Valen and Su Wan spotted Serena at the same time. As if coordinated, they turned to look at her—and neither gaze was friendly.

"So you’re Serena Feng? I’m truly surprised to meet you for the first time." Su Wan’s words made it clear she wouldn’t admit to knowing Serena.

"I’ve long admired Doctor Feng. At last, we meet." Princess Yara Valen said something similar—their words insisted this was their first encounter.

Hypocrites.

She didn’t need a reason—Serena just didn’t like these two. But no matter how much she disliked them, she still had to keep up appearances.

Serena walked in with poise and nodded to the two women in greeting. Her eyes swept the room—she saw they’d brazenly taken the seats of honor without a hint of courtesy.

They really weren’t shy—acting nothing like guests. Serena glanced at the entourage of guards and maids behind them, curled her lip, and chose the furthest seat to sit down.

What did a seat even matter? These women only fought over empty status symbols.

Serena had barely touched the chair when Princess Yara’s maid strode forward, pointing at her and barking, "How dare you! You can’t just sit in front of the Princess—get up and pay your respects! Her Highness hasn’t granted you a seat, so you should be kneeling."

The maid was full of bluster, but Serena wasn’t easily intimidated. Ignoring the murderous stares from the maid and guards, she calmly took her seat.

"Princess? Where? I haven’t received any imperial notice about a princess visiting Feng Manor."

"Serena Feng, open your eyes! Princess Yara Valen is right here, and you dare disrespect her? That’s a crime worthy of death!" The maid was furious, and Princess Yara frowned in annoyance while Su Wan sat by, enjoying the show.

They’d already notified the Eastlyn Emperor of their visit and had plenty of justification. If Serena didn’t treat them with proper respect, it would be seen as sabotaging diplomatic relations.

If that accusation stuck, and they got angry, Eastlyn would have to take Serena’s life to appease the two kingdoms.

On the other hand, if Serena played along, she’d suffer for it—neither Su Wan nor Princess Yara Valen would let her off, all because Serena had her eye on the man they both wanted.

Hmph, and an orphan dares to compete with them? She really didn’t know her place!