No matter how reluctant the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was, when faced with the stubborn stone that was Sean Xuan, he could only admit defeat—and he did so quite happily.
When Sean Xuan produced a long-lost ancient medical text, the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley didn’t hesitate for a moment—he simply sold out Serena Feng, and at an excellent price.
Ahem... After all, benefits in hand are the only ones that count. He could always strike another deal with Serena Feng later. As for what Sean Xuan would do after learning this information, that was none of his business.
The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley grinned like an old fox and, once back in his room, immediately packed his things.
This Skyvault Palace Sect was not safe—he’d better hurry back to his own Mystic Healer Valley. Sure, both sects had ‘Mystic’ in their names, but they hardly interacted outside of business. He had no intention of going down with Skyvault Palace.
That night, under Sean Xuan’s arrangements, the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley left Skyvault Palace together with Sean Xuan.
The next day, when the Skyvault Palace Master discovered the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley had vanished, his face darkened. Still, seeing Sienna Skyvault’s injuries greatly improved—and her appearance exactly like his beloved wife’s in her youth—he generously let it go. He kept calling his consort ‘Emma’ this and ‘Emma’ that, nearly driving her mad with anger, though she dared not show it and only responded with a faint smile.
As for the Young Palace Lord Sean Xuan—sorry, but no one cared about his fate. Whether he disappeared or not made no difference to Skyvault Palace.
Sean Xuan ignored the guards’ attempts to stop him and drove day and night toward the Eastlyn Imperial Capital, as if a single day’s delay would make Serena Feng vanish into thin air...
As for what the Clay family and the Warren family planned to do, Serena Feng couldn’t care less. She knew House Clay was using this chance to come down from the mountain, so any guilt she felt about pressuring Holden Clay as a patient was gone.
After examining Holden Clay that night and confirming his body could withstand surgery, Serena Feng wasted no more time delaying the operation.
"I said before, we need to draw blood from someone closely related to you. Have you found anyone yet? I’ll remind you again—bring several candidates. Just because you’re close relatives doesn’t mean you’ll match."
Serena Feng didn’t dare mention bone marrow extraction—it was far too bizarre, and Holden Clay would never accept it. So she subtly changed the concept. Concealing things from a patient wasn’t right, but sometimes you had to be flexible.
"Just like with the City Lord of Night City and his son—even a biological father and son might not match, right?" Holden Clay wasn’t unfamiliar with Serena Feng’s blood tests; Victor Yun had already told him how Serena treated Young City Lord Reid Yale.
It was novel and hard to believe. He’d had a ton of questions at the time, but unfortunately Serena Feng had left in a hurry that night.
"That’s right. Even if they do match, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re really father and son." Serena Feng said wickedly. Too bad the City Lord of Night City couldn’t hear this—otherwise, things would get interesting.
"I understand. I’ll have people come tomorrow." Since he’d agreed to the surgery, Holden Clay would fully cooperate with Serena Feng—his life was at stake, and he admired her rigorous attitude.
The next day, Serena Feng arrived at Holden Clay’s courtyard at the appointed time. Seeing the two men there, she paused in surprise. "Which one is it?"
"Both of them," Holden Clay replied, delighted by Serena Feng’s stunned expression—he was grinning from ear to ear.
"Both are from the Clay family? Are you kidding me?" Serena Feng glanced at Master Owen Yuan, then at Victor Yun.
Damn, they really are all family—no wonder they get along so well. She’d thought they were just close friends.
"What, I don’t look like a Clay?" Owen Yuan arched an eyebrow. "If you don’t believe me, Serena, why not marry me? Then you’ll know for sure I’m family."
Owen Yuan meant it seriously this time.
After so many years of freedom, now that the Clay family was emerging, he had to shoulder his responsibilities as a clan member. And the first order of business was to continue the family line—in other words, get married and have children.
"Whether you’re a Clay or not has nothing to do with me," Serena Feng shot Owen Yuan a glare, keeping things strictly professional. "What’s your relationship to Young Master Clay?"
"Uncle and nephew." Owen Yuan didn’t dare joke when it came to saving lives.
Serena Feng nodded, jotting it down with a charcoal pencil. Then she turned to Victor Yun. "And you?"
"Cousins," Victor Yun answered, a bit embarrassed. His mother had been cast out by the Clay family, so he wasn’t really close to Holden Clay. Being chosen for this made him feel unexpectedly honored.
Maybe the Clay family was coming out of seclusion and willing to acknowledge his mother and the Yun family? He didn’t care much about the Clay family’s attitude, but his mother did. If they accepted her, he wouldn’t mind helping out a little.
Serena Feng nodded solemnly, satisfied her curiosity, and finally got down to work.
"I’ll do a full checkup on both of you today, and draw blood samples for testing. You’ll have the results tomorrow." Serena Feng took out her diagnostic instruments and walked over to Victor Yun.
Bone marrow donors have to be in good health too. If you have any blood disorders or underlying illnesses, donating would only end up hurting yourself.
Victor Yun suffered from chronic headaches—Serena Feng had heard a bit about it, but didn’t know the details. This was the perfect chance to check him thoroughly.
Besides the standard physical exam, Serena Feng also used her Smart Med-Pack to run a full scan on both men.
"Tomorrow? When you treated the City Lord and his son, you gave them results right away." Holden Clay wasn’t doubting Serena Feng—he just grew more anxious the longer he had to wait.
"You and Young City Lord are different." Serena Feng was referring to their medical conditions, but to Owen Yuan, Victor Yun, and Holden Clay, it sounded like she was being extra careful with Holden’s case.
Whether it was true or not, those words put Holden Clay completely at ease. He stopped pressing her and felt genuinely reassured.
After collecting the blood samples and recording the test data, Serena Feng silently thanked her Smart Med-Pack—otherwise, she’d have needed stool and urine samples. If she’d said that out loud, Owen Yuan and Victor Yun would’ve blown a fuse.
These two always acted so aloof and otherworldly, as if they’d never even heard of such earthly things. If she’d asked for stool and urine, they’d probably be so mortified they’d storm out on the spot.
When everything was done, Serena Feng packed up her tools. "Young Master Clay, trust me—I’m a doctor. I’d never gamble with a patient’s life or my own reputation. Please wait for the results calmly." After soothing Holden Clay, she bowed slightly to Owen Yuan and Victor Yun. "Master Yuanxi, Young Master Yun, please forgive me for any offense. I have other work to do and must take my leave."
With those words, she strode out briskly, leaving the three men feeling oddly abandoned—like, somehow, those two drops of blood mattered more to her than three living, breathing people.
This time, Serena Feng didn’t let Simon Sun get involved. Leukemia was practically unheard of in ancient times—Simon Sun might never encounter it in his whole life. And with Holden Clay’s status, Serena Feng didn’t want to drag Simon into such a dangerous situation.
If the surgery failed, the Clay family would be forced by contract not to trouble her openly, but what they’d do behind closed doors only they knew. With a patient this dangerous, she refused to risk Simon Sun’s safety.