Tragedy, the Proud Heir Is Put in His Place

Serena is not someone who gives up easily. No matter how much worse Ling Mo's condition gets, she would never abandon him.

Letting go at the first sign of trouble is not Serena's way.

After countless attempts, Serena finally managed to get the needle in—though the price was steep.

Blood returned!

Ling Mo not only rejects physical closeness—his body fiercely resists medicine itself, making intravenous injections nearly impossible. As for other methods, those are even less feasible.

Serena herself nearly coughed up blood from the ordeal; after struggling the entire morning, she barely managed to stabilize Ling Mo's condition.

"Ling Mo can’t go on like this." Serena knew Left Shore was deeply worried about Ling Mo, so she didn’t hide anything from him.

What kind of torment had Ling Mo suffered to end up like this?

Left Shore was silent for a moment, then said quietly, "He only spoke because he wanted to see you."

"What do you mean?" Serena wondered if it was what she thought—if so, didn’t that make her the culprit?

Left Shore nodded, "It's exactly what you think. Because of his throat, Ling Mo can barely make a sound—he only speaks once a year at the Skyvault Fortress Martial Arts Conference, and to do that, he has to take medicine that rots the 'soft meat' in his throat."

Serena silently gazed up at the sky...

"He could write instead," Serena said, refusing to feel guilty—Left Shore was using the wrong approach.

"He can't read or write." Left Shore turned his head away, looking off to the side, and said in a completely emotionless voice, "Ling Mo isn't like any of us, Serena... help him."

"I want to help him too, but... the only one who can truly save him is himself. I'm a doctor, not a god. What I can do is limited." Serena admitted she was under a lot of pressure; she was just a doctor, an ordinary one, without the power to force Ling Mo to accept her treatment.

"If even you can't help him, Ling Mo's life is ruined." Left Shore didn't want to pressure Serena, he just hoped Ling Mo could live like a real person, not spend his whole life trapped in the pain Linden brought him.

The pressure was immense, but she couldn't turn it down. Serena could only grit her teeth and nod: "I'll do my best. Ling Mo is so guarded against people that I can't get close to him at all. If possible, could you bring Simon here for me?"

Even someone like Zed refuses to show his darkest side in front of Simon—so maybe Ling Mo would change for Simon too, or at least let down his guard when Simon is around.

After all, Simon embodies everything beautiful that Ling Mo longs for. Serena believes that if even Simon can't reach Ling Mo, then Ling Mo truly may be beyond saving.

"I'll go get Simon Sun," Left Shore agreed without hesitation. To reassure Serena, he added, "With Ling Mo here, no one can hurt you."

"Relax, no one dares make a move in Eastlyn right now. The Eighteen Riders will arrive in the next couple of days, and Beanie isn't leaving anytime soon. My safety isn't a problem." Ever since the last street ambush, Left Shore has guarded Serena so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through, terrified something might go wrong again.

Ninth Royal Uncle took the opportunity to sweep the capital inside and out, but unfortunately, Jason Lan still couldn’t be found.

As a 'mouse,' Jason Lan was a success—hiding in Nolan's own territory and evading even Ninth Royal Uncle himself proved his skill. Still, no matter how capable he was, Serena never took Jason Lan too seriously.

To protect herself, Serena had her people leak a bit of information to Adrian Phoenixfield. For the past few days, Adrian has been searching for Jason Lan’s whereabouts.

Whether Adrian finds him or not, at least it keeps Jason Lan on edge, making him afraid to act recklessly. As for the future...

Unless Jason Lan hides forever, Serena will eventually find a chance to deal with him. Just for treating Clara Phoenixfield as a slave, as the legitimate Phoenixfield heiress, Serena could make Jason Lan pay dearly and leave the Lan clan speechless.

Serena worked all day; once Ling Mo’s condition improved slightly, she went to check on Feng Jin and adjust his medicine.

Feng Jin’s pox hadn’t cleared, but his spirits were much better. After Serena carefully applied his medicine, she instructed Spring and the others to watch him closely, then hurried to change and head out.

She’d made plans with Linden Ling yesterday to visit his villa today. Beanie was supposed to come too, but Serena talked him out of it—she was afraid Beanie might let slip Ling Mo’s situation.

Ling Mo’s arrival was a secret, and their cooperation with him couldn’t be made public. If Beanie accidentally blabbed and Linden Ling found out, things would get complicated—they couldn’t afford to fall out with Linden just yet.

Linden is extremely concerned with his public ‘face.’ Even when apologizing to Serena, he does so with great pomp and posturing. Serena, knowing his temperament, goes to the villa very low-key, keeping a low profile and avoiding attention.

Linden is pleased by this. When Serena arrives, he personally rises to greet her, setting aside his usual arrogance as 'little martial-uncle' and Skyvault's proud heir. Serena silently credits Nolan: without Nolan’s harsh treatment of Linden the day before, Linden would likely still be insufferably overbearing.

Serena arrived early; Nolan had yet to appear. Linden showed no displeasure at Nolan’s lateness and instead chatted amiably with Serena in the flower hall.

Linden is naturally articulate, able to turn mundane jianghu gossip and minor romantic scandals into amusing stories, quickly shortening the distance between them.

If Serena had not seen Ling Mo’s injuries and if she did not know, through Zuo An and Sean, how deeply they favor Ling Mo over Linden, she might have considered Linden a proud but fundamentally worthy person to befriend. But she has already claimed Ling Mo as ‘her person,’ so her protective instinct prevents her from treating Linden as a true friend, no matter how charming he appears.

People are always protective of their own. Since Serena has already claimed Ling Mo as one of her own, no matter how outstanding Linden is, she can’t treat him as a friend.

Half an hour later, Nolan finally arrived, bringing Grand Heir William Wang Jinling with him. Linden’s smile brightened at William’s entrance, but Serena noticed his body stiffened for a moment.

Serena greeted William with a smile and, when no one was looking, cast Nolan a meaningful glance: knowing how much Linden values his face, Nolan has intentionally brought William—the scion of the most powerful Wang Clan merchant-aristocrats—to this meeting, obviously to suppress Linden’s pride.

He did it on purpose.

Nolan said nothing, quietly taking the main seat and letting Linden and William exchange polite conversation while he watched with cool, faintly mocking eyes.

Linden has always taken pride in his surname, but in front of William Wang Jinling, that pride seems laughable.

Linden’s ‘Ling’ comes from Skyvault Fortress’s inherited jianghu tradition, unrelated to the ‘Ling’ in the four realms’ names. William’s ‘Ling’ in Wang Jinling, however, symbolizes how the entire Nine Provinces Realm’s powers acknowledge and rely on the Wang Clan. In William’s presence, Linden’s pride in his surname and status turns ridiculous; as a mere ‘martial prodigy,’ he has no real advantage.

Nolan knows Linden too well: faced with William, Linden will inevitably compare himself and find himself lacking.

Linden is doomed to tragedy!