When Zed hit the ground, he felt a wave of dizziness but quickly came to. At that moment, everyone was busy fighting off Red Blood Hall's assassins, and the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was only focused on Serena. No one noticed that Zed had woken up.
Zed was shrewd; even after waking up, he said nothing and just lay there, listening to the clash of blades and the conversation between the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley and Serena.
Serena injured both hands to save him?
Serves her right!
Still, since Serena saved him, he decided not to hold a grudge over what happened before, nor would he try to settle scores with her.
Who says Serena shouldn’t have saved him?
Was his life really worth less than a pair of hands? Zed was furious, but remembering Serena had saved him, he deflated again and just pricked up his ears, listening for the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley to say whether Serena’s hands could still be saved.
If her hands really couldn’t be saved, then... then he’d just take care of Serena from now on.
Thinking this made Zed feel a little better.
Prince Nolan was in a killing frenzy—meeting gods, he killed gods; meeting Buddhas, he killed Buddhas. It was as if he’d lost all reason, attacking without defense, cutting a bloody path through Red Blood Hall and leaving them devastated.
This scene infuriated the people of Red Blood Hall; their leader was so angry he cursed, “You arrogant brat!”
"I don’t care for that title. Since you refuse to listen, you can all die." Prince Nolan snapped back, his figure flashing as he lunged straight for their leader.
His movements were fluid as a soaring roc; whenever Prince Nolan met a Red Blood Hall assassin, his sword tip flicked out, splitting heads open one by one.
“What brilliant technique!” Dorian Owen’s master exclaimed, his gaze toward Prince Nolan suddenly shifting.
Hadn’t he seen this move from Prince Nolan somewhere before?
But Dorian’s master had no time to dwell on it. The Red Blood Hall assassins, seeing Prince Nolan’s ferocity, fought desperately. Dorian’s master and Prince Nolan bore the brunt of the attacks.
This greatly eased the burden on Dorian and the shadow guards. Seeing the tide turn in their favor, Dorian sheathed his sword and circled around the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley.
“Well? What’s the verdict on Serena’s hands?”
“They’re broken,” the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley answered bluntly.
Serena had mentally prepared herself, but hearing it still made her heart ache.
"It’s fine, they’ll be set again later." But even if her hands were re-set, it wouldn’t be the same—after this, she probably wouldn’t be able to perform intricate surgeries like heart operations.
Still, it didn’t matter. She could teach Simon, and Simon was already doing very well.
Thinking of this, Serena felt a sense of relief.
If she couldn’t be a surgeon, she could still do other things—she could still save lives and help the world.
“Nonsense! You know perfectly well what you do. Even if your hands are re-set, you’ll be able to use them like a normal person, but the strength won’t be the same. You won’t be able to hold a scalpel for several hours at a time anymore.” No matter how skilled the treatment, an injured hand could never be completely restored.
The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley had already checked: when Serena fell, she instinctively protected her hands, so the bones weren’t shattered. After treatment, her dexterity would be slightly diminished but could recover with practice. The only real drawback was...
Serena’s bones and tendons were damaged—she would never be able to grip a scalpel for long periods again. For her, this was a devastating blow.
Serena’s body swayed slightly, then she smiled: “That’s good enough—at least they’re not completely destroyed.”
But her heart was bleeding. In that moment, she seemed to understand her senior sister’s helplessness years ago.
Because of an injured hand, unable to wield her beloved scalpel, refusing to switch to internal medicine—she would rather study forensics and work with corpses.
Better none than settling for less!
She was doing all right—she just couldn’t hold a scalpel for long periods. At least she could still be a surgeon, just not perform major operations. Luckily, there weren’t any major surgeries for her to do here anyway.
"You—you’re still able to smile at a time like this. I really don’t get it. Why go out of your way to save that kid? You barely survived yourself, and yet you ruined your hands for him." The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was so angry, he kicked Zed again.
He knew how hard it was to wield a scalpel. He practiced privately too, but he was old—his hands weren’t as nimble as the young, his joints not as flexible. After a while, his hands would ache.
But what good would regret do? There was no changing the past.
Serena glanced over at Prince Nolan, who was still fighting Red Blood Hall, and, confirming he had the upper hand and was in no danger, asked the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley to check on Zed.
Her hands couldn’t be treated here, and even if they were set, they couldn’t be stabilized.
"You’re still thinking about him at a time like this?" The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was truly frustrated with her.
Was it really worth it for someone she barely knew?
"We’ve crossed paths, and he’s just a child." Serena glanced at Zed and saw his eyelashes twitching. Instantly, she was delighted: "Master, look—he’s about to wake up!"
If Zed didn’t wake up soon, he’d basically be a vegetable. To bring someone back from that state was, in itself, a small medical miracle.
For a doctor, witnessing a so-called ‘miracle’ was certainly something to be happy about.
Hearing this, Zed panicked—he squeezed his eyes shut, his heartbeat growing erratic.
The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was sharp; even without approaching, he noticed and sneered, “Ungrateful brat, but lucky to be alive.”
With that, he hoisted Zed up and tossed him toward Dorian Owen: “Take him back.”
Serena wasn’t stupid—she knew exactly what the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley was doing. Zed was awake, just pretending to be unconscious.
A true ungrateful little wolf.
When it came to Zed, Serena knew she had done all she could. She owed him nothing, even if Prince Nolan used Zed to locate the Demon Sect—she still owed Zed nothing.
There was no black or white in the struggle for power. If anyone was to blame, it was the Demon Sect Lord for overreaching and bringing disaster upon himself.
Serena sighed softly. “That’s all there is to it. He’s just my patient. Once we reach the Demon Sect, I’ll hand him over. That’s all a doctor is supposed to do.”
"You think too much. What do you mean, 'what a doctor is supposed to do'? Did he even pay you?" The Master of the Mystic Healer Valley wanted to knock some sense into Serena.
He just couldn’t understand why Serena felt such responsibility for her patients.
Whether the patient lived or died—what did it matter to them? They were just doctors. Even if they accidentally killed someone, so what? It was those people who came to them; what did it have to do with them?
"I’ll remember to ask the Demon Sect for payment when we get there."
As Serena and the Master of the Mystic Healer Valley spoke, Prince Nolan and the elder finished off the Red Blood Hall assassins. The leader wasn’t killed outright; instead, Prince Nolan severed his hand and foot tendons, stabbed him several times, and left him bleeding out.
Prince Nolan rarely resorted to such cruel methods, but this time, he was truly enraged.
The man writhed on the ground in agony. "Just kill me!"
Prince Nolan didn’t spare him a glance. He pulled out a clean handkerchief, wiped the blood off his sword, and, right in front of the man, ordered, "Spread my command—wipe out Red Blood Hall."
"Yes, sir." The shadow guard received the order and left.
"No..." the leader screamed in terror, but Prince Nolan ignored him completely.
Red Blood Hall wasn’t even worthy of his attention.