Serena Feng didn’t hear the voices of discussion outside. In fact, even if she had, she wouldn’t care—she’d travel exactly as she wished, never forcing herself to cater to others just because of a few words, especially when her patients were waiting for her.
The carriage stopped at the gates of the Capital Prefecture Court. Serena left the coachman outside, bringing only the Snow Wolf and the medicine chest inside with her.
Heavy guards stood watch outside the Capital Prefecture Court. When they saw Serena approach, their faces lit up with relief—only to freeze when they caught sight of the Snow Wolf behind her. One guard stopped in his tracks, bowing from a distance, “Miss Feng, this…”
Pointing at the Snow Wolf, the guard looked uneasy and carefully backed away, afraid to get close. The Snow Wolf snorted arrogantly, bared its teeth, and gave a fierce growl, scaring the man so badly he landed on his backside.
“Snow Wolf, behave. Don’t cause trouble.” Serena quickly turned and scolded the Snow Wolf. Chastised, the wolf instantly switched to a meek, hangdog expression, clutching the medicine chest and lowering its head as it stood behind Serena.
The man who’d fallen sat up in relief when he saw the Snow Wolf’s new attitude, awkwardly scrambling to his feet. Before Serena could say anything, he blurted out, “Please forgive me, Miss Feng. I didn’t know your wolf was trained. I was bitten by wolves as a child, so I get scared whenever I see one.”
Serena gave a short laugh and didn’t say more, letting him open the gate to let her in. The guard hesitated, as if wanting to say something, but thought of the people inside and held his tongue.
A doctor from the Young Family Pharmacies had come once and refused to return. Besides Miss Feng, there was probably no other doctor in the city willing to treat the epidemic.
“Please be careful, Miss Feng.”
Inside, the atmosphere was heavy. The air reeked of medicine and a metallic, foul stench. Serena wrinkled her nose, hurriedly put on her mask, and even fitted one over the Snow Wolf’s snout. The wolf squirmed uncomfortably, shaking its head, but didn’t dare pull the mask off.
The courtyard outside was deathly silent, not a soul in sight. After walking several dozen steps inward, Serena heard muffled, pained groans coming from inside the building.
Carrying the medicine chest, Serena entered to find the Capital Prefecture Court’s study packed with more than a dozen people. Their faces were flushed, cheeks mottled with blue-black spots—some as large as fingernails, others no bigger than ordinary moles, barely visible unless viewed up close.
These must be the milder cases. When they saw Serena come in, the constables hurriedly got up, their faces lighting up with hope. “It’s Miss Feng—Miss Feng is here!”
“Miss Feng is here! Miss Feng is here! Brothers, we’re saved!”
“Miss Feng, thank goodness you’ve come. Please, you have to save me—my wife just got pregnant, I’m about to be a father, I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…”
“Miss Feng, save me! My mother only has one son—if I die, what will she do?”
Normally these constables were imposing figures, but now they seemed like lost children. They hovered three steps away from Serena, wanting to come closer but afraid, terrified their illness might infect her.
“Everyone, quiet down.” Serena handed the medicine chest to the Snow Wolf and raised her hand for silence. “Since I’m here, I’ll do everything I can to cure you. Please trust me—and trust yourselves.”
“We trust you, Miss Feng! You have to save us—my son’s still waiting for me to bring him candied hawthorn!” At first these constables thought contracting an epidemic meant certain death, but Serena’s words gave them a sliver of hope.
Although outbreaks were rare in the Nine Provinces Realm, every time one struck, thousands or even tens of thousands died. For people like them—the first to fall ill—there was almost no chance of survival.
“I’ll do my best.” Serena was a doctor, not a miracle worker; she didn’t dare promise a one hundred percent cure. The constables didn’t notice—assuming Serena’s words were a guarantee she’d save them. Hope and light returned to their eyes, and Serena let it stand. What patients needed most at this moment was encouragement from their doctor.
“Take me to the most severe case.” Serena soothed the crowd but didn’t treat them right away.
“Huh? Miss Feng, you’re not treating us first?” People are selfish by nature—even if they knew someone inside was worse off, in the face of death, few would give up their own hope of survival.
Serena understood, so she explained, “You’re all suffering from the same illness. I need to pinpoint the cause and devise a solution, so I have to start with the worst case. Once I have a prescription, you’ll just need to follow it.”
With that, most of them seemed to understand, and though a few were still dissatisfied, no one voiced it.
Guided by the constables, Serena arrived at the woodshed and saw the patient in the worst condition.
"You?" The constable lying on the ground was the very one who’d knocked over the vase, leading her to discover Feng Jin’s whereabouts.
“Water… give me water.” The man lay on the ground, struggling to open his eyes. His outstretched hand was red and swollen, covered in black spots—the smallest as large as a fingernail, showing just how dire his condition was.
“Wait a moment.” When Serena came in, she’d noticed clean food and water left outside the door—probably brought by others for this man. But he was too ill to get up and fetch it himself.
Serena fed him a little water. Gradually, strength returned, and he managed to lift his head to look at her. In his lifeless eyes, a spark of hope flickered as he cried out in excitement, “Miss Feng—is it really you?”
Before Serena could answer, the man clung desperately to her sleeve, pleading, “Miss Feng, I don’t want to die. Please save me—save me!”
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.” He kept repeating the words. Serena didn’t respond or pull his hand away; she was busy examining him with her smart medical kit.
From her assessment, these people weren’t suffering from an epidemic, but from poisoning—though this toxin seemed contagious. The source, however, remained unknown.
Beep… beep. The smart medical kit chimed, signaling a diagnosis. Serena checked the results—just as she’d suspected, the man was poisoned.
"Unknown ancient corpse toxin. Further analysis required." The smart medical kit displayed its usual frustrating message—only half a diagnosis. The rest Serena would have to figure out herself.
“Useless thing.” Serena cursed at the smart medical kit. If it had feelings, it would surely cry—the problem wasn’t its system, but that Serena was deliberately asking for the impossible. It only recognized the most advanced toxin molecular structures; for this lost, ancient corpse poison, where was it supposed to find the data?
How could it diagnose what didn’t exist in its database?
Now that she knew it was poisoning, things weren’t as dire—poison was far less terrifying than an epidemic. Serena had enough time to figure out an antidote.
Serena had the Snow Wolf carry the man out of the woodshed and began treatment. Meanwhile, to keep the milder cases from worsening, she dissolved a detox pill left by the Valley Master into medicine for the others to drink.
The Valley Master’s medicine couldn’t cure this ancient corpse toxin, but it could suppress it for a while. As long as their symptoms didn’t worsen, Serena would have time to find a solution.
Once she’d stabilized the patients, Serena began analyzing the toxin, trying to break down the composition of this ancient corpse poison.
But to Serena’s surprise, as she searched for an antidote, the illness began quietly spreading—just like a plague—through the suburbs and outer city, where ordinary people lived…