Serena Feng's body was always frail, but she usually put on a strong front. Coupled with her own impressive medical skills, no one ever suspected that her health might be poor.
But this time, her illness showed everyone what it meant for a healer to be unable to heal herself. It was just a fever, yet it nearly cost Serena her life.
Three days and nights of unbroken high fever. The doctors said if it didn't break soon, even if she survived, her brain would be damaged and she'd be left dull and slow forever.
Dull and slow—how could anyone accept a Serena Feng like that?
Evan Zhou, Vincent Su, and Caleb Wang were all frantic. Vincent even brought all his maids from Su Manor to nurse her, but despite everything, Serena still showed no sign of waking.
In rare moments of lucidity, she only muttered things they couldn't understand: things like "guarantee to complete the mission," "will not fail the commander's expectations," "thank you for the commander's concern."
"Sir, sir, something's wrong—Miss Feng threw up the medicine again!" Vincent's head maid had sunken eyes and unsteady steps, showing just how exhausted she'd become over the past few days.
"She threw it up again? Brew another batch, and force her to drink it. No matter what, we have to get Miss Feng to take her medicine." Vincent was so anxious that blisters had formed at the corners of his mouth.
It wasn't the doctors' fault—their skills were fine. The real problem was Serena herself; no matter which doctor prescribed the medicine, she'd vomit it up as soon as she drank it.
Every day, they prepared ten doses of medicine for her, and if she managed to keep even one down, that was considered a success.
Patients like this are a real headache for any doctor.
"Yes, sir." The maid nodded quickly, turned to hurry off toward the kitchen. In her rush, she stepped on her skirt and nearly fell forward.
"Careful." Caleb Wang happened to be passing by, carrying a box, and caught her just in time.
"Thank you, Young Master Wang." The maid, still shaken, looked up at the elegant and gentle Caleb, her cheeks flushing as she thanked him shyly.
But Caleb didn't even glance at her, just walked on with the box.
Thud—
Caleb set the box on the table. "I found Serena Feng's medicine box. Let's see if there's anything in here that might help her."
"Serena Feng's medicine box?" Vincent Su hurried over, staring at the small jewelry case on the table.
Is Serena Feng poor or just lazy, using a jewelry box as a medicine box? She really does take shortcuts.
"That's right. The day everything went crazy in Maple Grove, we forgot to look for it. Since Serena can't take the medicine, I thought maybe her box has something she mixed herself, so I sent people to search. Finally, we found it today."
Before Serena disappeared, Caleb had already told Vincent and Evan everything he knew about what happened.
But Vincent knew even more than the other two. He understood that part of Serena's current misery was thanks to Lance Quinn.
That’s why Vincent was more devoted to caring for Serena than anyone else. He didn’t even blink before pulling out a century-old ginseng root, slicing it up for her to suck on just to keep her alive.
Without the ginseng’s restorative power, given Serena’s state—unable to eat or drink—she’d have died long ago.
"Let me see." Vincent opened the box and discovered a hidden world inside.
A tiny jewelry case, yet inside Serena had divided it into upper and lower layers, each split into countless compartments of varying sizes.
"A multi-treasure grid layout?" Vincent's eyes lit up as he realized the compartments could be adjusted to fit whatever was placed inside.
This design ensured everything inside stayed snug and secure, so nothing broke during travel.
The blades, tweezers, bandages, pills, and liquids Serena stored inside were all perfectly intact.
"So she really does have a meticulous side," Vincent silently praised.
Admiration was one thing, but there was work to do. Vincent pointed at the medicine box and asked Caleb, "Do you know how to use any of this?"
Caleb quickly shook his head. He'd already looked inside on the way over, but those blades and other tools were one thing—the pills only had squiggly lines on them. He couldn't make sense of any of it.
Turns out Serena, to prevent anyone from recognizing her pills, had covered up all the Chinese labels and left only the English markings.
That way, Serena could identify them, but no one else could.
"So what now? Let's have the doctor take a look." Vincent suggested, seeking Caleb's opinion.
"Or maybe we should call Evan Zhou too. He's supposed to be Serena's cousin—maybe he knows something." Caleb figured even the doctor might not know.
As for Evan's background?
Vincent and Caleb had sent people to investigate the very next day, but found nothing. Evan's first appearance in the capital had been with Serena.
Evan wasn't really Serena's distant cousin at all. He was probably a drifter, though judging by his bearing, he must've come from a decent background. Whether picking up someone like him was good or bad for Serena, no one could say.
But Vincent and Caleb kept that to themselves. They quietly notified the Shuntian Prefecture: if Serena ever went to register Evan's household status, officials were to make things easy and help him get proper papers.
Evan and the doctor arrived quickly. Seeing the medicine box, Evan shook his head, looking frustrated: "Sis never lets anyone touch her medicine box. I don't understand any of this stuff either."
"Remarkable! This is purified mafeisan—just a single drop matches the potency of a whole bowl. And these pills, the fragrance is incredible. Sadly, after fifty years as a physician, I can't even guess what herbs they're made from, or how they're refined so pure and white. Young Master Su, could you spare one pill for me to crush and test its properties?"
The old doctor’s eyes shone as he handled each medicine in Serena’s box, skipping over the instruments. At last, he picked up a packet of white pills and refused to let go, pleading pitifully with Vincent.
"If I let you crush it, can you guarantee you'll figure out its properties?"
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"Well, I can't promise that," the old doctor admitted, looking embarrassed.
Wuwu... His medical skills were being doubted, but he couldn't prove himself.
"If you can't guarantee it, then there's no point. Every pill here is worth its weight in gold." Vincent ignored the doctor's wishes and snatched the pills back.
These pills of Serena's were so unusual that, even though Vincent wasn't a doctor, he could tell from the old man's eyes how tempting they were to a physician.
If something like this got out, Serena would be in danger.
Vincent's expression darkened, and Caleb immediately understood, nodding firmly at Vincent: "No one knows except me."
Vincent nodded, turning calmly to Dr. Sun: "Dr. Sun, you've served Su Manor for years. I trust you know what to say and what not to say."
With a sharp snap, Vincent closed Serena's medicine box and fixed Dr. Sun with a stern look.
It was like a bucket of ice water poured over him—Dr. Sun's enthusiasm vanished. He quickly tore his gaze from the box, looking flustered.
"Don't worry, sir, I understand. I'm old now and travel is difficult. Please, for the sake of my years of service, allow me to stay at Su Manor."
Dr. Sun was quite a character. Vincent nodded in satisfaction and promised, "Don't worry, Dr. Sun. I'm someone who values loyalty. I'll arrange for your grandson to attend private school, and I'll put in a word for your son to join the Ministry of Revenue. Just stay here at Su Manor and serve us well."
"Thank you, sir, thank you!" Dr. Sun bowed, his eyes shining even brighter than before.
A person lives for their children's future. With Su Manor's backing, the Sun family would prosper, and Dr. Sun could devote himself to medicine...
"You may go." Both sides got what they wanted; Vincent waved him off and ignored him.
After he left, Vincent, Caleb, and Evan were left looking miserable again.
What now?
Were they really going to just watch Serena Feng turn into an idiot?