Bad Omen and the Wanted Order for Mr. Jingyang

Inhale... exhale.

Serena Feng kept telling herself: right now, she was Feng Jin's doctor, not his sister. She had to act like a professional—do everything possible to save Feng Jin, not panic and add to the chaos.

Hoo... Serena let out a heavy breath, then took out all the emergency lights, flooding the room with brightness as if it were daytime.

Serena stripped off her filthy outer clothes, leaving only her undergarments. She undressed Feng Jin as well, performed basic first aid to stabilize his heart meridians, hurriedly disinfected her hands, changed into clean clothes, and began emergency treatment...

Earlier, Feng Jin still had a faint heartbeat, but now it had stopped. Serena had no choice but to use electric shocks on him.

Once, then again...

Watching Feng Jin's tiny body convulse over and over, Serena's heart ached.

If only she'd protected him better, Feng Jin wouldn't have suffered so much. If Zane came back and found out something happened to Feng Jin under her care, who knows how devastated he would be.

Jason Lan, just you wait. If I don't get revenge for this, I'm not Serena Feng.

......

After Jason Lan finished his talk with Linden Ling, he was about to head back, but before he could get on his ox-cart, his men brought news: Clara Phoenixfield had run off with Feng Jin, attracted the authorities, and the coffin shop had been raided.

Jason Lan was always cautious. The moment he heard, he knew things were serious. He handed the ox-cart to his subordinates and told them to drive it back, then turned and headed for Linden's residence.

The most dangerous place is often the safest. Linden Ling was currently living in Serena Feng's side courtyard, and no matter how hard the authorities searched, they wouldn't think to look in Serena's separate compound.

"Why are you back again?" Linden was shocked to see Jason Lan return.

"My base was raided. I'm staying here for now." Jason Lan didn't bother with courtesy, heading straight into the inner courtyard. Linden nearly panicked, quickly stepping forward to block his way: "Are you insane? If you stay here, do you even know whose place this is?"

Jason Lan stopped and looked at Linden, perfectly calm. "Of course I know. That's exactly why I'm staying—it's the safest spot."

Linden was speechless... it really was safe, but still...

"Enough, we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope now, so stop acting like this. I won't hurt you." To reassure Linden, Jason Lan promised him a whole list of benefits.

Linden knew he had no choice. If Jason really went out and got caught by Serena Feng and Ninth Royal Uncle, and dragged him down too, the consequences would be even worse. But if he could get more benefits out of it, Linden wasn't about to refuse.

"Ruby Redsleeve, take Mr. Jingyang downstairs to rest." Linden called for his personal maid, both to wait on Jason and to keep an eye on him. Jason understood and accepted with a smile.

It was the middle of the night, and with the Capital Prefecture Court acting so high-profile, there was no way Ninth Royal Uncle didn't know. He arrived half an hour later than Serena Feng, and when he got there, Serena was already inside, trying to save Feng Jin.

After a quick briefing, Ninth Royal Uncle took over the follow-up. He had the entire coffin shop raided, brought everyone back, questioned them one by one, determined to uncover the network behind the shop.

They spent most of the night at it. Before dawn, the officers had stripped the shop bare, seized plenty of things, and gotten a lot of useful information from the people there—but they still didn’t catch Jason Lan, leaving the case frustratingly incomplete.

Without hesitation, Ninth Royal Uncle ordered a nationwide warrant for Mr. Jingyang.

"You can't do that." As the documents were about to be signed, William Wang Jinling intervened, personally bringing the papers to Ninth Royal Uncle. "If you do this, what happens to Jixia Academy's reputation?"

"Jixia Academy failed to judge people properly. Why should I care about their reputation?" Ninth Royal Uncle was firm, his gaze drifting toward the room now and then.

Serena Feng had been inside for two hours and still hadn’t come out. No one knew how Feng Jin was doing.

If anything happened to Feng Jin, never mind Zuo An—even Serena herself couldn’t accept it. She and Feng Jin had already grown close.

"This has nothing to do with Jixia Academy. You know all about Jason Jingyang's background." William Wang Jinling argued forcefully. From his position, he would never allow Ninth Royal Uncle to tarnish Jixia Academy's name.

Hmph... Ninth Royal Uncle snorted coldly. "I don't care about any of that. All I know is Mr. Jingyang robbed tombs, trafficked old coffins, desecrated the dead, and kidnapped nobles' children in Eastlyn."

Ninth Royal Uncle didn't raise his voice, but every word hit hard. Any one of those charges could ruin Jason Lan's reputation and get him killed.

"No matter what, this can't be made public. Offending Jixia Academy does you no good." William Wang Jinling frowned slightly.

"Not offending Jixia Academy doesn't benefit me either. William, look inside... Serena's brother is hovering between life and death, and you're still trying to shield the culprit." Ninth Royal Uncle threw a heavy accusation, and William's face changed instantly. Without thinking, he retorted, "I'm not."

"If you're not, why did you stop me from giving the order?" Ninth Royal Uncle pressed. William realized he'd been backed into a corner and shot him a cold glare.

"Don't play games with me. Slow down on this—no matter what, we have to give Jixia Academy some face. Let me contact them first, and let them deal with Jason Jingyang before anyone else. Bottom line, we can't ruin Jixia's century-old reputation for one Jason Jingyang."

"Then go tell Serena Feng yourself." Ninth Royal Uncle replied bluntly, acting shameless. William was so angry he nearly stormed off, but remembering Serena was inside fighting for Feng Jin's life, he forced himself to stay.

The two of them stood outside the room, each taking a corner, ignoring each other. The tension was thick; neither minded, but their attendants were suffering, feeling awkward just standing there.

Everyone silently prayed for Serena Feng to come out soon. If they kept standing here, even if their bodies didn't give out, their nerves would.

Unfortunately, Serena Feng didn't hear their prayers. One hour passed, then two; from sunrise to noon, she still hadn't come out. Now even the guards, Ninth Royal Uncle, and William Wang Jinling were getting worried.

The two men glanced at each other, silently asking: Could something have happened to Feng Jin?

The thought made both men shiver. Compared to issuing a warrant for Jason Jingyang, Feng Jin's life was far more important. If anything happened to the child, neither dared trouble Serena Feng about Jason Lan.

The longer they waited, the more anxious and uneasy they became. By sunset, Ninth Royal Uncle and William Wang Jinling couldn't stand still anymore—they paced back and forth, eyes glued to the door, afraid they'd miss Serena Feng if she came out.

Their tension spread to the guards behind them, who'd gone hungry all day but didn't dare show any fatigue. Each one forced himself ramrod straight, afraid of jinxing the outcome...