Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 130: Saving Marcus (Part-1)

Tiffany’s knees buckled, and she broke down completely, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Is there truly no other way?" Alaric Von Seraph asked, his voice hoarse.

Gerrad hesitated, then spoke again. "Unless you can find a fifth-grade alchemist... or a physician who has mastered the lost art of needle purification."

Those words crushed the last trace of hope.

A fifth-grade alchemist was practically a legend. As for a physician capable of such needle techniques, even ordinary acupuncture practitioners were becoming rare, let alone someone who could perform that level of medical art.

Neither option was realistic.

In other words, there was no solution.

"What... what should we do..." Tiffany’s voice broke completely as she collapsed into despair.

Reesa glanced at him, then whispered in confusion, "Does Tiffany... like Marcus or something?"

Raphael nodded faintly, his eyes filled with pity. "She loved him for a long time. She just never showed it, but it was obvious for others. If Marcus doesn’t survive... she won’t even get the chance to say it."

Reesa sucked in a breath. "That’s too cruel..."

Just as the atmosphere sank into utter hopelessness, Zora stepped forward.

She stopped beside Marcus’s bed, her gaze steady and calm.

Gerrad looked at her in surprise, clearly puzzled by her sudden movement.

Before anyone could react, her clear voice broke the silence.

"I’ll try."

The room froze.

Her delicate, striking face carried neither hesitation nor bravado, only calm certainty. Though her cultivation strength was nothing worth boasting about, when it came to medical skill, Zora possessed an unwavering confidence that came from the marrow of her bones.

She was not particularly close to Marcus. In truth, he had even shown a trace of arrogance toward her in the past.

But it had never been malicious.

They were classmates, comrades who had faced life and death together in the White Mountains, and more importantly, he was a friend of Dongfang and the others. Under such circumstances, she could not simply stand by and watch him die.

As her words fell, every gaze in the room converged upon her.

The silence was so profound that even the sound of breathing seemed intrusive.

If the vice-principal had not been standing right there, many would have already spoken out, demanding to know whether Zora had lost her mind. Detoxifying a green-scaled python’s poison was no trivial matter. Even Gerrad himself had admitted that he was nearly powerless.

Alaric Von Seraph, Sylvandria, Raphael, and Reesa all stared at Zora in disbelief. Based on what they knew of her, she was not someone who spoke carelessly. Yet the claim she had just made was so astonishing that reason struggled to keep up.

Gerrad studied the young woman before him with keen interest. She stood quietly, neither arguing nor defending herself, yet there was a light around her that refused to be ignored.

The confidence in her eyes was not reckless enthusiasm, but a steady, grounded resolve that came from certainty rather than hope.

"Do you truly have a way to detoxify Marcus?" Gerrad asked gently, his eyes sharp with curiosity and wisdom.

A ripple stirred through the crowd. To earn such direct attention from the vice-principal was no small thing. Within the academy, his recognition alone was enough to elevate someone beyond measure.

Whispers immediately followed.

"So bold... to catch the vice-principal’s eye like this."

"Bold, or foolish? If she fails, this will be an unforgivable farce."

Tiffany could no longer contain herself. Her eyes burned with anger and grief as he stepped forward. "Zora, this is not the time for you to show off! Marcus’s life is hanging by a thread. Are you using this moment to play the hero?"

In her heart, there was no doubt at all. How could someone so young possess the means to resolve such a deadly poison? A fifth-grade alchemist? Impossible. A physician who had mastered the lost art of needle purification? Even more absurd.

If neither existed, then what right did Zora have to speak now?

Zora glanced at him calmly, her eyes clear and detached, offering neither anger nor defense. She simply turned back to Gerrad and repeated, evenly and firmly, "I have a way."

Gerrad’s eyes brightened. After a brief pause, he nodded slowly. "Then try."

The words landed like a thunderclap.

"Vice-principal!" Tiffany cried out instinctively, unable to comprehend the decision.

Gerrad lifted his hand, silencing him with a single motion. His expression remained composed, yet his gaze was fixed on Zora with unmistakable interest.

Sylvandria’s eyes widened slightly. She knew her master well. For him to allow this meant that he saw something extraordinary.

Zora stepped forward without hesitation and stood beside Marcus. The moment she focused on him, all distractions vanished. Her expression turned solemn, every trace of lightheartedness stripped away.

Marcus’s condition was dire. The poison had lingered too long, suppressed only by medicine, and now it had already spread across more than half his body. If detoxification did not begin immediately, death was inevitable. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She gently placed her hand over his, closed her eyes, and began to sense the state of his body.

Only by fully understanding the extent and nature of the damage could she begin to save him.

Clarissa’s lips curled into a mocking smile, her eyes brimming with thinly hidden malice. "So this is Zora? She does look decent. I’d really like to see how she plans to put on a show today."

No one answered her. The room remained deathly quiet.

Marcus lay on the bed with poison spreading through his body, his condition so severe that even a four-grade alchemist could only attempt damage control.

Against such a backdrop, Zora stepping forward felt almost surreal. To most of the onlookers, the gap between her and a true master was too wide to bridge, no matter how calm or confident she appeared.

After a brief moment, Zora withdrew her fingers from Marcus’s pulse. Her movements were unhurried, composed. From her storage pouch, she took out a neatly rolled needle bag and spread it open beside the bed.

Silver needles of varying lengths and thicknesses gleamed softly under the light, drawing a collective intake of breath.

No one had expected this. A needle bag? On her person? Even those who had remained neutral could not help the flicker of surprise in their eyes. The lost art of the Eastern Continent, Acupuncture, was already rare, and carrying such a complete set of needles was even rarer.

Clarissa, who had been sneering moments earlier, suddenly stiffened.

She had never met Zora before today, yet from the moment this woman entered the room, Clarissa had felt an inexplicable irritation. First, it was Zora’s beauty and then her confidence. Worse still, when Zora’s gaze swept over her just now, it felt sharp and penetrating, as if it could peel away her thoughts layer by layer.

For a split second, Clarissa’s heart skipped.

Then shame turned into anger.

Her eyes darkened once more with hostility. She had heard everything Silvan had said. This woman had dared to kill her brother’s girl. Just that alone was enough reason for hatred to take root.

Gerrad narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression thoughtful rather than dismissive. "Little girl, do you know acupuncture?" he asked slowly, his voice carrying a trace of concern.