Chapter 14 · The Court Doctor's Miracle

"Stop touching him."

Su Liyue's voice cut through the room like silk over a blade. I didn't look up. My hands were locked over Jingchuan's sternum, counting compressions.

"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty—" I tilted his head back, checked his airway, breathed into his mouth. His chest rose. Fell. No response.

"I said stop." Heels clicked closer. "You're killing him."

"He's already dead," I snapped, starting compressions again. "I'm trying to unkill him."

Someone grabbed my shoulder. I shrugged them off without breaking rhythm. Jingchuan's lips were turning blue. The black blood he'd coughed up was still pooled on the sheets, stinking like rotten meat.

"Commander." Su's voice turned honey-sweet. "Surely you see what she's doing. Beating his chest like a common brawler. This is desecration, not healing."

Huo Yanzhan said nothing. I could feel him standing behind me, a wall of silent judgment.

"Fifteen, sixteen—" My arms were burning. "Someone get me that bag. The leather one. Now."

Footsteps scattered. I kept going. Twenty-three, twenty-four. Jingchuan's sternum flexed under my palms. If I broke a rib, so be it. Broken ribs heal. Dead doesn't.

"Here." One of Huo's men dropped my kit beside me.