The Dawn of the New World

With Jin Wang in the lead they returned to the infirmary post-haste and unsurprisingly found Ma Jiang scuttling about the patients in a haze. They landed on the other side of the street and made their way over.

Ma Jiang's hair was in a mess and it looked like she hadn't slept in days. Her eyes were puffy and red making it seem like she had been crying until just a few moments ago. But her temperament was still the same as before.

She was standing next to an elderly woman gently applying a green paste on her swollen arm.

"Please bear with it for just a little more. As soon as the medicine starts to take effect I can start applying the supporting magic. Your wrist is broken from three different places so it will take a little bit longer, I'm sorry."

The elderly woman on the other hand seemed to be much calmer than Ma Jiang as she smiled and patted her on the head.

"You are a good girl. Do you have a husband yet? Because if not my great-nephew will be turning ten soon. You can have him! He's a very good boy who listens to his mother well, he will surely make a great husband."

"T-That...I don't...I can't-"

*Cough*

Seeing her struggling to answer Jin Wang and Princess Ceni both stepped in simultaneously. Princess Ceni slowly pulled her away while Jin Wang diverted her attention.

"Hoho, grandma you should be laying down, what are you doing up? Here, please rest right here."

"I'M NOT YOUR GRANDMA, GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"

*SLAP*

"Ahahaha, grandma you are so funny. I'll be back for you later!"

With a red handprint on his face Jin Wang brought them to the side even as Ma Jiang struggled.

"No, I still have work to do, STOP! What are you doing?!" she screamed garnering a great amount of attention to herself followed by many concerned looks.

Princess Ceni laughed and waved her hand, "I'm sorry, my sister is a little confused right now, please, don't worry."

Her eyes flashed red for a moment and everyone turned away instantly.

When she turned around Jin Wang gave her a disapproving look but she shrugged innocently, "What?"

"Don't use your hypnosis so nonchalantly. There is a fine line between use and abuse."

"I was only doing it to help us, why are you so upset about it?" she questioned with a deepening frown but Jin Wang shifted his attention towards Ma Jiang who was still trying to break free.

"Stop, let me go! Who are you people?!"

Princess Ceni came closer to inspect her but was shoved away forcing Jin Wang to take action.

Same as before he placed his left hand over her forehead covering her eyes.

"Shhhh, everything is okay, you're safe. Listen to my voice, everything is fine."

Only then did she calm down.

Princess Ceni's brow furrowed with concern, "Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, she will be fine in no time. The effects don't seem to be long-lasting for her since she can already move and go about her daily life. She's just a little confused, nothing a little calming spell won't fix."

He reached into his shirt and brought out a small pebble before uttering the spell in its direction.

When he was finished the pebble jerked back and forth before breaking open to reveal a small firefly.

It landed on the back of his right hand which he brought up to Ma Jiang's face and started snapping his fingers. With each snap the firefly released bursts of luminescent light that entered her body making her more and more relaxed until she stopped moving altogether.

He loosened his grip and with one last snap she was woken up just as the firefly turned into ash having used up all of its vital energy.

Ma Jiang opened her eyes which were a lot clearer than before and looked at the people in front of her.

"Mister....unnie..."

"Unnie? Did it not work?" Jin Wang was about to reach out again when an extreme wave of pain ran throughout his body making him jump.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! Why did you do that?!" he looked at Princess Ceni's hand in shock which was pinching a piece of his shirt and some skin in between her fingers with an outraged expression.

She had pinched him hard enough to rip off a piece of the skin.

"I should be asking YOU that! Why was it that to wake me up you had to say all those terrible things but for her you just gently snapped your fingers a few times?!"

'BECAUSE SHE ISN'T A LUNATIC LIKE YOU' was what he thought inwardly but chose not to vocalize his thoughts.

"It was the only option. You are much stronger than her so this wouldn't have worked on you!"

*Thud*