Chapter 07: The Top Prodigy

Gu Huaizhi’s face was a sickly pale, his aura was extremely terrifying, not at all like an ordinary farmer’s son. That noble air that emanated from his bones was more like a scion of a prestigious family.

He no longer looked at Su Wan, stood up smoothly, and went back into the house.

Su Wan looked at Gu Huaizhi’s back, with a slim and tall figure, a clear and refined spirit, and a sharp presence throughout his body.

In her past and present lives, this man was the most outstanding she had ever seen.

His features were exquisitely handsome, his brows and eyes were flawless.

He could be considered a beauty of the era.

She couldn’t help but sigh, if she wasn’t afraid of breaking character, she would have wanted to pluck this thorny high-mountain flower.

Su Wan looked around Gu family’s house, three connected mud-brick houses, the main room only had a square table, four long benches, in the corner were two bamboo chairs and two low stools, a few woven baskets stacked together, only a bamboo basket and farm tools, no other furniture.

Back in her own room, this was the best room in the Gu family, the window faced the sun, the small room was very clean and bright.

A wooden bed, a wooden chest under the window, and no other furniture, very simple.

Gu family’s ancestors in Xinghua Village were landlords, extremely wealthy at one time. Until Gu Huaizhi’s grandfather’s generation, the grandfather was single-mindedly focused on studying, but unfortunately lacked luck and a bit of talent, only passing the imperial examination as a shengyuan (a lower-level scholar). The family business was also not well-managed, and the family began to decline.

When the family business was passed down to Gu Huaizhi’s father, it was completely ruined, and they couldn’t even keep the old house, moving to live in these dilapidated houses.

Father Gu relied on hunting to make a living and to support Gu Huaizhi’s studies. Their life was relatively comfortable.

When Gu Huaizhi was eleven years old, his father went hunting in the mountains and never returned. Gu’s pregnant mother went with Gu Huaizhi to search and found a piece of his father’s bloodstained clothes and one shoe. They concluded that he was eaten by a wild animal, leaving no remains.

Due to the Gu family’s former status as landlords, they were ostracized by the villagers. Especially with Mother Gu raising three children alone and Gu Huaizhi being sickly, they faced bullying.

The once capable and kind-hearted Mother Gu was forced to become a notorious woman in the surrounding areas.

“Cough cough…cough…cough cough…”

Gu Huaizhi’s heart-wrenching cough echoed through the walls, and reaching Su Wan’s ears.

Su Wan did appreciate talent to some extent. Gu Huaizhi was exceptionally talented and outstanding.

At the age of ten, he had already passed the county-level imperial examination as the top scholar, earning him the title of the top child prodigy.

It is unfortunate that Father Gu passed away, and the reason for his serious illness is unknown. Since then, his health has been poor. When he participated in the county-level imperial examination, the environment was too harsh, and he fell unconscious after just two days. Mother Gu was so frightened that she no longer allowed him to take the imperial examination.

The top priority is to cure Gu Huaizhi, and then earn enough money.

Su Wan rubbed her chin, wondering if she should return to her old profession.

It was still early, so Su Wan went up the mountain carrying a bamboo basket.

Xinghua Village is nestled among mountains and rivers, with a beautiful natural environment. The villagers work the land for a living, occasionally go up the mountain to collect wild herbs or go down the river to catch fish, and use the money to supplement their household expenses.

In her previous life, Su Wan often went up the mountain to collect herbs, having rich experience in the wilderness. She was pleasantly surprised to find many wild herbs in the mountain, and she collected some and put them in the bamboo basket, planning to use the opportunity to diagnose Gu Huaizhi and then decoct the medicine for him to take.

She also collected a few Lingzhi mushrooms from a dead tree, and counted them – this tree actually had eight or nine Lingzhi mushrooms, and the others had all been picked, leaving only these three that had not yet grown fully.

Su Wan happily put them in the bamboo basket.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she saw a cluster of Chicken-of-the-Woods mushrooms growing on a slope!

Delicious Chicken-of-the-Woods mushrooms!!

Su Wan licked her lips in excitement, then eagerly picked all of them into the bamboo basket.

However, she suddenly felt something was wrong as she stared at her hand reaching for the mushrooms, her heart pounding in her chest.