Gu Qingyan was momentarily unsure. After all, his medical skills had only just reached an intermediate level, not much better than the town’s doctor.

Seeing him frowning silently, Mother Liu teased, “What’s wrong? Could it be your mother here is so gravely ill that you don’t even dare to say a word?”

“Mother, don’t say such unlucky things,” Gu Qingyan said sternly.

Gu Wangqing quickly added, “Godmother, you can’t say that kind of thing! Bad things won’t happen if we don’t say them—spit, spit, spit!”

Mother Liu was helpless but copied them, spitting and saying, “Since leaving Qingzhou Prefecture with my son Qingyan, I’ve been eating well and feeling very healthy. Life has hope now; my health is great.”

Gu Qingyan withdrew his finger. “Mother, you also need to supplement your nutrition. We have plenty of medicinal herbs at home; just keep taking them.”

Hearing this, Mother Liu laughed. “Good thing you really learned something, just so you can make us eat more.”

Obviously, she misunderstood and thought Gu Qingyan was just putting on a show, but actually, he just wanted them to eat more.

“Qingqing, Yanyan, your brother cares about you. From now on, eat and drink what you should and don’t skimp. If we hold back on food, he’ll only find new ways to coax us to eat more.”

The two girls exchanged glances and laughed nonstop.

Gu Qingyan just smiled but didn’t say more.

Once he was alone, he furrowed his brows and placed his hand on his own pulse.

Something was wrong.

He was a young man; Mother Liu was a middle-aged woman—how could their pulses be so similar?

And it wasn’t the common weak pulse from qi and blood deficiency, or sunken or slow pulses, but a strange, irregular beat.

Gu Qingyan immediately immersed himself in his system’s lessons, going over all the pulse patterns he had studied repeatedly, yet still found no match.

Suddenly, he reached out and grasped the Chi Hu seal.

“Mother.”

Mother Liu was downstairs sewing, planning to make another set of clothes for Gu Qingyan. After all, now that he was going to the county school, he needed to dress decently.

The two sisters were playing in the yard. They had originally wanted to follow along with the lessons, but Mother Liu felt little girls shouldn’t be working all the time, so she let them rest a while before learning.

Hearing his voice, the woman looked up slightly, a kind smile on her face. “What is it?”

“Look what this is.”

Gu Qingyan placed the Chi Hu seal in her palm.

Mother Liu squinted at it for a moment, then smiled. “This is white jade, isn’t it? The quality looks really good, must be worth quite a bit. Brother Qingyan, keep it safe; it’ll definitely come in handy someday.”

She thought it was a gift from someone else.

Gu Qingyan took it back. “When you held the jade seal, did you feel anything special?”

“Something special?”

Mother Liu laughed and poked his forehead. “Especially heavy, right? Go inside and study, don’t block my light.”

Gu Qingyan smiled awkwardly and left.

Back in his room, he let out a slight breath.

He must have been overthinking—it couldn’t be poisoning. If it were poison, what kind of toxin could appear in both his and Mother Liu’s bodies simultaneously?

When Mother Liu was with the Li family, she was just a wet nurse—who would poison a wet nurse?

After leaving the Li family, it was even less likely.

It must be that he was infected by cultists in the mountains, causing his paranoia.

Gu Qingyan quickly opened his books and began studying, preparing to register at the county school the next day, ready for Confucius to drive away ghosts and spirits.

Early the next morning, Gu Qingyan set off to study.

When he arrived at the county school gate, he thought he might need to explain a few things. But the gatekeeper immediately recognized him.

“You must be Young Master Gu. The recent elimination of the white bandits was all thanks to you…”

The gatekeeper bowed deeply. “My brother-in-law disappeared a year ago, and everyone thought he was dead. Who would have known he was sold? Thank you, Young Master, for saving him.”

Gu Qingyan hurriedly said, “No need for thanks; it was all Magistrate Hong’s doing.”

“Magistrate Hong is indeed a righteous official of Lingchuan County,” the gatekeeper praised while courteously inviting him in, “Young Master, you’re here to enroll, right? Please come in.”

Clearly, Magistrate Hong had already notified them.

[You have successfully signed in at Lingchuan County School and received county school course instruction.]

Signing in consumed 5 points; the teaching quality should be better than that of private academies.

Before coming, Gu Qingyan had already inquired: Lingchuan County was a poor educational area. Those who passed the provincial exam were rare; there were no successful candidates for the imperial exam—truly a county where passing the civil service exam was extremely difficult.

However, the county school had two teachers, both provincial exam graduates: Instructor Ma and Supervisor Sun. They were appointed by the imperial court.

The county school only had 20 official student slots. These were formal stipend students receiving monthly grain from the court.

Others like Gu Qingyan were “connected students,” who neither received grain nor subsidies and had to pay silver monthly, just to attend lessons taught by the court-appointed provincial graduates.

Because the teaching level of county schools was usually far better than private academies.

But Lingchuan County School hadn’t produced a provincial graduate in years, showing the quality was still worrying.

Escorted by the gatekeeper, Gu Qingyan soon met the two instructors.

Instructor Ma had a long horse-like face and a goatee. Upon seeing Gu Qingyan, he only nodded slightly.

After a brief lecture, he said, “I heard you didn’t formally study before. Now that you’ve entered the county school, consider yourself lucky. Cherish this opportunity. Don’t slack off or cheat here. Otherwise, even if it means offending Magistrate Hong, I will expel you.”

These words made Gu Qingyan frown slightly.

Master Ma’s attitude was not exactly friendly toward him.

Instructor Sun, who looked older and was a bit short and stout, said, “You must be Gu Qingyan. Truly a promising young man. Come, sit down and tell me about how you killed the mountain bandits.”

He actually held him there talking for quite a while.

Gu Qingyan recounted the story in a dry manner, but Sun didn’t mind and smiled, saying, “It’s good for young people to be full of vigor. Study well from now on. When you enter officialdom, you’ll be able to achieve great things.”

He then asked, “Did Master Ma say which class you should join?”

Gu Qingyan shook his head.

Sun explained, “The county school has three classes: Jia, Yi, and Bing. Beginners all study in the Bing class. Once you finish the basics and want to continue studying, you move to Yi class. When you’re ready to take exams, you enter Jia class.”

Since Gu Qingyan was sent by Magistrate Hong, Sun wasn’t sure of his level.

“How about I give you a test? You can answer on the spot so we can see your level and assign you to the right class.”

This was originally Master Ma’s job, but since Ma hadn’t done it, Sun took it upon himself.

Gu Qingyan naturally had no objection: “Please, sir, give the questions.”

Sun laughed heartily, stood up, pondered for a moment, and then began writing the test on the spot.

He had the appearance of a jovial Buddha but wrote with a free and flowing style full of flair.

“Take your time answering, no rush,” Sun said after finishing the test. Then he stepped aside and went to drink tea.

Gu Qingyan looked at the paper and grinned.

In such a short time, Sun had produced a densely packed, comprehensive test.

He scanned it from top to bottom, recognizing them all as basic questions.

He had already learned and memorized these thoroughly in Gu Tongsheng’s class.

Sun was originally sipping tea, but seeing Gu Qingyan write without even looking up sparked his curiosity, so he came over to watch.

He couldn’t help but smile.

Gu Qingyan’s handwriting was also fluid and vigorous, seemingly from the same lineage as his own.

Sun already had a very good impression of Gu Qingyan because of the rumors outside, and seeing his handwriting only made him like him more.

“Well done. Your basics are very solid. It looks like you studied hard. You can go straight to the Jia class.”

Gu Qingyan felt happy inside: “Thank you, Instructor Sun.”

Going straight to the Jia class meant he could take the exams next year.

“Having another outstanding student at the county school is something to be glad about,” Sun said with a smile.

In high spirits, he personally took him to the Jia class and introduced him to the students there.

There were only eleven students currently in Jia class, making Gu Qingyan the twelfth.

When the students saw Sun leading Gu Qingyan in, they all looked up with curiosity.

“I’m Zhang Cheng. Brother Gu, didn’t expect you to be so slim and small but so brave to venture alone into a bandit den,” Zhang said as soon as Sun left.

Gu Qingyan raised his hand in greeting: “Brother Zhang, you flatter me. It was all thanks to Magistrate Hong.”

“Magistrate Hong deserves credit, but Brother Gu, you’re no slouch either. Not everyone dares to enter a tiger’s den,” Zhang loudly praised.

He added, “Those who used to swagger in the county school are all now in prison. It’s truly satisfying.”

Young people admired heroes, and Gu Qingyan’s legendary story of single-handedly raiding bandits and rescuing innocent villagers immediately made him popular among classmates.

A group gathered to talk with admiration shining in their eyes.

Gu Qingyan asked a few questions and learned that originally there were more students, but many were implicated in the Bai Yu case. Whole families were imprisoned, which explained why there were so few left.

Indeed, Bai Yu had been in Lingchuan County for many years, and his family’s children definitely studied here.

A thought flashed in Gu Qingyan’s mind—was Master Ma’s indifferent attitude because of this matter?

It shouldn’t be. If Master Ma were involved in the Bai Yu case, how could he still be at the county school?

“Quiet, Master Ma is here!”

Suddenly, a student outside shouted.

Everyone immediately returned to their places, their expressions serious.

Zhang gave Gu Qingyan a knowing look.

Just as Gu Qingyan settled, Master Ma entered, his inverted triangle-shaped eyes scanning the room.

“What was all the commotion just now? You’re here to study, not to gossip and chat.”

Master Ma’s face was dark and stern. The students were too scared to utter a word, acting as meek as quails, heads down, avoiding eye contact.

This made Gu Qingyan, who was sitting upright and proud, stand out even more.

Master Ma looked at him. “Gu Qingyan, it’s your first day at school. What’s all this shouting about?”

“Sir Hui, since it’s the first day of school, I was exchanging names with my classmates so that I wouldn’t forget them once I left,” Gu Qingyan explained.

But upon hearing this, Instructor Ma’s expression grew even darker: “Smooth talker. Such a young age, yet so scheming.”

Gu Qingyan frowned.

It wasn’t his imagination — Instructor Ma really did dislike him.

Why? They had never met before.

“Thank you for your teaching, sir. I will surely keep it in mind,” Gu Qingyan said, since he didn’t want to offend his nominal teacher.

Instructor Ma glanced at him but didn’t say more. “Have you memorized yesterday’s lesson? Zhang Cheng, start reciting.”

Zhang Cheng stood up with a sour face and recited fairly fluently.

Instructor Ma wasn’t quite satisfied but nodded and moved on to the next student.

Seeing that Ma wasn’t paying attention to him, Gu Qingyan sat down and opened his book. After all, it was just his first day and he wasn’t required to recite yet.

Unexpectedly, after quizzing a round, Instructor Ma’s gaze landed on Gu Qingyan.

“Sun Xundao actually placed you in Class A? The county magistrate’s favor is a bit too much. Study hard from now on; even if you can’t keep up with the pace, don’t ever drag others down.”

This remark was sharp.

It was basically pointing fingers at County Magistrate Hong, accusing him of favoritism and using his influence to shove Gu Qingyan into Class A.

Gu Qingyan didn’t mind the backhanded comments aimed at himself, but he couldn’t tolerate the implication that Magistrate Hong’s reputation was being tarnished because of him.

“Instructor, I entered Class A by passing the exam, meeting the required standards—not because of anything else.”

“Since you are a teacher and a role model, you should distinguish right from wrong. Don’t let personal bias cause you to make reckless assumptions. That is not the behavior of a gentleman.”

As soon as he said this, Instructor Ma’s face darkened even more, looking like an angry old horse.

The classmates around were stunned. They never expected Gu Qingyan to be so bold—on his very first day, he actually talked back to the teacher and openly called him out for not being a gentleman.

Zhang Cheng gave him a sympathetic look and made a slashing gesture with his hand, as if saying “You’re asking for trouble.”

“What a sharp tongue.”

Instructor Ma sneered, “Since you say you passed the exam, then I’ll test you myself and see what you’re really capable of.”

“Please, Instructor, give me the questions.”

Gu Qingyan was calm and fearless.

Seeing that he was a troublemaker, Instructor Ma grew even more displeased and decided to give him a lesson.

“I won’t make it hard for you. I’ll just use the last exam paper from the county school for you to do. If you can answer it all, I’ll admit you have real skill. If you can’t, then obediently go to Class C. If you look down on Class C, you can leave the school—but don’t say I’m purposely making things difficult for you.”

Zhang Cheng secretly signaled him not to agree.

“Fine,” Gu Qingyan said immediately.

Zhang Cheng instantly felt regretful. In front of Instructor Ma, he dared not speak but sighed inwardly. The last county exam paper was deliberately beyond the syllabus; no one in the school had fully answered it.

The other classmates were impressed but showed sympathy on their faces.

They all knew what kind of person Instructor Ma was better than anyone else. This time, Gu Qingyan was likely in for it.

Even with the backing of the county magistrate, offending Instructor Ma meant staying in school would be difficult.

Thinking of such a brave and outstanding Gu Qingyan possibly no longer becoming their classmate made them regretful, but no one dared to speak up for him.

Instructor Ma sneered and quickly sent someone to get a blank exam paper.

He sat in the classroom, not moving, so no one could cheat.

Gu Qingyan hadn’t expected that on his very first day at the county school he’d face two exams, and he seemed to have deeply offended his superior.

But since the offense was done, there was no turning back.

Since this instructor was petty and deliberately difficult, he couldn’t just let him throw dirt on County Magistrate Hong.

“Begin,” Instructor Ma said coldly.

Gu Qingyan lowered his head to look at the questions, his brows slightly raised.

These questions were beyond the syllabus!

In the systematic teaching, Gu Tongsheng and the private tutor had covered similar content, but that was only after passing the county exam and preparing for the scholar’s test.

Gu Qingyan looked up at Instructor Ma.

Ma asked coldly, “Why aren’t you writing yet? If you can’t answer them, admit it and move your desk to Class C.”

Gu Qingyan smiled slightly. “May I ask if there is a time limit, Instructor?”

“There isn’t,” Ma replied confidently. “If you can answer them, it will take at most an hour. If you can’t, even giving you a whole day won’t help.”

Gu Qingyan chuckled, “Makes sense. Then I’ll begin.”

He wasn’t afraid of the extra-hard questions since he had a private tutor.

His eyes and hands moved quickly, and he finished most of the paper in no time.

Instructor Ma couldn’t sit still, frowned, and walked over to look. He was surprised.

He had heard Gu Qingyan’s name before; after all, the Bai Yu incident was such a big deal. Everyone in Lingchuan County knew Gu Qingyan.

But martial arts and scholarly skills were two different things.

As soon as Gu Qingyan arrived, he caused an uproar in Lingchuan County.

Even before seeing him, Instructor Ma had already decided that Gu Qingyan was a troublemaker.

When he finally saw him, Ma’s dislike grew even stronger—he was ugly himself and hated good-looking people the most.

So he gave Gu Qingyan a harsh welcome, trying to crush his rebellious spirit.

“Write neatly. Who can read such messy handwriting?” Instructor Ma said coldly.

He wanted to interrupt Gu Qingyan and ruin his flow.

But Gu Qingyan didn’t even look up and kept writing: “Thank you for your guidance, sir. However, today I’m only showing the answers because I’m afraid filling the whole page would waste your time. If there’s anything unclear, I’m right here; feel free to ask.”

Ma’s face darkened.

Sure enough, he was troublesome—on his very first day, he dared to defy him.

Ma wore a stern expression and glanced over the densely filled test paper, already thinking this wasn’t good.

Half an hour later, Gu Qingyan tossed down his pen and rubbed his wrist.

“I have finished, please review it, Instructor.”

Ma looked at him gloomily, but since he had been standing beside him the whole time, he naturally knew which answers were right and which were wrong.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, “Instructor Sun was right; you truly belong in Class A.”

“Thank you, Instructor, for your clear judgment. I have learned something valuable today,” Gu Qingyan said with a gentle smile.

That smile, seen by Ma, was a sharp sarcasm aimed at him, very piercing.

Ma scanned the room and scolded, “Gu Qingyan, on your very first day, you could answer everything correctly. And you others—what have you been learning all these years? You might as well have stuffed the knowledge into a dog’s stomach! From now on, you must study harder; don’t waste your time.”

With that, he threw down a remark and left, slamming his sleeves.

Gu Qingyan clicked his tongue, thinking, Even on his way out, he’s making enemies.

“Brother Gu, you’re amazing! You got everything right!” Zhang Cheng laughed loudly.

Looking at the test paper, he marveled, “You know, in our last monthly exam, even the best in Class A only got about 70% correct. You actually got everything right at once—I really admire you.”

Gu Qingyan smiled. Obviously, Instructor Ma’s plan hadn’t worked.

His personal charm had already earned him goodwill among classmates.

“It’s just luck, I happened to know them all,” Gu Qingyan said modestly.

“No, no, no, you really have the skills. I’ll have to learn from you,” Zhang Cheng smiled.

Looking left and right, seeing that Instructor Ma had walked away, he lowered his voice: “But you’ve probably made Instructor Ma very angry. Watch out he doesn’t make things difficult for you.”

Gu Qingyan looked serious: “An instructor should be a model for students. He wouldn’t be so petty, would he?”

Zhang Cheng sneered and, while no one was paying attention, whispered, “You’re new, so you don’t know—those students who used to study here always gave Instructor Ma gifts during holidays, hoping he’d favor them more.”

“But now that they’ve all been arrested, Instructor Ma lost several sources of income. It’s no wonder he dislikes you.”

Gu Qingyan raised an eyebrow, surprised there was this kind of behind-the-scenes trouble.

Zhang Cheng added, “Anyway, you’d better be careful.”

Knowing the reason, Gu Qingyan actually felt reassured.

He was here at the county school mainly to make friends and establish his identity, so he could smoothly take the county exam next year.

With County Magistrate Hong backing him, even if Instructor Ma disliked him, what could he do?

Soon Gu Qingyan realized just how little Instructor Ma could do.

He simply ignored Gu Qingyan.

Ma personally taught Class A, while Sun was in charge of Classes B and C.

Since Gu Qingyan was a newcomer and the semester was already half over, he naturally couldn’t keep up with the others.

A responsible teacher would have reviewed the past half year’s lessons with him or let him study independently.

But Ma said nothing, acted like Gu Qingyan didn’t exist, and carried on with class.

When other students asked questions, Ma sometimes answered fully when in a good mood, or just gave brief replies when annoyed.

But whenever Gu Qingyan approached, ten out of ten times Ma would say he was tired, sleepy, or resting.

That was bad enough, but Ma also deliberately sped up the lessons, making it obvious he wanted Gu Qingyan to fall behind.

Sun soon noticed and privately warned Ma several times.

“Gu Qingyan is a promising talent. If Instructor Ma would teach him properly, maybe our county school could produce another scholar.”

Ma was dismissive: “What, did he complain to you? I can’t start over just for him. He’s come at the wrong time. If he has issues, let him talk to Magistrate Hong.”

With that, Sun had no more advice to offer.

Ma’s obvious discrimination was clear to everyone.

Zhang Cheng sympathized privately: “The teacher is too harsh. You’re wasting half a semester.”

Gu Qingyan didn’t care at all. Instead, he said, “The teacher has no choice. He can’t hold back everyone’s progress just for me.”

Zhang Cheng thought he was tough and tried to comfort him: “I have notes from the previous lessons. Take them home and maybe you can catch up.”

Gu Qingyan accepted the kindness.

In truth, he really didn’t mind.

Ma hid lessons on purpose, deliberately ignoring him, with no intention to teach.

But Gu Qingyan had the system’s big classroom.

Even though Ma still had the same sour expression as if everyone owed him a fortune, when teaching system lessons, he explained everything thoroughly and without reservation.

Just thinking about Instructor Ma’s unreasonable antics during the day and then his unpaid extra lessons at night made Gu Qingyan find it amusing.

So for several days in a row, Gu Qingyan wore a bright smile, even when facing Ma’s stern, horse-like face.

At first, Instructor Ma didn’t mind and assumed Gu Qingyan was putting on an act.

He thought that after some time, this kid would surely get fed up and go to County Magistrate Hong. Then when Magistrate Hong intervened, Ma could take the opportunity to make his own demands.

But to Ma’s surprise, day after day, Gu Qingyan remained energetic and his gaze toward Ma was filled with kindness!

Ma suddenly turned around and caught Gu Qingyan’s eyes again.

Gu Qingyan was looking at him with an inexplicably gentle expression. When their eyes met, Gu Qingyan smiled.

His smile was radiant—though in Ma’s mind, it felt cunning.

Whenever Gu Qingyan smiled, Ma felt an eerie chill.

Finally, Ma couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“What are you smiling at?!” he snapped.

Gu Qingyan slowly stood up, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, “Sir, the moment I first saw you, I felt an instant connection and affection. So seeing you makes me happy, and I can’t help but smile.”

Having extra lessons every night—wasn’t that just like feeling an instant connection? They had already gone through more than half the system course.

Gu Qingyan deliberately grossed him out, speaking while looking at Ma with clear eyes full of affection.

Ma couldn’t take it anymore. His whole body trembled, and he turned and ran as if a ghost were chasing him.