Chapter 72: The Blackening Peerless Gentleman

“I think I just sensed Her Highness’s presence.” Xiao Zhang realized belatedly and looked around but could not see any trace of Long Qing’er.

Meanwhile, Ye Wenxin had noticed Long Qing’er’s presence since she began watching them, but she did not understand why Long Qing’er was there. As she was supposed to be an ordinary person, Ye Wenxin could not alert Xiao Zhang to this fact and went along with her conversation instead. “Where? I didn’t see Senior Sister anywhere.”

Curious, she glanced around, but Xiao Zhang quickly turned her head forward and whispered, “Her Highness must not want to attract attention, so she chose a secluded spot.”

Ye Wenxin nodded, pretending to understand, and then heard Xiao Zhang continue, “Her Highness has left already. It seems she agrees to let me have control over my final three months.”

This statement puzzled Ye Wenxin even more. “Did you talk to Senior Sister Long last night?”

“Not exactly. My relationship with Her Highness is that of servant and master. She probably noticed my absence and assumed I was up to something shady, so she sent someone to find me.” Xiao Zhang’s tone was calm, as if she did not care at all about being monitored.

Long Qing’er, as a member of the imperial family, was under the influence of Princess Long Qingyue, who wielded power over the court through the Emperor. Long Qing’er’s environment was far from optimistic. Although it seemed that the Golden Age Dynasty was peaceful and prosperous, in reality, it had long been divided into two factions.

Xiao Zhang belonged to Princess Long Qingyue’s faction and did not have much affection for Long Qing’er. But Xiao Zhang found it surprising that Long Qing’er seemed to care about Ye Wenxin, even allowing her to make friends with the girl, a fact that Xiao Zhang could not understand.

Regardless of her confusion, Xiao Zhang could not reveal the complexities of the imperial court to Ye Wenxin. She naturally looked at Ye Wenxin and silently vowed to provide the best learning environment for her in the remaining months.

“So that’s how it is. Xiao Zhang, don’t hold me so tightly…” Ye Wenxin felt the embrace tightening, making her feel a little breathless.

“Sorry, I was lost in thought just now. Did I hurt you?” Xiao Zhang quickly loosened her grip but still did not let go.

“It’s not a problem, I’m quite comfortable, actually.” Ye Wenxin coughed awkwardly. Xiao Zhang had a well-proportioned figure, especially in certain areas, which felt fuller compared to that girl Gu Xiangsi. Ye Wenxin was not wearing much, so she could naturally feel the weight on her back.

In this era, there were no bras, so one could only imagine the sensation under Xiao Zhang’s tight embrace.

However, that was not the main issue. Ye Wenxin could not help but wonder about intimate matters recently, perhaps due to the lingering effects of the Spring Return Pill she had taken last time.

True to Ye Wenxin’s nature, she naturally blamed everything on Fairy Fengya. Moreover, to deal with Fairy Fengya’s apparent lack of desires, she had concocted a pill called Conjugation Powder.

The medicinal properties were as the name implied, with an efficacy that was ten times more potent than the Spring Return Pill. Rather than killing Fairy Fengya straight away, Ye Wenxin was keener on the option of teasing Fairy Fengya.

Picturing the crazed look on Fairy Fengya after eating the Conjugation Powder, Ye Wenxin could not hold back a furtive laugh.

“How come your expression shifts from serious to smiling in a heartbeat?” asked Xiao Zhang, puzzled. Despite Ye Wenxin’s seemingly innocent and harmless face, Xiao Zhang could not shake off the feeling that she was not like any ordinary thirteen-year-old the more she looked at her. Whenever she smiled, her both righteous and sinister quality became even more pronounced, as if she was brewing a colossal conspiracy.

“I just remembered some interesting things, don’t mind me, hehehe.” Ye Wenxin tried hard not to dwell on the conspiracies in her mind, but the more she tried to dismiss them, the clearer they became, leaving her almost desperate to find the reclusive Fairy Fengya and force-feed her the Conjugation Powder, watching her struggle and perish right before her eyes.

Watching in silence, Xiao Zhang was about to say something when the doors of the Alchemy Workshop opened.

“Alright, please let the top one hundred disciples come in,” shouted an inner disciple. The top one hundred disciples entered the workshop in a grand procession.

Ye Wenxin and Xiao Zhang were among the top one hundred. They entered the workshop to find one hundred tables arranged inside.

Each person stood beside their designated table with a numbered badge. Seeing this, the senior disciple used his Qi to make the papers on the tables levitate. The papers spread out and naturally landed on each person’s table, creating a magnificent scene.

Ye Wenxin, however, remained unfazed, staring at the contents of the exam paper, wondering what challenges Ling Jue would present.

“The first stage is a written exam. We’ll grade the papers on the spot. Those who can’t answer, please leave,” the senior brother announced. Without hesitation, everyone started working on their papers, including Ye Wenxin.

The questions focused on theoretical aspects of alchemy and herbalism, easily manageable for anyone with some knowledge in the field. Ye Wenxin wrote swiftly, skillfully and with ease.

As soon as she finished, her paper levitated, and simultaneously, a star appeared on her numbered badge.

“This junior sister may proceed to the next round through this side door.” The senior brother’s gaze fell on Ye Wenxin. He did not show surprise but rather seemed to consider Ye Wenxin’s advancement as natural.

Ye Wenxin nodded in gratitude and made her way towards the small door, observing the senior brothers and sisters who were still immersed in their tasks.

“Junior Sister Ye, long time no see.”

“I trust you’ve been well since we last met.”

Though these senior brothers and sisters seemed familiar, Ye Wenxin found herself in a peculiar situation where everyone recognized her, but she could not match faces with names. Smiling and nodding in response to their greetings, she respectfully bowed to them.

“Junior Sister, draw a topic from this side and select herbs based on the prompts,” one of the senior brothers explained, pointing to a small wooden box resembling a lottery box on Earth, albeit with less impressive craftsmanship.

Ye Wenxin paused for a few seconds at the wooden box, then reached in and drew out a small piece of paper. The names of eight types of herbs were written on it. With a quick glance, Ye Wenxin confidently located the required herbs without hesitation. As others examined their slips of paper and corresponding herbs, Ye Wenxin smoothly transitioned through the second stage.

The wait in line was excessively long, while the exam process was conversely fast-paced.

Ye Wenxin circled around and found herself at the third stage.

“Please identify these several first-grade pills, junior sister.” The third stage was also straightforward: arrange the first-grade pills according to their names based on their scent and color.

After just a few glances, Ye Wenxin cleared it effortlessly. The senior brother revealed a smile that seemed to hold deeper meaning then used a gold pen to add another star to Ye Wenxin’s numbered badge.

Fourth stage, fifth stage…

Ye Wenxin had already circled the entire Alchemy Workshop until she reached the tenth stage, where she finally encountered someone.

“Miss Wenxin.”

“Brother Aotian.”

Ye Wenxin looked at the familiar smiling face and suddenly felt as if she had done something wrong again. It seemed she had inadvertently stolen Gu Aotian’s spotlight and was too far ahead.

“As expected of Miss Wenxin, you’re already approaching the final stage so quickly. The theoretical knowledge in the first stage, those one hundred questions nearly drove me crazy.” Gu Aotian looked at the stars on Ye Wenxin’s numbered badge and then at his own, which was only two. A bitter smile crept onto his lips.

“Everyone has their own expertise. Mine just happens to be alchemy,” Ye Wenxin felt somewhat guilty. As a woman who had lived for over fifty years, it would be embarrassing to be outperformed by a kid like Gu Aotian.

Even so, Ye Wenxin still felt the need to be modest and encourage Gu Aotian not to lose heart.

“You’re right. I’ll keep pushing forward. Miss Wenxin, until we meet again.” Her words had convinced Gu Aotian and gave him some confidence.

Ye Wenxin watched that frail figure walk away then turned towards the location of the final stage.

The final stage was located in a small courtyard behind the Alchemy Workshop, past the bamboo forest.

As Ye Wenxin pushed open the door, she expected to see fellow disciples waiting inside and was taken aback to find Ling Jue sitting there, sipping tea.

Ye Wenxin abruptly halted, wanting to cshut the door, but a force pulled her forcefully into the courtyard.

“Are you planning to forfeit, Wenxin?” Ling Jue, still sporting her extraordinarily handsome face, spoke with a cold tone, yet her eyes held a hint of sorrow.

“That’s not… ahem, it’s just that I haven’t prepared myself yet.” Even though her face remained the same, judging from Ling Jue’s expression, Ye Wenxin guessed she might be a bit angry. She had originally planned to escape and do some emotional preparations, intending to coax Ling Jue’s forgiveness by acting coy and cute. She could not have known that Ling Jue would suddenly pull her back.

“Oh, is it preparation for the exam, or preparation to face me?” Ling Jue set down her teacup and poured another for Wenxin, but her tone and demeanor seemed even more angered.

Ye Wenxin recalled her actions over the past month, causing trouble in the outer sect, indulging in alchemy and acupuncture to the point of obsession, and even forgetting about Ling Jue’s existence altogether. Though she was not sure what exactly Ling Jue was angry about, Ye Wenxin believed the problem definitely lay with herself.

“Of course it’s exam preparation. I’m beyond happy to see Big Sister Ling.” The strong urge to survive compelled Ye Wenxin to speak, hoping to soothe Ling Jue’s anger through this approach.

Ling Jue remained silent, only pushing the teacup towards Ye Wenxin.

Ye Wenxin obediently picked up the teacup and drank the tea, finishing it in one gulp.

“Is it tasty?”

“Yes, it is.”

“What herbs have been put in it?” Ling Jue asked, as if this question was the crux of the matter.

Ye Wenxin’s mind went blank, and she saw the playful expression in Ling Jue’s eyes. Obviously, this question was the ultimate test to enter the Alchemy Workshop, but Ye Wenxin’s attention had been entirely on Ling Jue just now and she had not even noticed the taste of the tea.

“What’s wrong? Can’t answer? Then I’ll take it as your failure,” Ling Jue said with a slight smirk. If she wanted, she could easily make Ye Wenxin a true disciple of the Alchemy Workshop, or even as her, the junior valley master of Medicine King Valley’s disciple.

But Ye Wenxin’s indifference towards her these days made Ling Jue feel the need to educate Ye Wenxin properly, letting her know that even her kindness had its limits.