Out of the corner of her eye, Xiang Ruzhen caught sight of a shadow on the ground and twisted aside at once. She avoided a fatal blow, but the sharp tip of the Soaring Dragon Halberd still tore a half-chi gash along her arm. Blood gushed out instantly.
Clang! The gong sounded at that very moment.
Ling Zhaoren wore a look of triumph. “The gong just rang. I thought you were about to pull a trick,” she said, perfectly self-righteous.
“Shut your mouth!” Ling Zhixu snapped, half her face livid with anger, the other half still blackened with ink. “Someone tell me what exactly happened here!”
Lu Jinlan cupped her hands. “It’s like this—”
“You shut up too!” Ling Zhixu barked. “You led the disturbance and spoke recklessly. I won’t listen to your one-sided account.”
Lu Jinlan rolled her eyes in secret. Suit yourself, she thought.
The deputy examiner hurriedly said, “Please, Headmaster, allow this official a word.”
Ling Zhixu lowered her gaze and glanced sideways at him. “You were presiding over the examination and yet let it descend into chaos. And your ‘one word’ isn’t one-sided?”
The deputy examiner bowed his head, not daring to speak further. At that moment, a student stepped forward and declared clearly, “Headmaster, I can give an objective account of what happened.”
Ling Zhixu lifted a brow slightly. “Why should I believe you?”
The student bowed respectfully. “This student is Zuo Suizhi. I lost in the first round and have no chance of admission. Whether the one on stage wins or loses has nothing to do with me. I only arrived in the capital yesterday and know no one here. I have no connection to either side and no reason for bias. Besides, apart from candidates and examiners, there are tens of thousands of citizens present. If I speak falsely, you need only question a few at random to verify the truth.”
Ling Zhixu settled into her chair and beckoned. “Zuo Suizhi, step forward.”
Taking advantage of the pause, Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin hurried onto the stage to bandage Xiang Ruzhen’s wound.
Yan Wuxin frowned at the long gash. “Can you still hold on with a wound like this?”
Xiang Ruzhen gave a pale smile. “Do I have the right not to?”
Lu Jinlan’s nose stung. “Don’t say that. Nothing matters more than your life. What’s so great about this broken academy that it’s worth risking everything? Is winning or losing really that important?”
Xiang Ruzhen looked at their worried faces, her eyes reddening. “Yes… what’s so good about an academy that operates in the shadows?”
She smiled at Lu Jinlan. “I heard what you said just now. I know this place isn’t as beautiful as I once imagined. Winning and losing matter to me. Losing to someone as despicable as Ling Zhaoren—I can’t accept that. But that’s not what I care about most.”
“You stood up for me under immense pressure. That’s a blessing a despicable person could never have in a lifetime. You stood firmly by my side without hesitation—that alone makes me feel like I’ve already won.”
She grasped their hands. “This broken academy may not be much, but with my two friends here, it becomes the place I most want to stay. I’ve always been solitary—dull and stiff. No one ever befriended me. But now… we’re friends, right?”
Yan Wuxin rubbed her aching eyes and teased with a smile. “I thought we became friends last night.”
Lu Jinlan burst out laughing. “We even shared the same quilt and slept side by side—what more is there to say? Of course we’re friends.”
Xiang Ruzhen nodded. “Good. You risked yourselves to fight for fairness for me, didn’t you? I won’t let your efforts be wasted. I want to stay here now more than ever.”
Her gaze drifted to the towering academy gates. “Maybe this place has problems. But if we stay, there’s hope to fix them. If we all leave, when will anything change? Who will fix it? If another Xiang Ruzhen appears in the future, will she be lucky enough to meet another Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin?”
The two followed her gaze, falling silent.
Ling Zhixu had finished hearing Zuo Suizhi’s statement. She addressed the crowd loudly, “The matter of the weapons will be investigated by the academy. For now, the examination continues. Xiang Ruzhen, can you still compete?”
Xiang Ruzhen rose. “I can.”
“Do you have another weapon?”
“No.”
“I’ll lend you mine,” Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin said in unison.
“Better use mine. You’ll fight better with a long weapon.” Yan Wuxin placed the Phoenix-Cry Long Saber into Xiang Ruzhen’s hand.
Ling Zhaoren returned to the stage, smug. Lu Jinlan and Yan Wuxin lingered a moment longer, eyes fixed on Xiang Ruzhen’s bleeding arm.
“Don’t worry,” Xiang Ruzhen smiled. “Did you forget? I’m a hunter. Blood is a hunter’s Five-Stone Powder. Go on—watch me take this round.”
They stepped down. After the earlier chaos, many candidates were bruised and battered. The staff no longer bothered with order; everyone sat wherever they pleased.
The gong rang again.
The fight on stage ignited instantly, scorching and relentless. Their eyes blazed with killing intent—life and death balanced on a blade’s edge.
The crowd grew tense. Everyone understood: this was no ordinary match.
“They’re monsters… If I’d faced either of them, I might not have made it home.”
“That move was too vicious. I’d have died already.”
“You’d die at that one? I’d have died two moves earlier.”
Listening to the whispers, Lu Jinlan grew increasingly uneasy. Xiang Ruzhen fought in sweeping, open arcs, driving her strength to the limit, heedless of her wound. The hemostatic powder had long since lost effect; the white bandage quickly turned crimson.
Lu Jinlan bitterly regretted her impulsive exchange of ninety-nine Strength Pills earlier that day, exhausting her daily quota. Now she couldn’t even redeem more medicine to stop the bleeding or dull the pain.
Ling Zhaoren, too, noticed the blood flowing endlessly from Xiang Ruzhen’s arm. She began targeting the injury, watching the white cloth soak red, watching blood trail from upper arm to wrist and drip onto the stage.
At first, she thought it was her chance. Even if she couldn’t win outright, she could drag it out—let Xiang Ruzhen bleed dry.
But gradually, an unfamiliar fear crept in.
Up close, the thick scent of blood filled her nose. The force behind each strike grew heavier. A chill crawled up her spine.
Is she even human?
How could a person not feel pain? Not fear death?
What was she thinking? Had she gone mad?
What suffocated Ling Zhaoren wasn’t merely Xiang Ruzhen’s abnormal strength—but something else. Invisible, indefinable, yet overwhelming. A crushing certainty. A will so firm it pressed down on her chest and stole her breath.
Bang!
The Soaring Dragon Halberd was knocked from Ling Zhaoren’s grasp. The Phoenix-Cry Long Saber flashed to her throat.
Cold steel kissed her pulse. Ling Zhaoren closed her eyes.
It was too fast—over in an instant.
As her eyes shut, she heard someone shouting frantically for the gong. She knew it was too late. If Xiang Ruzhen slit her throat a split second before the sound, she would bear no blame.
If it were her, she would have done exactly that.
But Xiang Ruzhen was not her.
The blade left only the faintest scratch at her neck—then, in the same breath, pain exploded in her arm. Xiang Ruzhen struck just before the gong, carving a long gash in the exact same place she herself had been wounded.
The entire crowd sucked in a breath.
Ling Zhixu rose to her feet, steadied herself, and announced in a clear voice, “Xiang Ruzhen of Mianzhou—victorious.”
They say success makes one dizzy. Xiang Ruzhen, however, walked down from the stage with complete clarity, sat back in her seat, and continued watching the selections. Then, just when everyone assumed she was fine, she suddenly collapsed.
When she awoke, she found herself in the infirmary workshop. Her clothes had been completely changed; her wound freshly dressed. A bowl of ginseng tea rested by the bed.
She had just sat up when a composed middle-aged woman entered, lifting the curtain. “As expected of the young lady Xiang—so strong. After losing that much blood, you slept only an hour before waking. Come, have some ginseng tea to soothe your throat. The ginseng and donkey-hide gelatin porridge is ready; I’ll have someone bring it in.”
“Ginseng and donkey-hide gelatin porridge?” Xiang Ruzhen hurriedly said, “How much does that cost? I’d better not.”
The woman smiled. “Young lady, you jest. It’s all from our own stores. No charge.”
The woman turned and left. Not long after, a refined-looking young male attendant entered to serve her. After a few casual questions, Xiang Ruzhen learned that this place stood only a street away from the Royal Academy.
It was called Ji’an Hall—a time-honored pharmacy renowned throughout the country. It both sold medicine and practiced healing, with more than a dozen branches in the capital alone. This particular one was the capital’s main branch. The composed woman from earlier was the general manager, Ping Xiyu.
Holding her bowl of porridge, Xiang Ruzhen asked in confusion, “I’ve never met Shopkeeper Ping before. Why did she say this was all ‘our own’?”
The attendant smiled softly. “Because the owner of Ji’an Hall is my family’s master. My master is Lu Jinchao, the wealthiest man in Yunzhou. And my young mistress is your good friend, Lu Jinlan. Aren’t we all family, then?”
Lu Jinchao?
Even born in remote Mianzhou, Xiang Ruzhen had heard that name. The Lu family’s enterprises spanned countless trades; their wealth rivaled a region’s treasury. Who didn’t know of them?
“Lu” was a prominent surname in Yunzhou. Though Lu Jinlan also hailed from Yunzhou, she bore none of the arrogance typical of a rich young lady. That was why Xiang Ruzhen had never made the connection. She hadn’t imagined that Lu Jinlan was truly Lu Jinchao’s daughter.
“What’s your name?” Xiang Ruzhen asked quickly.
“I’m Qing’er. I came from Yunzhou with the young mistress. She specifically instructed me to take good care of you.”
It turned out that after Lu Jinlan had gone to Yan Wuxin the previous night, she’d sent her attendants Ximo and Qing’er back to the inn. The two of them discussed it and decided instead to go straight to Ji’an Hall to explain the situation to Shopkeeper Ping.
The young mistress sitting for the examinations was a major event. Ping Xiyu immediately arranged for them to stay at the shop. At dawn the next day, she brought the two attendants along with several medical workers to secure seats inside the examination grounds.
Unfortunately, though they managed to claim front-row spots, they were positioned farthest from Lu Jinlan, with an arena platform in between. They couldn’t exchange a single word.
The crowd was packed shoulder to shoulder. Ping Xiyu tried several times to shift positions, but failed each time. Later, seeing Lu Jinlan win her match, she relaxed, intending to meet her after the event.
Then suddenly she saw Lu Jinlan leap to her feet and incite the crowd. Chaos erupted; people began fighting.
Terrified, Ping Xiyu led her group and pushed desperately in that direction, arguing with who knew how many people along the way. Their little team weaved halfway around the arena through the dense throng, exhausted and drenched in sweat—more tired than the fighters on stage.
Just as they were about to give up, they heard Lu Jinlan jump onto a chair and shout, “Is there a physician? Someone’s fainted here!”
Ping Xiyu immediately called back at the top of her voice, “The physician is here!”
At last, an opening. The crowd, now more sensible, parted to let them through. Ping Xiyu rushed over with great difficulty, seized Lu Jinlan’s hand, and was so emotional she could hardly speak.
The last time Lu Jinlan had seen her was back in Yunzhou; she didn’t recognize her at once. Awkwardly, she pointed toward the unconscious Xiang Ruzhen and said, “The injured one is over there.”
________________________________________
Author’s Note:
Five-Stone Powder is basically an ancient stimulant.