Tian Lu Academy.
Chu Liuyue started preparing the ingredients while Zuo Rong and the other teachers watched her. First, she took out a white palm-sized shell and started grinding it with the pestle. After some time, small white powder started to trickle down.
The shell was very thick and very troublesome to grind. Even after grinding for 15 minutes, Chu Liuyue still had more than half of the shell left to grind.
Xuan Cang kept tolerating and enduring it. However, when he saw Chu Liuyue’s clumsy actions, he finally said, “Chu Liuyue, do you know what you’re doing? You’re not supposed to handle the White Xiang Bei like this!”
Chu Liuyue raised her head in shock. “Really? However, the books said that White Xiang Bei has to be ground to powder to maximize its effects.”
Xuan Cang rubbed his glabella since he had a headache. “That’s true, but how long are you going to take to grind this White Xiang Bei completely and thoroughly at your current pace? Besides, this is only the first piece! There’s still another one in the box. Have you thought about how much time you’re going to waste?”
Chu Liuyue seemed embarrassed as she humbly asked, “Then… what do you think I should do?”
Xuan Cang shook his head in disappointment and said to Zuo Rong, “Look at how clumsy she is! How does she look smart at all? She can’t even handle White Xiang Bei, let alone the other herbs that come after it! I think there’s no need for us to continue watching. I think there’s an 80% chance that her formula won’t even work! I’ll think of a way to handle Liao Zhongshu’s injury myself!”
Xuan Cang then stood up and left, disregarding Zuo Rong’s intervention.
The remaining few teachers looked at each other awkwardly.
“Zuo Rong, um… Xuan Cang’s words make sense. Chu Liuyue herself said that she did not come up with the formula herself and that she accidentally got it from someone else. Besides, she can’t even remember the formula properly, so most of it is unclear. Nobody knows if this formula is effective!”
“I heard that she passed the heavenly doctor examination rather forcefully when she entered the academy, so I think she doesn’t have much talent. Zuo Rong, I think you’re thinking too much.”
“I had better go back and think of a plan with Xuan Cang. Everyone, I’ll take my leave first.”
“Wait for me! I still have something to do—”
Xuan Cang’s departure directly took away two teachers, leaving Zuo Rong and one other teacher.
The atmosphere was a little awkward.
Chu Liuyue apologetically asked, “Mr. Zuo Rong, did I do something wrong?”
Zuo Rong coughed. “Nothing much; they just have their own things to do. Ignore them and focus on refining your medicine!”
Chu Liuyue wanted to say something, but she stopped herself and continued to grind the White Xiang Bei. After a long time, she finally ground the first shell to powder.
She wiped her sweat and took out the second White Xiang Bei to grind.
Finally, the other teacher could not watch on and left after apologizing to Zuo Rong.
Zuo Rong looked at Chu Liuyue in confusion. Did I think wrongly of her? Chu Liuyue’s talent doesn’t seem to be as outstanding as I expected. However, if that really is the case… how did she directly solve the problem that Cui Yao and Mo Liang set for her?
Zuo Rong stared straight at Chu Liuyue, and a thought flashed across his mind after he pondered for some time. Could it be that Chu Liuyue is deliberately hiding her capabilities? Why is that so? Many people dream of having heavenly doctor talent. People with such potential always show off their skills desperately, yet Chu Liuyue… This is really weird.
Zuo Rong thought for a while, but he didn’t want to expose Chu Liuyue purposely. Hence, he found a reason to leave.
The room was finally empty apart from Chu Liuyue—who lightly exhaled. Chu Liuyue did not want those people to infer anything, so she purposely acted as if she was not good at it. It did not matter if they disliked her; the most important thing was for the medicine to be ready.
Zuo Rong seemed to notice something, but he did not pursue the matter. After closing the doors and windows, Chu Liuyue looked at the pile of herbs again. I don’t have much time left now…
…
After asking people in the academy and confirming that Gu Mingfeng did not come to school for the past two days, Cen Hu purposely asked the teacher for leave and went out to find Gu Mingfeng himself.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to find Gu Mingfeng in such a short time just by himself. However, Cen Hu luckily had a bunch of brothers in the Imperial City. Hence, he immediately gained many helping hands once he spoke up.
He finally found Gu Mingfeng in an old yard in the evening after running around for more than half a day. However, Cen Hu was greatly shocked when he saw Gu Mingfeng.
Gu Mingfeng’s face and body were filled with injuries!
“What happened? Who beat you up?” Cen Hu’s anger started to rise. “We’ll take revenge for you!”
Gu Mingfeng avoided him as if he did not want anyone else to see his unkempt appearance. However, when he Heard Cen Hu say that, Gu Mingfeng froze for a while before finally showing his injuries openly.
Gu Mingfeng’s lips twitched. “Thank you, but you’re not his match. Forget it.”
Cen Hu widened his eyes. “What do you mean by ‘forget it’? Even if he’s not my match, there is still Liuyue and Hongyu! They told me to find you, and they definitely will not let this matter slide if they see you in this state!”
Gu Mingfeng’s heart tingled. “… They told you to come?”
“Yeah! You know that Liuyue has come back safely, right? We originally wanted to celebrate at Phoenix Restaurant today, but both you and Zhongshu can’t make it. Liuyue and Hongyu went to take care of Zhongshu, and they asked me to look for you as they did so.
Something seemed to be stuck in Gu Mingfeng’s throat, and he took a long while to find his voice again. “It was the Gu family’s members.”
Cen Hu suddenly raised his voice and asked, “The Gu family? Why did they do this to you? Aren’t you already—”
Gu Mingfeng did not say a word. It was precisely because he was chased out of the Gu family that quite a few people came to cause trouble for him.
Many people in the Gu family disliked him in recent years. If they could make Gu Mingfeng suffer, they could even get into Gu Yunfei’s good books. Hence, who would not cause trouble for him?
Gu Mingfeng wanted to return to the academy after his injuries had healed, but he did not expect Cen Hu to look for him directly.
Cen Hu patted Gu Mingfeng’s shoulders and seriously said, “Don’t worry. We’ve been through life and death together, and we definitely will not ignore you. Let’s go back first. Liuyue and Hongyu are still waiting for us!”
Gu Mingfeng could not explain what he felt. After much hesitation, he finally nodded. “Okay.”