Framed (1)

The Royal Academy's entrance tests grew stranger with each round. Everyone understood that the first round tested their Spiritual Power to record their initial stats. But the second round sent them straight into combat.

Most students in Thunder Hall possessed either a lightning affinity or dual affinities. Lightning was a force of deception.

Dongfang Wanyu was led into a training room that presented a scene of a misty forest. Outside the room, a gem-sized illusion mirror recorded everything happening inside.

Dongfang Minghui couldn't follow her in and was terribly frustrated.

The moment Dongfang Wanyu stepped into the forest, she smelled the rich scent of fresh grass. Every blade of grass and every tree possessed spiritual energy. Clearly, the simulation had achieved a one-to-one reproduction.

"Be careful," Qing Mo warned.

A blazing Firebolt suddenly shot toward her. Thanks to Qing Mo's timely warning, Dongfang Wanyu barely dodged it, rolling awkwardly across the ground.

With a thunderous boom, a crater blasted open where she had been standing. The green grass around it was completely destroyed.

Just then, a tall, wolf-like magical beast approached her, step by step. The ground shook with every footfall. When it charged at Dongfang Wanyu, the earth trembled violently.

"It's a Silver-Tusk Thunderwolf. Be careful."

Dongfang Wanyu wanted to curse. Why had they released a vicious Silver-Tusk Thunderwolf for a mere simulated test? It resembled a wolf and stood on four legs, its silver fur covered in lightning and bristling like a hedgehog's spines. It could race across the ground like a flash of lightning. More importantly, it could spit Firebolts at any moment, like a crawling, fire-breathing dragon.

Dongfang Wanyu didn't dare let it get close. Those bristling bolts might fry her to a crisp. Worse still, its Firebolts were immensely powerful and exploded on impact. If she failed to dodge in time, her hair would get singed, just as it had moments ago. Scorching heat washed over her face, filling her with a sense of danger, as though death had just brushed past her.

She had only experienced that feeling in the Purple Demon Mountains. Every training excursion there had been a fight for her life. When she encountered magical beasts stronger than herself, she had no way to retreat. She could only fight, walking the edge of death.

"Good. You've really got me excited now." Dongfang Wanyu licked her lips, her blood surging with inexplicable excitement.

Likewise, the thunderwolf had been enraged by her repeated evasions.

What she didn't know was that the simulated exercise was tailored to each person's combat ability. The greater their talent, the greater the danger they faced.

She was a Spirit Master with three affinities, and the magical beast she faced possessed two—the only dual-affinity beast in the entire assessment.

Dongfang Wanyu knew none of this. All she could think about was how to destroy this Silver-Tusk Thunderwolf. She tried a ranged attack, gathering all the lightning within her body into her palm. While dodging, she spun around and hurled it hard at the thunderwolf.

The thunderwolf was also an agile magical beast. Sensing Dongfang Wanyu's killing intent, it promptly spat a Firebolt at her lightning.

When the Firebolt met the lightning, raging fire collided with violent thunder. The two powerful forces clashed, unleashing an explosion more than ten times as strong. Tremors shook different sections of the entire assessment area at once.

The training room had originally been designed to withstand five times the normal force, but the actual explosion Dongfang Wanyu caused exceeded its limits.

In the blink of an eye, everything vanished.

A white light flashed, and Dongfang Wanyu found herself outside the training room.

"Congratulations. You've passed." The senior student beside her wiped away his sweat. Had he not shut down every part of the simulation in time, the assessment area might have become a heap of rubble. What kind of lightning had that been? It was ten times stronger than the Firebolt he had simulated.

Dongfang Wanyu was surprised. Was it over already? That was far too quick. She hadn't had enough yet. She had just thought of another way to fight it; she might even have been able to defeat the Silver-Tusk Thunderwolf in close combat.

"Ninth Sister, what are you doing?"

"Counting ants." Dongfang Minghui looked up and saw The Female Lead's smiling face. She immediately stood. "Seventh Sister, congratulations on passing!"

"Is it really all right for you to sneak out like this?" Dongfang Wanyu asked, noticing her medicine attendant's outfit.

Dongfang Minghui wrinkled her little nose. "Seventh Sister, I have to leave soon. They said we had two hours."

"Junior Sister, now that you've passed, you need to sign your name over here." A senior student from Thunder Hall hurried over when he spotted Dongfang Wanyu.

"Seventh Sister, go take care of things. I'm leaving." Dongfang Minghui guessed The Female Lead's test must have been spectacular. Those who passed the second round could generally remain at the Royal Academy for the time being, and someone would arrange their accommodation afterward.

"All right. Once everything is settled, I'll come see you." With that, Dongfang Wanyu followed the senior student into Thunder Hall.

Dongfang Minghui calculated the time. Thinking the pharmacists' second round was nearly over, she rushed back.

But the moment she entered the examination area, she saw a figure in red. She tried to stop, but it was too late, and she crashed straight into them.

"Ow!" That hurt.

"What blind idiot was that?"

Their voices rang out almost simultaneously. Small as she was, Dongfang Minghui took the full impact and landed on her backside.

Still, why did that voice sound familiar?

"Which department are you from? Don't you watch where you're going? Apologize to me!" Murong Qingyi, with her spoiled young lady's temper, angrily kicked Dongfang Minghui.

Dongfang Minghui couldn't dodge in time, and now her ankle hurt too. Yet this arrogant, overbearing girl looked rather familiar. She stood and thought for a long while.

"What are you staring at? Keep staring and I'll whip you to death!" A long whip lashed toward her. Had someone not caught it in time, it would have struck Dongfang Minghui's face.

Oh, wow. This scene looks awfully familiar.

An image flashed through Dongfang Minghui's mind. She likes using a whip just like The Female Lead and lashes out at people over the slightest thing. Damn, isn't she the girl who picked a fight with The Female Lead back then? Li Yunan even fought her over it. Why has she come to the Royal Academy too?

"And who the hell are you? How dare you grab my whip!" Murong Qingyi snapped at anyone she saw, utterly oblivious to the situation.

Dongfang Minghui turned to look at her savior. She was a fair-skinned girl in practical clothing, carrying an enormous, broad sword on her back. Judging by the warrior emblem on her clothes, she should have been a senior sister from Warrior Hall, since the new students hadn't received their uniforms yet.

"She was wrong to bump into you, but that doesn't mean you should whip her." Bai Rou judged that the lash had a ninety percent chance of ruining Dongfang Minghui's delicate little doll-like face. She had never seen such a vicious new student before, which was why she had interfered and caught the whip.

Dongfang Minghui immediately said meekly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

She would apologize first. As for that attempted whipping, she would settle the score another day.

Murong Qingyi tugged for a long time, only to find that the other end of the whip remained motionless in Bai Rou's hand. She immediately realized she had encountered an expert. With Dongfang Minghui's sincere apology making the onlookers point and whisper about her, she had no choice but to soften her attitude, though she still said stubbornly, "Let go."

Bai Rou released it instantly. Caught off guard, Murong Qingyi stumbled backward several steps. She glared fiercely at Dongfang Minghui, flicked her whip, and left.

Dongfang Minghui rubbed her nose. Strange. With such a mild temperament, what had she done to make someone hold a grudge against her?

"Be more careful next time." Though Bai Rou's expression was icy, her voice was gentle.

"I will." Seeing her about to leave, Dongfang Minghui immediately hurried in front of her. "Senior Sister, are you from Warrior Hall? Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Bai Rou."

Then she left.

Dongfang Minghui's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg. Bai Rou, Bai Rou—so she's Bai Rou! She'll join The Female Lead's team later, and she's a formidable fighter too.

After encountering two harbingers of disaster in one day, Dongfang Minghui decided it must be because she hadn't checked the almanac before going out. Had she known, she would have stayed safely in White Angelica Garden.

"I'm done for."

The collision and commotion had delayed her. By the time she arrived, only a few scattered people remained in the examination area. From their appearance, they were senior students from the Medicine Department who had come to help supervise.

Dongfang Minghui awkwardly emerged from a corner and stopped someone at random. "Senior Brother, may I ask if the assessment here is over?"

The senior student glanced at her while cleaning. "It ended almost an hour ago. You're a medicine attendant from the Medicine Department, right? All the medicinal plants we borrowed from you today have already been returned."

Dongfang Minghui: "..."

Now she was finished. She couldn't even think of an excuse to give when she went back.

Dongfang Minghui hesitated and dawdled, racking her brains without finding a single reasonable excuse. After lingering outside the Medicine Department for a while, she charged bravely inside, hoping to find a way out by throwing herself into danger. With her eyes closed, she hurried toward White Angelica Garden.

"Good grief, where on earth have you been?" The sharp-eyed senior student in charge spotted her and immediately stepped forward to stop her.

"Actually, I got lost on my way back." The Royal Academy really was huge, and she had asked quite a few people for directions.

Dongfang Minghui lowered her head like someone who had done something wrong. Go ahead and scold me.

"Senior Brother Situ has been waiting for you for more than four hours! He's smashed several teacups. Be careful when you go see him."

"Huh?" Wasn't Pharmacist Xu going to punish me?

Looking utterly bewildered, Dongfang Minghui was escorted to Situ Hao by the senior student in charge.

"Senior Brother, Qian Minghui is here."

As long as she didn't have to face Pharmacist Xu, Dongfang Minghui could breathe easier. Seeing Situ Hao's gloomy expression, she couldn't resist a sarcastic remark. "What brings the great Senior Brother Situ here?"

Situ Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "You little girl really know how to hold a grudge. You made me wait over four hours, and you still think you're in the right? If another pharmacist caught you slacking off, you'd probably be punished."

Banking on his not daring to report her, Dongfang Minghui gave a smug little hum. "Fine. I'll be magnanimous and let it slide. Hurry up and tell me what you want."

Situ Hao sighed. "I thought about it all last night, and I realized you were right. If I hadn't been ignorant of what Blue Star Dream needed, I wouldn't have made it suffer so much."

Dongfang Minghui blinked. The fact that he had figured it out in a single night showed that Situ Hao genuinely cared about Blue Star Dream.

"I went to Blue Star Dream's courtyard last night and told it I would bring it to you. It was so happy. I haven't felt it that happy in a long time." Situ Hao was saddened. He was its owner, yet he couldn't even compare with an outsider like Dongfang Minghui.

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to cry.

"Can you guarantee that it'll keep getting better?" Situ Hao's question was rather unnecessary.

Dongfang Minghui couldn't help rolling her eyes. She had never met such a fussy man. "You've already come here. What's the point of asking that now? Or did you actually come just to chat?"

Situ Hao spread his hands. "You should consider my feelings. As Blue Star Dream's owner, shouldn't I—"

"Don't worry, don't worry. Blue Star Dream is so well-behaved. I'll make sure it gets better and better. Once it's recovered, I'll let it go back to you."

Situ Hao tugged at his ear. Had he misheard? How could Blue Star Dream go back on its own?

"You proposed this method. Tell me, with Blue Star Dream's true body being so huge, how can we move it to the Medicine Department?" Having made his decision, Situ Hao immediately began arranging the next steps for Blue Star Dream.

Dongfang Minghui had anticipated this from the start. The only thing she hadn't expected was that Situ Hao would need just one night to make up his mind.

"First, Blue Star Dream is a Golden Thorn Tree, a relatively dangerous demon plant. You'll need the dean's permission. If he allows you to transplant Blue Star Dream, the second step is to find me a secluded, unoccupied courtyard about the same size as its current one. I'll move in and live with it. Understand?" Dongfang Minghui thought having connections was wonderful. She could get a whole courtyard to herself so easily. Oh, yeah!

Situ Hao froze for a moment. "You still haven't explained how to transplant Blue Star Dream."

Dongfang Minghui looked at him, then looked at him again, and said mysteriously, "Finish the preliminary arrangements, and leave the rest to me."

Situ Hao gave her a dubious look. "All right. I'll go talk to the dean first."

Dongfang Minghui didn't know what he and the dean discussed, but she waited a full two days before Situ Hao returned.

The senior student in charge was rather deferential toward Situ Hao. He led the way, with her and Situ Hao following, until they reached a secluded little courtyard as far from White Angelica Garden as possible. Weeds filled the grounds, and it looked as though it had been abandoned for some time.

"Senior Brother, why don't I find Junior Sister a better courtyard? Look, this place is really far from White Angelica Garden. It's been abandoned for years, and no one has cleaned it in ages. Surely it isn't suitable for her to live here alone?" the senior student in charge advised.

Situ Hao frowned. He had probably never seen such a neglected courtyard.

Dongfang Minghui, however, thought it was excellent. First, it was secluded, so no one would disturb her. Second, it was far from White Angelica Garden, where the countless medicinal plants and abundant spiritual energy would actually harm Blue Star Dream.

"I think it's a good place. It just needs cleaning." Dongfang Minghui smiled until her eyes curved into crescents. Secretly, she spoke to Little Color in her mind. "Little Color, did you feel that? What exactly is it?"

"I don't know," Little Color replied in a childish voice. "Let's wait until they leave, then investigate further."

Situ Hao opened his mouth, intending to persuade her as well, but abandoned the idea when he saw her determined expression. "I'll send someone to help you clean it later. Otherwise, it really won't be fit to live in."

The senior student in charge immediately stepped forward. "If you trust me, Senior Brother, I'll send people over to tidy Junior Sister's rooms."

"Thank you, Senior Brother," Dongfang Minghui said with a smile.

After glancing at the senior student in charge, Situ Hao continued, "Now that we've chosen the place, tell me what we should do next."

Dongfang Minghui blinked. "Take me to see Blue Star Dream."

Situ Hao questioned her the entire way, but she revealed nothing. She only said she had a way to transplant Blue Star Dream easily, without a major undertaking.

Had Situ Hao known how she intended to transplant it, he probably would have called her a liar. Hadn't she promised there would be no major undertaking?

At the entrance, Dongfang Minghui told him, "Don't let anyone come in and disturb us. If anything goes wrong with Blue Star Dream, I won't take responsibility."

Situ Hao had intended to sneak up onto the wall and watch, but her warning genuinely frightened him. He ordered everyone to guard the outside and forbade anyone from setting foot inside. Yes, even climbing the wall was forbidden.

"Huihui, have you come to get me?" Blue Star Dream was delighted. All its thorny tendrils danced through the air, though it didn't dare bring them close to her.

Dongfang Minghui nodded. "Yes. We'll do what we discussed before. Taking Humanoid Form might hurt a little, but you must endure it. You have to hold on."

"It's fine. I'm not afraid of pain."

Even so, Dongfang Minghui remained a little worried, because her little companion would also have to participate.

"Little Color."

A chubby little toddler appeared in the courtyard. A tiny Vines sprout sat on its head, swaying from side to side in the breeze with a rather rhythmic motion.

"Color." Thanks to Dongfang Minghui's introduction, Blue Star Dream also knew Little Color's name.

Little Color glanced sideways and glared at it. "Come on. Gather all the spiritual energy in your body into your tree heart. Imagine you're in Humanoid Form, then slowly send it into your limbs, little by little."

Blue Star Dream was obedient and well-behaved. All its thorny branches began to dance, and Dongfang Minghui could clearly feel that she stood at the center of the gathering spiritual energy.

Occasionally, its spiritual energy strayed into her, rushing straight through the meridians in her body. Within moments, that foreign energy had stretched her meridians almost to bursting.

Blue Star Dream was very gifted. It understood Little Color's instructions after hearing them just once. When it gathered all its spiritual energy into its tree heart, it felt as though its entire body had broken apart. It hurt so badly that it wanted to cry.

But remembering its promise, it gritted its teeth and didn't make a sound.

Outside, Dongfang Minghui had to withstand the vast amounts of Blue Star Dream's Spiritual Power surging into her while watching the towering tree break into sections. Blue sap spilled across the ground, and some even splashed onto her face. It was warm and contained immense Spiritual Power, frightening her so badly that she nearly lost control of her cultivation.

"Endure it," Little Color reminded them. Those words were meant not only for Blue Star Dream but also for Dongfang Minghui.

They were all suffering. As Dongfang Minghui continued suppressing the spiritual energy, she felt her bottleneck stir again. Just when she thought she couldn't hold on, the other seven gray meridians in her body were all cleared in rapid succession. Even more Spiritual Power swept madly toward her.

Spiritual Power ran wild, and strange signs appeared in the heavens. The previously fairly bright sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, lightning flashing among them.

The three at the center of the Spiritual Power vortex didn't notice the anomaly at all. Even if they had, they probably would have been powerless to stop it.

Guarding outside, Situ Hao stared at the sky in astonishment. A powerful vortex hung overhead, seemingly gathering something.

"Such heavenly signs only appear when a spiritual treasure emerges. Hurry and find out where it is!" After giving that order, he continued guarding outside the courtyard, pacing back and forth.

The great tree inside the courtyard crashed to the ground. Most of its thorny branches fell, breaking into several pieces on impact. Blue liquid splattered everywhere. The devastation was shocking to behold.

A flash of heavenly light appeared within the vortex overhead. A lightning bolt as thick as five men's thighs was about to descend.

"Hold on." With no time to explain anything, Little Color poured all its Spiritual Power into Blue Star Dream to help it.

"Wah, it hurts." Blue Star Dream had never felt pain like this. It was as though every root broke and every inch shattered. Its broken branches regrew, only to break again. After several repetitions, it was a fate worse than death.

The lightning had barely descended halfway when it suddenly, bizarrely vanished.

The sky cleared again, blue and bright, as though none of those strange signs had ever existed.

The Spiritual Power vortex inside the courtyard also disappeared without a trace. When Dongfang Minghui opened her eyes, the ground was a complete mess. Little Color had vanished as well.

"Huihui." A little boy of five or six gently touched the wisps of her hair and gave her a sunny smile. His azure eyes were as beautiful as the sea, clear and pure.

Dongfang Minghui was astonished. "Blue Star Dream?"

"Huihui, why have I become so strange?" He looked at his short arms and legs, sounding a little forlorn.

Dongfang Minghui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Blue Star Dream, you've taken Humanoid Form now. Look, you're like me." She reached out and gently pinched its little cheek.

Blue Star Dream copied her gesture, then giggled.

"Enough, you two idiots. Hurry and take him back to the Royal Academy. I've only lent him my spiritual energy temporarily. It won't last long." Inside her soul sea, Little Color pulled out a little branch and brandished it at her.

Dongfang Minghui immediately came to her senses. "Blue Star Dream, you'll have to stay in my storage space for a little while."

Blue Star Dream went over to hug her, then slipped into the ring.

"How did it go?" Situ Hao was still quite nervous. The sudden heavenly anomaly had frightened him badly; he had thought Blue Star Dream and the others were responsible.

Dongfang Minghui nodded. "Come back to the Royal Academy with me."

"What about Blue Star Dream? Aren't we taking it too?" Situ Hao peered into the courtyard and froze at the sight of the broken branches littering the ground. He picked up one of Blue Star Dream's snapped branches, his eyes instantly reddening with anger. "What happened here?" he roared at Dongfang Minghui.

"Calm down, calm down. I've already taken Blue Star Dream with me. These are just its leftover roots. Don't worry. I'll give you back a lively, healthy Blue Star Dream in a moment."

Only after Dongfang Minghui repeatedly reassured him did Situ Hao believe that Blue Star Dream was all right. Even so, he remained anxious the whole way, asking one question after another.

His questions annoyed Dongfang Minghui so much that, for the first time, she thought the road to the Royal Academy was too long.

When they reached the courtyard, Dongfang Minghui stopped Situ Hao outside. "Stay out here and keep watch for me. No one can disturb me during this."

Her determined gaze successfully intimidated Situ Hao once again. Since this concerned Blue Star Dream, he didn't want to risk even the slightest mistake.

Dongfang Minghui released Blue Star Dream from her Spatial Ring and led it around the courtyard. "Blue Star Dream, we'll be living together for a while. Now you can choose whichever spot you like best."

Hearing that he would live with her, Blue Star Dream was especially happy. Looking up with a smiling face, he pointed to a spot near a corner of the courtyard wall.

"Why choose over there?" Dongfang Minghui didn't quite understand. Didn't plants like open spaces? That corner probably wouldn't even give him enough room to grow.

"I don't know. I just think that corner feels comfortable."

"Stop dawdling," Little Color reminded her in her soul sea.

"Don't be scared. Huihui is here with you." Dongfang Minghui hugged it, then stepped back a little.

She watched two Vines plunge straight into Blue Star Dream's arms. Blue spiritual energy seeped out bit by bit, all of it absorbed by Little Color.

Soon, the Vines took on solid form. Blue Star Dream, on the other hand, seemed to grow weaker and weaker, its shape beginning to change. Gradually, a tiny baby appeared on the ground.

Dongfang Minghui dared not disturb them. In fact, when Little Color first proposed this, she had rejected the idea. Exchanging Spiritual Power and physical forms would be painful for both her companions. One wrong move, and both could be injured.

But considering their long-term survival, she had agreed in the end. Now it seemed the danger Little Color had described was not even a hundredth of what she was seeing.

Hmph. I knew my little companion had tricked me.

Blue Star Dream soon became a sapling, resting quietly in that corner.

Little Color soon returned to her Soul Sea as well. "I'm going into seclusion for a while. Try not to stir up trouble while I'm gone."

Dongfang Minghui was speechless. Her little companion was becoming more and more like an old adult. What was she supposed to do?

After that, Little Color fell completely silent.

"Blue Star Dream, are you all right?" Dongfang Minghui walked over to the sapling and stroked its newly sprouted buds. Seeing its fresh green branches, she thought this was how it ought to grow naturally.

Blue Star Dream swayed its branches and gently curled one around her wrist to show that it was fine. With most of its spiritual energy drained away, it actually felt much more at ease, as though the shackles on its body had suddenly fallen away.

When Dongfang Minghui called Situ Hao inside, she pointed to the sapling in the corner. "Blue Star Dream is over there. Go take a look."

The contrast between a towering tree and a tiny seedling made Situ Hao's eyes widen. He pointed at Blue Star Dream for a long moment. "You're kidding me, right?"

"If there's anything you want to tell it, hurry up." Dongfang Minghui yawned. After a whole day of running around, she ached all over.

Little Color had absorbed Blue Star Dream's excess Spiritual Power, saving Blue Star Dream while benefiting itself.

Dongfang Minghui thought her little companion was a little rascal. She had wondered why Little Color would willingly offer to help Blue Star Dream. So it had an ulterior motive after all.

"Ah, I'll find ways to make it up to Blue Star Dream later." She would treat it as payment for the spiritual energy taken from it.

Dongfang Minghui and Blue Star Dream got along very well. In the mornings, Blue Star Dream tried to wake her by flicking its branches at her, though it succeeded only once in ten attempts. After waking, she would water it and loosen its soil, then head to White Angelica Garden to gather with the others and begin the day's work.

Without her knowing, White Angelica Garden had suddenly gained many more herbal apprentices.

When she arrived, she saw a dozen or so people huddled together, chattering about something. Their presence made White Angelica Garden much livelier than usual.

She immediately approached the senior apprentice in charge and pointed curiously at the group. "Senior, are they here to be herbal apprentices too? Do we still need to collect morning dew today?"

"Of course. Morning dew is indispensable for preparing potions."

Dongfang Minghui pointed at them. "Do they have to collect it too?"

The senior apprentice in charge pulled her aside. "The Medicine Department has finished recruiting for this intake. These are all people eliminated in the final, third round of testing. They refused to leave, so they were assigned here."

Dongfang Minghui nodded in understanding. The Medicine Department held a pivotal position in the Royal Academy, while pharmacists remained scarce throughout the Seven-Colored Continent. The applicants were probably thinking that as long as they stayed at the academy, they would eventually have a chance to make something of themselves. That was why they had all become herbal apprentices.

Soon, Pharmacist Xu arrived. Everyone reacted like mice spotting a cat and quickly lined up. Dongfang Minghui stood obediently to one side. An inadvertent glance made her pause. Wasn't the plant Pharmacist Xu had brought the Beauty Bamboo that had been dying yesterday?

"There are three things I need to explain today. First, White Angelica Garden has gained twelve herbal apprentices. Steward, explain all the garden's rules to them later, and make suitable arrangements for their lodgings. Second, regarding this Beauty Bamboo: whoever carried it to the testing area yesterday, step forward."

Dongfang Minghui pointed at herself and took a step forward, feeling baffled.

Pharmacist Xu declared before everyone, "Yesterday, I saw it blooming perfectly well and brought it down from the back mountain. Yet in just one day, it began to wither. You should all know that anyone who deliberately damages a medicinal herb in White Angelica Garden will be expelled from the Medicine Department, and may even be expelled from the Royal Academy."

"Pharmacist Xu, are you saying I deliberately damaged the Beauty Bamboo?" Dongfang Minghui asked with a smile.

"Yesterday, only you and I touched this pot of Beauty Bamboo. Unless someone else touched it?" Pharmacist Xu's narrow eyes swept lightly over the other nine people present.

Dongfang Minghui glanced at them too. The other nine who had gone to the testing area yesterday all lowered their heads and stared at their toes, acting as though this had nothing to do with them.

Pharmacist Xu's implication was clear: she had already decided Dongfang Minghui was responsible and was eager to pronounce her guilty.

Just then, the senior apprentice in charge stepped out from the side and addressed her. "Pharmacist Xu, could there be some misunderstanding here? I happened to see Qian Minghui when she returned yesterday. She came back empty-handed. I didn't see her bring the Beauty Bamboo back."

The senior apprentice in charge was quite decent, standing up for her even at a time like this. Still, she did not celebrate too soon.

Following his lead, Dongfang Minghui explained, "After I took this pot of Beauty Bamboo to the testing area yesterday, I went to run an errand for Senior Situ. When I returned to collect it, the senior apprentices in the testing area told me someone had brought it back for me."

Dongfang Minghui spread her hands. "Pharmacist Xu, I think the most urgent thing is to find whoever brought the Beauty Bamboo back for me yesterday."

Pharmacist Xu's lovely eyes shifted, lingering on her and the senior apprentice in charge for a while before she smiled. "From what you've said, there does seem to be a misunderstanding. But we cannot establish the truth immediately, and everyone is waiting here. Why don't we set this matter aside for now? What do you think?"

This woman was plainly stirring up trouble on purpose, trying to humiliate her in front of everyone. If the senior apprentice in charge had not spoken up fairly, the matter certainly would not have ended so easily today.

When Dongfang Minghui did not respond, the senior apprentice in charge tugged her sleeve.

"We'll follow your arrangements, Pharmacist Xu." Dongfang Minghui forced an insincere smile.

Afterward, the senior apprentice in charge pulled Dongfang Minghui aside. "Did you offend Pharmacist Xu somehow?"

Dongfang Minghui looked utterly bewildered. She had been working here for less than a week. When would she have had time to offend anyone? Besides, with such a mild temper, how could she possibly offend people so easily?

"Senior, think about it. What would I gain from offending a pharmacist?" And a junior pharmacist at that. If she was going to offend someone, she would at least choose someone important.

The senior apprentice in charge lowered his voice. "Why don't you ask Senior Situ for help and see if you can smooth this over? After all, Pharmacist Xu has someone backing her."

Dongfang Minghui was rather unwilling. Someone was already walking all over her. Why should she accept it and trouble Situ Hao over the matter?

Never mind having someone backing her—even if she had the emperor himself behind her, she still had to listen to reason, didn't she?

"Senior, let's not panic. Let's first see what she's really trying to do."

Dongfang Minghui was in a terrible mood when she returned to the courtyard, and even Blue Star Dream sensed it. It swished its tender branches, wanting to reach for her, only to discover that its branches had shortened along with its body. Somehow, that dealt it ten thousand points of damage.

"Blue Star Dream, I'm back."

As soon as she returned, she checked Blue Star Dream's soil and moisture, then looked for any foolish insects that might have crawled onto it.

"Huihui is unhappy?"

"Yes. Someone deliberately accused me of something today. She wants to drive me out of here." Hmph, she even wanted to drive her out of the Royal Academy.

She thought carefully for a long time, going over everything she had done from her first day until today. Soon, she suspected the trouble had begun that day she identified intermediate- and high-grade medicinal herbs.

She had always been close to plants, so she could naturally tell at a glance how strong a medicinal herb's spiritual energy was, and thus determine its grade.

"That's probably why she wants to get rid of me." Dongfang Minghui felt she had been far too careless. Even though she had deliberately misidentified one plant that day, it had not been enough to prevent others from becoming suspicious.

Situ Hao had once said that, apart from exceptionally gifted pharmacists, many worked their way up from herbal apprentices. Could she be worried that I'll rise above her someday?

"Huihui."

Blue Star Dream tickled her palm again and again with a tender little branch, finally drawing her attention back to it. "Let's go beat her up."

"Hey, that's the spirit. But Blue Star Dream, can you beat her with that tiny body of yours?" Dongfang Minghui felt truly comforted. When she was sad, there was still someone—no, a tree—to console her.

Blue Star Dream extended a tender branch and lashed the ground hard. A steady pattering followed, though it was extremely faint.

Dongfang Minghui could not bear to discourage it. She stroked it. "Blue Star Dream knows how to care for Huihui now. Oh, I'm so happy."

Blue Star Dream shyly curled its tender branch around her finger and nuzzled it affectionately.

Just as she had expected, the matter was not over.

"Qian Minghui, Pharmacist Xu wants you to come over. They've found the person who brought the Beauty Bamboo back for you that day," said another herbal apprentice who came to find her in the courtyard.

The herbal apprentice looked around for a while, then said enviously, "You have this whole courtyard to yourself?"

Dongfang Minghui nodded. "Let's go. I'll take a look right now."

The two walked one behind the other.

Pretending to make idle conversation, Dongfang Minghui asked, "How strange. I don't think I've seen the senior apprentice in charge today. He normally wouldn't leave White Angelica Garden. Have you seen him?"

"No. Early this morning, Senior Brother in charge said he had something to do and went out. I don't know what he went to do, but he still hasn't come back," the herbal apprentice said frankly. "Pharmacist Xu saw that I happened to be free, so she sent me to fetch you."

Well, well. Nicely done.

Pharmacist Xu had deliberately sent Senior Brother in charge away, leaving her isolated and without help.

"Hey, Qian Minghui, why did you move into that secluded little courtyard? I heard someone died there once, and it was often haunted. Over time, it fell into disuse."