The Young Lady Was Gone

"Xuezhou, you came first in number theory! First!"

Mei Renteng could not contain his envy.

When the school rankings for the month came out, even the top students in the class could not help casting astonished looks his way.

Zhang Xuezhou's latest school ranking was ninety-third, but his number theory score was exceptionally high.

Two students in the entire school had received perfect scores in number theory. One ranked first in the school, and the other was Zhang Xuezhou.

Although Zhang Xuezhou's ranking was not particularly high, a perfect score in a single subject was undoubtedly the envy of many, especially in this key subject that made such a difference to overall scores.

Zhang Xuezhou's other subjects were ordinary, but number theory alone had raised his ranking by at least forty places.

As long as he maintained his advantage in number theory and put a little effort into his other subjects, Zhang Xuezhou's school ranking was bound to make another substantial leap.

Mei Renteng looked at his own sixty-two in number theory, then at Zhang Xuezhou's perfect score of one hundred, and wished he could swap scores with him.

If he had Zhang Xuezhou's number theory score, he too could have made the top hundred, or even ranked higher.

"I only came first in one subject, number theory. What use is a score I got through dumb luck? It's not like I can use it to get into a university in the Western Capital, is it?"

Before some of his classmates could voice what was on their minds, Zhang Xuezhou had already made fun of himself.

His words left many of his classmates speechless.

Although Zhang Xuezhou's ranking was not high, coming first in a subject was an honor, second only to the top students at the very front of the school rankings.

Even students ranked below the school's top ten did not attract as much attention as Zhang Xuezhou.

In many subjects, high scores were easy to get, but perfect scores were hard.

Although Zhang Xuezhou had called it dumb luck, many people knew that once scores in certain subjects rose, they were unlikely to fall again.

Zhang Xuezhou might not get a perfect score in number theory on the next exam, but he was bound to score high.

With the big year-end exam approaching, some students had begun to emerge without anyone noticing, steadily climbing the school rankings.

It would have been one thing if he were an ordinary student, but many people had only to think of Zhang Xuezhou's academic-goddess sister, who had held first place throughout all three years of high school, to look down on him less.

Compared with the outstanding Zhang Manqian, Zhang Xuezhou, despite being in the advanced class, had always been a poor student.

But when Zhang Xuezhou suddenly showed what he could do, many of his classmates realized that he usually seemed to treat studying as something of a game.

He had casually picked up a perfect score and then strolled away without a care.

Compared with everyone else's feverish studying, Zhang Xuezhou always seemed this relaxed, and he was not above sleeping in class.

"Mei Renteng, did Zhang Xuezhou really not get his hands on any secret exam papers?" a classmate asked.

"What secret exam papers could he get?" Mei Renteng said dejectedly. "He can't even be bothered to look at the Huangshan secret exam papers we do. He just takes a number theory book home every day."

"He only takes his number theory textbook?"

"Today he switched to the first-year biology and genetics textbook!"

"Huh?"

Some were a little disappointed to hear that, while others began to ponder.

"Could he really get a high score in biology and genetics next time?"

The biology and genetics taught in high school was not particularly advanced; it was all foundational material.

But precisely because it was foundational, there was far, far too much to memorize. It was a subject everyone spent all day memorizing, from morning to night.

Besides that, there were also linguistics, foreign languages, politics and history, and other subjects.

The various major subjects took up far too much time.

Anyone who could manage their time reasonably and build up their knowledge step by step could at least get high scores in many subjects, if not perfect ones.

But when it came to number theory, it was perhaps not a subject where rote memorization alone could earn a high score.

Just thinking about how Zhang Xuezhou had quietly scored full marks gave some people cause to mutter to themselves.

Perhaps the next test would give them a rough idea of what Zhang Xuezhou was really capable of.

"A person's fate after a shock is truly hard to predict!"

After school, Zhang Xuezhou slowly made his way home.

Expressionless, he forced the genetically synthesized artificial food into his mouth, feeling that the major shock he had suffered had brought him to the point of graduating from number theory ahead of time.

This was even faster than he had previously budgeted for, and it might well allow his ranking to rise a little further.

What kind of cultivation technique is Doctor Ren's Essential Instruction for Recuperation, anyway?

It seems I'm not seriously ill?

Did I really achieve Realm Entry in real life?

Could Realm Entry develop the brain?

There were far, far too many unsolved mysteries in Zhang Xuezhou's mind.

One moment he doubted himself, the next he was sure of himself, full of all sorts of contradictions.

With all these conflicting thoughts, Zhang Xuezhou felt that his symptoms fit those of a mental patient very well.

After letting his thoughts run wild for quite a while, he finally settled down to tackle the memorization-heavy subjects that high school students feared and hated.

Biology and genetics? If I can maintain my current state, read through one hundred and eighty pages a day, and memorize the key material, I can review one volume of biology and genetics in three days. The four high school volumes would only take twelve days to review!

Zhang Xuezhou counted on his fingers, then began reciting biology and genetics aloud, his face expressionless.

"Why are you reciting biology and genetics? Are you crazy? Even if you recite it that loudly, you still won't finish memorizing it..."

The disturbance continued, and after a round of cursing, the teachers' family members who also lived in the school-district housing finally put up with Zhang Xuezhou's pre-exam cramming.

Daily grumbling was unavoidable.

But Zhang Xuezhou kept a highly regular schedule. He always stopped at nine in the evening and did not disturb anyone's sleep.

Zhang Xuezhou was a little noisy at the moment, but he was at least somewhat considerate of others and did not make it impossible for everyone to get any peace. Amid the grumbling and curses, the noise died down.

Oh, right. Yesterday, a melancholy-looking young lady in white came into the room. Could she do something improper to me? After all, it's almost time for a boy's physiological cycle, so it's perfectly normal for me to have erotic dreams!

It was nearly nine in the evening before Zhang Xuezhou remembered what had happened in the dream world.

That young lady in white isn't my type. Wouldn't it be a bit of a bad bargain to lose my first time in a dream to her? Forget it, I'll just take a little loss. It's not real anyway!

Zhang Xuezhou looked at the human biology section of biology and genetics and spent a full minute seriously studying the diagrams of male and female reproductive organs. In the end, he felt he understood them; if that girl in white forced herself on him, he would be able to cooperate accordingly.

Taking the prospect of losing his virginity for the first time seriously, Zhang Xuezhou lay down on his bed with a solemn expression.

The alarm clock reached nine o'clock on the dot, and Zhang Xuezhou's eyes widened as he felt sensation return to his body in the dream.

A woman's shrill, piercing scream rang out, then abruptly stopped.

Zhang Xuezhou opened his eyes and found himself standing barefoot on the floor rather than lying in bed as usual.

He looked around the disheveled room, then raised his head to look at a length of white silk hanging from the beam.

"Auntie, a woman came into my room last night. Did you chase her out?"

The room was a mess, and the woman in white was nowhere to be seen, but Zhang Xuezhou did not think that length of white silk belonged in his room.

He had a vague feeling that the white silk looked familiar, too.

"Cousin, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

The door to the side room was pushed open, revealing Rong Tianding holding a bowl of pig's blood, Jia Zhiyuan holding up a lantern, and Rong Li gripping a butcher's knife, radiating murderous intent.

After a startled Rong Li forced the door open, Rong Tianding quickly asked his question.

"Unwell? I feel fine. By the way, did any of you see a young lady in white? She seemed to have come into my room by mistake!"

"There wasn't any young lady," Rong Tianding cried. "You were walking back and forth in the room last night, imitating a woman's voice over and over and telling us about the injustices she suffered before she died. It was terrifying!"

"I did that? No way. I can't move around after I fall asleep," Zhang Xuezhou said in surprise. "Didn't you come into the room to check?"

"The door wouldn't open," Rong Tianding said. "I even splashed pig's blood on it, and it still wouldn't open!"

"Didn't it open easily enough? What did you splash pig's blood for?"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed at Rong Li, who had forced the door open.

In fact, because Rong Li had used so much force and the door bar had not been removed, the bar behind the door had been split by the push.

The tables, chairs, and wooden chests blocking the door had also been knocked over in a heap.

"It seems... could Daoist Mu have used some kind of bewitching smoke on us?!"

At the doorway, Rong Li held the butcher's knife and concentrated for several seconds before arriving at that rough conclusion.

Zhang Xuezhou appeared unharmed, but by the shadow cast in the lamplight, they had seen with their own eyes his body drifting about and muttering all night.

If Zhang Xuezhou had not woken up in time, the woman's voice he had been imitating seemed to suggest she meant to hang herself.

They had been outside the door, but no matter what they did, they could not push open the side room's door or break through a window to get inside.

Rong Li thought they had unknowingly fallen victim to some kind of smoke that clouded the mind, causing each of them to show different symptoms.

This had never happened before in the Rong Household.

Murderous intent filled Rong Li's face. She thought she ought to have a doctor give Zhang Xuezhou a thorough examination.

If anything was wrong with Zhang Xuezhou's body, she would take her butcher's knife to the Daoist temple and have a proper talk with Daoist Mu.