Chapter 104

This night, Lu Xingzhou was uncharacteristically and truly infatuated.

The little enchantress was too good at flirting and was also uninhibited. The fresh fragrance after her bath, the charm attack, those misty eyes that seemed ready to drip water, accompanied by a soul-stealing voice—truly, even a god could be intoxicated.

The two of them moved from the table to the bed without realizing it. By the time Lu Xingzhou regained his senses slightly, they were already at the gates.

He stopped, panting, and met Pei Chuyun's misty eyes.

The air seemed to still for a few breaths. Lu Xingzhou pursed his lips, seeing the mockery and disappointment in the little enchantress's eyes.

What was she disappointed about?

Disappointed that the seduction didn't succeed after all, and the prepared Harlot Profound Technique couldn't be used?

Or disappointed... that she hadn't intended to use the technique, but the man didn't dare to trust her?

He didn't know, and didn't dare to guess.

Pei Chuyun wouldn't say either.

The misty spring water in her eyes finally receded, but she just smiled with a hint of weakness: "Let me hold you and sleep."

Lu Xingzhou said nothing and lay down quietly, pulling her into his arms. Pei Chuyun leaned into the crook of his shoulder, her legs wrapping around him without ceremony, smacked her little lips twice, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Lu Xingzhou, however, was completely sleepless and could only settle his mind to practice his cultivation.

He felt that life had become much harder to endure after provoking this little enchantress... Shen Tang would help solve problems, but the little enchantress just killed without burying, and would still cling to you afterward.

"My wheelchair has many functions integrated into it, and I'm a bit reluctant to throw it away for a while... Anyway, I'll fool them for as long as I can; maybe there will be fools coming to send themselves to me. The feeling of a sudden kick to the crotch is very refreshing."

…………

The next morning, Lu Xingzhou carried Meng Guan's letter to visit Meng Guan's elder brother, Meng Li, an instructor at the Alchemy Academy.

An instructor was established in both the Imperial Academy and the Alchemy Academy. If it were a county-level instructor, they would often be the head, but in the capital's Imperial Academy, they were roughly equivalent to a dean of students, responsible for educational work. This position in the Alchemy Academy was somewhat like a political commissar; they weren't responsible for alchemy teaching but for controlling the students' ideological education and medical ethics, teaching loyalty to the monarch, patriotism, alchemy for the people, and the benevolence of a healer...

Ranked below the Academy Head, they were the second-in-command. Given the importance of alchemy in the Great Qian, both the Academy Head and the instructor held very high ranks and were pivotal figures.

The little maid Pei Chuyun was throwing a tantrum today and refused to accompany him. Lu Xingzhou knew what she was sulking about and didn't have the heart to call her, so A-Nuo pushed his wheelchair to Meng Li's house as usual.

Because of his brother's connection, Meng Li was very friendly to Lu Xingzhou: "I know about your situation. You are at odds with the Huo family, and it's said you were even harassed by Huo Jin during dinner yesterday?"

"Yes. I'm not worried about anything else, but I fear the Huo family will trip me up or create a black-box operation during the Alchemy Academy assessment. I hope Instructor Meng will help me out."

Meng Li stroked his beard and laughed: "Actually, this time, it's hard for the Huo family to do anything... because His Majesty said a few days ago that he would come to watch in person. Who would dare to pull any tricks under His Majesty's nose?"

Lu Xingzhou wasn't surprised; the Emperor had watched this assessment in person many times over the years. He didn't think the Emperor would come specifically for him; after all, in his mind, the Emperor didn't really care about Shen Tang, and a mere guest advisor by Shen Tang's side wasn't worth a special look.

"The worry about a black-box operation can basically be put aside, but His Majesty's presence also means the assessment will be stricter. Even the exam questions might be set by His Majesty himself. Without real talent and learning, I'm afraid the scene will be very ugly." Meng Li sized Lu Xingzhou up: "I don't know what your actual level is. Let me give you a test paper to try your medical theory?"

Lu Xingzhou bowed: "Instructor Meng, please set the questions."

Meng Li took out a ready-made test paper and handed it to Lu Xingzhou, who took a brush and answered on the spot.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou thinking and answering, Meng Li was quite surprised.

Because this wasn't an entrance exam paper, but the "final exam" for the Alchemy Academy that year, used to test the learning achievements of alchemists who had been studying for a year. It involved a vast amount of knowledge for Upper Three Realms alchemy cultivation. For an entrance candidate to guess two or three questions correctly would be remarkable; handing in a blank paper was considered normal.

As a result, although Lu Xingzhou answered quite slowly and needed to think often, he actually answered nearly half correctly... And everything he wrote down was the correct answer.

Little did he know, Lu Xingzhou was also answering with cold sweat pouring down. Damn it, this is too hard! Is this what they test for entrance medical theory?

He had the Maha Notes and the inheritance of the Incense-Burning Tower, far exceeding the knowledge a normal Fifth or Sixth-Grade alchemist should have, yet there was still half the knowledge he hadn't encountered... He originally thought he was taking an entrance exam for a top university, but looking at it now, it seemed like he was taking a doctoral exam!

Just as he was deep in thought, a servant came in to report: "Lady Ye is here to visit."

Meng Li's expression turned solemn, even a bit nervous: "Please invite her in."

A woman wearing a light veil walked in slowly. Seeing someone hunched over answering questions in the room, she asked via sound transmission: "Instructor Meng, this is..."

Meng Li bowed slightly: "Lu Xingzhou, a student for this year's Alchemy Academy assessment. I'm just checking his knowledge."

Lady Ye seemed stunned: "He is Lu Xingzhou?"

As she spoke, she subconsciously moved a few steps closer to Lu Xingzhou and looked down at his answers.

After just a moment, her beautiful eyes grew more amazed: "This... some of the medical theory is something the Incense-Burning Tower would know, so it's not strange he knows it, but some..."

Meng Li whispered: "My Lady has noticed, too. Some of his angles of explanation are very profound... Although it's Third-Grade knowledge, the line of thought is like a First-Grade..."

"First-Grade?" Lady Ye smiled: "That's because you only know the First-Grade."

Meng Li was horrified.

Both were using sound transmission, so the master and apprentice Lu Xingzhou couldn't hear. A-Nuo kept her big, round eyes wide open, sizing up Lady Ye. She felt this sister must be very beautiful; just those beautiful eyes were as lovely as the starry sky.

It was a pity that this sister's veil seemed to be a treasure, too; she couldn't see through it at all.

So, she tried to cast a divination.

She couldn't calculate anything and almost suffered a backlash. A-Nuo was startled and didn't dare to calculate again.

This little brat was calculating her, and Lady Ye naturally noticed. She smiled and squatted down, pinching A-Nuo's face: "You're calculating me?"

A-Nuo smiled apologetically: "Sister, you are so amazing, I was wrong..."

Lady Ye asked with interest: "Where did you learn your divination skills?"

"That, I learned it from a wandering old Daoist..."

Lady Ye's eyes held a smile. It was indeed Yuan Muyu's divination method; this tendency to lie as soon as she opened her mouth was also inherited from Yuan Muyu.

She didn't know how many years it had been since anyone dared to calculate her. She didn't expect an ignorant and fearless child to come along. She also felt a bit of childlike playfulness and smiled: "Little girl, I'll restrain my cultivation and let you calculate. Let's see what you can figure out, shall we?"

A-Nuo wondered: "Is Sister feeling lost on her path and wanting to truly cast a divination?"

Lady Ye was stunned and nodded.

Subconsciously, that must be the case.

Since ancient times, it's hard to calculate oneself, and no one else has ever been able to calculate her. The path ahead is lost, and she is exhausted. Borrowing the childlike playfulness to tease the child and taking a casual look, why not?

A-Nuo calculated again with her fingers, and indeed, there was no backlash... But as she calculated, her little chubby face became increasingly strange.

"What's wrong, little girl?"

"That, why does your divination image look so much like a sister I know..."

"Who?" It couldn't be Yuan Muyu, could it? If so, this child had some skill.

As it turned out, A-Nuo answered: "Sheng Yuanyao."

What could this seat possibly have in common with the Sheng family girl? Thinking left and right, other than both being women, there wouldn't be a single similarity. It was clearly a wrong divination.

Lady Ye couldn't even be bothered to ask what the specific divination image was. She shook her head with a lack of interest, stood up, and said to Meng Li: "Instructor Meng, I came here to ask what private explanation your brother, Governor Meng, has regarding the Infant Ghost Case. Don't use official rhetoric to fob off this... to fob off me."

"Uh..." Meng Li pointed to Lu Xingzhou: "The person involved is here. Instead of asking me for this second-hand explanation, why doesn't My Lady ask him directly?"

Just then, Lu Xingzhou sighed and turned in his paper: "Instructor Meng, I can really only answer this much. It seems the difficulty of the Alchemy Academy entrance assessment is far beyond my estimation. I'll have to pack up and go home to study for another two years."

Meng Li's hands were shaking as he held the paper.

He actually passed...

Although he only just passed... but you haven't even entered the academy yet! Do you know how many students who have studied for a whole year failed this term?

If even you have to pack up, the Alchemy Academy might as well close its doors.

Meng Li's voice drifted: "This, this isn't the difficulty of the entrance assessment, it's something else, something else. The entrance assessment will be simpler than this. Go back to your residence and read more alchemy books, don't slack off. The assessment is next month, there's a great chance, a great chance..."

Lady Ye couldn't help but laugh.

Lu Xingzhou let out a breath, his gaze also falling on Lady Ye: "This is..."

"This is Lady Ye, who is very accomplished in both alchemy and divination." Meng Li hurriedly said: "Lady Ye is here to ask about the details of the Infant Ghost Case. Just take this opportunity to ask Lady Ye for more advice."

Lady Ye... sounds like a married woman, possibly a noble's relative. No wonder she has to wear a veil.

Since it was Meng Li's introduction, she should be on the same side as Meng Guan, so he could speak with some reservations. Lu Xingzhou bowed: "Greetings, Lady Ye. I wonder what My Lady wants to know?"

Lady Ye stared at him: "I think it's incredible that Huo Lu would hire an Infant Ghost to kill you in the street. He couldn't be stupid enough to do that. What I want to know is how much you framed in this matter, and whether it's flawless."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "It is a solid fact that Huo Lu hired the Infant Ghost to kill me. Even if you search their souls, that's the answer you'll get. It's just that they chose the assassination location inside the Hongfa Temple; the street was just something I created for people to see. But that doesn't matter, the fact stands, doesn't it?"

Lady Ye's eyes relaxed quite a bit, and she put on a smile again: "Not bad. What kind of guidance in alchemy do you hope to get?"

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment: "My Lady's cultivation is so strong I can't see through it; you are definitely in the Upper Three Realms. May I ask some questions about cultivation?"

Lady Ye nodded: "You may."

This aura, this confidence... She didn't even ask what aspect of cultivation, as if she could answer any aspect of cultivation.

Lu Xingzhou gritted his teeth: "My Lady, please don't blame me for being abrupt... I want to ask about the harmony of Yin and Yang. It has been troubling me greatly recently."