"Because you let your personal feelings control your judgment. You didn’t even try to be fair. You tried to block someone else’s path, just because you didn’t like them."
He looked right into her eyes.
"If you keep doing that, one day your path will be blocked too. Power and position don’t give you the right to step on others."
Han Xiaoyu looked shocked. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
Then, slowly, she turned and started running around the field.
The others watched quietly. Some looked shocked. Others looked thoughtful.
Instructor Liu turned back to Gu Jin.
"You did well today. Very well."
Gu Jin nodded slightly, then turned to help Lin Yue stand.
Lin Yue looked at her with wide eyes.
For the first time, she smiled.
"...Thanks, Gu Jin," she said softly.
Gu Jin just shrugged.
After Gu Jin left the field, the other students gathered in small groups. They whispered and talked, stealing glances at Gu Jin’s back as she walked away calmly.
"I didn’t think she’d help Lin Yue like that," Yun Qing said, frowning a little.
"Yeah... and that pill... Earth Rank Intermediate? That’s insane," Bai Yu added.
Zhou Lei nodded. "She finished last, but her pill was the best."
Just then, Han Xiaoyu returned, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her face was red, and her hair was sticking to her cheeks. She looked tired—but her voice was sharp.
"That wasn’t fair," she complained loudly.
"Instructor Liu just took her side because she acted all quiet and pitiful. I was doing my job as the judge! That’s all!"
Some students looked at her, but no one agreed right away.
"She broke the rules," Han Xiaoyu continued.
"Helping someone during a timed test? Isn’t that cheating? She wasn’t even focusing on the pill!"
Lin Yue stood up slowly, still holding her ankle. She looked right at Han Xiaoyu.
"Are you sure it was Gu Jin who didn’t take things seriously?" she asked.
Han Xiaoyu blinked. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
Lin Yue crossed her arms. "Maybe... you’re the one who was being fake the whole time."
The other students turned to listen.
"You say Gu Jin didn’t care about the test," Lin Yue said.
"But she made the best pill and
Han Xiaoyu scowled. "You’re on her side now? Just because she helped you a little?"
Lin Yue smirked. "Yeah. Because she did help. At least she tried. Unlike someone else."
She looked around at the others.
"Remember that day when we were learning about that tricky herb, Cloudroot? None of us could figure out the last characteristic."
Zhao Lili gasped. "Oh, right! Only Han Xiaoyu and Gu Jin got it correct!"
"When we asked Han Xiaoyu to show us how she wrote the notes, she said, ’Sorry, my handwriting is too messy. You wouldn’t understand it.’"
Han Xiaoyu’s face turned red. "I—I really do have bad handwriting!"
"But Gu Jin? She didn’t even brag. She just explained it step by step to Instructor Liu and passed the test," Lin Yue said.
Zhou Lei scratched his head.
"Now that I think about it... yeah, that was kinda cold."
"She always says she’s helping us... but she only helps when it makes her look good."
Han Xiaoyu opened her mouth to speak, but no one was listening anymore.
The group turned and walked away, still talking in low voices.
From the edge of the field, where no one was looking, Han Xiaoyu narrowed her eyes. Then she exchanged a glance with two people.
Han Xiaoyu was angry and stomped her foot, cursing,
"B*tch and b*stard! Now they won’t even listen to me!"
The next day after class, Gu Jin packed her things and was about to leave when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Gu Jin," she said softly, "Can I... ask you something? About herbs?"
Gu Jin paused, then turned around. "Which one?"
Yun Qing held out her notebook.
"I don’t understand the difference between Bluefire Grass and Burning Willow. They both grow near lava pools, but my notes keep mixing them up."
Gu Jin took the notebook and pointed at a sketch.
"This one’s Burning Willow. See the leaf shape? And this glow here? Bluefire Grass doesn’t do that. It burns colder, too."
She explained everything slowly, carefully, until Yun Qing’s eyes lit up with understanding.
"Ahh! Now I get it!" Yun Qing smiled brightly. "Thank you!"
Gu Jin gave a small nod and turned to leave.
But before she could step away, a bunch of students rushed toward her.
It was Lin Yue, Zhao Lili, Zhou Lei, Bai Yu, Meng Hao, and Qiao Feng.
Zhao Lili scratched her head. "Um... sorry to bother you, but I have a question too."
"Same here," Zhou Lei said. "About Spiritroot Flowers."
"And what about Frostvine?" asked Qiao Feng.
Gu Jin blinked, then set her bag down again.
She walked over to the table and calmly answered every question. Her voice was quiet, but clear. She used drawings, examples, and even showed a few herbs she had in her pouch.
No one laughed or made fun of her. No one looked away.
They all listened carefully.
And for the first time... they saw a different side of Gu Jin.
Kind. Patient. Smart.
After she finished helping them, Gu Jin packed up her things again and walked away without another word.
The group stood there in silence for a moment.
"...She’s actually really nice," Meng Hao said.
"I thought she was cold," Bai Yu added. "But maybe... we were wrong."
Lin Yue looked at the others. "Maybe we believed the wrong person."
Just then, Han Xiaoyu walked over.
She smiled, but her eyes were still sharp.
"Oh? Studying with Gu Jin now? Be careful. She might act sweet now, but who knows what she’ll do later."
They didn’t even look at her.
They just turned and walked away, chatting quietly about herbs and practice.
Han Xiaoyu stood alone.
That evening, as the sun started to set, Gu Jin was walking back to her room when she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned to see Lin Yue, Zhou Lei, Zhao Lili, Bai Yu, Qiao Feng, and Meng Hao.
Lin Yue stepped forward.
"...We wanted to say sorry," she said. "For ignoring you. For believing lies. We were wrong."
Zhou Lei rubbed the back of his neck. "You didn’t deserve that."
Gu Jin looked at them. Her face was calm as always.
But this time... her eyes softened just a little.
"...Alright," she said. "Just don’t do it again."
Anyways, for her, they were nothing more than kids.
One week passed quickly.
During that time, Gu Jin felt like her knowledge about herbs had grown a lot.
She read every night, practiced during the day, and asked questions only when needed.
Her notes were neat, her thoughts clear, and her memory sharp.
Meanwhile, the other students—except Han Xiaoyu—started to admire her. They didn’t whisper about her anymore.
Instead, they talked to her, listened carefully when she spoke, and even waited for her answers during lessons.
Soon, everyone began to treat Gu Jin like their teacher.
They knew the alchemy competition was coming soon. The pressure was high, and everyone wanted to do well.
So they started reviewing. Again and again.
But no matter how much they read, they kept forgetting important details.
"Ugh! What was the seventh property of Icevine again?" Zhou Lei groaned.
"Was it used in antidotes or sleeping pills?" Zhao Lili asked, frowning at her notes.
While everyone was confused, Gu Jin was already doing her seventh revision. She sat under a tree, flipping pages calmly, her eyes moving quickly across the lines.
She heard the others sighing and arguing nearby. She looked up from her book.
Gu Jin closed her book and stood up.
"Let’s review together," she said.
Everyone turned toward her in surprise.
"For real? You’ll help?" Lin Yue asked.
"I’m bored reviewing alone," Gu Jin said with a small shrug.
So they all sat in a circle. Gu Jin led them through everything—one herb at a time. She used funny examples, asked quick quiz questions, and corrected their mistakes with patience.
By the time her seventh revision ended, everyone’s faces lit up.
"I finally get it!" Bai Yu shouted.
"No way! I remembered all twenty-five rare root herbs!" Qiao Feng laughed.
Even Zhao Lili looked shocked. "How did you teach us all that in one day?!"
Gu Jin just smirked a little. "You weren’t listening before."
The next day, Instructor Liu saw how tired they all looked and decided to give them a break.
"Tomorrow, there will be no class. Take the day to rest or prepare on your own."
The students cheered loudly.
They immediately started making plans.
"Let’s go to the hot spring!" Meng Hao said.