Capítulo 7: This Golden Age
The next day, Monday.
In her bedroom, Tang Shu, who had been meditating all night, opened her eyes which were clear and bright.
Feeling the faint presence of energy in her dantian, she felt somewhat relieved.
The body she shared not a small resemblance with had good fundamentals. In just two days of cultivation, she faintly felt the gathering of inner strength, which comforted her as a newcomer to another world.
Regardless, having a trump card gave her confidence in everything she did.
Looking up and seeing that it was no longer early, she remembered she had classes at school today. Tang Shu got up and went toward the bathroom. Reaching for her waist out of habit, she found it empty and was reminded that she was not her former self anymore.
She, who always liked to have one or two hidden weapons at her side, felt momentarily unaccustomed and thought of having a few hidden weapons custom-made when she found time. Even if she wasn't in Damo Country, she was used to carrying things for self-defense.
After having breakfast at the base of her apartment building, Tang Shu, with her backpack, walked into the gates of Imperial Capital Medical University. Her beautiful eyes surveyed the prestigious school with a history of a hundred years, and her steps slowed significantly.
"So this is the academy of this world? It truly is special."
In Damo, the Imperial College was what everyone dreaming of studying aspired to, yet including the Imperial College, all academies taught the same curriculum; none could establish an institution to solely teach the art of healing.
This place was different—although not quite the great unity under heaven, it certainly belonged to a prosperous age.
An age of prosperity not seen in a thousand years.
Tang Shu followed her schedule toward Building 2, walking as calmly as if strolling through a garden, oblivious to the fact that her outstanding appearance and cool temperament had already become a scene in the eyes of others.
"Who's that beauty? A freshman from the first year?"
"Must be. I haven't seen her before, so ninety percent chance she's a freshman. Didn't we just finish military training last week?"
"Just looking at her appearance, she's definitely a freshman! Otherwise, she would have been on the 'campus belle' list by now. I've been on the campus forum for so long and never seen a photo of her."
"Internet addict, I didn't expect you to be so useful at a time like this."
"Of course, usually, each of you is like a bookworm, oblivious to what's happening outside. You're so engrossed in studying that you don't even know about the big events happening. Isn't it time for yours truly to enlighten you?"
"Hey, you're puffing up just because I called you fat."
"Wait a minute, why do I feel like I've seen this junior before? She seems familiar."
"Pfft, do you think you're the 'Jade-like Scholar' from the Jia Mansion? Kid!"
Despite the low volume of the discussions, Tang Shu, with her exceptionally sharp ears, had already overheard the conversation. As the Young Sect Master of the Tang Sect, she was all too accustomed to such astonished and admiring glances in Damo and had developed a strong immunity to them, not paying much attention.
"Click—"
With the sound of a smartphone camera button being pressed, the figure that had caused a small commotion was captured on screen, and soon after, the owner of the phone moved the image to where it was supposed to appear.
***
As the best medical university in the country, the campus of Imperial Capital Medical University was truly one in ten thousand.
Of course, this one in ten thousand referred not only to its architecture, rich in historical character, the hundred-year-old trees along the roads which required two people to embrace, and the distinguished medical personnel it had cultivated for hundreds of years.
What's more, it had the coveted Medicinal Garden that every practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine dreamed of.
"Medicinal Garden?"
Tang Shu stood before a vibrant expanse of greenery and read the words inscribed on the sign.
"It's really quite crude and direct."
She had been drawn over by the familiar herbal fragrance mixed in the autumn breeze, the unique scent of the Snow Soul Grass in bloom.
Standing at the edge of the boundless Medicinal Garden, Tang Shu spotted the blooming Snow Soul Grass not far away.
Next to that fortunate plant crouched an old man with white hair at his temples. His clothes were stained with soil, and at that moment, his weathered, rough hands were grasping a pair of scissors, making his way towards the petals of the Snow Soul Flower standing against the wind.
"Wait."
Instinctively, Tang Shu's voice stopped the old man's action before it could proceed.
The old man paused at her words, and his scissors did not touch the flower. Instead, he turned his head in confusion to look at her.
"Young lady, is there something you need?"
"The Snow Soul Flower blooms once every ten years. When the petals are separated from the flower, they will wither instantly due to the lack of a sufficient supply of venom. By cutting it like that, all you'll get are worthless, withered yellow petals."
The old man was startled and looked at her with a trace of doubt in his aged eyes before turning back to the flower, which was blooming stunningly.
"So it's called the Snow Soul Flower? But... it's bright red right now."
Not withered yellow.
Even if a more conventional red flower were to wither, it would turn red, not withered yellow.
Tang Shu frowned slightly, already certain that the old man was truly unaware of the Snow Soul Grass's properties.
"You could try. After all, there are three other undamaged ones right next to it."
The old man remained in thought, maintaining his previous action for a moment before retracting his hand, "No need, I believe you. If it truly blooms only once every ten years, even the waste of a single flower is regrettable."
Tang Shu glanced around the Snow Soul Grass and realized that it was surrounded by an empty space about two meters in diameter. Presumably, the old man had discovered its toxicity and had isolated it from the other medicinal herbs.
"Young lady, could you tell me how to harvest this flower in a way that preserves its original venom?"
The old man stood up and, with a trembling stride, stepped out of the Medicinal Garden, his lips curling into a hint of a smile.
"I stumbled upon these plants while sketching in Yunnan. A single leaf from the plant poisoned a wild rabbit to death. I was inspired by the hunt and carefully transplanted them back here."
Despite his extensive knowledge, having searched through all the ancient texts without finding any plants like it, or even similar, the old man could only attribute this phenomenon to the world being full of wonders.
A glint of understanding flashed in Tang Shu's eyes, "The Snow Soul Grass is quite special, from its topmost flowers to its roots, all are highly toxic. A small leaf killing a wild rabbit is not surprising."
"If the elderly gentleman wishes to study its petals, you can place a few leaves in water. Once the venom has seeped through the veins, submerge the flower in it, then cut with scissors."
The old man said joyfully, "So the venom from the leaves can preserve the petals from wilting?"
"Yes."
"Thank you for informing me, young lady. How do you know about this Snow Soul Flower?"
Tang Shu paused for a moment, a trace of nostalgia flashing in her eyes.
"An elder at home enjoys cultivating medicinal herbs, so I've been surrounded by them from a young age."
Capítulo 8: 7. Professor Yu, who turns pale at the mention of it
Tang Shu found room 1703 in building 2. As soon as she entered, a girl with a round face was waving her chubby arms at her.
"Shushu, over here, over here, I saved you a spot!"
Cheng Ranran was truly round: a round head, round arms and legs exposed, not a single sharp angle to be found, even her large, dark eyes were round.
Paired with her well-proportioned body, she didn't look fat at all but rather gave off a very cute and soft vibe.
Tang Shu walked over, nodded at her, and sat down next to the empty seat. Out of professional habit, she noticed at a glance the dark circles under her eyes.
"Did you not sleep well last night?"
"Mm~~"
Cheng Ranran lay listlessly on the desk, her chin propped on her textbook, as if the person who had just jumped up to greet Tang Shu was not her.
"Shushu, don't care about the comments on Weibo. I've already scolded them on your behalf, don't be upset!"
After just one weekend without seeing her, her Shushu was not only less talkative but her expressions had also become much colder, surely due to the influence of those online comments!
Comments on Weibo?
Tang Shu took another glance at her friend with dark circles, pulled out her phone, opened the Weibo interface to her friends' feed, and after flipping through a few pages, she found the truth.
"So, you were still fighting with netizens at four in the morning?"
Cheng Ranran's Weibo account was easy to recognize, using the same profile picture as her WeChat, and almost every minute her comments appeared, spread out over several hundred messages—it was hard to imagine such a cute-looking girl could be so fierce in battle.
The ones drenched in verbal blood by her were the anti-fans attracted through public recognition by Tang Shu's agent.
Of course, this cute girl also got her fair share of verbal lashings from the anti-fans.
"Of course! Anyone who dares to insult my friend, I won't let them get away with it. They're all just keyboard warriors. wuli Shushu's acting is so good, some people are just blind!"
"..." If I remember correctly, you said yesterday that you were going to blacklist me for the rest of my life.
Such double standards.
Her cool gaze sweeping over a few messages, Tang Shu's lips curled slightly, her delicate face seemed to warm up a bit.
"You've already scolded them back for me, I'm not upset."
"Really?!"
"Really."
The soft, cute girl immediately burst into emotional tears, hugging Tang Shu's arm and shaking it, "Ah, all my efforts this morning weren't in vain, even skipping breakfast! Now, after filling my stomach, I'll fight those bitches another three hundred rounds!"
For Cheng Ranran, the only way to regain her energy was eating, and the next second she deftly took out a packet of biscuits from her bag and furiously got to work crunching them down.
The sound of her biting into the biscuits, not too loud or too soft, was enough for her friend and classmate sitting in front to hear.
"Hey Ran Bao, can you stop eating? The crunching sound is just like a hamster's. Military training finally helped you lose a few pounds, be careful you don't gain it back."
"What do you know, this is baby fat!"
"That's novel! Who still has baby fat at nearly 20? Are you developmentally delayed, or is your head filled with paste?"
"Developmentally delayed? Ouch, ouch, someone as flat as an airport has the nerve to say that?"
"...Damn it, Cheng Ranran, wait for me after school!"
"After all these years, still using the tricks from elementary school, sheesh~~~~"
"You..."
Tang Shu, who was focused on reading, caught every word of their bickering, her lips twitching.
Oh, grand master, warrior lady, your highness, old mother... in less than a day, someone's self-referential terms had changed countless times. If she hadn't made the effort to educate herself about internet culture, she might not have caught the meanings.
This carefree, teasing lifestyle didn't seem too bad, did it?
Out of the corner of her eye, Tang Shu spotted the figure of an old man with white hair at the temples outside the classroom, and she interjected to stop the squabbling.
"The professor's here, silence."
"Ah, it's Professor Yu!"
Cheng Ranran howled, shoving the biscuits back into her bag with record speed and opening her textbook to sit up straight and proper.
Tang Shu was puzzled, "Wasn't this supposed to be our very first class in freshman year?"
Why so nervous?
Nowadays, the relationship between teachers and students was supposed to be quite harmonious, without the threat of "rulers on the palm or being made to stand at the school gate."
At worst... not getting credit?
"Shushu, don't you do any pre-class homework?"
"I've read 'Herbology'."
In fact, Tang Shu, who was proficient in Poison Techniques, had flipped through and thoroughly digested the book in less than two hours. The modern herbology textbook was very similar to the medicinal knowledge passed down through the Tang Sect, some of it even less detailed.
In Tang Shu's eyes, this course wasn't even at an introductory level.
Nevertheless...
"Who told you to read the textbook? As a qualified freshman, you should first find out which professors are easy-going, which subjects are easy to pass, which campus heartthrobs... cough cough, I've said too much."
Cheng Ranran tried to look as if she dearly wished more for her, a tiny bit of biscuit crumbs still clinging to the corner of her mouth, puffing with her cheeks as she moved, adding an extra touch of cuteness to her sincere-looking facade.
As if the words "campus heartthrob" she had just uttered were an illusion.
"..."
After a two-second silence, Tang Shu, whose brain was working fast, decided to follow local customs, "Got it, this Professor Yu is strict with teaching, and the credits are hard to earn."
"It's more than just hard to earn, I heard that over half the students end up failing his class!"
Professor Yu from "Herbal Medicine Class" was known as the most demanding professor at the Medical University on the campus forum, a reputation that rang loudly to the point of "mentioning Yu and turning pale."
Cheng Ranran sat up stiffly, pen in hand, her round eyes fixed on the doorway.
"Tighten up, it's starting, he's coming!"
The next moment, a well-dressed elderly man walked into the classroom.
But when Tang Shu saw the old man, she raised her eyebrow slightly, with a trace of surprise in her eyes.
Him?!
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