TMH:RID.

341-350

Chapter 341: As Long As Fu Zhi Is Bad*ss – 1
Fu Zhi stared at the parts of the rifle on the table for a long while without moving.

Sensing her hesitance, Ouyang Ya gave her a scornful smirk. The cadets around also put their heads together and began to mock her.

"There's no way she could assemble the rifle designed by Ms. Ouyang Ya without knowing its principles. I bet she couldn't even remember what a 658 rifle looks like, and she's still talking out of turn here."

"That's right. She's an outsider. Not only is the 658 rifle lethal, but it's also the greatest creation made by the most talented person in the Ouyang Family!"

"Ms. Ouyang Ya has designed more than 20 firearms in just 5 years. She's very talented. It's such a pity that she's adopted..."

"But Ouyang Zhui doesn't have any descendants. In my opinion, Ms. Ouyang is the most outstanding amongst her peers. Although she still has a long way to go before she could catch up to Ouyang Zhui, at the very least, she has some creations that could represent her, unlike some other people. They are all talk, but they couldn't even design a good rifle."

The moment they finished talking, they raised their heads, and their hearts skipped a beat when they saw that Li Nanli was staring at them coldly.

A second later, before Li Nanli could say anything, Fu Zhi suddenly took a step forward.

Without giving anyone the time to respond, she swiftly assembled the rifle, and before they knew it, she slotted the clip of ammo into the rifle and began shooting, her movements fluid as the bullets pierced right through the bullseye.

From the moment she started to assemble the rifle until she fired the first shot, a mere 0.97 seconds passed.

Someone then shouted, "Bullseye, 10 rings!"

This was not a stroke of luck or anything like that. Even the most seasoned professional would need at least 1.8 seconds to achieve this.

Everyone was stunned.

After a few seconds, an uproar spread across the crowd.

"Wow, this is impressive. Even the most elite people amongst us cannot do that in such a short time. Has she been trained professionally?"

"She could have practiced target shooting at the shooting range, but the 658 rifle was designed by the Ouyang Family. If she didn't understand the structure of the rifle, how could she have assembled it so fast?"

"She accurately hit the bullseye against such a strong force. She's an expert!"

...

Everyone in the hall was restless. The Ouyang Family's system was different from the system of other families. They adapted the survival-of-the-fittest system, so strength was the absolute winning factor.

The attitude of the cadets who had looked down on Fu Zhi just now started to change.

As for Ouyang Ya, she still could not come back to her senses. Her mouth was left ajar, and she was surprised by the fact that Fu Zhi had been able to both assemble the rifle and fire a shot.

She had initially thought Fu Zhi was just another pretty face, but it seemed like she'd been wrong. Fu Zhi had been able to do something that she could not do!

Caressing the rifle, Fu Zhi turned to look at Ouyang Ya and asked, "What do you think? Do you still insist on using a rifle with such a high risk?"

"Ms. Fu! Whoever comes here is a guest. You're a guest brought by President Li, and I respect you. However, please stop testing my limits again and again!"

Ouyang Ya's face was beyond dark.

When it came to firearms, unintentional discharge and explosion were considered rookie mistakes, and what Fu Zhi was doing right now was no different from making her a laughing stock, not to mention that every cadet that was going to participate in the competition was in the hall right now.

Thus, she figured that she should do something to protect the reputation that she had been building tirelessly for the past five years, especially since most of the cadets thought Fu Zhi was better than her.

Fu Zhi did not know what Ouyang Ya was thinking. Even she herself did not think highly of the rifle that she had designed, and a catastrophe was bound to happen if those flaws in her design were not fixed.

She felt that it was wrong of Ouyang Ya to be so hellbent on helping her rectify the name of the faulty 658 rifle.

That said, it was indeed commendable that she had been able to recreate the sketched parts accurately.

Fu Zhi insisted. "There are too many bugs and flaws in the 658 rifle. If you insist on using it, you're going to get them killed."

"Please watch your mouth, Ms. Fu!" Ouyang Ya shouted. Then, she walked up to Fu Zhi and added, "I know you're strong, Ms. Fu, but you're too full of yourself. The shooting ground is almost done, so I wonder if you'd be interested in having a match with me?"

Ouyang Ya had once been the superstar crowned as the gun master of the Ouyang Family. It was just that her status in her family had become different in the past two years, so she did not participate in the competition anymore.

However, in her first competition, she had ranked among the top 10 shooters in the Ouyang Family during the moving target shooting session.

Most of the new cadets were excited that they'd be able to see Ouyang Ya in action.

"Go, go, go! Go fight with Ms. Ouyang! I want to see with my own eyes how strong Ms. Ouyang is!"

"Say yes! Since you had the audacity to say that the 658 rifle is faulty, I'm sure you will not be afraid of accepting the challenge!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Everyone was getting pumped up as they all urged Fu Zhi to say yes to the challenge.

Li Nanli frowned. Then, he heard Fu Zhi say, "Don't forget to get me a water tank when I'm having a match with her later."

Li Nanli did not know what to say.

'Are you going to compete with her to see who will break the water tank first?'

Li Nanli did not know how to stop Fu Zhi.

When Ouyang Ya heard what Fu Zhi had said, she sneered, "Don't worry, President Li. I will go easy on her. If she wants a tank of water, I will prepare one for her. Also, to be fair, I won't be using the 658 rifle."

As she was talking, she picked a rifle from the side.

The crowd turned and zeroed in on Fu Zhi. Then, they saw her shamelessly pick up the 658 rifle that she had assembled just now.

The crowd was stunned.

'Are you for real? Ms. Ouyang chose not to use the 658 rifle because she didn't want to take advantage of you, so how could you shamelessly pick the 658 rifle?'

Ouyang Ya let out a laugh when she saw Fu Zhi pick the 658 rifle. She said, "You're smart, Ms. Fu. The 658 rifle has strong firepower and is safe to use. It indeed will increase your chance of winning by leaps and bounds."

"Really?" Fu Zhi said. "For me, this is the most dangerous rifle."

One of the cadets could not hold himself back anymore and interrupted her. "Bullsh*t. I've been using the 658 rifle for a long time. It's never exploded before!"

Fu Zhi then replied seriously, "That means that your shooting skills are lousy. Your speed is too slow. That's why you've been able to cheat death so many times. If I were you, I would rather find a hole and hide in it."

The rest of the cadets were left speechless and they all felt offended upon hearing Fu Zhi's words.

Thus, they all turned to Ouyang Ya and shouted, "Let's get her, Ms. Ouyang. Let's show her who's the boss here!"

Although most of the cadets were on Ouyang Ya's side, there was one who supported Fu Zhi. His voice was sharp as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Good luck, Fu Zhi! Try your best not to get defeated too badly!"

Fu Zhi did not know what to say.

'Do you think you're very funny?'

*

Generally, a mock battle was mission-based, and infrared-light guns were used to enhance the overall training intensity and realism. However, the Ouyang Family used real guns to shoot moving targets.

There were six types of simulations, such as swampy zone, mine zone, and water zone.

Ouyang Ya picked the swampy zone, as it was the one she was the least familiar with.

When the game began, the two parties started from two opposite sides. Each party had to cross several obstacles before meeting the 30 moving targets in the center of the field. The party that got the most points would win the game.

The cadets were excited, as they did not have many chances to watch a mock battle up close.

Ouyang Ya had never run in the swampy zone before, but she was fast, and the cadets were proud of her.

After Ouyang Ya ran nearly 300 meters, all of them turned to search for Fu Zhi.

Then...

Where was Fu Zhi?!

Chapter 342: As Long As Fu Zhi Is Bad*ss – 2
Fu Zhi completely evaded every single surveillance camera.

Right now, it was 1:30 p.m. The rookies that were going to take part in the competition in the afternoon, the veterans who had just woken up from their naps, and their leaders were all attracted by the group of cadets.

The monitoring room was divided into two worlds.

Li Nanli was sitting on a chair, his brows tightly furrowed and his expression dark. Thus, nobody dared to go near him.

At a distance of about 10 meters away from him, the members of the Ouyang Family had gathered in a circle and were discussing amongst themselves. "What's going on? Where is she?"

No matter where they looked, they could not find Fu Zhi.

An older commander smacked his thigh and shouted, "This is bad! There are a lot of poisonous snakes and worms in the swamp. She's an outsider who isn't familiar with the map, so she should stay in the area where the surveillance cameras can see her!"

"This is absurd! It's an impossible feat to run for 800 meters across a forest filled with different obstacles and traps, let alone a swampy area. I will do a poop-eating live-streaming session if she can run 100 meters without falling into the swamp!"

"Ah? Does that mean that we have to extract her later? Don't you guys think that Ms. Ouyang is winning too easily?"

A cadet chimed in, "Sigh. She nearly lost her life just because she wanted to prove that she's right. She's so pretty. Too bad something is wrong with her brain."

...

After the cadet finished speaking, a few of the cadets that were aware of the gravity of the situation all got to their feet. Their expression was serious, and they were ready to go rescue Fu Zhi from the swamp.

However, the moment they reached the door, a member of the group shouted, "Holy moly! Where has she been this entire time? I can't believe she's almost arrived at the destination. This is so unbelievable! How long did it take her? She's going to break the record!"

The young lady suddenly appeared in the surveillance camera, looking neatly dressed. She was carrying the 658 rifle on her back, and she was playing with the bristlegrass with her fingers.

Her two slender legs were firmly planted on the ground.

Most of the people in the monitoring room found this rather ironic. Not only was Fu Zhi able to break the record, but she also did it by just walking. On the contrary, Ouyang Yu, who was one of the top 10 contenders during her first competition, was sweating and panting like an engine.

The swampy zone was a new zone developed by the Ouyang Family. This was the first time Fu Zhi got there, and yet she was able to walk as fast as if she was having a stroll in the back garden of her house. All the members of the Ouyang Family felt that Fu Zhi was really frightening.

A veteran snapped back to reality and asked with a gloomy face, "Are there any shortcuts in the swampy zone that were just developed not long ago?"

One of the cadets, who was Fu Zhi's fan, replied, "What's the point of asking this question since Fu Zhi almost reached the destination? Are you mentally retarded?"

Then, the cadet was removed from the room for using improper language.

At the same time, Fu Zhi had crossed the last swamp. As she was sliding off the slope, she pulled a knife out of her pocket and stabbed ahead.

A colorful, venomous snake was chopped into two from its head. The scene was so gory that the group of cadets that had been taunting Fu Zhi nearly puked.

Suddenly, ten moving targets appeared.

As a clicking noise filled the air, a bullet shot out of Fu Zhi's rifle, and the first moving target over 60 meters away was instantly hit.

Kneeling on the ground, Fu Zhi turned her body around and took her second shot.

Another bullseye!

...

The reason the swamp was called a swamp was because of its special geographical environment. It left the participants with little to no area to stand and take aim. Since there was a difference between the distance of each target, whenever the participants adjusted their position or posture, they'd have to find a new location and they might fall into the swamp if they were not careful enough.

Thus, the swampy zone was the zone that every cadet hated the most. This was because they did not only have to look for the target, but they also had to watch out for their feet.

However, the young girl in the surveillance camera was different. She was brave. She did not even look at her feet. She just focused on her target.

As if there was a map in her head, she jumped and leaped around with a feline's grace. She was always able to find the perfect landing spot, and every time her feet touched the ground, she would have already fired a shot.

There were many high-definition cameras at the destination that were capturing every step of the process as Fu Zhi was shooting from all angles. Based on the number of rounds fired, the inclination degree of the gun itself would be affected, and the shooter would need to aim slightly further in order to shoot at the moving target. No one had ever told Fu Zhi about this, but it seemed to them that she knew about it as well.

Another bullseye!

The crowd was stunned!

"Holy sh*t!" someone shouted.

Ouyang Ya had not reached the destination yet, and Fu Zhi had already scored a few bullseyes. It was only now that they realized why Fu Zhi would say they were lousy. It turned out that she was the expert!

One of the cadets was so fascinated by Fu Zhi's skills that he had forgotten he was part of the Ouyang Family. He threw his arms into the air whenever Fu Zhi hit a target and shouted "nice", causing the other cadets to look at him as if they were looking at a traitor. He swiftly changed his attitude, put on a straight face, and said, "That's not nice at all! Stop showing off as if it's your own stage! Ms. Ouyang, hurry up and defeat her!"

However, deep in his heart, he shouted, "Ahhh! Go, go, go, Fu Zhi! Get rid of her!"

As if she'd heard the calls of the cadet, Ouyang Ya ran even faster. She looked rather miserable, and there were some leaves and patches of soil on her shirt.

However, just as she was about 100 meters away from the destination, her heart skipped a beat and she nearly fell when she heard a few gunshots come from ahead.

Fu Zhi had shot six rounds, and there were only four left. When a moving target appeared, as she held her gun up, her ears twitched and her skin erupted into goosebumps.

Fu Zhi rolled along the ground to the rock next to her. At the same time, a bullet shot out of Ouyang Ya's gun, grazed past Fu Zhi's skin, and hit the moving target.

3 rings!

An error like this should not be happening to a professional like Ouyang Ya.

In other words, she was not aiming at the moving target at all!

Fu Zhi's eyes turned cold.

Ouyang Ya let out a sigh and got to her feet. She turned to the camera and said, "I'm sorry. I must be too tired for running for too long, so my fingers slipped."

Fu Zhi looked at her emotionlessly.

"Well, you might not know it, but participants are allowed to attack each other when everyone has reached the destination. This is the rule. I'm sure you don't mind it, right?"

Ouyang Ya tilted her head and smiled.

Then, a loud bang echoed as Fu Zhi delivered a punch on her head, causing her head to tilt even further.

For a moment, Ouyang Ya could not see anything but stars in her eyes.

"Do I mind? Of course I don't. Since this is a competition, it's within the rights of the participants to go all out against each other. It's the rules, right? Very well then. I kind of like to play by the rules too."

Fu Zhi felt that she had been talking too much today. She did not care if Ouyang Ya plagiarized her work, for she did not want those designs anymore. She had made everything very simple and told Ouyang Ya about the risk of using the rifle 685, so she did not know why Ouyang Ya would play dumb.

She did not owe Ouyang Ya anything, but since Ouyang Ya had dared to shot her from the back, she was not going to sit still without doing anything.

'It's time to teach her a lesson.'

With that thought in mind, Fu Zhi clenched her fists tight and began hitting Ouyang Ya. She was a head shorter than Ouyang Ya, and yet the latter was not able to do anything against the former's rain of punches.

The crowd was stunned when they saw the scene.

Chapter 343: As Long As Fu Zhi Is Bad*ss – 3
Fu Zhi continued to shower Ouyang Ya with a barrage of fists.

Bam—Bam—Bam.

The sound of her beating Ouyang Ya had drowned out the gunfire.

The crowd could see clearly that Ouyang Ya, who had always been extremely strong in close combat, looked like an unarmed three-year-old toddler in Fu Zhi's hands!

Ouyang Ya was stunned by Fu Zhi's relentless attack. Right now, she could only leave everything to her battle instinct to parry Fu Zhi's attack. Just as Fu Zhi was about to perform the back suplex on her, she saw her chance and raised her hand to grab Fu Zhi's midriff, but to no avail. Fu Zhi saw right through her intention and countered by grabbing her hand back. Then, before Ouyang Ya could even realize it, the world in her line of vision turned upside down, and a second later, she was thrown into the swamp, causing the peat to splash into the air.

Ouyang Ya was unable to fight back. She opened her mouth and hissed, "Fu Zhi, how dare you!"

Fu Zhi was confused.

She had already done it, so she did not understand why Ouyang Ya had asked that question.

'No wonder she has to copy other people's designs. Considering her level of intelligence, she isn't fit to develop a design of her own!'

Fu Zhi did not stop after thrashing Ouyang Yu into the swamp. Ignoring the fact that her arm was bleeding, she performed three more back suplexes on her.

Ouyang Ya could not say anything else.

Meanwhile, Fu Zhi lamented. "Sigh... If you don't tell me anything, I will just stay still and let you beat me because I don't know anything about the rules. But if you're kind enough to tell me the rules, I'll have to follow them. Otherwise, it would be akin to provoking the Ouyang Family, right?"

Ouyang Ya was so exasperated that she could not say anything. Her eyes rolled back, and she lost consciousness.

Everyone saw that there was a hole on the spot where Fu Zhi had thrashed Ouyang Ya about.

'Holy... How violent!'

"This combat technique looks very familiar. I remember that Master Ouyang Zhui loved to smash his enemies on the ground while fighting. Could she be his daughter?" a certain person said, not knowing that his conjecture was somewhat right.

However, someone chimed in and objected. "Are you crazy? Master Ouyang Zhui is not married, so how is there any chance this crazy girl is his daughter?"

"You don't say. She's indeed very good. Everything else aside, her mastery over the 658 rifle is even better than mine!"

"In any case, Fu Zhi's a bad*ss!"

Everyone else nodded in assent.

"So what if she wins? She's nothing but a liar. I think you guys must be blind. How can you not worry about Ms. Ouyang Ya? The guns you guys are using were designed by her! She's a firearm designer, and her talent in firearm design is enough to make her better than Fu Zhi! Fu Zhi dared to beat one of our own in our territory, so we have to teach her a lesson!"

The person who had spoken was one of the higher commanders. After he finished speaking, everyone else finally came back to their senses and felt embarrassed when they remembered the lies Fu Zhi had said and Ouyang Ya's efforts.

That's right. No matter how good Fu Zhi was, she was only good at close combat. Without the 658 rifle designed by Ouyang Ya, there was no way she could have scored so many shots.

Then, the higher commander ordered the cadets, "Bring Ms. Ouyang Ya and Fu Zhi back. We will let the young master decide what to do with them!"

*

On the other hand, Fu Zhi, who was still oblivious to the fate that was about to befall her, ran her fingers over the rifle.

The temperature of the barrel had returned to normal, but the targets were still moving in and out.

She put a new magazine into the rifle and resumed shooting. As soon as she found the right direction, it took her only 2 seconds to hit the 8 rings.

Everyone in the monitoring room held their breath.

Even Li Nanli, who had been sitting on the chair, couldn't help but straighten his back, his heart pumping wildly in his chest.

Everyone knew that with two more shots, they'd be able to verify if Fu Zhi's claim was true or false.

Fu Zhi fired another shot, and although the cadets knew she was probably lying, they couldn't help but look forward to it.

After she fired the last shot, Fu Zhi jumped into the water tank with a splash.

Chapter 344: As Long As Fu Zhi Is Bad*ss – 4
The water tank, which was about two meters high, had been placed at the final stop in advance.

The speed and range of the bullets were greatly reduced in the water. Thus, the crowd only saw a bullet that came out of the water slowly, followed by a violent bang, releasing a puff of thick smoke and fire that pervaded the surveillance camera.

"It... exploded? I can't see clearly. Where's Ms. Fu?"

"Could she have been killed by the explosion?"

The spectators looked at each other, and they could see the worried expression on each other's faces.

As they continued to stare at the monitor with bated breath, the smoke began to dissipate.

Then, they saw a young lady sitting amongst the wreckage of the water tank.

She was sitting on top of a handkerchief, checking her face in a mirror she was holding in her hand.

After staring at herself in the mirror for a long while, she heaved a long sigh of relief and mumbled, "Phew! Luckily, my face is still as perfect as always, and I'm still a beautiful little girl..."

The crowd was left speechless.

'D*mn you! Are you here for a beauty pageant or a fight? Why do you care about your face? Where's the crazy woman who speaks with her fist?!'

However, after seeing that Fu Zhi was alright, a cadet asked, "Didn't Ms. Ouyang say that the 658 rifle is perfectly safe? Why would it misfire? Was it an accident, or..."

The room went quiet for a few seconds.

Nobody could give him a proper answer. After all, they could not discuss Ouyang Ya so openly. Besides, this was the first time a misfire occurred. The 658 rifle had served them really well and had exhibited no performance problems while they were using it. Since they had not experienced the misfire firsthand, they did not feel much.

Compare to the safety of the firearm, they were more concerned about Fu Zhi's skill. Not only had she been able to precisely avoid all the surveillance cameras and reach the final stop, but her accuracy at target shooting was also unmatched.

What's more, she just sat there and looked at herself in a mirror after the explosion as if nothing had happened.

"She's beyond crazy."

"F*ck, look at the time. She's broken the record of the fifth-ranking student in the Ouyang Family's Golden Ranking!"

Everyone came back to their senses and couldn't help cursing. After all, there was no better way for them to explain their feelings about Fu Zhi right now.

How strong was Fu Zhi?

Not only had she been able to find a shortcut in a swampy zone filled with different kinds of dangers, but she had also been able to hit all the targets with practiced ease. Besides, it was very clear that she still had a lot of room for improvement.

Thus, compared to them, Fu Zhi's potential was really unpredictable.

At the same time, the computer had finally finished computing Fu Zhi's results.

In just 7 minutes, she had hit 15 targets and scored 150 rings. Since she was not a member of the Ouyang Family, the word "unknown" was on the name column instead of her real name. In the end, she ranked 5th on the Golden Ranking.

After the changes in the Golden Ranking, Ouyang Ya, who was tenth on the ranking moved down and completely disappeared from the list.

Anyone with eyes could see that this was not a competition at all. This was a show featuring Fu Zhi beating the hell out of Ouyang Ya. Most importantly, Ouyang Ya, who had been named the new heir of the Ouyang Family and the goddess in everyone's hearts, remained unconscious in the swamp at the moment!

"I admire this girl so much. She's really ruthless, and she's the manliest woman I have ever seen!" a cadet said. "Her shooting skill is good, and she's good at close combat too. She's really my idol!"

When Ouyang Ya was carried back to the firearm exhibition hall, she nearly lost consciousness again when she heard the cadet's comment about Fu Zhi.

It occurred to her that Fu Zhi was not here as a guest but to humiliate her.

The reason Ouyang Ya had been able to become the adopted daughter of the Ouyang Family was because of Ouyang Zhui's note.

Originally, she'd had no talent in mechanical design, but she had been willing to work hard and study with care. Plus, in addition to Ouyang Zhui's own handwriting, in the notes were key points and explanations marked with a different handwriting. That was why she could understand this exquisite construction.

Ouyang Ya knew her own worth very well. After she'd completed the firearms according to the notes, even though she would not admit it, people had still thought it was her own design and had named her the most talented gun designer of the Ouyang Family!

Ever since, her status in the Ouyang Family had soared far more rapidly than anything. That said, no matter what she did, she could not shake off the tag "adopted daughter" that was branded firmly on her.

In the Ouyang Family was a group of people who believed that Ouyang Zhui had a descendant, and they were against Ouyang Yu taking over the Ouyang Family.

She valued every opportunity to show off her capabilities.

The difference in physical strength between women and men was big, but she worked extra hard to close the gap. However, right now, Fu Zhi had completely obliterated her.

Fu Zhi was walking in the back. When she saw the Golden Ranking, she clicked her tongue and asked, "Is there bonus money for fifth place? How much money will I be given?"

Nobody answered, and nobody dared to reply to her question in front of Ouyang Ya.

Li Nanli pulled her into his arms. Then, with a straight face, he wrapped her up in a dry towel.

Ouyang Ya got up from the stretcher with an ugly face. "There's no money. The cadets of the Ouyang Family only care about improving their personal strength. We naturally do not care about such extraneous things!"

Fu Zhi then replied truthfully, "But you're still very weak."

'And you like letting people beat your face.'

Ouyang Ya's face darkened, and her body was trembling from rage.

A few cadets and instructors on Ouyang Ya's side could not stand still anymore after they heard what Fu Zhi had said.

"This is just a friendly match, so it doesn't mean anything. Besides, if Ms. Ouyang Ya had not gone easy on you, do you think you could have won?"

"That's right. Ms. Ouyang Ya has been focusing more on firearm design in the past few years, and all the firearms designed by her are powerful!"

"You only won because you were using the 658 rifle."

"Well, it's indeed pretty powerful. That gun will misfire once per every ten shots," Fu Zhi said.

"Neither of the two rifles designed by her are safe for use. If you guys were not a tad stronger, you would have died a long time ago. Do you think you'd still have the chance to stand here and talk about the design with me?"

The group of cadets and instructors was stumped.

After all, it was a fact that there were some problems with the rifle designed by Ouyang Ya, so they did not know what to say.

Fu Zhi did not want anyone to die. Otherwise, she would not be wasting her time on them.

'You guys just cheated death. I don't expect you all to thank me, but why do you have so many things to say? Do you want me to slap your heads like I slapped Ouyang Ya's?'

As she was immersed in her own thoughts, a clear voice rang out.

"What are you guys doing here?"

As soon as the voice spread out in the hall, the cadets suddenly lined up neatly, straightened their backs, and shouted in unison toward the source of the sound. "Instructor Ouyang!"

Then, Ouyang Yue appeared amongst the crowd.

Chapter 345: Is She My Sister?
The man was wearing an olive drab military uniform and looked like a tough guy. His eyes beneath the brim were beautifully shaped, and his pupils were black.

Right now, he was tugging at the communicator that was pinned on his collar.

The temperature dropped below zero as his footfalls pervaded every inch of the hall.

There was a dignified aura about him, and every cadet's heart was in their throat. The man following him was none other than Jiang Jinshu.

When Ouyang Ya saw him, tears gushed out of her eyes as she shouted, her voice laced thick with emotion and aggravation.

"Brother!"

Ouyang Yue frowned.

He peeled his eyes away from his step-sister and barked out in an angry voice, "Can any of you tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"It's not a big deal," Li Nanli replied, his voice grim. That said, he still had an amiable smile on his face as he filled Ouyang Yue in on the whole story. "My girlfriend was kind enough to warn Ms. Ouyang about the flaws of her rifle, but she didn't listen. Not only that, but she also wanted to have a battle with her. Does she not know that my girlfriend is a frail, fragile little girl who can't even open a can by herself? Well, that doesn't matter, as my girlfriend won the battle in the end. The main point is that she couldn't accept her defeat and she even tried to ambush my girlfriend. Well, I've always heard of the Ouyang Family's great education, and this is indeed an eye-opener for me."

Although most of the people in the hall felt that he was right, his words still stung. Besides, they did not agree with the part about his girlfriend being a frail, fragile little girl who couldn't even open a can by herself.

'How can you lie through your teeth when you're the president of a large company? Did you not see her punch and smash Ms. Ouyang against the ground as if she was a ragged doll?'

After hearing Li Nanli's words, the commanding officer of the training camp stepped forward and chipped in, "Nonsense! There's nothing wrong with the rifle. I'm sure someone must have tampered with it. That's why it misfired!"

However, Li Nanli did not say anything in return. He just kept a smile on his face and looked silently at Ouyang Yue.

Ouyang Yue's face turned grave. As the head of the Ouyang Family, he knew very well that a mere commander talking back to Li Nanli would only bring disgrace to the Ouyang Family.

His face was sullen as he kicked the commanding officer's knee.

"Get down on your knees!"

The commanding officer could not avoid the blow in time and dropped to the ground. His knees knocked on the hard surface, and a loud thud resounded in everyone's ears.

Li Nanli lifted his eyebrows and said, "We're living in a society governed by laws, so what are you doing?"

"I believe in President Li, so I'm sure you wouldn't stoop to an underhanded method to frame the Ouyang Family..." Ouyang Yue paused and looked at the commanding officer. He knew this commanding officer was very close to Ouyang Ya, but he would not be lenient with anyone that did the wrong thing. Thus, he ordered, "Apologize to President Li."

The commanding officer could do nothing but comply with Ouyang Yue's order. With a dark expression, he said reluctantly, "Please forgive me, President Li..."

Jiang Jinshu felt his head begin to ache again.

Wherever Fu Zhi went, problems followed.

Then, Ouyang Yue turned to Ouyang Ya and asked in a serious voice, "Is what President Li said about you wanting to harm people true?"

Ouyang Yue had always been strict, and he paid a lot of attention to the character of the people around him.

Ouyang Ya's heart palpitated, as a feeling of fear swept over her. The footage of the surveillance camera could be recovered, so she could not tell too many lies. "I... I just got nervous when Ms. Fu arrived at the destination first, so I fired a shot to warn her. I didn't mean it!"

"Ms. Ouyang shot an unaware and innocent girl in the back, which is the most disgraceful act one should commit on a battlefield. If my girlfriend had not dodged it in time, I dare not imagine what would have happened to her, yet now you're telling me that you didn't mean it? Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Ouyang Ya was stumped.

Fu Zhi poked her head out of the white towel and looked at Li Nanli.

It seemed to her that Li Nanli was angry right now when she saw his tightly set jaw, so she figured that she should do something to quench his anger. She raised her hand, patted his chest, and said, "Alright, calm down. It's not that big of a deal, so there's no need to get all hot and bothered."

Fu Zhi did not want Li Nanli to get angry because she felt that it was unnecessary.

She then suggested, "Everything that can be settled with money is not a problem. We can ask them to pay me some money as compensation and then go on our merry way. So, let's calm down first, alright?"

Li Nanli was left speechless.

Everyone else did not know what to say.

'Are you sure that's the right thing to say in front of everyone?'

It was only then that Ouyang Yue noticed the young girl beside Li Nanli.

When his gaze fell on her face, he was stunned, and he could not come around to his senses for a long while.

Then, he looked at the remnants of the 658 rifle and asked, "What are these?"

"This is the rifle that got destroyed by Ms. Fu. She said that the rifle would explode or go off accidentally after the tenth shot!" an instructor explained.

Ouyang Ya hastily chimed in, "Don't listen to her, brother. This is just a coincidence. How is there any chance that the rifle I designed would have a problem like that? What's more, she fired her last shot inside the water. Everyone knows that a rifle tends to have some issues when it's fired underwater."

Fu Zhi did not want to explain to her anymore. She pointed at another 658 rifle in the hall and said, "Since you have so much confidence in your rifle, how about you take that rifle, go outside, and fire 10 times at high speed? Let's see who is right and who is wrong."

"I..." Honestly, Ouyang Ya did not dare do it.

This was not her design to begin with, so her confidence began to waver after she heard what Fu Zhi had said.

Sensing her reluctance, Fu Zhi pressed on. "What? Are you not gonna do it? Wasn't this rifle designed by you? Why are you afraid of standing up for your own design?"

Ouyang Ya gritted her teeth. Everyone was watching her right now, and it would make her look really bad if she did not do what Fu Zhi said. Just as she was about to pick the rifle up, Ouyang Yue chimed in, "Alright, that's enough. Xiao Ya, apologize to Ms. Fu."

The Ouyang Family was no longer the most powerful family in the capital, though they were still considered a force to be reckoned with. However, if they did not want to get sifted out, then they had to cooperate with other elite families, and the Li Family was the best option for them.

Besides, they were at fault as well. After all, firearm malfunction was not a matter that should be taken lightly.

"Brother!" Ouyang Ya looked in disbelief at Ouyang Yue. She could not believe that Ouyang Yue would want her to apologize to Fu Zhi.

She despised Fu Zhi. After all, she had earned her status through her own effort, while Fu Zhi had earned it by relying on Li Nanli. She was a parasite. She had latched onto Li Nanli like a leech attached to its host to suck blood, so why must she apologize to her?

"I won't repeat myself. Apologize to Ms. Fu. Now!" Ouyang Yue's face turned grim, and his voice was stern.

Ouyang Yue did not want to leave a bad impression on Li Nanli, so he'd decided to sacrifice her. Ouyang Ya saw through her brother's intention, and her eyes turned red around the rims.

"But brother..."

However, no matter how reluctant she was, there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way the Ouyang Family would have a fallout with the Li Family for her considering the fact that she was adopted.

Most importantly, Ouyang Yue had always believed he had a real cousin. He was certain that Ouyang Zhui's daughter was still alive, so despite treating her well, he had never addressed her as his sister.

Ouyang Yue's father had been looking for the true heiress of the Ouyang Family in Country F as well.

Ouyang Ya's blood turned colder and colder as she was looking at Ouyang Yue's expressionless face. After a short contemplation, she turned to Fu Zhi and said, "Please forgive me, Ms. Fu. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I shouldn't have had a match with you. I hope you won't take it to heart."

Fu Zhi replied flatly, "Of course I will take it to heart. You almost killed me! I have all the evidence to prove it, so if you don't want to spend the rest of your life in prison, you have to give me money."

Ouyang Ya was speechless.

'Is she for real? Even if she gives the recording to the police, there's no way they are going to charge me with murder, right?'

Ouyang Ya countered her words. "But you beat me as well. Have you forgotten?"

"I was just defending myself. You're weak, you don't have the right combat skills to back yourself up, and yet you like to challenge other people. so it's normal for your opponent to beat the hell out of you."

Fu Zhi frowned in displeasure when she realized Ouyang Ya was reluctant to pay her money. "Not only are you refusing to compensate me, but you don't want to admit to the murder attempt either. I don't know about you, but as humans, we should all stay down to earth and admit our mistakes. We should always reflect on ourselves so that we can become better people in the future, and we..."

"Alright, alright, alright. I will pay you. Can you please shut up already?" Ouyang Ya interrupted Fu Zhi forcefully, for she did not want to listen to Fu Zhi babbling anymore.

It was only then that Fu Zhi stopped talking. She tugged at Li Nanli's sleeve and said, "Let's go home. I will buy you dinner tonight."

Li Nanli nodded. His hand hovered over Fu Zhi's midriff as he prepared to leave.

Ouyang Ya did not dare let Li Nanli go just like this.

She had left a bad impression on Li Nanli, and she figured that she should do something to save her image. Thus, she went up to him and looked at him fondly. "Nanli, please don't misunderstand me..."

Tears began to flow out of her eyes. "I really didn't mean it. I just wanted to win."

Normally, Li Nanli would not waste his time on her. However, when he thought that Fu Zhi still had not realized what it meant to be his girlfriend, he stopped and pretended as if he cared about Ouyang Ya a lot, as he wanted to see Fu Zhi get jealous.

However, Li Nanli was destined to be disappointed. Fu Zhi turned her head back and forth between him and Ouyang Ya, walked to the corner, and began playing with the sand.

Li Nanli did not know what to say.

He walked away from Ouyang Ya and went forward to pick her up from the ground. Then, he looked into her eyes and said, "Zhizhi, stop playing with the sand."

He looked both exasperated and helpless as he added, "You should have gotten jealous now."

Fu Zhi was dumbfounded.

"But I don't like to get jealous."

As he looked at her bright, clear eyes, Li Nanli's heart skipped a beat. Then, he said, emphasizing every syllable that came out of his mouth, "As someone's girlfriend, when you see your boyfriend flirt with another woman who wants to destroy your relationship, you should get jealous. The first thing you should do is walk up to the girl and ask her to stay away from your boyfriend!"

Fu Zhi replied, "Well, you're right, but according to the book, a good boyfriend should not flirt with another woman to make his girlfriend jealous."

Even though Fu Zhi had never been in a relationship, that did not mean that she was oblivious to how a relationship worked.

After a short pause, she added, "The book also said that if I ever come across a situation like this, I should break up with my boyfriend and never see him again for the rest of my life."

Li Nanli was left speechless.

'Just what kind of books has she been reading?'

Then, Li Nanli said, "But you should protect me from getting assaulted by a pervert!"

It was Fu Zhi's turn to be speechless this time.

'Well, you're the boss.'

*

At the same time, inside the hall...

Ouyang Yue still had other matters to attend to, so he sent Jiang Jinshu to the meeting room.

The recording of Fu Zhi competing with Ouyang Ya in the swamp was played again. Fu Zhi's movements had been clearly captured by the camera in high resolution.

She had not tampered with the rifle before jumping into the water tank. However, when the water tank exploded during the 10th shot, he was flabbergasted.

He thought for a moment and then ordered a few artificial intelligent robots to do a rapid-fire test in an open space with the 658 rifle.

As expected, six out of the ten robots had problems with accidental discharge.

Even though this kind of malfunction was random, it was lethal.

Ouyang Yue's heart skipped a beat, and his blood turned cold.

He did not know where Fu Zhi had learned about the structure of the rifles, but he did not have time for that now. To prevent any bad things from happening, he ordered the cadets to cancel the competition.

At the same time, he summoned Ouyang Ya. "Didn't you say there was nothing wrong with your design? How come you didn't know about the accidental discharge and explosions, huh?"

Ouyang Ya's expression froze. "Brother... As you know, firearm designers are not too keen on having any problems with their personal designs. I... My pride got the best of me. I already knew something was wrong with the rifle when I designed it, but when the elders didn't notice any problems when they tested the rifle, I thought nothing would happen..."

"Then, what about the 927 sniper rifle? Is there anything wrong with it?"

"Erm... Just, just some material issues. If the materials are not good enough and don't match the design, accidental discharge may happen as well..."

Ouyang Ya remembered that Fu Zhi had said both her rifles had problems, so she did not dare push her luck and blurted everything out.

While designing the rifles, she had just focused on the design. She had not cared about any problems that might arise, and she did not know how to solve them at all.

"I will apply to revoke the use of these two rifles. This is your mistake, though, so you have to apologize to everyone."

Gritting her teeth, Ouyang Ya nodded.

The silver lining was that she still had Ouyang Zhui's note in her hand, and there were plenty of sophisticated designs there. She could look through them one by one and use them as her trump card so she would be the successor of the Ouyang Family.

Ouyang Ya then left the hall.

Ouyang Yue replayed the recording and stared at Fu Zhi's face.

After he got a load off his mind, he realized something was wrong.

Fu Zhi's face looked a lot like the face of his uncle, Ouyang Zhui. Besides, she had pointed out the problems of the two rifles.

Did that mean that she was his sister?

Chapter 346: Goodbye, Gu Yan – 1
On the other side of the capital, in the Chu Residence...

Chu Hao had sent two messages to Fu Zhi, but before Fu Zhi could read his messages, they were pushed to the bottom by other messages.

He did not dare call Fu Zhi, but he was certain that Gu Yan was an imposter.

Chu Hao wanted nothing to do with Gu Yan. He planned to kick her out, but Chu He had stopped him. He had taken Gu Yan under his wing, even though Chu Hao was against it. He helped her settle down in a room in his courtyard. "You don't have to care about Chu Hao. He has always been very strict and does not have many pupils under his belt. I like the dosage and techniques you use to create incense. I'm sure you have a promising future."

This was the first time Gu Yan heard a good comment about her ever since she had fallen down, not to mention that the comment came from the elder of the Chu Family. She nodded excitedly and kept talking to Chu He as she followed him. "By the way, what's the name of the herb that's given as a prize for the first place in this examination? What's it used for?"

"Oh, are you talking about the Lacroix Grass? Yeah, it's a kind of ancient herb comparable to the Valley Orchid. However, it has lesser medical properties compared to the Valley Orchid, and its main effect is to act as a sedative. It has been written in ancient books that it can be made into the Minor Exchange Pill and can be used for conditions such as autism."

Gu Yan's expression changed, and her mind went blank.

She had run here with Lu Yumo's invitation, but she hadn't looked into what exactly the invitation in Lu Yumo's hand was used for!

However, she knew right now. There was only one person in the Lu Family who was equipped with medical knowledge and skills and had the qualification to participate in the Chu Family's entrance examination.

"So Fu Zhi is planning to get this herb to treat Lu Yushen..."

She was talking under her breath, but Chu He heard her.

"Hold on a second! Are you talking about Fu Zhi?!"

Gu Yan was stunned. Then, she asked carefully, "You... Do you know her?"

Chu He sneered coldly, "Do I know her? Of course I know her. She's my enemy!"

Chu He started fuming with rage upon thinking that he still needed Fu Zhi's pill to extend his life. "Since she needs this prize so badly, you'll have to work harder to defeat her in the examination. Don't let her get what she wants!"

"But, master, I'm not so sure about anything other than incense, especially about the treatment of highly burned vocal cords. Besides, I don't have any good herbs on hand, but Fu Zhi has the Valley Orchid..."

Gu Yan was worried. She was worried that if she could not help Chu He get back at Fu Zhi, he might kick her out of the Chu Family, and she would be doomed then.

"I heard that Chu Hao has specially prepared the Thousand Spirit Grass for a student. It's a kind of herb that's very effective when it comes to treating damaged vocal cords, but we only have one in our hands, and if something goes wrong during the process of making the medicine, the herb will be destroyed. Besides, I'm sure you also know how important it is for a druggist to have a good-quality herb to work with..."

As the old saying went, every extra penny was worth its value. If one did not even have a high-grade medicinal material and still wanted to make high-grade medication, wouldn't that be a fool's dream?

Thus, Chu He looked at Gu Yan and said, "I see that my senior brother treated you well just now, so is the Thousand Spirit Grass that has been kept in the treasure room for you?"

Gu Yan gulped. She wanted to fight Fu Zhi fair and square, but at the same time, she wanted the Lu Family to loathe Fu Zhi.

The pleasure of revenge blossomed in her heart. She thought no one knew she was the imposter, so she nodded. "I was invited by Master Chu Hao. Although I'm not sure if he's going to oversee the examination or not, I'm certain that the herb is for me. Can you help me get it out?"

*

After she came back from the Ouyang Family, Fu Zhi collected a full bucket of Valley Orchids from her garden and gave them to Li Nanli. Then, she began preparing for the Chu Family's entrance examination. She watered and fertilized the Senzhi Herb every day, and she hoped that it would bloom quickly.

It was worth mentioning that the person who had come to give Fu Zhi the Valley Orchid was still Lu Yumo, who had skipped class.

There were oversized sunglasses on top of his nose, and he was wearing a flowery shirt with a pair of straw shoes on his feet. His hair was tied into two ponytails with a cherry hairpin. The reason he had put on this kind of attire was that he was afraid of getting robbed.

Fu Zhi was speechless. She did not know what to say, so she just took her plants and tried her best to get as far away as she could from Lu Yumo, for she feared that she might get infected by his idiocy if she stayed too close to him.

However, that did not prevent Lu Yumo from following her here and there. It had been a long time since he had last seen Fu Zhi. He had missed her a lot, so he just wanted to spend every single minute with her right now. "You have about a million fans on the internet, and do you know that someone is talking about what a great couple you and President Fu would be on Weibo?"

Lu Yumo then showed the topic to Fu Zhi.

This was a topic that had received a lot of attention on another website before it had been moved to Weibo.

The owner of the topic idolized both Fu Zhi and President Fu a lot. In his opinion, one of them was an influential figure in China's economy who stayed in an 888-story, luxury high-rise, while the other was a poor young girl who would not give up living despite growing up without a father or a mother...

Nobody was able to resist the love story between a high-handed president and an adorable, optimistic girl.

Yes, some people were fond of this kind of setting, and some fans even began to write a few fanfics about them.

Fu Zhi was stunned when she saw all this.

'Me? I'm my own wife? What am I? An amoeba?'

Of course, it went without saying that there was also a bunch of netizens who were against something like this. After all, one of them was the president of the Fu Corporation, which was worth a few million, while the other was just a young girl of unknown origin. They thought that Fu Zhi was just taking advantage of the popularity of President Fu to get everything in her own way.

Lu Yumo then comforted her. "You don't have to read the comments. They are not important. Our mom has unfollowed President Fu's Weibo, and she hates him now because he's the one who caused you to get scolded by the netizens. Besides, she will also go read the poisonous articles about President Fu with dad when she's free. I saw her like a few posts the other day."

Fu Zhi was even more stunned.

'It's okay if you don't want to follow me on Weibo, but how can you become my hater?'

Fu Zhi then asked, "Hasn't she always said that President Fu is her idol? How can she change her mind so fast? Does she not have a bottom line?"

Lu Yumo replied, "You're her bottom line!"

After a short pause, he patted Fu Zhi's shoulder and added, "Don't worry, Zhizhi. If President Fu's fans scold you, I will help you get back at him by scolding him like the articles that badmouth him!"

Fu Zhi did not know what to say. After all, it did not matter anymore.

After saying that, Lu Yumo put his phone away. When he saw the ugly pot of bristlegrass-like plant in Fu Zhi's hand, he frowned and asked, "What the hell is this thing?"

"It's the Senzhi Herb. A kind of exotic herb. It flourishes in extreme conditions such as lava areas. Long story short, it can effectively treat damaged vocal cords. Well, that's all you should know. After all, you wouldn't understand even if I told you everything."

Lu Yumo was speechless.

'How could I not know this?'

The Senzhi Herb. He had seen it on the television when he was a kid. It was an extremely rare and precious herb, as there were only ten or so of them left around the globe. He remembered that one of them had been auctioned off abroad for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Anyway, he knew how precious this herb was compared to other herbs just by looking at its price. However, the problem was that, according to his memory, the Senzhi Herb was nothing like the bristlegrass-like grass in Fu Zhi's hand, not to mention that it smelled like a rotten egg...

As if she could read his mind, Fu Zhi said, "A pair of good-looking parents may not be able to give birth to good-looking children. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Although this plant doesn't look like it, it has a pure soul!"

Lu Yumo was left speechless again.

'It's just a plant. How the hell do you know if it has a pure soul or not?'

While Fu Zhi was raising the Senzhi Herb, Chu He taught Gu Yan a lot of theoretical knowledge. There was no unusually outstanding student in this batch, and Chu Hao was disappointed. That was why he did not want to oversee the examination anymore.

Although Chu He did not expect Gu Yan to make the most of the Thousand Spirit Grass, he was certain that her medicine would be better than other people's considering the rarity of her ingredient.

Chu He could not wait to see Fu Zhi's remorseful expression.

If Fu Zhi really showed up, he swore to God that he would force her to give him the antidote, and he would show her who was the boss here.

*

The Chu Family was considered an elite family in the capital. As such, they had invited some reporters to write a report about this examination, which was only held once a few years.

At that moment, at the site of the last round of the examination...

Every disciple of the Chu Family and the teachers were there. All of them were sitting around, talking to each other.

"Look! That's Master Chu He's disciple!" Somebody shouted, prompting everyone to zero in on Gu Yan, who had just gotten out of Chu He's car.

Gu Yan had dressed up today, but she did not take her mask off.

She looked confident, even though so many people were watching her.

When someone saw the Thousand Spirit Grass in her hands, they gasped.

The Thousand Spirit Grass was very thick and leafy, and there was a small pink flower on top of it. It was small and exquisite, and it had a strong fragrance.

"Is this the Chu Family's treasured Thousand Spirit Grass?"

"It really deserves being known as the magic medicine. Just smelling it makes me feel so fresh."

"She's so lucky that she became the disciple of Master Chu He. Everyone knows how important high-grade herbs are to people like us. There is nothing for us to see during this examination anymore. Even if she makes the medicine with her eyes closed, she's going to get first place."

"But I remember someone saying that Master Chu Hao is going to use this herb to cure our senior uncle's damaged vocal cords. We have only one such herb in our treasure room. Is it okay for her to take the herb? Does Master Chu Hao know about it?"

...

Everyone was looking at Gu Yan with a variety of looks on their faces.

Gu Yan once again felt satisfied, but she didn't notice that a disciple quietly slipped away from the venue. She bowed graciously and said, "I will definitely make good medicine and try to cure senior brother's illness. I hope everyone will give me more guidance if I don't do well."

Initially, the crowd was a bit jealous, for they were not happy that she, a junior, had such an opportunity. However, when they saw how modest she was, they lightened up and cheered her on.

"Compared to Gu Yan, who originally entered the competition, I heard that we have a guaranteed participant in this examination," some informed disciples muttered. "I remember that her name is Fu Zhi, and I heard from other disciples of Master Chu He that she got Master Chu He's letter of recommendation through a dishonest method. She doesn't know anything about medicine, yet she still wants to join the Chu Family?"

These words immediately drew a mocking crowd over.

"Through a dishonest method? How are you going to save a life if you can't stay down to earth?"

"There are so many reporters present today, so if she can't even make the medicine, she's going to make the headlines!"

Everyone was looking down on Fu Zhi.

Upon seeing this, Chu He nodded in satisfaction and sat down on the playing field.

"Hey, hey, hey, Fu Zhi is here!" Suddenly, a disciple shouted as he ran in, causing the others to immediately turn their heads in unison and look in the direction of the door.

The girl had a delicate face and a pair of pretty eyes. Her skin was fair, and she looked just like a goddess beside Lu Yumo.

However, everyone's gazes were soon attracted to the pot in her hand, and they were all confused.

"What the hell is that in her hand? It looks really ugly and it smells very bad. Is she going to use that thing to make medicine for our senior uncle? Is she crazy?"

A person's first impression was the most important.

They already did not have a good impression of Fu Zhi, and they despised her even more when they saw the pot with the ugly herb in her hand.

Upon seeing her, Gu Yan approached Fu Zhi, pitched her voice low, and said, "I know you want to get the herb for Lu Yushen, but I suggest you drop the thought because I'm going to win this time!"

There were only three people in the final round.

Fu Zhi felt that Gu Yan's confidence stemmed from the pot of grass in her hand.

Gu Yan hated Fu Zhi, but at the same time, she was very happy that she was one step ahead of Fu Zhi and had already joined the Chu Family, while Fu Zhi was still in the same place.

She wanted to use her medical skills today to completely crush Fu Zhi's pride—

Before Gu Yan could finish her thought, she felt a strong force come from her right side, and before she knew it, she was flung to the floor with a loud thud.

"Oopsie, so sorry about that. I must have had too much rice recently, so I got a little bit stronger." Lu Yumo rubbed his wrist and looked at Gu Yan with a smile. "But don't be angry. I was just chasing a fly away! It keeps buzzing around me and it's making my brain hurt!"

After a pause, he added, "My sister is going to win this competition!"

Gu Yan froze for a moment. Then, she let out a laugh and looked at Lu Yumo contemptuously. "I think you must be out of your mind. Do you know what the Thousand Spirit Grass is? In all the recorded books, there are only two types of herbs that are better than the Thousand Spirit Grass when it comes to healing damaged vocal cords."

Fu Zhi chimed in, "So why are you so happy? You haven't gotten first place yet."

Gu Yan did not know what to say, as she was stumped. It was very tough to cultivate the Thousand Spirit Grass, and everyone knew that the Senzhi Herb was going extinct, so how was there any chance Fu Zhi would get her hands on the Senzhi Herb?

Gu Yan then said, "I don't have the Senzhi Herb, but how about you? Don't tell me that this thing in your hand is the Senzhi Herb?"

Fu Zhi subconsciously touched her Senzhi Herb. When she came back to her senses, she wiped off the dirt and oil on Lu Yumo's sleeve.

Then, with a straight face, she nodded and said, "Yes, this is the Senzhi Herb."

No one had expected this answer, and Gu Yan froze. She felt like there was something wrong with her mind.

The rest of the people also looked at the pot in Fu Zhi's hand.

Then, someone laughed, and everyone else began to laugh as well.

"This plant looks really ugly, so there's no way it could be the Senzhi Herb."

"Do you really think we have not seen the Senzhi Herb in a textbook?"

Fu Zhi was stunned. She did not understand why they all insisted that the plant in her hand was not the Senzhi Herb.

Well, she was at fault as well. If she had watched the plant closely, it would not have grown into such an unsightly plant.

Fu Zhi lowered her head and sighed, but everyone thought she was afraid of being exposed.

Gu Yan got up from the ground. "Ms. Fu, you have always been arrogant, but I didn't expect you to be such a good liar as well. You disgust me!"

Lu Yumo interrupted her. "Why are you so sure that this is not the Senzhi Herb? Besides, what are you feeling so proud of? Did you get your herb by yourself? My sister relies on herself for everything, and I suggest you behave and watch your mouth, or you might ruin your reputation again today."

Gu Yan couldn't say anything to him, so she only said in the end, "Suit yourself. I want to see how proud you will be after the examination is over!"

Chapter 347: Goodbye, Gu Yan – 2
Soon, all of them went up on the stage.

According to the rules, all three of them would be given a pot, as well as some simple medicinal herbs.

The process of making medicine involved extracting the essence of medicinal herbs and then fusing them.

It might sound simple on the surface, but in reality, it was a complicated process. There were plenty of steps involved, and the difficulty of extracting the essence varied from herb to herb.

For instance, extracting the essence of a normal herb only took about a few minutes, while a high-grade herb like the Thousand Spirit Grass would take at least a day, not to mention that there was a possibility the extraction would fail.

After the extraction process, the real game began. The druggist had to consider carefully which herbs to mix with the essence to maximize the effectiveness of the medicine. This was a crucial step, and no mistakes would be tolerated. Otherwise, there was a good chance that the medicine would turn into poison.

Right now, there were plenty of sophisticated devices in front of Fu Zhi and the other two participants. They were going to utilize these devices to prepare the medicine.

Since Fu Zhi had said that the herb she had brought was the Senzhi Herb, she had attracted a lot of attention from the crowd.

However, when they saw her casually grab a handful of herbs and dump them into the pot without weighing them first, they all convulsed with laughter.

After all, everyone knew that precision played an essential role in traditional Chinese medicine. Even the most experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner had to weigh each herb meticulously according to the prescription, so what about Fu Zhi?

First, she did not weigh her herbs, and second, the herbs she chose were also very common herbs provided by the Chu Family.

How was there any chance she could create a high-grade medicine that could treat a serious condition with low-grade herbs?

She was indeed ignorant!

That said, someone was kind enough to remind Fu Zhi of her mistake. "Fu Zhi, the test is about making medicine, not cooking. It won't work if you don't weigh and extract the essence of the herbs in advance. There is still some time left, so why don't you start over?"

"Don't worry. It will work."

The kind-hearted disciple was stumped.

'How are you going to make it work? With magic? Abrakadabra?'

The male participant beside Gu Yan noticed Fu Zhi's situation. He frowned and said, "Without extracting the essence, the herbs won't have any effect."

Fu Zhi did not say anything. Then, her next stubborn approach was even more confusing.

Normally, one would extract the essence with the pumping technique. However, Fu Zhi just threw everything in the pot, started the fire, and boiled the ingredients.

Nobody had ever seen this kind of extraction technique before, and they thought she was just messing around.

Gu Yan took a glance at Fu Zhi and sneered, "If I were you, I'd stop wasting my time and energy. There's no way you can extract the essence this way. You're just bringing..."

Before she could finish speaking, a faint smell of Chinese medicine pervaded the air, and the smell kept getting stronger and stronger with each passing second.

Fitting a filter gauze on the mouth of the pot, Fu Zhi poured everything out into a test tube.

The essence was green in color, clear, and transparent. There was not a single impurity in it, and it looked no worse than the essence extracted with normal instruments.

How was that possible?

Everyone around could not believe their eyes, but that was the truth.

One of the elders from the judging board got excited and ran up to the stage in spite of his image. He snatched the test tube from Fu Zhi's hand and then said in a shaky voice, "Little girl, this, this, this... This doesn't make sense. How is there any possibility you can extract the essence without the help of any device? Did you do something to the herbs before you dumped them all into the pot? Otherwise, how can the essence in your pot form two separate layers with the water? Can you teach me how to do it?"

Fu Zhi replied, "Nope. People always say that when the students master the knowledge, the teacher will lose his or her job. Unless you can offer me a price to keep me clothed and fed for the rest of my life, I'm not teaching you."

The elder was stumped.

'Goodbye!'

The expressions of the crowd turned complicated. They had just been laughing at Fu Zhi not long ago, and now reality had given them a huge slap in the face. Not only had Fu Zhi managed to extract the essence with her bold approach, but her essence was also very pure! Everyone knew that the purer the essence, the better the effect of the medicine.

It was only now that they realized Fu Zhi was not an ignorant fool at all!

Gu Yan and Chu He's faces turned grim.

Chu He said, "Yes, she has some skills. I'll give her that, but there's no way she's going to win with that unknown grass of hers!"

Everyone then remembered the unsightly "Senzhi Herb" that Fu Zhi had brought, and they shook their heads regretfully.

No matter how skillful she was, there was nothing she could do without a high-grade herb.

Fu Zhi did not care about what other people said about her, as she just focused on making her medicine.

When Gu Yan saw that Fu Zhi had already started to work on her ugly grass while she still had not finished extracting the essence, she became a little restless.

After all, she was the one who knew how to make incense, so no one was more skilled than her when it came to extracting essence... Unfortunately, she was still slower than Fu Zhi.

Gu Yan's eyes were red around the rims, and she was anxious. She hadn't found the way to extract the Thousand Spirit Grass, but then she thought of an idea and said, "Fu Zhi, since you're so great, how about I share a quarter of the Thousand Spirit Grass with you so you can take it to make medicine?"

Everyone nodded in admiration upon seeing Gu Yan's generosity. The Thousand Spirit Grass was a high-grade herb, and all of them reckoned that only a fool would refuse.

However, little had they expected that Fu Zhi would be a fool. She knew what Gu Yan was planning, so there was no way she would let her get her way. She did not even look at Gu Yan as she rejected the offer coldly. "It's just a wildflower. You can keep it."

The crowd was stunned by Fu Zhi's rejection, and a thought surfaced in everyone's head. 'If you don't want it, then give it to us! We want it!'

Gu Yan wanted to know how Fu Zhi would extract the Thousand Spirit Grass, so she pressed on. "Stop pretending, Fu Zhi. That is not the Senzhi Herb. If you insist on using it to create the medicine, what if it turns into poison and kills someone..."

Making medicine was a sophisticated process. If something went wrong during the mixing process, especially with an essence of such purity, the patient that consumed the medicine would end up dying.

"If you don't know sh*t, just shut up," Fu Zhi said. Then, she turned to the elder that was peeking at her and said, "You! Go and ask if that crazy b*tch wants to continue the examination or not. If she's given up, then get her off the stage. She's bothering me."

The elder said, "I heard that she's a participant who was invited by Master Chu Hao..."

In other words, she had connections, and there was nothing he could do about it. Then, although Fu Zhi did not say anything, he seemed to see the word "useless" form in her eyes.

The elder did not know what to say.

The silver lining was that Gu Yan stopped bothering Fu Zhi after Fu Zhi rejected her.

It was difficult to extract the essence of the Senzhi Herb, and it took Fu Zhi quite some time.

At the same time, Gu Yan put the Thousand Spirit Grass into the pot for extraction. She did not know how much essence she could get out of it, so she went with the most conservative way.

Very soon, one hour had passed, and they were required to present their medicine.

Bracing herself to face the gazes of the crowd, Gu Yan walked up the stage and presented her medicine. It was a bottle of light yellow liquid.

Chu He was the first to go up and take it. He observed the color of the medicine first and then dipped a silver chopstick into the bottle. After he put the chopstick into his mouth to taste the medicine, he commented, "It's above average. Although there are some impurities, it's overall good. It should not have a problem curing minor burns."

Gu Yan curled her lips up gracefully and said, "It's such a relief that I didn't let you down, master."

"See? Gu Yan is pretty good."

"She's very good at extracting the essence of herbs. I don't think I can do it as well as her."

"It's so lucky that I decided to come here today!"

"Where's Fu Zhi? How's Fu Zhi's medicine?" Due to the fact that she had used a rather new way to extract the essence, most people were anticipating Fu Zhi's result more.

Fu Zhi, who was called to the stage, stepped forward with her bottle of medicine.

Gu Yan smirked. "Don't forget that Fu Zhi simply took a wildflower from the roadside and treated it as the Senzhi Herb to make this medicine. Are you sure you guys want to taste it?"

Chu Guang was surprised. "The Senzhi Herb?"

Chu He chimed in, his voice filled with mockery, "That's not the Senzhi Herb. There's no way she would get her hands on that kind of herb. She's just an ignorant kid who likes to mess with us adults. I'm not going to taste her medicine. I don't want to get poisoned!"

Fu Zhi shot him a glance.

Chu He immediately remembered the poison she had fed him and fell silent.

Moving her gaze away from Chu He, Fu Zhi took her medicine out and said, "This is the medicine I modified according to an ancient prescription. It might not cure the problem right away, but I'm certain that the condition of the patient will become a lot better after they take it."

Then, she added, "It's the highest-grade medicine, and it's something you guys can't find in the market. I know you want to praise me, but I'm in a hurry, so make it quick. Just give me the prize and I will take my leave."

The group of elders did not know what to say.

'What a shameless girl!'

Gu Yan did not know whether she should be laughing or not. Just as she was about to say something, an angry voice erupted from the crowd. "Gu Yan, Chu He, how dare you! Who gave you guys permission to take the Thousand Spirit Grass? Chu He, I left you in charge of the treasure room, but I didn't expect you to abuse your power for your own gain!"

Chu Hao appeared from the crowd and slapped Chu He's shoulder.

He was so angry that his eyes were red around the rims. After all, the Thousand Spirit Grass was his only hope to cure his disciple!

He had nearly passed out upon seeing the bottle of yellow medicine.

The moment Chu Hao finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

All of them were wondering if their ears were playing a trick on them or something.

Gu Yan had taken the Thousand Spirit Grass without permission? Just what the hell was happening?

Chu Hao was not in the mood to explain anything. He gnashed his teeth tightly, fuming with rage.

As for Fu Zhi, she raised her brows when she heard the voice.

Chu He hastily explained, "Listen to my explanation, senior brother. I saw that you had never used the herb before and you suddenly took it out, so I thought you were going to give it to Gu Yan. After all, she received an invitation from you..."

"The herb is for 'Addiction'!"

'Oh, now I see it.'

Fu Zhi finally connected all the dots. She poked Chu Hao's back and said, "It's okay. You lost the Thousand Spirit Grass, but I have medicine made from the Senzhi Herb!"

Chu Hao clicked his tongue at Fu Zhi, as he felt annoyed.

Sensing his refusal to turn his head, Fu Zhi pulled her phone out, opened her WeChat, and video-called him.

Chu Hao nearly cried out when she called him. He picked up the call and said, "Where are you, boss?"

Fu Zhi replied, "Behind you."

Chu Hao was stumped.

For a moment, he thought he had seen a ghost in broad daylight!

He had just thought of Fu Zhi, and now she was here!

He suppressed his excitement, turned to Fu Zhi, and asked in a shaky voice, "You... You said this medicine is made from the Senzhi Herb?"

"Yes!"

"Oh!" Chu Hao was beyond delighted. He immediately called his disciple over. Then, without waiting for him to say anything, he grabbed his disciple by the neck and forced the medicine down his throat.

"Senior brother! The medicine is poisonous..."

The other elders tried to stop Chu Hao, but they were too late.

Chu Hao's disciple blinked. After a while that seemed like an eternity, he opened his mouth and a raspy syllable came out. "He..."

He paused for a moment, as he seemed rather shocked as well. Then, he said, "M... Master, my throat doesn't hurt anymore when I'm speaking."

Even though his voice was still hoarse and small, there was a marked improvement compared to before, when his throat had felt like it contained a blood clot whenever he'd opened his mouth to speak.

He looked excitedly at Fu Zhi.

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

"He, he... He can speak already? Was the herb really the Senzhi Herb?"

...

Fu Zhi waved her hand and pointed at Gu Yan, "Where did she get the invitation? I don't have any invitations. I just have a few bank cards."

Gu Yan's expression changed.

Chu Hao could see that they were not on good terms. He then opened his mouth and said, "If you don't know, then this can only mean that she stole the invitation to ride roughshod over us! Not only that, but she also took the Thousand Spirit Grass and tried to compete with you. It's ridiculous!"

Gu Yan was devastated. She had lost her usual calmness as she snarled, "There's no name on the invitation, so by right, I can say it was for me!"

After all, there were no surveillance cameras in the security room, so no one could say she was the one who had stolen it.

The disdain in Chu Hao's eyes intensified. "Wanting to go far in medicine when your character is not good is like daydreaming! Since you have nothing to do with Zhizhi, I will definitely not allow a student like you to be near my family!"

Gu Yan felt her world begin to crumble apart when she heard what Chu Hao had said. She turned to look at Chu He, hoping that he could help put in a good word for her.

Chu Hao liked her a lot, so he said, "Senior brother, why don't we just let her go this time? You know, I'm her master, and if..."

"Chu He, don't forget that you're also her accomplice. If I hear another word from you, you will get the hell out of the Chu Family along with her!"

Chu He fell silent.

Gu Yan's brain went blank.

She knew she was done for again.

If the Chu Family expelled her, then her fate would be sealed.

She had lost everything, and the person who had pushed her into her current situation was none other than Fu Zhi!

It was all her fault!

All sorts of negative emotions swarmed over Gu Yan, and her eyes were filled with rage. She grabbed a pair of scissors from the table and thrust it toward Fu Zhi's eyes.

Then, a second later, as Lu Yumo shouted in fear, Fu Zhi took a step to the right and avoided her.

Gu Yan stepped on the table cloth and slipped forward.

The pair of scissors fell from her hand, and the pointy end stabbed right into her wrist.

"Ah!" Gu Yan let out a pained scream, and everyone was stunned by the bloody scene.

It was only then that Gu Yan's face mask fell from her face.

A reporter who had noticed the commotion exclaimed, "Isn't she the one who stole the flash drive from the Chinese team and gave it to the team from Country M during the international competition? Why is she still in our country?"

The crowd exploded into turmoil.

"Oh my gosh, what's she trying to do now?"

"Is she trying to kill someone?"

"How can we let this kind of person stay in the Chu Family?"

It went without saying that Chu Hao would not let Gu Yan stay in the Chu Family. He looked at her wrist and realized that her tendons were severed. She would not be able to use her hand anymore.

He then ordered his disciple, "Take her to the hospital and call the police. She stole the invitation and the Thousand Spirit Grass. There's no way we will let her get away just like that."

If she was sentenced to time in prison, her life would basically be over. She had lost her reputation and medical skills. Even if she was released from prison in the future, there would be no place for her to gain a foothold in society, and this was the greatest punishment for a person like her.

Chapter 348: A Sick Brother
Gu Yan was brought away by the police in the end.

There were plenty of reporters on the scene, and many of them were jotting everything down as they prepared to write a report about her.

Lu Yumo did not know what to feel right now.

If Gu Yan had not given way to her greediness and coveted what did not belong to her, at the very least, she still could have kept her dream.

However, it was too late to say anything now.

Chu Hao told Fu Zhi, "It's the Chu Family's fault for giving Gu Yan the chance to impersonate you to take part in the examination and steal the Thousand Spirit Grass. Given your ability, you don't even need to participate in the examination. Were it not for your ointment, my disciple would not have recovered so fast. Both my disciple and I owe a great debt to you, and if you ever need our assistance in the future, just let us know and we will do everything we can to help you."

In other words, the entire Chu Family was supporting Fu Zhi, which meant that if Fu Zhi ever wanted to become a doctor, her career would be smooth sailing! No one would ever dare to get in her way!

The crowd's eyes reddened around the rims when they heard it.

When Chu He heard what Chu Hao had said, he could not stay quiet anymore and stepped forward. "You can't do that, senior brother! You don't know her well. She poisoned me when I was in Yu City!"

"Elder Chu, speaking of poison, have you forgotten that it was you who poisoned Mrs. Xu first?"

Chu He objected. "Don't you dare change the topic. We're talking about you poisoning me right now!"

Chu Hao frowned. "Mrs. Xu? Poison? What is Boss Fu talking about?"

"Erm... About that..." Chu He hemmed and hawed, but he could not give an exact answer.

Looking at Chu He's red face, Fu Zhi just felt that he was wasting her time. She waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright. It's not poison at all. It's just some soil."

Fu Zhi only fed Chu He a little. Chu He was old, so his body's immune mechanism was not as good as before. He only felt bloated in the abdomen, but there was nothing wrong with him. That's why he thought that Fu Zhi had done something to him.

Nothing would happen to him even if he did not consume the powder that Fu Zhi gave him every month.

However, due to the fact that Chu He cherished his life a lot, he did not dare go against Fu Zhi. That's why Fu Zhi could mess with him.

Chu He felt embarrassed after he heard what Fu Zhi had said.

Fu Zhi did not want to waste her time on him anymore. She turned to Chu Hao and said, "You're the buyer, and I'm the seller. You don't owe me anything."

The last thing Fu Zhi lacked was connections, and she had gotten used to being a lone wolf. There were two reasons Chu Hao had offered her such benefits. One was that he was grateful to her, and second, everyone would get sick from the moment they were born. Thus, a good doctor had a lot of support and was highly coveted.

For example, Z God...

Most of the people in the crowd could not see through. They just thought that Fu Zhi was the one who got all the benefits, but in reality, the one that had gained the most benefits by befriending a good doctor like Fu Zhi was the Chu Family.

Chu Hao couldn't help but nod in admiration for Fu Zhi's character. He did not press on after Fu Zhi rejected him and said, "Then please follow me to claim your prize."

Fu Zhi nodded.

The Chu Family was indeed an elite family with more than 100 years of history. There were plenty of exotic and rare herbs in Chu Hao's garden.

Chu Hao nearly fell to the ground when he heard that Fu Zhi was going to make the Mind-Tranquilizing Minor Exchange Pill. "Isn't that an ancient prescription? I remember that the prescription is incomplete, and the process to make one is extremely tedious. Up until now, the only person who's managed to make this pill is Z God! Do you need my help? Or do you want me to help you get in contact with Z God?"

Fu Zhi replied, "Nope. Just don't let anyone disturb me."

Chu Hao was speechless.

He had no idea why, but an unrealistic idea suddenly surfaced in his heart.

'Fu Zhi, FZ, Z...'

Then, Chu Hao slapped himself on the cheek.

'Are you crazy? Boss Fu Zhi is still so young!'

...

It was close to the evening when Fu Zhi came out of her room and took Lu Yumo for a walk around.

She needed another two or three days before the Minor Exchange Pill could be completed. At the same time, Lu Yushen would continue to get psychological treatment from Li Nanli online, and he had hired a professional psychiatrist to check on his condition from time to time as well.

Lu Yumo felt that Fu Zhi loved Lu Yushen more than him.

The reason was that he could jump around, he was mentally healthy, and whenever he cried, he would not cry silently like Lu Yushen but very hard, like a pig that was about to get slaughtered.

Thus, to make his sister love him more, Lu Yumo scooped Fu Zhi into his arms and said, "You're tired, Zhizhi. Let me carry you!"

Fu Zhi, who nearly vomited the milk she had drunk just now before coming out for a walk, did not know what to say.

'You're really courting death!'

Meanwhile, the Chu Family received two unexpected guests.

A black luxury car with a Yu City number plate was stopped in front of the quaint mansion. The driver, who was wearing white gloves, got out of the car first and then went to the back of the car to open the door.

The first person that emerged from the car was a woman. Her eyes were sharp like an eagle's, and she had a domineering aura as she walked in her black dress.

The next person to get out of the car was a teenager about 13 or 14 years old in a wheelchair.

He was wearing a beige trench coat, black pants, and a pair of canvas shoes. He looked well-behaved, but his eyes were gloomy.

The driver got all the luggage out of the car.

A few meters away, Lu Yu'an looked at the girl on Lu Yumo's back.

Lu Yumo was yelling to throw Fu Zhi off his back, while Fu Zhi was smiling and ordering him to run faster. If he did not, she was going to tell Lu Jingqing to break his legs.

Anyone who saw this scene would feel that Fu Zhi was bullying Lu Yumo. However, Fu Zhi looked harmless, and she was sending text messages to someone right now.

Her eyes were bright like the stars in the sky, but Lu Yu'an knew she was not that innocent at all.

She was the one who had sent his cousin to jail, and she...

Lu Yu'an frowned and stopped thinking.

It was only now that Fu Zhi noticed his unfriendly gaze. She wriggled uneasily on Lu Yumo's back and raised her head.

There was quite some distance between her and Lu Yu'an. When she finally locked eyes with him, she was stunned, and it took her quite some time to finally remember who the young man was.

'Ah! He's Yubai's sick brother who needs protection!'

Fu Zhi jumped down from Lu Yumo's back and walked up to Lu Yu'an with the milk tea she had bought just now.

Chu Hao was talking to the woman beside him.

The disciple of the Chu Family greeted her. "You are still helping your brother exercise at this late hour?"

"As expected from a genius doctor, you would rather sacrifice your own exercise time so that your brother could exercise longer!"

"This is unlike my sister, who never let me carry her on my back. It's as if she's afraid that I would live longer than her!"

They had seen Fu Zhi's medical skills, so they all admired her a lot.

Fu Zhi did not know what to say.

She instinctively ignored them and looked at Lu Yu'an. Then, she looked at Lu Yumo, whose face had turned grim from the moment Lu Yu'an had shown up.

She raised her hand, and just as she was about to share the milk tea with Lu Yu'an, he moved his wheelchair away from her.

Then, his clear voice that seemed to be dripping with poison rang out. "Don't touch me."

Fu Zhi was stunned for a few seconds. The milk tea in her hand swung in midair and gave off a gentle hue under the moonlight.

She said, "I'm sorry."

Then, she took a few steps back to increase the distance between them.

It seemed to her that Lu Yu'an did not like people to get too close to him.

Lu Yu'an had not expected that Fu Zhi would not get angry.

He had heard of her before. She was supposed to be just like his classmates at school, a vicious and selfish girl who looked down on disabled people like him. He pressed his lips firmly, subconsciously touched his knees, and averted his gaze.

After the woman finished talking to Chu Hao, she noticed Lu Yumo and Fu Zhi.

"Zhizhi?!"

This was the first time Fu Zhi had come across Lu Yubai's mother.

The woman was as smart as a new pin. After she ascertained that Fu Zhi was her niece, she rubbed her head and said, "You're so adorable."

Fu Zhi felt a little awkward, which was pretty rare for her. Raising her head to meet her gaze, she said, "Aunty Zhou."

Zhou Qiong found her niece really cute. She pulled a bank card out of her purse and said, "I asked your cousin about you. He said you like to keep money, so this is for you. You can spend it as you like!"

'What a nice gift!'

Fu Zhi's eyes glowed, and she pushed all her unpleasant experiences with Lu Yu'an to the back of her mind. She took the card from Zhou Qiong and gave her the milk tea in her hand.

Zhou Qiong had not expected to receive a gift from her niece, so she was surprised. "Did you buy this specifically for me?"

Fu Zhi nodded. "Yes!"

Lu Yu'an did not know what to say.

*

Zhou Qiong brought Lu Yu'an to the Chu Family, hoping that they could help him. After she took him there, she had to go back to her workstation.

Chu Hao settled Lu Yu'an in his courtyard as well, but Lu Yumo suddenly packed all his stuff up.

Fu Zhi was fanning the fire, and when she saw what he was doing, she raised her head and asked, "Are you not going to sleep?"

Lu Yumo pouted his mouth and said, "I don't want to sleep, and..."

He seemed rather hesitant to say what was on his mind. He hummed and hawed for a long while before finally deciding to say it out loud. "I decided to stay at the hotel and wait until you finish making the pill."

"Why?"

"Lu Yu'an is here, and I don't like him. Besides..." Lu Yumo did not know how to describe it. "He also doesn't like physically healthy kids, and I think he'll bite my head off while I'm sleeping so that he can claim my legs as his own."

Fu Zhi was speechless.

Lu Yumo wanted to take Fu Zhi with him as well, but the pill had not yet been finished.

He said, "Aunty Zhou works for Interpol. She works on major criminal cases, so she often gets targeted by her enemies. There was this one time when they abducted Lu Yu'an. Although he was saved in the end, his legs..."

Fu Zhi replied, "He's strong..."

"That's not what I meant. Anyway, forget about it. You won't understand."

Lu Yumo threw himself on the bed and continued to speak. "He's very close to Lu Chuwan, so that's the reason he doesn't like you. In any case, stay away from him, and I'll be leaving tonight. You hear me?"

Chapter 349: Z God Finally Took The Mission – 1
Fu Zhi knew Lu Yumo very well, so she did not press on since he had made up his mind.

Besides, she would go back to the Lu Family to treat Lu Yushen once the pill was done. She was not going to stay at the Chu Residence for too long, so she said, "Alright, take care of yourself then."

A surge of relief washed over Lu Yumo when he heard what Fu Zhi had said, and it was only then that he understood the exaltation and pride of the children that successfully forced their parents to buy toys for them after throwing a big tantrum in the mall.

He took his suitcase and went straight to the hotel.

However, he did not expect that Fu Zhi's emotions would come and go in great haste. She had totally forgotten their promise when she woke up the next day.

On the other side of the city, after Zhou Qiong returned to her workstation, she sent a text message to Chu Hao on WeChat: [Please do your best to help Yu'an. Money is not a problem at all. He has suffered far too much, and I know that he deep down still wants to stand up again.]

Zhou Qiong cared deeply for her youngest son, especially since he had been unable to grow up healthy because of the nature of her work.

[You have to understand one thing, Mrs. Zhou. It's not about money. My ability is limited. Even doctors from other countries don't know the exact way to cure him, and I could only go with a conservative approach... However, Z God is different. Did you publish the mission on the hacker platform as I told you to? Did you receive any news from Z God?]

Chu Hao had tried his best, but there was a limit to what he could do. Doctors were humans, not gods, but Z God was different.

That person was a miracle.

[Yes, but Z God hasn't accepted the mission yet.]

[This is to be expected. After all, many people in China want to get in touch with Z God. Z God is protected by the hacker organization, and unless they show themselves willingly, it's very difficult for you to reach them.]

Zhou Qiong rubbed the spot between her brows and replied, [I will try my best. After all, this is the only chance Yu'an has to stand up again. I don't want him to get disappointed.]

The following day at 7:30 a.m...

Fu Zhi was their guest, and Chu Hao had his medical apprentices deliver breakfast to the pavilion every morning. Then, she would have her breakfast there.

However, Lu Yu'an had arrived at the Chu Residence. Chu Hao was worried about his condition, and considering the fact that he was just 13 years old, all the medical apprentices that took care of him were 12-year-old boys.

While Fu Zhi was on her way to the pavilion, she bumped into two medical apprentices. Both of them were squatting in the corner, talking to each other.

"Master said that we should take care of him and treat him as a brother, but I don't want a crippled brother."

"He also has a long scar on his leg. It's really ugly, and he cannot stand up." The other medical apprentice sighed. "My brother can run and jump, but this one doesn't know anything. All he can do is just sit in his wheelchair and play the same piano song on a loop. When I helped him carry the luggage, he looked really fierce and he didn't even smile at me. I think he's different from normal people like us."

Lu Yu'an, who had just come out of the room, heard their conversation and paused in his tracks.

Fu Zhi was standing behind the two little boys. Her back was facing Lu Yu'an, so he could not see the expression on her face.

The two little boys were startled when they saw Fu Zhi. Then, they shot up from the ground and greeted her. "Ms. Fu."

They felt ashamed of themselves. Not only had they been talking behind someone's back, but they had also been caught red-handed by a pretty young lady.

Fu Zhi nodded but did not avert her gaze.

Honestly, these boys were not at fault. Lu Yu'an was bound to a wheelchair, not to mention that he always had a gloomy expression on his face. As a result, it was very hard for the boys to like him.

Before the boys could get away, Fu Zhi thought of something and said, "He is the same as the rest of us. He's just a little bit under the weather, so he looks unhappy. However, by the time he gets better, he will be able to run and jump happily like Brother Yumo."

Fu Zhi thought for a while and added, "Besides, he's good-looking, so it's understandable that he's a bit eccentric."

The two boys were speechless, for they did not know what to say in return.

In the distance, Lu Yu'an touched his knees.

He looked a lot like Lu Yubai, but unlike Lu Yubai, he always had a gloomy expression on his face.

Zhou Qiong had taken him to many doctors out of guilt. He had undergone many surgeries, and there were plenty of metal rods in the bones in his legs.

All the doctors said that his legs were beyond saving and the only way to make him walk again was with amputation and prosthetic legs. However, Fu Zhi had said he was just a little under the weather.

He was stunned for a moment, as if he was a well-behaved, overwhelmed pup.

"Cousin!" he called out to Fu Zhi after a short while.

After realizing that Fu Zhi was a bit different from what he had imagined, he became less annoyed at her.

Lu Yu'an did not intend to have a fallout with Fu Zhi at a moment like this, especially when he noticed that everyone in the Chu Family seemed to respect Fu Zhi a lot.

Although he did not care about his own condition at all or about what the Chu Family thought about him, he was staying with them right now.

He had many ways to get revenge on Fu Zhi, and he was certain that sooner or later, Fu Zhi would reveal her evil side. However, before that happened, he reckoned that he should not act impulsively like he had last night and give people the chance to badmouth him.

If Fu Zhi wanted to maintain her generous and well-behaved image, he would go along with her until she could not keep up the façade and continue lying anymore.

This was the first time Fu Zhi had come across someone younger than her. It was a new feeling for her, so she nodded. "Have you had breakfast?"

Lu Yu'an shook his head. "Nope."

Fu Zhi pushed his wheelchair to the side of the table. "Well then, you can share my breakfast. Drink half the milk and pour the other half into a new cup for me. I will go get a new set of utensils."

Lu Yu'an was dumbfounded once again. Everyone had been treating him like a porcelain doll ever since he had become crippled, and this was the first time someone asked him to do something.

He did not know how to explain the feelings that stirred in his heart. After he hesitated for a while, he reached out for the cup of milk and poured half of it into a new cup for Fu Zhi.

Lu Yu'an did not know with what kind of mentality Fu Zhi had sent Lu Chuwan to prison, but in fact, she had always given off a very friendly vibe in front of him.

He thought that even if they were not at the Chu Residence but somewhere else, he would not have been able to insult Fu Zhi anymore, and that was not a very good sign for him.

Fu Zhi soon returned and took a seat beside him.

"I heard from Aunty Zhou that you still have to go to school after you recover. Is that right? Are you going to study abroad, or are you going to transfer to a school in Yu City?"

"I will be studying in Yu City. I'll go to a private school," Lu Yu'an replied, pressing his lips firmly as he sipped on the cup of milk that had originally belonged to Fu Zhi. "It's a school with a combination of elementary, middle, and high school classes that offers a totally immersive experience. I went to this school at a very young age, and the principal used to be a friend of my mother, but I didn't like going to school."

Chapter 350: Z God Finally Took The Mission – 2
"You still have to go to school. That's where you learn how the world works."

Fu Zhi said, "The reason Lu Yumo always becomes the target of scammers is that he's bad at studying and doesn't like to read books. However, he has changed a lot, and he likes to read now."

Lu Yu'an gripped the cup tightly and said, "Okay." The same feeling of annoyance came back to haunt him again.

Just as he thought Fu Zhi was about to give him a lecture, Lu Yumo sent her a video call invitation.

He saw Lu Yumo shake the cup of milk tea in his hand, and then Fu Zhi, who had been sitting obediently on the chair and eating her breakfast, ran frantically toward the gate.

She did not ask whether he wanted the milk tea or not.

She was also nicer to Lu Yumo than she was to him.

Lu Yu'an licked the milk stain at the corner of his mouth, blinking slowly as he looked at Fu Zhi's back.

After a short while, a surge of disappointment flooded his heart.

"Liar," he muttered under his breath. She was the one who had said it was fine for him to be eccentric, but she had left without looking back before she'd even finished her breakfast.

Not only that, but she'd also deliberately angled her phone camera so that Lu Yumo could not see him.

One of the medical apprentices standing beside him asked, "Do you need me to take these plates away? Besides..."

He remembered that Lu Yu'an had eaten breakfast this morning, so he asked, "Do you need me to inform the kitchen to increase the portion of your breakfast tomorrow? It seems to me that you're still hungry after having breakfast."

Lu Yu'an put the cup on the table, and a dark glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He thought for a long while and then offered the two medical apprentices an amicable smile.

The hair in front of his forehead was long, and it made him look even more innocent.

"It—It's fine."

The two medical apprentices were surprised by his sudden change of attitude.

After both of them went away, the smile on Lu Yu'an's face disappeared.

He touched the necklace around his neck.

He found it weird. One second earlier, the people there had been fearful of him, but a second later, their attitude had completely changed.

Lu Yu'an moved his gaze away from the two little boys, and when he passed by the pavilion, he casually threw something he was holding in his hand.

He then pushed the door open. The computer in the room was still on and kept playing the same piano song on a loop.

He slept poorly and had a bad temper. His mother had consulted many doctors, but none of them could help him. In the end, only the piano song from "Addiction" could somewhat calm his mind.

However, this composer had only released one piano song so far. Lu Yu'an had been listening to this song for five years, and to him, this song was his personal safe haven.

He had grown tired of it, but the silver lining was that he had found a new safe haven recently.

While he was thinking, the phone he had put beside his bed rang. He took a look at it and realized it was Bai Yao.

Frowning deeply, he picked the phone up. When he answered the call, Bai Yao's noisy voice erupted. "I heard Zhou Qiong brought you to seek help from the Chu Family? I thought the surgery in Country M was the last one? What the hell is she thinking? Why can't she just let you have peace?

"There is no way your legs could be healed! I've said this several times, so why can't she accept reality? Why must she give you hope and let you down again and again, huh? Why must she be so cruel to you? Do you have any idea how sad Wanwan is? Seriously, if you have the free time to look for doctors, you might as well put that time to good use and help your cousin perfect her song! By the way, have you finished the second half of your cousin's song?"

Lu Yu'an just replied with an indifferent "yes". He didn't listen carefully to what she said, but her sharp voice irritated him greatly. He rubbed his throbbing temples, his eyes were red, and the veins on the back of his hands were bulging.

Then, a second later, he saw the textbook next to his bed.

It was an advanced mathematics textbook for college students. He did not know why, but he took the book and began flipping through it.

The sun that filtered through the window was warm and bright.

What had Fu Zhi said just now?

Oh, she had said that studying would allow him to have a better grasp of how the world worked.

Lu Yu'an massaged the spot between his eyebrows, and he grunted in pain when he thought of the things Fu Zhi had told him.

As if she had remembered something, Bai Yao shuddered and asked, "What... What happened?"

'What the hell is this murderer thinking?'

Lu Yu'an did not say anything as she hung up the call.

*

It was already nighttime by the time Fu Zhi completed her pill.

At the same time, the members of the Demiurges were talking to her on WeChat. "According to our investigation, she's from the Zhou Family, and her name is Zhou Qiong. She wants you to treat her son, and the price she offers is 50 million yuan and keeps rising. So, what do you think? I've taken a break from work for too long, and I guess it's about time I got back to business. So, do you want to do it?"

Fu Zhi did not know what to say.

Well, to be honest, there was nothing she could say. She took her laptop, logged into her account, clicked on the official page, and took a look at it.

Anyone who wanted to enter the webpage and reveal the mission, including the hacker alliance and other members, needed to use their true ID.

Fu Zhi had two IDs in the alliance. One of them was Z God, while the other was Siren.

She thought for a while and then clicked "reveal" in the end.

At the same time, in the Li Mansion in the capital...

Gu Yanqi was about to enter his game when two messages popped up at the top part of his phone screen.

One was a WeChat message, while the other was a message from a certain website.

"Holy moly!"

His eyes widened, and he shot up from the couch. He looked at the man sitting not far away and shouted, "This... this, this, oh my goodness! Nanli, Z God has accepted the mission!"

Smack!

The cup in Li Nanli's hand dropped to the floor.

He turned his head around, and although there was no expression on his face, his movement a second ago had belied his true emotion. "Let's set up a meeting with him after he sends us his contact number."

Li Nanli's plan sounded good, but...

Gu Yanqi paused for a while and then added, "But, Nanli, they didn't accept our mission. The mission they took was posted by another person. We can't get to them..."

Li Nanli was stunned.

"Plus, the mission they accepted was simple, and that person only offered them 50 million yuan. It's far less than the price we offered." Gu Yanqi licked his lips and added, "Could Z God know someone from the Zhou Family? But it can't be... If they knew the Zhou Family, the attitude of the Zhou Family wouldn't have been so..."

Gu Yanqi clicked into the ID that had published the mission. In fact, he would investigate everyone who published a mission demanding Z God's service.

"Zhou Qiong? Your girlfriend's aunty?"

*

After Fu Zhi closed her laptop, she prepared to go catch some sleep. However, before she could get to her bed, a commotion that broke out outside her room caught her attention.

She pushed the door open and saw Chu Hao standing in front of Lu Yu'an room with a grim face. Then, the two medical apprentices that delivered breakfast to Lu Yu'an were led away.

"Rest assured, Young Master Yu'an. I will certainly give you a proper explanation regarding your necklace."

When Chu Hao and his group walked past Fu Zhi's room, he stopped and talked to her for a while.

It was only then that Fu Zhi found out that Lu Yu'an had lost his necklace, which was very important to him, and they suspected that the two medical apprentices had stolen it.

Fu Zhi turned her head to look at Lu Yu'an.

The teenager was learning the emotions of normal people. Thus, he put on a sad face and met Fu Zhi's gaze.