Imperial Treasure

Chapter 522 - 344: Second Place Scholar

Gong Jiu struggled to hold onto the CT scan in his hands, his palms trembling, "How is that possible? If that were the case, Sui Yi would have died long ago... and what kind of character would stay on a heart..."

"The horrors of witchcraft, how many truly know about them?" Jiang Chenyu’s gaze drifted off into the distance, seemingly vacant.

"You mean, the High Priest is a wizard? That does sound plausible. Back in the tomb... uh, in Ah Guna’s old home, she was always donning this Imperial Crown, sounded quite like a charlatan. If she really possesses such eerie witchcraft, it indeed presents a formidable challenge," Yaofei stroked his chin and commented.

Gong Jiu, a bit more thick-skinned, had developed a profound hatred for the High Priest and scoffed, "Who cares what kind of wizard she is! No matter how formidable she is, she’s still human..."

"Who said she is human?" Jiang Chenyu’s statement left both Gong Jiu and Yaofei choked up.

What does that mean?

Jiang Chenyu had already grabbed The Gate handle, leaving behind a very light and shallow sentence.

"She is not a wizard, but a Witch."

As she left, she left Gong Hua and the others utterly perplexed and mystified, both turning their gazes toward the Eastern Lady.

Gong Jiu: "What does she mean? A Witch? That Water God... what’s his name, Gong Gong?"

Yaofei: "Don’t take me for an ignoramus... It’s Gong Gong, not Gong Gong, when will you stop mixing up the Ming and Qing dynasties with mythological times?"

Eastern Lady: "Don’t ask me; I haven’t read the books from this place..."

Positioning herself as a complete illiterate, the Eastern Lady stood up and glanced at the notebook on the table, "I’ll leave this book for you to study... There are some things she cannot say, but that doesn’t mean you cannot investigate them yourselves."

Secrets that Sui Yi can’t disclose?

——————

Late at night, Sui Yi wheeled herself into the bathroom and slowly stood up, although with some difficulty, she managed to rise.

With her personality, she truly could not stand still and let others undress and bathe her...

She’ll do it herself.

However, as she undressed, she saw her naked reflection in the mirror... her body bore many scars, which had formed over time into blemishes that other women might find unbearable, but she hardly cared, especially since these scars would fade before long...

Only...

She slowly placed her hand over her heart, supporting herself with the other on the washbasin, the pain of that finger piercing through her collarbone and harshly slashing to her heart was still vivid, but it paled in comparison to the characters those slender fingers had traced on her heart...

The steam from the hot water fogged up the mirror...

Sui Yi closed her eyes, her finger tracing the memory on the fog slowly...

After a while, she opened her eyes and saw the character above.

孓 (jue, third tone)

This was a strange character, seldom recognizable in everyday life, perhaps because it was too simple, much like the Yi in Sui Yi, which most people wouldn’t remember how to read...

"孓然一身... 孓, solitude," Sui Yi murmured softly. Was it a curse that she would be alone forever?

No, that person probably wouldn’t stoop to that, she seemed to have heard him whisper something to her in her semi-conscious state.

Right beside her ear.

"孓, surnamed Witch, this is what you endowed me with... Now I return it to you... With this, you may suffer as I do, forever bearing my pain, enduring my resentment, an eternal solitude!..."

Sui Yi looked up, staring into the mirror.

In the mirror, the character 孓 had been covered by a new layer of steam; Sui Yi casually wiped it away, dispersing it.

Revealing the clear mirror, revealing her face.

That face, and the one beneath the swirling darkness.

Strikingly similar, almost as if they were one.

————

During the time she was recuperating, Gong Jiu and the others appeared calm on the surface because Sui Yi was calmer than any of them, tranquil like a still pond, spending her days reading and painting... That was just on the surface.

In private, she dedicated her focus to "Crimson Refining Blood," her progress in cultivation swift as she mastered the second and third stages in less than a month, her Inner Strength reaching two hundred years—a month’s worth of cultivation alone.

During this time, she received many calls, but they weren’t from Lin Yun and the others because they knew she was still recovering from serious injuries and rarely disturbed her with work-related issues, allowing her some peace.

So this call log seemed somewhat conspicuous, and moreover, from an unfamiliar number...

After answering, she found out it was a teacher from her school.

But it wasn’t her homeroom teacher, instead, a middle-aged man with a sonorous voice informed her in a steady, deep tone that he was the academic director, then proceeded to discuss her exam scores...

"Sui Yi, you are our province’s runner-up in science..." His subsequent words were not prattled on. Perhaps because Yunfeng High School was a prestigious institution populated by children of the affluent and powerful, many of whom were elite geniuses and among whom countless top scorers had emerged over generations, Sui Yi’s position as the provincial runner-up was not a particularly remarkable achievement for Yunfeng; it was merely icing on the cake.

Presumably, the top scorer was also from Yunfeng.

But why would the academic director call personally? It should have been enough for the homeroom teacher to make the call.

After briefly wandering her thoughts, the caller, noting her lack of excitement, didn’t get annoyed but instead pointed out, "Your comprehensive science was perfect, English and math too were perfect, yet you came in second. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Sui Yi asked blandly.

"Your Chinese composition scored zero..."

"...." She seemed to detect a full measure of resentment in his voice.

After hanging up, Sui Yi didn’t dwell on this incident since she seldom interacted with others; even her classmates couldn’t reach her. So, while the entire city buzzed with the release of the exam results, she remained remarkably undisturbed as the runner-up.

Until another call came through.

"Yi Sui, it’s me...I got your number from Grandpa Tang through my grandpa," Su Ziyi was as gentle and mild as ever. Since Yi Sui always felt fondly towards him, they chatted for a bit before Su Ziyi eventually asked the question that students at their stage most commonly ask.

"Yi Sui, how did your college entrance exam go?"

Yi Sui reported the scores that he had found out not long ago.

"That’s really high, more than fifty points higher than me...you must be the top scorer," Su Ziyi said, laughing happily as if he wasn’t the one who had achieved such scores.

"Not the top scorer...," Yi Sui replied.

"No? That’s strange...was Yhan Qingwu the top scorer then? No, that can’t be right, she didn’t sit for the exams."

Yi Sui was somewhat surprised that his interlocutor was so well-informed about the Provincial City, "Hmm, it wasn’t her."

"So which university are you thinking of applying to? One in the Capital City?"

"Mmm."

"That’s great...the water lilies in town are blooming beautifully recently. Do you want to come see them?"

Yi Sui thought that it had indeed been a long time since he had been back to town. Although it was impossible to return to the Ye family, maybe he could visit the town...

"In a few days," he said, hoping his injury would have healed more by then.

Delighted by the response, Su Ziyi hung up the phone while Yi Sui heard guests arriving downstairs...

After hanging up, Yi Sui went downstairs...

It was Xiao Ran and Xiao Xianting, along with her daughter.

Even though Old Mr. Ye had passed away, Xiao Ran didn’t distance himself from her. Instead, he often visited, frequently bringing seasonal fruits or other nice gifts... Since he was truly a respectable person with a high level of cultural attainment, Yi Sui had formed a fairly good fellowship with him.

Their visit felt natural.

Bringing along Xiao Xianting was not surprising either.

Yi Sui poured two glasses of water and one of juice for the three guests.

"I guess, Yi Sui, you already know what I’m here for today,"

"Scores," Yi Sui sat across from them, looking towards the smiling Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran’s smile widened, "Exactly, you’re sharp. I’m here to tease you for not being the top scorer."

"Simply out-skilled," Yi Sui said with a slight smile.

"I heard your comprehensive science, English, and math scores were all perfect, but unusually, your best subject, Chinese, scored very low. Far below standard... But when I asked carefully, your principal simply wouldn’t say, insisting I ask you directly," Xiao Ran said, still smiling.

What does the principal have to do with this?

Yi Sui raised an eyebrow slightly, saying, "It seems like zero points on the essay..."

"...."

Both were shocked, then both fell silent.

A zero on the college entrance examination essay? Although there have always been such outliers every year, on Yi Sui....

Yi Sui an outlier?

It felt wrong to apply such a teasing term to Yi Sui.

"I think I need to go back and thoroughly check what exactly you wrote in that essay," Xiao Ran knew well that Yi Sui was not the kind to dwell much on such matters, evident in her lack of enthusiasm toward it.

Even a book she had gifted someone a few days ago seemed more pleasing to her than these exam results.

"What happened to your hand?" Xiao Xianting suddenly asked.

While speaking with Xiao Ran, Yi Sui realized he was staring at her right hand. Had he seen the scar on her wrist when she was handing out the cups?

"An old injury, it’s not a problem now,"

"It wasn’t there a month ago," Xiao Xianting added with a frown, eliciting a chiding remark from Xiao Ran about his brother being nosy.

After saying it was ’nothing,’ how could he remember whether he had noticed scars on someone’s wrists under their sleeves a month ago or not?

"It’s all in the past," Yi Sui said nonchalantly, and Xiao Xianting knew he shouldn’t have asked. This girl... was full of mysteries, tempting and dangerous, yet irresistible...

He couldn’t help but take a sip of water.

——————

The issue with the college entrance exam truly had nothing to do with Yi Sui. After visiting the school once to make his college selections, he returned to the town.

Indeed, as Su Ziyi had said, the scenery of Jiangnan in the town was more pleasant than in Jiangdu Provincial City, and even his injuries healed faster.

After spending three quiet days there...

A man visited, delivering an invitation.

A wedding invitation?

No, it was an invitation to visit, very traditional and quite formal. When Yi Sui saw the design of the invitation, he was slightly surprised, but not overly so.

The man bowed and left.

Elder Tang came up after seeing it.

"Hey, Little Lotus Village!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)