The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

"It has white downy undersides, serrated edges, and small pale purple flowers; it is called Snow-Seeing Grass."

"Seven petals grow in whorls, and a golden thread is drawn from the heart of the flower; it is the Golden Thread Pagoda."

Tang Xixue's gaze slowly swept over the herbs, unhurriedly, as if she were flipping through an old book she knew by heart.

In her eyes, each herb is not just about shape and color, but also about its properties, meridians it enters, growth habits, and harvesting season.

It is a complete life map.

She dipped her brush in ink, her wrist hovering over the paper, and the names of medicines flowed from the tip of her brush.

"Dendrobium nobile, Gentiana scabra, Gastrodia elata."

Her calligraphy is elegant and graceful, with each stroke conveying a sense of composure.

While others were still racking their brains, she had already written the next line.

"The withered and flourishing flower... when withered, resembles a broken branch, but when it encounters water, it flourishes, its petals unfolding and turning golden. The green dragon's beard... is a parasitic vine, its broken surface oozing a bluish-green sap, which is the difference between it and the purple spider vine."

Time was very tight.

Dozens of potted herbs were arranged around the high platform, with only a short observation interval between each pot.

The air was filled with the bitter scent of herbs and the cool fragrance of ink, occasionally disturbed by the anxious footsteps of a doctor, before returning to silence.

The difficulty of the exam questions far exceeded that of previous years.

Among them are many varieties that are easily confused, and even a few rare and precious plants that even seasoned pharmacists have only seen in atlases.

"What...what is this?"

Some people were so anxious that they scratched their heads and their foreheads were covered in cold sweat. The nib of their pen hovered over the paper for a long time before finally falling to the ground in despair.

He knew he couldn't answer all the questions.

Each participating physician received a trial token issued by the Divine Medicine Valley. The token had a bronze base, a unique number engraved on the front, and a stamp with numbers on the back.

After answering the questions, use this stamp to affix it to the corner of your answer sheet, and then have the proctoring student seal it into the paper box in front of you.

When the box was closed, the person's identity was reduced to a single number, and until it was opened, no one knew who had written the answer sheet.

This was intended to ensure absolute fairness in the judging process, but it also placed the fate of each participant on that anonymous piece of paper.

The grading team was truly impressive.

Liu Xinyi personally presided over the meeting, with the four Medicine Kings standing on either side. Several highly respected elders from Holy Spirit Mountain, Lotus Song Ancient Kingdom, and Xingze Divine Medicine Pavilion also formed the judging panel.

These nine old men, once seated there, became nine mobile medical manuals.

No answer sheet can hide from them.

"My God! My great-grandmother!"

Sitting on the edge of the competition area, holding the token, Liu Fengchun felt like an innocent passerby who had been conscripted into the army.

His return to Divine Medicine Valley was originally just for a vacation and to attend a ceremony.

After shuttling between the Imperial Medical Academy and the military camp for two whole years, I finally got a break and wanted to go back to my hometown to soak in a medicinal bath, eat some medicinal meals, and properly nourish my body.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped into the valley, his great-grandmother Liu Xinyi grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Fengchun, you're back just in time. There's a spot reserved for you on the registration form."

He was stunned.

Before he could even refuse, his great-grandmother narrowed her sharp eyes and added slowly, "I'll decline."

"If you can't pass the three trials and enter the Glazed Heaven... then you don't need to return to the Divine Medicine Valley next time. Just stay in Baiyujing with your lineage and serve as the imperial physician for Emperor Shengchen for the rest of your life."

Baiyujing.

That dangerous place was a den of dragons and tigers. Every time he went to Chengtian Palace to inquire about the pulse of the emperor, he had to be extremely careful, afraid that he would be dragged out and beheaded for saying the wrong word.

He won't go back.

He wants to come back.

Shenyao Valley is his true home.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Liu Fengchun took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to the herbs.

Over the years, he shuttled back and forth between the Imperial Hospital and the military camp, honing an extraordinary skill—that is, never prescribing the wrong medicine.

After all, in the face of imperial power, he was not his great-grandmother, he did not have that much face, nor did he have that much of a life.

He had taken the pulse of the Holy Emperor countless times, and each time it felt like crossing the Bridge of Helplessness.

These days of walking on thin ice forced him to develop his keen observation and discernment skills.

He began to concentrate and examine the details carefully.

The difference between Aconitum carmichaelii and Aconitum kusnezoffii lies in the thickness of their mother roots; the difference between Cynanchum paniculatum and Cynanchum atratum lies in the solidity of their roots... Cynanchum paniculatum roots are hollow like goose tubes, while Cynanchum atratum roots are solid and have powdery surfaces on their cross-sections.

He knew these characteristics by heart and could recite them with his eyes closed.

What really gave him a headache was that withered and flourishing flower.

Who has ever seen this thing before?

Fortunately, he had seen the medical books and catalogs collected by the military advisor when he was a military doctor.

Please, could the next level be a little easier?

"Look at how composed our junior sister is... this hurdle is definitely in the bag."

On the examiners' table, the eldest disciple, Danxin Yaowang, stroked his long silver-white beard, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of people and landing on a slender figure in the corner.

He was slender and vigorous, with a long beard flowing down his chest, and his whole demeanor was refined and gentle.

He managed the alchemy room in the valley for decades, and his lifelong practice of alchemy was also a process of cultivating his mind; when the mind is upright, the elixir will be successfully made.

He was never seen to get angry; he was only ever seen shaking his head and smiling bitterly at the shattered alchemy furnace, then slowly brushing the ash off his beard and starting the furnace anew.

"That goes without saying."

The second senior brother, the Medicine King of the Green Bag, took over the conversation, his round body leaning forward, causing the bamboo chair to groan under its weight.

"Junior Sister's talent was personally certified by Master... she's the most talented among us. Although the medicinal herbs for this test were selected jointly by all parties, and our Divine Medicine Valley can't operate behind closed doors, the title of Medicine God isn't obtained through cheating."

He was a short, stocky old man who smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, his round face always radiating a gentle and warm aura.

However, when it comes to knowledge, there is no spiritual plant in the Nine Provinces that he does not know by name.

It is said that when he was young, he once walked alone for three whole months on the far north ice plain in search of a thousand-year-old snow ginseng.

Later, he secretly used that snow ginseng to help his junior sister recover from her weakness.

"That's right."

The third senior brother, the Medicine King, had a voice as loud as a bell, and his voice made the teacups on the table tremble slightly.

"Even if other forces want to go easy on us or try to sabotage things, with our team of examiners here, we can guarantee the utmost fairness and impartiality for our junior sister, and we will never allow any villains to disrupt the order."

He was a burly man, and his mere presence was like a wall.

He specializes in surgical emergency care and is most skilled at snatching people from the brink of death. The number of lives he has saved in his lifetime is probably more than the total number of disciples in the Divine Medicine Valley.

But he himself is the type of person whose eyes easily well up with tears.

Having witnessed so much life and death, they are all the more reluctant to let any life slip through their fingers.

"You all have high hopes for Junior Sister, but no one has high hopes for Junior Brother? What about our genius junior nephew, Zhe Yue?"

It was the fourth senior brother, Tai Su Medicine King, who spoke.

He was tall and thin like bamboo, with long, slender fingers, and his skill with acupuncture was superb.

He specializes in meridian acupuncture, regulating yin and yang, and directly addresses the origin of life.

He usually speaks very little and always has a stern face. His disciples privately say that his great-uncle Taisu's face is carved from stone.

Whenever his junior sister had a headache or fever, he was the first person to silently stand guard at her door with a bowl of medicine in hand.

"Zhe Yue? That bastard?"

The second senior brother, the Medicine King of the Green Bag, snorted, his face full of disdain.

"How can he compare to our junior sister? Aren't you afraid of making her cry if you say that?"

"Besides, our junior brother... when will he ever save anyone? Isn't all he good for is poisoning?"

"Keep your voice down, don't let anyone know that the Ghost Doctor is our junior brother."

"That's right, that's right. Having such a junior brother isn't exactly something to be proud of. If word gets out, our Divine Medicine Valley's century-old reputation will be tarnished."

The senior brothers all avoided their eccentric junior brother like the plague.

They learned to heal the sick and save lives, while he learned to count the days until the King of Hell appeared. How can these be the same?

"That master and apprentice pair... were really no good either of them."

The second senior brother concluded with a sentence, then looked around guiltily to make sure that Jiu Fangzhi was not nearby.

The Ghost Doctor Jiu Fangzhi: "..."

Si Xingxuan: "..."

well.

The master and apprentice were renowned, their reputation built entirely on their abilities.

Tang Xixue ignored the commotion behind her.

She was single-minded, and her eyes shone brightly.

That radiance wasn't a deliberate display of pride, but rather a natural confidence that emanated from within.

Like snow piled on a mountaintop, it neither competes nor fights, yet possesses an immense weight.

So engrossed in her work, she was completely unaware of how dazzling she was.

Inside and outside the examination hall, several pairs of eyes fell on her simultaneously.

Someone leaned back in their chair in the audience, their fingers gently stroking the hilt of the Purple Snow Sword.

A person stood among the pine branches on a distant mountain wall, arms crossed, their silver hair fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze.

Another gaze fell from the higher stands, focused and deep, through the sheer gauze curtain.

These gazes each carried their own temperature, but she was completely unaware of them. She simply finished writing the last stroke, then put down her pen and handed the answer sheet to the proctoring disciple waiting beside her.

"Time's up."

Liu Xinyi's voice was not loud, but it clearly resonated throughout the entire platform.

The time it takes to brew a cup of tea, or the time it takes for an incense stick to burn down to half its length, is fleeting for contestants facing dozens of pots of medicinal herbs.

"Collect the papers."

Dozens of disciples responded and moved.

Each answer sheet was sealed in a paper box in front of the examiners, affixed with a seal, and sent to the marking room.

There, nine elders sat waiting. They would read all the answers within an hour and vote by majority vote to determine the list of those who passed.

"The time was too tight, there wasn't enough time at all. I didn't even have time to write the last three pots, I didn't even have time to guess."

"It's over. I've never seen that last pot of herbs before. It's just a withered branch; who knew it could survive in water?"

"It is extremely difficult to distinguish between Sichuan aconite and grass aconite. One can only observe them from a distance; one cannot handle them, nor break them to examine the cross-section. How can anyone tell them apart?"

"We haven't tasted Astragalus or Sophora flavescens. Whether they're sweet or bitter depends entirely on luck... The person who posed this question is deliberately trying to make things difficult for us."

Many doctors dragged their heavy steps back to their seats, looking dejected.

Those who didn't answer all the questions knew in their hearts that this hurdle was hopeless.

Thirty years of waiting, before even setting foot on the Crystal Heaven, they were already defeated at the first threshold.

Some covered their faces and sighed, some stared blankly ahead in a daze, and some gritted their teeth in secret, casting their gazes toward the examiners' seats above... but in the end, they had nothing to say.

"If your skills are inferior, you can't blame the questions for being difficult."

Tang Xixue sat back down, resting her chin on her hand, her fingertips lightly tapping the table as she awaited the result.

The veil covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of clear eyes, but her casual and composed demeanor made her seem to be enveloped in a faint glow.

"Junior sister... how did you do?"

Liu Fengchun sat in the seat next to her.

He had just seen her write with lightning speed, almost without pausing for a moment, and her calm and composed demeanor stood out among the flustered contestants.

He was extremely bored, so he came over to strike up a conversation.

She was wearing the alchemist's robes of the Divine Medicine Valley and looked quite young, so he naturally took her as his junior sister.

"Yes, very good."

Tang Xixue nodded gently upon hearing this.

"Junior sister is quite confident."

Liu Fengchun was slightly taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

"It's good to be confident. Well then, good luck... The results will be released soon, I hope we can both pass."

"Thanks."

She paused, a slight smile playing on her lips beneath her veil.

"Wishing you good luck in the spring."

"Ah? Junior sister recognizes me?"

Liu Fengchun was immediately surprised and involuntarily leaned forward.

He rarely returned to Shenyao Valley, and was bound to Baiyujing, that den of dragons and tigers, year after year, where even taking a vacation was a luxury.

Most of the senior and junior female students in the valley did not know him.

Last time, one of his junior disciples mistook him for a traveling doctor from out of town and almost got kicked out by the guards.

I never expected that this junior sister would know his name.

"Um."

Tang Xixue withdrew her gaze, and a soft, clear voice came from behind the veil. It was extremely pleasant to hear, with a slight upward inflection at the end, carrying a hint of something unfathomable.

"However... you shouldn't call me junior sister."

"Could it be my senior sister? She doesn't look older than me."

Liu Fengchun muttered something to himself and subconsciously glanced at the other person.

She sat there, relaxed, yet exuding an air that commanded respect.

He felt a chill on his back and couldn't help but pull his clothes tighter, muttering, "It's really chilly in early spring... How come it's still so cold in the Valley of Divine Medicine?"

Little did he know that in the short time he was talking to Tang Xixue, several cold gazes had fallen on him from different directions at the same time.

Their gazes were sometimes as cold as frost, sometimes as deep as an abyss, and sometimes languid with a hint of amusement...

Without exception, they all carried the same scrutiny, as if a knife were hanging over their necks.

The grading process was faster than anyone had anticipated.

The nine elders were divided into three groups, with each group submitting three cross-checks.

Any disputed answers will be discussed and voted on on the spot. If there are more than three dissenting opinions, they will be temporarily set aside and reviewed again after all answers have been processed.

Before long, Liu Xinyi returned to the stage, holding a scroll of plain silk in her hand.

The ink on the silk was still fresh; it was the list of those who had just passed the test.

Her gaze swept across the room, taking in the expectant or apprehensive faces, before she slowly began to speak.

"Next, we will announce the list of those who passed the first stage..."