Chapter 7: Ding Ling Wins Big

When “she” gave no response for a long time, Ding Ling stopped asking.

Avenging “her” was not something that needed to be rushed right now.

The pressing priority was repairing her spiritual root.

Over the past few days, whenever the moonlight grew brightest at night, she would ingest a ball of globe grass. Using her taicang as a furnace and her spiritual energy as firewood, she refined the medicinal properties within the spiritual plant and channeled them into her spiritual manor.

In the middle of the night, heat would surge through her entire body, drenching her bedding in sweat night after night.

Little Xu, the medical cultivator, never showed any impatience. She prepared fresh bedding and clean towels, pointing to the other bed in the ward. “If you wake up sweating in the middle of the night, take a shower before going back to sleep.”

She had also stocked several clean towels in the bathroom.

Every time Ding Ling bathed, she washed away a layer of dark ash. The iron-black stain that had seeped deep into her flesh and bone was gradually fading, night by night.

Right after being struck by lightning, she had looked like a charred corpse, but over the last few days, she was finally starting to look human again.

When Professor Song returned from the medical conference, she brought back a thick stack of treatment recommendations, having shared Ding Ling’s case with the experts and professors there.

Those who were interested had discussed possible treatment plans together during breaks in the conference.

In the early days of the spiritual revival, people with spiritual roots gradually noticed changes in their physical constitutions. Only after a long period of exploration did the modern discipline of cultivation medicine come into being.

The spiritual root was beyond recovery, but the brain damage could still be treated.

With only two days left of the summer camp, Chen Dahai came to Professor Song’s office. “There are only two days left before we head back to school. In your opinion, do you think we can let her join in regular learning activities?”

Things like attending academic classes, or the most basic daily routines like going to the cafeteria on her own to eat.

Professor Song gave it some thought. The child could not just keep staying in the school infirmary forever.

“She could, but I’m worried she might not want to.”

Chen Dahai also feared that Ding Ling would feel self-conscious about her current appearance and refuse to integrate with her classmates.

Although he was the dean of students, what he dreaded most was having heart-to-heart talks with these sixteen- and seventeen-year-old girls.

After mentally drafting his speech for half the day, he went to talk with Ding Ling.

“The summer camp is about to end, and once you go back to school, you’ll need to attend regular classes and join in daily activities. We can’t just, well, isolate ourselves from the other students just because you’re injured and haven’t fully recovered yet.”

Ding Ling’s popularity was visibly poor; in all the time she had been injured, only Yao Beibei had come to visit her.

She had never really fit in with the group before, and now…

Chen Dahai did not want Ding Ling to lose her ability to socialize and live like a normal person. Professor Song had said that re-engaging with everyday life would be beneficial for treating her brain damage.

“So, uh… we… still need to…”

“Sure.”

Chen Dahai froze. He had an entire speech prepared, filled with logic and heartfelt emotion, so how had the kid agreed before he had even properly begun?

What a good kid. It really was such a pity.

Ding Ling did not care either way. If they told her to eat at the cafeteria, then she would eat at the cafeteria.

When the lunch bell rang that noon, students flooded into the cafeteria in droves, scrambling for spots at Window 1 for the sour broth cold noodles and Window 2 for the braised pork rice.

The cafeteria at No. 1 High School was well-funded, and the chefs were remarkably skilled.

The broth for the cold noodles at Window 1 was tart and appetizing, topped with thinly sliced beef and finely shredded cucumber, making it absolute perfection in this weather.

As for the braised pork rice at Window 2, once the rich sauce was ladled over the rice and stirred with a spoon, every grain glistened with oil. Even without the meat, one could easily polish off two bowls of rice alone.

By the time Ding Ling arrived at the cafeteria, the cold noodles and braised pork had long since been wiped out. Around a hundred students had already gotten their food and were sitting at long tables in groups of two and three, eating and chatting.

“How did you do on this morning’s exam? We have the practical placement test this afternoon. Which class do you think you’ll get into?”

“My written exam this morning went all right, but there are only ten spots in A Class. I’ll probably just squeak into B Class. C Class or D Class would be way too embarrassing; my mom would definitely beat me.”

“Hey, Ye Yibai missed so many weekly exams. Which class do you think he’ll get into?”

“Isn’t that obvious? He timed his return to the minute just so he could get into A Class.”

“Must be nice to have the surname Ye.”

Jealousy aside, they had all seen the written exam that morning; Ye Yibai had handed his paper in after just fifteen minutes. The invigilator had not stopped smiling the entire time he looked over Ye Yibai’s exam.

Just as everyone was discussing the morning’s exam, Ding Ling walked in.

The cafeteria suddenly fell silent, everyone turning their eyes toward the doorway.

Ye Yibai was sitting with his back to the door. Fairly satisfied with his morning exam, he had just taken out his own utensils when he noticed everyone around him staring in his direction.

Ye Yibai turned around to look behind him. When he clearly saw who was standing at the entrance, his grip on his chopsticks tightened.

Dressed in a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, Ding Ling entered through the cafeteria entrance.

Her skin was a dark gray, and her right arm was charred black, the crusty layer not yet shed. Swollen, it could not hang naturally by her side, leaving her with no choice but to hold it half-raised.

The sight was both comical and terrifying.

Not to mention, her hair and eyebrows had completely fallen out. Sporting a completely bald head, no one could possibly overlook her.

Ye Yibai’s face paled, and he could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

He had only just returned, and she was already coming to find him? What was she planning to do?

Ye Yibai had returned yesterday. The dean of students had called him into his office and said “pleasantly,” “In addition to electronic devices, the school does not permit prohibited dharma artifacts either.”

Chen Dahai tried his best to relax his facial muscles; he could not bring himself to smile.

The expert appraisal had concluded that the cave’s guardian array had reached its expiration limit, and these students had happened to run right into it. If a few more students had entered the cave with them back then, would that domineering protective talisman of the Ye family have twisted everyone’s spiritual roots into fried dough^[1]?

“Yes, I understand.”

Ye Yibai did not lower his head. Even if he knew the talisman was problematic, he could not disgrace the Ye family.

When the family elders gave him the protective talisman, they had only said it could save his life in a desperate situation. He had no idea it was a magical treasure that redirected damage.

He had been afraid, which was why he brought the talisman to the meeting in the first place.

The moment the treasure shattered, his whole family received word. His older brother rushed back from the capital overnight, and once he learned that Ye Yibai had taken the treasure into an A-rank secret realm to see the legendary Stone Gourd…

His elder brother looked down. “I am very disappointed in you.”

Ye Yibai hadn’t even cried from fright inside the stone cave, but hearing his brother say this made his eyes redden, almost breaking down in front of him.

Only after his family had left did Ye Yibai dare ask Secretary Liu, “My classmate, how… how is she?”

He knew why Ding Ling had provoked and angered him, and why she had asked him to go to the cave.

They were never tied for first place to begin with.

He hadn’t beaten Ding Ling in either of the two weekly exams. The first time, he was 0.5 points behind Ding Ling, and the teacher adjusted the scores to match. The second time, he was two points behind, yet the teacher still ranked them tied for first.

“You are good at practical applications, not this kind of rote memorization,” the teacher had comforted him.

Ye Yibai gritted his teeth. He had been studying this material since he was five years old; how could it not be what he was good at?

He didn’t know if Ding Ling was aware of this. Ding Ling clashed with him at every turn, and each time he would just smile and say, “A gentleman doesn’t fight with a woman^[2].” Only he knew how guilty he truly felt.

Thunder had suddenly exploded inside the cave, a flash of purple light blinding his eyes. He possessed a protective magical treasure, but what about Ding Ling?

Secretary Liu didn’t answer directly, merely smiling as he said, “Young Master doesn’t need to worry. Everything on the school’s end has already been arranged.”

Only after returning did Ye Yibai hear from his classmates that Ding Ling’s spiritual root was ruined, her brain was damaged, and she had become a simpleton.

His roommate Chen Li had said, “Ding Ling’s completely lost her mind now. No one will compete with you for first place this time.” Had Chen Li not worn such a flattering expression, Ye Yibai would have almost thought he was being sarcastic.

But how would Chen Li dare? His parents were in management at Ye Corporation, and ever since the summer camp started, Chen Li had hovered around him, eager to serve like a loyal minion.

This was the first time Ding Ling had appeared before her classmates since getting injured.

The surroundings were too quiet, with everyone’s gaze falling upon her. She immediately held her breath, relaxing only after sensing that there was no murderous intent amid the silence.

As long as there was no murderous intent, she didn’t care.

She strolled languidly over to the cafeteria counter and used her one functional hand to get her food.

Ding Ling was thin to begin with, and after losing even more weight over the past few weeks, she looked like a slip of paper. The small-sized hospital gown hung loosely on her frame, emphasizing her fragile, bony figure.

With every step she took, the cafeteria’s gazes followed.

Her charred, blackened arm was simply too conspicuous.

It wasn’t that Ding Ling wanted to keep that charred arm, but rather that she channeled nearly all her spiritual energy into nourishing her spiritual root. What was left for her limbs and flesh was truly meager, which was why her arm had remained unhealed.

The cafeteria chef had received notice from Director Chen to set aside a special convalescent meal for Ding Ling.

Yesterday had been chicken with mushrooms, and today was pigeon with red dates, along with three side dishes, two meat and one vegetable.

The head chef had never met Ding Ling before; he only knew she was an injured student. When told to prepare convalescent meals, he simply prepared them according to standard.

Seeing Ding Ling coming to fetch her own food today in such a miserable state, Master Wang hurriedly scooped an extra ladle of prime pork belly with distinct layers of lean and fat into her dish.

“Eat more! Is that enough?”

All the food Ding Ling consumed was converted into nourishment, first tending to her battered spiritual root, and then repairing this battered body.

It required far too much energy; no matter how much she ate, she was still starving.

Just as Nurse Xiao Xu had said: five meals a day, yet she didn’t gain an ounce of weight.

“Not enough,” Ding Ling answered honestly.

Master Wang quickly brought out a large metal basin from the kitchen. His chubby hand hefted the big iron ladle and heaped the meat into a mountain, thrusting a full metal platter toward Ding Ling. “Eat as much as you like, there’s plenty!”

Yao Beibei trotted over right then. “I-I’ll help you carry it.”

“Thanks.”

Ding Ling didn’t mind, but Yao Beibei blushed after just a few steps. Everyone’s eyes remained glued to Ding Ling; occasional murmurs broke out, only to quickly die down.

Ding Ling picked a long table. When she sat down, a collective gasp echoed across the cafeteria.

Yao Beibei wished she could bury her head in her food basin. Of all the places Ding Ling could sit, why did she have to choose the table right across from Ye Yibai?

Ding Ling sat down and ate intently. She ate slowly but thoroughly, mouthful by mouthful, as the mountain of meat before her gradually dwindled.

Yao Beibei hesitated for a good while, thinking Ding Ling was provoking Ye Yibai. Too afraid to cause trouble yet unwilling to leave Ding Ling alone, she timidly brought her meal box over as well.

Ye Yibai’s expression darkened. What did she mean by this?

“What does she mean? She got what she deserved getting injured! She was the one who insisted on breaking into the secret realm, and you even got disciplined for it! I’m gonna go confront her,” Chen Li cursed under his breath.

Just as he was about to stand up, Ye Yibai looked up at him. “Sit down.”

“Fair enough. We’re splitting into classes soon anyway, so there’s no point wasting breath on that crazy woman. Want to find somewhere else to eat?”

Ye Yibai shook his head. If she wasn’t afraid, what did he have to back down from?

He, too, ate slowly, bite by bite, finishing every last drop of soup before standing up and leaving the cafeteria.

Yao Beibei could hardly taste her food. She had bombed that morning’s academic exam terribly.

The summer camp was supposed to be for intensive training and study, but she had spent all these days idling around the campus hospital, only taking diligent notes because Ding Ling wanted to read them.

She had crammed over the past two days, and on that morning’s ancient Chinese vocabulary matching section, she had mostly relied on wild guesses.

The only one she had been certain of was taicang: stomach.

Even that was only because Ding Ling had spoken up and told her while she was muttering to herself over practice questions.

Sure enough, even if Ding Ling had “lost her mind,” her test scores would still be higher than hers.

After bombing the morning exam, Yao Beibei had planned to drown her sorrows at lunch, getting a brimming bowl of braised pork soup rice to soothe her mood with the world’s most wonderful combination of sugar and fat.

Yet with such a scene playing out, how could she possibly have any appetite left?

She had thought the two of them would start quarreling or even come to blows. Instead, not only was there no shouting or fighting, Ye Yibai had actually sat across the table obediently and cleaned his plate.

From Yao Beibei’s observations, Ye Yibai usually ate very little.

Supposedly, the Ye family had over a dozen chefs alone, so the young master undoubtedly found cafeteria food unpalatable. He usually ate only half of his meals, yet today he had actually finished it all.

Yao Beibei looked at Ye Yibai, then back at Ding Ling, whose plate was also nearly empty.

In terms of eating speed, the two were about even, but when it came to sheer volume, Ding Ling won hands down.

Only after most of the people in the cafeteria had left did Yao Beibei whisper, “Did you do that on purpose?”

Ding Ling swallowed the food in her mouth. “What?”

“Sitting right across from Ye Yibai on purpose!”

Ding Ling pondered for a moment, then asked, “Which one is Ye Yibai?”