CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 130: FINDING WILD LINGZHI

"Such a beauty, why are you in the Traditional Chinese Medicine department?"

The girl sitting on the bed farthest to the right looked Ningwan up and down.

Ningwan smiled slightly: "Why, is there appearance discrimination in practicing Chinese medicine?"

"You’re so pretty; who’s discriminating against you?" Another girl said indignantly.

Ningwan raised an eyebrow.

It seemed that the other three girls in the dormitory weren’t too welcoming of her.

Jin Yingzi said, "We’re not from the same class. We’re only resting here for one night, so it’s better to get along peacefully."

"You’re with such a beauty every day, don’t you feel inferior?" the first girl mocked Jin Yingzi.

Jin Yingzi said, "A person’s appearance is given by their parents. What’s there to feel inferior about? As for you, looking like that isn’t Ningwan’s fault, so why target her?"

A girl who had been silent finally spoke up: "Alright, everyone stop arguing and quickly organize your things. We need to gather soon."

The other two girls listened to her and stopped targeting Ningwan, beginning to organize their belongings.

Ningwan glanced at that silent girl.

It seemed she was the leader among the girls in their class, as the other two listened to her.

However, Ningwan didn’t pay much attention to these matters.

It was only one night; there was no need to have conflicts with them.

After organizing her things, Ningwan and Jin Yingzi went out to gather.

The two classes were operating separately.

Their teaching assistant assigned each of them a task.

They weren’t required to find any specific herb; as long as each person could find a medicinal herb, it was fine.

Of course, the more precious the herb, the higher the score.

"This mountain is still quite primitive and undeveloped. Be careful when you enter; don’t go too far. There may be wild animals around, and most herbs are found on the outskirts. Be sure to stay safe," the teaching assistant warned.

The classmates responded in unison.

In groups of two, they went into the mountain together.

Naturally, Ningwan was paired with Jin Yingzi.

Jin Yingzi said, "Ningwan, don’t worry. My family is from the mountains, so I have experience climbing mountains to find herbs. I’m sure I can find rare herbs for a high score."

Ningwan smiled and said, "I’ll rely on you then."

Jin Yingzi immediately promised, "Rest assured, there’s absolutely no problem following me."

She indeed had experience in finding herbs in the mountains.

Leading Ningwan forward, ignoring the common herbs, they followed clues and actually found hints of wild lingzhi.

"Ning Zi, there should be wild lingzhi ahead. If we find it, we can definitely get the highest score," Jin Yingzi said excitedly.

Ningwan nodded.

Wild lingzhi is indeed precious.

However, the mountain was large and this area was damp, making it suitable for wild lingzhi to grow.

But even knowing there’s wild lingzhi here, actually finding it wasn’t easy.

She followed Jin Yingzi, pretending to know nothing.

In reality, she occasionally shuffled around here and there, pretending to give unintentional reminders.

Jin Yingzi really found it.

"Ning Zi, great, it’s a red wild lingzhi." Jin Yingzi immediately called Ningwan over when she saw it.

Ningwan took out a small shovel and handed it to Jin Yingzi: "Be careful when digging this out; it’s quite fragile and precious."

"Mm, I know," said Jin Yingzi. "Years ago, I found a small wild lingzhi and sold it to gather enough money to study here."

She dug out the wild lingzhi, carefully placed it away, and returned with Ningwan.

However, on their way back, the clues they’d followed had disappeared, and they seemed to have gotten lost.

Jin Yingzi, having grown up running around the mountains, found herself at a loss in this unfamiliar area: "What should we do? I don’t know where to go now."

Ningwan looked around and shook her head, saying, "I can’t figure out the direction either. The trees here are too tall, and you can’t see anything."

The dense foliage made it dark and damp, nearly impossible to navigate.

While they were struggling, Wen Jianan and his partner passed by.

"Aren’t these our classmates? Why are you still here? It’s getting dark. We should head back," a classmate greeted them.

Jin Yingzi and Ningwan sighed with relief.

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and silently followed behind Wen Jianan and that male classmate.

They finally returned to the inn.

Everyone shared the herbs they found.

As expected, the class was amazed when Jin Yingzi and Ningwan presented their find.

"It’s actually wild lingzhi?"

"This place actually has wild lingzhi? How did they find it?"

"What incredible luck."

Jin Yingzi looked proud and glanced at the teaching assistant.

The teaching assistant was also amazed, immediately coming over to take a closer look, praising, "You all are amazing to find wild lingzhi. Once we return, I’ll tell Professor Wen—you’ll definitely get the highest score."

Jin Yingzi happily looked at Ningwan.

Ningwan gave her a thumbs-up.

Jin Yingzi was even happier and quietly said by Ningwan’s side after the meeting, "I’m really glad I could help you."

"You’re amazing. Without you, I wouldn’t have found the wild lingzhi," Ningwan said.

Jin Yingzi was even happier, with a blush emerging on her cheeks.

Their finding of the wild lingzhi quickly spread among the two classes.

The three girls in the dormitory heard about it too.

As soon as they came in, they snarked, "You two are really something, even finding wild lingzhi."

"Yeah, but who knows if it was actually them who found it. Maybe a guy found it and gave it to them because they looked pretty."

"What’s your point? You sound like the villainous secondary female characters in TV dramas. Don’t you feel embarrassed?" Ningwan retorted bluntly.

The two girls stood up angrily: "What did you say? Who’s the villain here?"

Ningwan scoffed: "What do you think? Or the leading lady? Leading ladies don’t say so much nonsense and aren’t so narrow-minded."

"Don’t think you can insult people just because you’re good-looking," one of the girls accused furiously.

Ningwan laughed out of frustration, nodding, "Thanks for the compliment. You don’t have to remind me that I’m good-looking; I already know."

"Shameless."

The girl cursed angrily.

At that moment, the teaching assistant came to check on them, so the girls didn’t dare to say anything more.

They had dinner at the inn that evening.

The food here was so-so, and Ningwan put down her chopsticks after just a couple of bites.

Having been spoiled by Zhan Hanjue’s culinary skills, she didn’t care much for unpalatable food anymore.

"Ningwan, my stomach feels uncomfortable; I’m going back to the dorm first," Jin Yingzi said.

Ningwan nodded.

After dinner, the teaching assistant gave a few reminders and let everyone return to their rooms to rest.

However, when Ningwan returned to the dormitory, she found that Jin Yingzi wasn’t there.