“Lady Black Thorn, why are you here?”

Just as Gu Lingzhi was vexed, a familiar voice floated by.

This was the happiest she had heard him sound ever since she met him.

“Third Prince, I hope you have been well.”

Hearing the delight hidden in Gu Lingzhi’s voice, Rong Yuan was stunned at the sudden warmth. He had a slightly bewildered expression as he said, “It has only been a day since we last met, why are you suddenly so polite with your greeting? Could it be that you miss me as much as I miss you?”

Gu Lingzhi’s mouth twisted as she tried to ignore the teasing tone Rong Yuan was using.

“Very funny, I thought that you had someone that you wanted to chase after two days ago?”

Gu Lingzhi said this loud enough for the students around them to hear. This caused them to think back on the behaviour of Rong Yuan these past few days. They started to believe the rumour that was spreading around regarding War God Rong Yuan liking the First Mistress of the Gu Clan and was currently chasing her.

Gu Lingzhi was however, extremely hesitant when she said those words, and as she looked at the person in front of her, she grinded her teeth in anger.

If Rong Yuan had not been so obvious, she would never have thrown one of her identities in hot water just to protect her other identity. However, as both identities were already associated with him, if she could clear one of her names, she would. Who knew if the people following her today were admirers of the Third Prince? It would be best if she could dissuade other people from finding trouble with her.

Sly fox.

When Gu Lingzhi said that, Rong Yuan immediately knew her intention. He laughed casually as his eyes filled with adoration.

“Why are you here? Are you a new student entering the Royal School this year? I must have overlooked this, which class are you in? You can’t be my student right?” Rong Yuan laughed as he signalled to Yuan Zheng to disperse the crowd. Without a trace, he directed Gu Lingzhi to his own dorm.

If only he could just make her stay over, he would be happy even if they did not do anything.

Under her mask, Gu Lingzhi pursed her lips, pretending to follow him unknowingly. With Rong Yuan acting as her shield, those that were curious as to the Black Thorn’s identity had no choice but to give way.

“Your Highness, I can leave on my own from here. I still have things to do and won’t bother you anymore.”

Seeing the crowd around them thin out, Gu Lingzhi asked as they crossed the bridge. Without waiting for Rong Yuan to argue, she quickened her pace and shot towards another direction. Her destination…the Alchemy Tower.

If there was to be a place in the Royal School that was the best at ditching people, it would definitely be the Alchemy tower.

Rushing into the Alchemy Tower, Gu Lingzhi ignored the questioning gaze she was receiving and immediately entered the Tower. Fifteen minutes later, she reappeared as Gu Lingzhi, leaving the Alchemy Tower expressionless.

Outside the Alchemy tower, those that had wanted to see who Black Thorn was left disappointed. They knew it would be impossible to find out the minute she entered the Alchemy Tower. None of them gave Gu Lingzhi a second glance as she exited the tower.

In the following hours, Gu Lingzhi thoroughly understood the gossiping nature of students of the Royal School.

In just a few days, numerous versions came out regarding her entering the Royal school to change her identity.

There were some that believed the Black Thorn to be a new student and hid their identity in order to surprise everyone in the future. There were also those that believed that the Black Thorn did not belong to the Royal School and came to the Royal School so late that night to find the Third Prince. It was also rumored that she only left after knowing that the Third Prince had his eyes set on someone else. There were even wilder rumors claiming that the Black Thorn was an assassin brought up by one of the clans and had entered that night with a mission to kill someone. However, her assassination attempt failed as she did not think that she would attract so much attention and have no chance to act.

The most ludicrous one was that Black Thorn was here to kill Gu Lingzhi, her love rival. This was because someone had seen Gu Lingzhi come out of the Alchemy Tower after Black Thorn entered and believed that Black Thorn had gone there to kill her.

When Gu Lingzhi heard all these wild rumors, she almost laughed till she cried.

She made a mental note to avoid coming to the Royal School as the Black Thorn. If not, she could not imagine how much wilder these rumors might get.

“Are you that happy when you are with me?” Rong Yuan leaned in and said into Gu Lingzhi’s ear. He purposely adopted a loving stance.

This was an Alchemy lesson and Rong Yuan was once again, shamelessly taking advantage of his position as lecturer to approach Gu Lingzhi. He stood behind Gu Lingzhi as he half-hugged her, in order to ‘teach’ her how to use the ingredients. When it came to medicinal ingredients, Gu Lingzhi was probably more well-versed than him.

“Third Prince, don’t you think you are a bit too close?”

“No,” Rong Yuan answered seriously, “As your teacher, I have to personally guide you in order for you to learn correctly.”

Gu Lingzhi took a deep breath as she held back the urge to punch him, “But Third Prince, the method you are teaching me does not seem to be any better than the method I am using now.”

Rong Yuan looked at his hand that was guiding Gu Lingzhi’s hand to cultivate the medicine and then looked at the medicine that Gu Lingzhi had made on her own and coughed sheepishly, “One success is not enough when it comes to Alchemy, you must master it through practice. I am guiding you step by step in order to get you to familiarise with the steps. This will help you embed it in your memory and not forget in the future.”

How can she possibly forget something she used so often?

Gu Lingzhi no longer knew how to react to Rong Yuan’s thick-skinned behavior.

“Gu Lingzhi, I want to challenge you!” A clear crisp voice resounded through the classroom. Gu Lingzhi jumped in surprise causing Rong Yuan to frown.

How dare someone challenge Gu Lingzhi right in front of him, did they not care about him anymore?

He swept a stern gaze around the class as his pupils constricted. It was the daughter of Demigod General Yan Feitian of the Xia Kingdom, Mo Bingyi. General Yan’s wife passed away early on and in remembrance of his wife, General Yan allowed his younger daughter to take on her mother’s surname. She was now at the age to enter the Royal School as well.

Mo Bingyi caught Rong Yuan’s ferocious gaze and could not help but tremble and take a subconscious step backwards.

“Your… Your Highness, the school rules state that teachers are not allowed to interfere with challenges between students.”

Rong Yuan frowned as he made a mental note to see the Principal and make him change this rule.

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