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Chapter 85: Eighty-Five Treasures

It was a quiet night, a rare moment of peace in the past two years.

Xu Zhen closed her eyes, considering settling in Jiangling to live in seclusion after everything was over. She didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Sunlight eventually streamed over her eyes; it was morning.

A new day had arrived, with birds chirping in the mountains. Xu Zhen rubbed her temples with her fingers and wearily opened the system interface. Only two merit points remained.

She needed to find Little Beggar soon.

After washing up and tidying her clothes, Xu Zhen searched the abandoned temple and then Yunmo Lane.

But there was no sign of Little Beggar.

There was one place left to check: Qinglong Mountain Academy.

This was her last hope.

Xu Zhen bought a white bun from a roadside vendor, hastily swallowing it to regain some energy, and headed directly to Qinglong Mountain. The academy's location hadn't changed, but the place seemed more desolate.

Near the entrance, two servants sat on stone benches, chatting with brooms in hand. "In these chaotic times, who still comes to study? Everyone's taking advantage of the chaos to make money."

"Anyone still studying now is a fool. This chaos won't end for at least a decade. It's better to farm and sell grain to make a living."

Xu Zhen bypassed them and continued inside.

Inside the schoolroom, she heard sparse readings from students: "The cries of the ospreys on the river islet—"

A voice of a female teacher interjected, "You're reading too messily. Start over."

The students giggled and protested, "What's messy? It's your mind that's messy, teacher."

...

Today's students were quite amusing.

Xu Zhen smiled and continued to climb the mountain. Reaching the back, she noticed the academy had changed. The room where she used to grade papers had been replaced by a small, vermilion pavilion.

In the pavilion sat a middle-aged man in a gray robe, wide sleeves, with his back to Xu Zhen. A guqin rested on his knees, and his hands moved across its strings, producing no sound.

Xu Zhen approached and asked, "Sir, have you seen a young girl with blue eyes?"

"No!" The man plucking the guqin replied, turning to reveal his distinctive goatee.

Xu Zhen greeted him with a grin, "Headmaster, it's really you. Long time no see."

The headmaster looked the same, living a peaceful life on Qinglong Mountain, neither younger nor older.

Upon seeing Xu Zhen, a gleam flashed in his eyes, but he quickly turned away, asking, "Who are you?"

Xu Zhen replied, "I'm Xu Zhen, remember? I used to teach Class Wu here."

The headmaster said, "Oh, Xu Azhen, the one who caused chaos in the world."

Xu Zhen quickly explained, "It wasn't me who caused chaos. It was a group of students following their own hearts. Besides, the world isn't in chaos; it's quite fine."

The headmaster suddenly strummed the strings, creating a jarring noise.

Xu Zhen covered her ears and asked, "What's wrong with your guqin?"

The headmaster grunted, "It's old and can't produce good sound anymore."

Xu Zhen felt weak but cherished this rare chance to reminisce. She knew she couldn't earn more merit points in time and that once they hit zero, she wouldn’t have long to live. She sat down beside the headmaster, placing the porcelain bottle of antidote next to him.