“So sleepy… my eyelids feel like wet leaves. I swear I only dozed for a heartbeat.”

“Tangxue! You’re okay—thank heavens!” Snow Orchid rushes in, her voice trembling like rain on bamboo, and hugs Qingsheng Tangxue tight.

“Hey—Tangxue, don’t sleep here on the cold stone. The wind’s like a thin knife—you’ll catch a chill.”

“I’m not closing my eyes. I won’t… sleep…”

“Tangxue, Tangxue… seriously? You nodded off again the moment you left the water. You’ll catch a cold—achoo!” Snow Orchid twists aside as her sneeze gusts past Tangxue’s hair.

“Caught a cold…”

“Lan’er, are you alright? Maybe I should carry her.” Qianya speaks softly, worry like a gray cloud shading her eyes.

“I’m fine. I’ll see a doctor later.” Snow Orchid’s smile wobbles like candlelight. “But let Qianya carry Tangxue, so I don’t pass it to her.”

“…Okay.” Qianya exhales, a small wave settling. “Take care of yourself. Don’t let it get worse.”

“Got it… achoo!”

“…”

After that, Qianya carries the sleeping Tangxue back to our rest spot, like cradling a willow branch. Snow Orchid watches them go, fingers brushing her ring. The aura rising from it pricks like cold mist—not pleasant, but not dangerous.

I don’t know what happened after. When I woke, we were already on the road back to the academy, wheels murmuring like a stream.

They said every Goblin in that cavern got washed ashore by the surge, even the ones frozen into ice statues. Those counted for our score too. So, with the average split, our trio tied for first.

Second place lagged far behind, like a lantern trailing in fog. No one got hurt this exam. Goblins are just Goblins—low tide against a cliff. Any noble brats who are pure fluff get kept out of a serious academy. Faced with gifted, steady students and sharp-eyed instructors, a Goblin’s ambush chance was near zero.

Because of the spray accident, the exam ended early. Scoring stopped at the incident. We also saved people, so there were extra points—though we were already miles ahead.

“So that’s how it is. We’re first.” I curl under a blanket in the corner, a little burrow of warmth, and glance at Lan’er.

“Mm-hmm… huff…” Lan’er lifts a cup and sips the brown sugar water, steam wreathing her like morning mist.

Two idiots caught a chill during our cycle and earned a day-pass to pain—like barbed wire tightened by an unseen hand.

It hurts worse than getting cleaved by that so-called Reaper—bonus rending, no-heal debuff included.

“I don’t wanna drink this…”

“If you don’t, it’ll still hurt. Your lower belly’s cold as river pebbles. Drink for your own good. I did. It’s… not that bad.”

“Mm…” I remember the old granny in a half-remembered dream stirring this, her ladle moving like a slow moon. She didn’t add all these strange spices.

This batch… how do I say it? The taste is too heavy, a storm that buries the sweetness. Not tasty at all.

“When we reach the academy, classes start for real. We need to get better fast.”

“Ugh, class… I don’t wanna…”

“Come on. We’re here to learn. If we don’t grow stronger, why come?” Snow Orchid’s hand slips from the quilt, pale and soft like new petals. “Speaking of growing stronger, that ring of yours…”

“What’s the story with this ring?”

I sift my memories, pages fluttering like crows. “It should be that scepter. It’s a powerful Sacred Artifact now… once a Divine Artifact.”

“This… is a Divine Artifact???”

“Yeah. It was. But the world’s spiritual power is thinned like winter sap. It can’t sustain that kind of Divine Artifact, so it’s a Sacred Artifact now.”

“Tangxue… this weapon…”

“I told you it recognized you as its master. Stop pushing it away. And how do you know I don’t have an artifact too?” I wink, a spark across still water.

“Mm, Tangxue’s amazing. You must have one too!”

“So, Lan’er, protect that ring. Don’t let people know it’s a Sacred Artifact. If someone with sharp claws hears, danger will circle like wolves.”

“I… I know, Tangxue. I’ll protect it.” Lan’er bows her head, touches the ring like a heartbeat, then slides it onto her ring finger, a silent promise.

I won’t throw it away, even if the aura aches like cold wind.

“Lan’er? What’s wrong? Your face looks strange—uncomfortable? Want me to call a doctor?”

“No, I’m fine, Tangxue. You’re the one who was yelping earlier.”

“That’s my constitution. Every time, it hurts for no reason, like a thorn in fog.”

“Pfft, haha… there’s a body type like that? Tangxue, you’re unexpectedly adorable.”

“Keep teasing and I’ll get mad…”