13: Chapter 13 is for complete beginners, so who's afraid?

Gu Changming pursed his lips. Although he was reluctant, he knew the rules of this Assessment and realized he likely had no say in the matter.

Sure enough, Willy, who was standing nearby, let out a hearty laugh.

"This young man brought me fine wine from my hometown, so I gave him a chance. You want to participate too? Fine, but you must also produce an item from my hometown."

"An item from your hometown? What kind of item specifically?" Jiang Shu asked.

"Moonlight Moss, Wind-Whisper Flower, or an Ancient Tree Flute..." Willy slowly listed several items.

Listening from the side, Gu Changming had an epiphany: So it didn't have to be clear spring brew; other items worked as well.

However, the nature of it was the same—it served as the price of admission.

After hearing this, a thoughtful expression appeared on Jiang Shu's face.

But soon, his eyes lit up, and he quickly tapped several times on the void in front of him.

A glimmer of light flashed, and a flute carved from dark wood, textured and embedded with a tiny emerald at the top, appeared in his hand.

Jiang Shu handed the flute over. "Is this the Ancient Tree Flute you mentioned?"

Willy took the flute and nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed, it is. Now you may also join this trial."

With that, Willy waved his hand again, and spots of starlight scattered onto another patch of open ground.

As the light dissipated, an injured little rabbit and eight or nine herbs of various shapes appeared there as well.

Seeing this, Jiang Shu nodded to Gu Changming, then walked over to the patch of herbs, squatted down, and began to identify them carefully.

Gu Changming realized now that he was about to compete with the other man.

Not daring to be negligent, he immediately opened the mall panel in his mind again and browsed through it quickly, hoping to find a knowledge scroll like an 'Encyclopedia of Herbs' or 'Introduction to Basic Healing'.

However, after searching around, he found the mall filled with an array of weapons and props, but not a single item that could directly instill knowledge.

Clearly, items of this category had not yet appeared in the mall during the early stages of the Assessment.

Gu Changming's brow furrowed slightly. He tilted his head slightly to look at Jiang Shu. He saw that the other man had already picked up a pale purple herb and was sniffing it curiously.

Seeing this, Gu Changming couldn't help but feel a bit anxious.

In his previous life, the other guy had obtained it. According to the script, he would definitely pass. On the other hand, Gu Changming didn't recognize any of the herbs in front of him, so there was basically no hope of success.

Gu Changming withdrew his gaze and let it fall on the mall list again. After scanning it once more, his eyes landed on [High-Efficiency Hemostatic Spray].

"Give it a try?"

Gu Changming thought for a moment, then immediately spent 5 points to purchase it.

The next second, a small metal canister appeared in his hand. He squatted down, aimed at the rabbit's injured hind leg, and was just about to press the nozzle...

At that moment, the hemostatic spray in his hand suddenly glowed faintly and then vanished into thin air from his palm.

Gu Changming was stunned. Sensing something, he looked up at Willy.

And sure enough, the hemostatic spray was now in Willy's hand.

"Please follow the requirements of the trial and use these herbs for treatment. Using external items, even if successful, will not count as passing the trial," Willy said slowly.

Gu Changming let out a helpless sigh. After taking his hemostatic spray back from the other party, he had no choice but to settle his mind. Mimicking Jiang Shu, he began to carefully observe the unfamiliar herbs.

But after a while, he was still completely clueless.

Gu Changming couldn't help but turn to look at Jiang Shu again. The other man still looked serious, sometimes picking up a herb to examine it, sometimes leaning in for a sniff.

After a moment's hesitation, Gu Changming lowered his voice and asked, "Do you... have experience in this? Is your family in medicine? You look very professional."

Jiang Shu turned his head at the sound, a very sincere smile appearing on his face. "No, I don't recognize these herbs at all."

He shook a dew-covered green herb in his hand. "I'm just... picking blindly based on feeling."

Gu Changming was slightly taken aback. Having lived two lives and experienced countless deceptions, he could naturally tell if the other person was lying.

Clearly, he wasn't; he was telling the truth.

Then, in the instant he was dazed, Jiang Shu had already started moving. He picked up a clean stone nearby and carefully crushed the selected herbs together, mixing them.

Seeing this, Gu Changming didn't plan on just waiting around anymore.

Since they both had zero foundation and knew nothing, if the other guy was going by feeling, why couldn't he?

Thinking this, Gu Changming immediately squatted down. Following the other's example, he picked out herbs that looked right to him, found a stone, and began trying to grind them.

Five minutes passed quickly.

Willy stood before the two of them, checking Jiang Shu's side first.

Upon seeing that the hind leg of the rabbit Jiang Shu treated had already healed and was now kicking lively as it tried to stand up, a satisfied smile appeared on Willy's face.

Then he turned his gaze toward Gu Changming.

Immediately after, his smiling expression froze.

After Gu Changming's 'careful' treatment, the rabbit that originally only had an injured hind leg was now lying stiffly on the ground, motionless, clearly having breathed its last.

Seeing Willy staring at him, Gu Changming's face remained expressionless. He just tilted his head slightly to avoid eye contact.

Could he be blamed for this?

He still hadn't trusted himself just now, so he had peeked at the other guy; the herbs he used were exactly the same as the other's.

How did that one get cured while his got killed?

Comparing the two rabbits, the result couldn't be more obvious.

Willy waved a hand in silence, and the rabbits and residual herbs in front of the two men turned into points of light and vanished.

Next, he walked up to Jiang Shu.

"You have passed the trial. As agreed, this treasure from my hometown belongs to you."

As Willy spoke, he took something out of his robe. It was a small wooden whistle, its surface smooth with a natural wood grain.

Looking at Jiang Shu, he continued, "Of course, obtaining it is not without a price. You need to pay five hundred points to truly possess it."

Hearing the figure "five hundred points," the light that had dimmed in Gu Changming's eyes flickered once more.

Five hundred points was no small sum.

In the first Assessment, most people could probably only get the base one hundred points.

Those who could get two hundred were just a small handful.

As for five hundred, those among all of humanity with that amount were likely one in a million.

Thinking this, Gu Changming turned his gaze toward Jiang Shu.

Sure enough, a look of obvious conflict appeared on Jiang Shu's face.

Conflict? Oh, right, according to the timeline, he was originally able to buy it. So he should have those five hundred points...

Then he could only hope that the man was reluctant to part with them.

Gu Changming watched, remaining silent and standing quietly to the side.

At a time like this, if he spoke—saying something like it was too expensive—it would instead reveal that he wanted it, making the other person resolve to buy it.