Madame is Pretending to be an Academic Slacker Again!

Qin Xin, for the first time in her life, felt frustrated about not being able to master something.

She initially thought that not having cooking skills could be managed by simply eating modestly, but she hadn’t realized it could affect her magical powers.

If only Mr. Nalan were here.

The man has such advanced cooking skills that he might even be able to refine the Spiritual Pearls effortlessly and instinctively.

Qin Xin was startled by this thought.

How could Mr. Nalan possibly come to this Life and Death Forest?

He’s in the normal world, while she’s in a different realm, separated by vast distances.

More importantly, if he really were here, she wouldn’t have to rush home. They could wander together and admire this scenic paradise...

Little Douding: ”Sister Xin, what are you thinking? Did my idea make things worse? Using the Spiritual Pearl to leave the forest was too risky, and it didn’t work, causing you to lose so many pearls. It’s all my fault.”

Qin Xin’s thoughts were pulled back as she glanced at him: ”Don’t blame yourself; it’s just that I haven’t mastered the refining method. In the future, don’t take all the blame on yourself, or some shameless people will let you take the fall, understand?”

Little Douding seemed to half understand: ”...Yes, Sister Xin.”

Looking at the moon moving to the edge of the sky, Qin Xin added some wood to the campfire and lay down on the dry grass beside it: ”Sleep. Tomorrow we’ll think of another way. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just wait for the examination to end and return to the Imperial City.”

After all, the ultimate destination for all the candidates who make it out of the forest is the Divine Academy.

Isn’t the Divine Academy part of the Imperial Royal Academy?

She is definitely going home; she just didn’t want the man to wait too long. It seems now he’ll have to wait five days after all.

Little Douding glanced at Qin Xin with even more confusion.

Why can Sister Xin remain so calm no matter the situation?

So admirable.

So worshipful.

＝＝

The next day was another sunny day.

Qin Xin found the weather in this forest strange.

In the Imperial City, it’s still early spring, cold and warm alternating, but the forest feels as hot as midsummer. Is it near the equator?

She was wearing a white muslin dress that made it inconvenient to move, so she gathered some hemp vines from the forest, twisted them into thin hemp ropes, then used a scalpel to cut the skirt hem and sewed it apart with the hemp ropes.

Her white muslin dress transformed into a jumpsuit, looking rather stylish.

She then used the excess fabric, fixed the shape with bamboo strips, cut out brim outlines, and made two sun hats—one for Little Douding and one for herself.

Little Douding stared at Qin Xin’s handiwork, wide-eyed: ”Sister Xin, your clothes look so nice... Is your family in tailoring?”

Qin Xin smiled: ”Something like that.

On that note, the Emperor is the most skilled tailor, so it’s not entirely wrong to say so.

The two spent the entire morning doing these trivial tasks, and by noon, Little Douding took out a few pieces of dry bread: ”Sister Xin, I noticed you didn’t bring a backpack; did you lose your provisions? If you don’t mind, I’ll share half of mine with you!”

This kid is quite generous and honest.

Qin Xin’s lips curled: ”Today I’ll treat you to something good. Can you make roasted chicken?”

Little Douding nodded vigorously: ”Yes.”

Qin Xin was satisfied: ”What about fish soup?”

Little Douding continued nodding eagerly: ”I can! But...”

Where would roasted chicken and fish soup come from here?

Just as he pondered this question, Qin Xin casually flicked her scalpel, and suddenly, a mountain chicken passing by stumbled at her feet, unable to get up, as if it had come expressly to be eaten.

Little Douding stared in astonishment.

Magical!