Yu Lin looked around them to see a small shed in front of them. In front of the shed stood two guards who gave off an intimidating aura, yet Yu Lin wasn’t a bit scared of them. The other students shuddered as Principal Ro led them into the shed. In the shed Principal Ro lifted his hand and a square panel lifted from the ground, revealing a set of stairs. The group walked down.

Yu Lin and the rest all sat around a rectangular table. Principal Ro sat at one end with Si Zhong sitting at the other, with all the students just sitting in the middle, facing each other.

“Now then, can someone tell me what happened?” Principal Ro said as he looked around the room. The purple in his eye seemed to give off a light as he carefully stared at each of them. Nie Fu had his head down as he swallowed hard. Su Me looked nervously to the side and Sanji just stared at the table. Yu Lin eyes were focused nowhere as she just sat there. She wanted someone else to speak first.

“No one? How about… student Nie Fu, how about you go first?” Principal Ro suggested.

“Yes?” Nie Fu jumped. “Uh, sure.” he cleared his throat. “We were going around looking at medicine when we heard the bell chime so we started to head back. That was when uh…er…. Ku… Kuma fell. After that Ma- Yu Lin asked her some questions and then she ordered us to do stuff.”

“Order? What did she tell you guys to do?”

“Well, she told uh… Sanji to run back to the academy to tell you guys what have happened… then she told me and uh… S- Su Me to meet her at Gorqian Inn.”

“She wanted you guys to meet her there? She was already there?”

“No… she leapt away with Kuma on her back.”

“What happened when you guys got there?”

“Well… Yu Lin told me to heal her intestines and stomach as Kuma kept puking. Su Me was in charge of looking over her vomit. Then Yu Lin went somewhere… after some time she came back with some medicine that we gave to Kuma…then teacher Si Zhong came and now we are all here.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes…”

“Did you leave anything out?”

“Um… I don’t think s-”

“He did.” Sanji suddenly said. Principal Ro’s eyes trailed from Nie Fu to Sanji.

“What do you mean student?”

“He left out the most important piece of the story.”

“What piece?”

“Before Yu Lin ordered us to do what we did, she asked Kuma some questions. One of them was if Kuma had ate anything weird the day before. Kuma replied that she…” Sanji swallowed hard. “Kuma said she ate the snacks Yu Lin made.” he answered.

Yu Lin glanced at Principal Ro’s eyes to see the illuminated purple darken a shade before going back to the shade it was. It was barely noticeable to the rest of the people there, but Yu Lin took note of this as she then looked away.

“Student Nie Fu and Su Me, did the two of you guys hear about this?” Principal Ro asked. The two of them glanced at each other and shook their heads.

“I couldn’t hear them.” Nie Fu responded.

“My mind was shaken… I was just worried for Kuma.” Su Me replied. Yu Lin laced her fingers together as she placed them on her lap and crossed her legs.

“Then we obviously know who the perpetrator is.” Si Zhong announced as she glared at Yu Lin. Yu Lin turned her head and looked at Si Zhong.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s obviously you!” Si Zhong yelled.

“So you are saying I poisoned miss Higurashi just to save her?”

“Of course.”

“Does that make any sense?”

“Of course it does. We have had students in the past poison others and then save them just so they can look good and move up to the next section. You are no different from them!”

“And your evidence that I did this?”

“Sanji just said that Kumamono ate the snacks that you made and that was how Kumamono got poisoned. Are you saying what he said was wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Exa- what?”

“He’s wrong.” Yu Lin sat back in her chair as she turned to look at Sanji. “What miss Higurashi said was that she ate one of my snacks. She never said that I made them, nor that I offered her any. Isn’t that right mister Hyouki?” Yu Lin watched as Sanji looked up at her, his green eyes staring back at her.

“No. I heard what Kuma said clearly and she said that she ate the snack that you made.” he answered.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then one of us is lying here.” Yu Lin said. “It’s either me, or you.” her eyes grew colder as her voice seemed to pierce right through Sanji. Sanji looked away.

“Student Yu Lin,” Principal Ro suddenly said, “if you did not make the snacks then who did?” he questioned. Yu Lin turned to look into those entrancing purple orbs of his.

“I’m not sure, but I have a good guess.” she answered.

“Who’s your guess?”

“Miss Sun Wei.” Yu Lin answered.

“That’s impossible!” Si Zhong slammed her hand on the table and stood up. “Wei would ne-”

“Miss Mu,” Principal Ro said and Si Zhong shut her mouth as she sank back in her seat. Principal Ro turned his attention back to Yu Lin. “Why do you think it is student Wei?”

“When I first came here she gave me snacks, and has been doing so for the last two months.”

“You mean she visits you everyday to give you snacks?”

“No. But, every time I go back to my dorm room there is always a plate of snacks there.”

“And you always eat it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s free, and it doesn’t taste that bad.”

“Then why is it that this time the snacks are poisoned? She could’ve poisoned you for the last two months.”

“Even if she did, I wouldn’t have noticed or be affected.” Yu Lin answered. She saw Principal Ro’s eyes twitched a bit as he continued to look at her.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I’ve been training with poison for seven years now, so my body is used to it. Normal poison doesn’t seem to take any effect on me anymore.” Yu Lin didn’t see Principal Ro’s eyes change a shade and she felt more secured.

“Do you have evidence of that?” Sanji suddenly blurted out. Yu Lin turned to look at him and he narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you have any evidence that Wei was the one putting those snacks there?”

“Then, do you have evidence that I made the snacks and have the poison to poison miss Higurashi?” Yu Lin fired back.

“You have an endless bracelet don’t you? You could have stuffed poisonous herbs in there and then used it on Kuma!” Sanji yelled back. Nie Fu, Su Me, and Si Zhong’s eyes widened as they looked at her. Yu Lin’s eyebrow twitched slightly as she looked at him and Sanji suddenly felt danger.

“How do you know that?” Yu Lin words hung around Sanji’s next as he suddenly felt the air around him decrease. “The only ones who know about this is Principal Ro, Vice Principal Sato, and myself.” Yu Lin watch as Sanji’s jaw trembled.

“I-It’s obvious.” Sanji tried to say calmly.

“Who told you?”

“N-no one!” Sanji said. Yu Lin glanced at Principal Ro to see his eyes changing to a darker shade again.

“You,” Yu Lin tightened her fingers together, “who to-”

“What antidote did you give to student Kumamono?” Principal Ro interjected. Yu Lin paused as she continued to stare at Sanji.

“It’s an antidote that my master and I came up with together. It helps treat most poisons but should only be used during emergencies.” she quickly said.

“How did you find out about that antidote?” Principal Ro continued to question. Yu Lin turned her head to look at Principal Ro.

“I didn’t know you were so interested in Medicinal Studies Principal Ro.” Yu Lin half said half hissed. Principal Ro stared at her for only a split second before standing up from his seat.

“We are done here. Let’s wait until student Kumamono gets better and then we will continue with this. For now, the rest of you sh-”

“We should inspect her room first.” Sanji blurted out. “If we let her go back to her room, she will

get rid of all the evidence.”

“Student Sa-” Sanji fell to his knees before Principal Ro could finish speaking.

“A student had already been hurt. Please don’t let there be another one Principal Ro.” Sanji said as bowed. Principal Ro let out a sigh and nodded.

-

They stood outside Yu Lin’s room as the student inspectors went through everything. On the table sat the plate of untouched snacks. A student inspector was bringing it out as she walked past, Yu Lin, in a swift movement bumped the student inspector on the shoulder. .

“Ah.” the student inspector let out a yelp as she fell to the floor along with the tray of snacks.

“I’m sorry.” Yu Lin said as she bent down to help the student inspector. She picked up one of the snacks between her thumb and pointer finger.

“Stop! I can collect these myself.” the inspector quickly said as she grabbed the snack out of Yu Lin’s hand. Yu Lin nodded as she stood back up. She glanced around to see Sanji eyeing her. She made no expression as she continued looking inside the room. She saw a male inspector lifting her thin mattress up and his eyes widened as he pulled something out.

“Found it!” he yelled as he held up a small bottle. He walked up to Principal Ro as the other inspectors started to surround him. He opened the cap of the bottle and insert a silver chopstick inside. After a moment he pulled the chopstick out and the end of the chopstick was now a brownish black. His eyes grew. “It’s poison.” he said.

Yu Lin had no time to react as she felt something smack her face. She fell to the ground and felt warm blood trickle down her cheek.

“It was you! You did this to Kuma! Why? What did she ever do to you?! She’s only been nice!” Sanji yelled as he rushed towards Yu Lin. Yu Lin turned her head to see Nie Fu holding Sanji back as Sanji continued to rush towards her.

“Stop it student Sanji.” Principal Ro said. Sanji panted heavily as he pushed Nie Fu’s arms off of him. He continued to glare at Yu Lin as he turned his back away. “Inspectors continue to look thoroughly. Miss Mu please escort the rest of the students back to their room and Yu Lin… you may follow me.” Principal Ro said as he started to head back to the platform. Yu Lin got up and looked up to see Leng Zhuang standing outside of Kumamono’s door staring at her. When he realized Yu Lin was looking back, he averted his eyes and went back into Kumamono’s room. Yu Lin only looked away as she followed Principal Ro.

-

The door to the cell closed as Yu Lin turned around. She looked at Principal Ro who was now illuminating underneath the moonlight.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he questioned back.

“You already know that I am not the one who did this, right?”

:”I am not sure. We still need to investigate to know for sure. We did find some suspicious items in your room.” Principal Ro replied. Yu Lin looked at him and cocked her head.

“My teacher told me a lot about you… I hope you don’t disappoint the trust between him and you.” Yu Lin said with an underlying threatening tone.

“What did he say… about me?” Principal Ro took a step forward. Yu Lin looked away and sighed.

“Just stories here and there… you know, nothing too interesting.” Yu Lin replied nonchalant. Principal Ro narrowed his eyes at her.

“Why are you here?” his purple eyes seemed to be illuminating again.

“To study.”

“No, why are you really here? What is your motive? Tell me.” Principal Ro ordered. Yu Lin only glanced back up at him.

“Why are you curious about my motives?” Yu Lin asked back. Principal Ro’s eyes widened as the illumination within them suddenly faded. “Don’t be too surprised. I am just one of the rare cases.” Yu Lin said and she felt a numbing pain run through her bones.. “But I can promise you, I am not a threat to the students here nor am I a threat to this school. I have things I need to accomplish too… you of all people would understand how it feels to be told that you can’t do anything because of how you were born. Do you understand me?” Yu Lin looked into Principal Ro’s eyes and saw them tremble for a moment before he turned to the side.

“If you want to get out of this situation, find evidence yourself. Prove your innocence. Just my ability alone won’t be able to help you when so many want you out of here.” he said before leaving.

Yu Lin sunk to the ground as she laid her back against the cold brick wall. She looked at the bars before her and wanted to laugh, yet no sounds could escape her mouth.

“How many times have I been in a cell?” she muttered to herself. She looked into space as thoughts ran through her head. After a while she sat up and held her wrist out. In front of her appeared a gourd. On the gourd was a label that read Heyan Water. Yu Lin brought the gourd to her mouth and drank thirstily. It was one of the precautions that Wang Pei wanted her to do just in case the Insuda Flower inside of her wanted to act up.

Yu Lin tried to pull the gourd back down but because her hands were tied together some spilled on her chin. She let out a sigh as she closed the gourd and it disappeared back into her bracelet. She brought her fingers up to wipe her chin.

“Why do things like this always happen to me?” she mumbled as she brought her hand back. Just then, something weird caught her eyes. At first she thought she was seeing things, and as she held her hand up to the moonlight she knew she wasn’t. She clearly saw it. The ends of her lips tugged upwards yet remained in a straight line as she brought her hand down. She laid down on the cold cell floor and closed her eyes. ‘Tomorrow will be an interesting day.’ she thought to herself as she fell asleep.