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I grabbed some granite and iron and transformed them into a small cup. Then I picked out three water stones and used them to draw up water from the ground.

I am in the shop, and old man Gou is trying to cheat me, I thought.It’s just another day in Guangzhou. Same as always.

I held a single gold nugget in my hand, rubbing my thumb across it. Already, I knew it felt too light, but I slipped it into my mouth anyway and bit down. When it didn’t yield, I dropped it into my cup, watching it float on the top. I glanced up at the barrel, which probably had hundreds of thousands more pieces glinting back at me mockingly. I sighed, setting the first piece to the side.

As I worked, other alchemists started to bring their chosen pieces to the front. About half of them passed, earning the distracting applause of the Moon Alchemist and prince, while the other half were near tears after the court official turned them away. Most of them left with dignity, but several had to be carried out by the prince’s guards when they groveled for too long in the dirt. The magnet man beside me passed, while the man with acid to my left didn’t.

The sun rose higher in the sky, and in the uncovered courtyard, it beat down hard on the back of my neck. I’d forgotten to bring a hat, so it seared my skin and my hands grew slippery as I worked through the barrel. Little by little, the courtyard began to clear of all other alchemists. I stopped listening to who passed and failed, growing numb to the sounds beyond me, focusing with burning intensity on the gold in my hands.

Someone kicked over my cup, scattering my gold pieces. I glared up at Zheng Sili, his silhouette glowing in front of the sun.

“Oops,” he said, smirking as he strolled to the back door, where he gathered his satchel and swung it over his shoulder. I hadn’t been paying attention, but surely his smugness meant that he’d passed.

I clenched my jaw and refilled my cup. I couldn’t afford to waste my energy on him right now. I was the only alchemist left, and all eyes were on me, burning far more than the sun on my skin.

As the sun rose higher, I found it harder to breathe. Images of the five gates flashed across my vision. I pressed my palms to my eyes as if I could crush the images away.Not now, I thought, bracing one hand on the ground so I wouldn’t fall over. A sound like thunder roared all around me. I saw bright morning sky, blood spattering against a white road, searing light.

“Is she dead?” the court official asked.

I sucked in a breath. I had slumped deeper into the dirt, face-first.

“Perhaps you should go check on her?” the prince’s voice said, a nervous edge to his words.

“If she’s dead, she’s disqualified and we can go home,” the official said, his chair scooting back.

I rose onto my elbows, then snatched my water cup and poured the rest of it down my throat, even though it tasted like dirt and metal, shooting a dark look to the man who had just stood up.

“You are allowed to forfeit!” he shouted across the yard. “The rest of us would like to leave at some point.”

I grit my teeth, grabbing three more water stones to refill the cup. “You said nothing about a time limit.”

The official grimaced but sat back down without comment, crossing his arms.

I returned to my barrel, which was now almost halfway empty with no sign of real gold. The world fell away and one piece at a time, I sorted through the barrel as the day wore on.

I separated a few pieces into a “maybe” pile, but I knew from touch alone that all the others were fake. I refilled the cup three more times, either to drink it or after knocking it over in my haste. The sun began to descend in the sky, and my whole body felt like a withered flower. As I finally reached the bottom of the barrel, I took a deep breath and rose to my feet.

My legs ached from kneeling and I half expected to fall over before I reached the judges, but somehow I stayed steady as they watched me approach. Both the scholar and the Moon Alchemist seemed furious at having waited so long, but the prince only looked pale and sad.

“Well?” the official said. “What is your guess?”

I swallowed, my trembling hands clenching my skirt.

“All of these are fake,” I said.

The official frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said,all of these are fake!” I said, the words scraping up my throat. “There was not a single piece of real gold in my barrel!”

The scholar sighed. “Then you have failed,” he said, rising to his feet. “What a waste of our time.”

My face burned. “Show me the real gold,” I said.

He kept walking toward the door, as if I hadn’t spoken at all.

“If there’s a real piece of gold in there, then show me!” I said. “Otherwise, you’re just a liar and a cheat.”

The official finally turned around, eyes narrowed.