The Mighty Mage-Chapter 496: Golden Feather

Gu Jin nodded at Lin Yue’s words, her fingers gently closing around the small box.

The party ended not long after, with laughter and lingering hugs echoing in the hallway as the team slowly went their separate ways. Gu Jin walked back to her dorm alone under the silver glow of moonlight.

The moment the door closed behind her, the room fell silent. She sat on the edge of her bed, the unopened box resting on her lap. Her fingers hesitated at the ribbon for just a second before she pulled it free and lifted the lid.

Inside, nestled on black velvet, was a single golden feather.

Her breath caught.

....................................

Weeks ago, in one of their first joint training sessions, Instructor Luo had called the entire team together.

They sat cross-legged on the grass under the morning sun, still unsure of each other, still testing the waters of teamwork.

Luo stood before them, his hands behind his back.

"You are not just individuals training in alchemy," he had said. "You are a team. And every team needs a leader."

They’d all looked around, surprised. No one had mentioned anything about choosing a captain yet.

"The International Alchemy Competition is structured differently.

Each nation sends a team, and each team must have a captain—someone who speaks for the team, makes real-time decisions, and carries greater responsibility."

"How will the captain be chosen?" someone had asked.

Instructor Luo nodded, as if waiting for the question.

"There are two ways. The official way: each of you may apply. Then, a ceremony will be held the day before the competition, and one of you will be selected based on your merits and votes from the supervising panel."

He paused, letting that sink in.

"But there is another way," he added. "A way rarely used."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a small, golden feather.

"If every single teammate agrees on one person—no doubts, no exceptions—they can present this feather to them. It means that, without any competition or panel, that person becomes the captain."

Some had leaned in, intrigued. Others remained skeptical.

"But why would we all agree on one person?" Qiao Feng had asked. "The captain gets better resources, more training time, even better cauldrons. Everyone wants that spot."

"Exactly," Luo said calmly. "Which is why this method is so rare. It requires complete trust. Complete unity."

He looked over them, his voice steady.

"If I ever see a team do this... I’ll know they’ve become something more than just a group of alchemists."

...................................

Back in the present, Gu Jin stared at the golden feather, unmoving. Her team had chosen. Not through words or ceremony, but through this quiet act of unity.

She smiled faintly, her fingers brushing the soft gold edges of the feather.

She closed the box and placed it gently in her bag.

...................................

The next morning, the air was cool and quiet as Gu Jin walked beside Instructor Luo.

Neither of them spoke during the ride to the Magic Council Court, the mood too heavy for casual conversation.

They entered the courthouse through a side entrance, guided by guards in navy robes.

The courtroom itself was grand—high ceilings, marble floors, long rows of seats filled with observers, and at the far end, the council judges sat elevated behind an ancient wooden bench.

Han Xiaoyu was already there, seated behind a crystal barrier beside her lawyer, a sharp-eyed man with slicked-back hair and a silver tongue.

Long Yifan sat beside Gu Jin in the audience row, silent but alert.

The hearing began, and as expected, Han Xiaoyu’s lawyer wasted no time.

He spun the narrative with stunning ease.

"My client was pressured," he claimed.

"Manipulated by Gu Jin and her companion, Long Yifan. What you see as betrayal was actually desperation—a last cry for help from a girl bullied and pushed beyond her limits."

He painted Han Xiaoyu as the victim.

A talented girl was overshadowed, ridiculed, and isolated.

He described Long Yifan as violent and unpredictable. He accused Gu Jin of fostering a toxic environment, saying,

"Who among us could stand tall in the face of such cruelty?"

But Gu Jin’s lawyers held their ground.

They dissected the claims one by one, pointing out evidence: the Death Music Box found in Han Xiaoyu’s possession, the recordings, the spell residue traced to her room.

They reminded the court that Gu Jin had nearly died.

They played the audio Long Yifan had secretly recorded when he caught Han Xiaoyu outside Gu Jin’s room.

Still, the court wanted Gu Jin’s voice.

"Call Gu Jin to the stand," the judge said.

She rose, calm and composed, and walked to the witness box. The oath was spoken, and she took her seat.

Han Xiaoyu’s lawyer stood, already smiling.

"Miss Gu Jin," he began, "you are a prodigy, are you not? Praised, admired, given privileges that others are not?"

"I work hard," Gu Jin replied evenly. "That is all."

"Interesting. And is it true you rarely associate with your teammates outside training?"

"I gave them what they needed to improve. That was my role."

He smirked. "But isn’t it also true that you had a history of rivalry with Miss Han?"

Gu Jin paused. "You are thinking too highly. Why would I be interested in mocking a girl who is far beneath me?"

The lawyer smiled and said,

"Your condescending attitude now speaks volumes of how you might treat Miss Han alone."

"She came to my dorm with a Death Music Box," Gu Jin cut in, her voice hard and cold. "She put my name inside it. If Long Yifan hadn’t stopped her, I’d be dead."

The lawyer tried to twist again, but her gaze never faltered.

"She made a choice. That choice nearly cost me my life."

With a chilling smile, she turned toward the lawyer and asked,

"You say I bullied her, then I should have physically harmed her, right? Why not show it to the court?"

The lawyer calmly said,

"You made sure not to leave any visible marks..."

Gu Jin shook her head,

"Don’t worry, we have female officers too. Why not let them check her wounds?"

The lawyer paused and said,

"The marks have faded away."

The courtroom fell into a hush.

Gu Jin tilted her head slightly, her voice cold but steady.

"So now the accusation is that I bullied her in secret, left no marks, and conveniently, all the evidence of it has faded?"

The judge narrowed his eyes, leaning forward slightly.

"Mr. Feng," he said, addressing Han Xiaoyu’s lawyer, "if you are accusing the witness of physical abuse, you must provide proof. Faded wounds and vague claims are not proof."

Mr. Feng adjusted his tie, trying to recover.

"Of course, Your Honor. But we must also consider psychological harm. Emotional trauma. My client was under immense pressure."

Gu Jin spoke up again.

"Psychological harm, you say. Then let a psychiatrist diagnose her. Present a report on it."

The lawyer’s lips twitched, and he said,

"Miss Gu, we have already submitted a report. Miss Han has depression."

"And?" Gu Jin asked in a calm voice, as if they were talking about the weather.

"And? Miss Gu, a person diagnosed with depression, and you have such a nonchalant attitude. Are you even a human?" The lawyer asked with aggression-laced words.

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow and asked,

"Now, even that is something that I should consider? Let me remind you. She almost killed me. If I pity her, I deserve to die."

"That is very unsympathetic of you, Miss Gu." The lawyer emphasised.

Gu Jin smiled coldly and asked,

"What are the laws for a psychopathic killer who is diagnosed with depression?"

The courtroom went still. Even the sound of scribbling pens stopped for a moment.

The lawyer’s confident smile faltered.

"I... Miss Gu, that’s not what this case is about," he said quickly, trying to recover.

"But it is," Gu Jin said, her voice sharp. "Because you are asking the court to pity someone who set a Death Music Box on me. Depression doesn’t erase her actions. She planned it. She snuck into my dorm. She almost succeeded."

There were murmurs in the crowd now, quiet whispers sweeping through the audience like wind.

"Most importantly. The main question is whether her depression stems from bullying or not. What did the diagnosis say on that aspect?"

The lawyer turned silent, and the answer became evident.

Han Xiaoyu, who was sitting in the courtroom too, stood up and shouted,

"It was because of you! You deliberately emphasised how you are superior to me and hence I became so depressed that I wanted to kill you."

Gasps rippled through the courtroom.

The judge raised a hand. "Silence."

Han Xiaoyu’s outburst echoed in the high-ceilinged room, hanging in the air like a heavy fog.

Gu Jin turned toward her, expression calm but eyes sharp.

"So," she said slowly, "you admit it."

Han Xiaoyu froze.

"You just confessed," Gu Jin continued, voice steady. "You tried to kill me. Because I was better than you."

"No—" Han Xiaoyu’s voice trembled, panic rising. "I... I didn’t mean it like that—"