"Since I answered the second question correctly, what's the third question? Say it all at once!"
Seeing that the other party had admitted to it, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to waste any more time.
"I admit defeat! These are the two most difficult questions I can think of. If I ask any more, it will only make me laugh more! "
Apothecary Jin Chen shook his head.
The fact that the other party had named so many books in one go had completely crushed his confidence. He knew that if he continued to ask, he would only be the one embarrassed. Thus, he might as well give up. At the very least, he could still save some face.
"You're not going to ask?"
Zhang Xuan was stunned for a moment before realization dawned on him.
He could easily answer even the most difficult question he could think of. If he were to ask more, it would only be more embarrassing!
It must be said that this Apothecary Jin Chen was quite decisive.
"Your turn!"
He turned to look at Lin Mu.
Upon seeing Zhang Xuan's gaze, Apothecary Lin Mu gritted his teeth and said, "To be honest, I don't have an answer for this question of mine. If you can't answer it, it won't be considered as your loss! Of course, if you can answer them, then there's no need to ask the other two questions, because I know that no matter how many questions I ask, it's useless! "
In a Pill Debate, the questioner had to know the answer to the question. Otherwise, if you don't know the answer yourself, how can you judge whether the other party is correct or not?
Apothecary Lin Mu said that he was unable to answer this question. Logically speaking, this question had already exceeded the boundaries of a Pill Debate. Thus, Zhang Xuan could choose to reject the question.
Doing so wouldn't result in a loss.
"Speak!"
Zhang Xuan said casually.
Refuse? What a joke. If he could answer two fewer questions, of course he would agree.
"Recently, I've been studying the Meridian Expanding Elixir. Whether it's the technique, the ingredients, or the furnace, I've prepared everything. There's no problem at all. However, I still can't make the elixir. I hope you can tell me where I went wrong!"
After hesitating for a moment, Apothecary Lin Mu said slowly.
"What kind of question is that?"
"Isn't that a little too much?"
"That's right. You can't form the pill by yourself, so you should find the reason yourself. How do you expect others to answer if you bring it up now?"
…
Hearing Lin Mu's words, the crowd was stunned, and a strange expression appeared on their faces.
In a pill debate, one had to ask questions that the other party could answer. If one were to run over and ask the other party how many moles one had on one's body, how many meals one had eaten yesterday, how many women one had slept with … even a god wouldn't be able to answer these questions!
This was exactly what Lin Mu was trying to say. He wanted to say that Lin Mu couldn't concoct the Meridian Expanding Pill. How was he supposed to reply to that?
"Cough cough, Apothecary Lin Mu, you have to ask a question based on evidence. This question isn't suitable, you should change to another one..."
Ouyang Cheng, who was presiding over the Pill Debate, couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up.
"I was too rash …"
Hearing the words of the crowd, Lin Mu realized that he was being a little too rash. Shaking his head, he was just about to speak when Zhang Xuan spoke up, "You aren't being too rash. How about this, why don't you forge the Meridian Expansion Pill for me to see? If you don't forge the pill, I won't be able to do anything about it!"
"Alright!"
Not expecting the other party to agree to it, Lin Mu nodded his head and walked toward the cauldron.
In fact, raising this question was also a spur of the moment idea.
Recently, he had been wanting to forge the Meridian Expansion Pill, but he had been unable to succeed. He had tried all kinds of books, methods, and methods, but to no avail! Seeing how Zhang Xuan was able to point out the flaws in their pill forging, he couldn't help but ask for it.
As long as he could find the flaws, he believed that with his pill forging skills, he would definitely be able to forge the pill.
Initially, he thought that this reason was too rude and that the other party would reject it. He didn't expect the other party to actually agree to it.
Xiong xiong!
The cauldron blazed, and all kinds of medicinal herbs flew around.
Lin Mu's fingers moved as though he was plucking the strings of a zither. From afar, it didn't seem as though he was forging a pill, but performing an incomparably moving melody.
With just a single look, Zhang Xuan could tell that the person before him had immersed himself in pill forging for many years, and his technique had already reached the level of perfection.
Even with such a technique and flawless sequence of steps, he was still unable to form the pill. This left him bewildered and at a loss as to what to do.
"There is no mistake at all!"
"With this technique of his, he could even forge the Strength Enhancement Pill successfully, so how could he fail the Meridian Expansion Pill?"
"Indeed, this is weird …"
As Apothecary Lin Mu began forging the pill, everyone's gazes gathered on him. The more they looked, the more perplexed they became.
Just like what he said, regardless of whether it was the medicinal herbs, technique, or any other means, there was no mistake at all. Under normal circumstances, the pill should have formed at the very least, and it was even possible for it to be Full!
Unable to form the pill … Impossible!
However, the truth was right before their eyes. Soon, the cauldron's flames died down and the cauldron lid opened. A pile of black medicinal dregs appeared before everyone's eyes.
Failure!
"This doesn't make sense!"
By the side, Ouyang Cheng's eyebrows were tightly knitted together.
As the guild leader of the Apothecary Guild, as well as the strongest 1-star intermediate tier apothecary in the guild, his eye of discernment was the highest as well. Just like everyone else, he thought that the pill would definitely form. Yet, the result was as such. A bizarre expression appeared on his face, and he couldn't understand what was going on.
"Sigh!"
Looking at the incomparably black medicinal dregs in the cauldron, Apothecary Lin Mu sighed and shook his head. Lifting his head to look at the young man before him, he said, "This is my question. If you can answer it, I will admit defeat! If you can't, I will change to another question. It won't affect the Pill Debate! "
"You can't answer it?"
Zhang Xuan chuckled. Walking up to the cauldron, he circled around it and examined the medicinal dregs within. Then, lifting his head to look at Apothecary Lin Mu, a bizarre expression appeared on his face. "Apothecary Lin, you are still vigorous despite your age, I didn't expect this!"
"Still vigorous despite my age?"
Lin Mu was taken aback.
If I can't forge a pill successfully, why do you think I'm still vigorous despite my age?
What does this have to do with being vigorous despite my age?
The other apothecaries also looked at him doubtfully.
If it was in the past, they would have doubted him and berated him. However, after witnessing the other party's knowledge and capability, they knew that there was a deeper meaning behind his words.
"That's right. When I walked over, I smelled a fragrance unique to a lady on Apothecary Lin's body. Furthermore, the fragrance was fresh, pure, and brimming with vitality. If I'm not wrong, you shouldn't be eighteen yet!"
Zhang Xuan.
"Yes, I just took in a concubine, and she isn't eighteen yet!"
Apothecary Lin Mu's face reddened.
He was already in his sixties or seventies, and yet, he had taken in a seventeen-year-old concubine. Even though it wasn't much in this world, he still felt a little embarrassed when he said it out loud before so many apothecaries.
"Could it be that... my failure to forge the Meridian Expansion Pill has something to do with my concubine?"
Soon, Lin Mu looked at him doubtfully.
If there wasn't any relationship, based on Zhang Xuan's previous actions, he shouldn't have said anything.
Just that... what did taking in a concubine have to do with pill forging?
They were completely unrelated!
"That's right... If I'm not wrong, your concubine... is a good-for-nothing!"
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before replying impassively.
"A good-for-nothing?"
Lin Mu was taken aback for a moment before a frown appeared on his forehead. Slightly angry, he asked in displeasure, "Why are you scolding me?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
