Chapter 115: Walking Medicine

　　As the rounds finished, Gentleman Deng’s face became more and more ugly.

　　In the first round of identification, Pharmacologist Qin identified his family’s secret medicine. In the second round of production, he made the most common medicine – Golden Creation Pill. Since both products had their own benefits, it was a draw for the second round as well. In the third round of investigation, both parties were directed toward an injured martial artist, and they had to find out what the injury was and create medicine for it. Both parties had their own theories, and under the witness of the Imperial Pharmacy, they started to produce their medicines.

　　Gentleman Deng had always been an arrogant man. Never did he expect that an unknown pharmacologist from the Hall of Immortals would be so capable. A draw was a disgrace to him, whose family was full of professionals in this area.

　　The third round must be a win! I bet my family name on this!

　　That thought spurred Gentleman Deng on. He put his all into his work and sped up his progress.

　　“Time’s up!” The man announced.

　　The contestants put out their fires at the same time. Hot piping extract was poured out of the pots and given to the official of the Imperial Pharmacy.

　　“Who do you think will win?” The bunch of youngsters started whispering once again.

　　At first, they thought that the Hall of Immortals was too arrogant. Even if you were a well-known pharmacy in Tianyun City, one shouldn’t look down on others from the other parts of the world! How dare you call yourself the best in the universe without the recognition from us, the Heavenly Sea Pavilion?

　　But after watching this competition, they realized that the Hall of Immortals was indeed something.

　　Even though this gentleman from the Linjiang’s Deng lineage was way better than ordinary people, he seemed to be less experienced than this Pharmacologist Qin.

　　“Hard to tell. The Deng family guy confirmed that he has his own secret things, but that Pharmacologist Qin looks confident too.”

　　“Senior Brother Qi, what do you think?”

　　The one known as the best out of all them, Senior Brother Qi shook his head, “So far, Gentleman Deng has a higher chance of losing.”

　　“Shouldn’t it be impossible for Gentleman Deng to lose?” They were still unwilling to acknowledge that Pharmacologist Qin was better. Since Gentleman Deng came from a family of professionals just like them, they were naturally biased toward him.

　　“Look, they’re going to reveal the results now.”

　　The official from the Imperial Pharmacy put the bowls down. His eyebrows furrowed as if it was very hard to make a decision.

　　After a moment, he started speaking, “The medicines made by both parties are both suitable for the patient, and both have their pros. It’s hard to decide the winner. Gentleman Deng’s medicine is delicate and useful over a long time period, but Pharmacologist Qin’s isn’t lacking in any way either. This is the hardest decision that I’ve ever had to makeover these six months.”

　　All eyes were on the official now. If Gentleman Deng won, then the Hall of Immortals’ banner would need to be taken down, and their name would lose reputation. But if the Hall of Immortals won, the name of Linjiang’s Deng lineage would be at stake too. The spectators were mostly here to join in the fun, but they never would have expected that today’s competition would have such a huge impact.

　　Would the Hall of Immortals remain the best pharmacy in Tianyun City, or would Linjiang’s Deng lineage become even more famous? Everyone was waiting anxiously for the result.

　　The official then added on, “As Gentleman Deng was producing his medicine, he used some secret methods to increase the effectiveness…”

　　Buzzing could be heard from the spectators. Is Gentleman Deng going to win? So, the banner outside the Hall of Immortals…

　　…however, from the diagnosis of both parties, the patient has suffered from damaged meridians for years, causing him to be in a weak state. If the medicine is too effective, the patient may not be able to properly absorb it,” glancing at Pharmacologist Qin, he continued, “so, I think that the win goes to Pharmacologist Qin.”

　　“Wow,” the spectators were a mess.

　　“He won again?”

　　“Linjiang’s Deng lineage…”

　　“I bet on Deng! I just lost a huge sum…”

　　“Hahaha, I won, I won!”

　　Some were happy while some were not.

　　“That’s impossible!” Gentleman Deng blew a gasket. “My family’s secret recipe is extremely mild; how could the patient possibly be unable to absorb it!?”

　　The official replied calmly, “Both of you can try each other’s medicine. If any party is unhappy, we can reverify on the spot.”

　　In a rage, Gentleman Deng took up Pharmacologist Qin’s product and drank a big mouthful.

　　However, as soon as he tasted the medicine, his face changed. He tasted his own product, then stomped off without a word.

　　“Eh? He just left?”

　　“Duh! He’s obviously unwilling to admit defeat.”

　　“Powerful! Powerful! Even Linjiang’s Deng lineage had to concede defeat.”

　　Spectators who were enjoying the show fished out some silver teals and threw them up on the stage. In the blink of an eye, Pharmacologist Qin had received a huge prize.

　　He cupped his hands in a salute and stood there with a serious expression.

　　Senior Brother Qi nudged the group of youngsters, “Let’s get going.”

　　“Senior Brother!” One of them whined. “I don’t believe that a pharmacologist from a small pharmacy like this is so powerful! Aren’t we conceding defeat if we leave now?”

　　“Yeah, yeah!” Most of them crowded around him. “Who knows what he had in his medicine? How can we just concede defeat like this?”

　　“Nah, we wouldn’t win,” Senior Brother Qi replied calmly. “I was wondering… why is he so sick that he looks like he’s about to collapse any moment? Now I know why.”

　　“Isn’t he just underweight? What’s strange about that?”

　　Senior Brother Qi chuckled, “Do you all even pay attention in class? What underweight? His skin, teeth, and nails are all a weird colour. He’s clearly been poisoned!”

　　“Poisoned!?” The rest shrieked. “Then all the more we should take him on!”

　　“No, it’s more than just poison. He has turned himself into a stove. He has refined himself into a pot of medicine. He’s now a walking medicine. The human body can transform lots of things, making it the best medicinal primer. Through his hands, he can make medicine that is much more effective than the other party’s, and much milder too. No wonder the Hall of Immortals is so arrogant. The competitors are all just serving as their stepping stones to becoming famous.”

　　The juniors were all taken aback by the information. Walking medicine? There’s such thing?

　　“Senior Brother, so there’s no way to win?”

　　“For now, yeah. There’s no way.”

　　The youngest ones of the group hung their heads dispiritedly. They couldn’t stand their arrogance, so they came to defeat the host. However, not only did they not achieve that, they were scared off from competing at all.

　　“Let’s go, guys. There’s no benefit if we stay here anyway,” Senior Brother Qi urged. It wasn’t like there wasn’t a way for them to “smash the signboard,” but they would need a senior who was way more cultivated and a bunch of rare items to do so. With that, they might be able to put down the Hall of Immortals through their rarity. But which Elder would care about such things?

　　“Wait!” Senior Brother Qi stopped them just as they were about to leave.

　　Amidst the crowd, a teenage girl stood up. She looked like she was only about fifteen or sixteen, but she looked lucid and elegant.

　　“There’s still someone who wants to challenge!?” the juniors shouted in shock when they realized what was going on.

　　“Eh? It’s a girl!”

　　“Tsk. Even we don’t dare to take up the challenge, yet she dares? She really doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth.”

　　“Yeah! Don’t cry like a baby when she loses!”

　　“Shut up and watch first,” Senior Brother Qi interrupted.

　　“Senior Brother Qi, that girl will lose for sure, what’s there to watch?”

　　“Hey, that’s not right, brother. The competition may not be worth watching, but her face is!”

　　The youngsters burst into laughter.

　　Senior Brother Qi threw a glance at them, “Stop babbling nonsense. Since she dares to take up the challenge now, she surely has something to rely on.”

　　“Since Senior Brother says so, we’ll stay and watch then.”

　　The man on stage looked at the girl, “How should I address the young lady over there?” He bowed.

　　“Surname Lu,” she made it short and sweet, not wanting to report her origin.

　　The man smiled at her widely, “Miss Lu, what do you want to challenge?”

　　Miss Lu turned to Pharmacologist Qin with a thin smile on her cold face, “Identification.”