Chairman Wang waved his hand and said, “Just look at him. He does not seem like he is in good shape at all. He can count himself lucky if he does not pass out.”


  His voice was filled with disdain as he spoke.

  “Don’t say that. He Shu is a very good apothecary,” said the deputy director.

  Chairman Wang shook his head. “Everyone is just flattering him and being nice.”


  The deputy director pursed his lips without saying a word. He simply raised his head and looked at Fu Cheng.

  His disciple had come to his office earlier and told him that he was confident about attaining the number one rank this year.

  The deputy director looked forward to seeing Fu Cheng nab the spot.

  Time passed quickly. Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

  The exam was about to be over.

  Fu Cheng turned off the fire and put on a pair of gloves before removing the medicine maker. A few minutes later, he opened the medicine maker. The moment he saw the dregs, he narrowed his eyes.

  He Shu turned off the fire as well. He cautiously took out his medicinal pills without looking anywhere else.

  He had only produced two pills and they looked bright and smooth.

  He Shu frowned as he looked at the pills. Since he was already exhausted, he looked even worse when he looked worried.

  He had only managed to produce two medicinal pills.

  Fu Cheng tilted his head sideways and watched as He Shu placed the pills in a box expressionlessly. He narrowed his eyes smugly. Did He Shu only manage to refine two pills?

  Fu Cheng pursed his lips as he pondered. Then again, considering the bad state He Shu was in, he was lucky to produce two pills.

  He veered his eyes and turned to look at the pillbox in his hand and tightened his grip on it. He had to rank number one this year.

  Before long, the other apothecaries were done refining the medicinal pills. After they were placed in boxes, they were taken away.

  All seven boxes were placed in front of Chairman Wang and the other leaders of the association. The names of the creators were not provided, but special labels were used in place of them, so they would not get mixed up.

  This was to prevent favoritism.

  When they were waiting for the results, everyone stood around the chairman and the other leaders of the association nervously.

  Fu Cheng stood with his back straight with one hand in his pants pocket. He was holding onto a pill bottle in his pocket, rubbing it confidently.

  Time passed second by second. The leaders of the association in charge of the Apothecaries’ exam were almost done inspecting the pills. When they got to the last box of medicinal pills, the same look appeared on their faces.

  They were stunned and amazed by the end product.

  “This is S grade medication. I would say its quality is very high. Also, this is good for your organs,” remarked one of the leaders of the association.

  “I am sure everyone agrees this is the best medicinal pill, right?”


  “Well, the chairman has the final say.”


  Chairman Wang put down the box he was inspecting and wrote the scores before he picked up the next box of pills.

  As he opened the box, he smiled and said, “Since all of you think so highly of the medicine, I am sure it will come in number…”


  Before Chairman Wang was able to finish his sentence, his face froze and he stopped abruptly. He quickly picked up one of the pills and scrutinized it.

  He frowned deeply after looking at it.

  When everyone saw the look on Chairman Wang’s face, they glanced at each other and did not quite understand why he had reacted this way.