Square-Faced Child hesitated, then looked up at the menial disciple and asked, "Martial Brother, wasn't it supposed to be three bottles of Foundation Cultivation Pills per person, thirty pills in total? I... I only have twenty-seven."
"What do you mean, twenty-seven? I packed all the Medicinal Pills myself. There's no way there could be a mistake!" the menial disciple declared with complete confidence.
"But there really are only twenty-seven. Count them yourself if you don't believe me!" the square-faced child said quietly.
"Count what? Can't you see I'm busy? Do you want them or not? If not, hand over the Medicinal Pills and get lost!" The menial disciple's eyes widened. With a bang, he slapped the table and roared.
The commotion made Square-Faced Child tremble. Looking at the tall menial disciple before him, he hesitated, then lowered his head in resentment and said nothing more.
Seeing this, the other children also shrank their necks, the smiles on their faces freezing solid.
Soon after, another square-faced child received his three bottles of Medicinal Pills as well.
After stepping aside, that child hurriedly checked them. The moment he looked, his face turned the color of dried mustard greens.
But after glancing at the menial disciple, the square-faced child silently put the Medicinal Pills back into the bottles without making a sound.
Su Shi'er stood at the back of the crowd, taking in everything.
He clearly saw that the square-faced child had poured out only twenty-five Medicinal Pills. Two of them were even waste pills, while the rest were dull gray, all Low-Grade Spirit Pills.
Su Shi'er's brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing. Still, this man's conduct could not help reminding him of Ergou's Father, who always mixed good grain with bad whenever someone came to the village to collect it, while also cutting corners and skimming off the top.
Before long, all six children had received their respective Medicinal Pills.
Yet after checking them, all six wore mournful faces and lowered their heads, looking furious but too afraid to speak.
The worst-off among the six children had received only twenty Foundation Cultivation Pills, three of which were waste pills.
It was then Zhu Hanwei's turn, second from last.
The menial disciple glanced at Zhu Hanwei's identity plate and casually grabbed three bottles of Medicinal Pills.
"Martial Brother, I am Zhu Hanwei, son of Huilong Town's mayor. You've worked hard distributing the Medicinal Pills. This is just a small token of my appreciation; please accept it." Before the menial disciple could hand over the bottles, Zhu Hanwei swiftly pulled a silver ingot from his robes and placed it on the table with a smile.
The silver ingot was the size of an infant's fist and looked quite hefty, weighing a full fifty taels.
At the sight of the silver, a sharp gleam flashed through the menial disciple's eyes.
Squinting, he waved a hand and, with practiced ease, slipped the ingot into his sleeve.
For menial disciples like him, there was no longer any hope of cultivation. All they could do was gather more money, so that after descending the mountain and returning home, they could still enjoy a life of mortal wealth and splendor.
When he looked at Zhu Hanwei again, the menial disciple wore a smile, his attitude immediately becoming far more cordial.
"Junior Brother, there's no need to be so courteous. The Peak Master entrusted me with this important task, and I certainly won't let his elder self down."
"You're a fine lad. Work hard, and you'll surely accomplish something in the future."
After smilingly offering a few words of encouragement, the menial disciple took out three Porcelain Bottles from his robes and handed them to Zhu Hanwei.
"Rest assured, Martial Brother. If I truly achieve something in the future, I definitely won't forget you," Zhu Hanwei said, nodding eagerly.
With that, he took the bottles aside and quickly inspected them.
Among his Foundation Cultivation Pills were two smooth, round pills that were actually high-grade pills. The rest were brightly colored as well, all mid-grade pills. There were exactly thirty of them—not one more, not one less.
The sight made the other disciples' eyes widen in envy, their eyes turning
red.
Su Shi'er glanced over, but did not feel envious. The Foundation Cultivation Pills refined by the mysterious Pill Furnace were all supreme-grade pills, countless times more precious than these.
Still, no matter how small an ant was, it was still meat. These Medicinal Pills had been issued by the sect and belonged to him.
By every measure of reason and sentiment, he had no reason not to claim them.
Holding his identity plate in hand, Su Shi'er walked over to the menial disciple as well.
At this moment, the menial disciple had returned to his impatient expression. His gaze swept quickly over the identity plate, then he gave Su Shi'er a disdainful look, curled his lips, and muttered.
"Su Shi'er? That brat who replaced Chen Xi in guarding the Waste Pill Room?"
"You really do have a tough life, kid. You've actually survived that kind of place for so long! Here, these are your Medicinal Pills." As he spoke, he rolled his eyes, took three bottles from the corner of the table, and roughly tossed them to Su Shi'er.
Su Shi'er frowned, somewhat displeased, but he had not come to cause trouble, so he did not flare up.
After taking the bottles, he hesitated before opening them for a look.
The moment he looked, a surge of fury shot up within him.
The three bottles contained only fifteen Foundation Cultivation Pills in total.
What infuriated him most was that all fifteen Medicinal Pills were pitch-black, each giving off waves of foul stench.
How were these spirit pills? They were clearly all waste pills.
The others in the courtyard had been preparing to leave, but when they saw the Medicinal Pills Su Shi'er had received, they all revealed gloating smiles.
They had originally been somewhat envious of Zhu Hanwei. But now that they saw someone countless times worse off than themselves, the discomfort in their hearts immediately eased considerably.
"Martial Brother, what is the meaning of this?" Su Shi'er stared at the menial disciple before him and slapped all the waste pills in his hand onto the table.
He
had the mysterious Pill Furnace and did not care whether they were waste pills.
But he could not swallow this indignation.
If there had only been one or two waste pills, or if two or three pills had been missing, then so be it.
But now, half the Medicinal Pills were missing, and all the remaining ones were waste pills.
It was only because he now had the mysterious Pill Furnace. But what if he did not have it? These Medicinal Pills might very well have ruined his Immortal Path!
"What do you mean, what do I mean? Kid, why are you bringing these waste pills to me?" The menial disciple snorted coldly, folding his arms over his chest as he retorted.
"Weren't these waste pills given to me by you?" Su Shi'er frowned and questioned him coldly.
"What do you mean, I gave them to you? Kid, I think you've gone mad! This is the Pill Pavilion, not the Waste Pill Room! You want to slander me? This is not a place where you can make trouble!" The menial disciple's expression darkened as he began threatening him.
He did not dare dock too much from other disciples, but Su Shi'er was merely a useless trash guarding the Waste Pill Room. He truly did not take him seriously.
He simply had not expected Su Shi'er to dare resist, to actually turn around and question him!
And though he had handed these waste pills to Su Shi'er only moments ago, he now outright refused to acknowledge it.
This move left Su Shi'er utterly dumbfounded.
Wasn't this simply shamelessly playing rogue?
"Making trouble? Since you put it that way, then I can only ask the Peak Master to judge this fairly!" Su Shi'er said coldly.
"Ask the Peak Master to judge? Do you think the Peak Master has time to bother with you?" The menial disciple sneered, looking as though he had Su Shi'er completely in his grasp.
"If the Peak Master has no time, then I think Senior Sister Xiao Yue should have time," Su Shi'er said without backing down, his expression calm.
He did not want to waste too much time here. Having Xiao Yue handle this matter was undoubtedly the simplest and most convenient solution.
Before you continue