The atmosphere inside the Pill Pavilion was already as taut as a drawn bowstring.
As one important figure after another was invited in to preside, the alchemists grew visibly more at ease. Things had gone this far. How was Lin Fan going to get out of it now?
They exchanged glances, their faces full of pride. Each stood with his head high and his hands behind his back, brimming with confidence. They only had to wait for all the witnesses to arrive before the contest began.
It was a little after three in the afternoon, not especially late. Plenty of people had been invited by Lin Fan and the alchemists. Many were curious about the young golden guest elder who had recently come to the estate. Some had even secretly spread rumors that Lin Fan was Su Qingwei's lover. At news of such a spectacle, people dropped what they were doing, called their friends, and flocked to the Pill Pavilion. They wanted to watch Lin Fan make a fool of himself, then slink out of the Su Family on his own.
After hearing his servant's report, Su Yuanshan recalled that he had meant to find time to meet this young man in the Bone Tempering Realm. He had heard Lin Fan stayed at the Pill Pavilion until late each day, and had not wanted to go there just to meet him.
He had not expected Lin Fan to stir up such a huge affair. The young man was challenging every senior alchemist in the Pill Pavilion alone, and letting them choose the pills each knew best.
Su Yuanshan tapped a fingertip lightly against his desk, his gaze darkening. An ordinary quarrel would have been one thing, but everyone in the estate knew about this now. Word would inevitably reach the town. The Su Family had thousands of people; there was no way to keep every mouth shut. If this was handled badly, it would damage not only Lin Fan's reputation but the Su Family's standing as well.
“Family head, the commotion at the Pill Pavilion keeps growing. Many branch-family Stewards and guest elders have gone over. If you don't go soon, it may get out of hand,” a servant beside him said quietly.
"Come. Let's see what's happening at the Pill Pavilion. Bring me my weapon." Lin Fan was in the Bone Tempering Realm and carried a Forging Grade 25 spear. Su Yuanshan could not afford to be careless. After all, no ordinary person would seem likely to make a wager like this.
Su Yuanshan rose. Dressed in a brocade robe, he strode steadily toward the Pill Pavilion in the rear courtyard with several people in tow.
Inside the Pill Pavilion, the Alchemy practitioners had already chosen the pills they made best. Each chose three. After accounting for duplicates, the five alchemists had thirteen different pills between them; Lin Fan would simply make two batches of each of the other two. The winner would be decided by the time taken and quality achieved for each pill. Each victory earned one point, and Lin Fan's score would be compared against the alchemists' combined total. He was challenging all of them alone, and he had agreed to these rules.
Wang Delu, however, dared not take part. If Su Qingwei saw him competing, he truly would not be able to wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River. He could only stand to one side, pacing anxiously as Lin Fan and the alchemists settled on the pills. Now they were sharpening their blades, ready for the contest to begin. Unlike Lin Fan, whose expression remained calm, the other alchemists were flushed with excitement. In their eyes, their side had already won. Wang Delu would not be taking part, so there was one fewer person to share half of the thousand taels. The five of them could each collect a hundred taels of silver every month from then on.
The courtyard outside the Pill Pavilion was already packed, shadows shifting among the crowd. Beneath the corridor and on both sides of the steps stood other Su Family Stewards, guest elders, and prominent figures from the estate. They leaned toward one another, their discussions rising and falling.
"Don't you think Lin Fan is far too arrogant? Every one of the estate's alchemists has spent decades studying the art."
"Hmph. A young man gets a few lucky breaks and refines a few good batches, then forgets how high the sky is and how deep the earth goes. He's headed for a hard fall this time."
"He thinks a high cultivation level puts him above everyone else, as though the whole world were beneath his notice." Some were seeing Lin Fan in person for the first time, and spoke after sensing the powerful aura of the Bone Tempering Realm faintly emanating from him.
"Five hundred taels of silver at stake? If he loses, will he actually pay? And that's five hundred taels every month afterward. Six thousand taels in a year."
The alchemists stood before the crowd, receiving everyone's attention. Each held himself ramrod straight, his face full of confidence. As far as they were concerned, victory was already within reach.
Yet Lin Fan seemed not to hear a word of the gossip around him.
Voices clamored on every side. Countless gazes fell on him—some mocking, some eager for a show, some doubtful—but his expression stayed calm. Only occasionally did he glance across at the smug old alchemists.
Just as the noise reached its peak—
"The family head has arrived!"
At the loud announcement, the bustling courtyard fell silent as though doused with cold water. The crowd parted on its own, opening a path. Su Yuanshan walked slowly into the large courtyard before the Pill Pavilion, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone.
Su Yuanshan wore a brocade robe patterned with dark motifs. The weighty aura of the Late Bone Tempering Realm spread from him, settling over the courtyard like an invisible mountain. His sinews and bones had long since been tempered to their limit. Beneath his flesh, every bone was like divine iron, faintly gleaming with a restrained, luminous white. At the slightest exertion, fine cracks spread across the bluestone tiles under his feet.
Everyone present bowed. The alchemists were delighted to see Su Yuanshan there in person. With the family head presiding as witness, Lin Fan would have no room to go back on the wager—and no way to avoid honoring it afterward.
The leader of the old alchemists stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Family head, Young Master Lin proposed this contest of alchemy himself. He pledged to pay us five hundred taels of silver each month if he loses. If we lose, we will no longer speak against him. Please serve as an impartial witness to our wager."
Every gaze converged on Lin Fan, waiting to see how the young man would respond. Su Qingwei watched him tensely from within the crowd. She had arrived earlier, but with so many people from the estate present, she could hardly speak to Lin Fan. Would that not confirm the rumors that they were lovers? If they ended up together, that would be one thing. If they did not, a woman's reputation still mattered greatly in this world. Besides, things had already reached this point and so many people had arrived. Going up to persuade Lin Fan now would change nothing.
Lin Fan raised his eyes to meet Su Yuanshan's gaze. Neither servile nor overbearing, he cupped his hands slightly.
“Family Head Su, I did propose the wager. I ask everyone here to bear witness today. If I lose, I will pay the Alchemy practitioners five hundred taels each month from then on. If I win, they need only apologize to me.”
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