As Sun Jian spoke!
Steward Wang's pupils trembled.
Oh, my goodness!
He had been tricked by that scoundrel Chen Nan again!
That guy had walked away with two hundred stalks of Shore Flower for free!
Steward Wang trembled all over with anger.
While wanting to hit someone.
He felt incredibly wronged.
He had even spoken well of Chen Nan before.
Saying he was sincere and his intentions were clear as day.
Now, it seemed.
He was simply too naive.
He would never escape Chen Nan's schemes.
After all.
It wasn't that he had asked Chen Nan to help refine medicine with those two hundred stalks of Shore Flower.
It was that Chen Nan wanted to buy these medicinal ingredients.
Although he had offered to compensate Qingyun Tower with one hundred and twenty Yin Gathering Pills.
That was fundamentally different!
Business wasn't done like this.
"You damned Chen Nan, I tolerated you repeatedly fleecing me, but now you want to slaughter the sheep?"
"Are you even human?"
"Doesn't your conscience ache?"
Steward Wang was furious, harboring a desire to kill Chen Nan at this moment.
"Steward Wang, should we try to retrieve those two hundred stalks of Shore Flower?" Sun Jian asked cautiously.
Two hundred stalks of Shore Flower was no small sum.
Steward Wang glared, roaring, "Do you think I didn't know that guy was pulling a fast one?"
Sun Jian looked surprised. "Ah? You knew?"
"Heh!" Steward Wang sneered, "How could his little tricks escape my notice?"
"The only reason I agreed was to do a favor and earn an extra twenty Yin Gathering Pills."
He absolutely could not admit that he had been negligent.
Otherwise, even if he had reached the Transformation realm, he would receive a severe demerit.
And he wouldn't be able to go to the Guangling Prefecture branch.
Seeing Sun Jian's doubtful gaze, Steward Wang said, "Each Yin Gathering Pill is worth one million taels of silver, and twenty Yin Gathering Pills are worth twenty million taels of silver."
"I'd like to ask you, how long would it take for our Qingyun Tower to net twenty million taels of silver?"
Sun Jian pondered, "If business is good, about a month."
"Then there you have it?" Steward Wang chuckled lightly. "I've gone with the flow and netted an additional twenty million taels. It's a win-win situation!"
He then burst into laughter.
The laughter came from the heart.
I'm too clever.
Finally, I have a reasonable excuse.
To cover up my previous mistake.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
It's just that.
Would that fellow really not cheat me?
If he doesn't give me the Yin Gathering Pills.
Then I'll be utterly ruined by him!
Five days!
At most five days.
If it exceeded five days, even if he covered up his previous mistake.
Those above wouldn't let him off.
------
After purchasing the auxiliary medicinal ingredients needed to refine Yin Gathering Pills.
Chen Nan returned home.
This time, he had gotten two hundred stalks of Shore Flower for free.
Each stalk of Shore Flower had six blossoms.
Meaning he could refine twelve hundred pills.
Even if he returned one hundred and twenty pills to Qingyun Tower.
He would still have one thousand and eighty pills left.
"With the efficacy of these one thousand and eighty Yin Gathering Pills."
"It's entirely enough for me to break through to the seventh layer of the Yin Gathering realm."
Chen Nan was in a great mood.
Then he fell into another problem.
The further one advanced, the more pills were required.
Although the medicinal ingredients for refining Yin Gathering Pills weren't cheap.
With his current earning speed, he could afford them.
But if he were to break through and refine Soul Gathering Pills.
The expenses might be beyond his means.
Unless he popularized penicillin.
"I'll become a Yin Messenger first, and after that, I'll find a way to destroy the Ma family and quickly popularize penicillin!"
Without money, one couldn't move an inch.
Whether in the mortal realm or the underworld.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Chen Nan's cultivation had also reached the seventh layer of the Yin Gathering realm within these three days.
Of course.
All this was thanks to those Yin Gathering Pills.
He had refined twelve hundred Yin Gathering Pills.
And consumed eleven hundred and fifty of them to reach the seventh layer of the Yin Gathering realm.
Although he was happy.
But...
How to say it.
He felt quite awkward about not being able to give Steward Wang one hundred and twenty Yin Gathering Pills.
After all, he had promised to give him one hundred and twenty Yin Gathering Pills before.
Now that he couldn't produce them, what about his reputation?
No choice.
He was also someone who cared about his reputation.
However.
He couldn't afford to worry about that right now.
On the day the rankings were posted.
After breakfast.
Chen Nan went straight to the notice board at the county yamen.
Although he was confident he could advance to the third round of the martial test.
Until the rankings were posted.
He still felt a slight unease.
Unfortunately.
The entrance of the county yamen was crowded.
Even though he had arrived early.
He couldn't squeeze to the very front.
Nor could he see the list of promoted candidates on the notice board.
However, he wasn't flustered.
He had connections!
He was a constable at the county yamen himself.
He could simply inquire inside the yamen.
As soon as he entered the yamen.
Wu Jiu and the others rushed out excitedly.
"You're amazing, kid! You managed to stand out among ten thousand contestants and scored nine points in the first two rounds, becoming second place!"
Two rounds had been completed.
Afterward, the county yamen officials would score the papers based on their content.
Chen Nan's comprehensive score was nine points.
Chen Nan hadn't expected to be second place.
It was all thanks to Number Three who had leaked the exam questions to him in advance.
Otherwise.
With his abilities, he wouldn't have been able to enter the third round.
"Who was first place?" Chen Nan asked casually.
Wu Jiu's expression changed, and he said solemnly, "You've met the first place, you've even had a physical altercation with him."
Chen Nan frowned. "Are you referring to the young master of the Ma family? What was his name again? Majun, no, Ma Jun, right?"
Wu Jiu nodded.
They had all heard their wives mention the Ma family's intentions regarding penicillin.
They also knew Chen Nan had struck Ma Jun.
Although they didn't believe Ma Jun would dare to kill Chen Nan.
One thing was evident.
In this Yin Messenger selection.
Ma Jun would definitely be Chen Nan's strongest opponent.
"I heard Ma Jun is an uneducated dandy. It's very unusual for him to score so high in two literary tests this time," Wu Jiu said in a low voice.
Chen Nan frowned. "Are you implying he knew the exam questions beforehand?"
Wu Jiu: "The Ma family has considerable influence in Fengdu City, so it wouldn't be difficult for them to obtain the exam questions in advance."
"Plus, the scribes who graded the papers this time also thought highly of Ma Jun's essays."
"It's precisely because of this that he scored ten points and became the top scorer in the literary tests."
"And I have another concern."
"It's highly likely that Ma Jun knows the content of the martial test, and he should be practicing diligently these days."
At this moment.
Chen Nan's expression also became much more serious.
If Ma Jun truly knew the content of the martial test.
Coupled with his numerous supporters.
He would definitely stand out in this Yin Messenger selection.
"Constable Chen, I advise you to voluntarily withdraw from the martial test!" Ma Jun said, holding a folding fan and walking in with elegant steps and a playful smile. "I can tell you responsibly that the quota for Tongcheng Yin Messenger has already been reserved for me."
"With your humble background, how can you possibly contend with me?"