Feng Jiu was standing in front of the dicine table as she looked through the various spirit herbs. After that, she quickly, almost without thinking, began to choose one of the many spirit herbs that were there. She just reached out, grabbed the spirit herb, and placed it on the empty table beside her.
The nineteen alchemists watched her work with the spirit herbs, and their eyelids twitched as they saw how familiar she was with them. A faint sense of unease brewed in their hearts. They had the impression, based on this little girl's actions, that she was very familiar with spirit herbs. They dug themselves a hole to fall into, didn't they?
They were worried when they saw the little girl choose those spirit herbs without even looking at the dicine list. They noticed the incense stick was half-burned, and there were already at least sixty or seventy spirit herbs on the table next to the little girl, so they couldn't help but be nervous.
Would she pass this test? Would she pick the wrong one out of these one hundred spirit herbs?
They stared nervously until they noticed that there was still one-third column of incense remaining, but the woman in red on the dicine table had stopped working.
"Done." Feng Jiu took a look at them.
The nineteen alchemists stared at her for a long ti before finally approaching her with the dicine list.
"The Hemsley Rockvine Root is correct, as are the Nine Roots, the Crawling Dragon, and the Seven-leaf Violet Heart Grass..."
They examined each herb and determined that everything was correct. They tried to trip her up with identical-looking and -slling spirit herbs, but she did not choose the wrong one.
The nineteen alchemists who were holding the list exchanged looks of dismay with one another. They blinked, took a deep breath, and tried to calm the consternation that was building inside of them. One took a spirit herb, looked at Feng Jiu, and asked "What is the na of this spirit herb, and what are its dicinal effects?"
Feng Jiu took a glance at it and answered with a smile. "This is Seven-inch Heart-purifying Grass. It has the effect of pacifying the mind, in addition to calming the spirit, purifying the heart, and removing one's anxiety."
"How about this one? I don't understand how you chose this one over this one." As he asked, the alchemist reached for a spirit herb that looked very similar to the Seven-inch Heart-purifying Grass and set it on the table.
Feng Jiu pursed her lips and smiled. "The list had the Seven-inch Heart-purifying Grass written on it, while this one is called Inches of Blue. Despite their similar appearance, they do not have the sa dicinal effects. Also, the flower of the Seven-inch Heart-purifying Grass is violet when it blooms. The flower of Inches of Blue is lilac, and the roots that are hidden under the leaves will also stay lilac. Of course, I won't get them mixed up."
When the alchemists heard this, they were rendered speechless and had no way to refute her. This little girl had known for a long ti that these two spirit herbs were different. Were they just trying to make a fool of themselves?
"Hahahaha."
Pill King, who sat nearby and watched the whole thing, stroked his beard and chuckled. He smiled with delight until his eyes narrowed into slits. He then turned his attention to the alchemists and said, "Everyone, has she passed the first test?"
Even if they didn't want to admit it, the nineteen alchemists had to admit that Feng Jiu had passed the first test after hearing what Pill King said.
So, they nodded, looked at the woman in red with a slight smile on her lips and announced. "She passed. She passed the first test."
The smile on Feng Jiu's lips widened, and she bowed to the nineteen people, smiled, and said, "Please be lenient on the second test!"
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