Chapter 97

"What is that?"

Taking advantage of the waiting time, Shuixue quietly asked Tanggu, pointing to the small cage-like houses, her curiosity piqued.

Tanggu, upon hearing this, also raised his eyes to look at the small houses guarded by dozens of bare-chested men in yellow shirts. After a moment, he shook his head, indicating he didn't know, but still said, "I guess it must be related to our third test. Otherwise, Apricot Grove Manor wouldn't have specially sent us here."

"Hmm."

Shuixue nodded and stopped asking. After a while, several more young men and women were brought to this place, and the courtyard gradually became lively.

People whispered among themselves, and many were curious about those small houses, but no one could guess what they were for.

Bored, Shuixue whispered, "I wonder how long we have to wait?"

Tanggu smiled and said, "Just wait. Since the test time is the same, now that we're out, others should be coming out soon too."

"Hmm," Shuixue nodded and didn't speak. After a moment, she couldn't help but ask, "I just wonder what the third test will be about?"

After experiencing the first and second tests, everyone knew that the tests at Apricot Grove Manor couldn't be taken at face value. If you did, you would surely die a miserable death. So, all those who passed the first two tests had a shared understanding. Many people looked thoughtful and lowered their heads to ponder.

Tanggu, however, smiled slightly and didn't take it to heart. He smiled and replied, "No matter what the test is, with your level, I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't worry!"

"Hehe..."

Hearing this, Shuixue's nervousness instantly vanished, and she smiled, "Brother Tang is too kind. I think with Brother Tang's level, there should be no problem. You've always been the calmest."

Tanggu smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

Actually, it wasn't that he was always calm, but rather that he didn't take this test seriously. Whether he succeeded or failed didn't matter much to him.

Without concern for gain or loss, he could naturally remain calm and unperturbed.

"By the way..."

Shuixue's eyes darted around, suddenly remembering something, and she asked curiously, "Brother Tang, just now, how did you... figure it out?"

"Hmm?"

Tanggu was taken aback, then realized she was referring to the three poisonous pills. He smiled and said, "Isn't it simple? There were so many people taking the pills; it's impossible for all of them to have such bad luck. One person mistaking a poisonous pill for a real one is understandable, but two, three, or even none of them getting it right proves that none of the three pills were normal. So... I naturally refused to take them."

"Ah..."

Shuixue's eyes widened. She didn't expect Tanggu's answer to be so simple. She had spent countless efforts and almost all her knowledge to barely guess the answer, without much confidence. Tanggu, however, had passed the second test with such a simple deduction.

Shuixue was speechless for a moment, thinking it couldn't be that simple, but since Tanggu didn't want to say more, she didn't ask again.

The two didn't speak again, and the atmosphere in the courtyard became silent. After a while, several more young men and women entered, and the number was finally complete.

A middle-aged alchemist in a moon-white robe appeared before everyone, smiled, and said, "Congratulations on passing the second test. I am Meng Yue, the examiner for this test. Now, the test begins."

After saying this, he clapped his hands, and everyone received a yellowish paper with densely written characters, a prescription.

Meng Yue looked at everyone and said, "Your task is to enter the room filled with copper gongs, memorize this prescription completely within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and then come out."

"Ah? So simple, how is that possible?"

Before coming here, everyone had thought the third test would be difficult, but they never expected it to be just memorizing a prescription. Everyone stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Although the prescription looked dense and involved at least seventy to eighty different herbs, none of them were ordinary people. Could the third test really be that simple?

Sure enough... before their thoughts could fully form, the alchemist Meng Yue at the head of the room smiled again and then looked at them sympathetically, "Alright, go in. Remember, you only have the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If you fail this test, you won't need to take the fourth test, as the fourth test is about alchemy, and the pill you need to refine is the prescription you need to memorize."

After saying this, he clapped his hands, and the dozens of small houses at the head of the room opened simultaneously. Everyone looked at each other suspiciously, unsure what Apricot Grove Manor was up to, but with no choice, they suppressed their doubts and entered their respective rooms one by one.

Only Tanggu's gaze swept over the copper gongs, and he had a vague understanding, but he didn't say anything. He smiled and walked into his room.

"Swish!"

As everyone entered their rooms, the wooden doors outside closed simultaneously, and an incense stick was lit in a square tripod in the courtyard.

"The test begins!"

With Meng Yue's loud call, everyone in the rooms opened the papers in their hands and began to memorize quickly.

Although the prescription was long, the time it took for an incense stick to burn was more than enough. In no time, some had memorized three or four-tenths of it. With more than half the time left, everyone thought this test was nothing.

However, Meng Yue outside suddenly smiled sinisterly, pointed, and waved his hand.

Instantly, as if receiving an order, the dozens of bare-chested men in yellow shirts outside the wooden doors simultaneously reached out and quickly picked up the copper gongs, then struck them heavily and expressionlessly...

"Clang..."

"Clang clang clang clang clang..."

Like the sound of devils, it instantly echoed in everyone's ears, soul-stirring. In the third wooden house, a young man in green had memorized quickly and was almost at the end, about to succeed. At that moment, a deafening gong sound struck his ears, almost deafening him.

Then, even more intense and frequent gong sounds followed, making the entire wooden house "bang bang" and the door "rattle rattle."

"Ah..."

At first, he didn't understand what was happening. When he saw that the incense stick outside had burned halfway, he suddenly realized and quickly covered his ears, trying to focus on the paper in his hands. However, this time, he couldn't concentrate at all.

It was as if the paper was filled with ghostly symbols.

"Zitong flower, peacock root, Shuixue grass, dark soul fragrance, shadow leaf, silver snake blood, green flame red hibiscus..."

He tried hard to memorize each one, barely reaching the end, but when he looked back, he found that everything he had spent so much time memorizing was already forgotten, and he couldn't recall it at all.

When he tried to start over, he forgot everything he had just memorized. The more he tried, the more anxious he became, and the more anxious he became, the less he could remember. The time outside was continuously passing...

The young man in green dejectedly put down the paper, completely dazed.

At the same time, similar situations were happening in the other rooms. Some people with weaker resistance almost fainted from the first gong sound.

No matter who it was, when they were focused on something, being suddenly startled would naturally make their minds go blank.

Moreover, Apricot Grove Manor's method was very devious. If the gongs had been struck from the beginning, people might have been mentally prepared and could have endured the noise and memorized the prescription.

But when you were halfway through, your mind was already in chaos, and you were anxious. Plus, you had to re-memorize what you had already forgotten... In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, it was clear how few could remember the entire prescription.

In the sixth wooden house, Tanggu held the prescription and smiled, completely unaffected. The moment he saw the copper gongs, he was prepared. So, as soon as he entered the wooden house, he didn't look at the prescription but instead directed his vital energy to the hearing points on both sides of his ears, blocking his hearing.

Then, he casually and confidently found a chair, sat down, and began to memorize. When the gongs started outside, it didn't affect him at all.

Once he was sure he wouldn't forget, Tanggu dispersed his vital energy, restored his hearing, and found that the incense stick outside had only burned halfway.

He didn't bother to wait and directly pushed open the wooden door, walked out, and submitted the prescription. The alchemist Meng Yue looked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. After taking the prescription, he waved for Tanggu to stand aside and waited.

After a while, Shuixue also came out. She was lucky, too. Although she didn't guess the function of the gongs, the Shui family had a "Clear Heart Technique" that could calm the mind.

When the gongs started, she was indeed affected, but she quickly used the "Clear Heart Technique" to calm her mind and eventually managed to memorize the entire prescription and come out.

In the last moment before the incense stick burned out, three or four more people came out. Some looked satisfied, clearly having their own methods to avoid being affected by the gongs. Others looked dejected, knowing they couldn't pass the test and decided to leave early to avoid further suffering, submitting their prescriptions and leaving.

Meng Yue didn't even look at these people, clearly expecting this. However, among those who stayed, a blue-robed, rough-looking young man was surprisingly still there, which made Tanggu slightly surprised.

But thinking about it, it made sense. This person was simple-minded, and such people are less likely to be disturbed by external things. His success in passing the test was largely due to his simple-minded nature. (To be continued. Search for Piaowen.com for faster updates and better reading experience!)