BXBX NOVEL Chapter 315: Zhong Siblings
“Please, we’ve traveled from far away just to attend the Pill Refiner Exam, can’t you make an exception for us?” The young man’s face was full of anxiousness as he continuously begged. The young girl, with her eyes red and seemingly on the brink of tears, also pleaded.
The guard impatiently answered, “Are you leaving or not? Don’t just stand here in the way.”
Seeing this, the young man clenched his teeth and fell to his knees, kowtowing to the guard.
The guard was taken aback, but his anger deepened. This was utterly embarrassing in front of so many people.
“Get out!” The guard roared, ready to grab the boy and throw him out.
“Don’t touch my brother!” The girl shouted immediately, standing in front of the boy, her eyes flashing with fury at the guard.
Thump!
The girl was shoved to the ground by the guard. The boy quickly helped his sister up, his eyes filled with resentment as he stared at the guard.
“Let’s go, brother,” the girl said softly.
The boy stared hard at the guard, seemingly trying to sear his face into memory. Then he looked toward the Pill Alliance headquarters, only to be met with indifference.
The boy’s fists clenched. He couldn’t accept this. He had journeyed with his sister from afar, crossing rivers and mountains to come to the capital of Qian Country, all to take part in the Pill Refiner Exam. He had not expected to be barred from the very front gates of the Pill Alliance.
At that thought, the boy seemed to remember something. He hesitated, then loosened the pendant hanging around his neck and walked toward the guard.
“What are you doing? Not leaving yet?” The guard pushed him and scoffed.
Suppressing his anger, the boy extended the pendant toward the guard, “This is an heirloom from my family, I’ll give it to you, please let my sister enter for the exam.”
“No, brother! This pendant is what father left behind, we can’t give it away. Let’s forget about the exam and leave now.” Seeing this, the girl became anxious, eager to drag her brother away.
However, the boy shook his head with a smile, “You must take the exam and become a Pill Refiner. Once you do, the Shen family will no longer dare come after you. It’s just a pendant, it doesn’t matter if we lose it.”
His sister’s eyes reddened, and she began sobbing in her brother’s arms.
The guard studied the pendant carefully, thinking it seemed quite valuable.
Just as the guard was about to speak, a hand reached out from the side and took the pendant away.
“You…” The guard was about to curse, but he stopped when he saw the Second Cauldron Pill Refiner. The fierce demeanor he had shown earlier disappeared instantly.
The man who had taken the pendant was none other than Fang Lin.
He watched the scene from inside for a while, only stepping out to confiscate the pendant after the boy revealed it.
The siblings stared blankly at Fang Lin, particularly at the Second Cauldron Pill Refinery badge on his chest, their faces showing a mix of awe and envy.
Fang Lin looked at the siblings curiously. The boy seemed about the same age as Fang Lin, while the girl appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen. She was incredibly innocent, and despite her young age, she was already quite charming.
“You guys want to attend the Pill Refiner Exam?” Fang Lin asked.
The siblings were startled. Then, the boy quickly reacted and nodded repeatedly.
Fang Lin smiled a little, “Alright then, I’ll be your recommender. Follow me.”
Upon hearing this, the siblings felt like they were in a dream. The sudden joy was too overwhelming and it was hard for them to process this good fortune.
“What, you’re not happy with that?” Fang Lin joked.
“No, not at all! Thank you so much! We’re really grateful!” The boy quickly said, with an unutterable joy on his face.
The girl was also overjoyed, pouring out her gratitude to Fang Lin.
The guard who had made things difficult for the siblings approached Fang Lin cautiously, “Sir, the Pill Alliance has its rules. Even though it’s a public examination, these two have unknown identities. Their identities should be verified before they can take the exam.”
Fang Lin glanced at him, “I know the rules of the Pill Alliance better than you do. As long as they have a recommender, there’s no problem. If anything happens, I, as the recommender, will take responsibility.”
After saying that, without a second glance at the guard, Fang Lin led the siblings into the hall.
The events at the door were naturally witnessed by quite a few people in the hall. However, all of them remained silent, some glancing curiously at Fang Lin.
Fang Lin took the siblings straight to the registration for the exam and had them complete the necessary formalities.
Through idle conversation, Fang Lin learned that the siblings’ surname was Zhong. The brother was named Zhong Haoran and the sister was Zhong Xiaorou.
They came from a small family, not from Qian Country but from a borderland between Meng and Qian countries, who mostly identified as people of Meng. The Zhong family might be small, but they possessed a hereditary alchemy technique. Each generation of Zhong family’s mainline had exceptional Pill Refiners.
The Zhong siblings were the children of the Zhong Family Head. From a young age, they learned alchemy from their father. Although they hadn’t yet taken the exam, their skills were not weak.
Especially Zhong Xiaorou, who despite her young age, was already showing more promise in alchemy than her brother, Zhong Haoran.
However, for some reason, the Zhong family offended a powerful family in Meng Country – the Shen family – and were oppressed by them.
The Zhong family fell into decline, and the siblings’ father was ambushed by Shen family elites, severely wounding him. On the brink of death, he urged the siblings to flee to Qian Country and avoid the Shen family.
The Shen family spies pursued them into Qian Country, constantly searching for the siblings. The siblings fled, endured numerous perils and reached the outskirts of Qian Capital. The Shen’s pursuers didn’t dare to act recklessly and stopped chasing them.
A genius from the Shen family had taken a fancy to Zhong Xiaorou’s beauty and wanted to make her his captive.
Moreover, the Shen family was covetous of the Zhong family’s hereditary alchemy technique, and therefore pursued the siblings relentlessly.
For the siblings, who were alone and helpless, their only strategy was to rely on their inherited alchemy art. Through the Pill Refiner Exam, they could become officially registered Pill Refiners in the Pill Alliance, which would render the Shen family powerless against them.
Fang Lin simply sighed after hearing their story. This embodied the notion “the one who carries jade will be guilty”, survival of the fittest was the universal rule.
Fang Lin also introduced himself to the siblings. They were both shocked upon hearing his name.
In their flight through Qian Country, the siblings had heard of Fang Lin — the most brilliant young Pill Refiner of Qian Country, a True Disciple of the Purple Mist Sect; he was quite renowned. They had never expected that the famed Fang Lin would personally come to their aid.
“Master Qi is here! Everyone, follow me to welcome him!” Just then, Elder Su, who is responsible for the Pill Alliance’s internal affairs, walked out from the hall and addressed everyone in a stern voice.