From the Heavens Descended an Immortal Sister
Chapter 189 - 187: The Young Master's Hobby_1

"Ah?"

Bai Qi, holding the brim of his hat with one hand, turned stiffly and didn't dare to lift his head. "That... Old sir, do you need something?"

"Young lady, tell me the truth, were you and that student present planning to cheat?" Old Master Liu spoke, his tone carrying a scolding note.

Upon hearing this, Bai Qi couldn't help feeling panicked. If she had known these three grandfathers were coming, she wouldn't have dared to discuss cheating with Fang Ren then and there.

"No, it's not like that. As a model student of the new century, how could I possibly cheat in such a serious competition?" Bai Qi said somewhat dazedly, the words spilling out without thinking.

Old Master Liu frowned slightly. "A principle that a primary school student should understand is that making mistakes isn't terrifying; what's terrifying is not having the courage to admit and correct them after you make them. You're not young anymore; you should understand that if you continue this way, there would be consequences waiting for him in the end."

Bai Qi didn't know how to respond for a moment. She had always known that Old Master Liu from the Liu Family liked to lecture the younger generation.

"He said he wouldn't cheat..." Bai Qi murmured quietly.

"Do you think his current behavior, compared to cheating, is any less despicable?" Old Master Liu said. "It's utterly incompetent to vent one's frustrations on the medicinal ingredients because one can't withstand the vitriol of the crowd."

Listening to Grandfather Liu speak so of Fang Ren then, Bai Qi felt even more regret.

Perhaps to everyone else, it looked like Fang Ren then just couldn't hold his temper and took all his anger out on the ingredients, like a petulant child smashing a cracked pot. But in Bai Qi's view, Fang Ren then acted this way because he was angry with her. He didn't want to cheat, nor did he want to leave the competition, so instead, he took his anger out on the ingredients.

Although these were both actions of venting anger, she believed that Fang Ren then was doing it because of her, not because he couldn't stand the ridicule from others.

"Go on stage now. While the ingredients haven't melted in the Pill Furnace yet, make him give up the competition and then bring him to me," ordered Old Master Liu.

"..."

Bai Qi didn't know how to respond. If she went on stage to pull Fang Ren then away now, wouldn't it just make him angrier? She had just urged Fang Ren then to forfeit, but he had already seemed agitated just talking to her. If she went to pull him down now, it definitely wouldn't work.

Old Master Wang also came over and said to Old Master Liu, "Brother Liu, don't tell me you're planning to bring that Yangming student over for a lecture."

Old Master Liu nodded. "For a lower-class student like him, experiencing this kind of thing must have accumulated a lot of resentment towards society. If not guided properly, he will be corrupted in the future."

"Brother Liu is always so dedicated to education," chuckled Old Master Cao.

"I cannot simply watch a student go astray. If a person can truly repent from the heart after making a serious mistake, then they can definitely be someone who can bring warmth to society."

Old Master Liu looked at Fang Ren then, who still sat motionless in front of the Pill Furnace, and said, "Our lower-class society lacks warmth, which is one of the reasons why so many lower-class students abandon hope and settle for mediocrity. Nearly two schools worth of students forfeited in this competition due to the absence of courage-inspiring warmth."

Old Master Wang shook his head and smiled. "Brother Liu's realm in this respect really does command my admiration."

Fang Ren then on stage still appeared at ease. If he had heard what these old men were saying, he would probably be furious.

I'm just refining a pill; how did it turn into a discourse on social education?

"Young lady, aren't you going to call your classmate down?" said Old Master Cao, glancing at Bai Qi.

"This..."

Bai Qi's face showed her turmoil. The recent minor conflict with Fang Ren then was precisely because she asked him to forfeit. If she went over to pull him off the stage now, that would be tantamount to fueling the conflict.

She had never seen Fang Ren then lose his temper with her, but today when she suggested he forfeit, his face showed clear impatience. Obviously, he wouldn't allow anyone to interfere in this matter.

"Old sir, this is his competition; I can't go," Bai Qi finally said.

Old Master Cao frowned. "You girl, can't you see the pros and cons of this situation? If you let your classmate continue the competition, he will face a very severe punishment in the end, and his so-called pride will only be more severely crushed. But if you call him down now, at least some of the medicinal properties can be preserved, which means not losing too much money.

Moreover, this is the Steward of Tianjiang from the Liu Family. He sees your classmate giving up due to being wronged, so he wants to educate him. But you're not grateful?"

Hearing the words from Grandfather Cao, Bai Qi felt utterly helpless. What did he mean by ungrateful? This was clearly a conflict between her and Fang Ren then; how did it evolve into an educational issue?

And even if Fang Ren then messed up the alchemy, couldn't the Fang Family afford to lose a Fourth-order elixir?

Looking at Grandfather Cao's slightly angry demeanor, Bai Qi suddenly felt the urge to take off her hat and see what expression this old man, who was annoyed with her, would make.

Just when Bai Qi couldn't find the words to respond, Lin Bozhong and Chen Cheng had already walked over.

"Uncle..."

As soon as Chen Cheng arrived, he wanted to ask Bai Qi what the conflict was with Young Master Fang. It was just an elixir competition, so it shouldn't be taken so seriously.

However, just as he opened his mouth to speak, he saw the three old men standing in front of Bai Qi, and the words that were about to come out were abruptly swallowed back.

"Hey, isn't that Brother Chen?"

The butler of Wang's family glanced at Chen Cheng and Lin Bozhong and was momentarily startled, "And Brother Lin is here too."

Upon hearing this, the Liu and Cao Family representatives swiftly turned their heads, indeed finding Chen Cheng and Lin Bozhong standing there, who were also looking at them. For a moment, ten eyes met.

Chen Cheng and Lin Bozhong slowly stopped in the distance and exchanged glances, as if they were communicating some message through their eyes.

"Have they discovered the princess's identity?" Chen Cheng squinted at Lin Bozhong.

"What does it matter if they have?" Lin Bozhong raised his eyebrow at Chen Cheng.

"If the princess doesn't want to reveal herself, then I'll certainly help her."

"Then what's there to say, let's put on a show for them!"

...

After a round of secret communication,

Chen Cheng immediately turned his gaze towards Bai Qi, and upon seeing the duckbill cap still properly seated on Bai Qi's head, he breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Lin Bozhong.

Lin Bozhong immediately caught on and quickly put on a smile, then walked over to the three elder gentlemen, joyfully saying, "What brings all of you gentlemen here today?"

"Aren't Brother Lin and Brother Chen here as well?" the elder from Wang's family said with a welcoming smile.

"We three came because the younger generations of our families are participating in the competition," said the Butler of Liu Family. "But what brings Brother Chen and Brother Lin here?"

Chen Cheng and Lin Bozhong looked at each other and then revealed very synchronized smiles.

"Oh~" Lin Bo spoke, "What a coincidence, I am also here to watch the young ones from the Fang Family compete."

Chen Cheng said somewhat awkwardly, "I came along with Brother Lin to watch the younger ones from the Fang Family compete."

"Oh?" The Steward of the Cao Family slightly furrowed his brows and said, "But Brother Lin, I'm curious, which descendant of the Fang Family specializes in Alchemy? I don't seem to have heard of such a descendant before."

The butlers from the Liu and Wang families were also slightly puzzled, as none of the younger members of the Fang Family who were currently in university specialized in Alchemy—they all focused on Cultivation.

"You'll know when you see," Lin Bozhong said with a big smile.

The Butler of Liu Family laughed and said, "Could it be that hidden Young Master Fang that Brother Lin is referring to?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Cheng immediately spoke up, "Hey, how could th..."

"Exactly!" Lin Bozhong interjected.

Chen Cheng was instantly dumbfounded, his eyes staring blankly at Lin Bozhong. Once Young Master Fang's identity was revealed, wouldn't that mean the princess's identity would be exposed as well?

After all this trouble, he was the one Brother Lin intended to play!

Bai Qi, sitting not far from the group of elders, was also stunned after hearing Lin Bozhong's words.

In Bai Qi's view, Fang Ren's current behavior was simply acting in a fit of pique, using fourth-order elixir ingredients for play. It was impossible for Fang Ren to produce a fourth-order elixir, and with Lin Bozhong naming Fang Ren at this moment, wouldn't that directly expose Fang Ren's ability to these people?

What would happen if Fang Ren then failed to produce the elixir?

What on earth was Uncle Lin up to?

"Young Master Fang specializes in Alchemy?" the butler of Wang Family frowned slightly.

In the Tianjiang's noble families, it was known that the hidden Young Master Fang from the Fang Family was just an ordinary person unable to cultivate. The reason for hiding him in the first place was probably that the Fang Family found it embarrassing.

If Young Master Fang had high talent in Alchemy, then the Fang Family wouldn't have hidden him in the first place.

But this raised new questions for them, as Young Master Fang's talent in Alchemy wasn't considered high, so logically he shouldn't be able to participate in this competition, where all the students were Alchemy geniuses from various universities.

"No, no, no." Lin Bozhong said with a smile, "For Young Master Fang, Alchemy is just a hobby."

Having stayed with Fang Ren for two months, Lin Bozhong certainly understood the current eagerness Fang Ren had to show off. As the butler of the Fang Family, of course, he had to fan the flames and lend Young Master Fang a helping hand at this moment.

A hobby?

The three elders nearby, upon hearing this key word, still furrowed their brows. If Alchemy was merely a hobby, then how did he qualify to compete on this stage of geniuses?

It didn't make sense.

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