A bet?
When Ye Qiu heard these two words, he was secretly delighted and asked, “Elder Monkey, what is the bet?”
Elder Monkey said, “Within ten days, if you cannot memorise these pill formulas, return the spiritual herbs you won to me.”
“If you do memorise them, I will give you one earth-grade spiritual pill. How about that?”
Ye Qiu put on a bitter expression and said, “Elder Monkey, to be honest, memorising one hundred thousand pill formulas in ten days is extremely difficult…”
This kid is scared.
Elder Monkey thought he had seen through Ye Qiu’s thoughts and wondered inwardly, “Will he think it’s too difficult and refuse to bet with me?”
“No, I must find a way to make him bet with me.”
“I have to get those spiritual herbs back. The herbs are a small matter, but face is important.”
Having thought of this, Elder Monkey said, “Ye Changsheng, as long as you can memorise these pill formulas in ten days, I will give you one heaven-grade spiritual pill. How about that?”
“This…” Ye Qiu still looked troubled.
Elder Monkey decided to pressure Ye Qiu a bit and said, “If you feel you cannot do it, you can admit defeat now and return the spiritual herbs to me.”
Ye Qiu took a deep breath, as if gathering his courage, and said, “In that case, I will bet with you.”
Seeing Ye Qiu agree, Elder Monkey breathed a sigh of relief and thought inwardly, “Kid, just wait to return the spiritual herbs to me!”
Ye Qiu then added, “Elder Monkey, if you lose, will you really give me a heaven-grade spiritual pill?”
“What if you refuse to acknowledge it later?”
“My cultivation is low and weak, and I cannot beat you.”
Elder Monkey said, “That’s easy to solve. Old Sheep is here, let him be the witness.”
“If I really lose, I will definitely give you the spiritual pill, otherwise may my arse rot.”
“However, Ye Changsheng, I am certain to win this bet, because it is impossible for you to memorise one hundred thousand pill formulas in ten days.”
Elder Monkey said with a smile on his face, “Old Sheep, come, let us play chess.”
“Brother Ye, good luck.” Elder Sheep said this, then followed Elder Monkey away.
Ye Qiu watched Elder Monkey’s retreating back, the corners of his mouth curling up.
“I have never lost a bet.”
Having said that, Ye Qiu walked into the room.
One hundred thousand pill formulas, to memorise them in ten days, meant he had to memorise at least ten thousand formulas each day. For Ye Qiu, the difficulty was indeed considerable.
He casually took a pill formula from the shelf and flipped it open to look.
“Eh, I am familiar with this pill formula. It is recorded in the Pill Book.”
Ye Qiu took out a second pill formula.
“Eh, I am familiar with this one too. It is also recorded in the Pill Book.”
Ye Qiu took out a third pill formula.
“Is this not the pill formula recorded in the ancestor’s inheritance? I remember it too.”
Just like that, Ye Qiu looked through several hundred pill formulas in one go and found that he knew them by heart. Some were recorded in the Pill Book, others were in the inheritance from the Ye family ancestor.
Especially in the Ye family ancestor’s inheritance, countless pill formulas had been left behind, an astonishing number.
Ye Qiu’s speed grew faster and faster. His hands were like lightning, constantly taking pill formulas from the shelf and quickly putting them back in place.
In the blink of an eye, he had looked through more than a thousand pill formulas.
“I remember all these pill formulas.”
“However, continuing like this is too slow.”
“Although I could finish looking through the pill formulas within ten days, constantly taking them out and putting them back would exhaust me half to death.”
“I need to think of a way to save time and effort.”
Ye Qiu frowned, then an idea came to him.
He stood in place, quietly activated his heavenly eye, and looked over with one glance. Immediately, the contents of one pill formula after another appeared in his vision.
He did not linger, merely glancing at the name of each pill formula before moving on.
As for the contents of the formulas, they were all recorded in the Pill Book and the Ye family ancestor’s inheritance.
The more Ye Qiu looked, the more shocked he became.
“What level of cultivation did the ancestor once reach? Why are all the pill formulas here recorded in his inheritance?”
“Moreover, some pill formulas in the inheritance are not present here.”
“It is too unbelievable.”
For a moment, Ye Qiu was filled with curiosity about the level of cultivation the Ye family ancestor had once possessed.
He gathered his thoughts and continued scanning the pill formulas.
…
In the courtyard.
Elder Monkey and Elder Sheep were drinking wine while playing chess.
Elder Monkey had just placed a chess piece when he sensed something wrong and hurriedly picked it up again.
“Old Monkey, a piece placed cannot be taken back. You cannot deny it. Quickly put the piece back.” Elder Sheep said.
Elder Monkey curled his lip and said, “The piece is mine. I can place it wherever I want. What business is it of yours?”
Elder Sheep said discontentedly, “Who plays chess like you? It is too shameless.”
Whoosh.
Elder Monkey waved his hand, scattering the chessboard. Pieces flew everywhere.
“Who did you say is shameless?” Elder Monkey glared angrily at Elder Sheep.
Elder Sheep said, “You know in your heart who I mean. If you had not scattered the board, you would have lost this game.”
“What, you lost a bet to Ye Changsheng before, and now you cannot afford to lose again?”
“Nonsense.” Elder Monkey said, “Although I lost to Ye Changsheng once, this time he is certain to lose.”
“If you do not believe me, just wait and see. When the ten days are up, he will have to return the spiritual herbs he won to me.”
“If he still wants to learn pill refinement, he will have to kneel and beg me.”
Elder Sheep said, “Old Monkey, you previously said that deliberately letting Ye Changsheng identify so many spiritual herbs was to help the Lord, so that Ye Changsheng would stay longer among the demon clan.”
“Now you say that in ten days, you will make Ye Changsheng beg you.”
“If Ye Changsheng does not beg you then, how will you help the Lord keep him in the demon clan longer?”
“Are your actions not contradictory?”
“Moreover, teaching him pill refinement is the Lord’s command. Are you planning to disobey the command?”
“Old Monkey, do not blame me for not reminding you. If the Lord gets angry, the consequences are very serious.”
Elder Monkey laughed and said, “Who said I will not teach Ye Changsheng pill refinement?”
“Once he loses the bet, I can take back the spiritual herbs.”
“Then I will think of another way to make him continue looking at those pill formulas.”
“One hundred thousand pill formulas. Back then, it took me a full ten years to memorise them all.”
“I admit Ye Changsheng has good talent, but to memorise so many pill formulas would still take at least two or three years.”
“This way, I can obey the Lord’s command without violation, while also keeping Ye Changsheng in the demon clan longer. It is the best of both worlds.”
Only then did Elder Sheep understand Elder Monkey’s intentions and laughed while scolding, “You really are a crafty monkey.”
“No more talking. Continue playing chess.” Elder Monkey said, “Once I have had my fill of chess, I will give you a pot of spiritual wine later.”
“That is more like it.” Elder Sheep rearranged the pieces and continued playing chess with Elder Monkey.
In this way, the two played through the entire night.
The next day, as the morning sun rose.
Elder Sheep said, “I have played chess with you all night. I must go back, or Elder Rabbit will cause trouble for me again.”
Elder Monkey took out a pot of spiritual wine and tossed it to Elder Sheep, saying, “Remember to come again in a few days. You are the witness and must personally see Ye Changsheng admit defeat.”
“I…” Elder Sheep was about to speak when suddenly his eyes widened, as if he had seen a ghost.
