East Gunpowder Street, the Medicine House.
"..."
Zheng Jun's mouth was agape, staring dumbfounded at the six round, glossy, dark brown Leopard Embryo Pills revealed as the lid of the Pill Furnace was lifted.
A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he nearly collapsed.
Involuntarily, Zheng Jun began to count on his fingers:
"One day, two days, three days..."
"No, wait. How many days has he been here?"
His face twitched uncontrollably, his heart filled with utter shock.
Zheng Jun was twenty-six this year.
Ever since he was eighteen, from the time Pharmacist Huang arrived in this five-hundred-li Anning County, he had been working as his assistant. He was one of the very first Medicine Boys.
For a full eight years, he had outlasted batch after batch of his peers, who were either scolded or dismissed by Pharmacist Huang. It was only by relying on his wits that he had managed to stay until today.
