Chapter 281 — Craft That Rivals Heaven

Ling Yushu added: "In whatever prefecture or commandery we reach, should water conservancy or city defense need adjustment, or officials and local strongmen be annexing land, or grain and fodder fall short, it must all be reported truthfully. " The Minister of Works said in alarm: "Your Highness, the realm is so vast and the prefectures and commanderies so many that I fear it will take us two or three years to make a single tour!

" Ling Yushu laughed: "That is why I have found a fast ship; it should be here soon.

This ship is the fastest in our realm, and it is called Cloudchaser. They say the ship was built with workmanship that beggars ghosts and gods; when you board, look at its elixir furnace, it is a marvel. And it is an iron-hulled ship! " Many of the Ministry of Works officials wore strange expressions and coughed again and again; some of them glanced at Shen Mu.

Shen Mu's own face was strange too: what the Crown Prince described seemed to be Fan Yunxiao's pirate ship, the Cloudchaser.

Back then Shen Mu had refined five such treasure ships; three large ones belonged to the Nether Demon Cult, and of the two smaller, one was Shen Mu's own and one he had given to Fan Yunxiao. When the treasure ships were refined, many of the Ministry's officials had been present!

"Perhaps the next emperor will be a Heavenly King or a Protector of my Heavenly Sage Cult," Shen Mu thought at leisure.

"Crown Prince Yushu has far too much fate with my Heavenly Sage Cult. " Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or to cry. Ling Yushu and the others waited a while, and a storied ship grained in wood came gliding slowly down through the air, settled slowly, and moored before the mountain gate of the Imperial College.

Fan Yunxiao and a company of bandits, spruce in fine clothes and caps, stood at the bow and saluted in unison: "We pay our respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince; we pay our respects to the Cult Master and Holy Teacher.

" Ling Yushu hurriedly turned to Shen Mu: "Cult Master Shen, is this ship the property of your Heavenly Sage Cult? You charge so dear, so black-heartedly! " Shen Mu consoled him: "Your Highness does not know: they were robbers before, so their hearts are a bit black.

" Ling Yushu was dumbfounded.

Everyone boarded the ship one after another, but just then another scholar of the Imperial College came running up, climbed aboard and said: "I am late.

" It was a most handsome young gentleman.

Ling Yushu hurried forward and said in a low voice: "Little sister, why have you come?

" That handsome gentleman was none other than Ling Yuxiu in men's clothes.

She laughed: "You would not let me come, but I asked Father, and Father gave me leave to come out.

Cowherd!

" She left Ling Yushu aside and ran to Shen Mu's side, her eyes curving: "Do you know me?

" Shen Mu said hesitantly: "Fat.

. .

Sister Yuxiu!

" Ling Yuxiu's anger turned to delight; she punched him in the chest and laughed: "If you dare say it, I will knock you off the ship. " Seeing her punch Shen Mu in the chest, which looked heavy but was in truth light, Ling Yushu could not help snorting.

This little sister of his seemed to grow less and less obedient to her elder brother.

Si Yunxiang came to Shen Mu's side, looked at Ling Yuxiu, smiled, said nothing, and lowered her head to tease the dragon qilin.

Ling Yuxiu looked at her back, her gaze flickering, and said with a low laugh: "Cowherd, I am going to change my clothes.

" Ling Yushu hurried over: "Little sister, men's clothes are good, men's clothes are very good, you look especially handsome in them! " "Truly?

" Ling Yushu nodded heavily.

The storied ship rose into the air and sailed for Jiazhou, three hundred li away.

Jiazhou lies downriver; two thousand li further east is the Eastern Sea, and it was there that the Ministry of Works once built a great bridge across the river, spanning twenty li of the Tu River.

The hundred or so people aboard looked down and saw that the middle of the great bridge was broken, a li or more of deck and piers missing; it must have been that in the bitter cold of the snow disaster the river froze over and ice mountains formed on the water, slid down from upstream and smashed the bridge.

Now the river ran swift and furious, and to repair the bridge would not be easy.

The treasure ship came down at Jiazhou City, and the prefect of Jiazhou hurried out to welcome them. Ling Yushu said: "Prefect, muster the divine-ability practitioners and hand them to the Vice Minister of Works to repair the great bridge.

" Across a stretch of five or six li the river lay empty; not a trace of water remained even on the riverbed, and the water in the silt had been drained dry by several hundred divine-ability practitioners. "Gentlemen, fuse the stones and join the bridge!

" After a while stone pillars rose one by one from the riverbed, and many officials of the Ministry of Works came flying over from the great mountain nearby, bearing cut stone, and slab after slab was laid down in perfect order.

An hour later the great bridge ran through. Shen Mu's heart shook, and inwardly he sighed in admiration: "This is a true miracle, workmanship that beggars ghosts and gods!

"