Chapter 361 — A Change of Heart

" Shen Mu said, "Your Majesty, the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon has too many components and parts; faults are hard to rule out. Once the carriage and the light-gathering prongs are forged, it must be fired again to check for faults. " Emperor Yanfeng said with a smile, "How many more times will it need to be fired?

" "If nothing goes wrong, two or three times will suffice. " Shen Mu reckoned a moment and said, "If something does go wrong, we must trace where the fault lies, and then there is no telling how many firings it will take.

The Sacred Pupil in particular employs mortise-and-tenon joinery and a three-dimensional gear-suspension linkage; being so complex, it is the most prone to error. Rest assured, Your Majesty — with so many masters of the calculation arts present, we will certainly find any fault as quickly as possible.

This humble servant will do his utmost to keep it within ten firings; it will not cost too much.

Your Majesty, the next firing will be half a month from now, so I must ask Your Majesty—" "Good, good. I will not come; you have full authority over it. .

.

Minister, help Us back to the palace.

" Shen Mu watched as the emperor, supported tremblingly by several officials, was helped away, and doubt rose in his heart: "Can it be that His Majesty's injury has still not healed?

That cannot be — the Little Poison King and I clearly cured him. . .

" Xu Shenghua gazed at the vast disc, his expression grave.

Shen Mu came over and said with a smile, "Brother Xu, what do you think of this cannon platform? " "A work of heavenly craft, wrought by the hands of gods.

" Xu Shenghua shot him a glance.

"With Brother Shen's energies devoted to such matters, I rather think you will soon be defeated by me. You are both a divine physician and a heavenly craftsman; you cannot pour all your energy into cultivation.

In time, your cultivation will fall behind mine, and you will be utterly routed! " "Brother Xu has learned to scheme.

" Shen Mu smiled faintly.

"You do not want me to finish this divine cannon, and you mean to shake my confidence as well.

But to me, whether the way of medicine or heavenly craft, all is cultivation; all of it can be turned into my own strength. In truth, if I wished to defeat you, poisoning you to death or forging a keen weapon to blast you dead would both be simple — and that too is my strength. " Xu Shenghua's heart sank. "Those are not true means. " Shen Mu laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder. "We of the Overlord Body learn whatever we set our hands to.

You should not think only of cultivation.

Do you know, when you next challenge me, whether I will beat you to death with my bare hands, poison you, or blast you dead with a treasure? My house-call fee is one thousand Dafeng coins — pay me soon, and do not leave a debt of gratitude between us; then you and I may cross blades once more.

I will be waiting.

" Xu Shenghua was dumbstruck.

Suddenly a little girl came skipping over, three white tails swaying behind her; she swiftly wrote out an IOU and said in a crisp, bright voice, "Young Master Xu, please make your mark!

" In a daze, Xu Shenghua made his mark. The little girl put the IOU away with the utmost solemnity and followed Shen Mu off. "I came down from Shangcang, failed to kill the Human Emperor, and instead owe him a thousand Dafeng coins. .

.

" Xu Shenghua shook his head, a thousand feelings surging in his heart. "How am I to go back? Yuliu, Jingyan — how can we earn money? " Yuliu and Jingyan were equally at a loss.

The quickest way to earn money was to sell treasures; they had brought no few treasures down from Shangcang, and selling a few to repay the debt would have been possible.

But when Xu Shenghua had fallen ill, everything that could be sold had been sold; only the jade bottle and the pipa remained. Yet the jade bottle and the pipa were treasures of Lord Qiao of the Stars, and must never be sold. "I am well versed in music — can that be turned into money? " Xu Shenghua asked. "Does the young master mean to go out and sing for coin?

" Jingyan blurted out, "How could that be allowed? And singing for coin earns nothing anyway!

" Xu Shenghua pondered.

"I do know something of forging primal weapons; perhaps I could forge a few and sell them for money.

. .

" "The young master would become a blacksmith? " Xu Shenghua smiled.

"I have the Overlord Body.

If I do not take a thing up, so be it; but if I do, I will be the best at it.

Rest assured — as a blacksmith I will be the finest, in no way inferior to that Overlord Body, the Human Emperor Shen!

" Jingyan and Yuliu exchanged a worried glance, thinking, "I fear Young Master Xu can never return to Shangcang; his heart is no longer the heart it was when he was in Shangcang.

.

. " A month later, when Shen Mu met Xu Shenghua again, it was in a blacksmith's forge.

Shangcang's most outstanding disciple was no longer the flawless figure untouched by the dust of the world he had once been; he was lifting a great hammer, tempering dark gold.