Chapter 580 — The Hidden Insider

Shen Mu was dumbstruck. He had known only that the Dragon Qilin loved to eat fire-attribute spirit pills, such as Crimson Fire Spirit Pills and Fire-attribute Spirit Essence Pills; he had never imagined it was of both water and fire!

And moreover, one of the two pearls was too large and the other too small — plainly the result of its picky eating!

The Black Tiger God was smug. "Junior brother, Fat Dragon ate far too many spirit pills; they congealed in his body and made his flesh fat. And the wretch is lazy beyond belief, and has no cultivation method — he only eats and cultivates by instinct, so the more he eats the fatter he grows. This time I took him to the demon lands and had him fight the little demon brats, forcing his potential out; only then could he refine pills into pearls and produce two of them, and he has grown a bit thinner too. Fat Dragon is returned to you. These days, dragging them about, I never once got to go hunt a demon god and kill to my heart's content!"

Shen Mu was deeply grateful. "I have put you to great trouble, senior brother."

The Black Tiger God laughed. "I am off! Do not stir up trouble these days; stay here honestly and wait for my return! Ah, yes — do not feed Fat Dragon any more Crimson Fire Spirit Pills or Fire-attribute Spirit Essence Pills. The energy of the pills is still congealed in his body; once he refines it, I daresay the Qilin Pearl will grow three or five rings larger!" With that he leaped up and vanished.

Seeing him go, the Dragon Qilin choked and wept, unable to speak.

Shen Mu was greatly moved. "Fat Dragon missed me — he is so overcome he has burst into tears."

Snow Fox hesitated, then said softly, "Young master, Fat Dragon is hungry, and he has been drilled by the Black Tiger God. These days the spirit pills you left behind were eaten up long ago, and he does not care for anything else. The Black Tiger God kept making him fight the demon experts without a moment's rest; now that he has gone, Fat Dragon is so aggrieved that he has cried out."

The Dragon Qilin nodded again and again.

Shen Mu took out medicinal ingredients and began refining pills, saying with a laugh, "I knew you must be starving, so I bought a great many spirit medicines on my way back. But my greatest gain this trip was finding a cultivation method for Fat Dragon! Still, Fat Dragon also has qilin bloodline; the Ancestral Dragon Grand Mystery Art may not fully awaken his potential."

He swiftly refined a furnace of spirit pills and gave them to the Dragon Qilin — Water-attribute Spirit Essence Pills, the same as those he had given Jiang Miao.

The Dragon Qilin licked one pill, found the taste wrong, ate a single one with tears in its eyes, and put the rest away.

Snow Fox asked curiously, "Fat Dragon, why don't you eat them all?"

"I have been frightened by hunger; I will hoard a few more. And besides, these pills do not taste right — they are not Crimson Fire Spirit Pills."

The Dragon Qilin said cautiously, "Sect Master, could you refine a few pecks of Crimson Fire Spirit Pills?"

Shen Mu turned a deaf ear and called Jiang Miao over. "Junior brother Jiang Miao, you teach Fat Dragon the Ancestral Dragon Grand Mystery Art. I will refine more Water-attribute Spirit Essence Pills and divide them among you."

Jiang Miao assented and taught the Ancestral Dragon Grand Mystery Art to the Dragon Qilin, explaining the difficult points to him.

The Dragon Qilin's comprehension was not bad at all; it was only too lazy. But this time the Black Tiger God had given it a thorough lesson, and it dared not slack, so it soon got the hang of it.

Shen Mu refined several more furnaces of Water-attribute Spirit Essence Pills and divided them between Jiang Miao and the Dragon Qilin.

"Sect Master Shen, you are back!"

Shen Yu's voice came; he hurried up the tower, walked toward the gate tower wreathed in smiles, and said with a laugh, "The Sect Master keeps his word — I suppose my little dragon will be returned to me..."

The smile froze on Jiang Miao's face, and he looked helplessly at Shen Mu.

Shen Mu went to meet him, smiling. "Junior brother Shen Yu, let me tell you a great piece of good news. That little dragon of yours has learned a divine art of tremendous power; in the future he will surely become a Dragon King!"

Shen Yu was overjoyed and looked all around. "Many thanks, Sect Master! Where is my little darling?"

"Junior brother Jiang Miao, come — junior brother Shen Yu is calling you."

Shen Mu beckoned. Jiang Miao steeled himself and stepped forward. Snow Fox, mouth agape, stared blankly as this youth walked toward Shen Yu, and kicked the Dragon Qilin with a short little leg. "Fat Dragon, have you got any melon seeds?"

The Dragon Qilin shook its head.

Shen Yu looked blankly at the youth approaching. The youth resembled him somewhat, and indeed looked a little more handsome than he did; though somewhat shy, he bore himself with spirit, and his strength was far from weak.

"Sect Master Shen..."

Shen Yu turned his head to look at Shen Mu, and in his eyes were shock, dread, helplessness, bewilderment, and utter loss.

"Jiang Miao is that little dragon of yours. He has taken human form now. He is the son of the Yong River Dragon Emperor, and he has cultivated the Ancestral Dragon Grand Mystery Art; that he will become a Dragon God or a Dragon King in the future is beyond doubt."

Shen Mu took out several sticks of incense and planted them in the city wall, then said amiably, "Now I return him to you. You two have a good long talk."

He was about to leave when Shen Yu caught his sleeve and said, lost and helpless, "Sect Master Shen, what I lent you was a dragon, and you return me..."

Jiang Miao caught his other sleeve as well. Shen Mu had no choice but to say, "Let me settle this: I will have you swear brotherhood as brothers of different surnames. What do you say? Junior brother Shen Yu, how old are you?"

Shen Yu nodded dazedly. "I am seventeen..."

Shen Mu looked at Jiang Miao, who counted on his fingers and said, "I am twenty thousand and eighty-seven years old."

"The ages are just right — not far apart at all!"

Shen Mu clapped his hands and laughed. "From now on Jiang Miao shall be your sworn elder brother, and you shall be Jiang Miao's sworn younger brother — sworn brothers, and no awkwardness! Come, kowtow and swear your brotherhood." With that he pressed the two of them down onto their knees.

Jiang Miao and Shen Yu, both utterly blank, were pressed down and made to knock their heads several times.

Shen Mu wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said rapidly, "Congratulations to you both! Ling'er, Fat Dragon, I will take you to meet a few elders of the dragon race. Let's go—"

Snow Fox still wanted to watch the show, but Shen Mu picked her up, set her on the Dragon Qilin's back, and carried her off by force, leaving only Shen Yu and Jiang Miao before the gate tower.

"Young master, I still wanted to see how they get along!" Snow Fox said eagerly, and looking back, she saw Shen Yu and Jiang Miao before the gate tower gazing at each other in silence.