Chapter 143 — The Venerable Who Bestrides the Peak

The entire Imperial Academy was in an uproar. One of the men of the Directorate of Education muttered, "Could it be that the scholar who defeated the Daoist Son has made his move again?

" Shen Mu's heart gave a slight jolt as well. Jingming the White-Browed Monk had come with the Buddhist Heart in tow, on the same errand as Danyangzi of the Daoist sect—to block the gates for three days, to humble the Imperial Academy's might, and to turn the hearts of Jingping's people against the court. Yet now, with three days not yet passed, Jingming had departed with the Buddhist Heart Child.

There could be only one explanation: the Buddhist Heart Child had been defeated! "But just now I was clearly at the back mountain drugging the green ox.

There is no way I could have run to the mountain gate and defeated the Buddhist Heart Child. .

.

" Shen Mu was at a loss. If it was not he who had defeated the Buddhist Heart Child, then who could it be? He thought back to what the Patriarch had said when they had met at the thatched hut.

The Patriarch's words had carried a hidden meaning—that within the Imperial Academy, apart from Shen Mu himself, there was another person capable of defeating the Buddhist Heart.

If Shen Mu did not make his move, the Patriarch would have that other person act. And this scholar who had defeated the Buddhist Heart Child was every bit as low-key as Shen Mu. After defeating Lin Xuan the Daoist Son, Shen Mu had never breathed a word of the matter to anyone; this person, too, had seized the window when the Academy's scholars and Libationers lay drugged by the Losing-Mind Incense, gone down the mountain alone, and defeated the Buddhist Heart. At that time, before the mountain gate, apart from the Buddhist Heart and Jingming the White-Browed Monk, there had been only the dragon-qilin.

Though the dragon-qilin could speak, it was a gourd with its mouth sawn off—not a single seed could be shaken from it; there was no hope of wheedling the truth out of that one. Unless one could bring it the green ox, the Bashan Libationer's mount, to devour, only then might one get it to reveal who that person was.

But now, drugging that green ox again would be no easy matter. "To have an expert within the Academy who can run neck and neck with me—that is a good thing. " Shen Mu smiled faintly, no longer pressing to learn who had made the move, and returned to the Scholars' Quarter with Snow Fox. Many in the quarter already knew that the imperial physicians had obtained from him the elixir formula that had laid low nearly every scholar in the Academy, and they looked upon him with a measure of dread.

Suddenly, a timid voice drifted over, speaking softly: "Senior Brother Shen, was it you who defeated the Buddhist Heart Child?

" Shen Mu followed the sound and saw that the speaker was none other than the gentle, quiet girl who had entered the Academy as a scholar alongside him—Si Yunxiang.

This girl was forever shy; Shen Mu had teased her a few times, sending her cheeks aflame with embarrassment and her hands fluttering in helpless confusion. Shen Mu shook his head. "Of course it wasn't me. When that person defeated the Buddhist Heart Child, the Grand Libationer had dragged me off for a scolding.

Sister Xiang, did you happen to see who it was? " Si Yunxiang shook her head.

"I was knocked out by some fragrance just now and have no idea what happened. I am still a little dizzy. But when I saw you looking so full of spirit, untouched by the drug, I thought you must have driven off the Buddhist Heart Child. " A glint flickered in Shen Mu's eyes, and he smiled.

"Truly not me. I should very much like to know who defeated the Buddhist Heart myself. " Seeing someone glance in their direction, Si Yunxiang hurried back into her courtyard and shut the door.

Shen Mu seized the chance to peer into her yard, but before he could make out anything within, her door had already closed. He had no choice but to return to his own dwelling. "This Si Yunxiang is deeply suspect. " He steadied himself and murmured, "She was never drugged by the Losing-Mind Incense at all.

A person who has taken it does not look like that. Losing-Mind Incense is a narcotic; even after waking, one remains unwell for two or three hours.

She showed no sign of discomfort just now.

" Snow Fox said, "Young Master, among the scholars who were laid low before the Hall of Imperial Physicians, there was no Si Yunxiang. " Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. After the Young Patriarch's lecture, he had asked Shen Mu to stay behind and help watch over the scholars and the men of the Directorate of Education.

Shen Mu and the little fox had both been lending a hand, with the little fox trotting about intending to gather "spoils of war" until he stopped her.

At the time, Snow Fox had seen the face of every person drugged. If she said Si Yunxiang was not among them, then that was so. "She is indeed lying. " Shen Mu blinked.

"She had no reason to come out of her own dwelling specifically to lie to me. So that being the case, she actually wished to show off.

What she said to me concerned the defeat of the Buddhist Heart Child, and what she wished to show off was precisely that.

The one who defeated the Buddhist Heart Child was her. " It suddenly occurred to Shen Mu: why had the Young Patriarch been so certain that someone in the Academy could defeat the Buddhist Heart? Could it be that he had long known Si Yunxiang possessed such an ability?

Why did the Young Patriarch know this girl, who had only recently become a scholar of the Academy, so well? One had to consider that even Shen Mu—the Young Sovereign Lord himself—had required trial after trial before the Young Patriarch could be certain of his strength and capability.

This showed that the Young Patriarch knew Si Yunxiang thoroughly, better even than he knew Shen Mu.

And this girl was surnamed Si, and she had that little habit of showing off. . . "Grandmother really knows how to play her games! " Shen Mu muttered sullenly.

"I won't expose her just yet—let me see what she intends to do. " He was about to close the door when suddenly the Bashan Libationer's voice came from outside: "Niu Niu, bring my luggage over.

" "Yes, master.

" The Bashan Libationer pushed open the door and walked in, followed by a burly green ox carrying a large pack on its back. This green ox had not yet fully taken human form; it walked like a man but still kept its bovine shape—none other than the very ox Shen Mu had drugged.

"Which room shall I take? " the Bashan Libationer asked Shen Mu.

Shen Mu was taken aback, but the Bashan Libationer was already making himself at home.

He laughed.

"The west room, then.

Whoa, so much money!

Scholar Shen, you are quite well-off! Niu Niu, we're rich!

Grab a handful and go down the mountain to buy some wine!

" "Is there wine to drink? " Snow Fox cheered, bounding over in little hops, landing on the ox's head to squat there. "I'll come with you! " she laughed.

The green ox carried her out, saying, "You drink too?

Do you know any drinking games? " The Bashan Libationer set down his luggage, tidied the room, and laid out his bedding. Glancing over and seeing Shen Mu still outside, he laughed.

"The Grand Libationer ordered me to stay by your side at every moment, so naturally I'll be rooming with you, lest you go around making more trouble.

Was that calligraphy at the gate yours? " Shen Mu nodded.

The Bashan Libationer clapped his hands hard in approval.

"Beautiful writing! Your characters have real savor—far better than those fellows in the Hall of the Painting Sage. I've never understood what that hall is even for, yet they have the nerve to draw a court salary! By the way, do you snore?

" Shen Mu shook his head.