Chapter 174 — Taken In as a Foster Son

The little fox in the bundle on Shen Mu's back could not help poking her head out. "Brother Fan," she said, "has it never once occurred to you that your ship is now three to five times faster than before? If you carried passengers, you could make a great many more runs and earn a great deal more money. There would be no need to rob anyone. " Fan Yunxiao gave Snow Fox two white-eyed looks.

"Why waste the effort? My ship is fast enough, and robbing is fast enough too. Before, I could rob only once a day; now I can rob three or five times, and the money is far more than carrying passengers would bring. In times of peace there are more merchant ships, so one robs in times of peace. Now that there's a war on, merchant ships are few, so one carries passengers. Little fox spirit, you have no head for business. " Snow Fox was utterly speechless.

The tower-ship was going too fast; the vessel had begun to creak and groan, hard-pressed to bear the pressure of the air from such speed, and Fan Yunxiao grew anxious again.

With several of the bandits he reinforced the tower-ship, transforming primal qi into talismans and branding them onto the hull. Shen Mu was frightened out of his wits; now he too feared the tower-ship might collapse at any moment and split into pieces. Fortunately, all the way there, the tower-ship never came apart in midair. On the road they ran into several more battlefields, but the Cloudchaser pirates' ship was so fast that before either side in the fighting could see what it was, the tower-ship had already flown past, leaving them astonished beyond measure. Fan Yunxiao was astonished beyond measure as well: the pill furnace Shen Mu had refined was simply too powerful.

At this rate of flight, a journey of seven or eight days could be covered in a little over one day, all the way to the capital. Yet fine as Shen Mu's furnace was, it consumed a great deal of spirit stones and medicinal ingredients.

By the time they reached the capital it was already the morning of the next day.

The tower-ship slowed, the medicinal stones aboard were nearly spent, and the vessel descended slowly, coming to rest in the capital's Carriage and Horse Market. An official of the market came up to inspect them, and at the sight of Fan Yunxiao his face changed drastically; he was about to order the constables to seize the man when Fan Yunxiao hastily said, "I've gone straight! Gone straight, I tell you — here's the registration record for my humble vessel!

" The official glanced at it. It was indeed a proper record filed with the court. Doubtfully he said, "A wretch like you, who deserves a thousand cuts, ought to have his head chopped off.

How is it you're permitted to go straight?

" Fan Yunxiao laughed dryly. "It's the court's grace. My humble vessel and all aboard are moved to tears with gratitude.

" Shen Mu disembarked and was about to take his leave when Fan Yunxiao hurried over, slung an arm around his shoulder, and chuckled. "Brother Shen, what future have you at the Grand Academy? Why not come with me?

We'll do big business together — a fortune without capital! " Shen Mu shook his head. "Brother Fan, at the Grand Academy I'm not like you in the Daoist sect.

You're crooked of heart, but my reputation at the Grand Academy is excellent — I'm a good man with a spotless name.

" Snow Fox said with full confidence, "The words 'crooked of heart' have never had anything to do with the young master. " Fan Yunxiao had no choice but to let it drop, muttering, "With your talents, it's a waste not to be a bandit. Oh, that's right — when I left the Daoist sect I stole a volume of the Taixuan Divination Classic. You're interested in the arts of number, so it's yours.

" Shen Mu's spirits soared. He hastily accepted the Taixuan Divination Classic the man handed him. "How can I accept this?

Ling'er, put it away quickly.

" Snow Fox tucked the Taixuan Divination Classic into the bundle. Fan Yunxiao said, "The Daoist sect doesn't forbid disciples to study the Taixuan Divination Classic. This volume is meant to open a disciple's wisdom; only if one learns the classic well may one go on to study the Fourteen Chapters of the Daoist Sword.

Back in the day I learned the classic none too badly, and got as far as the fifth chapter of the Daoist Sword. I hadn't even begun the sixth when I was driven out to be a bandit.

" Shen Mu asked curiously, "One Point Pierces the Vast Motion, the Two Modes Reverse Yin and Yang Within — which chapter of the Daoist Sword is that move?

" "You know that move, Brother Shen? " Fan Yunxiao was surprised. "That's the first chapter of the Daoist Sword, the simplest of the fourteen. The further you go, the harder they become, and the greater their power. Master the fourteenth chapter and you're invincible under heaven, a god, an ancestor of patriarchs. Only, no one in the Daoist sect has ever succeeded.

" Shen Mu's heart skipped. If the first chapter of the Daoist Sword was so powerful, how terrifying must the fourteenth be?

When he had crossed swords with the Daoist scion Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan had used that very move, and Shen Mu had defeated it with the first move of the Sword Diagram, Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers — yet Lin Xuan had still calculated the exact position of his flaw and wounded him.

He could not help but grow intensely curious about the Fourteen Chapters of the Daoist Sword. He took his leave of Fan Yunxiao and walked toward the Grand Academy, thinking, "Fan Yunxiao is an amusing fellow. I only wonder when such an amusing fellow will be hauled off to the vegetable market to have his head cut off. Hmm — the Patriarch has resigned and gone; who will the next Grand Libationer be? Could it be Libationer Bashan?

" Libationer Bashan meant to reform the abuses of the Grand Academy and establish the post of Grand Academy Erudite. In Shen Mu's heart he was the first choice for the next Grand Libationer.

Surely no one else was as open-minded as he. Establishing the Grand Academy Erudite was of the utmost importance; it was the key to whether the Grand Academy could surpass the Daoist sect, the Great Thunderclap Temple, and the other holy lands. Only with Libationer Bashan as Grand Libationer could the reform be carried forward.

He came to the mountain gate of the Grand Academy.

He had just passed through it when he suddenly stepped back again, and looked the dragon-qilin guarding the gate up and down. The dragon-qilin still lay beneath the gate, gazing straight ahead, motionless — but the chain that had been fastened about its neck was gone. Shen Mu looked it up and down a few times. The dragon-qilin still gazed straight ahead without blinking, looking as though it had been carved from stone — yet the veins in its neck stood out one by one. "What are you staring at?

" the dragon-qilin roared in fury, turning its head to bellow at him. Shen Mu asked curiously, "Your chain is gone.

Why don't you leave?

What are you staying here for? " The dragon-qilin said listlessly, "I've nowhere to go. Someone brings me food and drink every day here.

Why should I leave? I'm quite comfortable.

" Snow Fox laughed, bright and clear. "Big fellow, is eating and drinking all you aspire to?

" The dragon-qilin shot her a glance, rather disdainfully. "How should a fox spirit know the ambition of a qilin? Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. " Snow Fox said to Shen Mu with a smile, "Young master, this dragon-qilin has squatted here so long it's gone stupid.

Let's pay him no mind.

" Shen Mu was about to head up the mountain when the dragon-qilin lowered its head, its gaze dull. "My master resigned his post and ran off with an old man, abandoning me.

I've nowhere to go, so I stay here guarding the gate, and every day I'm bullied by an ox. Now a fox mocks me too.

This life is unlivable.

. .

" Shen Mu stepped back two paces and came before the dragon-qilin. Curiously he said, "You're the Patriarch's mount?