Chapter 180 — Secretly Tripping Him Up

Shen Mu then took her pulse again and wrote out several prescriptions, saying: "The Empress Dowager is recovering very well; there are no lingering ills.

" "Good. " The Empress Dowager smiled: "Thank you for your trouble, little divine physician. " Shen Mu rose to take his leave. Emperor Yanfeng smiled: "Do not hurry off, my dear minister; I have something to say to you.

" Shen Mu stopped. Emperor Yanfeng came to his side, waved away the eunuchs, guards, and palace maids, and walked out of the Imperial Garden, smiling: "My Erudite of the Grand Academy, Master of the Dark Demon Cult, cast-off of the Wasteland, disciple of the Jade-Faced Poison King -- my dear Shen, you have a good many identities.

" Shen Mu was slightly startled, and his steps slowed without his noticing.

If the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping could know that he was the new Master of the Dark Demon Cult, then Emperor Yanfeng naturally had means to know it too.

Emperor Yanfeng had already walked some distance ahead. He turned his head and smiled: "Why does my dear minister not follow? " Shen Mu quickened his pace to catch up and smiled: "Your Majesty's blessings reach the heavens. " Emperor Yanfeng laughed: "The Dark Demon Cult is the foremost sect and the foremost holy ground of the demonic path, and its Master has become a disciple of the Son of Heaven -- indeed my blessings reach the heavens.

But it may be that blessings reach the heavens, or it may be that this is a peril at my heart. My dear Shen, do you think it is a blessing or a mortal threat?

" Shen Mu smiled: "Your Majesty, if the Master of the Daoist Sect submitted to Your Majesty, what office would Your Majesty grant him? " Emperor Yanfeng said gravely: "The Master of the Daoist Sect is the leader of the orthodox path under heaven.

I would grant him the first rank proper, let him style himself a king, hereditary through the generations!

" Shen Mu said: "And if the Tathagata of Great Thunderclap Temple submitted to Your Majesty, what office would Your Majesty grant him? " Emperor Yanfeng said: "The Tathagata is the chief of the Buddha path.

If he were willing to enter the court as an official, I would grant him the first rank proper and let him be a patriarch! " Shen Mu said: "Of the three great holy grounds of Jingping, the masters of the Daoist Sect and Great Thunderclap Temple are granted the first rank proper by the Emperor, styled kings and patriarchs. The Heavenly Sage Cult is a holy ground too, and its Master came of his own accord to submit to Your Majesty, yet Your Majesty grants him a paltry sixth rank, and moreover questions whether he is a blessing or a mortal threat. Does this not chill the hearts of loyal ministers and righteous men? " Emperor Yanfeng was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "I grant that you have a point.

But I cannot promote you at once. You are too young; to raise you directly would invite censure, and most likely let people guess your identity. " Shen Mu assented.

Emperor Yanfeng was silent for a moment, then said: "I know there is friction between you and Pei Wujiu, and I know you took his Chubao Sword.

You are the Master of the Dark Demon Cult; you should be magnanimous. Do not always be fitting him with tight shoes. He is a man I placed in the Grand Academy; if you embarrass him too badly, I lose face as well. " Shen Mu sounded a little aggrieved: "Your Majesty, how would your servant dare to fit him with tight shoes?

" Emperor Yanfeng said with a half-smile: "Did you not fit him with a pair of tight shoes today and leave him unable to step down?

You may set your mind at ease. When it comes to audacity that reaches the heavens, no one would dare claim to surpass the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping. I dare to employ him, and I dare to employ you. Do not harbor any doubts. Very well, you may withdraw.

" Shen Mu walked out of the palace feeling clear-headed and refreshed. He let out a breath of stale air and relaxed completely.

The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping knew his true identity. Had Emperor Yanfeng not known, he would have been somewhat worried; but now that both the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping knew, he was instead at ease, with no need to fear that these two giants would move against him. More than ten days later, Shen Mu's west room was piled full of Dafeng coins exchanged for dragon saliva.

Libationer Bashan, taking Wei Yong and the Heir Minyue out for training, came to his west room, carried off several sacks of money, and left. Shen Mu did not mind; after all, he was flush with wealth. These past days, whenever he had a spare moment, he refined Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills and another kind of spirit pill that replenished the spirit. Because he used Buddhist methods in refining this pill, and Buddhist sounds issued forth when it was completed, Shen Mu called it the Spirit Buddha Pill.

These days he had gone to the storehouse to buy medicines and had nearly bought out several dozen kinds of herbs. Recently the Grand Academy was holding a large-scale training exercise, selecting scholars to go to the front, with the Directors of Education of each hall leading the scholars to the front to put down a rebellion. Shen Mu was also named by Pei Wujiu, who insisted on sending him to the front.

And because Shen Mu was an Erudite of the Grand Academy of the sixth rank, with treatment nearly equal to that of a Director of Education, Pei Wujiu also assigned him several scholars to lead. These scholars were all of the mid Five Luminaries realm in the Scholars' Lodge, with little fighting strength; their cultivation was inferior by far to the divine-power wielders of the Divine Power Lodge.