Qin Mu was slightly stunned. This young woman looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her in the moment. The girl was being carried along by the crowd, waving her hand as she walked: "Hey, herdsman, where do you live? I'll come find you!"
"The Imperial Academy!"
Qin Mu waved back at her, and suddenly a flash of light crossed his mind: "Right, that's Ling Yuxiu! How does she look a bit different from before?"
The Ling Yuxiu he remembered used to be about the same height as him back then, but now she was even a couple of inches taller than Qin Mu, having grown into a lovely young woman. When she waved at him from the crowd just now, he almost didn't recognize her.
"Good thing her face is still chubby, hasn't changed," Qin Mu said with relief.
Physician Qu and the others looked at him with strange expressions. The elder Physician You, being kind-hearted after all, reminded him: "Little Divine Physician, saying that about a girl, especially a princess, will get you beheaded."
Qin Mu was puzzled: "Why? In the Great Ruins, when we praise a girl for being beautiful, we say she's strong and can bear children. Although Princess Yuxiu isn't particularly strong, she's at least a bit plump. I think she should be able to bear children."
You could use that to compliment girls?
The old physicians understood each other perfectly, all wearing expressions that said this guy was beyond saving. He'd be beaten to death sooner or later.
Physician Mu said: "Little Divine Physician, let's return to the Imperial Academy. This whole night's ordeal has really worn these old bones of ours out."
After leaving the palace, Qin Mu parted ways with the physicians and returned to Flower Lane. He had breakfast at the Rain-Listening Pavilion, bid farewell to Fu Qingyun and the other women, packed his luggage, and headed back to the Imperial Academy with Fox Spirit Ling'er.
Imperial Academy, Scholar's Quarters.
Qin Mu walked toward his own courtyard. From the pack on his back, Fox Spirit Ling'er poked her head out, looking around curiously.
From a distance, Qin Mu saw several rows of scholars sitting in front of his courtyard. These scholars sat upright, each with a sword case standing beside them. Their left hands rested on the sword cases, their expressions solemn.
The one in front said coldly toward the courtyard: "Abandoned one, you should be awake by now? Are you afraid of us? If you are, then get out here and wipe the writing off your wall!"
Another scholar sneered: "We have plenty of patience. If you're so capable, stay locked in your room for the rest of your life. I'd like to see how long you can hide!"
"Weren't you acting all arrogant yesterday? You actually reported what happened yesterday to everyone, making it known throughout the Imperial Academy and causing us to lose face. Now why are you hiding inside, not coming out? Are you going to be a turtle hiding in its shell?"
"The reason we left your writing up is to humiliate you, to make you see your own ugliness! So everyone in the Imperial Academy knows you're just an abandoned one from the barbarian wastelands, while we are the true scholars!"
Qin Mu walked forward, passing by the group, thinking to himself: "When did I ever tell anyone about this?"
The scholars stared blankly as they watched him push open the door and walk in right in front of them. They had assumed Qin Mu was hiding inside, afraid to come out, but they never expected he was returning from outside, making all their shouting for nothing.
Qin Mu entered the main room, set down his pack, and said: "Ling'er, go tidy up the room and arrange the bedding. I need to step out."
Fox Spirit Ling'er agreed and asked: "What is the Young Master going out for?"
Without turning back, Qin Mu replied: "These people are too noisy. If I don't give them a beating, I won't be able to sleep."
Fox Spirit Ling'er could only use the wind to organize the room. Just then, a thunderous boom suddenly rang out. Fox Spirit Ling'er quickly looked through the window lattice and saw a scholar shooting up into the sky before crashing down headfirst.
"Next," came Qin Mu's voice from outside.
Thunder roared as if lightning had struck on a clear day. Fox Spirit Ling'er heard a whistling sound—the noise of a human body cutting through the air—but she didn't see anyone flying through the sky, only hearing the sound of heavy impacts in the distance.
"Next," Qin Mu's voice came again.
Water surged, great waves crashed against the shore, and amid the roaring flood, a scream rang out before fading into silence. Only Qin Mu's voice remained: "Next."
Fox Spirit Ling'er quickly tidied the room, arranged the bedding, made the bed, and took things out of the pack, thinking: "If I finish fast enough, I can still go out and watch the excitement!"
From outside came sounds of impact, earth-shattering, with screams that seemed endless. By the time she finished and ran out excitedly, she saw Qin Mu already walking back in from outside, looking somewhat tired.
"Young Master, is it over?" Fox Spirit Ling'er asked, a bit disappointed.
Qin Mu nodded, yawning: "I'm sleepy. I'm going to take a nap first. Don't run around."
Fox Spirit Ling'er nodded, poked her head out the door, and couldn't help but jump in fright. The Scholar's Quarters path was littered with scholars everywhere—some lying sprawled out, some hanging on neighboring walls, some suspended upside down from trees, some embedded in distant walls, some plunged into roadside ditches, and some even planted in the ground with only their legs sticking out, twitching from time to time.
Fox Spirit Ling'er stuck out her tongue, ran over, and rummaged through the scholars, taking jade pendants, spirit pills, jade bracelets, hairpins, and other items from their bodies before bringing them back to the room.
"Ling'er, what are you doing?" came Qin Mu's drowsy voice from inside.
Fox Spirit Ling'er replied self-righteously: "The Demon Ape said: win, take, that's the rule."
Qin Mu's snoring followed—he probably didn't hear her. Fox Spirit Ling'er ran out again to move the scholars' sword cases. One scholar regained consciousness and feebly raised his hand to grab his sword case.
Fox Spirit Ling'er blew out a whirlwind, swept up the sword case, and smashed it onto the scholar's head. The scholar's face was covered in blood, but he still didn't pass out. Fox Spirit Ling'er smashed him a few more times, and the scholar finally fell unconscious. Fox Spirit Ling'er sighed in relief, swept up the sword case and brought it to the courtyard. The scholar secretly opened a sliver of an eye, and upon seeing the fox move away, finally relaxed.
"Oh no, he's awake again!"
Fox Spirit Ling'er spotted him opening his eyes and let out a startled cry. The scholar then saw a tornado lift a boulder the size of a small hill, poised to smash down on him, and he quickly pretended to faint. This time he was truly scared into unconsciousness.
Fox Spirit Ling'er set the stone down and continued hopping along, pillaging all the way, going further and further. At that moment, a scholar in the distance woke up and saw the fox searching through the scholars' treasures. He struggled desperately to crawl away, but Fox Spirit Ling'er discovered him and dragged him back to the Scholar's Quarters. The scholar howled all the way before falling silent—knocked out by the fox.
The Grand Preceptor's Manor.
The manor was grand and magnificent, but the place where the Grand Preceptor of Yankang trained was quite plain—just a single great hall, empty with nothing else inside.
However, if one looked up, one would see a spectacular sight: the hall's ceiling was invisible, revealing only the dome above. Countless stars seemed to hang so low they were within reach.
This was the wonder of the formation array.
At a height of ten thousand zhang above the ground, a formation array floated there, paved with countless transparent glass tiles. Several of the Grand Preceptor's disciples were tending to the array. It covered a thousand acres in the sky above, gathering starlight that shone straight down through the glass onto the hall's dome.
The Grand Preceptor of Yankang cultivated by gathering starlight, which was why his power was so great.
At this moment, the Grand Preceptor's aura was weak, and he was recuperating. Beside him stood a man in black, preparing medicinal pills.
Suddenly, a red flying insect buzzed into the hall and landed beside the man in black's ear. This man had toad-like bumps all over his face, giving him a terrifying appearance. He nodded repeatedly, as if understanding the insect's words, which was quite strange.
"Grand Preceptor, my junior brother has arrived."
This man in black was the Little Poison King whom the Empress Dowager had mentioned. His name was Fu Yuanqing, and he said: "He cured the Thousand Mechanism Poison on the Empress Dowager's body."
The Grand Preceptor of Yankang opened his eyes and exhaled a thick, bloody breath, asking in confusion: "How do you know it was your junior brother who cured the Empress Dowager's poison?"
"The Thousand Mechanism Poison is my master's masterpiece. In all the world, only he and I can cure it."
The fleshy bumps on Fu Yuanqing's face trembled as he said calmly: "The little insect told me that a young man came. Clearly it wasn't my master, so it must be his new disciple. I thought he was dead, but apparently he's still alive and has trained a junior brother. Grand Preceptor, since the Empress Dowager's poison has been cured, should I apply another rare poison?"
The Grand Preceptor shook his head: "That won't be necessary."
Fu Yuanqing looked puzzled.
"The Empress Dowager and I have no personal grudge. Back then, she opposed my reforms because of her son's throne. His Majesty was also somewhat hesitant on the matter, so I had you poison her—not to kill her, but to prevent her from interfering in government affairs. Without the Empress Dowager's interference, His Majesty could wholeheartedly support the reforms. Now my position is secure. Half the court and the bureaucracy support the reforms."
The Grand Preceptor continued: "Those who oppose me are now seizing the opportunity to rebel. My momentum has already formed, and under its force, even the Empress Dowager cannot stop me anymore."
Fu Yuanqing smiled: "You care about the bigger picture, but I care about grudges. Your injuries are almost healed, so there's no use in me staying here. I'm going to take a walk. My junior brother is here—as his senior brother, how can I not go see him?"
The Grand Preceptor said: "Be careful. The Empress Dowager won't touch me, but she can certainly kill you."
Fu Yuanqing hesitated, the bumps on his face twitching, and said resentfully: "You're the one who had me poison her. Why would she kill me instead of you? I'm so innocent!"
"You betrayed your master—have you forgotten? Besides, the Empress Dowager and your master had some... unclear history. She's clever and will certainly know that the person who cured the poison was your junior brother. She knows you'll go looking for him, so she'll definitely be waiting to lure you in and kill you—for her revenge, and for your master's."
Fu Yuanqing's head ached at this, and he had no choice but to abandon the idea.