"Those gods from the Upper Heavens made no attempt to hide their auras. It seems they went to Grandma Si's place."
The Butcher and the Blind One lived in Shu Prefecture, a thousand li apart. The Blind One seemed to see the four of them, and his expression turned odd. "It's nighttime now. Old Fiend Li has come out."
The Butcher said in astonishment, "If they've run into Old Fiend Li wearing Grandma Si's face, aren't they as good as dead?"
The Blind One's expression grew even odder. "Old Fiend Li is chatting and laughing merrily with them."
The Butcher said, "Then they truly are going to die. Back when Old Fiend Li was in the village, who wasn't bewitched head over heels by her? Even the Village Chief didn't dare look at her. You're the only one who was immune to Grandma's beauty. When do you think those four gods of the Upper Heavens will turn on each other and start killing one another?"
The Blind One shook his head. "They are gods, after all. Would they really come to blows over a woman? I think… hey, they're fighting!"
The Blind One "watched" for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Just a little sparring match, but their competitive spirits are strong. A real fight isn't far off. Grandma Si truly is a menace to nation and people!"
The Butcher shook his head. "Grandma has never been a menace to nation and people—it's Cult Master Li who is. Grandma is kind-hearted and has never harmed us, but the moment Great Cult Master Li showed up, he nearly tore the village apart. By the way, did you see the Deaf and the Mute along the way? Those two are always inseparable."
"I haven't seen them."
The Blind One said, "The Mute ran off chasing a ship. As for the Deaf going after him, he most likely couldn't catch up—the Mute is very fast, second only to the Cripple. When do you think those four gods will turn on each other?"
The Butcher chuckled. "That depends on how long Great Cult Master Li wants to play. Those four gods of the Upper Heavens are no longer a concern. We don't need to follow too closely; we'll wait until Cult Master Li has had his fun and then decide what to do."
On the Dragon Qilin's back, Qin Mu suddenly remembered something and asked Hermit Qingyou, "Immortal Qingyou, when Xu Shenghua entered the Three Origins Hall, what breakthrough did he choose?"
Hermit Qingyou said, "He didn't say himself, but Old Man Three Origins knows, and he told me: the Heavenly Origin breakthrough. His breakthrough went very smoothly, and he said he regretted not choosing the Three Origins breakthrough."
"Then in the Five Qi Hall, what breakthrough did he choose?" Qin Mu asked.
"The Earth Star breakthrough in the Five Qi Hall. Of the Five Stars, the Earth Star is the strongest."
Qin Mu nodded. Xu Shenghua was indeed formidable. His abilities had never been inferior to Qin Mu's; although his cultivation was a notch weaker, his divine arts were more exquisite than Qin Mu's.
Now that Xu Shenghua had broken through in both the Three Origins Hall and the Five Qi Hall, his weakness in cultivation had probably been made up. The Three Origins breakthrough Qin Mu had gained reinforced the foundation of the Spirit Womb divine treasure, while Xu Shenghua had two—the Heavenly Origin breakthrough and the Earth Star breakthrough—and the Earth Star belonged to the foundation of the Five Stars divine treasure.
Whether Qin Mu's own magic power could still outweigh his by a notch was hard to say.
"I didn't know he was a disciple of the Upper Heavens when I begged some tea off him. I still owe him a meal with wine."
Qin Mu mused that Xu Shenghua was a decent fellow, magnanimous and composed, a rare opponent. He very much wanted to meet him again—and also didn't want to meet him at all.
"Village Chief, what kind of place exactly is the Upper Heavens?"
"The Upper Heavens? A land of lapdogs, where those true gods keep their dogs."
The Village Chief said, "It's in the Western Lands, very mysterious. I've never been there myself, so I don't know where exactly it is. I only know that some people can climb the divine mountains of the Western Lands and burn incense to carry their petitions up to the Upper Heavens. But I don't have that kind of incense—it must be a specially made kind. If I had it, I'd have stormed the Upper Heavens long ago."
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Village Chief had probably fought the experts of the Upper Heavens his whole life, and he had no love for that holy land.
"Palace Master, have you ever heard of the Upper Heavens?" Qin Mu asked Xiong Xiyu.
"The Upper Heavens are indeed in our Western Lands. True Heaven Palace has seen people from there before, but that holy land is very mysterious—even more mysterious than Little Jade Capital."
Xiong Xiyu's eyes flickered, and she said softly, "The incense the Village Chief just mentioned is called divine incense. True Heaven Palace has three sticks of it. If Cult Master Qin can help me take back my position as Palace Master, I can give them to you."
Qin Mu blinked and let the topic drop, thinking to himself, I wonder if the Golden Palace of Loulan has this divine incense. That rascal Ban Gongcuo has lived so many lifetimes; his collection of treasures must be enormous—maybe he has some. The State Preceptor still owes me a hundred treasures, too… By the way, why hasn't Grandpa Cripple shown up yet? Little Jade Capital should have been stolen clean long ago.
Xiong Xiyu sighed.
When they reached the capital, Qin Mu led everyone to the Imperial Academy. There were not many scholars in the Imperial Academy; most of them had hurried to the front lines and gone to the battlefield.
"So this is the Imperial Academy, holy land of the State of Yankang?" The others looked around curiously.
Except for Qin Mu and the Dragon Qilin, everyone was there for the first time. Compared with the other holy lands, the Imperial Academy was still young—not as majestic as Mount Sumeru of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, not as serene as the Jade Void Mountain of Kunlun where the Taoist Sect dwelled, nor as mysterious as Sacred Arrival Mountain of the Heavenly Demon Cult. And of course, it fell even further short of the profound Little Jade Capital.
Judged by appearance alone, the Imperial Academy could not compare with True Heaven Palace of the Western Lands either.
Yet from such a place, famous generals and famous ministers had emerged in an endless stream, and the masters born there were beyond counting!
Though the Imperial Academy was young, it had already shown an extraordinariness that might even surpass the other holy lands!
When Qin Mu arrived at the Divine Abilities Residence, he found his own dwelling kept in perfect order, and he marveled inwardly, Could Ling'er have come to the Imperial Academy?
Suddenly, a voice came from outside: "Cowherd, so you're finally willing to come back? You have no idea—Chancellor Bashan took me and Holy Maiden Si along with my second brother on the northern campaign, and we fought the State of Langjuxu…"
Qin Mu turned around, only to see Ling Yuxiu come barging in from outside in a whirlwind. Seeing so many people, she was startled, dared not make a racket, quickly held her breath, and even shortened her steps, walking over in a very ladylike manner. She stood docilely at Qin Mu's side and whispered, "Cowherd, who are they?"
"This is my grandpa, the Village Chief."
Qin Mu carried the rocking chair down from the Dragon Qilin's back. The Village Chief didn't rise from the rocking chair, just eyed Ling Yuxiu with a beaming smile.
"These are the old immortals of Little Jade Capital: Immortal Qingyou, Immortal Youyun, and Immortal Youhe."
Qin Mu introduced the three elders of Little Jade Capital, then said, "These three are senior brothers from Little Jade Capital: Wang Muran, Long Yu, and Mu Qingdai. And this mother and daughter are the mistress of True Heaven Palace in the Western Lands, Palace Master Xiong Xiyu, and the little princess Xiong Qi'er."
Ling Yuxiu greeted each of them in turn, and everyone hurriedly returned the courtesy.
Qin Mu said, "My place isn't big enough to lodge this many people. Sis, do you have any spare rooms?"
Ling Yuxiu smiled. "The girls can stay with me. I live right next door."
Qin Mu thanked her. "Sis, thank you for looking after my rooms while I was away."
Ling Yuxiu shook her head. "It wasn't me. It was your little fox who did it."
"Ling'er really is here?" Qin Mu was startled and delighted at once, missing Hu Ling'er dearly.
"She just ran out to attend class. School isn't out yet."
Ling Yuxiu said with demure restraint, "That little thing is quite the go-getter. Every day while you were gone, she trotted off to class, and the academy scholars who stayed on campus are all very fond of her." In front of the Village Chief, she still didn't dare laugh too freely.
"Little thing?"
Qin Mu was taken aback but didn't dwell on it. He arranged lodgings for Immortal Qingyou and the others. His courtyard was not small and had plenty of rooms, so everyone had a house of their own; as for Xiong Xiyu and her daughter, and Mu Qingdai, they stayed in Ling Yuxiu's quarters next door.
Once Qin Mu had settled everything, Ling Yuxiu whispered, "A few days ago a group of Taoists came to the Imperial Academy, saying outright that they were looking for you. Grand Chancellor Gu Linuan has been hosting them, and it scared him so much his face has been pale these past days—he's never looked well."
Qin Mu laughed. "The masters of calculation from the Taoist Sect have arrived."
"My imperial father also issued an edict promoting you to Supervisor of Divine Weapons, saying you're to oversee the forging of some divine cannon. The imperial edict is being kept by your little fox."
Ling Yuxiu continued, "Father said he would dispatch masters of calculation from the Imperial Academy and the court, along with the five great imperial workshops, all at your command. And our cult's Heavenly King Yutian and Heavenly King Shitian couldn't find you in the Nether Valley—they've nearly gone mad looking!"
Qin Mu's head ached. So many matters awaited him upon his return to the capital—there was hardly a moment of peace to be had.
"Oh right, there's also someone called Xu Shenghua. Two days ago he came looking for you with two girls, saying he's waiting for you to treat him to wine."
Ling Yuxiu thought for a moment and added, "The State Preceptor's wife has given birth. She sent over an invitation, saying she wants Cult Master Qin to be the godfather."
Qin Mu said in astonishment, "The State Preceptor has a child now? A boy or a girl?"
"A boy."
Qin Mu laughed. "Me, a godfather? Honestly, the State Preceptor's wife—I'm still a child myself. How could I be anyone's godfather?"
The Village Chief glanced at Ling Yuxiu, coughed, and said, "Mu'er, you're not young anymore. You could be having children of your own."
Qin Mu's face flushed red at once, and he muttered, "Why did we suddenly start talking about having children? I'm not ready for that… Village Chief, I'm only fifteen this year!"
Ling Yuxiu said with a grin, "Fifteen isn't young at all. My mother the empress and the empress dowager are always urging me to pick a prince consort. And my imperial father is quite easy to talk to—someone only needs to put in a word with him and he'll agree…"
She was rather bold, blinking at Qin Mu, hoping for a response.
"Are emperors really so casual about it?"
Qin Mu shook his head. "That's not right of them. Marriage is a great matter—how could it be handled so carelessly?"
Ling Yuxiu glared at him. Qin Mu, puzzled, rose and went to the Hall of the Imperial Academy. When Gu Linuan saw him arrive, he was finally relieved of a great burden: "Cult Master, please take these Taoist priests out of my home! I would be endlessly grateful!"
Many Taoist priests of the Taoist Sect were lodging with him, and these days they had truly left him unable to sit or sleep in peace.
The Taoist Sect was the leader of the righteous path, while he was a great grandmaster of the demonic path. He lived in constant fear that those old priests would slay demons and defend the Dao at any moment.
Qin Mu was in no hurry to meet the experts of the Taoist Sect. He took a seat and said with a beaming smile, "How accomplished are you in calculation, Grand Chancellor?"
Gu Linuan laughed. "I'm a titan of the demonic path, after all. How could my calculation be anything less?"
"Excellent! With Lord Gu and the experts of the Taoist Sect here, I can finally breathe easy again."
Gu Linuan's face turned the color of earth. "I still have to work alongside the Taoist Sect?"
Qin Mu consoled him, "The emperor has ordered me to supervise the forging of the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, a cannon aimed at gods. The people of the Taoist Sect know what matters and what doesn't—they won't make a move on you."
Gu Linuan remained restless all the same, always feeling that working alongside those old priests was unsafe—after all, his reputation was truly foul.
Qin Mu went to see Sect Master Lin Xuan and exchanged courtesies, then said, "Once I've made my arrangements, I'll need to trouble you all. Wait for my word."
"Easily done."
As Qin Mu left, he passed the Formation Origin Hall just as classes let out. A dozen or so scholars walked out of the hall, and among them was a little girl of seven or eight, fair as ice and crystal and utterly adorable, skipping and hopping along. Behind her, a gust of demon wind carried several books, stacked in perfect order, not a single one out of place.
The little girl was small of stature, yet from behind her sprouted three long, fluffy, snow-white tails, swaying this way and that.
"Is that Ling'er? But Ling'er doesn't know how to read…" Qin Mu halted in his tracks.