Chapter 122: Five Luminaries, Unrivaled
As soon as he said this, many of the scholars in the courtyard felt something was amiss. Just then, rain suddenly began to patter down from the sky.
Accompanying the sound of rain was a peculiar melody. *Deng deng deng*—it was as if a colossal giant were using heaven and earth as a zither, raindrops as strings, heedlessly strumming without regard for any musical scale!
Yet within this bizarre rhythm was a soul-seizing magic. The moment it reached the ears, one felt their primal energy scatter, their consciousness loosen, their spirit embryo languish, and their five luminaries fall into disarray, unable to resist the urge to dance along with the tune.
The melody grew more intense and stirring. The crowd in the courtyard sensed danger and tried to forcefully break the demonic sound spell, when suddenly Qin Mu formed a hand seal and punched out!
*Sunlight Refining the Soul in the Void!*
As his fist shot forth, a thunderous roar erupted from the center of the courtyard, shaking everyone’s minds, rattling their souls, and destabilizing their will. Unable to resist the demonic sound any longer, they began to wave their arms and legs, laughing heartily, dancing and singing in the yard.
Suddenly, the melody shifted again, as if they were plunged into a battlefield of gods and demons, with armored cavalry charging at them, overwhelming them with such realism that they couldn’t help but fight back!
This counterattack was no small matter. Even those with a shred of clarity left had to defend against the attacks of those around them. The moment they raised their hands to respond, the melody broke through their consciousness, and they lost control!
*Boom!*
Various techniques erupted in the courtyard, spells flying wildly. In an instant, blood was drawn from many. The pain jolted some back to their senses, but just then, Qin Mu moved like a ghost through the crowd. Anyone who regained clarity was sent flying with a flick of his finger!
*Finger Snap Thunderbolt Pipa Hand!*
His fingers moved in time with the melody—plucking, wiping, hooking, picking, striking, flicking—each motion fierce and precise. Amid the maddening tune, thunderclaps exploded, the air vibrated constantly, and the sound of heavy impacts rang out repeatedly.
After a moment, only Wei Yong remained in the small courtyard, still dancing and singing.
Qin Mu withdrew his hand. The rain vanished, and the melody ceased on its own. Wei Yong finally snapped out of it and quickly looked around. Seeing his yard covered in footprints and his flowers and plants destroyed, his face changed dramatically. “Brother Qin, what happened?”
“I borrowed your fine place to teach a few clueless senior brothers a lesson.”
Qin Mu smiled. “Your place is secluded. No one stopped me when I beat them up.”
Wei Yong clicked his tongue in amazement and hurriedly looked at the walls of his yard. There, scholars were stuck with their bodies hanging on the walls and their heads embedded in the bricks, too weak to move.
Wei Yong’s face turned ashen. “Brother, you’ve stirred up a huge trouble! These scholars came to the Imperial Academy a few years before us. Anyone who enters the academy is a disciple of some great noble family. Now that you’ve beaten them, how can this end well?”
Qin Mu looked puzzled. “Should I have just let them beat me instead? I’ve already beaten them—what’s done is done.”
Wei Yong stamped his foot repeatedly. “You borrowed my yard to beat them. I’m from the Wei family, so they won’t dare touch me, but you’re definitely in for it. Sigh, sigh… What do we do now…”
Qin Mu walked out, laughing. “If they came to teach me a lesson, they should have been prepared to be taught one themselves.”
He stepped outside the yard and saw heads sticking out of the wall. Qin Mu glanced at them and walked forward.
“Abandoned one…”
One scholar woke up and said weakly, “You dared to ambush us. Once we recover, you’re dead…”
Qin Mu’s face darkened. “Say ‘abandoned one’ again, and I’ll beat you every time I see you!”
“Abandoned one!”
Qin Mu pulled the scholar out of the wall, dragged him to his own residence, and channeled his primal energy, stretching the scholar’s body taut. Using him like a giant brush, he wrote on the wall with the blood from the scholar’s head.
Qin Mu wrote two lines of characters, then a line on the lintel. After that, he slammed the bloodied scholar to the ground, burying him upright with only his head above the surface. The scholar, furious and frantic, passed out.
The other scholars woke up one by one, pulling their heads out of the wall. Their faces were full of shame and uncertainty. Caught off guard, they had fallen victim to Qin Mu’s attack—not an assault on their bodies, but on their souls, which was the hardest to defend against.
If it had been a spell targeting their bodies, it would have been easier to counter. Their cultivation and strength weren’t far behind Qin Mu’s, and with their numbers, a sneak attack could have taken down only one or two. But a soul-targeting spell was a different matter entirely.
Qin Mu had used his improved *Finger Snap Thunderbolt Pipa Hand* to directly control their souls and consciousness. When they tried to break free, *Sunlight Refining the Soul in the Void* had thrown their minds into chaos. One by one, they fell without even a chance to fight back, all knocked out with their heads through the wall.
Wei Yong quickly said, “Senior brothers, I’m from the Wei family of the Duke’s mansion. I had nothing to do with this!”
The dozen or so scholars exchanged glances. One sighed, “We’ve been humiliated this time, ambushed by a newcomer. We’ve lost all face. Brother Wei, don’t spread this around—leave us some dignity.”
Wei Yong breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, I’m tight-lipped. I won’t tell anyone. Senior brothers, what are your plans?”
“Naturally, to regain our face.”
The scholars, too ashamed to stay, surged out, saying, “This is a huge disgrace. We’ll heal up and get our revenge tomorrow!”
“He caught us off guard this time. Tomorrow, we’ll make him pay!”
Wei Yong clicked his tongue and muttered, “Brother Qin is getting more formidable. Not only did he send Lingyun Daoist flying, but he also pulled this off. Even I was caught off guard by his demonic sound. But now that they’re on guard, tomorrow should be interesting for him. After all, these scholars came to the Imperial Academy years before us—they’ve learned and understood far more. The academy’s Tianlu Tower holds the supreme techniques of many sects…”
The dozen scholars passed by Qin Mu’s courtyard and looked up. On the wall, two lines of bloody characters were written:
*“Sweeping the Capital Unrivaled, Kicking Eight Hundred Imperial Scholars!”*
On the lintel were four more characters:
*“Five Luminaries, Unrivaled!”*
And in front of the door, one person was still planted in the ground.
The crowd’s faces turned green. They pulled the man out of the earth and said, “Leave the words for now. Tomorrow, we’ll humiliate him!”
Qin Mu bought some food on the way to fill his stomach, then continued his free clinic at the Listening Rain Pavilion. He had already gained some fame in the capital, and even noble families had heard of the young divine doctor in Flower Alley who specialized in difficult gynecological cases.
Some men also came seeking treatment. Qin Mu accepted all comers and treated them, though he still encountered a few incurable cases. These illnesses were strange—no apparent cause, yet the patients grew thinner day by day. Those carried in were nothing but skin and bones.
There were five such patients, brought in together by several soldiers.
Qin Mu examined them for a moment and said, “This is witch poison. If you had brought them earlier, I could have treated them. But now, they’re already dead. I can’t save them.”
The lead soldier was furious and shouted, “You quack! They’re still breathing, still alive, and you say they’re dead? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Qin Mu shook his head. “They’re already dead—only their bodies are still alive. This is a witch poison from the Man Di Kingdom. Ordinary poison attacks the body and nerves, but witch poison targets the soul. Their souls have been poisoned and died five or six days ago. This one died over ten days ago.”
The soldier’s eyes reddened. “We’re from the border. We’ve been fighting the Man Di Kingdom. On the battlefield, a barbarian with a horn on his head shone a mirror on them. After that, they started wasting away. No matter what they ate, they didn’t gain weight, and no elixir or medicine worked. The army doctor said he couldn’t save them and that staying at the border meant certain death. The general sent us back with these brothers. Divine doctor, you have to save them…”
Qin Mu shook his head. “Their souls are dead. I can’t save them. Go back.”
The soldier wept bitterly and had the men carry the five away.
Suddenly, Qin Mu spoke up. “General, I’ll give you a prescription. If anyone else is poisoned like this, use my formula to save them.”
The soldier quickly stopped. Qin Mu wrote down the prescription and handed it to him. “This formula is called *Pure Yang Refining Insect Pill*. It can counter the soul insects in the witch poison.”
The soldier was both shocked and overjoyed. He suddenly knelt and kowtowed heavily several times.
Qin Mu quickly helped him up. “Why go this far?”
The soldier wiped his tears and turned to leave.
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze and sat back down to continue his consultations.
He had heard about witch poison from the Pharmacist. It was a kind of witchcraft. Great shamans would refine poisonous insects, absorbing their souls along with the toxins into their own souls. When killing enemies, they didn’t need to poison directly but used methods like *casting shadows at the moon* to inflict the poison, resulting in strange symptoms.
Witch poison and witchcraft were techniques targeting the soul. Poisoning the soul was completely different from ordinary poisoning, and normal antidotes were useless.
Because witch poison targeted the soul, the methods of delivery couldn’t be understood by common logic. For example, the *shadow-drawing method*: cut out a paper figure, write the target’s name and birth date, and stab it with a needle. Each stab planted the witch poison from the shaman’s soul into the target’s soul. Or make a straw effigy, shoot arrows at it, and kill the target’s soul in seven days. These were all insidious witch techniques.
Qin Mu treated a few more people when suddenly an official sedan chair entered the Listening Rain Pavilion. An old man in official robes stepped out, walked up to Qin Mu, and clasped his hands in greeting. “Little divine doctor, save my life!”
Qin Mu was surprised. The old man wore the robes of a second-rank official, likely a high minister in the court. “Sir, you look well. Why would you need me to save your life?”
The old man replied, “There’s a patient at home who’s gravely ill and bedridden. Countless doctors, including imperial physicians, have seen him, but nothing works. I heard there’s a divine doctor in the city, so I came to beg for your help!”
Beside him, Fu Qingyun said with a smile, “Lord Yan, it’s been a long time since you last visited Flower Alley!”
The old man’s face reddened slightly, and he coughed. “When have I ever come here? Sister Fu, I don’t even know you—don’t joke around. Divine doctor, please get into the sedan and come with me. It’s a matter of life and death, truly!”
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then rose and entered the sedan. The old man followed him in. The sedan was carried by two strongmen, who leaped into the air and walked on clouds.
Qin Mu lifted the curtain and looked out. The sedan drifted toward the center of the capital. At the heart of the city, golden lotus flowers floated in the sky, each bearing a golden-armored general guarding the sky above the imperial palace. Their strength was terrifying.
These golden-armored generals paid no attention to the sedan, allowing it to sail toward the imperial city.
Qin Mu lowered the curtain and looked at the old man across from him. “Lord Yan, this patient at your home—their background is no ordinary matter.”