Chapter 140: Scrubbing Pots and Washing Dishes
Bashan Sacrificial Wine strode out draped in a gray marten fur cloak, clutching a half-man-tall gourd of wine. He tilted his head back, gulped down several mouthfuls, belched, then tossed the gourd to the green ox. "Who dares steal from my vegetable patch? Quite bold, aren't they?"
The green ox took several hearty swigs from the gourd, belched, and exhaled a mix of fodder and alcohol fumes. "Don't know. Some clueless, foolish kid with a fox."
Bashan Sacrificial Wine looked thoughtful. "So it's that boy from the Great Ruins. Daring to mess with my little ox, stealing my vegetables—arrogant and reckless. I understand. You stay here and guard the garden, make sure no one steals from it again."
Qin Mu returned to the front of the mountain, touched the bruise on his face, his expression shifting between uncertainty and anger. "That ox—I can't beat it in a fight, but I could drug it and knock it out. Grandpa Medicine said if you can't win, use poison. Once I tie up its hooves, it won't have a choice but to submit... Patriarch, why are you here?"
Before Qin Mu lay a cluster of thatched cottages, two or three rooms, very simple. The cottages nestled against the mountain and beside the water, serene and elegant. The young patriarch was washing dishes in the yard, apparently having just eaten. Beside him stood an old man with white hair, scrubbing a pot with a loofah sponge.
Qin Mu had seen this old man before—he was the Enforcement Elder of the Demon Sect.
Though the young patriarch held the lofty position of Imperial Academy's Grand Sacrificial Wine, he had no servants or maids to attend him, only the Enforcement Elder by his side.
The young patriarch and the Enforcement Elder both noticed him and Fox Ling'er, but neither rose; they continued with their tasks. The Enforcement Elder chuckled, "The Patriarch has always lived here. Has the Young Patriarch never visited this place?"
Qin Mu shook his head, stood outside to bow respectfully, then walked inside.
The Enforcement Elder greeted Qin Mu, who quickly returned the courtesy, then stepped forward, sat by the basin, and helped the young patriarch wash the dishes. Smiling, he said, "Patriarch, as the Grand Sacrificial Wine, why live so frugally?"
The young patriarch took a towel to dry his hands. "I'm used to a leisurely life; I can't stand grand, splendid palaces. The Enforcement Elder doesn't live here either—I only asked him to come because I'm old, making him share in my hardship."
Qin Mu glanced at the Enforcement Elder, who smiled and said, "I also want a few more days of peace. This place suits me fine."
The young patriarch laughed. "Young Patriarch, after you ascend the throne, I'll need to borrow the Enforcement Elder for a few years to travel with me. When I die, he can help collect my corpse. Our sect doesn't keep bodies—when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out, leaving only ashes. Then the Enforcement Elder will bring my remains."
Qin Mu fell silent, a pang of sorrow in his heart.
A hero in his twilight years.
Even someone as powerful as Village Chief, as powerful as the young patriarch, couldn't escape aging and death. Eventually, time would wear away their fervent passion and grand ambitions, turning them into bones in a mound of earth.
The young patriarch looked at him. "There's an old monk and a young monk down the mountain."
Qin Mu nodded. After washing the dishes, he used his Vermilion Bird Yuan Qi to dry the moisture from his hands. The Enforcement Elder hung up the wok, brought over a low table, and prepared to brew tea. Fox Ling'er scurried over to help.
"I know. I heard the monk down the mountain is from the Great Thunderclap Monastery. I went to take a look. I recognized the old monk—I met him before in the Great Ruins. Horse Ye said he was his senior brother, named Jingming or something."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, unsure if that was the right name. "I haven't seen the young monk, though. He seems to be the Buddha Son of the Great Thunderclap Monastery."
Fox Ling'er struggled to pour tea for them, but she was too short, not even reaching the table's height. The Enforcement Elder quickly took the teapot, set it on the table, picked up the little fox, and placed her in a nearby rattan chair. Chuckling, he said, "I'll handle it."
The young patriarch kept his eyes on Qin Mu. "They're blockading the Imperial Academy's mountain gate."
Qin Mu said, "They've been at it for most of the day. I went to watch the commotion. This Buddha Son's skills are indeed formidable—the Tathagata Great Vehicle Sutra, the Battle Victory Technique, the Adamantine Indestructible Body, the Tathagata Relic Pagoda, the Great Vehicle Extinction Seal, the Eighteen Arhat Seals. Patriarch, have I misunderstood something about our Imperial Academy?"
The young patriarch looked puzzled. "What misunderstanding?"
"Are we actually weak?"
Qin Mu asked in confusion, "How come people are always blocking our gate and beating us up? I just enrolled, and already someone's wrecked the place twice. Back in the Great Ruins, we'd have grabbed our weapons and taken them down."
The young patriarch said angrily, "That's not what I'm talking about. I'm asking why, when the Buddha Heart and Buddha Son arrived, you didn't go to face them but instead went to the back mountain?"
Qin Mu laughed. "How could I not go? I went, then came back from the mountain gate, and only then headed to the back mountain. The mountain gate was quite lively."
The young patriarch grew furious. The Enforcement Elder quickly offered tea. The patriarch downed the cup in one gulp, set it down, and was about to lose his temper when the Enforcement Elder hastily refilled it.
The young patriarch suppressed his anger. "All the other Imperial Academy students stepped forward to challenge the Buddha Son. Why didn't you?"
"Patriarch, I already fought the Dao Son not long ago, and I got injured."
Qin Mu complained, "My hand was even pierced through—look... Huh, where's the scar? Anyway, I'm injured, seriously internally. I've already fought one battle. Whoever wants to fight the Buddha Son can do it themselves. I need to recover. Look, my face is still swollen. Your Young Patriarch got beaten by an ox, and you didn't even stand up for me. Why should I stand up for the Imperial Academy?"
The Enforcement Elder coughed to remind him, "Patriarch, your tea has gone cold."
"It hasn't cooled that fast!"
The young patriarch slammed the table, sneering, "What do you want? Should I invite the National Teacher to give lectures again? I've already done that once—how can I have the face to ask again? Who else do you want me to invite? The Emperor?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He tested the waters, "Could the Emperor come to the Imperial Academy to give a lecture?"
The young patriarch tilted his head back and drank the tea, even swallowing the leaves to cool his temper. He sneered, "Give up that hope. The Emperor will never come to the Imperial Academy to lecture! It's one thing to cram at the last minute once, but do you think you can do it twice? I don't have that much face!"
Qin Mu said sheepishly, "Patriarch, I was thinking—two of the three great sects have already arrived. The Dao Sect's Dao Son and the Great Thunderclap Monastery's Buddha Son have both come to block our gate. Shouldn't our Heavenly Saint Sect also show its face and block the Imperial Academy's gate? As the unworthy Young Patriarch, I ought to go blockade the Imperial Academy's mountain gate to boost our sect's prestige..."
The young patriarch slammed the table and shot to his feet, making the low table wobble. The Enforcement Elder quickly blocked him, shouting, "Patriarch, calm down, calm down! The Young Patriarch is still a child—no need to get angry with him! Calm down!"
The young patriarch laughed in exasperation. "You little brat, do you think there's no one else in the Imperial Academy who can defeat the Buddha Son?"
Qin Mu smiled. "There probably were, but those people have already graduated and are no longer Imperial Academy students. Patriarch, if you want the Dao to flourish, you need to invite back those who left the Imperial Academy to become high officials and have them teach. Also, invite the first-rank ministers from the court to lecture on Dao techniques and divine abilities."
The young patriarch sighed and shook his head. "The current first-rank ministers are mostly sect leaders, faction heads, or clan lords. Why would they be willing to share their secret teachings with the world? I understand your meaning, but I'm about to resign and have no heart left for revitalizing the Imperial Academy. That task will have to fall to the next Grand Sacrificial Wine. I just don't know who the Emperor and the National Teacher will appoint. Are you really not going to face the Buddha Son? Do you think you're no match for him?"
Qin Mu shook his head, quite confident. "I am the Overlord Body. Fighting the Buddha Son is no different from fighting the Dao Son for me."
"The Overlord Body?"
The young patriarch looked puzzled, somewhat bewildered. "Is there such a thing as the Overlord Body in this world?"
The Enforcement Elder also shook his head. "Never heard of it."
Qin Mu's confidence surged wildly. Even the young patriarch was startled by this invincible conviction. Qin Mu said in a tone that looked down on the world, "Village Chief said it himself—I am the unparalleled, unique Overlord Body. Only I can cultivate the Overlord Body Three Dan Art."
"So it's that old fellow. He really is knowledgeable and experienced."
The young patriarch glanced at him. "Are you really not going? Even without you, I have someone who can force the Buddha Son to retreat!"
Qin Mu blinked and tested, "Patriarch, are you planning to disguise yourself as a youth and go into battle?"
The young patriarch raised his tea cup and barked, "Drink your tea and get lost!"
Qin Mu drank his tea, then left with Fox Ling'er. He thought for a moment, then turned back. "Patriarch, always being blockaded at the gate isn't a solution. Why don't we go blockade someone else's gate?"
"Will you put in the effort?"
"Will the Emperor come to lecture?"
"Get lost!"
"Yes, sir."
...
"That little rascal won't lift a finger without getting something in return."
The young patriarch shook his head. The Enforcement Elder chuckled, "The Young Patriarch has no attachment to the Imperial Academy, so naturally he won't easily exert himself. Besides, Patriarch, aren't you quite amused?"
The Patriarch laughed heartily. "This kid likes to make me laugh. No wonder those old fellows raised him. The old man from Cripples' Village is indeed extraordinary—I didn't even know the Overlord Body existed in this world, but he recognized it. Once I resign from this Grand Sacrificial Wine post, I'll go have a chat with him. But the Young Patriarch is right—always being blockaded at the gate isn't a solution. Might as well go blockade theirs. If they want to rebel, we'll slap their faces first and make them too ashamed to rebel!"
The Enforcement Elder reminded him, "Patriarch, you have two months left before you step down."
The young patriarch sighed. "This matter will have to be left to someone else. These days, the Emperor has been scouting for the next Grand Sacrificial Wine. Who do you think will take over?"
The Enforcement Elder shook his head. "How would I know? But I think the Emperor will choose someone from among the first-rank ministers. Though the Grand Sacrificial Wine is only a third-rank official, the position is too important—it must be managed by someone the Emperor trusts."
In the imperial palace, Emperor Yanfeng was reviewing memorials when a eunuch softly announced, "Your Majesty, Lord Gu has arrived."
"Let him in." The Emperor didn't look up.
"Your servant, Gu Linuan, pays homage to Your Majesty!"
Emperor Yanfeng raised his head, looking at Gu Linuan, who stood bowing in the hall. He set down his vermilion brush. "Lord Gu, you disappeared decades ago and were rescued by Young General Qin. In principle, you should have been given an official post, but you were missing for so many years and also lost the court's ceremonial sword—a considerable offense. Even if I wanted to promote you, it would be under great pressure. Nevertheless, I have decided to override objections and appoint you to an important position."
Gu Linuan was both surprised and delighted.
"The position of Imperial Academy's Grand Sacrificial Wine is crucial. The current Grand Sacrificial Wine has resigned, and I've given him two months to step down to facilitate finding talent. I've chosen you. I hope you won't disappoint me!"
"Your servant will give his all, even if it means dying in the attempt!"
Emperor Yanfeng picked up his brush and continued reviewing memorials. "You don't need to die in the attempt. If you disappoint me, I'll have your head. You may go."