Chapter 142: Knocking Out the Imperial Academy
"Someone's been poisoned in the Medical Hall!"
Several scholars passing by outside the hall immediately noticed the commotion inside. One of them rushed out, shouting, "I'll go get the National Academy overseers! You all hurry in and help!"
The other two scholars dashed into the hall, only to catch a whiff of a fragrant scent before collapsing stiffly to the ground.
Before long, Zen Master Faqing from the Azure Sun Hall rushed over with several monks. They charged into the hall, bellowing, "Quickly, save—"
Thud, thud.
The monks fell one after another, unable to stay upright. Zen Master Faqing, being more powerful in cultivation, turned and strode toward the exit. But just as he reached the doorway, he too could no longer hold on and collapsed outside the hall.
"Zen Master Faqing has been poisoned too!"
Several scholars outside hurried forward to help him, but suddenly they inhaled the fragrance and also fell to the ground. Seeing this, the scholars nearby called for help and ran over, only to drop without warning, thudding down one by one.
Meanwhile, news reached the Scholar Dormitories, the Divine Ability Dormitories, and the Prince's Courtyard. Scholars rushed over in panic, and the National Academy overseers from other halls also mobilized to assist. At the mountain gate, some scholars heard of the incident and, unable to continue their confrontation with the Buddha Son, hurried up the mountain to rescue their fellow disciples.
Grand Sacrificial Officer Bashan also received word and sprinted to the front of the Medical Hall. There, he found hundreds of scholars and National Academy overseers lying unconscious before him.
—The fragrance of the Lost Soul Incense had already spread from inside the hall to the outside.
Lingyun Daoist and other National Academy overseers stood not far away, their faces pale. Suddenly, Shuofeng Daoist from the Array Hall stepped forward, his sleeves billowing as he said gravely, "This poison is extremely potent! We must blow away the toxic air before we can rescue anyone!"
Whoosh—
Twin gales erupted from his sleeves, blasting toward the Medical Hall. Grand Sacrificial Officer Bashan's face twisted in alarm, and he shouted, "Don't blow!"
Before Shuofeng Daoist could react, the dense fragrance inside the hall was swept out, spreading everywhere. Bashan roared, "Hold your breath!"
But it was too late. The scent of the Lost Soul Incense dispersed in all directions. Scholars collapsed one after another, their bodies stiffening. The National Academy overseers, though deeper in cultivation, felt their limbs grow numb, their legs weak, and their vital energy sluggish, rendering them immobile.
Bashan, quick to react and highly skilled, had only inhaled a trace of the fragrance. He forced it out of his body with his profound true essence and looked around, seeing scholars falling in droves.
"Damn it, is this going to wipe out the entire academy?"
A sense of despair filled his heart. The fragrance would likely soon cover the whole Imperial Academy, and only a handful—perhaps a dozen or twenty—would remain unaffected. These were cultivators at the Heavenly Realm or above, capable of expelling the strange scent from their bodies.
The Imperial Academy was the foremost sacred ground in the world, and now it was being brought down by this fragrance. If not total annihilation, it was close enough.
"What kind of poison did those old fools in the Medical Hall cook up?"
He didn't know that the Lost Soul Incense wasn't a poison at all—just a narcotic. After an hour or two, its effects would fade, leaving no harm.
Just then, a gourd rose slowly above the Grand Academy Hall. Its mouth pointed downward, emitting a terrifying suction force that drew air from the mountaintop downward, pulling the spreading fragrance along with the air into the gourd.
A fierce wind swept across the mountain, and soon the strange scent vanished. Grand Sacrificial Officer Bashan sighed in relief. "Thank goodness the Grand Sacrificial Officer was here to stop it from covering the whole mountain. But these people..."
His tiger-like eyes brimmed with tears as he gazed at the countless "corpses" before the Medical Hall. Suddenly, a voice sounded beside him, laughing, "Bashan, they're not dead. What are you crying for?"
Bashan froze, then quickly stepped forward to check a "corpse's" breath. Sure enough, it was strong and steady.
The Young Patriarch approached him, looked around, and frowned. "This looks like the work of the Poison King. Yes, I know who did this. That little rascal—utterly lawless!"
Bashan hesitated. "Grand Sacrificial Officer, I heard it was a mishap during the Medical Hall physicians' alchemy..."
The Young Patriarch sneered. "The physicians in the Medical Hall couldn't brew a narcotic this strong. It must be that little brat alchemizing in the hall. He messed up, knocked himself out, and took the whole academy down with him..."
He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes going wide as he stared at something in the distance.
Bashan followed his gaze, and his eyes widened too.
A young scholar was walking from the back mountain, bypassing the Grand Academy Hall. He carried a massive, sturdy green ox over his head. The ox was also knocked out, its four hooves tied together, belly up, as the youth hauled it along.
Perched on the ox's hooves sat a pure white fox with not a single speck of color.
The young scholar saw the ground littered with "corpses," paused in surprise, and then spotted Bashan and the Young Patriarch. His face changed drastically. He dropped the ox, grabbed the fox, and bolted.
"My little ox!"
Bashan charged over, catching the knocked-out ox with a pained expression. He roared, "You little brat! You took down my mount—I'll never let this go!"
Qin Mu hadn't run far when his collar tightened. The Young Patriarch lifted him, and the scenery blurred. In the next moment, they stood before the Medical Hall, surrounded by "corpses."
Qin Mu stood obediently, head bowed, looking at the white fox beside him. The fox also behaved, head down, staring at its own fluffy front paws.
The Young Patriarch laughed in exasperation, pointing at the "corpses" but unable to speak for a long moment.
"Go stand in the corner!" the Young Patriarch finally barked.
Qin Mu and Fox Ling'er walked to the corner of the Medical Hall and stood with their heads down.
The Young Patriarch, face dark, paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he snapped, "Who made the poison?"
Qin Mu quickly said, "I knocked out the ox, but I don't know about these scholars and overseers."
The Young Patriarch's face darkened further. "How do you cure it?"
Qin Mu answered honestly, "No cure needed. Just wait a little while, and they'll recover on their own."
The Young Patriarch snorted, raising a finger to scold him. "You've only been at the Imperial Academy a few days, and you've already turned it upside down! You've nearly beaten every scholar in the dormitories, and you've almost torn down their houses! Planting heads in walls, burying people in the ground—do you think I don't know? Knocking down Lingyun, a National Academy overseer, in front of the emperor! Now you've drugged Grand Sacrificial Officer Bashan's mount! You've knocked out the Medical Hall, and now almost everyone in my academy is down! What's next? Are you going to take down the entire capital?"
Qin Mu thought for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "That would take a furnace big enough to refine that much Lost Soul Incense... What I mean is, the incense that knocked out these scholars and overseers definitely wasn't made by me!"
The Young Patriarch was speechless with rage. "Then explain why you drugged Bashan's mount!"
Grand Sacrificial Officer Bashan walked over, curious. "Yes, why did you drug my ox?"
Qin Mu blinked. "I was just playing around with it. I was planning to... steal some vegetables from the garden. I've been eating too much greasy food lately and wanted a change."
Bashan looked skeptical. "You knocked out my ox but didn't steal the vegetables. Instead, you carried it off at a run. Were you after my garden's veggies, or was my ox your target?"
"Well..."
Qin Mu looked down at the little fox standing in the corner with him. She couldn't come up with an excuse either.
Bashan fumed. "Can't explain, can you? How should I punish you? Grand Sacrificial Officer, he just got here and already tried to eat my ox and spread poison that nearly killed every scholar in the academy. This kid can't stay..."
The Young Patriarch coughed softly and whispered, "Bashan, he's the Poison King's disciple..."
Bashan jumped. "Poison King? Which Poison King?"
The Young Patriarch murmured, "Which one do you think? The Jade-Faced Poison King. The Flower Alley miracle doctor who cured the Empress Dowager. He's skilled at healing, and his poison arts are no worse than Deputy Minister Fu Yuanqing of the National Preceptor's Mansion."
Bashan shuddered and quickly stepped away from Qin Mu. "Well, since my ox is fine, I'll let this slide. Grand Sacrificial Officer, you handle it."
The Young Patriarch's head ached. Qin Mu was good in every way except for his knack for causing trouble.
The village chief and the others had raised Qin Mu well, and the Patriarch was satisfied. But if he stirred up the Imperial Academy, that was one thing. If he went to the Heavenly Demon Sect and caused chaos there, it would be terrifying.
Suddenly, the Young Patriarch smiled, his expression kind. "I'll be stepping down in two months, and I can't afford any more incidents. Can you behave yourself for these two months?"
Qin Mu nodded but argued, "The Lost Soul Incense that knocked out the academy really wasn't made by me!"
The Young Patriarch grinned. "Then who spread the recipe for the Lost Soul Incense?"
Qin Mu hung his head.
The Young Patriarch called Bashan over. "Bashan, come here."
Bashan approached, and the Young Patriarch said with a smile, "For these two months, keep an eye on him. Once I retire in two months, you can relax."
"Grand Sacrificial Officer, do you mean..." Bashan leaned in, making a chopping motion with his hand, a questioning look on his face.
The Young Patriarch gave a faint, ambiguous smile. "You're overthinking it. He's a miracle doctor who cured the Empress Dowager and brewed a narcotic that knocked out the whole mountain. If you kill him, I'll kill you."
"So it's him!"
Bashan suddenly understood. "I've heard of a miracle doctor in the capital, but I didn't expect it to be this kid. Watching him isn't a bad idea, but I'm a wild sort—I don't like staying on the mountain..."
The Young Patriarch laughed. "Wherever you go, take him with you."
Bashan agreed.
The Young Patriarch let out a long breath. "Don't just stand there. Carry these knocked-out scholars and overseers out to let them get some air."
Qin Mu and Bashan hurried into the Medical Hall and began carrying people out.
Most of the Imperial Academy's scholars and many of the National Academy overseers had been taken down. When the Lost Soul Incense's effects wore off, everyone woke up one after another, though their heads were still groggy, and they couldn't fully recover for a while.
The old physicians from the Medical Hall apologized to everyone, deeply embarrassed, but their admiration for Qin Mu grew even stronger.
Now they understood why Qin Mu had told them to stay away when he was collecting the medicine. The Lost Soul Incense was so potent that he feared a leak, so he had them keep their distance.
That was also why they hadn't seen his technique for collecting the medicine, leading to this massive disaster.
Luckily, it was only a narcotic. If it had been a lethal poison, most of the future elites of the Yongkang Kingdom would have died on the spot.
Just then, someone shouted in alarm, "The Buddha Son, Buddha Heart, and Great Monk Jingming have left!"