Chapter 162: The Young Master Likes It
“The hand I chopped down from the sky back then is, of course, still alive.”
The Butcher and the Blind Man walked one after the other, gradually fading into the distance. Though their steps were slow, their speed was great. The Butcher’s voice drifted back: “This is the hand I traded for with my lower body. But the divine flesh on it was probably taken by someone as a divine pill and eaten, leaving only the bones.”
“Mu’er, remember to come back to the village for the New Year!” the Blind Man’s voice came from afar.
Qin Mu watched them go, a faint smile appearing on his face. He waved at their retreating figures and shouted, “I’ll definitely be back for the New Year!”
The Blind Man seemed to see him waving. Without turning his head, he simply raised an arm and waved back.
“Blind Grandpa really is formidable.”
Qin Mu sighed in admiration: “He can see so clearly even from this far away.”
Before long, a deep voice rumbled from afar, echoing endlessly across the grassland: “Junior Brother Qin, Brother, ther——”
Recognizing it as Ba Shan’s voice, Qin Mu quickly called out, “I’m here!”
The voice continued shouting: “Doctor Qin, Doctor, tor——”
Qin Mu responded again, but Ba Shan’s voice was still calling from a distance. Qin Mu realized: “Ba Shan is probably still hundreds of miles away. His voice can reach here, but mine can’t travel that far.”
Ling Yuxiu woke up and quickly said, “Cowherd, let me!” With that, she waved her hand and sent a flame technique into the air. A fireball exploded midair, sending waves of heat rolling outward.
Qin Mu silently praised her cleverness, then smiled and said, “It’s useless. He’s still hundreds of miles away and can’t see it.”
Fox Ling’er and the Green Ox also woke up. The Green Ox looked around but didn’t see the Butcher or the Blind Man. He asked, “Where are the old masters?”
“They’ve already left.”
Qin Mu heard Ba Shan still shouting, calling him by various names. He sighed. Ba Shan indeed had a loud voice and was quite talkative. It was hard to imagine such a rough man could be so loquacious. “Let’s head toward the border first. If Ba Shan can’t find us, he’ll go there.”
The Green Ox revealed his true form. Qin Mu helped Fox Ling’er onto his back, and Ling Yuxiu jumped up as well. The Green Ox set off at a run toward the border. Qin Mu looked at the girl beside him and asked, “Are your wounds fully healed?”
Ling Yuxiu nodded. “Even the scars are gone. Look, I was stabbed in the waist earlier, but now it’s completely healed.”
She lifted her clothes, revealing her waist, and turned sideways. “Right here.”
Her skin was very delicate, and even her waist was fair—she probably hadn’t been out in the sun much. Qin Mu’s skin was originally a bit dark. When he was a child, he often swam shirtless in the Yong River during the hot summer, getting sunburned and peeling. Sometimes, big strange fish in the river would chase him from behind.
These days at the Grand Academy, Qin Mu hadn’t had the chance to go shirtless and run wild, so his skin had gradually become paler. But compared to Ling Yuxiu, he still looked a bit dark.
Qin Mu reached out his finger and touched her wound. He could still feel a slight bump there.
Ling Yuxiu felt a ticklish sensation and giggled.
Qin Mu said, “Don’t move. I’ll help dissolve the blood stasis here, or it will stay swollen.”
Ling Yuxiu quickly stopped moving and held her clothes up. Qin Mu transformed his own vital energy into Azure Dragon vital energy, sending strands of energy through his fingertips, carefully controlling them as they entered her skin to dissolve the stasis.
Ling Yuxiu felt a numb, ticklish sensation and giggled again. “You’re making me so ticklish. I have a laughing muscle there.”
Qin Mu didn’t look up. “Bear with it. It won’t be ticklish for long—it’ll hurt a bit.”
After a moment, Ling Yuxiu felt a stabbing pain. She looked down and saw Qin Mu using a Heavenly Fragrance Silk Handkerchief to wipe away the blood stasis seeping from her skin. After the stasis flowed out, no trace remained on her skin.
Ling Yuxiu lowered her clothes and blinked her big eyes. “Great physician, there are still a few wounds on my back. I wonder if they’ve left scars…”
Fox Ling’er said crisply, “I applied the medicine to the wounds on your back. Before applying it, I already squeezed out the blood stasis, so there won’t be any scars.”
Ling Yuxiu looked at her. The little fox smiled sweetly, but it was a fake smile.
“Hmph, fox spirit!” the girl and the fox spirit thought simultaneously.
Fox Ling’er blinked and asked, “Sister Yuxiu, how old are you this year?”
Ling Yuxiu’s eyes flickered. “How old are you?”
“I’m twelve.”
“I’m sixteen.”
“You’re a year older than the young master!”
…
Ling Yuxiu felt as if the little fox had pounced on her and stabbed her right in the heart. It was very painful. Although this fox was a little thing, her attacks were vicious and sudden, catching her off guard.
She had long noticed that the little fox had ill intentions. Every night, she deliberately crawled into Qin Mu’s bed, pretending to be innocent and clueless, acting cute without any shame or restraint.
And now, this little vixen had started launching an active attack.
Although Ling Yuxiu was usually carefree and seemed like a big-hearted girl with a rare boldness and magnanimity, she also had a delicate side. She smiled sweetly and said, “Sister Ling, the fur on your paws is so soft. Why haven’t you tried to turn them into human hands?”
Fox Ling’er yawned and squinted her eyes. “The young master likes it.”
“Sister Ling, why haven’t you transformed yet?”
“The young master likes it.”
“Look, your pupils are different from ours.”
“The young master likes it.”
…
Ling Yuxiu was defeated. This little fox’s defense was airtight and impenetrable. She even countered and deflected attacks, like the Great Thunderclap Temple’s technique, the Mirror Flower Illusory Wall, which could bounce back others’ attacks.
“Where did this fox spirit learn this?” Ling Yuxiu, unable to win, felt a bit indignant.
Fox Ling’er was smug. At the Listening Rain Pavilion, she had consulted the girls there about this kind of skill.
Suddenly, Ling Yuxiu found it both ridiculous and frustrating—she was actually competing for affection with a little fox. This was beneath the dignity of royalty. She had breasts, she had a figure. Although Qin Mu was a bit blind and always said she was a little plump, she wasn’t bad-looking. No matter how sharp the little fox’s tactics were, she hadn’t even transformed yet.
She had already secured the upper hand. There was no need to compete with this fox spirit.
Before they reached the border, Ba Shan finally caught up. Seeing that the Butcher had already left, the big man was devastated and burst into loud sobs, cursing the Heavenly Blade between tears.
Qin Mu comforted him for a moment and said, “It’s not that he doesn’t miss you, but he thinks you talk too much and always nag him, so he left first. Actually, Grandpa Butcher cares about you very much. When he heard you were in danger, he rushed over first. Don’t cry, don’t cry anymore. We’re almost at the border. How can the Martial Khan be seen crying with snot and tears all over his face?”
Ba Shan wiped away his tears and began to pour out his grievances. He started from his childhood following the Heavenly Blade, telling stories about wetting the bed and getting spanked and made to stand as punishment, the details of his training, washing the Heavenly Blade’s underwear, and how the Heavenly Blade took him to steal ducks from the neighboring village to make soup. He told everything.
Qin Mu looked at Ling Yuxiu for help, but she shrugged, indicating she couldn’t do anything.
At the Grand Academy.
The Young Ancestor silently packed his belongings, tying a small bundle. He threw his official sash on the ground and hung his official seal on the door of the Grand Academy Hall. Then he turned back to look at the Grand Academy and smiled.
The Enforcement Elder walked over quickly, carrying a small bamboo basket on his back containing an umbrella and some scrolls and books.
“Let’s go. No need to disturb the others,” the Young Ancestor said with a smile.
The two walked down the mountain without alerting anyone. At the mountain gate below, the Dragon Qilin stood up and wagged its tail.
“My death is near. I can’t take you with me.”
The Young Ancestor patted the Dragon Qilin’s head and shook his head. “Following me, you’ll only watch me grow old and die. Little friend, you are free now.”
Crack.
The chain around the Dragon Qilin’s neck opened. The beast looked confused, shook its big head, and asked, “Master, if I don’t follow you, where can I go?”
“You were born free. Where can’t you go?”
The Young Ancestor waved his hand, looking at the Grand Academy he had built with his own hands. There was reluctance in his eyes, but he turned and walked away. “This is where I would have spent my final days, yet today I leave. I don’t want to die of old age in the Grand Academy.”
The old man and the young man walked out of the capital. Outside the city, the Young Ancestor stopped the Enforcement Elder and walked toward the person opposite him.
“Fellow Daoist.”
The National Master bowed in greeting. “Fellow Daoist is leaving just like that? Don’t you plan to bid farewell to the Emperor?”
The Young Ancestor smiled. “When I took office, I came with nothing. I didn’t come for the Emperor, so why should I leave for him? You invited me here, and now you see me off. I am very happy.”
The Yan-Kang National Master sighed emotionally. “Fellow Daoist can already face life and death. Your state of mind has reached such a height. I don’t know how many more years I’ll need to cultivate. Let me see you off.”
The two walked side by side, with the Enforcement Elder following not far behind. The Yan-Kang National Master said, “Knowing you were leaving, a big piece suddenly felt empty in my heart. In this world, no one understands me better than you. Without you, there is one less person to talk to.”
The Young Ancestor said, “Your ambitions are grand, your path ahead is fraught with twists and turns. I have nothing more to teach you. You must rely on yourself.”
The Yan-Kang National Master stopped. “Back then, I wanted to become your disciple. Why didn’t you accept me?”
The Young Ancestor said frankly, “I realized you were better than me, that your future achievements would surpass mine. I would be unworthy to be your teacher, so I couldn’t accept you as a disciple. What you want to do is something I never thought of before, something I could never accomplish in my lifetime. I also learned a lot from you, so I cannot be your teacher.”
The Yan-Kang National Master took a step forward to catch up with him. “Lately, I’ve still been a bit confused, a bit troubled. Tell me, is the path we walk the right path?”
“In the eyes of those who claim to be righteous, the path we walk is not the right path.”
The Young Ancestor stopped and looked into his eyes. “We established elementary schools, middle schools, and the Grand Academy, reformed the sects, gathered the teachings of many sects to educate scholars, and made commoners equal to sect disciples. In their eyes, this is heresy, an unforgivable crime. But in our hearts, this is the right path! Don’t care what others say. What is right is right! It won’t become wrong just because of the barking of petty people.”