Chapter 174: Adoption
The little fox in the bundle on Qin Mu's back couldn't help poking her head out and said, "This Senior Brother Fan, haven't you ever thought that your ship is now three to five times faster than before? If you use the ship to carry passengers, you can make many more trips and earn more money. There's no need to rob."
Fan Yunxiao gave Fox Ling'er two white-eyed stares. "Why bother with all that effort? My ship is fast enough, and I rob fast enough too. In the past, I could only rob once a day; now I can rob three to five times. The money I earn from robbing is far more than from carrying passengers. During times of peace and prosperity, there are more merchant ships, so you rob during peace and prosperity. Now that there's war, merchant ships are fewer, so you carry passengers. Little fox spirit, you have no business sense."
Fox Ling'er was completely speechless.
The tower ship was too fast. The vessel had already begun to emit creaking sounds, struggling to withstand the air pressure caused by its rapid flight. Fan Yunxiao grew nervous again and, along with a few bandits, reinforced the tower ship, using their primordial energy to form runes that were branded onto the ship's hull.
Qin Mu's heart was pounding with fear. Now he too was worried that this tower ship might collapse at any moment and break apart.
Fortunately, throughout the flight, the tower ship never disintegrated in midair.
Along the way, they encountered several battlefields, but the Cloud-Chasing Pirate Ship was too fast. Before either side in the conflict could even see what it was, the tower ship had already flown past, leaving them utterly bewildered.
Fan Yunxiao was also bewildered. The furnace Qin Mu had refined was incredibly powerful. At this speed, a journey that would normally take seven or eight days could be completed in just over a day to reach the capital.
However, although the furnace Qin Mu had refined was excellent, it consumed a great deal of spirit stones and medicinal herbs.
By the time they reached the capital, it was already the early morning of the second day. The tower ship slowed down, its medicinal stones nearly depleted. The ship descended slowly and landed in the capital's carriage and horse market.
An official from the market came forward to inspect them. When he saw Fan Yunxiao, his face changed drastically, and he was about to order the guards to arrest him. Fan Yunxiao quickly said, "I've reformed, I've reformed! Here is my official registration document!"
The official took a look, and sure enough, it was a legitimate government registration document. He said with confusion, "A scoundrel like you, who deserves to be beheaded, how could you be allowed to reform?"
Fan Yunxiao gave a dry laugh. "This is the court's grace. My humble crew and I are deeply grateful."
Qin Mu disembarked and was about to leave when Fan Yunxiao hurried over, slung an arm around his shoulder, and said with a sly grin, "Brother Qin, what future do you have at the Imperial Academy? Why not follow me? We can do big business—no capital needed!"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Senior Brother Fan, my reputation at the Imperial Academy is nothing like yours in the Dao Sect. You may be crooked at heart, but I have a good reputation there. I'm a well-known good person."
Fox Ling'er said confidently, "The word 'crooked' has never been associated with the young master."
Fan Yunxiao had no choice but to drop it, muttering, "Your talents are wasted if you don't become a bandit. Oh, by the way, when I left the Dao Sect, I stole a copy of the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic. Since you're interested in mathematics, I'll give it to you."
Qin Mu's spirits lifted. He quickly took the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic that Fan Yunxiao handed him and said, "How can I accept this? Ling'er, put it away quickly."
Fox Ling'er tucked the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic into the bundle.
Fan Yunxiao said, "The Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic isn't forbidden for disciples in the Dao Sect. This calculation classic is used to enlighten disciples. If you master it well, you can then study the fourteen chapters of the Dao Sword. Back in the day, I wasn't bad at the calculation classic either. I learned up to the fifth chapter of the Dao Sword, but before I could start the sixth, I was kicked out to become a bandit."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "'One point pierces through the vast movement, within the two polarities, yin and yang reverse repeatedly'—which chapter of the Dao Sword is that move?"
"You know that move?"
Fan Yunxiao was surprised. "That's the first chapter of the Dao Sword, the simplest move among the fourteen. The Dao Sword gets harder as you go further, but its power also increases. If you master the fourteenth chapter, you'd be invincible under heaven, becoming a god and an ancestor. But no one in the Dao Sect has ever achieved it."
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. If the first chapter of the Dao Sword was already so powerful, how astonishing would the fourteenth chapter be?
When he had clashed with Lin Xuan, the Dao Son, Lin Xuan had used that very move. Qin Mu had defeated it with the first move of his Sword Diagram, "Sword Traverses Mountains and Rivers," but Lin Xuan had also accurately calculated the exact location of his flaw and wounded him.
He became very curious about the fourteen chapters of the Dao Sword.
He took his leave of Fan Yunxiao and headed toward the Imperial Academy, thinking to himself, "Fan Yunxiao is an interesting fellow. I just wonder when such an interesting person will be taken to the market to be beheaded. Hmm, the Grand Sacrificial Officer resigned and left. I wonder who the next one will be? Could it be Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan?"
Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan planned to reform the Imperial Academy's shortcomings by establishing Imperial Academy doctors. In Qin Mu's mind, he was the top candidate for the next Grand Sacrificial Officer.
No one else seemed as open-minded as him.
Establishing Imperial Academy doctors was extremely important—it was the key to whether the Imperial Academy could surpass sacred lands like the Dao Sect and the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Only if Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan became Grand Sacrificial Officer could he continue to push this reform forward.
He arrived at the mountain gate of the Imperial Academy. Just as he passed through, he suddenly stepped back and looked up and down at the dragon qilin guarding the gate.
That dragon qilin was still lying at the foot of the mountain, staring straight ahead, motionless, but the chain around its neck was gone.
Qin Mu looked it over a few times. The dragon qilin continued to stare ahead without blinking, looking as if it were carved from stone, but the veins on its neck were bulging one by one.
"What are you staring at?" the dragon qilin roared angrily, turning its head and bellowing at him.
Qin Mu asked curiously, "The chain around your neck is gone. Why don't you leave? What are you staying here for?"
The dragon qilin said listlessly, "I have nowhere to go. Someone brings me food and drink every day here. Why would I leave? I'm comfortable."
Fox Ling'er said with a crisp laugh, "Big guy, is your only ambition food and drink?"
The dragon qilin glanced at her with some disdain. "What does a fox spirit know of a qilin's ambition? I wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Fox Ling'er said to Qin Mu with a smile, "Young master, this dragon qilin has been squatting here so long it's gone stupid. Let's ignore him."
Qin Mu was about to head up the mountain when the dragon qilin lowered its head, its gaze dull. "My master resigned and ran off with an old man, abandoning me. I have nowhere to go, so I just stay here to guard the gate. Every day, I get bullied by a cow. And now a fox is mocking me. This life is unbearable..."
Qin Mu stepped back a couple of paces, came before the dragon qilin, and asked curiously, "You were the Grand Sacrificial Officer's mount? We're fellow disciples. I'm the Sect Leader of the Sacred Sect."
The dragon qilin looked at him warily and sneered, "I don't know any Grand Sacrificial Officer, and I don't know any Sect Leader. You drugged me unconscious, and I haven't settled accounts with you yet."
Qin Mu laughed. "Last time I came to fight the Dao Son of the Dao Sect, didn't you see me walking over with the Grand Sacrificial Officer? You should have known my relationship with him by then. There's no need to be so cautious."
The dragon qilin snorted coldly. "And then you drugged me unconscious."
Qin Mu stammered, "Who told you to trick me into fighting that cow? I ended up getting beaten by that cow instead. You never told me that cow was so powerful. Enemies should reconcile, not persist in conflict..."
The dragon qilin snorted again. "And then you took revenge and drugged me unconscious."
Qin Mu tentatively asked, "How about I get that cow to come over, and you give him a beating?"
The dragon qilin clearly didn't believe him. "You want to drug me unconscious again?"
Qin Mu had no choice but to head up the mountain. This dragon qilin was a bit stubborn, only remembering that he had drugged it.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked back. The dragon qilin had finally moved from its spot and was following him step by step. When he stopped, the dragon qilin also stopped.
Qin Mu walked forward, and the dragon qilin walked forward too. Qin Mu stopped at the foot of the Jade Cliff and looked back.
The dragon qilin also stopped.
Qin Mu leaped onto the Jade Cliff, and the dragon qilin generated fire clouds under its feet, carrying its massive body up the cliff.
Qin Mu turned around and laughed. "Why are you following me? I only drugged you once to get some dragon saliva. Is that such a big deal?"
"You drugged me unconscious, so you have to provide for my food and drink," the dragon qilin said seriously.
Qin Mu was puzzled. "Didn't you just say someone brings you food and drink every day? You just have to guard the mountain gate."
The dragon qilin lowered its head. "Before, my master brought me food and drink. After he left, no one took care of me. I haven't eaten in over a month. The new Grand Sacrificial Officer thinks I'm a rock, and the other Imperial Academy students also think I'm a rock. I'm too embarrassed to ask for food. I can't swallow my pride. And that cow, backed by Sacrificial Officer Ba Shan, bullies me, saying I deceived his feelings..."
Qin Mu saw how pitiful it looked and felt a pang of sympathy. "Alright, alright. Don't be so upset. From now on, you can follow me. I'll provide for your food and drink. I have money! What do you eat?"
"I only drink water from Jade Dragon Lake every day and eat one dou of Crimson Fire Spirit Pills."
Qin Mu clenched his fists. Fox Ling'er's liver also trembled. Jade Dragon Lake was the lake formed by the Nine Dragons' primordial energy on the mountain. There was plenty of water for the dragon qilin to drink freely, but one dou of Crimson Fire Spirit Pills was a killer.
"Young master, our money is only enough to feed him for half a month."
Fox Ling'er whispered, "I think we shouldn't take him in, or he'll eat us out of house and home."
The dragon qilin heard this and quickly said, "I can go hungry. I'll only eat half a dou a day. Or even one sheng? I can't go lower than one sheng."
Qin Mu waved his hand. "I'm an alchemist myself. I can concoct the Crimson Fire Spirit Pills myself and save some money. I won't skimp on your food, but I can't support you for nothing."
The dragon qilin immediately shouted, "You drugged me unconscious! And we're fellow disciples! You're the Sect Leader, so you have a duty to support me. I'm your ancestor's mount!"
Qin Mu's head ached. "You have to give me some of your dragon saliva every day, or I won't be able to afford to keep you."
"Dragon saliva?" The dragon qilin grew wary again.
Qin Mu said, "Dragon saliva is your drool."
The dragon qilin clearly had misunderstood and relaxed. "That's fine. Oh, by the way, you said earlier you could get that cow to come over so I could give him a beating?"
Qin Mu warned, "Don't push your luck, or I'll only give you half a dou of Crimson Fire Spirit Pills a day."
The dragon qilin quickly shut its mouth and followed him step by step, afraid of losing this meal ticket. Fox Ling'er kept turning back to size up this massive creature. Standing up, it was much taller than Qin Mu. Qin Mu barely reached the dragon whiskers hanging from its chin. With its long qilin tail, it was probably four or five zhang in length.
The dragon qilin's body was covered in raised, strange patterns that looked like natural runes, making it look majestic.
"No wonder it eats so much. It's even bigger than Niu Er. I wonder how big it gets when it reveals its true form," Fox Ling'er thought with surprise.
Qin Mu led the dragon qilin up the mountain to Jade Dragon Lake, first letting it drink. He thought to himself, "I still don't know how much a small bottle of dragon saliva is worth. But it's a healing medicine, so the price shouldn't be too low, right? I hope I can at least cover the cost of the medicinal herbs, or else I'll really be eating through my savings..."