Chapter 190: My Elder
"Mute Grandpa!"
Qin Mu quickly ran over, spreading his arms to hug the old man in coarse cloth tightly, trying to lift him up. But this old man felt like the heaviest mountain in the world, impossible to budge.
Qin Mu laughed heartily with excitement, using all his strength to try and lift him, but still couldn't move him.
Mute let out two "ah ah" sounds and set down his box. Qin Mu finally managed to lift him, spun him around twice, then set the old man down on the ground. Mute landed on his bottom, got up, patted the dust off his pants, and gestured a few times, meaning "You're too mischievous."
"Mute Grandpa, why did you leave the village too? How did you end up here?"
Qin Mu was both shocked and delighted, asking rapidly: "You were amazing just now! Are those sword pellets in your box? Who else came out with you?"
"Ah ah, ah ah ah!"
Mute spoke while gesturing rapidly with his hands, furrowing his brows in a bored expression, patting his cheek with his palm to mimic sleeping, then extending two fingers to imitate walking.
His hands moved at lightning speed, and his facial expressions changed in an instant, leaving Qin Mu dizzy. He quickly said: "Mute Grandpa, slow down, I can't keep up. Where's Deaf Grandpa? Why isn't he with you?"
Mute looked smug, gesturing to indicate he had sneaked out of the village on his own without telling anyone.
Qin Mu blinked and laughed: "You don't know, I've run into Grandpa Butcher and Grandpa Blind, and Granny Si. They've all left the village already."
Mute looked surprised, let out two "ah ah" sounds, picked up the wooden box, and handed it to Qin Mu, signaling for him to carry it. Qin Mu sneered and didn't take it: "Mute Grandpa, don't try to fool me again. This box of yours is incredibly heavy—it must hold thousands of sword pellets, right? Your sword pellets are heavy, and the box is even heavier. If I carried it for you, my shoulders would definitely dislocate, and I'd be flattened on the ground! I fell for it once before, but I won't a second time."
Mute grinned silently with a mischievous look and gave Qin Mu a thumbs-up.
In Cripple's Village, aside from Cripple himself, Mute was the one who loved to prank Qin Mu the most.
Suddenly, Mute raised his eyebrows, looking past Qin Mu. Qin Mu quickly turned around, seeing a middle-aged man walking over. The Imperial Preceptor of Yan Kang stopped silently a dozen or so zhang away.
"A figure from the previous era?" he said softly.
Mute grinned and gestured a few times. The Imperial Preceptor frowned, unable to understand.
Qin Mu explained: "Imperial Preceptor, Mute Grandpa means he doesn't count as someone from the previous era. He's still young."
The Imperial Preceptor frowned again, still unable to grasp Mute's meaning. Having Qin Mu translate for him left him with an uncomfortable feeling.
"Your skills are extraordinary, but what you cultivate isn't swordsmanship."
The Imperial Preceptor sighed: "I've exchanged ideas with a few people from the previous era and gained many insights. I thought I had encountered all kinds of divine abilities and techniques, but I never expected to see such a unique form of power. Would you be willing to let me witness your abilities?"
Qin Mu was astonished. He had seen Mute strike earlier—countless sword pellets soaring into the sky, transforming into an endless swarm of flying swords, forcing even the Dutian Demon King to defend himself, and even wounding him.
Qin Mu had assumed Mute's entire skill set revolved around swords, but he never expected the Imperial Preceptor to say that Mute didn't practice swordsmanship at all. Could Mute's true abilities surpass even the swordsmanship he had displayed?
Back in the village, what Mute had taught Qin Mu was the art of blacksmithing and forging. Qin Mu often carried a large iron hammer, and his hammer techniques were taught by Mute.
"Could Mute Grandpa be practicing hammer techniques?"
Mute grinned, tightened the blacksmithing furnace on his back, and set down the wooden box. He now looked like a traveling blacksmith, the kind who would stop at any village to rest and forge iron tools for the locals.
His box seemed like one meant for blacksmithing supplies—what should come out of it weren't sword pellets, but a blacksmith's hammer, anvil, filter, iron ladle, and other tools.
He opened the wooden box and gestured a few more times with "ah ah" sounds. The Imperial Preceptor's face stiffened, and he looked at Qin Mu.
Qin Mu said: "Mute Grandpa says his craft is almost lost. If you want to see it, you can, but he wants you to help him find an apprentice."
The Imperial Preceptor showed great respect and said: "You are willing to pass on your lifelong skills to another. Your generosity far surpasses that of countless sect leaders and clan heads from famous schools. If fate allows, I will certainly keep an eye out for you."
The wooden box was opened, revealing countless sword pellets, each the size of a fingertip.
The Imperial Preceptor looked puzzled. Mute smiled slightly and extended his palm. Suddenly, the sword pellets were no longer individual silver orbs but liquefied, becoming like water or light—more accurately, light turned into water.
The entire box of sword pellets transformed into a box of liquid light. The liquid light rose from the box, climbed up Mute's body, and flowed over him, forming a suit of silver armor.
Qin Mu and the Imperial Preceptor immediately saw strange patterns emerge on the armor's surface—peculiar runic formations governing defense.
Then the liquid light flowed off Mute's body and coalesced in midair into a massive bell, over ten zhang tall, with walls so thin you could almost see through them.
The bell slowly rotated, its surface revealing ancient characters, patterns of various mythical beasts, and the arrangement of the stars in the heavens.
Shua—
The bell turned into flowing light, and a silver dragon appeared, circling them, swimming around, with dragon patterns covering its entire body.
Suddenly, the silver dragon rose into the air, transforming into a long sword. The sword shot skyward, executing profound sword techniques. Then, with a flash, the sword light converged, and a massive shield descended from the sky.
Before the shield hit the ground, it turned into a silver umbrella, spinning gently as it floated down.
The sword pellets in Mute's box could change into countless forms, turning into various weapons and treasures with different functions!
The treasures in his box could even take the form of divine abilities!
This was Qin Mu's first time seeing Mute display his true skills, and his first time witnessing such a masterful technique.
Mute had never taught him this skill. Back in the village, Qin Mu had never even seen Mute use such abilities.
The Imperial Preceptor watched in a daze. Suddenly, the liquid light flowed and formed a silver boat. Mute tossed his box onto the boat, leaped aboard, grinned at Qin Mu, and waved. The silver boat shot through the air, vanishing in an instant at incredible speed.
Qin Mu opened his mouth to call him back but thought better of it and remained silent.
After a moment, the Imperial Preceptor slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air and praised: "Impressive skills, truly impressive. There are still skills in this world that I don't know or haven't seen. This fellow is remarkable. Doctor of the Imperial Academy, do you know him?"
Qin Mu said: "He is my elder."
The Imperial Preceptor was stunned, not understanding the meaning: "Is he a master from the Heavenly Demon Sect? Aside from the Grand Sacrificial Officer, the Heavenly Demon Sect actually has such a master. Truly remarkable, worthy of being the foremost demonic sacred land."
Qin Mu shook his head: "You guessed wrong. I come from the Great Ruins, so naturally my home is in the Great Ruins."
The Imperial Preceptor's heart tightened. He gave Qin Mu a deep, meaningful look and said: "So the Doctor of the Imperial Academy comes from a prestigious family with a deep scholarly heritage."
Qin Mu was taken aback but nodded reluctantly.
The Imperial Preceptor said calmly: "Then, who summoned this demon god?"
"I don't know either."
Qin Mu said seriously: "I just arrived here and ran into this chaos. I'm quite unlucky myself—I almost lost my life."
The Imperial Preceptor nodded slightly and said: "Gu Linuan had you lead a team of scholars for training. As far as I know, your destination should be Li Prefecture. This is Tianbo City, across from Wuding Commandery, two hundred li from Li Prefecture. Why did the Doctor of the Imperial Academy come here?"
"Well..."
Qin Mu reached into the bundle on his back, pulled out Fox Ling'er, and looked at the little white fox. Fox Ling'er raised her paw, nibbling on her finger, her eyes spinning rapidly. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she said crisply: "We drifted here from the river! We encountered danger in Li Prefecture. The remnants of the Hongshan Sect summoned a demon god, so we escaped via the river. Is that acceptable, young master?"
The Imperial Preceptor's expression didn't change: "You can say whatever you like. This great chaos in Tianbo City has resulted in countless casualties among the city's garrison. The one who summoned the demon god has done a great service. I plan to recommend him to the Emperor for promotion. Such merit should at least earn a promotion to the fourth rank."
Qin Mu opened his mouth, and Fox Ling'er quickly said: "It was our young master who did it! Our young master summoned that Dutian Demon King or whatever!"
The Imperial Preceptor ignored her and continued: "Though there is merit, the countless civilian casualties are a great sin. While casualties are inevitable on the battlefield, the destruction of an entire city is too much. Even if I try to commend this person, there will be purists in the court who will criticize him, saying he killed countless people and will pressure the Emperor to convict him. Once the war is settled, this person will surely face reckoning. He'll be purged—maybe not executed with his entire family, but at least dismissed and exiled."
Fox Ling'er quickly shut her mouth, feeling that anything she said would be wrong.
The Imperial Preceptor revealed a faint smile and said: "Therefore, I plan to suppress this merit and claim that no one knows who did it. No credit, no blame. Doctor of the Imperial Academy, what do you think of this arrangement?"
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief: "The Imperial Preceptor's handling is excellent."
Behind them, the Yan Kang army had already slaughtered the demon cultists in Tianbo City. Several generals walked over.
The Imperial Preceptor turned around and said calmly: "Purists kill with their mouths, not with blades. Even if one escapes from their mouths, they'll still be covered in filth."
Qin Mu said: "Does the Imperial Preceptor speak from experience?"
The Imperial Preceptor nodded: "To push through reforms, I've killed countless purists. But these things—kill one batch, and another appears. They're endless. They have no real skills and never do practical work, but they find fault with everything and only know how to curse you. Do you know what would happen if my reforms fail?"
Qin Mu shook his head.
"I would be reviled for ten thousand years."
The Imperial Preceptor said calmly: "Even if my reforms succeed, the purists will curse me for hundreds or thousands of years. There was once a friend who could soothe my heart..."
His expression darkened slightly: "But he's gone. I miss him very much."
—Another triple update today!