Chapter 208: The Nine Bends of Earth Bo
If you can understand four or five out of ten parts of a language, then the parts you don't understand become individual codes. Based on the surrounding sentences, you can guess the meaning of these codes.
This was exactly what Qin Mu was doing.
He had originally known nothing about the demon language. It was only by chance that he heard demon language at the Goddess Pass in the Great Wasteland, and he memorized it. Later, at the Town Center Palace, he encountered a demon god sealed within a wall, who taught him the Great Freedom Seal, allowing him to understand part of the demon language's meaning.
Once he understood part of the demon language's meaning, he could deduce the meaning of more demon language from his limited knowledge, just like cracking a code.
The Heavenly Demon King's three vows contained a great deal of demon language, extremely pure. Qin Mu had long known that the languages of gods and demons contained terrifying power. This time, the Heavenly Demon King's three vows allowed Qin Mu's mastery of demon language vocabulary to reach an astonishing level.
If the Heavenly Demon King were to make a vow with him again in human language, then Qin Mu could compare it with the demon language he didn't understand earlier and fully grasp the meaning of the demon language!
The Heavenly Demon King's accusation that he was taking the opportunity to secretly learn was not unjust.
Now, conversing with the Heavenly Demon King in demon language was not difficult for him. However, to be on the safe side, he felt it was better to use human language, so he could fully grasp the meaning of every word and sentence, lest the Heavenly Demon King set a trap for him.
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. "So, Demon King, do you still want to make the vow?"
The Heavenly Demon King sneered, "Yes, of course I do!"
He knew that Qin Mu intended to use this opportunity to fully master the demon language, but he was helpless. Otherwise, the only path left was to kill Qin Mu.
And even if he killed Qin Mu, he himself was merely a strand of consciousness and magical power, and would dissipate with Qin Mu's death.
"Soul, return! Earth Bo's Nine Bends, inspect my body and end!"
The Heavenly Demon King's voice rang out, calling upon the name of Earth Bo, awakening the attention of this ruler of the Nether Realm. This time, he used human language, so naturally, he couldn't play any tricks or make any moves within it.
Qin Mu carefully noted the meaning of every word, being very cautious, repeatedly examining and verifying.
Gradually, Qin Mu felt a strange power surging from the deep space. With the Heavenly Demon King's voice, this power grew stronger and stronger, and then formed half a gate in his mind.
The Heavenly Demon King finished reciting the vow and looked at Qin Mu.
After comparing the demon language with the human language, Qin Mu's grasp of the demon language became more complete. He then recited the vow himself. Just as he said "inspect my body and end," he felt a pair of eyes fall upon him—or rather, not on his body, but on his soul!
His soul trembled, feeling the power and boundless vastness of the ruler of souls!
That was an existence that ruled over all souls, possessing boundless power. It had no interest in the physical body, only in the soul.
If the vow was broken, it would descend and take away the soul of the one who broke the vow!
Qin Mu continued reciting the vow. Gradually, half a gate appeared before his eyes. This half gate connected with the Heavenly Demon King's half gate, forming a complete gate.
Beyond the gate, he saw only endless darkness.
But beneath the gate, Qin Mu "saw" a yellow spring. Or perhaps it couldn't be called a spring; it was a golden, winding stream with nine bends and eighteen turns, growing thicker and thicker towards the bottom, like a celestial river.
And at the bottom of the endless yellow spring, he "saw" a pair of emotionless eyes.
This golden thing wasn't a yellow spring. It was a horn.
The two horns on the head of Earth Bo, the ruler of souls!
Earth Bo's Nine Bends: the word "bend" means curve.
Nine Bends means nine curves.
His horns were the Nine-Bend Yellow Spring.
Qin Mu and the Heavenly Demon King had made a vow, and this vow was tied to the nine-curved long horns of this majestic primordial deity!
Why is breaking a vow called "violating the agreement"? Probably it's related to Earth Bo's Nine Bends. A vow established upon the Nine-Bend Yellow Spring, if broken, Earth Bo would take away the soul of the violator—that is, "violating the agreement."
The vow ended, the gate closed, and the vision before Qin Mu's "eyes" disappeared.
"Heh, heh heh heh..."
The Heavenly Demon King's laughter came. Qin Mu was puzzled. "Demon King, what are you laughing at?"
"Nothing!"
The Heavenly Demon King kept laughing, but couldn't help himself, chuckling, "Kid, even though you're as cunning as a ghost, you've fallen into my trap! The vow you made with me was not with my true body, but with a wisp of my consciousness! Now, just do as I say obediently! As for the Nether Realm language, don't even think I'll tell you a single word! This wisp of my consciousness, even if it's destroyed, I don't care!"
Qin Mu was dumbfounded, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
The Heavenly Demon King laughed heartily, smug and pleased, enjoying Qin Mu's flustered helplessness.
After a moment, Qin Mu let out a breath of turbid air and muttered, "No wonder Cripple always told me to smile at others while preparing to stab them in the back... Demon King, you're truly a master at this. Fortunately, I'm not bad either."
The Heavenly Demon King's heart tightened.
Qin Mu said to himself, "I also kept a trick up my sleeve. I was just planning to summon your ministers in batches and kill them off one by one, so that wouldn't count as breaking the vow."
The Heavenly Demon King was stunned.
The two fell silent.
After a long while, the Heavenly Demon King said, "We're just hurting each other. Since you don't trust me, there's no need for me to stay in your body. I choose the second path. You create a divine statue mechanism, and I'll leave your body and parasitize it. Rest assured, once you've made the divine statue mechanism, I'll teach you the Nether Realm language."
"Deal!"
Qin Mu was full of enthusiasm. Master Ma often made various pieces of furniture, and he had learned quite a few craft skills from him. Coupled with the art of calligraphy and painting taught to him by Cripple, and the smithing skills taught by Cripple, making a divine statue mechanism wasn't too troublesome.
Qin Mu was about to start when suddenly his hair stood on end, cold sweat pouring from his forehead. "I almost fell for his trick! Before I make the divine statue mechanism for him, I must first summon the demons and complete the vow. Otherwise, if I'm only focused on making the mechanism and he teaches me the Nether Realm language without me summoning the demons, that would count as breaking the vow, and Earth Bo would take my soul!"
The Heavenly Demon King praised, "You're quite good. If you came to my Heavenly Demon Realm, with your cleverness, you could survive."
Qin Mu let out another breath of turbid air. Dealing with an existence like the Heavenly Demon King, if he wasn't careful, he'd be eaten up, bones and marrow sucked dry two or three times over!
He went to the west room to get some money, planning to go to the treasury to buy some cold iron, gold crystals, and good wood for carving the statue. He saw Fox Ling'er standing at the door, looking around. Qin Mu smiled, "Ling'er, aren't you cultivating? What are you looking around for?"
Fox Ling'er said listlessly, "The National Teacher still owes us a thousand Da Feng coins. It's time to pay up..."
Qin Mu shook his head, went to the treasury to buy some materials, and moved them to the courtyard.
Carving a divine statue wasn't difficult for him. In half a day, under the guidance of the Heavenly Demon King, Qin Mu carved five different wooden statues, all of demon gods.
"These five fellows are all ones who don't obey my rule. Summoning them and destroying them would be a favor to me." The Heavenly Demon King laughed.
After carving the wooden statues, Qin Mu cooked some food and called Fox Ling'er, who was at the door, to eat. Fox Ling'er's eyes were vacant. Halfway through the meal, she said blankly again, "Young master, the National Teacher still owes a thousand coins."
Qin Mu took out a smelting furnace he had looted from the Loulan Golden Palace from his glutton sack, and began to smelt the cold iron and gold crystals, crafting the parts for the divine statue mechanism. He worked until midnight, and the surrounding scholars, unable to sleep because of the noise, complained to the Imperial Academy. Several Imperial Academy officials came personally and politely inquired about the matter.
Qin Mu had to stop and went to sleep.
The next day, Qin Mu pushed open the door, washed up, and felt something was missing. After thinking for a moment, he realized what was missing from his bed last night.
"It seems Ling'er didn't crawl into my bed to sleep last night..."
Qin Mu pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Fox Ling'er standing on the head of the Dragon Qilin at the gate, looking towards the entrance of the Scholar's Residence. Her eyes were red, clearly she hadn't slept all night.
"Young master, the National Teacher still owes a thousand Da Feng coins." Fox Ling'er said, somewhat dazed.
Qin Mu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He picked her up and stuffed her into the bed, then continued crafting the divine statue mechanism.
On the third day, Fox Ling'er was still guarding the door. In the evening, she listlessly returned, ate dinner without any energy, and sat there in a daze for a long time. Suddenly, she said blankly, "The National Teacher still owes us a thousand Da Feng coins."
On the fourth day, Fox Ling'er didn't say anything more, nor did she wait at the door. She looked very unhappy.
Qin Mu asked her with concern. Fox Ling'er said, "Probably the National Teacher really isn't going to pay back the money."
Qin Mu finally finished making the divine statue mechanism. It was a demon god statue with four heads, eight arms, and two feet. Its body had various joints, allowing free movement, and its surface was imprinted with various totem patterns. But he didn't let the Heavenly Demon King move into it immediately.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Qin Mu glanced at Fox Ling'er and saw that she was still staring blankly into space, not going to open the door. He shook his head and went to open it himself.
An old man stood at the door. Although his clothes were shabby, they were very clean. He smiled, "Are you Young Master Qin Mu? This old servant is the steward of the National Teacher's mansion, my surname is Fu. I have come on the orders of the National Teacher to repay the debt."
Qin Mu asked in surprise, "Elder Fu, has the emperor's reward been granted?"
Elder Fu said, "Yes, it has. The emperor rewarded the National Teacher with a hundred palace maids and a million coins. The National Teacher accepted. These hundred palace maids are giving the National Teacher a headache; he simply can't afford to support them. Fortunately, there's still some money, but after paying off the creditors, I'm afraid only half will be left... Young Master Qin, here are a thousand coins..."
Qin Mu was about to call Fox Ling'er when he saw a white flash in front of him. Fox Ling'er flew over like lightning, snatched the money bag from Elder Fu's hand, and said sweetly, "The National Teacher is indeed a man of his word. Thank you for your trouble, Elder Fu."
Elder Fu was surprised but didn't say much. He said, "Young Master Qin, you are extremely wealthy. You must be careful. There have been thieves in the capital lately, and many high officials have suffered. It's terrible. Imperial Physician You has been crying for days and hasn't gotten out of bed. Several other high officials' homes have also been robbed. They lost so many precious items that they dare not speak of it. Only the servants are gossiping..."
As he was speaking, two old men walked over from the Scholar's Residence. They were dressed in bright, flashy clothes, adorned with gold and silver, looking very wealthy. They came to Qin Mu's door. One of them was Cripple, and the other looked like a middle-aged or elderly layman. Both had an air of great wealth.