Chapter 210: Admitting Defeat (Third Update!)
Qin Mu reattached Horse Elder's arm and Cripple's leg, then placed the two old men inside the medicine cauldron. He filled the cauldron with a full batch of medicinal broth, boiled them, and ordered Fox Ling'er to add firewood beside the cauldron.
He walked out of the room and saw that it was already late in the day. Qin Mu went outside the courtyard, but the Scholars' Residence was empty—everyone had likely fled to take shelter. Only the Heavenly Demon of All Realms remained standing in the alley of the Scholars' Residence, unable to move.
Qin Mu stepped forward and opened the belly of the divine statue. Inside the statue's belly were hundreds of intricate gears. Qin Mu reached in and fiddled with the gears a couple of times. The Heavenly Demon of All Realms immediately felt his legs and feet able to move. He quickly turned to run, but after a few steps, a series of cracking sounds came from within his body, and all his joints locked up again.
"Dragon Big, drag him back to the courtyard." Qin Mu said to the Dragon Qilin at the entrance.
The Dragon Qilin wagged its tail, waddled forward with its big belly, bit one of the Heavenly Demon of All Realms' legs, dragged the demon lord down with a clatter, hauled him back into Qin Mu's courtyard, and threw him into a corner.
"You motherf*cker! If you've got guts, fight me three hundred rounds!"
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms cursed loudly, "What kind of hero are you, locking me up like this?"
Qin Mu ignored him, quietly mixing medicinal herbs. Suddenly, lightning radiated from the divine statue, trying to fly out of it, but then various runic marks appeared on the statue's surface. The runic marks grew bright, trapping the lightning inside the statue.
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms cursed furiously. The surface of the divine statue was branded with sealing runes from the Loulan Golden Palace Treasury. These were runic marks Qin Mu had learned from the talisman treasures of the Loulan Golden Palace Treasury, and he had secretly imprinted them on the statue while forging it.
Qin Mu was also worried that even after the demon lord took over the statue, he might still escape, so he added this runic seal.
After preparing the medicine, Qin Mu turned to the Heavenly Demon of All Realms in the corner and said seriously, "If you teach me all the Youdu language you know, I'll let you out."
"I believe your ghost stories!"
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms roared angrily, "Don't think I'll fall for it again!"
Qin Mu looked honest and sincere, "We can make a pact with the Earth Lord. Then you can rest assured."
"Rest assured, my ass!"
"Hey hey, why are you cursing, demon lord?"
"Love your ass! Don't think I'll believe a single word from you again. If I believe one word, I'm your grandson!"
……
Cripple and Horse Elder lay comfortably in the big cauldron. The medicinal broth inside bubbled and popped loudly.
"Little fox, add more firewood."
Cripple squinted, watching his big gold chain float up from the water. He glanced back at the still-cursing Heavenly Demon of All Realms and chuckled, "This little one, Qin Mu, has really grown up. I originally thought you and I would need to act to get rid of this damn demon lord, but he handled it himself. Now I'm worried—not about him, but about those who oppose him. Speaking of which, who did this kid learn to be so cunning and malicious from?"
Horse Elder stared at Cripple.
His big gold chain also floated up from the water, the gold paint nearly boiled off.
Cripple muttered, "Everyone in the village was good people. Who taught this kid to be so treacherous? Did he learn it after leaving the village?"
Horse Elder continued staring at him.
Cripple laughed, "What are you looking at me for? Do I have flowers on my face? You're making my hair stand on end. Horse Elder, were you a constable before? Whenever you look at me, my heart always feels uneasy."
Horse Elder turned his head away and said calmly, "I worked as a constable in the Protectorate for decades before serving in the Grand Court. After solving a major case, I became famous throughout the land. Then the Great Thunderclap Monastery found me, and I didn't continue."
"No wonder you make me uneasy. Those monks from the Great Thunderclap Monastery are really meddlesome. You had already left the order, and they still came looking for you."
The two were boiled all night. During that time, Qin Mu changed the medicine once. When dawn broke, Horse Elder and Cripple got up, washed and dressed neatly. Qin Mu had already prepared breakfast, and the family sat down to eat peacefully. Fox Ling'er ran off to help Qin Mu wash the dishes. Cripple stood up and laughed, "Little one, Old Horse and I won't stay here anymore. We're leaving."
Qin Mu quickly dried the water on his hands and said, "I'll see you two grandfathers off."
Horse Elder waved his hand, "No need. Seeing you doing well, Cripple and I are at ease. We're old. You can already protect yourself."
Cripple still leaned on his crutch, glanced at him, and laughed, "Old Horse is getting sentimental again. Alright, come see us off. If you don't, he'll be sad for two or three days."
Qin Mu followed them, escorting them down the mountain, and said, "Horse Elder, Cripple Grandpa, your arm and leg have just been reattached. Don't use them too much yet. You need to recuperate for a year or two, and you should also practice using your hand and leg regularly to avoid leaving lasting problems."
Horse Elder nodded.
Cripple sighed, "After twenty or thirty years of getting used to one leg, suddenly having the cut-off one grow back feels strange."
Horse Elder agreed deeply, "Being crippled for half a lifetime, having the hand back, I always feel like I don't need it."
Qin Mu saw them to the mountain gate. Cripple laughed, "Go back, no need to see us off."
Horse Elder waved, "Remember to come home for the New Year."
"I definitely will!"
Qin Mu nodded solemnly, watching them leave.
Horse Elder and Cripple walked out of the capital. Cripple sighed emotionally, "The little baby we picked up back then has really grown up. We almost gave him away back then."
Horse Elder nodded, "Almost. Luckily, you stole him back."
"This little one has been taught by us not to be easily taken advantage of. I always worried he'd suffer outside, but now I can go back to the village at ease…"
As Cripple said this, he suddenly stopped. Horse Elder also stopped. The two old men looked ahead at the Tu River. On the river's surface, a middle-aged man stood in the middle of the current. The waves surged beneath him, but he remained motionless.
"National Teacher, are your injuries healed?" Cripple raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.
The Yan Kang National Teacher nodded, "My injuries are healed. What about yours?"
Horse Elder moved his shoulder and said in a deep voice, "Barely enough for a fight."
Cripple shook his leg and sighed, "Little one said we shouldn't use too much force yet, but if we have to fight, I can manage with one leg. National Teacher, you have quite the patience. When you heard us in the room that day, knowing I stole something from your house, you still chose to retreat and endure until now. That's not easy."
The Yan Kang National Teacher said calmly, "My injuries weren't healed that day, so I had to back down. Both of you are senior experts, not evil people. Even though you stole things, it was only for disaster relief. I don't want to fight with you. Just hand over the Emperor's Disc, and I'll let you both leave without harming our goodwill."
"Emperor's Disc?"
Cripple and Horse Elder exchanged glances and laughed, "I've studied that Emperor's Disc for over twenty years without figuring out its mysteries. I wouldn't mind giving it to you, but that thing has already been given away."
"Given away?"
Suddenly, stars appeared above the Yan Kang National Teacher's head—a brilliant galaxy of stars shaking, clearly showing his inner turmoil: "Given to whom?"
"To the Zhong San Physician of your Yan Kang Kingdom."
Cripple chuckled and walked away shoulder to shoulder with Horse Elder.
"Zhong San Physician?"
The Yan Kang National Teacher was stunned for a moment, watching their retreating figures. He didn't make a move and murmured softly, "The Emperor's Disc was given to him? He dared to accept it? Is he planning to rebel? That disc was a gift from the gods to the founding emperor, symbolizing imperial power, and it's said to hide a secret… Should I go ask him to return it?"
He stood in the middle of the river, pondered for a moment, shook his head, and turned away: "Imperial power isn't decided by a piece of disc. Imperial power depends on the will of the people. It has nothing to do with the Emperor's Disc."
Back at the Scholars' Residence, Qin Mu poured out the medicinal broth, cleaned the cauldron and stove, scrubbed them several times until no stains remained, and set them out to dry in the sun.
Fox Ling'er also helped clean up. She saw a jade ring on the table and exclaimed in surprise, "Young master, those two old gentlemen left something behind!"
Qin Mu leaned over to look. Some characters on the jade ring were constantly flowing and changing, looking very familiar. He said, "This is… Cripple Grandpa's Emperor's Disc. He must have left it here. When I went into the darkness of the Great Ruins with the village chief, Cripple Grandpa hung this disc around my neck, but it didn't come in handy. Why did Cripple Grandpa leave it here? He's always been one to pick things up along the way, never losing anything…"
He shook his head, tied the Emperor's Disc together with his own jade pendant, and thought to himself, "I'll return it to him when I go back to the village." Then he dragged the Heavenly Demon of All Realms out, opened the statue's belly, fiddled with it a couple of times, changed the gear movement path, and said, "Demon Lord, you can move now."
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms sneered, "You're playing tricks on me. I won't move. Little brat, when my true body descends, I'll make your life worse than death!"
Fox Ling'er stood on her hind legs, paws on her hips: "My young master already has a hundred ways to make your life worse than death!"
Qin Mu said meaningfully, "Ling'er, you're underselling it. How can a hundred be enough?"
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms laughed coldly, "Little devil, go ahead and use your tricks. If I'm afraid, I'll have failed my tens of thousands of years of cultivation."
Qin Mu advised, "Why bother? We're both on the demonic path. I'm a demonic practitioner too. Teach me the Youdu language you know, and I'll let you go. Wouldn't that be perfect for both sides?"
"Pah!" The Heavenly Demon of All Realms spat.
Qin Mu sneered, "I'll send you to the Azure Sun Hall and let Monk Faqing chant Buddhist scriptures at you every day. Monk Faqing loves to reform demon lords. He'll be more than happy to do it."
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms sneered, "Heh, I'm a demon who became a god. Does he think he can reform me? That Monk Faqing you mentioned, let him come. We'll see if he reforms me or if I turn him into a demon!"
Qin Mu hesitated. The Heavenly Demon of All Realms had deep demonic nature. If Monk Faqing tried to reform him, he would likely be reformed instead and become a demon himself.
"Young master, why hasn't he turned us into demons?" Fox Ling'er asked curiously.
The Heavenly Demon of All Realms was furious and shouted, "Little fox demon, do you even need me to turn you into demons? You're already demons! I admit defeat this time. Give me a quick death!"
Qin Mu shook his head and said softly, "I'm not that kind of person. Ling'er, from now on, let him follow you. I'll teach you how to operate the mechanisms here."
————Third update, folks! If you have votes, please support!