Chapter 271: Ghost Possession
Qin Mu slept in a daze, feeling someone climb onto him. He had a temper when sleeping, so he kicked twice, sending the person tumbling off the bed.
That person was also groggy, grabbing the blanket and crawling back onto the bed, burrowing into his arms, only to be kicked off again by Qin Mu. In the end, the three girls huddled together and fell asleep, leaving him out in the cold.
After several days of hard work, both Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu slept deeply. It wasn’t until the early morning of the next day that Qin Mu woke up. Ling Yuxiu had burrowed under his armpit, and Qin Mu carefully shifted his arm, afraid of waking her.
In truth, Ling Yuxiu was already awake. Being a girl, she was a bit shy and afraid of the awkwardness of waking up, so she pretended to sleep. She secretly opened her eyes and saw Qin Mu pinching his shoes, tiptoeing out.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief only after leaving the room. The two twin palace maids had woken up early and were chatting in the courtyard. One said, “Young Master Qin likes to throw punches in his dreams. He gave me a good kicking. Look, my eye is swollen.”
“Tell me about it! I got kicked too, right in the chest, and he knocked me off the bed. You weren’t taken advantage of, were you?”
“No. But the princess slept with the young master, and even we were on the bed, all under the same big blanket. How do we report this back?”
The two girls fell silent for a moment, then said in unison, “We won’t tell, and the young master and princess won’t tell either, so we’d better keep it to ourselves!”
It involved the royal family’s face; saying too much could get them beheaded. They naturally understood this.
Qin Mu put on his shoes, coughed, and walked out.
The two palace maids quickly bowed in greeting. “Young Master is awake? We sisters were reckless yesterday. Thanks to your care, we didn’t die at the hands of Little Poison King.”
Qin Mu returned the bow. “It was also fortunate that you two sisters were there to wound Little Poison King, preventing him from continuing his rampage.”
The two maids exchanged a glance and laughed together. “Young Master, please don’t call us sisters. We serve the Empress Dowager and don’t even have surnames, only names. I’m Jian Qi, and she’s Qin Qi.”
When they saw Qin Mu looking back and forth between them, trying to tell who was Jian Qi and who was Qin Qi, they laughed again. This time, Qin Mu noticed. Jian Qi had a small canine tooth on the left, and Qin Qi had one on the right.
“Young Master, we haven’t returned all night. We must go back to the palace to report,” Qin Qi said.
Qin Mu nodded. “You slept, and the residual poison in your bodies has been neutralized. There’s no major issue. I still have a few detoxification pills here; take them.”
The two maids thanked him, accepted the pills, and were about to leave when Ling Yuxiu’s voice came from the room. “Wait for me! I’ll go back with you!”
The two women stopped and turned around. They saw Ling Yuxiu in disarray, wearing only a white undergarment as she rushed out in a panic. Her hair was a mess, and she clutched her outer robe while dragging her shoes. One shoe fell off, and she quickly lifted her foot to put it back on, but her jet-black hair completely came loose, cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall.
Ling Yuxiu tried to fix her hair, but the outer robe she was holding fell off again, making her quite flustered.
Qin Mu looked at her and saw a pair of plump breasts nearly escaping from her clothes. The young man hesitated inwardly, unsure whether to remind her or step forward to help stuff them back in.
Jian Qi and Qin Qi exchanged a glance, walked over, and escorted the princess back into the room to help her dress and groom.
Ling Yuxiu’s face flushed red. She mustered her courage and whispered, “Will I get pregnant?”
The two maids widened their eyes in surprise. “Princess, why do you ask that?”
“I heard people in the palace say that if a man and a woman sleep together, the woman gets pregnant.”
Ling Yuxiu said seriously, “We slept together for almost a whole day and night. Maybe I’m already pregnant.”
Jian Qi chuckled. “Princess, you’ve got it wrong. It’s not like that. Oh, it’s hard to explain. The young master is a divine physician; he must have contraceptive methods.”
Ling Yuxiu’s eyes widened. “Is that possible?”
“Of course. I’ve heard that some noble ladies who don’t want children ask pharmacists for medicine, and they don’t get pregnant.”
…
Qin Mu saw the three women off and noticed that the yellow pear tree’s flowers had fully bloomed, covering the tree in blossoms.
“Spring has finally arrived.”
The young man thought to himself, “Once the first season’s grain matures, this famine year will be over.”
He washed up and, since he was home alone with only Dragon Qilin for company and had no intention of cooking, he decided to go down the mountain to eat. Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Ba Shan Jijiu walking over, draped in a coat, and bellowing, “I just saw the princess and two palace maids carrying lanterns down the mountain. Were they coming out of your room?”
“There’s no such thing. Don’t talk nonsense, senior brother.”
Qin Mu said without a change in expression or heartbeat, “Senior brother, are you here to see me about Banguo Cuo? Have you had breakfast?”
Ba Shan Jijiu was always loud, no less than Duke Wei Guo. If he found out that Ling Yuxiu and the two maids had slept in Qin Mu’s room for a night, the whole capital would know.
For Qin Mu, it was about propriety and restraint; he hadn’t done anything improper. But for the secular world, it was a huge deal. Sleeping with the princess could get him beheaded if the emperor found out, so it was best to keep it secret.
“I just ate down the mountain. I know you just got back from the palace and must be hungry after all that work, so I brought you some food.”
Ba Shan Jijiu took out several oil-paper packages and handed them to him. Qin Mu quickly thanked him and opened them to find a steamer of buns, another package with meat from some unknown exotic beast boiled in water, with red sauce mixed with shredded scallions, and a third package of pickled vegetables.
Qin Mu invited him inside, sat down, and began to eat.
Ba Shan Jijiu watched him wolf down the food and sighed, “The emperor is really stingy. He didn’t even prepare good food for you when you went to treat him. By the way, Banguo Cuo has broken through most of his Six Harmonies Divine Treasury walls.”
“So fast?”
Qin Mu looked up, surprised.
Cultivating to the Six Harmonies realm made one a supernatural power user. Any realm required careful polishing. For Qin Mu, breaking through the Five Radiance Divine Treasury walls in two years was already quite fast.
He had been cultivating in the Five Radiance realm for nearly a year and was now on the edge of the Six Harmonies realm, but he didn’t know when he would succeed in breaking through.
When they last encountered Banguo Cuo, he was just a brat in the Spirit Embryo realm. Now, half a year later, Banguo Cuo’s realm had surpassed Qin Mu’s, making him a Six Harmonies realm supernatural power user!
This was far from normal cultivation speed; it could only be called lightning-fast!
“This kid is strange.”
Ba Shan Jijiu picked up a piece of pickled vegetable and put it in his mouth. “The Six Harmonies Hall at the Imperial Academy is where the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury wall-breaking is taught. Scholars who have completed their Five Radiance realm cultivation go there to listen. Shen Wanyun, Yue Qinghong, Qin Yu, Yun Que, Fatty Wei, and some other young nobles have all gone. Banguo Cuo is there too. The Dharma Master of the Six Harmonies Hall said his progress is extremely fast. He doesn’t even need her guidance. Three days ago, he had just completed the Five Radiance realm, and now he’s already broken through most of the walls. In just two more days, he’ll be a Six Harmonies realm supernatural power user. By the way, where are you in your cultivation?”
“The Five Radiance realm is basically complete.”
Qin Mu took a big bite of meat. “But I still have no clue about the Six Harmonies realm.”
Ba Shan Jijiu’s eyes flickered. “Then you should go to the Six Harmonies Hall. Dharma Master Hong Fa specializes in teaching that. I want to see who’s stronger, you or Banguo Cuo.”
Qin Mu didn’t look up. “I don’t think it’s necessary. I, the Overlord Body…”
“I know, I know, you’re the Overlord Body, nose in the air, all high and mighty.”
Ba Shan Jijiu chuckled. “I had Wanyun test him. He lasted two moves against Banguo Cuo before losing.”
Qin Mu finally looked up, surprised. “Two moves? Senior brother, are you sure he defeated Shen Wanyun in just two moves?”
Ba Shan Jijiu nodded.
Qin Mu’s expression turned serious. Shen Wanyun was indeed extraordinary, a standout among the younger generation. His talent and insight were only slightly inferior to the Buddha Son and Dao Son, and his strength was also very high. When the Buddha Heart Buddha Son blocked the Imperial Academy’s mountain gate, Shen Wanyun challenged him and lost after over ten moves, showing his capability.
His foundation was very solid. After receiving guidance from the Yan Kang National Teacher, he had almost no weaknesses.
Since returning from the Southern Frontier, Qin Mu had rarely seen him, only hearing that he spent most of his time in the Tianlu Tower, likely cultivating the divine transformation state of the Five Radiance Divine Treasury.
Shen Wanyun, having cultivated the divine transformation state of the Five Radiance Divine Treasury, was not far from the Buddha Heart Buddha Son.
Defeating Shen Wanyun in just two moves—Qin Mu doubted he could do that himself unless he used a powerful move like Sword Moves Mountains and Rivers right from the start!
“Interesting.”
Qin Mu finished eating, wiped his mouth, and smiled. “Wu Kehan, you’ve been egging me on to go to the Six Harmonies Hall and meet this Banguo Cuo. What’s your plan?”
Ba Shan Jijiu said leisurely, “I want you to probe his background. I suspect he’s been possessed by a ghost. Besides, the Overlord Body shouldn’t be afraid, right?”
“Possessed by a ghost?”
Qin Mu was momentarily stunned, recalling that when he went to the Loulan Golden Palace, the Butcher had mentioned an old monster there who had reincarnated eighteen times and lived nineteen lives. He exclaimed, “You mean…”
Ba Shan Jijiu nodded. “I suspect Banguo Cuo is no longer Banguo Cuo but has been possessed by an incredibly terrifying old monster, one who has lived for ten thousand years. He’s also an old rival of Master Tian Dao. Because of him, Master abandoned even his own name, afraid to use his real name.”
Qin Mu nodded. Ba Shan Jijiu had told him about this before. The Butcher’s real name was never told to anyone, not even Ba Shan, all because of that strongman from the Loulan Golden Palace who had reincarnated eighteen times!
That was a terrifying existence. Knowing an enemy’s true name allowed them to directly cast spells to harm them.
“Shen Wanyun couldn’t probe his background, so I want you to go to the Six Harmonies Hall and meet him.”
Ba Shan Jijiu’s eyes flickered. “Master Tian Dao’s greatest enemy is him. If Banguo Cuo is indeed possessed by him, then killing Banguo Cuo would solve Master’s biggest problem. But he’s still the son of the Man Di Kingdom’s Khan. Without solid proof, I won’t act rashly. So you have to find out his background.”
He had a rough appearance but a very sharp mind.
Qin Mu stood up. “I was also planning to try breaking through and sprint for the Six Harmonies realm. I’ll go to the Six Harmonies Hall…”
He looked embarrassed. “Senior brother, which hall is the Six Harmonies Hall?”
Ba Shan Jijiu nearly spat blood. “You’ve been at the Imperial Academy for almost a year, and you don’t even know which one is the Six Harmonies Hall?”
Qin Mu said sheepishly, “I’ve only attended one class since coming to the Imperial Academy.”
“I’ll take you there!”
Ba Shan Jijiu led him out of the Scholar’s Residence. As they walked side by side, Qin Mu suddenly remembered something. “Senior brother, have you heard of the Heavenly Saint Sect?”
—Second chapter at 8 PM!