Chapter 446: The Girl on the Box
The woman wore a black dress and black skirt, with silver ornaments adorning her head and over a dozen silver bracelets hanging from her wrists, each bracelet fitted with bells. She carried herself with an air of distinction. Soon, someone took the portrait and hung it on the notice board.
The woman from True Heaven Palace looked down from her height, surveying the crowd, and said, "The fugitive from the Great Ruins is extremely important. He will be arriving from the Flame Desert in a few days, so you all must be vigilant during this time. If you see the person in the portrait, do not raise an alarm, lest you scare him away."
Xiong Qi'er ran over to look, and Qin Mu quickly grabbed her little hand to keep her from getting lost.
The notice board was packed with a sea of people, so crowded that not even water could pass through. Xiong Qi'er tugged his hand and squeezed to the front. Qin Mu looked up and saw that the portrait was of himself, with the words "Fugitive from the Great Ruins, Qin Mu" written on it.
Xiong Qi'er was both startled and delighted. "Fatty Dragon, Big Brother has you next to him too! But I'm not there!"
The surrounding noise suddenly fell into dead silence. Everyone turned to look at Qin Mu in unison.
Qin Mu acted as if he hadn't noticed, gazing at the notice board, and said with a smile, "This is Ban Gongcuo's handiwork. He painted it himself. Xing Han also has a portrait of me, also painted by him. I recognize his brushwork."
*Whoosh!*
The area around him instantly emptied out as the crowd scattered, moving as far away from him as possible.
Qin Mu was unperturbed and chuckled, "The Great Venerable sure has a wide circle of acquaintances. Too bad he ran too fast—I couldn't finish him off."
"Fugitive from the Great Ruins, meet your death!"
A loud shout came from behind him, followed by a *whoosh* as the tree-man raised its enormous foot to stomp down on Qin Mu. The tree-man itself was incredibly heavy and powerful, and since trees were plentiful and cheap, practitioners in the Western Lands often chose tree-men as both transportation and combat tools.
This female disciple from True Heaven Palace had likely selected a rare breed of tree-man. Its branches, leaves, and trunk were all as red as blood, and judging by its stance, it had clearly been honed through many battles, displaying a strict and orderly technique.
Qin Mu reached out and grabbed. A ball of green light flew out from within the tree-man, which froze in place—its soul had been snatched away by Qin Mu. Xiong Xiyu had taught him the Ten Thousand Spirits Natural Art, and although he felt that men were not as suited to practicing it as women, he had still put in considerable effort.
The female disciple from True Heaven Palace was startled. The silver ornaments on her head suddenly flew up, transforming into a silver phoenix that charged at Qin Mu, while the silver bracelets on her wrists also flew off with a clatter, aiming to loop around his head.
Flames surged around Qin Mu. Before the silver phoenix and bracelets could reach him, they melted on the spot, turning into a pool of molten silver on the ground.
Seeing the situation was dire, the female disciple from True Heaven Palace immediately turned to flee. With a few quick leaps, her clothes rustled automatically, carrying her through the air without her needing to learn any flight-based spells.
"The Ten Thousand Spirits Natural Art is truly marvelous, letting clothes carry one through the air."
Qin Mu flicked his fingers a few times and remarked admiringly, "It seems I've underestimated this technique."
The woman let out a muffled groan and fell from the sky.
"Trouble!"
The surrounding crowd fled in panic, shouting, "A scoundrel is about to kill a lady official!"
Qin Mu looked around. The street was instantly empty. Every household had sealed their doors and windows, leaving no one in sight. Only Long Qilin and Xiong Qi'er remained by his side, while the female disciple from True Heaven Palace lay sprawled on the ground not far away, dazed from the fall.
"Do you know the way to True Heaven Palace?" Qin Mu walked over and asked gently.
The female disciple from True Heaven Palace suddenly flipped up. The hairpins on her head shot toward his eyes like swords, while she herself swiftly sidestepped to a house by the street, reaching up to grab the divine statue from the plaque above the door.
*Boom!*
The house suddenly stood up, transforming into a giant. The two smaller rooms became its fists, which came crashing down toward Qin Mu!
The hairpins froze just before reaching Qin Mu's eyes. Layers of formation patterns spun within his pupils, and the hairpins melted, turning into drops of silver that fell to the ground.
Qin Mu looked up. Stars flickered in his eyes as he shifted his gaze to the house-giant that had risen from the ground. Through the windows, he could see a family trembling in fear, too scared to move.
"I knew that divine statue was useless."
Two beams of light shot from his eyes, sweeping over the female disciple from True Heaven Palace. He said calmly, "As a practitioner, you disregard these ordinary people. I find that contemptible."
The two beams grew shorter and shorter, retracting back into his eyes. The wildly spinning formation patterns in his pupils faded, and the starlight gradually dimmed.
The house-giant crashed back down with a thunderous roar, turning back into a round building that wobbled twice.
Qin Mu turned and walked away, while the woman on the rooftop stood frozen, not daring to move a muscle.
Qin Mu picked up Xiong Qi'er and jumped onto Long Qilin's back. The woman was still standing on the roof when a creaking sound came from below. The female disciple from True Heaven Palace showed a look of terror and whispered, "Don't open the door..."
*Creak.*
The door slowly opened, the sound vibrating through the air. The woman screamed, "Don't open the door—!"
Her vital energy could no longer stabilize her body. A line of blood appeared at her neck and waist, and then her torso slid apart from her waist, rolling onto the street. The legs below her waist also fell from the roof.
"The Sect Leader is truly merciful."
Outside the town, Long Qilin couldn't help but admire, saying, "That woman was so ruthless, yet the Sect Leader still..."
He stopped mid-sentence, hearing the woman's scream from the town behind him. He turned his head just in time to see her lower body fall from the roof, and he shuddered.
Qin Mu sighed, "It's not about mercy. Practitioners harming ordinary people is a taboo in itself. We're all human—why should you be above others, entitled to take lives at will? In Yan Kingdom and the Great Ruins, when practitioners duel, they rarely involve the innocent. Even when I fought Ban Gongcuo, we took it outside the city. Back then, when Granny Si fought the City Lord of Xianglong City, they did it above the city, not recklessly battling within it."
Long Qilin shut his mouth and didn't respond.
He had originally intended to praise Qin Mu for being merciful by not killing the female disciple from True Heaven Palace, but he hadn't expected that she would still be killed by Qin Mu. And what Qin Mu called "mercy" was actually directed at the common folk.
Qin Mu had been taught since childhood by the Nine Elders of the Crippled Village. Although he bore the title of Demon Sect Leader, he had a clear sense of right and wrong.
In this regard alone, he surpassed many so-called righteous figures from famous sects.
"Qi'er, you should know where True Heaven Palace is, right?" Qin Mu asked.
Xiong Qi'er shook her head. "When my mother took me out to escape the pursuit, we always took remote paths. I don't remember where True Heaven Palace is."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "Fatty Dragon, let's follow the main road and head to a big city to ask for directions. People there should know the way to True Heaven Palace."
Long Qilin trotted along the main road. After traveling for several dozen li, they gradually saw more people. The road here was wide and smooth, even better than in Yan Kingdom.
The river beside the road was crystal clear, with fish, turtles, and snakes swimming in it, all quite large. On the water, some practitioners and martial artists were traveling, mostly women, but there were also quite a few men.
These people were likely practicing the path of "all things have spirits, all things have gods." Some young girls and boys stepped onto the river, shouted, and the wide river surged with tall waves, carrying them forward at high speed.
On the road, many people traveled atop tree-men, or vine-men, though they were slower.
In the sky, practitioners rode various birds, their colorful feathers gleaming as they flew past, a dazzling sight.
"It looks like we're nearing a city." Qin Mu relaxed as he saw the number of travelers increase.
Suddenly, a *da da da* sound came from ahead. Qin Mu saw a strange sight: many girls burst out from a mountain hollow, crossed a small hill, and rushed onto the main road.
Carrying these girls was a large box with over a dozen legs. The box sprinted along swiftly on its legs.
More girls emerged from a nearby mountain village, riding wooden boats that also had legs, running along the ground.
Qin Mu was stunned. These boxes and boats seemed to have become spirits, able to run as fast as Long Qilin—truly bizarre.
"The world is full of wonders. The spells and techniques of other lands could be used by Yan Kingdom. If this kind of magic were promoted in Yan Kingdom, wouldn't it be wonderful?"
Qin Mu blinked and thought to himself, "But it would probably cause chaos too, wouldn't it? Some powerful practitioners might end up riding a mountain around to show off."
The girls were also curious about his mount, Long Qilin. The large box with over a dozen legs came closer. The box was huge, several zhang long and wide, with cloud-like silk cushions spread on top. Six or seven girls sat on it, sizing up Long Qilin and Qin Mu.
The leading girl seemed to be their leader. She had awakened the box with her magic, making it carry them at high speed.
Her smile was beautiful. Her big eyes, beneath the tassels of silver pendants, curved like crescent moons. Her accent carried a unique Western flavor, and before she even spoke, she giggled. "Little brother, this big pig of yours runs really fast! Where did you get it?"
Qin Mu was taken aback for a moment before realizing "little brother" was what she meant. He smiled and said, "This is a dragon qilin, a cross between a dragon and a qilin."
Xiong Qi'er poked her little head out from Long Qilin's fur, looking around curiously. The girls were even more surprised, taking a liking to Xiong Qi'er and wanting to hug and kiss her. Qin Mu had no choice but to have Long Qilin move closer, pick up Xiong Qi'er, and place her on the box.
He chatted with the girls. Their surprise came from him bringing Xiong Qi'er along. The customs of the Western Lands were unique: after a man and woman had a walking marriage, if they had children, the sons were sent to the father's home, while the daughters stayed with the mother.
This custom led to the most peculiar phenomenon in the Western Lands: many households were either all women or all men, and even entire villages might have no men at all.
Seeing Qin Mu with Xiong Qi'er, they assumed she was his daughter. But since Qin Mu looked young, like a sunny big boy, not someone with children, they couldn't help but be surprised.
"Ladies, I have a question."
Qin Mu was quite puzzled by the local customs and tentatively asked, "I met a girl once, just once. She invited me to her home, but told me not to use the front door—instead, I had to climb in through her window. What kind of etiquette is that?"
The girls all giggled. The leading girl's eyes curved into crescents again. "Little brother, are you dumb or what? She wants you to climb through her window so you can get close, like mandarin ducks with their necks entwined, cheek to cheek."
Qin Mu scratched his head, confused. "How do mandarin ducks entwine?"
The leading girl jumped onto Long Qilin's head and said with a laugh, "Don't move." She leaned into his arms, placed his hands on her waist, pressed her face back against his chest, her long neck nestled against him, her cheek rubbing against his, and her earlobe touching his—smooth, soft, and indescribably tender and alluring.
Qin Mu's face turned bright red. He was at a loss, his senses filled with the girl's fragrance.
The girl giggled and jumped back onto the speeding box. The other girls watched his dazed and flustered state and laughed cheerfully.
One girl teased, "Big Sister, are you smitten? Why not take him for a walking marriage?"
The girl glanced at Qin Mu, quite tempted, but hesitated. "I'm afraid he might not be willing..."
The other girls egged her on. She took out a sachet and tossed it to Qin Mu, giggling. "Little brother, you can climb through my window tonight. I'll teach you how to be mandarin ducks."
These girls were bold in their actions, even more fiery than the girls in Yan Kingdom's capital. Qin Mu felt overwhelmed and quickly changed the subject. "Do you know the way to True Heaven Palace?"
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