Bashan Jijiu walked out, draped in a gray sable fur cloak, clutching a half-man-high wine gourd. He raised his head, took several swigs of wine, belched, and then tossed the gourd to the Azure Ox. "Who dares steal from my vegetable patch? Quite bold, aren't they?"
The Azure Ox took several deep drinks from the gourd, belched, and let out a breath smelling of fodder and wine. "I don't know. A lunkhead of a lad, with a fox."
Bashan Jijiu murmured thoughtfully, "So it's that kid who came out of the Great Ruins. He dares provoke my little ox and steal my vegetables? Very arrogant and insolent. I see. You stay here and watch the vegetable garden so it doesn't get stolen again."
Qin Mu returned to the front of the mountain, rubbing the bruise on his face, his expression shifting between gloom and light. "That ox—I can't beat it in a fight, but I can drug it and knock it down. Pharmacist Grandpa said, if you can't win, use poison. As long as I tie up its hooves, it won't be able to resist... Patriarch, why are you here?"
Before Qin Mu lay a cluster of thatched cottages, two or three simple houses nestled by the mountain and water, very serene. The Young Patriarch was washing bowls in the yard, having just finished a meal, while a white-haired elder beside him scrubbed a pot with a loofah brush.
Qin Mu had seen this elder before—he was the Law Enforcement Elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Although the Young Patriarch was the Grand Jijiu of the Imperial Academy, holding a lofty position, he had no servants or maids attending him, only the Law Enforcement Elder by his side.
The Young Patriarch and the Law Enforcement Elder also saw him and Hu Ling'er, but neither rose, continuing with their tasks. The Law Enforcement Elder smiled and said, "The Patriarch has always lived here. Has the Young Sect Master never visited?"
Qin Mu shook his head, stood outside and bowed in greeting, then walked in.
The Law Enforcement Elder greeted Qin Mu, who hurriedly returned the courtesy, stepped forward, sat by the basin, and helped the Young Patriarch wash bowls. He smiled and asked, "Patriarch, as the Grand Jijiu, why live so frugally?"
The Young Patriarch took a towel and wiped his hands. "I'm used to a leisurely life. I can't bear to live in grand, magnificent palaces. The Law Enforcement Elder doesn't live here either. It's only in my old age that I've asked him to come, burdening him to suffer alongside me."
Qin Mu looked at the Law Enforcement Elder, who smiled and said, "I also want a few more peaceful days. This place is perfect."
The Young Patriarch smiled. "Young Sect Master, after you ascend, I'll still need to borrow the Law Enforcement Elder for a few years, to let him travel with me. When I die, he can help collect my body. Our Holy Sect leaves no corpse—when a person dies, it's like a lamp extinguished, leaving only a handful of ash. At that time, the Law Enforcement Elder will bring my ashes."
Qin Mu fell silent, a sour feeling in his heart.
Heroes in their twilight.
Even as powerful as the Village Chief, as powerful as the Young Patriarch, they cannot escape birth, aging, sickness, and death. Their passionate blood and lofty aspirations will eventually be worn away by time, becoming bones in a mound of yellow earth.
The Young Patriarch looked at him. "An old monk and a young monk have come to the mountain."
Qin Mu nodded. After washing the bowls, he used the Vermilion Bird Vital Energy to dry the water from his hands. The Law Enforcement Elder hung up the wok, brought over a tea table, and prepared to brew tea. Hu Ling'er ran over to help.
"I know. I heard the monks down the mountain are from the Great Thunder Sound Temple. I went to have a look. I recognize the old monk—I've seen him before in the Great Ruins. I heard Master Ma say he's his senior brother, called Jingming or something."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, unsure if that was the name, and said, "I haven't seen the young monk. He seems to be the Buddha Son of the Great Thunder Sound Temple."
Hu Ling'er struggled to pour tea for them, but she was too short, not even as tall as the tea table. The Law Enforcement Elder quickly took the teapot, placed it on the table, lifted the little fox and set her in a rattan chair nearby, smiling. "Let me do it."
The Young Patriarch continued to stare at him. "They're blocking the gate of our Imperial Academy."
Qin Mu replied, "They've been blocking it for most of the day. I went to watch the excitement. That Buddha Son is indeed powerful—the Tathagata Mahayana Sutra, the Battle-Victorious Dharma, the Indestructible Diamond Body, the Tathagata Relic Pagoda, the Mahayana Nirvana Seal, the Eighteen Arhat Seals. Patriarch, is there some misunderstanding I have about our Imperial Academy?"
The Young Patriarch was puzzled. "What misunderstanding?"
"Are we very weak?"
Qin Mu asked in confusion, "Why are we always being beaten up at our own gate? I've just enrolled, and already twice people have come to smash the place. Back in the Great Ruins, we'd have grabbed our weapons and flattened them long ago."
The Young Patriarch said angrily, "That's not what I meant. I meant when the Buddha Son arrived, why didn't you go? Instead, you went to the back mountain?"
Qin Mu laughed. "How could I not have gone? I did go, then came back from the mountain gate, and only then went to the back mountain. The mountain gate was quite lively."
The Young Patriarch grew angry. The Law Enforcement Elder quickly offered tea. The Patriarch drained his cup in one gulp, set it down, and was about to explode. The Law Enforcement Elder hurriedly poured another cup.
The Young Patriarch suppressed his anger. "The other scholars of the Imperial Academy all stepped forward to challenge the Buddha Son. Why didn't you?"
"Patriarch, I already fought the Dao Son—just not long ago—and I was injured."
Qin Mu protested, "My hand was pierced through. Look... eh, where's the scar? Anyway, I was injured—serious internal injuries. I've already fought one battle. Let whoever wants to fight the Buddha Son do it themselves. I need to heal. Look at my face—it's still swollen. Your Young Sect Master got beaten up by an ox, and you didn't even stand up for me. Why should I stand up for the Imperial Academy?"
The Law Enforcement Elder coughed once as a reminder. "Patriarch, your tea is getting cold."
"It won't get cold that fast!"
The Young Patriarch slammed the table and sneered. "What do you want? Have me invite the Imperial Preceptor again to teach the scriptures? I've already done it once—where would I put my face if I went again? Who else can I invite? The Emperor?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he probed, "Could the Emperor come to our Imperial Academy to give a lecture?"
The Young Patriarch raised his head and drank his tea, even swallowing the tea leaves to cool his anger. He sneered, "Give up that idea. The Emperor will never come to lecture at the Imperial Academy! Hugging Buddha's feet once in a pinch was bad enough—why do you want to do it again? I don't have that kind of face!"
Qin Mu said resentfully, "Patriarch, I was thinking—two of the three great sects have already arrived. The Dao Son from the Dao Sect, the Buddha Son from the Great Thunder Sound Temple—they've all come to block our gate. Shouldn't our Heavenly Holy Sect also make an appearance and block the Imperial Academy's gate? As the Young Sect Master, it's only right that I go and block the Imperial Academy's gate, to bolster our sect's prestige..."
The Young Patriarch slammed the table and sprang to his feet. The tea table wobbled wildly. The Law Enforcement Elder quickly blocked him, shouting, "Patriarch, calm down, calm down! The Young Sect Master is just a child. There's no need to be angry with him! Calm down!"
The Young Patriarch laughed in extreme anger. "You brat, do you think that without you, the Imperial Academy has no one who can defeat the Buddha Son?"
Qin Mu smiled. "There probably are, but from the past. Those people have already graduated from the Imperial Academy and are no longer its disciples. If the Patriarch wants Dao Arts to flourish, you must invite back those who left the Imperial Academy and became high-ranking officials, and have them teach. Then invite first-rank officials from the imperial court to lecture on Dao Arts and divine powers."
The Young Patriarch sighed and shook his head. "Today's first-rank officials are mostly sect leaders, gate masters, or heads of noble houses. How could they be willing to share their secrets with the world? I understand your meaning, but I'm about to resign from office and have no heart for reviving the Imperial Academy. This matter can only be left to the next Grand Jijiu. I just don't know who the Emperor and Imperial Preceptor will appoint. Will you really not face the Buddha Son? Are you afraid you can't beat him?"
Qin Mu shook his head, quite confident. "I possess the Overlord Body. Fighting the Buddha Son is no different from fighting the Dao Son to me."
"Overlord Body?"
The Young Patriarch was puzzled, somewhat bewildered. "Is there such a thing as an Overlord Body in this world?"
The Law Enforcement Elder also shook his head. "Never heard of it."
Qin Mu's confidence was explosive. Even the Young Patriarch was startled by such an invincible conviction, and said in a tone that looked down upon the world, "The Village Chief said it himself—I am the one and only Overlord Body in all the world. Only I can cultivate the Three Pill Overlord Technique."
"Ah, that old fellow. As expected, he's seen more than most."
The Young Patriarch glanced at him. "Are you really not going? Even without you, I have someone who can force the Buddha Son to retreat!"
Qin Mu blinked and probed, "Patriach, are you planning to personally disguise yourself as a youth to fight?"
The Young Patriarch raised his tea and snapped, "Drink your tea and get out!"
Qin Mu drank his tea and left with Hu Ling'er. After thinking for a moment, he came back and said, "Patriarch, always having others block our gate isn't the way. Why don't we go block theirs?"
"Will you help?"
"Will the Emperor come to lecture?"
"Scram!"
"Yes."
...
"That rascal—he won't lift a finger without a reward."
The Young Patriarch shook his head. The Law Enforcement Elder smiled. "The Young Sect Master has no emotional attachment to the Imperial Academy, so of course he won't help easily. Besides, Patriarch, aren't you happy too?"
The Patriarch laughed heartily. "That kid likes to amuse me. He's worthy of those old fellows who raised him. The old man of the Cripple Village is indeed extraordinary—I didn't even know there was an Overlord Body in this world, yet he could recognize one. Once I resign from this Grand Jijiu position, I'll go have a chat with him. But the Young Sect Master is right—always having others block our gate isn't the way. We might as well block theirs. They want to rebel? Let's slap their faces first and leave them too ashamed to rebel!"
The Law Enforcement Elder reminded him, "Patriarch, you have only two months left before you step down."
The Young Patriarch sighed. "This matter can only be left to someone else. The Emperor has been scouting for the next Grand Jijiu these days. Who do you think will take over?"
The Law Enforcement Elder shook his head. "How would I know? But I think the Emperor will choose from the first-rank officials. Though the Grand Jijiu is only a third-rank position, this post is too important. It must be held by someone the Emperor trusts."
In the imperial palace, Emperor Yanfeng was reviewing memorials when a eunuch reported in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, Lord Gu has arrived."
"Let him in," Emperor Yanfeng said without looking up.
"Your subject, Gu Linuan, greets Your Majesty!"
Emperor Yanfeng raised his head, looking at Gu Linuan standing with a bow below the hall, and set down his vermilion brush. "Lord Gu, you went missing decades ago and were rescued by General Qin. By rights, you should have been given an official post, but you were missing for so many years, and you lost the imperial sword entrusted to you—a considerable offense. Even if I wished to promote you, I'd face great pressure. But I've decided to defy the majority and appoint you to an important position."
Gu Linuan was both surprised and overjoyed.
"The position of Grand Jijiu at the Imperial Academy is of utmost importance. The current Grand Jijiu is resigning—I've instructed him to step down in two months to allow time to find a successor. I've chosen you. I hope you won't disappoint me!"
"Your subject will give his all, even unto death!"
Emperor Yanfeng picked up his brush and continued reviewing memorials. "No need for such devotion. If you disappoint me, I'll have your head. You may leave."