The little fox in the bundle on Qin Mu's back could not help poking out her head. "Senior Brother Fan, have you never thought that your boat is now three to five times faster than before? If you carried passengers, you could make several more trips and earn more money. There's no need to rob people."
Fan Yunxiao gave Hu Ling'er two blank looks. "Why bother? My boat is fast enough, and I can rob fast enough too. I could only rob once a day before, but now I can rob three to five times. I make far more money than I would carrying passengers. In peaceful times, there are more merchant ships, so that's when I rob them. Now that there's a war, there are fewer merchant ships, so I carry passengers. Little fox demon, you have no head for business."
Hu Ling'er was utterly speechless.
The towered boat was moving so fast that it had begun creaking, unable to bear the air pressure caused by its breakneck speed. Fan Yunxiao grew nervous again and worked with several bandits to reinforce the towered boat, transforming qi into runes and branding them onto the hull.
Qin Mu was terrified. He too had begun to worry that the towered boat might collapse and break apart at any moment.
Fortunately, as they flew onward, the towered boat never came apart in midair.
They encountered several battlefields along the way, but the Chasing Cloud Bandit Ship was moving too fast. Before either side could see what it was, the towered boat had already flown past, leaving both armies utterly bewildered.
Fan Yunxiao was just as bewildered. The alchemy furnace Qin Mu had crafted was astonishingly powerful. At this speed, a journey of seven or eight days could be covered in just over a day, allowing them to reach the capital.
However, good as Qin Mu's furnace was, it consumed a great deal of spirit stones and medicinal herbs.
They reached the capital on the morning of the second day. The towered boat slowed, and most of the medicinal supplies aboard had been consumed. It descended slowly and landed in the capital's carriage and horse market.
An official from the carriage and horse market came forward to inspect it. When he saw Fan Yunxiao, his expression changed dramatically, and he was about to order the bailiffs to arrest him. Fan Yunxiao hurriedly said, "I've mended my ways! I've mended my ways! This is the registration document for my vessel!"
The official glanced at it. It was indeed a proper registration document issued by the court. Puzzled, he said, "A murderous bastard like you ought to be beheaded. How were you even allowed to mend your ways?"
Fan Yunxiao gave an awkward laugh. "It is the court's grace. Everyone aboard my vessel is deeply grateful."
Qin Mu disembarked and was about to leave when Fan Yunxiao hurried over, put an arm around his shoulders, and chuckled. "Brother Qin, what prospects do you have at the Imperial Academy? Why not come with me? We can do some big business together, with no capital required and nothing but profit!"
Qin Mu shook his head. "Senior Brother Fan, I'm not like you were in the Dao Sect. Your heart was crooked, but I have an excellent reputation at the Imperial Academy. Everyone knows that I'm a good person."
Hu Ling'er was brimming with confidence. "The words 'crooked heart' have never had anything to do with Young Master."
Fan Yunxiao could only give up. He muttered, "With your talent, it would be a waste not to become a bandit. By the way, when I left the Dao Sect, I stole a volume of the Taixuan Mathematical Canon. You are interested in mathematics, so I'll give it to you."
Qin Mu's spirits soared. He hurriedly accepted the Taixuan Mathematical Canon Fan Yunxiao handed him. "How could I take this? Ling'er, put it away quickly."
Hu Ling'er tucked the Taixuan Mathematical Canon into the bundle.
Fan Yunxiao said, "The Dao Sect doesn't forbid its disciples from studying the Taixuan Mathematical Canon. The canon is used to open disciples' minds. Only after learning mathematics well can one study the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword. My mathematics was not bad back then either. I learned up to the fifth chapter of the Dao Sword. I had not even begun the sixth when I was driven out to become a bandit."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "'One point pierces and links the vast movement; yin and yang repeat within yin and yang'—which chapter of the Dao Sword is that move from?"
"Brother Qin knows that move?"
Fan Yunxiao was surprised. "That is the first chapter of the Dao Sword, the simplest move among the fourteen chapters. The farther one goes in the Dao Sword, the more difficult it becomes, but its power also grows. Mastering the fourteenth chapter makes one invincible beneath heaven, able to become a god and an ancestor. Unfortunately, no one in the Dao Sect has ever mastered it."
Qin Mu's heart jolted. The first chapter of the Dao Sword was already so powerful. How astonishing would the fourteenth chapter be?
When he had fought Daoist Lin Xuan, Lin Xuan had used this very move. Qin Mu had defeated him with the first move of the sword diagram, Sword Treads Mountains and Rivers, but Lin Xuan had also calculated the exact location of Qin Mu's weakness and wounded him.
He could not help being intensely curious about the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword.
He bid Fan Yunxiao farewell and walked toward the Imperial Academy, thinking, "Fan Yunxiao is an interesting man. I just wonder when such an interesting man will be dragged to the execution ground and beheaded. Hmm, the Ancestor has resigned and left. I wonder who the next Grand Libationer will be. Could it be Libationer Bashan?"
Libationer Bashan intended to reform the Imperial Academy's shortcomings and establish Imperial Academy Erudites. In Qin Mu's mind, he was the foremost candidate for the next Grand Libationer.
Few others were likely to be as open-minded as he was.
Establishing Imperial Academy Erudites was extremely important. It was the key to determining whether the Imperial Academy could surpass holy lands such as the Dao Sect and the Great Thunderclap Monastery. Only if Libationer Bashan became Grand Libationer could he continue pushing this reform forward.
He arrived before the Imperial Academy's mountain gate. He had just passed through it when he suddenly retreated and looked the dragon qilin guarding the gate up and down.
The dragon qilin was still lying beneath the mountain gate, staring straight ahead without moving, but the chain around his neck was gone.
Qin Mu examined him several times. The dragon qilin continued staring ahead without even blinking, looking exactly like a stone sculpture, but the veins on his neck had begun to bulge one by one.
"What are you looking at?" the dragon qilin roared angrily, turning his head toward him.
Qin Mu asked curiously, "The chain around your neck is gone. Why haven't you left? What are you staying here for?"
The dragon qilin said listlessly, "I have nowhere to go. Someone brings me food and drink here every day. Why should I leave? I'm quite comfortable."
Hu Ling'er gave a clear, crisp laugh. "Big fellow, is eating and drinking all you aspire to?"
The dragon qilin glanced at her with great disdain. "How could a fox demon understand a qilin's ambitions? You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Hu Ling'er smiled at Qin Mu. "Young Master, this dragon qilin has gone foolish from sitting here every day. We don't need to bother with him."
Qin Mu was about to walk up the mountain when the dragon qilin lowered his head, his gaze vacant. "My master resigned and ran away with an old man, leaving me behind. I have nowhere to go, so I can only stay here and guard the gate. Every day, I have to be bullied by an ox. Now a fox is mocking me too. How am I supposed to live like this..."
Qin Mu took two steps back and came before the dragon qilin. Curious, he asked, "You are the Ancestor's mount? We are fellow disciples. I am the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult."
The dragon qilin glanced at him warily and sneered. "I don't know any Ancestor, and I don't know any Cult Master. You drugged me unconscious. I haven't even settled that account with you."
Qin Mu smiled. "When I came to challenge the Dao Sect's Daoist Chosen One last time, didn't you see me arrive with the Ancestor? You should have known our relationship then. You don't need to be so cautious."
The dragon qilin snorted. "And then you drugged me unconscious."
Qin Mu said awkwardly, "Who told you to trick me into fighting that ox? I ended up being beaten by it instead. You never told me that ox was so powerful. Better to resolve a feud than deepen it..."
The dragon qilin snorted again. "And then you drugged me unconscious to get revenge."
Qin Mu ventured, "How about I bring that ox over and let you beat him up?"
The dragon qilin clearly did not believe him. "You want to drug me unconscious again?"
Qin Mu had no choice but to go up the mountain. This dragon qilin was rather thickheaded; he remembered only that Qin Mu had drugged him unconscious.
Suddenly, Qin Mu stopped and looked back. The dragon qilin had finally left his spot and was following close behind him. When Qin Mu stopped, the dragon qilin stopped too.
Qin Mu walked forward, and the dragon qilin walked forward as well. Qin Mu stopped beneath the Jade Cliff and looked back.
The dragon qilin stopped too.
Qin Mu leaped onto the Jade Cliff. Fire clouds formed beneath the dragon qilin's feet, carrying his enormous body up after him.
Qin Mu turned around and smiled. "Why are you following me? I only drugged you unconscious once and took some dragon saliva. Is that really enough for you to hold such a grudge?"
"You drugged me unconscious, so you have to provide my food and drink." The dragon qilin was utterly serious.
Qin Mu was puzzled. "Didn't you just say that someone brings you food and drink every day? You can stay at the mountain gate and guard it."
The dragon qilin lowered his head. "My master used to bring me food and drink. After he left, no one took care of me. I haven't eaten anything for more than a month. The new Grand Libationer thinks I'm a stone, and the other Imperial Academy officials think I'm a stone too. I was too embarrassed to ask for food. I couldn't bring myself to do it. That ox even bullies me under Libationer Bashan's protection, saying I deceived his feelings..."
Seeing how aggrieved he looked, Qin Mu's compassion was aroused. "All right, all right, don't look so miserable. Follow me from now on. I'll provide your food and drink. I have money! What do you eat?"
"Every day I drink only water from Jade Dragon Lake, and I eat only one dan of Red Fire Spirit Pills."
Qin Mu clenched his fists. Hu Ling'er also felt her heart tremble. Jade Dragon Lake was the lake formed from the condensed aura of the Nine Dragons on the mountain. There was plenty of water for the dragon qilin to drink his fill, but one dan of Red Fire Spirit Pills a day would be ruinous.
"Young Master, our money is only enough to feed him for half a month," Hu Ling'er whispered.
"I think we should not take him in. Otherwise, he will eat through everything we have," she added quietly.
The dragon qilin heard her and hurriedly said, "I can eat less. Half a dan a day, perhaps? Or one sheng? It can't be less than one sheng."
Qin Mu waved his hand. "I am a pharmacist myself. I can prepare and refine the Red Fire Spirit Pills, which will save us some money. You won't go without food, but I can't support you for nothing."
The dragon qilin hurriedly shouted, "You drugged me unconscious! And we're fellow disciples. You are the Cult Master, so you have a responsibility to support me. I am your family's Ancestor's mount!"
Qin Mu's head began to ache. "You must give me some dragon saliva every day, or I won't be able to afford to support you."
"Dragon saliva?" The dragon qilin grew wary again.
Qin Mu said, "Dragon saliva is just your spit."
The dragon qilin had clearly taken his words the wrong way. He relaxed and said, "That's good. By the way, you just said you could bring that ox over and let me beat him up?"
Qin Mu warned him, "Don't push your luck, or you'll get only half a dan of Red Fire Spirit Pills each day."
The dragon qilin hurriedly shut his mouth and followed Qin Mu close behind, afraid of losing this provider of meals. Hu Ling'er kept looking back at the enormous creature. Standing upright, he was much taller than Qin Mu. Qin Mu could barely reach the dragon whiskers hanging from his chin, and with the dragon qilin's long qilin tail, his body was probably four or five zhang long.
The dragon qilin was covered in strange raised patterns that looked like natural runes, giving him a majestic and awe-inspiring appearance.
"No wonder he can eat so much. He's even a little bigger than Second Ox. I wonder how large he is when he reveals his true form." Hu Ling'er was secretly astonished.
Qin Mu brought the dragon qilin up the mountain to Jade Dragon Lake. He first let the dragon qilin drink his fill, thinking, "I don't yet know how much a small bottle of dragon saliva is worth, but it is a medicinal elixir for treating injuries, so its price should not be low. Hopefully I can earn back enough to buy the medicinal herbs. Otherwise, we'll really have to live off our savings until they run out..."