The Duke of Wei shot the fat boy a look. This kid was the type to enjoy the show no matter how big the trouble got—first shoving his own grandpa into the fire pit, then leaping in after him. He was beyond saving.
"Heavenly King Yu, Heavenly King Shi, please explain some matters about our Holy Church to Heavenly King Wei."
Qin Mu looked around and said, "Everyone, tear this place down. Leave no trace."
Wei Yong and the Duke of Wei hurriedly rose to their feet, and figures flickered one after another. In mere moments, the entire stockade was dismantled, spotless. Every plank and beam was stacked neatly, perfectly aligned, and even the iron pots, fire oil, and stands were put away.
Several Hall Masters unfurled the great banners and gently draped them over the piles of planks and pillars. When the banners were lifted, the wood and pillars had vanished without a trace.
Several more Hall Masters covered the corpses of the monks from the Nantuo Sub-Palace. When the banners were lifted, the corpses had vanished as well.
Yet more Hall Masters shoveled up the ground, stripping the earth across a dozen-odd mu and casting it into the Tu River, where the floodwaters swept it away.
All of this was done in a matter of moments, so thoroughly that no trace remained of the bustling night market that had once been here.
Qin Mu said, "Dismissed."
Several hundred Hall Masters and guardians bowed to him. Some rolled themselves away in the great banners and vanished; some slipped off beneath their cloaks; some melted into the night; some left beating flower drums; others pushed little wheelbarrows as they departed. Soon the place lost its former liveliness and sank into darkness, leaving only Qin Mu, Wei Yong, the Duke of Wei, and the two Heavenly Kings.
In the distance, lights still glowed—that was the night market outside the city gate.
Qin Mu rose and left as well, leaving the four of them there.
The Duke of Wei had only just joined the cult. Heavenly King Yu and Heavenly King Shi still needed to explain some of the Heavenly Demon Cult's rules to him, lest something go wrong.
Qin Mu strolled along, stopping here and there, admiring the capital's night market and the festival lanterns. Unknowingly, he wandered back into the city. Talented scholars and fair ladies lingered beneath brilliant lanterns, poets showed off their flair, warriors displayed their divine abilities, and peals of soft feminine laughter rose now and then.
"The capital truly has grand airs—a land of remarkable people and gifted ground."
As Qin Mu marveled inwardly, goose-feather snow suddenly began to fall from the sky. Glistening snowflakes drifted onto the shoulders of the lingering pedestrians. Many looked up at the sky, and quite a few praised, "What fine snow!"
Lit by the city's lanterns, the snow grew even more crystalline. Many girls stood beneath the eaves of the shops along the street, stretching out their palms, and the cold snowflakes landed in their hands. The pedestrians did not dwindle with the snow; instead, they grew more numerous.
"It's snowing. The year's end is near. The Imperial Academy will probably be letting the scholars go home for New Year's soon. I wonder if Grandma Si and the others have returned to the village?"
Steam rose from the many stalls lining both sides of the street, wafting with fragrance. Qin Mu sat down before a noodle stall and said, "Boss, two bowls of saozi noodles. Extra chili oil."
"Coming right up!"
A moment later, two large bowls of saozi noodles were served, covered with a layer of glossy red chili oil. Pieces of pork drifted in the red oil—seven parts lean, three parts fat—along with segments of garlic sprouts. It was fresh and fragrant.
Qin Mu took a taste. The spice was exhilarating. He had eaten only one meal that day and was feeling hungry; he bowed his head and ate until steam rose all over his body.
Just then, someone laughed: "Brother Qin, I've finally found you! You promised to forge me an ironclad ship—no escaping this time! Boss, four bowls of saozi noodles, extra spicy—he's paying!" With that, he sat down across from Qin Mu.
Qin Mu looked at the man and smiled. "Brother Fan Yunxiao, what brings you to the capital?"
It was Fan Yunxiao the fire bandit, a knife scar crossing his left eye. Qin Mu suspected the scar was stuck on.
"Don't ask. What terrible luck."
Fan Yunxiao sighed. "It's a long tale of bitter tears. My ship fell apart—disintegrated in midair—and nearly smashed all the passengers to death. I exhausted myself catching them out of the sky, but I couldn't deliver them to the capital, so I lost a fortune in compensation. I came looking for you in the daytime, but you weren't at the Imperial Academy. I was just thinking of strolling around the capital, and as luck would have it, I ran into you. You have to forge me an ironclad ship! The world is at peace now, and I'm back in business!"
Qin Mu's expression turned odd. The world at peace—this bandit's "business" clearly meant returning to his old trade. He was done going straight; he was going to be a highwayman again.
"Have you prepared enough mystic iron, mystic copper, and money?"
Qin Mu asked, "And the blueprints for the towered boat? Without a structural diagram, refining an ironclad ship won't be easy."
"It's all settled. I bribed a registrar at the shipyard and got hold of a set of towered boat blueprints."
The saozi noodles arrived. Fan Yunxiao took a huge mouthful and exclaimed, "So spicy, so fragrant! I've bought the mystic iron and mystic copper too, and stored them at the merchant ship supervisorate at Hukou outside the city. I'm bankrupt now—I'm counting on the ironclad ship to earn it all back and more."
Qin Mu smiled. "All right. I'll have your ship finished before the Imperial Academy's holiday. Come find me tomorrow." With that, he took out a large Feng coin and handed it to the stall owner.
The stall owner wiped his hands on a towel and smiled apologetically. "Sir, I can't make change for this. Do you have small change? Six bowls come to only thirty wen."
"Keep it." Qin Mu left.
Watching his back, Fan Yunxiao exclaimed in admiration, "Now that's rich."
To this day, Qin Mu was still utterly baffled by the value of the large Feng coin—he had no idea how much it was actually worth. When he went out to eat or to buy vegetables, fruits, rice, and flour, even at the most expensive restaurant, a table full of delicacies made with the finest ingredients cost no more than a dozen-odd large Feng coins. As for an ordinary street stall, a casually tossed large Feng coin would leave the owner overflowing with gratitude.
The next day, Fan Yunxiao came to the Imperial Academy looking for Qin Mu. Qin Mu brought Hu Ling'er, the Dragon Qilin, and the Dutian Demon King and headed for the merchant ship supervisorate at Hukou. The supervisorate was crowded with warriors and divine ability practitioners: some refined mystic iron with true fire and quenched it with true water, casting the pill furnaces used on the towered boats; some versed in mathematics measured the dimensions of components; some built molds out of yuan qi; strongmen hammered at the forge; giant strongmen pressed and cast the metal; carpenters shaved and polished wood with sword qi. It was bustling with activity.
Fan Yunxiao led the way to a workshop. Qin Mu looked around: the workshop held all sorts of equipment—the great flood furnace for smelting, the mystic-iron adamantine for forging, plus scaffolding, access ramps, and sliding wooden tracks, with piles of mystic iron and mystic copper stacked neatly in the corners.
The workshop was spacious and tall, easily large enough to house six or seven towered boats.
A registrar was already waiting there. Seeing Fan Yunxiao, he complained, "Why so late? This empty shed is yours for only ten days. After that, the shipyard gets sealed up."
Fan Yunxiao smiled apologetically. "Ten days is plenty!" With that, he slipped a purse of money into the man's hand.
The registrar weighed the purse. "For these ten days I'll turn a blind eye. Work as fast as you can—otherwise, if the supervisor comes, I'll be in a hard spot too."
He left the workshop, and Fan Yunxiao immediately turned to Qin Mu with eager eyes. "Brother Qin, can it be done in ten days?"
Qin Mu reviewed the blueprints and made a dozen-odd alterations. "Doing it alone would be difficult. I'll need some helpers. For the next several days, my helpers and I will be forging the ironclad ship here. You are not to enter the workshop. If you come in, you bear the consequences."
Fan Yunxiao didn't understand, but he nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, I'm not the curious type."
Qin Mu nodded and shooed him out of the workshop, then said to Hu Ling'er, "Go summon a few people for me and have them enter this place using the Transmission Banner."
Hu Ling'er took the order and hurried off.
Before long, she returned. "Young Master, the Hall Master of the Heavenly Craft Hall and the Hall Master of the Artisan Hall say they'll come as fast as they can."
Just as she spoke, two great banners appeared out of thin air. The banners folded away, and beneath each stood a hundred-odd Heavenly Demon Cult members. The Heavenly Craft Hall Master and the Artisan Hall Master had arrived with their people.
Qin Mu handed the blueprints to the two Hall Masters. "Can it be refined within ten days?"
The two Hall Masters studied them several times. The Artisan Hall Master said, "The Cult Master wants to build an ironclad ship? Then the fire power of this pill furnace absolutely must be fierce enough!"
Qin Mu smiled. "I have considerable attainments in the way of forging. I can refine a pill furnace with far greater fire power. But the supervisorate has only granted ten days—time is tight, and it must be done within ten days. Are you confident?"
The Heavenly Craft Hall Master and the Artisan Hall Master exchanged a glance. "How many ships does the Cult Master want? With our two halls working together, we can build five towered boats in ten days. Any more than that and it can't be done."
Qin Mu was taken aback. He pondered a moment. "There isn't enough mystic iron and mystic copper here to build five towered boats..."
"Our Artisan Hall and Heavenly Craft Hall have plenty of materials."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Then we'll build five!"
The two Hall Masters immediately went off to make arrangements.
Over the next five days, Fan Yunxiao came by several times but never dared enter the workshop. All he heard was a clanging and banging from within, as if several hundred people were forging at once. He wanted to go in and see, but remembering Qin Mu's words, he didn't dare.
Outside, heavy snow had been falling for two or three days, piling up deep. In the capital, the Heaven Surveillance Bureau led a host of divine ability practitioners into the sky to burn the snow clouds with fire and drive the blizzard away, but outside the capital the snow was still heavy.
Fan Yunxiao's curiosity grew and grew; he scratched his head in agony. After two more days, he finally couldn't hold back, thinking, "Sneaking one little peek can't hurt, right?"
He quietly pushed open the workshop door and poked his head in—suddenly, an eight-armed, four-faced demon god appeared before him and seized him by the neck, roaring, "So you dare to spy on us, boy!"
Fan Yunxiao cried out at once, "Brother Qin, it's me, it's me!"
Inside the workshop, two hundred-odd Heavenly Demon Cult members all turned toward the sound, their gazes landing on him in unison—then they all turned their heads to look at Qin Mu. "Cult Master, this man..."
Seeing these people, Fan Yunxiao jumped in fright, and when he saw what they wore, his face changed drastically. He cried, "The Heavenly Demon Cult... I saw nothing! I'm blind! Where is this place? Why am I here..."
Qin Mu was refining the pill furnace. Hearing the commotion, he instructed the two Hall Masters, "Keep refining. Leave this to me."
Held in the demon god's grip, with the Dragon Qilin right beside him, Fan Yunxiao dared not resist. He laughed nervously. "Brother Qin, I wandered in by accident. I didn't see a thing..."
"Brother Fan, I told you not to come in and look. Now you've put me in a very difficult position."
Qin Mu raised two fingers and said with a beaming smile, "Two paths. You're an old hand at the game—you know which two."
"I'm in!"
Fan Yunxiao decided on the spot. "From this day on, I'm a man of the Holy Church!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily and had the Dutian Demon King set him down. "From now on, we're brothers!"
In the Crown Prince's villa, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar hurried in and said to the Crown Prince of Yankang, "Your Highness, the Grand Preceptor is indeed dead. Not a single monk can be found in the Nantuo Sub-Palace; presumably they all met foul play. Yesterday, word came from the Fengyu Prefecture that Nantuo Monastery had been wiped out as well. The Emperor is furious and has ordered an investigation, but not a single clue can be found. The word is that the Loulan Golden Palace beyond the frontier did it. The Emperor is also preparing to launch a campaign against the frontier after the New Year..."
Light flickered unpredictably in the Crown Prince's eyes. He rose. "Not a single clue? I rather doubt Father wants to find any. This plainly bears the handiwork of the Heavenly Demon Cult! Only that leading light of the demonic path could act with such utter secrecy! They lost two Heavenly Kings, so naturally they're taking revenge on me! Go to the Great Thunderclap Monastery and request an audience with the Old Tathagata. I want to know exactly who the new Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult is!"
He clasped his hands behind his back and said coldly, "Nantuo Monastery is Buddhist ground too; the Old Tathagata will not simply stand by. The Grand Preceptor is dead, but the line to the Great Thunderclap Monastery must not be severed. The Old Tathagata harbors no small resentment toward Father and the State Preceptor—he will surely be glad to support me. I will kill one to warn a hundred. I'll let every sect in the jianghu see clearly that I am no incompetent fool. Whoever touches my people had best await their own annihilation!"