Chapter 210: Admit Defeat
Translator: Ninetales Editor: DarkGem
Qin Mu reattached Old Ma's arm and Cripple's leg, placing the two elders in the medicinal cauldron. He had boiled a full decoction to cook to the two people while asking Hu Ling'er to maintain the fire beside the cauldron.
He walked out of the room and saw the sky turning dark outside. He went out of the courtyard and there was nobody around. They should have gone away to hide from the danger and only Dutian Devil King was still standing in the alley outside Scholar's Residence, unable to move.
Qin Mu went forward and opened up the god statue's stomach. Inside, there were hundreds of intricate gears, and he stretched his hands in to give the gears a few turns. Dutian Devil King immediately felt his legs able to move again and hurriedly began to run. After a few steps, he heard the clacking throughout his entire body, and his joints were all locked again.
"Big Dragon, pull him back into the courtyard," Qin Mu told the dragon qilin outside.
The dragon qilin wagged its tail and carried its bulging stomach forward to bite one of the legs of Dutian Devil King. It then dragged him across the floor and threw him into the corner of Qin Mu's courtyard with a clank.
"You b*tch, come and fight me if you have the guts!" Dutian Devil King scolded non-stop. "What hero are you for locking me in place?"
Qin Mu turned a deaf ear to his cries and continued to mix the spirit herbs. Lightning suddenly appeared on the body of the god statue when the devil king tried to fly out, but all kinds of runes lighted up. They were bright and contained lightning in the god statue.
Dutian Devil King spewed out vulgarities again. The god statue was imprinted with the sealing runes of Rolan's Golden Palace. Qin Mu had learned from the treasury there and had secretly placed them on the god statue while making it.
Qin Mu was worried that the devil king could still escape after entering the god statue, so he had added this kind of rune seal.
Qin Mu finished mixing the herbs and looked seriously at Dutian Devil King who was in the corner. "You shall teach me all you know about the language of Youdu, then I'll release you."
"I'd be dumb to believe you!" Dutian Devil King retorted angrily. "Forget about tricking me again!"
Qin Mu had an honest face as he said sincerely, "We can sign the Pact of Earth Count if that would put you at ease."
"At ease your ass!"
"Hey, hey, why is a devil king like you spewing vulgarities like this?"
"Vulgarities your ass! Forget about making me believe your words. If I believed you, I'd be the grandson of a tortoise!"
…
Cripple and Old Ma lay in the huge cauldron comfortably while the medicinal decoction bubbled and popped.
"Little fox, increase the fire."
Cripple narrowed his eyes and looked at his huge golden chain floating on the water. He then turned his head around and took a glance at the complaining Dutian Devil King before giving a laugh. "This brat Mu'er has really grown up. I thought that you and I would have to make a move to get rid of this nuisance of a devil king, but never would have I thought he would settle it by himself. Now I'm a little worried, not for him but for the people who are against him. Come to think of it, who did he learn to be so bad from, such craftiness."
Old Ma stared at Cripple.
The huge golden chain on his neck had also floated up on the water, the gold plating almost getting cooked off it.
Cripple was bewildered. "There are only good people in the village, so who did this brat learn to be crafty from? Could he have gotten bad after leaving the village?"
Old Ma continued to stare at him.
Cripple smiled. "What are you looking at me for? Is there something on my face? You're making my hair stand on end with your staring. Old Ma, were you a constable in the past? Every time you look over, I can feel my hair standing up."
Old Ma turned away and said indifferently, "I've been a constable for dozens of years and later held an appointment in the government office of justice. After I solved a huge case and became well known, Great Thunderclap Monastery found me and I stopped working as a constable."
"No wonder I always feel uneasy when you look at me. The monks of Great Thunderclap Monastery sure are busybodies, coming to find you even after you returned to your normal life."
The two people were cooked the whole night, and during the process, Qin Mu changed the medicine a few times. When the day finally broke, Old Ma and Cripple got out and washed up. Qin Mu had already prepared breakfast, and they sat down to eat together. Hu Ling'er ran to help Qin Mu wash the bowls while Cripple rose with a smile/ "Mu'er, Old Ma and I won't stay here any longer, we're leaving."
Qin Mu hurried dried his hands and said, "I'll see grandpas out."
Old Ma waved his hand. "There's no need. Cripple and I are at ease seeing how well you're getting by. We're both old and you can already protect yourself."
Cripple still propped himself on his cane and took a look at him with a smile. "Old Ma is getting sentimental again. Oh well, come and see us off. If you don't, he will be sad for the next two or three days."
Qin Mu followed them and sent them all the way down to the mountain. "Grandpa Ma, Grandpa Cripple, your arm and leg were just reattached so you won't be able to exert too much force with them. You have to nurse them for a year or two years, training them frequently so that no hidden dangers are left behind."
Old Ma nodded.
Cripple sighed. "I've gotten used to not having a leg in these twenty-thirty years. I'm actually not that comfortable with having the leg that was severed suddenly growing back."
Old Ma felt the same. "Having been disabled for over half my lifetime, I keep feeling I have no need for this hand that has returned."
Qin Mu sent them to the mountain gate, and Cripple smiled. "Go back, you don't have to send us any farther."
Old Ma waved his hand. "Remember to come home for New Years."
"I'll definitely return!" Qin Mu nodded seriously and saw them off.
Old Ma and Cripple walked out of the capital, and Cripple sighed ruefully. "The little baby that we picked up back then has really grown up, yet we had almost sent him away back then."
Old Ma agreed with a nod. "Almost. Luckily you stole him back."
"The little brat isn't that gullible after our teachings. I was always worried he would be at a disadvantage outside but now I can return to the village at ease—"
When Cripple said this, he suddenly stopped. Old Ma also stopped. The two elders looked toward Mud River in front of them. On the river surface, a middle-aged man was standing. Despite the water churning under his feet, he didn't move an inch.
Cripple raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, "Imperial Preceptor, your injuries are healed?"
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor nodded. "My injuries are healed, how are the both of you?"
Old Ma exercised his shoulders and said in a solemn voice, "We can still fight a battle."
Cripple shook his leg and sighed. "Mu'er said not to exert too much strength, but if we were to fight, I could still use one leg. Imperial Preceptor, you sure keep your composure. You knew we were in the room that day and knew I was the one who stole your items, but you still chose to leave and held yourself back until now. It must not have been easy."
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor said indifferently, "My injuries were not healed back then, so I had no choice but to back off. Both of you are seniors and not evil people. Even when you were stealing, it was for disaster relief. I don't want to make a move on both of you so as long you hand the Emperor's Disk over, I'll leave you alone. We don't need to damage our good relationship."
"Emperor's Disk?"
Cripple and Old Ma looked at each other and smiled. "I've researched Emperor's Disk, that toy, for over twenty years to no avail, so it's no problem even if I give you; however, I've already gifted it to another."
"Gifted it away?"
Stars suddenly appeared above Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor's head, forming a bright river of stars. It was evident that his inner heart was no longer calm. "Who did you give it to?"
"The palace grandee of your Eternal Peace Empire." Cripple chuckled and left with Old Ma.
"Palace grandee?"
Eternal Peace Imperial Preceptor was stunned for a moment and look at the back of the two people. He didn't make a move but said softly, "The Emperor's Disk was given to him? He actually dared to take it? Is he planning to rebel? The Emperor's Disk is an artifact that was given to the founding emperor by a god, and it represents the imperial power. Furthermore, it is rumored to hide a secret… Should I ask for it from him?"
He stood on the heart of the river and muttered to himself for some time before shaking his head and turning to leave."Imperial power is not something that can be decided by an item, even if it's Emperor's Disk. Imperial power comes from the support of people and has no relation to the Emperor's Disk."
In Scholar's Residence, Qin Mu's poured away the medicine decoction and washed the medicinal cauldron and medicinal furnace. After scrubbing them a few times until there were no more stains, he placed them under the sun to dry.
Hu Ling'er was helping to clean up when she saw a jade hoop on the table and exclaimed in astonishment. "Young master, the two elders left something behind!"
Qin Mu moved over to take a look and saw some writings on the jade hoop which looked very familiar. "This is… Grandpa Cripple's Emperor's Disk. Grandpa Cripple must have left it here. When I went into the darkness with Village Chief, Grandpa Cripple had hung this Emperor's Disk on my neck, but I didn't have to use it. Why did Grandpa Cripple leave it here? He always picks up stuff along the way and never loses anything..."
He shook his head and tied the Emperor's Disk to his jade pendant while thinking to himself, "I'll return it to him after I return to the village." He then dragged Dutian Devil King out and opened the stomach of the god statue. He did some adjustments and changed the orbit of the gears before saying, "Devil king, you can move now."
Dutian Devil King sneered, "You're playing with me, I'm not moving. Little brat, wait for my true body to descend, I'll make your life a living hell then!"
Hu Ling'er stood up and cross her paws on her waist. "My young master has a hundred ways to make your life a living hell!'
Qin Mu said meaningfully, "Ling'er, that's too little, how could a hundred be enough?"
Dutian Devil King chuckled. "Little brat, feel free to show me what you got. If I got scared, I would disgrace my cultivation of over tens of thousands of years."
Qin Mu advised him, "What's the need for that? We are all from the devil path. Since I'm also of the devil path, you can just teach me the language of Youdu that you know and I'll let you off, isn't that good for both of us?"
"Bah!" Dutian Devil King spat.
Qin Mu sneered, "I shall send you to Hall of Azure Yang to let Monk Fa Qing chant scriptures at you every day. Monk Fa Qing loves to redeem a devil, so he will definitely be overjoyed.
Dutian Devil King sneered, "Hehe, I'm a devil that has become a god, redeeming me with just that? Let that Monk Fa Qing come and let's see if he will redeem me or I will turn him into a devil!"
Qin Mu hesitated. Dutian Devil King was really devilish, so if Monk Fa Qing came to redeem him, he might actually end up turned into a devil instead.
"Young master, why hasn't he turned us into devils?" Hu Ling'er was bewildered.
Dutian Devil King shouted out in exasperation, "You little fox devil, do you guys even need me to turn you into devils? You two were such from the very start! I admit defeat this time, just end me!"
Qin Mu shook his head and said softly, "I'm not that kind of person. Ling'er, let him follow you from now on, I'll teach you how to control this mechanism."