Steward Liu and his wife had hired several porters yesterday afternoon, and carrying wooden crates filled with silver, they had gone to Baizhou City along with the rest of the common people.
In a short period of time, only Uncle Cang and Qin Mu remained in the courtyard.
The next day, before the sky had even brightened, Uncle Cang dragged Qin Mu out of bed and hurriedly helped him into the official robe of a Demon Suppression Division clerk.
Compared to the official robes of a Patrol Inspector or Captain, a clerk's official robe had no armor to speak of, just a Daoist Robe-style ink-black long gown with immortal bird patterns embroidered on the cuffs, an overcoat of yellow draped over it, plus a cloud-gauze cap.
Once Qin Mu had finished dressing in all this, Uncle Cang hurried over and pinned the Demon Suppression Division's Jade Pendant at his waist.
Watching Qin Mu walk off toward the Demon Suppression Division yamen, Uncle Cang finally let out a breath of relief.
Worried that Qin Mu might be late today, he had fretted over it the entire night, barely sleeping at all.
As Qin Mu's figure gradually disappeared from view, Uncle Cang's eyes showed a comforted smile.
"If only the young master's parents were still alive to see how he looks now!"
After murmuring a few words, he pounded his stiff old back from standing too long, then turned and returned to the house, starting to tidy up the room.
As he folded the bedding and was about to move on to tidying the writing desk, he discovered the poem lines that Qin Mu had spent a full several Shichen writing.
On the stack of white paper, though a paperweight held it down, four lines of content were still visible.
"Establish heart for heaven and earth, establish life for the people, inherit lost teachings for past sages, open peace for all generations."
As the Shopkeeper of a bookstore, Uncle Cang was not only literate but also had no small amount of appreciation for fine writing.
So, after softly reciting these four lines, his eyes couldn't help but light up.
"The young master actually has such talent?"
After a soft exclamation of surprise, he carefully moved the paperweight aside and looked at the rest of the poem lines.
At first glance, he simply felt that Qin Mu's talent was downright frightening — just reading it quietly under his breath, he could feel his own heart pounding harder and harder.
But as the poem lines he read grew more and more, doubt was all that remained in Uncle Cang's heart.
Their young master was someone he had watched grow up since childhood, and he knew better than anyone just how much learning the young master actually had.
Though the poem lines he'd written in the past were nearly unbearable to look at, every now and then he could produce a line or two that made one's eyes light up.
The poem lines from that novel yesterday had certainly made him goggle in astonishment, but what he'd thought at the time was simply that the young master had finally had his day of awakening talent.
But now, seeing piece after piece capable of shaking the entire literary world, alongside his shock, suspicion immediately rose in his heart.
This wasn't just one or two poems, but hundreds, and every single one had the caliber to be passed down through the ages.
Finally, he saw the passage Qin Mu had written at the very beginning.
"Upon entering a dream, I beheld a great sage of supreme virtue, and here I record his literary brilliance."
After reading this passage, the terror finally faded from Uncle Cang's face, and stroking his still-pounding heart, he slowly let out a long breath.
If someone told him these poems had been written by Qin Mu himself, he would be the first to refuse to believe it.
But if it was said that Qin Mu had beheld a great sage of Ancient Times in a dream and listened to him lecture on the classics and recite poetry, then it seemed only natural to him — he even felt a bit honored by association.
"The young master truly is someone with Immortal Destiny~"
Sighing softly with emotion, he neatly arranged the scattered papers on the desk, took out a cloth and wiped the table, finished cleaning the room, and then, pounding his old back, walked out.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, Qin Mu was looking around in bewilderment.
After arriving at the Demon Suppression Division yamen early that morning, the cold-faced Qi Shayu had arranged for him to be here, without telling him what he was supposed to do, and had simply walked off without another word.
This was an empty room, about thirty square meters, containing nothing but a single low table and a single cushion.
On the low table sat paper, ink, brush, and inkstone.
Aside from that, there was nothing else.
The room didn't even have a window; even in broad daylight, one had to rely on candlelight to see.
At first, Qin Mu had assumed the other party had simply forgotten about him due to being busy with official duties.
But as it turned out, he sat there the entire morning, and even once the midday break came, still no one showed up.
He wanted to go find Baihu He Longxing, the one who had recruited him, to ask about it, but he couldn't even get into the main hall — two Captains stopped him.
As for Qi Shayu, there wasn't a trace of her anywhere in the vast yamen.
Left with no choice, Qin Mu could only continue the great undertaking he hadn't finished the night before.
While copying out poems, the upgrade Prompt Sound for the Ruyi Jingu Bang rang in his ears twice, reaching Level 65.
By then, evening had arrived, and the gong signaling the end of workday sounded through the yamen.
Amid the clanging of the gong, Qin Mu, with the more than fifty poems he'd written that afternoon tucked against his chest, listened to the Patrol Inspectors and Captains around him chatting and laughing as he made his way home.
Uncle Cang had already finished making dinner, and while they were eating, he suddenly brought something up.
"Oh right, young master, something big happened today!"
"The Misty Sect, the one that comes to hold that whatever grand ceremony in our city every year — the entire Sect got taken away by the Demon Suppression Division. Their Vice Sect Master kept shouting something like 'Steward Zhang has betrayed me,' 'Steward Zhang has betrayed me.'"
When Qin Mu heard this, his expression suddenly changed, and his voice rose without him even realizing it.
"The Misty Sect was taken away by the Demon Suppression Division?"
Uncle Cang nodded lightly, not understanding why Qin Mu was reacting so strongly.
Seeing Uncle Cang nod, Qin Mu suddenly lost his appetite, his mind consumed with one single thought.
If the Misty Sect had been taken away, then what would happen to the Ruyi Jingu Bang's Level?
After all, the Ruyi Jingu Bang was only at Level 65 right now.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a Prompt Sound suddenly rang in his ears.
"Your Ruyi Jingu Bang has increased to Level 66. You will receive feedback of Gold Element Spiritual Root +1. You may choose the feedback recipient."
Upon hearing this Prompt Sound, Qin Mu's Expression suddenly froze, and he recalled that before the end-of-workday gong had even sounded, the upgrade Prompt Sound had already appeared in his mind twice.
All at once, a Thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Could it be... that the one who obtained the Ruyi Jingu Bang isn't the Misty Sect at all, but some individual person?"
The instant this Thought crossed his mind, his expression instantly turned strange.
"If that's really the case, then how did that person manage to find, in just three short days, enough resources to raise the Ruyi Jingu Bang all the way to Level 66?"
"Among them there was even Geng Metal, an Ore that grants +5 Experience in a single use!"
At the same time, deep within the South Sea.
Zhang Qianren used his Divine Sense to sense the Cold Iron Ore Vein buried beneath the silt, and as he rapidly approached the vein, an excited smile had already spread across his face.
"This old man truly has fortune reaching the heavens!"
"First there was the East Sea's Iron Ore, then Fu Qingfeng's gift of Geng Metal Ore!"
"And now I've even discovered a Cold Iron Ore Vein!"
"Given the scale of this vein, it should raise this old man's Spiritual Root by at least several dozen points!"
"Hahahahaha!"
After his burst of laughter, Zhang Qianren, an oval-shaped Energy Shield over him, plunged headfirst into the silt.
After descending only three to five meters, he arrived before the Cold Iron Ore Vein his Divine Sense had detected.
By the way, a new Supreme Treasure is about to be unlocked — monthly tickets, please!
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