Tales of Herding Gods-Webnovel - Chapter 274

“Murder! Murder!” A steward hurriedly ran in to report to Grand Chancellor Gu Linuan while shouting, “This is bad! Imperial Academician Qin Mu has committed murder again!”

Gu Linuan was drinking tea and seemed unconcerned. He asked with a smile, “What’s there to be shocked about? He’s the Heavenly Devil Cult Master, so is there a need for you to be so panicky just because he committed murder? It would be weird if he didn’t commit murder. Who did he kill now?”

The steward didn’t even bother to gasp for air as he said, “He killed two envoys from Barbarian Di Empire!”

Piak!

The teacup in Gu Linuan’s hand shattered into pieces and his complexion changed drastically. He cried out, “The envoys from Barbarian Di Empire? Two of them at that? That’s not right, I had already treated him to a meal, so why is he still causing trouble for me?”

He immediately stood up, thinking to rush out of the hall, but then he stopped in his track and paced to and fro while muttering to himself, “He is the Heavenly Devil Cult Master, the head of the number one sacred ground of the devil path. If I ask him for an explanation, I’ll just be cutting my life short. It’s still better to report this incident to His Highness.”

Chancellor Ba Shan stood not far away and observed Pangong Tso and Qin Mu. When he saw what was happening, his head started to ache and he felt it becoming heavy. ‘Junior brother, I’ve only wanted you to test Pangong Tso, so why did you have to kill the envoys of Barbarian Di Empire?’

The envoys had been sent by the Khan of Barbarian Di Empire, with Pangong Tso as the leader. There were over ten of them, and Qin Mu had just killed two of them in Imperial College.

This incident would definitely not be settled peacefully!

Khan Ruandi of Barbarian Di Empire was considered a hero of the prairie, a person with great talent and bold vision. He had annexed the countries of the other Khans and formed a huge empire in the prairie to contend against Eternal Peace Empire.

He even learned the culture of Eternal Peace Empire and drew the good aspects of Eternal Peace Empire to develop Barbarian Di Empire. He reformed the internal affairs of his country and even created an imperial court that was similar to that of Eternal Peace Empire. He also built schools everywhere.

Looking at the situation at hand, he had not yet united the entire prairie, which was why he couldn’t contend against Eternal Peace Empire at full force. However, when he united the entire prairie, he would direct all of his power to deal with Eternal Peace.

Since Eternal Peace Empire had been through two disasters, the power of the empire had been severely weakened, so the main motive behind Khan Ruandi dispatching an envoy was to see how weak Eternal Peace Empire had gotten, besides having his people study there and learn.

He was like a male eagle above the prairie, ready to invade the east anytime. As long as he had the chance, he would lead the iron calvary of the prairie to plunder and whip the central plains.

However, it was evident that Qin Mu didn’t care about these, for he killed the two envoys without any worries.

This action could very well incite a war between the two empires!

Since the effects of the disasters had yet to fade and Eternal Peace Empire was still in a weak state, if Khan Ruandi took advantage of this chance to send his army forward, the empire would probably be in great danger!

Chancellor Ba Shan was slightly regretful that he had gotten Qin Mu to test out Pangong Tso. It was then evident to him that this junior brother who came from Great Ruins was lawless and daring. After killing the envoys, he could just pat his buttocks and return back to Great Ruins, leaving behind a terrible mess.

‘Now that the crown prince is supervising the empire, let’s see how Crown Prince Yushu will handle this.’

Chancellor Ba Shan couldn’t help feeling a headache for Ling Yushu. Ever since this young man had become the crown prince, he had quite a smooth journey in supervising the empire. He even wrote a decree of his crimes to seek forgiveness from Heaven at the Temple of Heaven. No matter if it was reclaiming the lands or continuing with the disaster relief, he had done very well and received the support of many people.

However, this would be his first difficult problem in supervising the empire.

Pangong Tso’s gaze landed on Qin Mu’s body, but there was little emotion in his gaze. No matter what Qin Mu did or how he agitate him, his mind didn’t waver.

Pangong Tso said indifferently, “The cult master of Heavenly Devil Cult naturally wouldn’t have bad abilities. Maybe there’s some misunderstanding between us. If Cult Master doesn’t mind, I can host a banquet at Jade Fragrance Floor to apologize to Cult Master. What does Cult Master Qin think about this?”

“Great.” Qin Mu was very free and easy, smiling. “Your two retainers were really daring, actually coming to make a move on me. You as the owner should indeed host a banquet to apologize.”

The corners of Pangong Tso’s eyes twitched as he turned to leave.

Qin Mu’s gaze, filled with murderous intent, landed on his back. However, Pangong Tso walked steadily and didn’t seem to notice anything or feel uncomfortable. Only his footsteps were slightly messed up, so it seemed like he was walking with a hobble.

‘This fellow…’ Qin Mu took in a deep breath and deeply felt that Pangong Tso was a thorny and terrifying problem.

He had challenged him time and time again and even slapped his face right in front of everyone by insulting and killing his retainers. However, this person still remained emotionless. Even when Qin Mu’s murderous intent was directed at him, he was still able to walk away steadily and only had a slight hobble. He was truly a terrifying person.

Qin Mu didn’t dare to say it to others, but if it were strong practitioners like Daozi or Fozi, they wouldn’t have dared to take a step. With his gaze filled with murderous intent pointed at their backs, Fozi and Daozi wouldn’t dare to even make a single step as moving would reveal their flaw.

If those that had higher cultivation and attainments that Daozi and Fozi were targeted by Qin Mu like this, they would either hobble or move back slowly while looking at him.

As to why they would hobble, it would be a way of moving the body to avoid any possible attacks. They couldn’t walk in a straight line, and would have to move their bodies up and down.

This was why the posture of Pangong Tso walking away looked slightly strange like he was hobbling. In fact, he had not revealed any single flaw and didn’t give Qin Mu any chance to attack!

The most terrifying point was that Pangong Tso’s hobbling hadn’t too severe which meant that his attainments and cultivation were extremely high!

Chancellor Ba Shan walked over in quick steps, coming to Qin Mu’s side. He saw that Qin Mu still looking at Pangong Tso’s back, which had left some time ago.

“Senior Brother Ba Shan, you gave me another thorny problem.” Qin Mu let out a shaky breath and looked at Chancellor Ba Shan before saying solemnly, “This Pangong Tso is one of the strongest existences among the ones I’ve met of the same generation! He’s even stronger than Daozi Lin Xuan! If he’s not that old monster that has reincarnated eighteen times, this person must be an Overlord Body as me!”

Chancellor Ba Shan had an unpleasant look. “That’s why you killed two envoys?”

Qin Mu was stunned and mumbled, “You didn’t say I can’t kill anyone. What’s more, didn’t we already kill numerous great shamans from Rolan’s Golden Palace? Killing only two this time is considered their steal.”

Chancellor Ba Shan laughed from anger. “How is that the same? When I brought you and the princess to block gate the previous time, I used my identity as Martial Khan which is unrelated to Eternal Peace Empire. This time, since they are envoys, they represent Barbarian Di Empire! Killing two envoys from Barbarian Di Empire means you’re slapping the face of Barbarian Di Empire, how can they take it lying down?”

Qin Mu said honestly, “You also didn’t say… I’ve already killed them and I can’t revive them now.”

Chancellor Ba Shan had a splitting headache and let out a shaky breath as well. “Now you wait for the crown prince to summon you… The crown prince has most likely heard about this matter by now will definitely have a worse headache than me. You are the devil cult master of Heavenly Devil Cult and an official who has done meritorious service. Even the position of the crown prince was fought for him by you so he can’t scold or beat you… and also!”

His expression turned grave as he said solemnly, “If Pangong Tso is that old monster, you must be careful tonight. If that old monster knows your name, he can cast a spell to kill you! After you meet the crown prince, I’ll go to your room tonight!”

Qin Mu nodded. He indeed couldn’t lower his guard against an existence that even Butcher had to hide his name from!

As Chancellor Ba Shan had expected, Crown Prince Ling Yushu found Qin Mu after noon. What was different from what Chancellor Ba Shan had expected was that Ling Yushu had not summoned Qin Mu, but instead came to Imperial College and met Qin Mu personally.

“For Your Highness to visit personally, I’m in reverence,” Qin Mu greeted.

Ling Yushu took a glance at him and sighed. “I don’t see any signs of reverence from you; on the contrary, you look quite composed. Cult Master Qin, this incident today is really giving me a headache. I thought for the whole afternoon yet I still can’t think of an explanation for it. You are always the one that’s full of ideas, teach me how to give an explanation.”

Qin Mu smiled. “That’s simple. Your Highness can write a letter to Khan Ruandi and say that the two envoys of Barbarian Di Empire didn’t listen to civilized teachings and their wild natures were hard to tame. They even dared to make a move to kill people in a supreme sacred ground like Imperial College, trying to harm the life of the palace grandee. This palace grandee is also Cult Master Qin of the number one sacred ground of the devil path in Eternal Peace Empire. Cult Master Qin was angered so he had killed those two envoys. Your Highness can also say Cult Master Qin’s raging temper is hard to quell, so Khan Ruandi must offer gifts as apology otherwise there would be unthinkable consequences!”

Ling Yushu was dumbfounded.

After a moment, he let out a shaky breath and sighed. “Alright, I’ll write it this way. If Khan Ruandi is angered and launch his army on us, you shall go to the front line for me and rush forward with your head.”

Qin Mu’s face blackened.

Ling Yushu smiled. “Heavenly Devil Cult Master also knows how to be scared? Alright, let’s not talk about this, Cult Master, I feel there’s no point in you staying in this Imperial College all the time. There are close to five hundred foreign envoys in Imperial College, and if you get excited and kill a few more of them one day, how will I be able to supervise the empire? I would have my hands full just trying to clean up your messes by writing letters to the emperors of the other countries every day.”

Qin Mu said resentfully, “I don’t kill frequently. Isn’t there a reason for this incident?”

Ling Yushi smiled and said, “You’re a divine arts practitioner now and your abilities are high. Father appointed you as the palace grandee and gave you an honorary title without actual power. How about this? Let me give you an actual position. Father and Imperial Preceptor have already woken up, and after a few days, I won’t be required to handle the politics and will definitely have to go out to send disaster relief. You can follow me. Going out on this journey, I will need to bring some officials from Ministry of Works and some scholars from Imperial College.”

He was truly not at ease with leaving Qin Mu here as he reckoned he would make trouble out of nothing again, so why shouldn’t he bring him around.

Qin Mu pondered it for a moment and realized that there was indeed nothing for him to do if he stayed at Imperial College. He couldn’t fight or kill, and there were too many restrictions to his liking, so why should he not follow this crown prince for a walk.

They were walking side by side when Ling Yushu suddenly asked, “I’ve heard my sister slept at your place last night?”

Qin Mu quivered and said in a firm face, “Your Highness, there’s definitely nothing of the sort that has happened. Don’t listen to the slanders of others and spoil the clean reputation of the princess and me!”

Ling Yushu’s gaze fell on his face and saw his sincere expression. The crown prince then breathed a sigh of relief. “I believe you. Alright, I’ll help you settle this incident of killing the envoys and write a letter to Khan Ruandi with a thick skin. You should get ready now, you’ll leave the capital with me in a few days’ time.”

Qin Mu saw him off and Chancellor Ba Shan walked over while saying secretively, “I overheard the crown prince saying that Sixth Princess Ling Yuxiu slept over at your place the last night? Come to think of it, I had indeed seen the sixth princess and two palace maids carrying lanterns down the mountain this morning, did you two—”

Qin Mu’s head started to ache, and he said firmly, “Nothing of the sort! Senior Brother, it’s because of this big mouth of yours that Grandpa Butcher always runs when he sees you, not daring to reunite with you. You should exercise some restraint and not speak on hearsay!”

Chancellor Ba Shan muttered, “I was just curious, don’t worry, I’m the most tight-lipped. I’m not like Duke Wei that impoverished man who shouts everywhere with that voice of his… If Pangong Tso is the old monster, you will be in danger tonight. Let us share a room tonight so we can look after each other. Try to be clever when sleeping tonight, don’t be too deep asleep.”

That night Chancellor Ba Shan’s snores were like thunder as he slept on a mat laid down on the ground. Qin Mu’s bed trembled from the sound, and his body was too numb from the shakes for him to fall asleep.

Nothing strange happened for the longest time, until an hour or two after midnight. A chill wind suddenly came blowing over and blew open the two window lattices.