The entire Imperial Academy was in an uproar. One of the Imperial Supervisors muttered, "Could it be that the scholar who defeated Daoist Lin has struck again?"
Quinn Shepherd was also startled. Elder Jingming had brought the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child here just like Dao Gate’s Danyang Master, blocking the Academy gate for three days to dampen the Academy’s prestige and test the loyalty of Everpeace’s people.
But now, before three days were up, Jingming and the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child had already left. There could only be one reason: the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child had been defeated!
"Just now, I was busy knocking out the Jadehide Ox in the back mountain—I couldn’t possibly have run to the gate and defeated the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child…"
Quinn was baffled. If he wasn’t the one who beat the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child, then who was it?
He recalled his earlier meeting with the Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch at the thatched hut, and the Patriarch’s cryptic words. Back then, the Patriarch had hinted that besides Quinn, there was someone else in the Academy who could defeat the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child.
If Quinn didn’t act, the Patriarch would have let that person take action.
And this scholar who defeated the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child was just as discreet as Quinn. After Quinn beat Daoist Lin, he never boasted about it, and this person had seized the chance when most of the Academy’s scholars and supervisors were knocked out by Lost-Mind Incense, slipped down the mountain, and quietly defeated the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child.
At that time, aside from the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child and Elder Jingming, the only other witness at the gate was the Dragon-Qilin.
The Dragon-Qilin could talk, but he was as tight-lipped as a gourd—getting anything out of him was hopeless. Unless you brought over Libationer Barrett’s mount, the Jadehide Ox, for him to eat, you’d never get him to spill who it was.
But now, trying to knock out that Jadehide Ox again would be a real challenge.
"Having someone in the Academy who can match me is a good thing," Quinn thought.
He smiled and stopped trying to find out who had made the move, then headed back to the Scholars’ Quarters with Lina the Spirit Fox. Many students there already knew the prescription the imperial physicians used came from him, and since it had knocked out almost the entire Academy, they were now a bit afraid of him.
Suddenly, a timid voice called out softly, "Brother Quinn, was it you who defeated the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child?"
Quinn turned to look and saw that the speaker was the quiet girl who’d entered the Academy with him—Serena Yunxiang. She was always shy; Quinn had teased her a few times and made her blush bright red, flustered and at a loss for words.
Quinn shook his head. "Of course not. When that person beat the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child, I was being lectured by the Grand Rector. Serena, did you see who it was?"
Serena Yunxiang shook her head. "I was knocked out by a strange fragrance just now, so I have no idea what happened. I’m still a little dizzy. I saw you looking lively and thought maybe you’d driven off the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child."
Quinn’s eyes flickered and he smiled. "Really wasn’t me. I’d like to know who did it too."
Serena noticed people glancing their way and quickly retreated to her room, shutting the door behind her.
Quinn took the chance to peek into her courtyard, but before he could see anything, the door closed, so he had to return to his own quarters.
"This Serena Yunxiang is definitely hiding something," Quinn muttered.
He steadied himself and said quietly, "She wasn’t affected by the Lost-Mind Incense at all. Anyone who’s been knocked out by it isn’t this lively when they wake up. Lost-Mind Incense is a potent anesthetic—after you come to, you’re still numb for two or three hours. She’s perfectly fine."
Lina the Spirit Fox said, "Master, among all the scholars knocked out in front of the Imperial Medical Hall, Serena Yunxiang wasn’t one of them."
Quinn’s heart stirred.
After the Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch’s lecture, he’d been told to stay behind and help look after the unconscious scholars and Libationers. Quinn and Lina had been busy assisting, with Lina scampering everywhere trying to scavenge ‘war trophies,’ until he stopped her.
At the time, Lina had seen the faces of everyone who’d been knocked out. If she said Serena Yunxiang wasn’t among them, then she wasn’t.
"She’s definitely lying," Quinn said.
Quinn blinked and said, "She had no reason to deliberately leave her room to come out and lie to me. So, she must have wanted to show off. The thing she bragged about was defeating the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child. So, she’s the one who did it."
Suddenly, Quinn wondered why the Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch was so certain there was someone in the Academy who could defeat the Buddha-Heart Buddha-Child.
Could it be he already knew Serena Yunxiang had this ability?
Why did the Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch know so much about Serena Yunxiang, a girl who’d only just entered the Academy as a scholar?
Even Quinn, the Junior Cult Master, had to be tested multiple times before the Patriarch confirmed his strength and ability.
This meant the Young Heavenly Demon Patriarch understood Serena Yunxiang far better than he understood Quinn.
And this girl’s surname was Si, plus she had that little habit of showing off…
"Granny really knows how to play!"
Quinn grumbled, "I’ll leave her alone for now. Let’s see what she’s really after."
He was just about to close his door when suddenly Libationer Barrett’s booming voice echoed over: "Moo-Moo, bring my luggage over here!"
"Yes, old master!"
Libationer Barrett pushed open the door and strode in, followed by a sturdy Jadehide Ox carrying a large bundle. The ox hadn’t fully transformed yet—he walked upright like a person but still had the shape of a bull. It was the same Jadehide Ox Quinn had knocked out before.
"Which room do I get?" Libationer Barrett asked Quinn.
Quinn was taken aback, but Libationer Barrett acted as if they were old friends, laughing, "Then I’ll take the west room. Wow, so much money! Scholar Quinn, you’re loaded! Moo-Moo, we’re rich! Quick, grab a handful and go down the mountain to buy wine!"
"Is there wine to drink?"
Lina cheered, hopping over in three quick jumps, perching atop the ox’s head and grinning, "I’ll go with you!"
The Jadehide Ox headed out with her, saying, "You drink too? Do you know any drinking games?"
Libationer Barrett set down his bundle, tidied up the room, made his bed, and glanced at Quinn still outside. He laughed, "The Grand Rector told me to stick to you like glue, so of course I have to live with you—otherwise you’ll cause more trouble. Did you write the words on the door?"
Quinn nodded.
Libationer Barrett slapped his palm down and praised, "Nice writing! Your calligraphy’s got character—better than those Painting Sage Pavilion guys. I don’t even know what our Academy’s Painting Sage Pavilion is good for, yet they still collect imperial stipends! By the way, do you snore?"
Quinn shook his head.
"I snore," Barrett said.
Libationer Barrett said, "Lots of Libationers in the Academy snore—especially that old nun, Master Yi Qiu. Her snoring shakes the heavens! Tsk, she could kill a bull ten miles away. Luckily she doesn’t sleep often, just meditates. If she ever does sleep, none of you scholars will get any rest…"
Quinn grew a bit restless—Libationer Barrett sure could talk, even more than Wei Yong.
Barrett chattered for half an hour, and by the end, Quinn had learned all about the personalities and backgrounds of the Libationers in the Sword Hall, Fist Hall, Three Yang Hall, Imperial Medical Hall, Painting Sage Pavilion, and even the secrets of the Heavenly Records Tower’s archivists—illegitimate children, old nuns meeting lovers, you name it. Barrett spilled everything.
The Jadehide Ox and Lina staggered back from the city, both tipsy and calling each other brother and sister, as close as if born from the same womb. The ox had completely forgotten that Quinn and Lina had once drugged him together.
Barrett quickly grabbed the wine jug, took a few gulps, and his head grew fuzzy. "A few days ago, I came back from outside and thought I saw my master. You wouldn’t expect it, but I’m a Libationer, not Academy-trained—I’m from the Battle Skill lineage, with a master. The Imperial Preceptor invited me to teach war-arts here. I thought my master was dead, but turns out he’s alive."
Barrett drank, dazed. "His legs were gone, but he ran so fast that even at full speed I couldn’t catch up. Then I ran into a blind man who beat me up, asked why I was following, and wouldn’t listen to reason. He wanted me to recite poetry with him, but I didn’t, and then my master disappeared…"
Quinn was startled—a legless Battle Skill expert, and a blind man who loved poetry?
"Sounds like Grandpa Cripple and Grandpa Blind. When did they leave the Great Ruins?"
Barrett was dead drunk, rambling nonsense. Quinn hesitated—asking directly would be too abrupt.
"Moo-Moo, did you get a good look at that blind man?" Quinn asked the Jadehide Ox.
"I just saw a blur—he was gone in a flash," replied the Jadehide Ox.
The Jadehide Ox glanced nervously at Quinn, clearly still remembering being drugged by him.
Quinn smiled, "Still holding a grudge? You beat me up, but I only knocked you out—I didn’t hit you. Have you ever met anyone as generous as me?"
Libationer Barrett burped, looking strange. This boy from the Great Ruins clearly misunderstood the word ‘good person.’ He said, "Scholar Quinn, you only knocked him out, but you were planning to eat him—of course he’s wary."
"He wanted to eat me?"
The Jadehide Ox cried out, "Old master, you never told me that! You just said he knocked me out—you didn’t say he wanted to eat me!"
Lina perched on the ox’s horn, hugging a wine bottle, chirping, "Big Ox, haven’t you heard the saying ‘no fight, no friendship’?"
The Jadehide Ox fumed, "I’ve heard of ‘no fight, no friendship,’ but never ‘no eating, no friendship’!"
Libationer Barrett looked even more bemused—this fox from the Great Ruins clearly misunderstood that saying too.
"Who taught this boy? He’s a real rascal."
Quinn had no idea what Barrett was thinking. While Barrett, Lina, and the Jadehide Ox drank, Quinn, who didn’t care for wine, just cultivated quietly on the side.
Libationer Barrett’s pupils contracted, staring intently at Quinn’s knife technique.
When Quinn finished a round of the Pig-Slaughtering Knife Art, Libationer Barrett suddenly tossed aside his wine gourd, threw open his coat, drew his knife, and began to dance in the courtyard, his voice tinged with age: "Gold-inlaid blade with jade-white hilt, at night it shines through the window’s slit. A man of fifty, still no feat, stands with blade, gazing at the Eight Wastes!" [1]
Standing with blade, gazing at the Eight Wastes—that’s the sixth move of the Pig-Slaughtering Knife Art!
Their blades clashed, sending up a shower of sparks.
The two exchanged knife techniques, and Libationer Barrett roared with laughter: "Forty, fifty years, storms and gloom never to meet again. Fleeting clouds pass by—no matter which way, the horizon is but a line!"
Quinn unleashed 'The Horizon Is But a Line,' clashing blades with Barrett, and sang, "Don’t boast—heroes after disaster are what the people want. Gazing at the sea and sky, the road behind is all smoke!" [2]
They both sheathed their knives, turned their backs to each other, and slid their blades behind them.
"Junior brother!" Libationer Barrett turned and saluted.
Quinn bowed. "Senior brother."
Note [1]: From Song Dynasty poet Lu You’s 'Ballad of the Gold-Inlaid Knife.'
Note [2]: Contemporary lyrics, 'Cut-Word Magnolia Flower,' recalling Changsha.