Translator: Ninetales Editor: Fish_Creek
The dragon qilin dived into the lake and stirred up waves. On the lake, the Daoist immediately hurried over with a horsetail whisk in his hand. Shaking it towards the lake, the numerous threads scattered down like a giant fishing net, trying to catch that dragon qilin in the lake.â
Rumble.
The surface of the lake trembled violently and the Daoist gave a grunt. Only the handle of his horsetail whisk was left and he knew he wasnât a match for this dragon qilin thus he immediately turned and ran while shouting, âDemon, you guys dare to bathe in the Jade Dragon Lake of the royal family and even dared to beat me, just you wait to be executed!â
Not long later, the scholars of Imperial College walked out from Hall of Pure Yang and towards Scholarâs Residence. Today, it was Daoist Ling Yun teaching and what Hall of Pure Yang taught was the path of cultivating qi. Daoist Ling Yun was widely known for his profound cultivation, cultivating his qi into the level of pure yang.
Before the numerous scholars could even return to Scholarâs Residence, they all stopped and looked back in astonishment, freezing on the spot.
They only saw a ridiculously huge red fish flying through the air. There were red scales on the body of the red fish and on its head were dragons horns. This was because after absorbing the qi of the nine dragons here for many years, the fish head had started to turn into a dragon. It was like a half fish half dragon that had a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, looking extremely fierce.
However, now this huge fish was being restrained by a few vital qi and couldnât move at all. A demon wind was carrying this huge fish towards Scholarâs Residence, causing all the scholars to be dumbfounded.
Behind this huge fish was an even larger dragon qilin that was running and shaking off the water on his body at the same time. There was also a white colored fox that was standing on the head on the dragon qilin, raising demon wind to carry the huge fish.
That dragon qilin rushed into Scholarâs Residence and threw the huge fish into the courtyard of Academician Qin with a thump. The little fox then scampered into the courtyard and shut the doors.
A scholar muttered, âThat fish, seems to be one of the fish kings in Jade Dragon Lake. Itâs called Red Dragon Carp and itâs an imperial cuisine that the emperor treats the civil and military officials during the new year feastâ¦â
A scholar beside was also in a daze as he muttered, âLast year, my old father was indebted to the emperorâs benevolence and had a taste of the fish soup on the imperial dragon feast. He came back exclaiming endlessly and even kept telling me it was a worldly delicacy until now⦠However, that Red Dragon Carp was only a foot long. This oneâ¦â
Before the other scholars came around to their senses, they saw the door to Qin Muâs room opening up again. This white fox scampered out again and looked around before running to a mulberry tree. She then spat out a demon wind and chopped down the mulberry tree. She then controlled the demon wind to turn into curved blades to chop the mulberry tree into firewood before bringing them back into the courtyard.
The little fox took a few trips and even carried the trunk of the tree back into the courtyard. Billowing smoke then came surging out from Qin Muâs courtyard. It was obvious that the little fox and the dragon qilin was currently raising a fire to roast the fish.
The scholars looked at one another and Qu Ting muttered, âThatâs the Ambition Tree planted by Monk Qing Shan, the directorate of Hall of Azure Yang. Itâs a tree planted to motivate scholars to seek knowledgeâ¦â
Not long after, the delicious fragrance spread throughout Scholarâs Residence.
Saliva started flowing out from all of the scholarsâ mouth. The fox and dragon qilin this abandoned person had brought over, killed the fish king in the drinking grounds of the royal family before chopping down the Ambition Tree that Monk Qing Shan planted to use it to raise fire for roasting the fish?
This act of recklessness, are they trying to rebel?
âYoung master, howâs the taste?â
The youth and the foxâs conversation came over from Qin Muâs courtyard and they heard Qin Mu saying, âStill okay, itâs just that it wasnât marinated thus the flavor wasnât soaked through. Itâs best to marinate a fish for a whole day so it would be crisp, fragrant and tender when you eat it. This fish is pretty huge, where did you get it from?â
âFrom the lake.â
âSo I see. I once fished with Grand Chancellor beside the lake and saw a few huge red fish; however, we only caught a Nine Dragon Carp which was quite small. However, the flavor of the soup was very delicious. Itâs pretty good of you to use mulberry wood to roast the fish, it gives off sweet and sour fruity taste of the mulberry.â
â¦
All the scholars in Scholarâs Residence had an expression of rejoice in his upcoming misfortune. Qu Ting snickered, âAcademician Qin is dead meat!â
In the courtyard, Qin Mu prodded the thick wooden skewer to rotate the Red Dragon Carp and below was a vigorous flame which was the mulberry flames controlled by the dragon qilin, roasting the huge fish tender on the inside and crisp on the outside.
The dragon qilin controlled the fire to let the heat seep into the meat and bones of the huge fish. The mulberry wood gave off water vapor thus there was a smoky flavor. Hu Lingâer then controlled the wind to let some of the smoky flavors enter the meat of the fish.
They then stuffed numerous mulberry leaves, onions, and ginger into the stomach of the fish. In the stomach of the fish was tender fish oil which sizzled when it dripped onto the fire as they roasted the fish. The fish oil gave off a smoky smell when burned, raising their appetite hugely.
When the entire fish was cooked, Hu Lingâer immediately controlled her wind blades to slice off the meat from the fish belly. The meat here was the plumpest.
Her knife work was very good as each slice of fish was precise. At the same time, she also controlled the plate to let the slices of fish fall onto the plate. Each slice of fish was crystal clear and the slices looked like pieces of tender jade white fat from mutton.
Qin Mu suppressed the fire and lowered the intensity of the fire. The human, the fox, and the dragon qilin sat beside the bonfire and ate the roasted fish.
Qin Muâs heart slightly moved when he remembered a weird technique in Great Educational Heavenly Devil Scriptures which was called Spirit Returning Pill Great Supplement Technique. He immediately executed his vital qi to circulate this technique to speed up his digestion. Soon his stomach became empty thus his mouth continued with eating the roasted fish around the bonfire.
The name of this technique was weird and the technique itself was even weirder.
The main method of cultivation for Spirit Returning Pill Great Supplement Technique relied mainly on eating.
This technique could transform any food that reached the stomach into energy or even vital qi for the body. This helped to strength oneâs body and raise their cultivation, thus it was called Spirit Returning Pill Great Supplement Technique.
Now that Qin Muâs body was so skinny, he needed to replenish the energy he had exhausted in his body. Now that there was a ridiculously huge roasted fish in front of him, he could use this technique to supplement his body.
This fish was a unique breed after all. Living in Imperial College for so many years, it had absorbed the qi of the nine dragons, thus it was firstly delicious and secondly, its meat was nutritious. Now Qin Muâs body was exhausted, by executing this weird technique, the food in his stomach was immediately digested into nutrients which were absorbed by his whole body.
His shriveled muscles also gradually bulged and even though it was very slow, Qin Mu reckoned his muscles would grow back if he finished eating this ten yards long fish.
Hu Lingâer couldnât stuff herself any longer and the dragon qilin used to eat Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills thus he didnât like the fish meat very much and stopped after a few mouthfuls. Only Qin Mu continued to sit there eating to his heartâs content.
Suddenly a knock came from outside and Hu Lingâer dragged her bulging tummy and ran to open the door. Wei Yong walked in with his nose twitching and smiled, âItâs just the time for lunch and I smell a fragrance coming from Brother Qinâs place, thus Iâve come to ask for food⦠Eh, the stone dragon lion at the mountain gate has come to life? Little fox, how did you get even fatter than me from eating?â
Hu Lingâer gave a snort.
Wei Yong then looked at Qin Mu who was sitting beside the bonfire and cried out in astonishment, âLittle fox, did you borrow Qin Muâs male force to strengthen your feminine health by sleeping with him? Brother Qin? How did he become so skinny?â
Hu Lingâer was furious and anxious, âI havenât got a chance to do it. Donât speak nonsense!â
âIf you didnât do it, who did?â
Wei Yong was bewildered, âI knew that there would definitely be a problem when Brother Qin asked where the cathouse was the moment he entered the capital city. Your body has become unable to tolerate as expected, am I right?â
Qin Mu didnât know whether to laugh or cry and invited him to sit down.
Wei Yong didnât hold back and tore off a huge chunk of fish meat. He tasted it and the meat was so slippery that it slid straight down his throat, nearly causing his tongue to slip into his stomach as well. He couldnât help being surprised and delighted as he exclaimed in admiration. He then spoke with a low and muffled voice, âThe directorates are all not very pleased when you havenât attended their lessons for the past few months. They said stuff like imperial academician being ignorant and incompetent, that the emperor shouldnât have raised your ranks. Thatâs right, what happened to you? How did you become so skinny?â
âI had made a mistake in my cultivation and almost lost my life.â
Qin Mu said, âLucky I discovered just in time and now Iâm replenishing my energy back.â
Wei Yong smiled, âYou have pretty big guts as well, to actually cultivate recklessly. Iâm also an imperial scholar now and have some position in Dukeâs Manor, what pills do you need? I can grab some from Dukeâs Manor to let you supplement your body.â
Qin Mu shook his head and said, âWhen I finish eating this fish, my body would be able to recover and there would be no need for me to consume spirit pills.â
âDo you know? Chancellor Ba Shan and Grand Chancellor Gu had fought each other and got each other all bloodied outside the capital city. Even the emperor was alarmed.â
Wei Yong had a burp and said, âMy father went to mediate in the quarrel along with other first-ranking high officials and only then did they stop fighting. I went out to make some inquiries and heard that the emperor had called them both over to give them a harsh scolding. Only when I finished asking around, I came back to freeload a meal here. Before you came back, Chancellor Ba Shan had found me and said he wanted to bring me out for an experience, I reckonâ¦â
âBrother Wei, donât talk while eating.â
Not long after, Wei Yong this chubby youth had grown even bigger and he couldnât eat anymore. However, he still saw Qin Mu continuing to eat heartily and with each piece of fish going into his stomach, his stomach actually didnât bulge at all.
Wei Yong was amazed. When he saw Qin Muâs skinny body expending out as if he was filled with air, he gave a pinch and found there were all muscles in his body, making him even more astonished.
When this huge fish had been completely finished, only a huge fish bone that spanned up to ten yards long was left. Qin Muâs body had recovered to normal and seemed to be even stronger than before, making Wei Yong incessantly envious.
âWhere did you buy such a delicious fish from?â
Wei Yongâs mouth was still itching for more but he just couldnât eat anymore thus he asked, âI have never seen such a huge fish in the market of the capital city nor have I ever eaten such a delicious fish, I definitely have to buy a few more and give special attention to them!â
Qin Mu said indifferently, âFished out from Jade Dragon Lake.â
Wei Yong stared with his eyes wide open and asked immediately, âWhich Jade Dragon Lake?â
âThe one in our Imperial College.â
Wei Yong gulped and asked with a trembling voice, âOur Imperial Collegeâs Jade Dragon Lake? This fish is one of the fish kings in Jade Dragon Lake?â
Qin Mu looked at Hu Lingâer and Hu Lingâer nodded her head, âI asked Big Dragon to catch a huge one, this one that he caught was the biggest.â
Wei Yongâs expression turned ashen and he saw the mulberry leaves and branches that were scattered throughout the entire courtyard. He then asked again with a trembling voice, âWhen I came back just now, I had seen the Ambition Tree in Scholarâs Residence left with a stump, could it beâ¦â
âThat mulberry tree is called Ambition Tree?â
Hu Lingâer said in astonishment, âThe tree even has a name?â
Wei Yongâs face turned ghastly white and he walked shakily and muttered in a daze, âChopping down Ambition Tree to use it to roast the fish king of Jade Dragon Palace. Even if Iâve multiple heads, it still wouldnât be enough for the emperor to chop off. Iâve never been here, never been hereâ¦â