Chapter 110 — The Pleasure Quarter
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 3
Blue and green and red and purple dresses fluttered before Shen Mu's eyes; the girls of the Rain-Listening Pavilion came out one after another to welcome him, dazzling him.
Each girl of the Rain-Listening Pavilion had her own character: some soft and warm as jade, some cold as frost, some delicate and charming, some warm as fire, a riot of flowers beguiling the eye. Fu Qingyun said hurriedly, "Away, all of you, away! The young master has traveled a long road and is wearied by boat and carriage; do not pester him! Hurry and see to the tea!
" The girls scattered like a swarm of butterflies; some went for clear spring water, some to wash the tea dishes, some to light the blue lamps and boil water. Shen Mu felt the pressure lift at once and breathed a sigh of relief.
Fu Qingyun led him to an elegant chamber and said, "These girls are all badly in need of discipline; pray do not blame them, young master. Outside, war is gradually rising and there is danger abroad; you must have met with no few troubles on the road?
" Shen Mu laughed. "I did meet with some small troubles, but escaped them without harm. Send word to the sect's high elders, and have them inform the Ancestral Master. " Fu Qingyun said with a smile, "The Ancestral Master has been waiting for you a long while. In truth, he instructed us long ago that whenever we met you, we were to send you to see him.
" A girl came up to serve tea, stealing glances at Shen Mu and giggling. Shen Mu smiled back, and asked, puzzled, "Sister Yun'er, where am I to meet him?
" Hearing Shen Mu call Fu Qingyun "Sister Yun'er," the girl giggled again. Fu Qingyun glared at her and shooed her out, then said with a smile, "At the Imperial Academy, of course.
Drink your tea, young master.
" "The Imperial Academy?
" Shen Mu was startled, and lifted his teacup but forgot to drink.
Was not the Imperial Academy a place where scholars pursued their studies?
Why meet the young Ancestral Master at the Imperial Academy?
"The young master does not know? " Fu Qingyun smiled.
"The Ancestral Master is the Grand Libationer of the Imperial Academy, a junior third-rank official of Jingping, charged with overseeing the Academy, so of course he lives there.
Though the Grand Scholars of the Imperial Academy bear the honored title of disciples of the Son of Heaven, in truth they are all the Ancestral Master's disciples. " Shen Mu's heart was greatly shaken. All the Grand Scholars of the Imperial Academy were disciples of the young Ancestral Master? The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and Emperor Yanfeng had dared to hand such an office to the Ancestral Master of the Nether Demon Sect?
Were they not afraid of a tail too great to wag?
Fu Qingyun seemed to see his thoughts. "The Ancestral Master plays at being mortal; no one knows his true identity.
In truth, he is a man of great virtue and prestige, a hermit of world-wide renown as early as the late emperor's day, and most mysterious. Even the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping once sought the Way of him for instruction, and it was the Imperial Preceptor alone who guaranteed his appointment as Grand Libationer of the Imperial Academy. "