荒墟牧神 - 第51章 掌教枕邊人 - 錦書坊

ed, and she said, "Two different manners of death; there is something strange in that. You must be careful when you go in." Shen Mu went on to tell of the Dark Dragon's young one sealed in the dark ice of the Dark Water Dragon Pearl, and of Pei Wujiu; Granny Zhu clapped her hands and laughed. "That old fellow Pei Wujiu is a strange one; those skeletons in official robes must surely have died at his hands and been eaten by him! Men of the officialdom have always devoured people without spitting out the bones. How did you trick him?" Snow Fox listened in admiration. This old granny had not seen any of it with her own eyes, yet merely from hearing the tale she had reached the very judgment Shen Mu had; could she too be a fox turned spirit? Shen Mu told of how he had been taught the Crimson Heart Formula, and produced the Chubao Sword. Granny Zhu took it and examined it, praised it, and said, "The Chubao Sword is indeed one of the rarest treasures under heaven. The Kingdom of Jingping spent the strength of the whole realm to forge sixteen first-rank swords, among them the Chubao Sword, the Taibao Sword, the Taifu Sword, the Shaofu Sword, the Taishi Sword, the Shaoshi Sword, the Sansi Sword, the Piaoqi Sword, the Siwang Sword, the Junwang Sword, the Guogong Sword, the Taiwei Sword, the Sikong Sword, and the Tiance Sword, bestowed respectively upon the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, the Grand Guardian, the Grand Tutor, the Junior Tutor of the Crown Prince, the Grand Preceptor, the Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince, the Chancellor with the Ceremonial of the Three Excellencies, the General of Agile Cavalry, the Prince Heir, the Prince of a Commandery, the Duke of a State, the Grand Commandant, the Minister of Works, and the General of Heavenly Strategy. Though the Chubao Sword is not the equal of a sword of the true first rank, brought out as another sect's treasure of the sect it is more than sufficient." "So valuable?" Shen Mu was startled and said, "How does this sword compare with the Fanji Twelve-Ring Zen Staff?" Granny Zhu said, "Much the same, not much higher. The Fanji Twelve-Ring Zen Staff has the blessing of the Tathagata upon it; the Chubao Sword, being the sword worn by an officer of the first rank, inherits the fortune of the Kingdom of Jingping, and its power is exceedingly strong." Shen Mu asked, "He said the swordsmanship of Jingping is the finest swordsmanship under heaven. I did not learn it, only the sword-controlling art of the Crimson Heart Formula. Was it right of me to do so?" "It was right not to learn it. The swordsmanship of the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping is naturally good, but Pei Wujiu was in those years one of our own demonic kind; his swordsmanship may well not have been trained to the Imperial Preceptor's level. Swordsmanship depends upon the man; however fine the art, if the master teaches it poorly, it will instead be riddled with flaws. Look at the little monk Chenghuai: he too cultivated the Eight Thunder Cry Arts, but because his master taught him poorly, he was left with that flaw at his throat." Granny Zhu spoke with earnest heart: "Therefore, in learning swordsmanship, one must choose the very best of masters; a master who is but half a bucket of water must absolutely be refused." Shen Mu was doubtful. Pei Wujiu was an officer of the secondary first rank of the Kingdom of Jingping, Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince; could he too be half a bucket of water? "Little fox, I shall not kill you." Granny Zhu laughed. "Shen'er, let us go home. The villagers must be frantic by now, thinking that on your first trip out to hunt you were eaten by some strange beast. Only your granny was clever, and knowing you had been lured away by the little fox, waited here all along. By the way, little fox, I leafed through those ancient books of yours and wrote annotations in them for you; read them yourself, and they may spare you some detours." Snow Fox was ashamed, and said dejectedly, "I do not know h