Chapter 1616 — The Source of Edification

His attention was drawn away by the little darlings of Long Qilin's household, and only then did Long Qilin breathe a sigh of relief; Shen Mu, it seemed, would not be taking him to task over that phrase, "old Cult Master. " Shen Mu took these little monsters — bird yet not bird, beast yet not beast, dragon yet not dragon — wandering all about the city, observing the customs and manners of Jingping, and with such little monsters to while away the tedium, the outing was rather easy.

One little fellow ran up onto his shoulder and peered this way and that into the hollow of his ear, full of curiosity. Two more burrowed into his hair and hid there, and before long came to blows over this "bird's nest.

" "Cult Master, the Beast Realm has grown quickly these years as well.

" Long Qilin kept him company as they walked.

"The Beast Realm is vast in territory; the beast tribes are thickest on the far side of the Ancestral Court, and I helped Long Xiao build many divine cities there.

On the far sides of the Yuan Realm, Xuandu, and the Nether Capital, no few cities have been raised as well. And also. .

. " He hesitated, then said: "I discussed it with the Emperor, and by the stratagem of fewer troops and more cookstoves we moved part of Jingping's population to the far side of the Yuan Realm, and built many divine cities there.

That place is called Little Jingping.

" Hearing this, Shen Mu let out a long breath.

Little Jingping in the Beast Realm was Jingping's road of retreat. "The fewer troops, more cookstoves plan keeps the Heavenly Court from noticing the dwindling of Jingping's population; add to that the erasure of every trace of their existence from the Book of Life and Death, and these people can go to the Beast Realm with neither god nor ghost the wiser, and open up a second Jingping. " Long Qilin said: "I hold no small power in the Beast Realm either, and these years I have been trying to awaken the wisdom of the beast tribes there.

Sage Lan, Lan Yutian, has a number of beast-tribe disciples, all of them ancient giants of old; that Little Jingping could be built this time was thanks to their help. " Shen Mu nodded, greatly comforted at heart. Lan Yutian had preached and taught in the Ancestral Court, and many ancient giants had followed him, their spirits and wits awakened, learning cultivation, evolving into a new race: the beast tribes.

After the Beast Realm was opened, Shen Mu had Long Qilin follow Long Xiao there, and these beast tribes followed Long Qilin to the Beast Realm as well; Shen Mu's purpose was to have Long Qilin manage affairs in the Beast Realm and establish another sphere of influence.

The Beast Realm lay on the dark underside of the myriad heavens and worlds, its environment harsh, yet should war break out, the Beast Realm would instead be the last pure land. The fewer who knew of this the better, and so Shen Mu had to send the one most worthy of trust to see it done well; that Long Qilin had not shown himself for so many years was because he had been managing this very matter.

"Using the divine art of reverse summoning, I and the mighty ones of the beast tribes summon the people of Jingping into the Beast Realm. Progress has been slow these years, for we must also guard against Long Xiao and keep him from learning of it, but happily we have achieved no small success.

" Long Qilin said with a smile: "When will the Cult Master go to Little Jingping in the Beast Realm and have a look? " Shen Mu said with a smile: "When you do a thing, I rest easy.

Pi, in my heart you long ago became one who can stand on his own. " Long Qilin's heart bloomed with joy; he dearly wanted to wag his tail, but these years his standing in the Beast Realm had been second only to Long Xiao's, and that standing had made him somewhat reserved.

Shen Mu rubbed his big head, and at once Long Qilin could not help himself: his tail swished twice, and his heart was wholly content. Shen Mu made a circuit of the divine city, and went again to the vegetable market, the lanes and wards, the primary school, the great school, to look them over; his divine sense spread out and took in every conversation of the people of that whole divine city, so that he might examine the temper of the folk.

"This divine city is very good.

There is squalor in it, but on the whole it rises.

" Shen Mu said suddenly: "I have seen the divine city. But how has it fared below?

" He came to the edge of the city and looked down at the land beneath, where there were many villages and towns as well.

Long Qilin followed him down onto the land. Shen Mu walked through the countryside and came to a town, and asked: "Do your children all have names?

" Long Qilin said: "They all have names.

My surname is Long, Yan'er's is Zhu; the boys among these little ones take my surname, the girls take hers.

The eldest was born early, a boy, named Changli; the second girl is Hongyu; the third is quick of tongue, named Tanxuan.

. .

" Shen Mu walked among the towns, and saw that they were mostly old people, with a few children in tow, but very few young and able-bodied folk; he could not help frowning. He went again to the town's primary school and sat through several classes, and his brow knit tighter still. The clothing of the people in this town was far less bright and fine than that of the folk in the divine city; their daily living was much poorer than in the divine city, and so was their food.

More frightening still were the primary school and the great school: the teachers who instructed the children were all quite ordinary divine ability users, with few of outstanding talent among them, and they taught the children in a perfunctory, muddling way — even the teachers themselves understood but half of what they taught. He went to question the elders of the town, and an old man said: "The young folk have all gone to the divine city, or to the mines and the manufactories, and some crossed the mountains and ridges to Xiajing.

In a whole year you may not see them once or twice.

" "Then the primary schools and great schools of the countryside. .

. " "With fewer people, the schools cannot keep going; some closed down long ago.

Our town is rather large, so we can still keep ours open. Those families with a little money send their children to the city to study; those without can only stay behind and learn a little skill or other, enough that they need not starve.

" Shen Mu stood blankly in the ruined school, somewhat dazed, and murmured: "It has only been a hundred-odd years, only a hundred-odd years.

. . " Long Qilin said cautiously: "Cult Master, their lives are in truth better than a hundred years ago by a measure past knowing.

" Shen Mu shook his head and said: "This is not what I wanted.

Let us go on; let us look ahead.

" He came to a village in the countryside, which looked even more ruined.

Shen Mu did not linger long, but asked straightaway where the village school was. "It closed down more than ten years ago.

" Someone led him to the ruins of the village school.

Shen Mu walked on with Long Qilin, threading through the fields and wilds; overhead was the bright and splendid divine city, prosperous beyond measure, and below were the ruined towns and villages, with only the old and the young left in them. He passed through many cities and villages of Jingping, and his brow never once smoothed.

The night deepened.

Shen Mu halted, and Long Qilin led his household's little ones in building a campfire, and they all sat by the fire.

Long Qilin said: "Cult Master, this is in truth unavoidable. The growth of the divine cities is bound to draw in the young and able; in the divine cities they have a way to live, they can labor, they can study, they can have greater chances to rise. But the divine cities have no need of the old and the young, and so the old and young can only remain in the countryside. This is the just way of things, not fairness.

" Shen Mu nodded: "I understand.