Chapter 43 — A Demon Spirit Treads the Moon and Hurries On
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The next day, Shen Mu was awakened by the clamor of villagers. He rose and asked what had happened, and only then learned that the night watchman had suddenly dropped dead the night before, giving the villagers a terrible fright.
Last night Shen Mu had felled a tree, and when the tree came down a great serpent had burst from its trunk—that alone had been frightening enough. But then, late in the night, the watchman had died without warning, leaving the villagers panic-stricken and full of talk. The husband and wife came over holding a tray covered with a red cloth, on which lay some gifts in thanks, and said, "Granny Zhu, young brother, we are poor folk and have nothing fine, but you must accept these few things.
" Shen Mu was about to decline when the Blind Elder said, "Shen'er, take it. Don't leave them owing you a kindness. " Shen Mu took the few items from the red cloth and bade the couple farewell. The man said with a smile, "Young brother, with your skills, you stand above the crowd—one day you will surely be a dragon or phoenix among men!
" "What's so good about being a dragon or phoenix? " Granny Zhu said, "Dragon liver and phoenix gall are no more than delicacies on a dinner table.
Don't become a dragon or phoenix—become one who eats dragons and phoenixes. " The couple exchanged looks, and Granny Zhu waved her hand. "Go back now.
Shen'er, Blind Elder, let us continue to the market!
" Shen Mu caught up with the little old woman and asked curiously, "Granny, what happened last night? Was the watchman the one casting spells?
How did he die? And what was that silver pellet floating at my brow last night?
Last time you said everyone in our village was perfectly ordinary. Why do I feel that the ordinary people of other villages are somewhat different from the ordinary people of ours? " "Where do all these questions come from? " Granny Zhu's head ached as if it would split. She looked at the Blind Elder for help. The Blind Elder walked on cheerfully, banged into a tree with a dong, and passed out cold. Granny Zhu stomped several times on the Blind Elder's face, but he would not wake for life or death.
Shen Mu hurriedly hoisted the Blind Elder onto his back and looked at Granny Zhu with pleading eyes.
Granny Zhu drew a needle from her basket and jabbed it into the Blind Elder's backside. Blood spurted from his rear with a hiss, yet he remained unconscious.
Granny Zhu had no choice but to blink and say, "The watchman was indeed that demonic expert who raised serpents.
His abilities were not weak. He used the Shadow-Transforming Demonic Art, a divine power of the Nether Demon Cult, most formidable and impossible to guard against. I used the Sand-Rinsing Shadow-Reflection Art to wound his shadow and thereby injure his true body through it. My inner demon was at work: I once promised someone that I would never in my life harm a disciple of the Nether Demon Cult, so I only made him retreat in the face of difficulty.
It was not I who dealt the killing blow—it was the Blind Elder. " Shen Mu blinked and said, "What about the silver pellet? Is it a sword pellet? Are you skilled in swordsmanship, Granny? " Granny Zhu blinked too. Old and young blinked at each other until their eyes ached. Granny Zhu gritted her teeth and jabbed another needle into the Blind Elder's backside. Still he did not wake.
"Silver pellet? Cough, cough—you mean this?
" Granny Zhu turned her palm over, and a silver pellet appeared in it. Shen Mu nodded hurriedly and said, "Granny, teach me swordsmanship! " Granny Zhu sighed and said, "It is not that I do not want to teach you; it is that I cannot.
My swordsmanship may rank with the named arts, but it cannot be number one under heaven.
If you learn my swordsmanship, then others will not be willing to teach you. So I must not pass it on to you even if you beat me to death.