Chapter 60 — The Veteran General and the Seventh Young Master
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu seemed to have foreseen it. One hand seized the Fanji Twelve-Ring Zen Staff, and with a great heave he swung the Xuanliao Demon Ape up together with the staff and smashed the pair of them savagely into the ground; the five fingers of his other hand snapped out one after another, and with six explosive cracks in a row he shattered the curved blades congealed from Snow Fox's vital essence. "Aaaang—"
The dragon-elephant suddenly threw its strength into all four legs, and while Shen Mu was still locked against the Xuanliao Demon Ape and Snow Fox, it lowered its head and charged, ramming him with a thunderous boom and sending him flying. In the very instant it knocked him away, its trunk shot out to a great length, coiled around Shen Mu in midair, and dragged him back; then, whipping the trunk about, it drove him headfirst into the earth.
The dragon-elephant hauled Shen Mu back out of the ground and made ready to smash him again, when all at once his legwork shifted, kicked the trunk aside, and landed a hundred-odd kicks in succession on the dragon-elephant's face, sending that colossal brute hurtling away.
"Little runt, down! "
The Xuanliao Demon Ape, azure dragons coiled about its incomparably mighty frame, brought one palm down and flattened Shen Mu—who had just kicked the dragon-elephant away—into the ground.
The demon ape roared, lifted its thick, stubby leg, and stamped down viciously at Shen Mu. Lame Grandpa's Heaven-Stealing Leg Technique: Trample Mount Sumeru to Dust. Flattened to the earth, Shen Mu rolled over at once and came up on a single leg, his body level with the ground, his other leg rising to meet the demon ape's enormous foot.
The move he used was likewise Trample Mount Sumeru to Dust, only his execution was offhand and unorthodox—and yet its power was every bit as terrifying. The Xuanliao Demon Ape grunted and staggered back, then seized the dragon-elephant by the tail and swung the huge beast up to smash down on Shen Mu. At the same moment Snow Fox's tail lashed, the wind howled, and curved blade after curved blade came tearing through the air, spinning madly like cartwheels as they chopped at Shen Mu.
Suddenly a whirring came through the air.
Shen Mu's heart stirred; he dodged clear of Snow Fox's and the demon ape's attacks and followed the sound with his eyes. A hundred or so men and women in armor were leaping through the mountain forest like so many birds, hastening toward the upper reaches of the Surging River. A few of them noticed Shen Mu as well and halted, glancing about.
One man looked at Shen Mu, the demon ape, and the white fox, and said in astonishment, "A hunter?
"
"Don't meddle. Let's go, quickly!
"
Another said in a low voice, "The ship will be here soon! We must have the formation laid on the river before it arrives!
"
"That's not wise, is it? We've been seen; if word gets out, it will only do us harm. . .
"
"The Wasteland is thick with masters who live in seclusion. Don't invite complications. Let's go—his ship is fast, and if we miss it we'll regret it beyond remedy!
"
The group sped off with the wind at their heels and vanished into the mountain forest. Puzzled, Shen Mu murmured, "These people don't look like they're from the Wasteland. They're rushing upstream—it seems they mean to lie in wait for someone.
And that fellow just now looked ready to kill us to keep us quiet, so they're no good sort.
. .
Ling'er, big fellow, you see?
Honest, simple folk like us always come off the worse. Any moment we could be killed to seal our lips.
"
The little white fox nodded and nodded, deeply in agreement.
The Xuanliao Demon Ape curled its lip: "Believe? Like hell! "
Shen Mu was about to speak when the dragon-elephant came charging over and knocked him flying with its head. The demon ape flew into a rage, pinned the dragon-elephant to the ground, and gave it a sound thrashing. "Rest.
Understand?
"