Chapter 69 — The Land of Numinous Beauty
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Flowers tumbled through the sky in a profusion of unearthly splendor. Amid the scattered petals a beautiful woman came treading upon blossoms, descending aslant through the air. The petals drifted and whirled; one of them fell before Shen Mu with a tinkling ring.
He reached out his hand, but the petal melted away like a snowflake.
"Formed of primal essence?
" Shen Mu was startled. Then he caught sight of the face of the woman descending from the sky, and his heart began suddenly to pound violently.
He had learned painting and calligraphy under Old Man Kui. Old Man Kui's brushwork was without peer; he could paint every beauty beneath heaven. Yet even his brush, Shen Mu feared, could scarcely have captured this woman's face and bearing.
Looking upon her, Shen Mu at last understood what was meant by beauty unmatched through the ages, and unbidden he recalled an ancient rhapsody Old Man Kui had taught him. Her motions: like a light cloud veiling the moon; drifting, like snow whirled back by the wind.
Her features: plump and slender in just measure, tall and short in fit proportion.
Her shoulders seem carved, her waist like a bound of white silk. Her neck is long and fair; her white flesh shows bare. No perfumed unguent added, no leaden powder applied. Her cloudlike coiffure rises high, her long brows arch in delicate curve. Red lips glow bright without, white teeth gleam fresh within; bright eyes glance with grace, dimples rest upon her cheeks.
Her rare form is lovely and elegant; her manner is calm, her body at ease. Tender feeling, graceful bearing, charming in every word. Her dress: a raiment unmatched in this world, a form that answers the paintings.
Clad in gossamer robes of glittering sheen, earrings of jasper and greenstone bright.
She wears headdress of gold and kingfisher plumes, strung with bright pearls to light her body. On her feet, patterned shoes for distant wandering; trailing behind, the light hem of misty gauze.
It seemed that only this ancient rhapsody could describe her manner and appearance.
The woman was too beautiful, beyond all reckoning; no brush could paint such a face, still less capture her spirit and grace. Was she really Granny Zhu?
"Could the old woman have killed so beautiful a lady and put on her skin?
" Shen Mu could not help shivering at the ominous thought. "Hey! Cowherd! "
Suddenly a girl's voice came from behind him.
Shen Mu turned, saw no one, then looked up: a girl sat on the eaves of a temple, her skirt reaching her ankles and baring white, exquisitely delicate skin. Her bare feet dangled almost onto Shen Mu's head, her toes arching and curling playfully, swinging to and fro.
The girl's eyes curved into crescents. "Cowherd, come up here.
From this spot you can see far, and see clearly. "
Shen Mu leaped onto the eaves and sat down beside her.
He caught a familiar fragrance on the girl, and misgiving stirred in his heart. She had two locks of hair combed down the sides of her cheeks, making her face like a sunflower seed, bright of eye and white of tooth; when she smiled, her eyes curved like crescents. She said with a grin, "Am I fat?
"
Shen Mu nodded and answered honestly, "You comb your hair down both sides of your face to make it look thinner, but if you brushed the hair aside, it would still look plump and round. "
The girl was annoyed and kicked him with her foot. Her shoes were off, set beside her, and her feet were bare.
"A fat face is inborn," she said angrily. "I can't help it! "
The two of them dangled their legs over the edge of the eaves.