Chapter 71 — I Go to Take a Life
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
Shen Feiyue steadied himself and said to the Black Venerable, "The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping has no interest in the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture.
" The Black Venerable lowered his eyelids and chuckled.
"The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping has no interest — and has General Shen any interest? " Shen Feiyue's heart went cold; he knew that whatever he said could never dispel the wariness this savage, murderous man held toward him.
Then an old man seated below Shen Feiyue raised his white brows a fraction and said, "I am old, and have not many days left in me, and so I dearly wish to set eyes on this Dayu Netherdemon Scripture that is said to make gods and demons of men. I beg the Sect Master's widow and the Black Venerable to grant it. " "Easily said.
" The Sect Master's widow cast her fair eyes about and smiled.
"Who else wishes to set eyes on the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture?
" A sallow-faced woman seated below Fu Yundi said with a laugh, "If madam does not mind, I too would like a look at this demonic canon that makes gods and demons. " The Sect Master's widow turned to Fu Yundi.
"And the City Lord?
" Fu Yundi laughed aloud. "Madam, take no offense. It is not that I harbor any designs on the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture, only that I wish to see this so-called mystic art that makes gods and demons, and to compare it against my own. I bear madam no ill will — indeed, I even feel a certain tenderness for a fair lady. The Netherdemon Sect has hunted you so long, ferocious and merciless, and you stand alone, ill able to bear up under it.
I too wish to share your burden. " Shen Mu blinked and let his gaze travel from one expert to the next. In Zhenjiang Tower every last one of them had professed an interest in the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture, and it was precisely for that reason that none of them dared to move openly against the Sect Master's widow.
For even if one of them seized the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture from her, he would himself become the mark at which all the others aimed.
The Sect Master's widow, glancing about with grace, suddenly burst into a giggle and spread her slender jade hands. A jade box appeared in her palm. "Inside this is the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture; the talismans on the outside are the seals of every past Netherdemon Master.
" The air in Zhenjiang Tower turned abruptly and immeasurably grave. Shen Mu at once felt one overbearing, terrifying aura after another lock onto him, and Ling Yuxiu gave a stifled grunt as well. These auras were not aimed at them, but at the Sect Master's widow at their side; only, because the two of them stood so close to her, Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu were caught like innocent fish in a doomed pond. The Sect Master's widow paid it no mind.
She opened the jade box, and from within came what seemed like strains of music; then a thread, like a spirit snake, poked its head from the box and rose slowly into the air. "It really is the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture!
" The Black Venerable tapped his staff and said flatly, "Madam, put it away, if you please.
" A strange look came over Shen Mu.
He leaned in toward the jade box, an unspeakable eeriness in his heart. What lay in this jade box was no Dayu Netherdemon Scripture at all — it was plainly the ball of thread from the basket that Granny Zhu always carried on her arm! He remembered that ball of thread.
Granny Zhu kept it in her basket, wound about a jade hairpin, and now the hairpin was inside the box. When he was small, Granny Zhu would set him in the basket while she sewed; once Shen Mu could not hold it in, and left a pile of filth in the basket that smeared the Dayu Netherdemon Scripture foul with stench. "She really is Granny Zhu! " The boy's heart was caught between laughter and tears.
"So that is why the old woman would not stay at the inn — she has dressed herself up this fine to come out and show off and amuse herself.
. .