Chapter 74 — Crimson Dragon City Changes Its Surname
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
Just then Shen Mu suddenly sensed a dread fluctuation coming from downstream of the Surging River, earth-shaking and utterly terrifying; even the giant river-bearer beneath their feet grew restless, abruptly speeding up, racing upstream. The Blind Elder's ears twitched.
"Shen'er, stand firm! Don't fall in!
" Shen Mu hastily steadied himself, his feet seeming to take root in the river-bearer's back. Then he heard a strange howling come from behind him; he turned in alarm and was struck with horror. The great river behind them was rising at furious speed, rising ever higher, until the water was actually flowing backward, from the lower reaches toward the upper!
Now the river's surface downstream stood more than ten zhang above the banks, and snow-white waves surged sky-high, slamming viciously toward them.
The waves came closer and closer, spray flying madly to either side, drowning the dense forests on both banks, and that dreadful surge, roaring and raging, turned from a howl into an earth-shaking boom, as if several hundred thunderclaps had burst in the valley! Shen Mu went numb with dread.
The superfluous spray of the wave dispersed, and it became a gigantic palm, a palm nearly as wide as the river itself, thrusting with terrible force from downstream toward upstream! The Blind Elder remained calm and composed, as if he had not noticed the ghastly sight at his back.
The giant palm formed of river water soon came up behind them; it was still some hundred zhang away when it abruptly collapsed, the great water roaring and surging, scattering in all directions; the swell lifted the river-bearer beneath their feet more than ten zhang into the air, then let it fall. Shen Mu, his soul still settling after the fright, hastily seized the ox cart on the beast's back lest he slide into the water.
The Blind Elder nudged the river-bearer's head with his bamboo staff; the beast turned at once and headed downstream again. "Shen'er, we are going back to Crimson Dragon City. " Thirty li down the river, the City Lord of Crimson Dragon City, Fu Yundi, descended from the sky and landed briskly upon the water's surface; he took two swift strides forward before stopping, his face grim, and looked about.
"Which senior brother broke my art? " "Not a senior brother.
A senior sister.
" Granny Zhu, little basket in hand, came mincing across the river on her small bound feet, her wrinkles bunched together, smiling. "City Lord, wreaking havoc on the river like this, aren't you afraid of harming those Wasteland villagers? Had that strike of yours truly landed, the people of a hundred li along this river would all have died at your hands. That would be no small sin.
" "You are the old woman who stays beside that Forsaken?
" Fu Yundi said coldly. "You are the one who taught him the secret arts of a combat school and made him kill my son?
A father cannot but avenge his son's murder. You bar my way, you die! " Granny Zhu sighed, fished a ball of thread from her basket, and said quietly, "City Lord, this is the Great Nurturing Nether Demon Sutra you have longed for so long.
A pity.
This is the last time you will ever lay eyes on it. You will still live, but sealed by me inside your own human skin. I will wear your skin, take charge of Crimson Dragon City, and go to meet the Imperial Preceptor Jingping. .
.
" Fu Yundi's pupils contracted sharply. The ball of thread in Granny Zhu's hand spun, the silk stretching out at furious speed; in an instant it shuttled back and forth across the river's surface and wove itself into a net, and Fu Yundi was inside that net.
"Last night, when your son died, he gave me the chance to strike you unawares, and you were badly wounded then. Had you settled down to heal your wounds, you might still have had a chance to escape today. " Granny Zhu smiled. "But you were too greedy.