Chapter 121 — The Capital Has Many Taboos
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The young Patriarch too fetched a fish bone and drew upon the ground the Five Luminaries realm circulation diagram he had seen in the ruins — though it, as well, was broken and incomplete. "This is all I saw," he said. "The diagram was far too damaged, and so I did not have it carved in Chunyang Hall."
Something stirred in Shen Mu's heart. He drew out the fragmentary Five Luminaries realm circulation diagram he himself had seen in the Palace of Quelled Calamities, and set it beside the young Patriarch's for comparison. The two broken diagrams were missing largely different parts; laid one over the other, they might well fill in some of the gaps!
Shen Mu then drew a new diagram to one side. In this new diagram only a single part was missing — the left collarbone!
Still, even with the left collarbone cultivation method lacking, he could perfectly well circulate the Mystic Body Three-Cinnabar Art and go on cultivating!
The young Patriarch studied this new diagram of his closely, mused a long while, then with the fish bone traced a few strokes at the left shoulder. "I will complete this circulation diagram for you after my own understanding," he said. "Only, what I complete is not necessarily right, and it is certain to diverge from the original. When you run your yuanqi in a duel, there will likely remain a hairline flaw at your left shoulder. Should your opponent's skill be ordinary, he will not find it. But should his eye be keen, I fear that left shoulder will be your fatal weakness."
A chill ran through Shen Mu. "Patriarch," he said hastily, "how keen must an opponent's eye be to see through this flaw?"
The young Patriarch mused a moment. "The Heaven-Human realm," he said. "Or the Life-and-Death realm."
Shen Mu's heart eased, and he laughed. "Where would I go to provoke a strongman of that sort?"
"There are also young folk who, though their realms are not high, have very keen eyes."
The young Patriarch spoke placidly. "The Grand Academy, for instance, has such young folk. Do not hold yourself too high. This is no longer an age when a man can command the winds and clouds on the strength of one or two arts handed down by his ancestors. If your dao arts and divine powers make no advance, and you lean only on those two tricks your forebears passed down — heh — sooner or later others will wipe you out. Do you know why I took the seat of Grand Libationer of the Grand Academy? It was so that I might survey all the learning under heaven, and bear witness to a new age."
A thread of sorrow entered his gaze. "A pity," he said softly. "I fear I shall not live to see it..."
Though he had long looked past life and death, and grieved not at his own end drawing near, it wounded him to the quick that he would not witness the coming of a new age — a desolation of the heart, for that new age was one he had pushed forward with his own hand.
"It does not matter that I cannot see it."
The young Patriarch's spirits lifted, and he smiled. "But you can. Young Cult Master, do not seal yourself in the old ways. Your vision must be broad; your heart must be broader still!"
Shen Mu took his leave of the young Patriarch. This old man had made an impression on him unlike anyone else in the village.
The villagers of the Village of Hidden Remnants gave one the impression of a pack of harmless old worthies. Fearsome as they looked, once you had known them a while you found them truly kind at heart. They had taught Shen Mu the principles of how to be a man; they had taught him the means by which to survive.
The young Patriarch had taught him none of that. His method was patient, step-by-step guidance, setting him on a higher place from which to look upon the world.
Stand at a different height, and you see a different world.
Chickens and sparrows flit low; they see only coops and thatched huts, and can only peck for worms and grain upon the ground.