Chapter 856 — 丹青裡的佳人

The silent craftsman was the most wretched man in the village, his birth and his fate the most pitiful of all, and yet he had never wept — never, at least, before the villagers. He always smiled, the stump of his tongue showing in his mouth. Wicked as he was, forever playing tricks on Shen Mu, it was only the child's heart stirring beneath that aged shell of his, teasing Shen Mu for sport.

His gaze was always so pure, so limpid, as though he were still that helpless child stepping out of the seal above the bones of countless kin, facing the dark ruins alone, groping and stumbling through the dark forest, pressing on with no one to help him. Shen Mu did not think Qi Xiayu and Indra, the Heavenly King Buddha, were in the wrong; yet seen from the silent craftsman's place, the two of them were wrong past all measure — so wrong that the countless bones of the Heavenly Artisan folk lay buried beneath their feet. Shen Mu gathered himself and said, "Since you are unwilling to show yourself, Sister, there is no profit in my staying, and I will not interrupt your reunion with your disciple.

I have an elder who strayed into the peach grove, a god with a black dragon spear coiled at his waist. I beg you to tell me where he is, and I will take him away. " "That Sacred Pupil God is a fellow of no small ability," said the woman behind the screen with a smile. "He actually broke through the barrier outside the peach grove and came into the inner grove, and I had to divert a portion of my power to hold him.

Yet he is very clever: just now, while I was using my zither music to guide Xiayu in, he traveled along the music, and he has already come into this heaven.

If you go seeking him alone, I fear you will not find him. I will send Yan'er with you. " Shen Mu thanked her and rose to his feet. "You live here in seclusion, Sister, while outside the world lies in flood and fire. Perhaps you have a thousand reasons to keep out of the world; I have only one reason to walk into fire and water of my own accord. " The woman behind the screen tilted her head; the pearl drops at her ears swayed gently.

Shen Mu smiled. "I cannot bear that my people should be treated as fish and meat; I cannot bear that my people should be treated as fools; I cannot bear that they should die in ignorance. I scorn the Buddhist void of the four elements, and I scorn the Daoist rule of non-action.

I must do something, if I am not to fail my own conscience — even if it costs me this body, this life, I would not grudge it; it is my bounden duty.

" He made a deep bow, hands clasped to the ground, straightened up, and said in a low, heavy voice, "Today I have not been permitted to see your true face, Sister, and I do not know whether we shall ever meet again. Perhaps when you think of me, I will long since have fallen in battle. Farewell. " He turned and walked toward the door of the hall. "Wait!

" the woman behind the screen said suddenly. Shen Mu halted. The woman summoned Qi Xiayu; Qi Xiayu went behind the screen, and the woman gave her some instruction in a low voice.

Then Qi Xiayu stepped out from behind the screen, came before Shen Mu, and held out a scroll of painting in both hands.

The woman behind the screen said, "Take this, Young Master Shen.

Do not open it yet — open it after you leave the peach grove. " Puzzled, Shen Mu took the scroll and walked out of the palace. Outside the hall, the girl called Yan'er was waiting for him, a red lantern slung from a pole over her shoulder, and she giggled, "This way, Young Master.

" Shen Mu smiled back. Yan'er produced a grape from somewhere and made to feed it to him; Shen Mu shook his head in alarm.

"Sister Yan'er, I am full — truly full!

" Yan'er's face fell, and she trudged outside with the lantern, crestfallen. Shen Mu could not bear it, and opened his mouth; Yan'er brightened at once and popped the grape in swift as lightning.

The grape was sweet, with a faint astringency to it. But the next moment a peach appeared in Yan'er's hand, and Shen Mu, face dark, silently bit into the peach held up to his lips.

Inside the hall the night-pearl still shone bright, yet master and disciple were long silent.

Suddenly Qi Xiayu said, "Why would you not see him, Master? " The woman behind the screen was silent a while, then smiled bitterly.

"I am crippled now; what use is there in seeing him?

He has carried my painting away with him, and in time he will understand why today's meeting came about. This encounter in the peach grove was only chance, a mere accident.

He has never once imagined what the Heaven Alliance he founded would become.

The Heaven Alliance of those years — the place remains, but the people are all gone.

. . " Shen Mu followed Yan'er with his mouth clamped shut, resolved to accept no more food. However vexed the girl looked, he would not yield; even when she mimed feeding him mouth to mouth, he would not be tempted. His expression was exceedingly resolute. Yan'er gave up, puffed up with annoyance, and ignored him.

At last, deep in the peach grove, Shen Mu found the blind elder, who was still blundering about in every direction. The blind elder was startled and doubtful at his coming and plied him with questions. Shen Mu recounted what had befallen him in the palace, and said, "Blind Grandfather, you have been trapped here nearly a month.

The mistress of the peach grove will not see you.

Let us simply leave. " The blind elder said, "I can find no way out. " "No matter, Elder. I know the way. " Yan'er looked at him with a grin, her eyes bright, and produced a red, ripe peach.

"Would the Elder like a peach?

" The blind elder thanked her, only to find the girl holding the peach to his lips, and could not help but grow wary.

"Why is this girl so attentive? " Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Now Blind Grandfather will have to endure this on the road.

And it is a good thing he is at my side; it saves me the trouble. " By the time Yan'er led them out of the peach grove, the sky outside had brightened.

The blind elder had been fed by the girl until his belly was swollen and taut, and he truly could eat no more; yet Yan'er was so eager in her attentions that he could not bear her pretense of feeding him with her mouth either, and could only snatch the food away and bolt it down, until the veins stood out and throbbed on his forehead. Shen Mu walked out of the peach grove, and there and then opened the scroll and unrolled the painting.

A ray of sunlight spilled from the east and fell upon the picture. In the painting was a woman, standing in the moonlight, serene and sorrowful. That painting was the work of Shen Mu's own hand. Shen Mu rolled it up, put it away silently in his Taotie Pouch, and looked back at the peach grove.

"Moon Heavenly Worthy, until we meet again.

" Yan'er darted to and fro among the peach trees, then suddenly became a blue sparrow and flew off on whirring wings. A moment later the sparrow flew back to Shen Mu and the blind elder, alighted, and became Yan'er again, her face woebegone.

"I cannot go back — the Lady does not want me anymore!

" Shen Mu could not help laughing.

"In that case, Sister Yan'er, come with us and see a little of the mortal world.

" Yan'er's eyes lit up, and she flipped her hand and produced a peach. The blind elder fled in panic, making off into the distance, crying, "Shen boy, I cannot bear it — enjoy them yourself, one after another! " More than three thousand six hundred characters — truly not short!

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