Chapter 1020 — Metamorphosing Into Fish and Dragon, Leaving No Trace

"This man is no ordinary person. None who can master the Heavenly Lord's fleshly body are weaklings.

If you go tracking him, you may bring danger upon yourself instead — come to my arms. " The handsome general in silver armor and white robes sprang toward her bosom, turning into a white cat as he fell into her embrace; he nuzzled about her a moment, then dozed off again in lazy contentment. The maids beside Heavenly Concubine Yan seemed long used to such wonders; they followed her back to the Palace of Lasting Joy.

Shen Mu returned to the Hall of Nourishing Glory, and no sooner had he stepped inside than he saw Heavenly Venerable Hao, hands clasped behind his back, waiting there within the hall. Shen Mu's heart gave a jolt; he walked straight past the man as if he did not exist, and though he appeared fully composed, his heart very nearly leapt up into his throat. Shen Mu sat down calmly, as steady as a rock, and said, "What business brings Heavenly Venerable Hao here?

" Heavenly Venerable Hao raised his head and said, unmoved, "Mingya came to see you, and you escorted him into the ancestral land. You lingered there so long before emerging — what exactly were you plotting?

" "Mingya?

" Shen Mu was momentarily taken aback and broke into a smile.

*Mingya must be the name of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace — now at last I know. * He sat unmoving and said in a leisurely tone, "Crown Prince Mingya is a descendant of the Heavenly Lord after all; a trip to the ancestral land does no harm.

Heavenly Venerable Hao, you and I are both Venerables — why should I need to report my doings to you?

" Heavenly Venerable Hao snorted. "Do not forget — without me, would you hold the seats you hold now?

Which of you could have stood against Cloud Heavenly Venerable, Ling Heavenly Venerable, and Moon Heavenly Venerable?

It is precisely because I have been here that you could climb onto your Venerable thrones and wield the power you wield now! " Shen Mu laughed heartily.

"And it is precisely because you have been here that the Grand Emperor could slip in among the Ten Heavenly Venerables and become a lurking calamity of the first order. Heavenly Venerable Hao, your influence is indeed vast, but mine is not small either — do not keep speaking to me from that height! " Heavenly Venerable Hao clenched his fists and stared at him; Shen Mu forced down his fright with all his might and met his gaze.

Heavenly Venerable Hao opened his fists and said flatly, "That whelp Shen Mu says the Grand Emperor is hidden among us, and you believe him? He does no more than sow division, wanting the Ten Heavenly Venerables to war among themselves. That he came out of the Grand Void alive did indeed take me by surprise, but his words are a patchwork of truth and lies; he has tucked away much more than he told. " Shen Mu leaned back upon the Heavenly Lord's throne and said lazily, "His words are woven of truth and falsehood — but Fire Heavenly Venerable and Void Heavenly Venerable should soon return, should they not?

Once they are here, whether that whelp Shen Mu's words hold true or false will declare itself. " Heavenly Venerable Hao's gaze fell upon the wounds on his legs, and his pupils narrowed. "You took Crown Prince Mingya into the ancestral land — were you counting on his bloodline to strip away the treasures there?

Those treasures are the patrimony of my house; you will never take them!

" Shen Mu showed an inscrutable smile and said, "Heavenly Venerable Hao seems remarkably solicitous of Crown Prince Mingya — it exceeds the affection of brothers. " Heavenly Venerable Hao swept his sleeves and departed, his voice trailing back, "You see that this body is restored to health, and mind you — Crown Prince Mingya is, after all, my brother. If you dare harbor any crooked thought against him, no matter which Venerable you are, I will make you die without a grave to lie in! " Shen Mu huffed indignantly and watched him leave; only then did he let out his breath and nearly slump down upon the imperial throne.

*The relationship between Heavenly Venerable Hao and Crown Prince Mingya is plainly out of the common way — Mingya is less like his younger brother than like his son. . .

* The Heavenly Lord's brow split open, and Shen Mu flew out from it, his expression strange. *The imperial house is a tangled web indeed. This Heavenly Lord's fleshly body is no place to linger — it is far too hair-raising.

If I stay inside much longer, I shall give myself away sooner or later! I must leave this Hall of Nourishing Glory at once!

* He gave his body a shake, transformed into a palace maid, and walked out of the hall. No sooner had he stepped out of the Hall of Nourishing Glory than he saw coming head-on the broad-robed, wide-sleeved Heavenly Venerable Hong. Heavenly Venerable Hong wore a single white robe, his brows and beard snowy white, his gown very loose, like some amiable and approachable elder who looked upon everyone with kind brows and gentle eyes.

"Lass, is His Majesty inside the hall?

" Heavenly Venerable Hong asked, all smiles. "I report to the Venerable that His Majesty is still resting," said Shen Mu, making a stately curtsy.

Heavenly Venerable Hong flicked his sleeve and headed into the hall. Shen Mu hastily hurried away, and when he reached a corner of the long corridor, he changed his form, becoming a gliding serpent that slid into the grass. When it reached the pond ahead, the serpent entered the water, and with a shake became a great koi that swam along the waterway of the inner palace.

It swam to the Imperial Garden, turned into a frog, and sprang onto the bank.

Hardly had it hopped a few paces to stand behind a tree when a wildcat stepped out and, after a few quick steps along the foot of the palace wall, sprang up onto the wall and sped along it, weaving to and fro among the great halls.

After a while, the wildcat leaped down from the top of the wall into the shadows beneath. A dark silhouette moved ceaselessly through the gloom, hugging the ground and walls, until it reached the outer city of Jade Capital City, where Shen Mu stepped out of the shadows and walked toward the mansion of Heavenly Venerable Mu.

Within the Hall of Nourishing Glory, Heavenly Venerable Hong knit his brows at the Heavenly Lord's fleshly body, whose legs were covered in wounds, and could not help shaking his head.

"These people — they have not the slightest regard for it.

After all, this body is the face of the Heavenly Court.

. . Who was it that drove this fleshly body into the ancestral land.

. . No!

That palace maid was not right!

Those who serve the Heavenly Lord's fleshly body cannot be a single palace maid! " His divine sense exploded outward, enveloping the grounds about the Hall of Nourishing Glory, examining even the smallest mote as he searched for the maid's whereabouts.

His divine sense was exceedingly strong, and the disturbance it provoked was enormous; instantly, one divine sense after another erupted in the distance and came closing in, clashing against his! Lightning flashed and thunder roared around the Hall of Nourishing Glory — a prodigy born of the collision of several Venerables' divine senses! Heavenly Venerable Hong abruptly withdrew his divine sense and laughed heartily. "Fellow daoists, do you take me for the Grand Emperor? To think you would probe me!

The Ten Heavenly Venerables have always been of one breath, branches of a single tree — since when do we grow so wary and suspicious of our own?

" The divine senses in the sky dispersed one after another, and stillness returned all around. Heavenly Venerable Hong frowned slightly, thinking, *With that moment's delay they cost me, that strange palace maid must have gone far by now.

That maid was the one who drove the fleshly body into the ancestral land — and to move with such stealth. .

. I fear the ancestral land. .

.