Chapter 242 — One More Time
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"The Human Emperor of the next generation?"
Shen Mu was doubtful. The name struck him as strange. The world already had an emperor, and it had the sect masters, patriarchs, and gate lords of every great sect, each with their own office and their own domain. What did a Human Emperor do?
It seemed there was no place left in this world for a Human Emperor to rule.
"The Human Emperor is not set on high. He has no power — only responsibility."
The Village Chief said, "The Human Emperor is not one who rules the multitudes of the world, nor one who grasps hegemony, waging war at will and subduing the unsubmissive. The Human Emperor is a state of mind, a moral creed. The Human Emperor has a seal, left behind by the first Human Emperor. I threw it under the bed. Go and fetch it."
Shen Mu went to the Village Chief's room. Under the bed there was indeed a black lump. He drew it out and looked: it was a black iron seal the size of a palm, carved with bird-seal and worm-script characters.
Shen Mu handed the black iron seal to the Village Chief, who blinked and said, "This is the Human Emperor Seal, the supreme holy relic of our lineage."
Shen Mu looked at the seal and said haltingly, "Village Chief, does our lineage have any other holy relics?"
The Village Chief was angered. The Human Emperor Seal flew up and struck Shen Mu on the forehead, raising a great lump; then the black iron lump dropped into Shen Mu's arms.
The Village Chief said, "The Human Emperor Seal is yours. You are the Human Emperor of this generation."
"Just like that?" Shen Mu was dumbfounded.
The Alchemist was startled as well. The Village Chief had always spoken of his heavy responsibility and his weighty burden, and the title of Human Emperor was fearsome enough besides; he had assumed some solemn ceremony would be required before Shen Mu could inherit the station of Human Emperor.
He had not expected the Village Chief to simply toss Shen Mu a black lump and call that an accession.
"Few there are now who even know what a Human Emperor is. We are not a sect, nor the emperor of a nation — we are a transmission. Passed from generation to generation, only one in each, and the one chosen is usually sought out among the wisest and most perceptive of the age. The wisest of this generation is the Imperial Preceptor Jingping, but he surely has no interest in it. And he has already walked out a path of his own; it would be hard for him to accept my transmission and my responsibilities."
The Village Chief sighed. "And I am too lazy to go out looking. After turning it over and over in my mind, I found only you — barely passable."
Shen Mu consoled him: "Village Chief, don't force yourself. I think you could still find someone better."
The Alchemist's face turned strange.
The Village Chief was half choked with stifled fury. The boy plainly found it a nuisance, saw no profit in it, and was therefore somewhat unwilling.
"One trip out of doors, and your nerve has grown a great deal — enough to mock me to my face!"
The Village Chief sneered: "Will you be the Human Emperor or not?"
Shen Mu, much put upon: "I will, I will. Give me the dirty work and the heavy work — I have already got more than enough of both on me; one more Human Emperor hardly signifies."
The Village Chief was speechless with rage, and wished he could grow another arm just to rap the boy hard on the head. He scolded: "How many people have begged me to teach them swordsmanship, and I would not; begged me to leave them my transmission, and I would not — and you have the nerve to turn your nose up at it?"
Shen Mu lowered his head, kicked a pebble flying, and said sullenly, "I am not turning up my nose. I only think it is a mere title, of no use at all. Village Chief, just pass the sword arts to me — as for the name of Human Emperor, why not give it to someone else?"