Chapter 244 — Wreaking Havoc Upon the Living
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Even the village head was somewhat flustered. He turned his head away and called, "Blind elder, blind elder!"
The blind elder came forward toward Granny Zhu with his bamboo staff, unhurried: "Is it Cult Master Li, or is it Old Lady Si?"
The lame elder said angrily, "Cult Master Li, of course, the pervert! Old Lady Si can't hold him down anymore! You can't see her face — you come and suppress Cult Master Li!"
From Granny Zhu's mouth came a rough, weathered voice, and she smiled bewitchingly: "The lady is no match for me anymore; she is suppressed by me now. Look at me — am I beautiful?"
She laughed with great delight, infatuated with her own beauty, her breath like orchids. Though her voice was coarse, her tone was tender: "Before I married the lady, I already knew I was not worthy of such a beauty. Not I alone — no stinking man in this world is worthy of her! But I was resolved to marry her all the same. I knew she was unwilling to marry me; after all, I was her master. But she could not resist. I knew too that she meant to kill me on our wedding night, and I was glad to let her kill me. Because..."
She raised her wrist and studied her own flawless white skin, whiter than mutton-fat jade, finer still; even the translucent, flawless jadeite bracelet became a mere foil, unworthy of that wrist.
Cult Master Li covered her mouth and giggled: "Because I envied her too much. It was not that I wanted to marry her — I wanted to become her. She kills me, I become her: is that not the best of both worlds?"
The blind elder came on with his staff. Though she was exceedingly beautiful, it had little effect on him. He said calmly, "Cult Master Li, you go too far. Have you forgotten that you were once a man?"
"A stinking man — what is there in that worth clinging to?"
Cult Master Li's bearing was bewitching and alluring; she gave him a glare. "Dead blind elder, your eyes are blind and your heart is blind; you understand nothing of the advantages of being a woman. Do not think to stop me — you cannot stop me. I am leaving. I mean to live another life as a woman!"
Shen Mu shut his eyes tight and would not look at her, yet could not help opening them again: "Cult Master Li, you have become something of a pervert! You and I are both Cult Masters and Sage Masters of the Heaven-Sage Cult; I hold your conduct in contempt!"
The blind elder came to a halt, leaning on his bamboo staff, and laughed: "Well said, Shen'er."
Cult Master Li glanced at Shen Mu, and at once his mind went blank; there was no thought left in his heart, only the sense that she was beautiful.
"One more word out of you, and this concubine will kill you and make herself Holy Cult Master again," Cult Master Li said with a smile, her fingers shaped in the orchid gesture.
Shen Mu's heart pounded wildly. He felt that if so beautiful a woman wanted his life, he would give it willingly.
"No, no! She is Granny Zhu... bah, bah, that is Fan Xuanshu, Cult Master Li, a foul old man! Bah, bah — even if she were Granny, that would not do; she is the Granny who raised me!"
Cold sweat rolled down Shen Mu's brow; he had nearly bred an inner demon of his own, and hastily shut his eyes.
Cult Master Li walked toward the edge of the village, the demonic aura about her growing heavier and her demonic nature stronger with every step. On the road before her stood a blind elder and a bamboo staff.
The two struck almost at the same instant. In a flash of lightning, in the space of a single breath, the victory was decided.
A surging tide of qi rushed out in all directions. Yincan Village was full of treasures, and one after another the treasures were triggered by the dreadful aftershocks of the two clashing, blazing with light; wave upon wave of terrifying tremor burst forth and scattered the white clouds from the sky!
Cult Master Li clutched her chest and sank slowly down: "Blind elder, my lady's cultivation is too poor. Otherwise I would not be your inferior — I would be stronger than you..."