Chapter 269 — The Beauty in the Painting
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
" Shen Mu nodded. Suddenly he caught sight of a familiar face, and after a small start he smiled at the youth: "Banggongcuo! " The youth was a barbarian of the grasslands; he turned his head and looked at Shen Mu with bewilderment in his eyes.
Many foreign attendants followed at his side, two of them great shamans of the Golden Palace of Loulan. Banggongcuo asked something of those beside him in a low voice, and one of the shamans hastily whispered something back; Banggongcuo's face cleared, and he returned Shen Mu's greeting with tepid courtesy: "So it is the Sect Master of the Nether Demon Cult. Has the Sect Master business with me?
" Shen Mu was taken aback again, then shook his head: "None.
" Banggongcuo walked off with the others.
Shen Mu frowned slightly. Pei Wujiu saw it and said: "Sect Master, do you know this Banggongcuo?
" "He is Banggongcuo, the youngest son of the Great Khan of the Man-Di Kingdom. I once saw him drilling his fists at the frontier pass; there was a very peculiar bearing to his boxing, and he must have an unusual constitution. " Shen Mu looked at Banggongcuo's retreating back and mused: "He once challenged Libationer Bashan, saying that one day he would surely defeat him.
It left a deep impression on me. Only, why does he look at me as though he were meeting me for the first time. . .
" Pei Wujiu laughed: "A young man's temper.
Most likely he has simply forgotten. " Shen Mu returned to the Scholars' Lodge.
Dragon Qilin lay sprawled outside the room; Shen Mu entered and felt it cold and cheerless, and somehow could not get used to it.
"If Ling'er were here, it would be better," he thought with feeling. If Xue Hu'er were here, she would have tidied the room until it was neat and orderly, not a thing out of place, and she would have arranged everything so comfortably.
Suddenly Dragon Qilin's voice came from outside, gruff and muffled: "Miss, who are you looking for? " "Is your Sect Master Shen in?
" A very pleasant voice came from outside.
"He is.
" "I am coming in.
" "Mm.
" Shen Mu hurried out of the room, and saw Ling Yuxiu push the door open and enter. The girl was fair and lovely, red lips and white teeth, wearing a red gown, though not all red, for only the lapel and collar were red. As she walked into the courtyard she brought with her a rush of youthful vitality that made Shen Mu's heart beat faster. "Cowherd! " The girl's eyes were bright as she came over smiling, and said: "That big dog at your gate is very agreeable!
" "At the New Year he goes on the table and gets eaten.
Keeping him is useless even for guarding the door! " Shen Mu said viciously.
Dragon Qilin's voice came from beyond the courtyard: "Sect Master, I heard all of that. " "I meant you to hear it!
Every day you do nothing but eat and sleep!
" Shen Mu studied the princess closely.
She had grown ever more radiant, though her cheeks still held a baby's softness; and yet she was taller than Shen Mu. She was a grown girl now, and her spring gown could hardly conceal her freshness and grace, as though a cluster of blossoms were about to burst out of that fine garment, so that once a man's eyes fell on her it was hard to look away. Lately Shen Mu had begun to grow taller too, shooting up like the wild grass of the wastelands when spring arrives. He thought of how, when first they met, this princess had been a wild girl in men's clothing, most free and easy. Ling Yuxiu came to the yellow-pear tree in the courtyard.
The yellow pear was putting out buds, but the pear blossoms would open first, each pistil thrusting its head out from tender petals. Ling Yuxiu reached out a slender white hand to hold a blossom, and laughed: "You do have a sense of romance, planting a yellow pear on Jade Mountain.
When the pear blossoms open, I must certainly come to admire them. .
. " "Do not move! " Shen Mu's eyes lit up.