Chapter 275 — Sorcery Claims a Life
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"Murder!
Murder! " An attendant hurried off to report to the Grand Libationer Pei Wujiu, crying out, "Disaster, sir!
Shen Mu, Erudite of the Imperial College, has killed again! " In the hall of the Imperial College, Pei Wujiu was drinking tea, unperturbed. He laughed.
"What is there to make such a fuss over?
He is the Sect Master of the Dark Demon Cult; is it worth your panic that he killed a man?
It would be stranger if he did not kill. Who did he kill this time? " The attendant, not pausing even to catch his breath, said, "He killed two Qiankang envoys of the Mandi Kingdom!
" Crack! The teacup in Pei Wujiu's hand burst to powder, and his face changed utterly. "The Mandi Kingdom's Qiankang envoys? Two of them?
No — I have already feasted them; why would they still slip stones into my shoes? " He scrambled to his feet, meaning to rush out of the hall, then abruptly halted, pacing back and forth. "He is the Sect Master of the Dark Demon Cult, the chief of the foremost holy ground of the demonic path. If I go running over to call him to account, that is the old man of longevity hanging himself — weary of life.
This matter had better be reported to His Highness the Crown Prince first. " Libationer Bashan stood not far off, observing Ban Gongcuo and Shen Mu.
Seeing all this, he felt his brain buzz and ache, and his head truly began to swell: "Junior brother, I only told you to sound out the depths of Ban Gongcuo — who told you to kill the Mandi Kingdom's envoys as well?
" The Mandi Kingdom's Qiankang envoys were envoys sent by the Khan of Mandi, led by Ban Gongcuo, more than ten in number; this time Shen Mu had killed two of them outright in the Imperial College. There was no way this could end well!
The Mandi Kingdom's Khan Luan was a great lord of his generation on the steppe, a man of grand design and mighty talent, who had swallowed the other khanates of the steppe and forged a great steppe power to stand against Jingping. He had even studied the culture of Jingping, drawn on its strengths, developed Mandi, and reformed its internal affairs. Mandi's court was organized on the same pattern as Jingping's, and schools were established throughout the land.
As yet he had not unified the steppe, so he could not throw his full strength against Jingping; but once he unified it, he would gather all his power to deal with Jingping. And now Jingping, after two calamities, had seen its strength gravely diminished.
The chief purpose of Khan Luan's envoys, apart from study, was to see just how far Jingping had declined. He was a fierce eagle perched above the steppe, ready at any moment to strike eastward; give him an opening, and he would lead the steppe's iron cavalry like fire, whip pointed at the Central Plains. But plainly Shen Mu cared nothing for any of this.
He had simply killed two Qiankang envoys. That act might well provoke war between the two nations!
At a time when the effects of the natural disasters had not yet faded and Jingping lay weak, if Khan Luan seized the moment and marched his army in, the calamity would be terrible.
Libationer Bashan somewhat regretted asking Shen Mu to sound out Ban Gongcuo.
Plainly this junior brother who had come running out of Huangxu knew no law and feared nothing, and had grown bold besides. Having killed the envoys, he could pat his backside and return to Huangxu — but behind that backside there would surely be a heap of mess left to clean.