Chapter 280 — Poison in the Pot
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
After a moment, the great shaman who had gone to warm the wine brought it up, while the other great shaman swirled it until it ran clear, then strained a bowl and respectfully set it before Shen Mu. "Is it poisoned? " Shen Mu asked amiably.
The two great shamans of the Golden Palace said hastily, "We would not dare!
" Shen Mu laughed heartily.
"I am myself a divine physician, a disciple of the Jade-Faced Poison King. If you were to play with poisons before me, it would only make you a laughingstock.
" The two great shamans smiled apologetically again and again.
Shen Mu's face darkened. Pointing at the wine before him, he said to the great shaman who had warmed it, "Drink it.
" The great shaman's expression changed drastically, his legs trembling. Shen Mu's face grew even darker, and he said coldly, "Drink!
" The muscles at the corners of the great shaman's mouth and eyes twitched wildly. Trembling, he lifted the wine bowl, took two sips, and said with an apologetic smile, "There is no poison.
. . " He had barely spoken when his body suddenly convulsed, and then, as if all the air had been let out of him, he shriveled up. He grew shorter and shorter, until after a moment only a human skin remained. Outside the skin were his clothes; within the clothes something squirmed. A great mass of insects bit through the human skin and came pouring out of the clothes with a clatter, crawling in all directions.
Then one by one the insects burst into flame and turned to ash.
The other great shaman, the one who had strained the wine, turned ashen.
Shen Mu's expression did not change.
Tapping the table, he said, "Strain another bowl.
" The wine-straining great shaman said with a mournful face, "The wine is poisoned.
.
. " "It won't kill me. " Shen Mu said calmly, "Keep straining the wine. Where are the dancing girls?
Call them up to sing and dance for our entertainment. " The great shaman hastily strained another bowl of wine and called up the dancing girls. The singing and dancing began again.
Shen Mu ate and drank, enjoying the singing and dancing.
When he was stirred, he clapped his hands in time. The banquet lasted a long while; only when the sun hung halfway down the western sky did Shen Mu finally have his fill of wine and food. He waved his hand, dismissing the singing girls and dancing girls. The wine clearly contained a virulent poison, a kind of shamanic poison, a witch gu raised by the great shaman, which fed solely on souls and bodies.
Yet Shen Mu drank nearly the entire jar and remained perfectly fine. "How disappointing. " Shen Mu rose. The table was in complete disarray; all the wine and dishes had been consumed.
Even a dozen grown men might not have been able to finish so much food and drink, yet he still showed no sign of being full. The wine and food in his belly had all been dissolved by his Spirit-Returning Pill Great Tonic Art. "Living so many lives, eleven thousand years, and still you have never carved out your own path. You like to walk others' roads, leaping from one road to another, back and forth, until you have worn away your own edge.
" Shen Mu shook his head.
"I waited so long for you, and still you dare not show yourself.
How laughable. I thought you would be my match, but I never expected that the older you grow, the more you fear death.
Once I seized the initiative and the first hand, you no longer dared to fight me head-on.
" The great shaman of the Golden Palace was baffled, not knowing to whom he was speaking. "What need has a man who dares not strive for dreams? " Shen Mu walked out, sneering, "Go home obediently.
Oh, and since you treated me to this meal, pay the bill before you leave.