Chapter 281 — Craft That Rivals Heaven
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Wanyun's face at once turned bitter.
To go out into the world and temper himself alongside Shen Mu was an unrelieved hardship. Last time their party had followed Shen Mu to the southern wilds, they had first run into the Nine Nether Sect, the Corpse Immortal Sect and the Hongshan Sect rousing the dead to slaughter a whole city; then come upon the Dutian Demon King of Tianbo City, slaying in all directions; and after that came the campaign to pacify Daxiang City. In all his life he had never passed through so many killing calamities from which there was no escape but death!
Once back in the capital, Shen Wanyun had needed a long while to recover. He had gone to Qingmen Pass in earlier years to temper himself too, fighting the soldiers of the Mandi Kingdom on the battlefield, but that, at least, had been soldier against soldier and general against general. How could it compare with tempering beside Shen Mu?
At Shen Mu's side it was sect against sect, killing and slaughtering at the least provocation, and they even summoned demon gods; at Daxiang City, masters of cult-master rank had been everywhere, and experts of the Heaven-Human realm and the Life-Death realm had run into the hundreds! Even now, when Shen Wanyun thought back on those days of tempering with Shen Mu, he still felt a chill of dread.
He had heard as well of certain things that had befallen Shen Mu after that expedition: returning to the Waste Ruins for the New Year, he had been pursued by who knew how many masters; he had made a great commotion at the Great Thunderclap Monastery; and after coming back he had even been caught up in the case of the Daoist sects and the Great Thunderclap Monastery besieging the emperor, had rescued the emperor and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, and had then returned to the capital and killed Crown Prince Ling Yuxia!
Had it been himself living through such things, he feared he would have died more than a hundred times over. He had resolved not to go out with Shen Mu; yet this time the Crown Prince had named him all the same, as good as a sentence of death to be carried out after the autumn assizes. Who knew whether this Holy Cult Master had been born under a jinxed star; wherever he went, disaster rained down from the heavens.
Seeing his face, Shen Mu consoled him: "This trip is not dangerous.
Crown Prince Ling Yushu was one of our own at the Imperial College to begin with; we are old acquaintances and on very good terms. He says he is leaving the capital to relieve the disaster, but the men he is taking are all experts of the Ministry of Works.
In my view this journey is not for quelling rebellion and such; it is to inspect the imperial workshops of the various regions, and to clear away the snow mountains left by the great snow disaster, or to build bridges and dams and the like.
There is no danger. " Shen Wanyun pulled a weeping face: "If only that were so. " Si Yunxiang, however, was rather deflated, and said in disappointment: "No danger at all. . .
" The three followed the steward to the Divine Ability Residence and to their own rooms; the steward lodged them close together, all three houses in one place.
Shen Mu said to Shen Wanyun and Si Yunxiang: "There is no telling when we shall return from this trip.
Each of you should seek out a few divine abilities to cultivate.
" Shen Wanyun's eyes flickered, and he proposed: "Yue Qinghong and Yun Que will break through the wall within the next day or two and become divine-ability practitioners.
Cult Master, we share blessings and hardships alike; since this trip is to enjoy blessings, why not bring them along? " Shen Mu laughed: "You speak sense.
Before the Crown Prince sets out, bring along anyone who has cultivated a divine ability.