Chapter 328 — Afterglow of the Past
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
They had reached the Yong River.
Shen Mu surveyed his surroundings. When the village head had brought him in search of Wuyou Township, they had passed near this place; the village where the underworld courier gathered and guided the souls of the dead could not be far from here. Five or six days' travel at most, and they would be back in Yincan Village.
It was already the end of the eighth month, and the sun still blazed fiercely, the proud sun straddling the sky. All in all, it had been a rather rugged journey. When Shen Mu had walked out of the capital in the company of Crown Prince Ling Yushu, it had still been the season of bright spring; now it was already late summer. Another season, and it would be time to return to the village for the New Year.
The experiences and encounters along the way could only be called legendary.
They traveled downstream along the river. Suddenly a gust of watery vapor blew off the water, and then a vast white mist sealed off the great river, so that nothing could be seen in any direction.
Shen Mu halted at once, and the others hurriedly stopped as well, standing motionless upon the river's surface.
Xiong Xiyu's heart tightened. She said in a low voice, "A demon?"
Shen Mu shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it. More likely one of the Ruins' uncanny things."
Just then, the Wuyou Sword in the wooden scabbard at his back began to ring with a tinkling chime. Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. The Wuyou Sword seldom rang of its own accord; the last time it had done so was when they encountered the treasure ship of his father, Qin Hanzhen.
The Wuyou Sword trembled without cease, and from within the mist came gradually the clamor of men and horses, as though countless troops were passing through this place. Xiong Qi'er cried out softly, "Look at the ground beneath us—the water is gone!"
Shen Mu hastily looked down. The Yong River beneath their feet had vanished without their knowing when, replaced by dry yellow earth.
The mist gradually thinned and faded, and all around them many moving figures could be dimly seen.
Shen Mu, Xiong Xiyu, and the others could not help but go rigid, their bodies stiff. All around them stretched a vast desert of gobi, yellow sand filling the sky, and tens of thousands of divine power wielders, all dressed in ancient styles, were leading great beasts in the construction of colossal buildings.
These structures did not look like dwellings for humans. The towers were tall and imposing, the pagodas thrust straight into the clouds, the palaces glittered with gold—they seemed the dwelling places of giants or of gods.
And upon the tall divine altars stood figures of gods shining with golden light, some with birds' heads and human bodies, some with beasts' heads and human bodies, clad in golden armor, their sacred pupils radiating light.
These were living deities; it seemed that wherever their bodies stood, there was eternal daylight.
Under their supervision, tens of thousands of divine power wielders were building a whole complex of divine palaces, grand and magnificent in scale.
But—was not the place where they stood the Yong River?
How could this be a desert?
Several chi dragons came racing through the sky, drawing a jeweled carriage, and from afar a voice shook heaven and earth: "By the Supreme Emperor's decree: the Ministry of Works shall oversee the building of the Western Palace, and open up waterworks and roads!"
Shen Mu was slightly startled. "The Supreme Emperor? The third move of the sword manual the village head taught me is the Supreme Emperor's Tribulation Stirring! What connection is there between the Supreme Emperor of that move and the Supreme Emperor of this decree?"
A deity standing upon an altar, dragon-headed and human-bodied, bowed to receive the decree. Its body suddenly shook and transformed into an azure dragon, which gathered clouds and loosed rain in midair, summoning wind and waves, drawing down great waters to irrigate the desert.