Chapter 341 — The Daoist Sect's Mathematical Heart-Method
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping set Bian Zhenyun's head down properly and went to look at the bones upon the ground, and his heart gave an involuntary shudder. Bian Zhenyun had laid out the remains of the soldiers of Qingmen Pass in neat ranks; the rain had not ceased for more than ten days, and the old general must have been out in it all the while, gathering his own soldiers' bodies together. He also saw that beside every set of bones lay a wooden tablet, and upon every tablet was written the name of that soldier. The Imperial Preceptor walked on: bones of the Qingmen Pass soldiers on either side, each with its wooden tablet, each tablet bearing a name.
Bian Zhenyun had known every soldier under his command; he could call every one of them by name!
"You were a general worthy of the name. " The Imperial Preceptor halted; he did not walk on.
He turned, and as his robes whirled, countless bones rose into the air and followed him away toward Jingping.
In distant Jingping their families were waiting for them to come home: among them were young sons, and aged fathers, and husbands gone out to war, and daughters, wives, and mothers dearly loved at home.
He would send them home. "The Golden Palace of Loulan.
" The Imperial Preceptor looked to the west, then turned his head and walked toward Jingping. Night fell, and another world met this one; ghost lamps and ancient boats came sailing in, and bit by bit in the lamplight old men appeared, fashioning paper figures, paper horses, paper boats, and one by one the souls upon the battlefield quietly boarded the boats, making no sound at all. The Imperial Preceptor passed by their side and did not disturb these envoys of the Ghost Capital.
These heroic spirits fallen in war, and the grassland herders who had died of witch poison and of the rainstorms and floods, would be guided to the secret Ghost Capital; what awaited them there, no one knew.
The Daoist sect.
Shen Mu climbed Kunlun's Mount Yuxu.
This place was called the Yuxu Grotto-Heaven; it did not seem to be the true world at all, but everywhere had the look of an immortal holy land; even the great snow disaster that shrouded the Kingdom of Jingping had not touched it in the least. Unlike the Daitingming Temple on Mount Sumeru: Sumeru stood high above, its countless Buddhist temples all gold and glory, so that from far off one saw them and was awed in heart by the vastness of the Dharma. The Yuxu Grotto-Heaven, by contrast, lay amid fold upon fold of mountains, hidden deep; to come here on pilgrimage one must cross a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, and even then might never find this holy ground of the Daoist sect.
The Daoist sect was made up of cultivators, who dislike outsiders disturbing their purity, and these Daoists seldom went abroad.
When the dragon qilin came to the foot of the mountain, before the gate of Mount Yuxu there were no guardian beasts either, only a thatched hut, in which lived an old Daoist, kindling a fire to cook. Shen Mu leapt down from the dragon qilin and saluted the old Daoist, saying, "The Heavenly Sage Cult Leader has come to see the Daoist Master; please, senior brother, go in and announce me.
" The old Daoist was surprised; he gave him a look, then glanced at the medicine basket on his back and at the lame old man wreathed in smiles, and said, "So it is the Nether Demon Cult Leader.
In that battle at the capital, the Nether Demon Cult Leader killed a good many of this old Daoist's senior brothers.
" Then he looked the lame old man over twice and showed a dubious look. Shen Mu smiled.
"A Daoist dreads disturbance to his own purity, yet comes to destroy the purity of the world. Such a one deserves to die.
" The old Daoist shook his head. "For the sake of the world's people, Daoists too must take a hand.
Nether Demon Cult Leader, I will not argue with you.
Go up the mountain yourselves; only do not disturb my cultivation. " The lame old man laughed.