Chapter 358 — On True and False Tyrant Bodies
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"Young Master Xu, how do you find the tribute wine from the imperial palace? Does it suit your taste?"
In the Listening to Rain Pavilion of the capital's pleasure quarter, pipa strings clattered and plucked in tangled melody, qin notes whispered and shivered, and a dongxiao flute sobbed low. Several girls sang and danced, and Shen Mu poured wine for Xu Shenghua, smiling as he said, "This is imperial wine the Sixth Princess brought. I seldom drink, so I hardly know good from bad. What do you think of the flavor?"
Ling Yuxiu, dressed in men's clothing, cast her bright eyes about and took in the surroundings, her heart fluttering with unease and no small excitement: "The cowherd actually brought me out to visit a brothel! If Father Emperor found out, he'd have his head for certain! So this is the Listening to Rain Pavilion, the most famous brothel in the capital? It doesn't seem as lascivious a place as the legends say..."
Xue Hu'er was well acquainted with the girls of the Listening to Rain Pavilion and had long since run off to find familiar faces, chattering away about heaven knew what.
Though Xu Shenghua had set foot in a house of dust and wind, he remained untouched by it. Sipping lightly at the fine wine, he said, "The palace wine is good, but it lacks the crisp fragrance of the wine from my Heaven Above. The cellaring time must be insufficient. If Sect Master Shen were to taste the fine wine of my Heaven Above and then drink this, he would be able to tell good from bad."
Ling Yuxiu looked at the youth seated across from Shen Mu, curiosity stirring in her heart. Xu Shenghua was exquisite as though carved from jade, not quite like a real person.
There was not a single flaw to be found in his features, nor in his clothing, his bearing, his words, or his manner.
Yet Shen Mu, seated across from him, had any number of small flaws.
Shen Mu was not as beautiful as he; though Shen Mu was not ill-favored either, he still could not compare to Xu Shenghua. Shen Mu was somewhat virile, giving one a sense of abundant vitality. Even after these days of toil and bustle, with scarcely any time to sleep, Shen Mu still appeared full of vigor.
Xu Shenghua, by contrast, seemed reserved, steady, unshaken even if the sky should fall, his heart like still water.
Shen Mu was sometimes excessively modest, and at other times excessively arrogant. Though kindhearted, he could also be wicked; sometimes oblivious to romantic feeling, and at other times capable of stirring your heart until it bloomed with flowers unceasing, like seeds scattered in spring.
Shen Mu was sometimes cautious in his dealings, leaving not a drop to leak, and at other times crude and reckless, charging ahead without a thought, often landing himself in trouble.
He was sometimes very clever, but when he was being foolish, he could make you grind your teeth in frustration.
Yet none of this could be seen in Xu Shenghua.
Xu Shenghua was like a perfect person in whom no flaw could be found. To describe a man as beautiful is excessive, yet to describe him so was not excessive in the least.
He was simply that kind of person. Whether enemy or friend, all who faced him felt as though bathed in a spring breeze.
"Too flawless to seem real."
Ling Yuxiu glanced at the two girls behind him and felt some sympathy for them. She could see the fiery feeling in their eyes when they looked upon Xu Shenghua, but clearly these two girls had fixed their affections on the wrong object.
A perfect person like Xu Shenghua could not possibly love them. Even if he did, they would not dare accept it, for they themselves were not perfect, and would be left forever in self-abasement.
Such a romance would not last; it was but flowers in a mirror and the moon in water.
"When we first met, I did not know that you and I would be enemies."
Shen Mu set down his cup and said, "When I learned it, I was grieved. We could have been friends. But it is just as well — I too need an enemy like you."