Chapter 363 — How Thick Is the Vault of Heaven?
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
" "That is also a possibility. " The Fire-Well Commandant said, "But when we of the Bureau monitor the heavens, we use the armillary sphere; this primordial weapon is a heavy-grade spiritual treasure. The sight of us adepts may be twisted, but the armillary sphere cannot be. The stars on the armillary sphere move in step with the stars of heaven—and if the sphere's stars have moved, then the stars above have truly moved. Most crucial of all, why are there no stars where the crack was?
" Shen Mu's heart stirred, and he probed, "What is it you are implying? " The Bureau officials exchanged glances; the Fire-Mountain Commandant coughed and said, "Until the calculation yields its result, we of the Bureau make no guess, nor do we take responsibility for anyone else's guesses.
Pray forgive us, Lord Shen.
" "These fellows, so full of mystery and secrecy. " Shen Mu frowned. "The adepts on my side are for the most part numerological masters of the Daoist Sect and the Lesser Jade Capital. They are just now planning to leave and return to their respective houses, and I dare not say whether I can prevail upon them. " Xu Shenghua stepped forward, eager to throw himself in: "I too have some attainment in numerical computation. " Shen Mu smiled. "If Brother Xu is willing to lend a hand, so much the better.
I shall go and invite Daoist Master Lin Xuan and Wang Muran and the rest. " Jingyan said hastily, "My young master is helping, so then that thousand-copper debt.
.
. " Without turning his head, Shen Mu said, "Even if you refused to help, I would hardly be short of numerological masters here! " Jingyan's face darkened at once: "What a miser! " Xu Shenghua said, "Yanzi, don't be cross. The truth is, I too want to know what exactly happened in the sky after Sect Master Shen fired that shot. And he was not wrong—whether we help or not makes little difference to him; it is only a matter of time.
" Shen Mu went to fetch Daoist Master Lin Xuan, Wang Muran, Mu Qingdai, and the other young masters, and when all had assembled Wang Muran said, "What does Sect Master Shen wish to calculate?
" Shen Mu looked toward the Fire-Well Commandant, whose eyes gleamed: "Calculate the celestial signs. " Daoist Master Lin Xuan laughed. "Celestial signs?
Sect Master Shen cultivates the Dao Sword of our sect, and the fourth chapter of the Dao Sword deals precisely with celestial signs.
With him about, what need have we? " Shen Mu shook his head. "The fourth chapter of the Dao Sword covers normal celestial signs; what the Bureau wants us to calculate is abnormal celestial signs.
" Daoist Master Lin Xuan and the other Daoist priests were all perplexed—were celestial signs divided between the normal and the abnormal?
The Fire-Well Commandant described what the Bureau had observed and said, "The stars moved, and the stars within the crack vanished. This is absolutely abnormal.
It is as if, as if.
.
.
" Mu Qingdai blurted out, "As if the stars were hung upon a great cloth! " The Fire-Well Commandant clapped his hands. "Exactly! As if hung upon a great cloth—Lord Shen's cannon light tore the cloth open, and the stars, sun, and moon drew apart to either side!
" The young people exchanged looks, their faces grave. Were the celestial signs hung upon the sky?
Xu Shenghua raised his head to the heavens, steadied his mind, and said, "Sect Master Shen, what exactly do you intend for us to calculate?
" "Using the star-drift caused by that shot, calculate the height and the thickness of heaven! " Shen Mu glanced at the Bureau's many star officials.
"Is this not what you all intend? " The star officials of the Bureau looked at one another and, one by one, slowly nodded.
"Lord Shen is quick-witted. " The Fire-Well Commandant said in a hoarse voice: "In the past we believed heaven unlimited in height and unlimited in thickness.