Chapter 410 — The Two Crafty Merchants
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Ow! " Shen Mu had just spoken these words when his ear suddenly flared with pain—Granny Zhu had seized his ear and was pulling him down by it. "Cursing again!
" Granny Zhu said crossly. "Who taught you that? Zai Fu?
Or the Patriarch?
Or is it some no-good pack of fox-and-dog friends you took up with out there?
" "Ow!
I'll stop, Granny, let go! " Granny Zhu released him.
Shen Mu let out a breath of relief, rubbed his ear, and ventured, "Granny, Cult Master Li has left.
Surely you need not keep playing the ugly one anymore? Don't be heartbroken—" "Who's heartbroken? " Granny Zhu walked forward, shaking her head.
"Now that Fan Xuanshu is dead, I can set down one burden.
I ought to be happy. " Yet though she spoke thus, she showed no smile; instead a bleak, sorrowful look came over her face. She turned away from Shen Mu, not letting him see her in her moment of weakness, and summoned the spirits that had hidden themselves in the great hall to carry the wounded inside.
Shen Mu, for his part, summoned the many wounded flood dragons and had them bring over the pieces of Xing'an's body they had gathered, all of which he tossed into the True Dragon Nest. The True Dragon Nest contained a hidden space within, capable of shielding one from sensing.
Still uneasy, he transformed the Heaven Emperor Jade Tablet into the Lord of True Dragons and sent the Jade Tablet into the Dragon Nest. The Lame Old Man had fallen unconscious clutching his legs; with great effort Shen Mu worked the two legs free, and then, finding the Deaf Old Man's painting as well, tossed it into the True Dragon Nest to be sealed.
This done, Shen Mu let out a sigh of relief and went into the great hall to treat the wounded. But there were far too many injured, some of them so gravely hurt that death might come at any moment. If he were to treat them one by one, it would take far too long—perhaps before he had healed even a few, someone's grave wounds would erupt and kill them. Shen Mu had no choice but to summon the Dragon Qilin.
"Fat Dragon, a thousand days of raising a dragon for the use of a single hour—lick them all. " The Dragon Qilin hesitated and complained, "Cult Master, where am I to find so much saliva? " "Shh, don't say saliva. " Snow Fox hurriedly leaped to the Dragon Qilin's ear and whispered, "Call it dragon slaver.
If you say saliva, we'll never be able to sell it in the future. Lick them well, and I'll have the young master give you an extra meal.
" The Dragon Qilin roused its spirits and bustled off to work, saying, "Sister Ling'er, don't forget about the extra meal.
" Shen Mu picked out the several most gravely wounded and diagnosed them first, took up silver needles to seal their wounds and suppress their injuries, and then set to refining elixirs for their treatment—only his hands were still trembling, and he ruined two furnaces of spirit elixirs.
He steadied himself, first treating his own wounds, and only once his hands no longer trembled did he tend to the others, refining elixirs to heal them. There were many wounded, and their injuries differed greatly. Shen Mu first gave them all a rough treatment to keep their wounds from erupting and their lives from being imperiled, and only then began to treat them carefully, one by one.
His dozen or so flood dragons were also badly wounded. They exposed their wounds and waited for the Dragon Qilin to lick them, but the Dragon Qilin could not bring itself to stoop so low; the flood dragons were so enraged they began cursing, "Maha, maha!
" Ling Yuxiu, Yan Jingjing, Si Yunxiang, and Snow Fox came to help as well. After treating them for a long while, Shen Mu was drained to the bone and could truly hold on no longer. His own wounds were not yet healed either, so he had no choice but to rest first.
Fortunately, no one among them now bore a fatal wound; most had already awakened. Only their full recovery would still require Shen Mu's continued care.