Chapter 412 — Soul and Spirit as the Guide
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Shen Mu roused his spirits and refined a few more sticks of soul-drawing incense for later use. The two of them each used their soul and spirit to draw the other's spirit embryo, sensing the way their own vital essence moved, and wrote it all down.
After several trials they were both rather worn out and had to stop and rest. They had played too many times before, and their vigor was running thin.
In six days, Shen Mu and Ling Yuxiu had sketched out the broad outline of the method. Once the general principles were in hand, all that remained was detailed refinement upon that foundation.
The Butcher had still not returned from his hunt for Xing'an, and this worried Shen Mu, Granny Zhu, and the rest. Xing'an was, after all, far too strong; if he solved his tonic problem and his body returned to normal, the Butcher might well prove no match for him. And Xing'an's medical skill was formidable — otherwise he could never have swapped out his organs at will — so solving the tonic problem should not be especially difficult for him.
Si Yunxiang, Yan Jingjing, and Xue Hu'er came sailing from Shuzhou City in a fast ship, bringing the medicinal ingredients Shen Mu needed, along with a great cauldron and steaming baskets.
Shen Mu set the Butcher's hunt aside for the moment and threw himself into work: measuring out ingredients, propping up the cauldron, brewing medicinal broths, and steaming or stewing one wounded body after another — a grueling, unending labor.
Granny Zhu said in alarm, "Shen'er, the ones with shallow cultivation can't be steamed or boiled — they'll cook!"
"I know."
Once everything was arranged, Shen Mu set the deer demons to watch the heat, then made another trip to the True Dragon's Lair. Taking out five legs, he said to the Lame Elder, "Grandpa Lame, which two of these legs are yours?"
The Lame Elder studied them and picked out two. "These two. Shen'er, why do you keep so many legs here?"
Shen Mu smiled. "Spares. If Grandpa Lame loses his legs again, there are three more to sew back on."
"Peh, peh! Children's talk carries no weight — great fortune, great prosperity!"
The Lame Elder spat twice, and Shen Mu at once bustled about, heating a cauldron of medicinal broth and readying the Carefree Sword, salve, and dragon's saliva to reattach the old man's legs.
He was, after all, on familiar ground — he had once pieced together bodies for both the Lame Elder and the Butcher — so sewing these two legs back on gave him no trouble at all; it was easy work.
"Shen'er's handiwork grows better and better!" the Lame Elder praised.
The Deaf Elder, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. "That's because you've been hacked apart too many times, and gave him the practice."
The Lame Elder was furious. As Shen Mu lifted him and lowered him into the medicinal broth, the old man was still spitting at the Deaf Elder — both curses and spittle. "Peh, peh! An old man's words carry no weight — great fortune, great prosperity!"
While the two bickered, Shen Mu carried a jade dragon bowl to the Blind Elder. "Grandpa Blind, which of these holy eyes are yours?"
In the bowl lay more than a dozen eyeballs, every one of them a holy eye that Xing'an had collected. Unless they were set stirring, there was no telling which two concealed the Ninth Heaven within; to outward view they were indistinguishable.
The Blind Elder reached into the bowl, felt about, and picked out two eyes. Frowning, he said, "My eyes were gouged out very long ago, and the wounds have healed over completely. Is there still any hope of putting them back?"
Shen Mu tossed the remaining eyes, bowl and all, into the True Dragon's Lair, then examined the Blind Elder's eye sockets with great care, studying them intently.
The Blind Elder's face was calm. He smiled. "It's no matter if they cannot be put back. I have grown used to being as I am."