Chapter 421 — The Cauldron Shakes the Mountains and Rivers
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
His head was enormous, and the blood-swollen lump on his crown was scarcely smaller, yet when he drilled up out of the earth he stood no taller than five feet, his face a tangle of whiskers growing every which way, as careless as weeds.
Shen Mu said hastily, "Patriarch of the Earthwalking Divine Clan, this estate was forged by the Four Lords of the High Heavens themselves. They spared no expense."
"Those bastards again!"
The dwarf sprang out and landed with a heavy thud. Short as he was, his bulk was startlingly dense. Tilting his head back, he demanded, "Earth... Giant, are you the Human Sovereign? Did that cocky son of a bitch before you croak?"
Before Shen Mu could answer, he crowed in delight, "Good riddance! Did he die badly? He must have died horribly, right? Hahahaha, I knew it, I knew that bastard would die horribly! Strutting around like he owned the sky, forever dragging us out to play at counterattacks. Once or twice is fine, but who walks the riverbank and keeps his shoes dry? He played that game too many times — sooner or later the boat capsizes. And now he's dead, isn't he?"
Shen Mu glanced back, but the village chief was nowhere to be seen. He wondered, "The chief was standing right there a moment ago. Where has he gone?"
"I am Tuxing Feng of the Earthwalking Divine Clan, patriarch of this generation. My ancestor was the Earth God of the Kaihuang era — the whole family's short like this. You must have seen the earth shrines in the Wilderness Ruins? Those enshrine our forebears."
The dwarf was a great talker and quick with it: "Our clan breeds like rabbits, so in the Kaihuang era earth gods were everywhere, earth shrines everywhere, every peak had a god of our Earthwalking line. But the purer our blood, the shorter we grow. Since the Kaihuang era ended, our bloodline's gone to ruin — we keep getting taller. I, at my height, am already a giant among the Earthwalking Divine Clan. My ancestors would despise me for it. Oh, and I have twenty-eight brothers. I'm the eldest. My second brother's name is..."
Shen Mu cleared his throat. "Esteemed guests, please, come inside."
Suddenly a demonic wind came howling in. When it died, five figures of wildly differing appearance stood within the dark gust. "Leaders of the Demon Race, the Five Immortals, have come at your invitation to meet the Human Sovereign."
Shen Mu was startled. Emperor Jingping's Preceptor, at his side, said, "All five are demons, and extremely powerful ones."
Shen Mu's thoughts stirred. The Five Immortals were a folk tradition — the Fox, the Weasel, the Hedgehog, the Snake, and the Rat. The Fox Immortal was a fox, the Weasel Immortal a yellow weasel, the Hedgehog Immortal a hedgehog, the Snake Immortal a serpent, and the Rat Immortal a rat. These five demon leaders must be the spirit-beasts of the demon race's five clans.
Presumably when the first Human Sovereign saved the world in ages past, he saved the demons too, and so the demon leaders likewise presented treasures and joined in forging the Human Sovereign Seal.
"Five honored guests, please!"
Shen Mu led them all into the estate, and into the main hall to take their seats. The village chief had arrived as well. Everyone looked at the old man shaved down to a stick, and for a moment no one recognized him.
Besides the village chief, the Butcher, the Silent Artisan, the Blind Elder, Old Master Huo, the Lame Elder, the Deaf Elder, the Pill Master, and Granny Zhu all took seats of their own. Tuxing Feng kept staring at the village chief, finding him vaguely familiar. The chief looked rather embarrassed.
After a moment, Qingyou Shanren arrived with two elders, You He and You Yun, and paid his respects to Shen Mu, then to the village chief, saying with a laugh, "We're late!"
"Little Qing, Little You, and Old Wanderer!"