Chapter 422 — A Pack of Old Coots
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
You always curled up and rolled yourself into a ball! " The old fellows burst out laughing again, each exposing the other's old shame. "Little Qingzi even had a crush on Fairy Xueqi—the way he chased her back then was something else! " "Yes, yes, I remember that.
This fellow's hide was thick as anything!
Pah! " "That day Fairy Xueqi fell in battle, little Qingzi wept like a man made of tears.
" But at these words no one laughed.
Suddenly the Hermit of Qingyou burst into loud wailing, and Tuxing Feng, who had made the mood so dreadfully awkward, scratched his tangled hair and sighed abruptly: "I'm thinking of Daoist Lu Feng.
He and I were the closest of friends. He died for me—he blocked the killing blow meant for me. . . " The crowd fell silent.
After a moment, the old fellows were laughing and talking again, and the awkwardness just past had vanished into thin air. Shen Mu shook his head and set the Flood Dragon Riding Art in motion.
One after another, the flood dragons' bodies shifted, transforming into colossal creatures several li long, and the crowd climbed onto the backs of the dragons. The estate stood empty. They rode the dragons toward the Wilderness Ruins.
On dragonback, the Butcher tossed over one wine jar after another; these mighty ones of the older generation clutched the jars and drank deep, laughter rising from time to time.
The Butcher raised his jar high and roared with laughter: "When we meet, we must drink three hundred cups! " On another dragon's back, the Lame Old Man was weeping noisily. "I'm no bold hero like the rest of you. I'm just a petty thief who does things small.
What am I doing playing the hero alongside you lot? " The Old Tathagata looked at Old Master Huo and said softly, "The Great Thunderclap Temple still needs you. Go back.
I am enough here. " Old Master Huo said calmly, "You are a Tathagata, and so am I.
You know my heart. " The Old Tathagata paused, then said, "And if neither of us returns?
What of the Great Thunderclap Temple? What of the Buddha's Dharma?
" Old Master Huo pressed his palms together, and twenty noble aspects appeared on his face: "I will fail neither the Dharma nor you. " The Old Tathagata understood his heart at once.
"Excellent. Whether a Tathagata is present or not, the Dharma is there. It does not exist because of a Tathagata, nor does it perish because of one. If one sees through it, one is a Tathagata; if one does not, one is a false monk.
" Shen Mu was on the same dragon as the village chief and the others. He kept glancing at the village chief, and at last could not hold back: "Chief, has your Divine Bridge been repaired? " A faint smile appeared on the village chief's deeply furrowed old face.
"How could it be so easy? Repairing the Divine Bridge comes in three steps, and each is desperately hard. The first is the Magpie Bridge Art, the second the Mystic Guidance Art, the third the Divine Crossing Art. I have cultivated to the Mystic Guidance Art now, which is already considered fast. Qingyou, is your Divine Bridge mended? " The Hermit of Qingyou shook his head.
"Still on the Mystic Guidance Art.
" The village chief, beaming with mischief, teased him: "This time, blocking the High Heavens, you might die! " The Hermit of Qingyou cursed in anger.
"You old bastard who won't die—always jinxing me!
" The village chief laughed heartily. "That old rascal Patriarch Mingmo is still on his way here!
" The crowd burst out laughing again, merry as could be.
The sun sank in the west, and the day grew late.
The High Heavens. An obscure, halting sound came from above the altar. It was the divine tongue, its cadence rising and falling, unlike any sound a human throat could make. Star Lord Qiao, Lord Hua, and Star Lord Yan listened with the utmost reverence. When the divine tongue fell silent, the three Lords each stepped back a few paces, bowed low, and said in unison: "We obey the divine decree.
" All was calm upon the altar.