Chapter 503 — The Cult Master Who Slays the Heart and Seizes Life
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
In Kui Wushen's memory, the Heavenly Court had sent many prodigies of extraordinary talent into Youdu to study, and afterward many of them achieved remarkable things.
Plainly, this True Heavenly Court shared deep ties with Youdu.
Shen Mu's heart stirred; he too longed to press forward and learn Youdu's arts and divine powers.
Youdu's arts and divine powers were extraordinary indeed. He had learned only the Soul-Dragging Charm of the Nine Nether Sect—and the Soul-Dragging Charm was a Youdu art—and even that was incomplete. Yet incomplete as it was, it was no small thing; it could even call back the souls of Master Dan, Granny Zhu, and the others!
And Kui Wushen's ability to bow a man to death likewise rested upon Youdu's arts and divine powers.
If he could master them, would he not gain yet another formidable means at his command?
But the Ghost Kings had thronged so tightly about the Mirror of Three Lives that not a drop could have seeped through, and he was still a "prisoner," unable to push his way in.
Suddenly King Yama looked toward him, his gaze beneath the black robe flickering bright and dim by turns.
Shen Mu's heart went cold. Testing the waters, he said, "King Yama, my allotted years of yang life are not yet spent either..."
The god-man Chixiu said, "The crimes you have committed are too great—do not imagine you can leave! You forcibly wielded Youdu arts and abducted several of our Fengdu's people, violating the laws of Fengdu. Your wickedness surpasses even Xing An's—and you still wish to go? King Yama, how should he be sentenced?"
King Yama said, "One who violates the laws of Fengdu—even a prince must be punished the same as a common man. He must indeed be punished. Deciphering the divine arts within Kui Wushen's memories will take some time yet. Take him down for now; later I will interrogate him myself, alone."
The god-man Chixiu was astonished. King Yama would interrogate him alone, in person?
After all, not even Xing An or Kui Wushen had ever enjoyed the treatment of a private interrogation!
The crimes Shen Mu had committed looked great, but they could be counted great or small. The rules of Fengdu were the same as Youdu's: they did not meddle in the affairs of the world of the living.
To the living, Fengdu and Youdu were alike—both belonged to the netherworld, and if the netherworld meddled in the world of the living, there would be unforeseeable consequences.
Such was the rule.
Fengdu did not interfere in the world of the living; neither did Youdu.
This was also the chief reason Kui Wushen had said King Yama could do nothing to him: King Yama could not put to death the primordial spirit of a man whose allotted yang years were not yet spent.
What was more, Shen Mu was the Human Emperor. The god-man Chixiu had originally thought that King Yama, for the sake of the Human Emperors of past generations, would lift him high and set him down gently—give Shen Mu a few words of reprimand and let it go at that.
Now it seemed this was the prelude to making an example of Shen Mu, killing the chicken to frighten the monkey!
"Come with me."
The god-man Chixiu escorted Shen Mu out. Once beyond the hall, he lowered his voice. "When King Yama interrogates you later, just admit your fault. Rest assured, he will not truly punish you—you have someone above you."
Shen Mu's heart settled. He thought, "The village head's standing carries great weight indeed. But then again—he has been dead barely any time at all, and already he is a hero of the ghosts in Fengdu?"
Outside the hall, Xing An rolled to and fro like a great ball covered in other men's bodies and heads, quarreling and brawling with himself. In but a short while he had been tormented into a pitiful state by the limbs upon his own body.