Chapter 515 — Lu Li of the Ghost Capital
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Xing'an opened his eyes and looked around. His body was still overgrown with every kind of limb, and more than that, a monstrous creature crouched upon his back like an octopus, its limbs powerful and sinewy, slowly tightening around him, squeezing, drawing ever tighter. It was this monster that had squeezed him into unconsciousness. "Who is speaking?
" he said, his breath faint.
"A little creature from the world of the living—what an amusing life.
Xing'an, fallen to such a state, do you still wish to return alive to the world of the living? " A voice circled around him, round and round, now left, now right, now above, now below, like a fish swimming through the dark: "You are a sage who appears but once in five hundred years, and yet you have come to such an end—it truly makes one sigh with sorrow.
In this shape of yours, what face have you to show the world? " The branching, forking mass of bodies upon Xing'an was bound fast by the monster, so that he could not move at all—and yet this, in turn, let him catch his breath. The past half day and more had been sheer torment to him; never in his life had he endured so much suffering, so much misery; never had he been so wretched, so helpless. And yet even now he could not set his heart at ease, for this place was the Nether Capital.
It was when he leaped into the river that he learned this was the Nether Capital, the place where the dead sink down. He had already given himself up to despair. The Nether Capital—the realm ruled by Tubo. He had never heard of anyone entering the Nether Capital and not dying.
First he had blundered into Fengdu, and now into the Nether Capital—why did Heaven treat him with such vicious cruelty?
"Who are you, really?
Why have you come to mock me? " Xing'an spat out a foul breath and tried to break free of the monster's grip, but he could not summon any strength; and even if he could break free, the other bodies upon him would rise in revolt, beating him and cursing him.
He had no power at all now to rid himself of the monster, or of these limbs upon his body. His allotted span was nearly spent; when his life ran out, he would die here in the Nether Capital.
"My name is Lu Li.
" The voice no longer moved about. It laughed: "Xuanming to my left, Hanlei to my right; Lu Li before me, Yuhuang at my back. " Xing'an, panting for breath, said, "Lu Li?
You asked me just now whether I wished to return to the world of the living. I want to go back!
" "You do not know what that line of verse means?
" The voice sounded somewhat disappointed. It sighed: "Even the very greatest of the strong in the world of the living are so ignorant, that they do not know Xuanming, Hanlei, Lu Li, and Yuhuang—have you sunk to such a level of feeble-mindedness?
Very well. I will not take advantage of your ignorance.
I can send you back to the world of the living, I can resolve the affliction of your flesh, and I can erase your name from the register of the dead, so that from now on you need never fret over old age and death.
" Xing'an's expression stirred slightly. "What must I do? " "How refreshing it is to speak with a clever man. " Lu Li's voice laughed: "More than ten years ago, a child was born out of the Nether Capital, drawing in its breath, and then was carried away by someone and sent out of the Nether Capital. When you return to the world of the living, I need you to bring him to me. My flesh is too strong; it cannot pass through the barrier between the Nether Capital and the world of the living.
So I need you to walk the world of the living in my stead, and do my business there!
" "How am I to find this child?
" Xing'an asked. "Very simple. On his chest hangs a jade pendant, and upon the pendant is a peculiar symbol, and also the character Shen. When you see the pendant, you will know it. " Lu Li's voice went on: "He is seventeen years old, soon to be eighteen.