Chapter 566 — The Exiled Infant
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Imperial Preceptor Jingping frowned and surveyed the battlefield. Ghost fires burned everywhere across it — those were the underworld couriers carrying storm lanterns, boat after boat bearing the souls of the war-dead toward Youdu. If he refused to let this old courier take Shen Mu away and a quarrel broke out, with so many couriers about, they might well reduce Taihuang Heaven to a barren waste.
He looked at Shen Mu, hesitating. Shen Mu smiled.
"I have been to Youdu twice. The first time, the Demon King Dutian did me harm, and my soul fell into Youdu.
.
.
" "It was I who rescued you and sent you back to the world of the living," said the old man behind the storm lantern. Shen Mu was startled.
He looked toward the old man behind the lantern, but still could not make out his face. "The second time, I fell into Youdu together with the Great Venerable, Fat Dragon, Brother White Bat and the others, and I survived that too. " Shen Mu steadied himself, walked out from the tower ship onto the small boat, waved to the crowd, and said with a gentle smile, "Youdu is not as perilous as you imagine. I go now to recount the karma of those forty-eight thousand souls.
When I have finished, I will return. " Long Qilin opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and swallowed his words. He said to himself, "The Hierarch has lost his head. How is Youdu not perilous? It is crawling with strange and monstrous fiends, and there is that terrifying demon Lord Zhenxing demanding lives. .
. But my standing is precarious now that Brother Tiger has outshone me.
Better to keep silent. If the Hierarch takes the chance to vent his anger, there will be no more spirit pills for me in the future. " The Black Tiger God stepped forward and was about to speak, but the Imperial Preceptor Jingping raised a hand to stop him and shook his head.
"Hierarch, do you intend to leave your mortal body behind?
" Shen Mu's heart stirred; he understood at once. The Imperial Preceptor meant to keep his body here, so that if Shen Mu could not return, he could work the Soul-Pulling Art and drag his soul back by force. "There is no need for concern, Imperial Preceptor.
" Shen Mu took the young Dark Dragon from his ear, waved it about, and laughed. "It is safer to bring my body along. As for this little dragon, I will borrow it once more when I return from Youdu.
" The Imperial Preceptor Jingping was briefly taken aback, puzzled by his meaning.
The small boat drifted away and vanished into the darkness. The young Dark Dragon flew back to the ship, ran to Shen Yu, and coiled itself around his body.
"Why does the Hierarch not leave his body behind? " Puzzled, the Imperial Preceptor murmured, "If several deities were to work the Soul-Pulling Art at once, we ought to be able to summon his soul back from Youdu. . .
" Shen Mu stood on the small boat and looked around. Boat after boat laden with ghost souls appeared in the darkness, streaming ceaselessly toward the depths of Youdu.
The lanterns on these boats were dim and murky; from afar they looked like lanterns drifting through a night of pure black. King Yama had once told him that if the chance came, he must go to Youdu once. This was also why he had refused the Imperial Preceptor's proposal. King Yama had been vague, but Shen Mu had keenly sensed that his birth in Youdu could not be so simple.
This summons from Lord Tu for questioning was a rare opportunity as well; perhaps he might uncover the secret of his origins. The small boat drifted swiftly, yet aboard it one felt no sense of motion; one saw only the dim, uncertain worlds around them receding one after another.
Shen Mu's heart quaked. He had boarded the boat from Taihuang Heaven, and looking back he could see Taihuang Heaven receding.