Chapter 573 — Elder Brother Makes His Move and Binds the Flood Dragon
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
Shen Mu laughed. "What of it? When I was small, Blind Grandpa and Lame Grandpa were always flicking mine, and that is an elder's affection. Besides, before you opened your spiritual awareness, only a few days ago, when I was asleep, you licked my face all over, till it was covered in your slobber."
Jiang Miao's face was red as freshly dyed cloth. He stammered, "Can we please never bring that up again either?"
"Very well. And the first time you saw me you pounced on me and coiled around me and rubbed against my face, and hung on my ear crying Ma-ha..."
Jiang Miao wished he could find a hole to crawl into. "Sect Master, could we not mention that either?"
Shen Mu roared with laughter. "One day, when you have made your name and become a divine dragon of your generation, I will be sure to tell these embarrassing tales to your sons and grandsons! And I have been wondering, Junior Brother Shen Yu is still longing for you to come back. When you return, how will you face him? Will you coil around him again?"
Jiang Miao was struck dumb.
The divine dragon suddenly flew into a rage and said, darkly, "Have you two talked enough?"
Shen Mu stepped a little farther off and smiled. "Your uncle is angry. Let us set aside idle talk and speak of business. This is a family matter of yours; I will simply listen from the sidelines."
The dragon's chest heaved violently; after a moment it steadied its temper and said in a low voice, "Jiang Miao, this brat is the junior brother of a great villain. He is no good sort. You should keep your distance from him. You are my nephew and I am your uncle; by feeling and by reason alike, you ought to free me from my bonds."
Jiang Miao hesitated, looking at the dragon, then at Shen Mu, his face full of difficulty.
The dragon said softly, "You can hear my call; you must know that our blood is near. Can you not trust me? Raise your hand. When our palms touch, you will know how close our blood runs."
Jiang Miao raised his palm, and the divine dragon raised its enormous claw, excitement gleaming in its eyes. In the instant hand and claw touched, the strange rune Shen Mu had left in Jiang Miao's palm suddenly blazed with dazzling light!
That light at once roused the hidden demon script upon the chains. Chain after chain flared bright, demon fire seethed and boiled, boring into the dragon's body, burning it into violent convulsions, its form writhing, its roars of agony shaking the great hall without cease!
Jiang Miao hastily snatched back his hand and looked at Shen Mu.
Shen Mu smiled and came over, saying leisurely, "Jiang Miao, your mother was the Surging River Dragon Emperor; she died in battle shielding you. In the East Sea of the Desolate Ruins there are countless dragon kings, and every one of them has turned to stone, enshrined in the Dragon King temples. They were forced to it by circumstance, with no choice but to petrify. Twenty thousand years ago, when the Kaihuang era ended and heaven and earth were convulsed by calamity, those gods and demons of the Kaihuang Heavenly Court who did not die in battle either departed for the Land of No Sorrow or chose to petrify. So why did your uncle neither petrify nor go to the Land of No Sorrow? Does that not strike you as strange?"
Jiang Miao was startled.
Shen Mu continued, "This place is where the Ark of the Far Shore, bound for the Land of No Sorrow, was ambushed. The Ark was waylaid here, shattered by its enemies, and sealed in this place. Yet within the Ark there are still descendants of the Heaven-Craft God Clan. To guard against those Heaven-Craft gods breaking the seal and walking out, the enemy needed a powerful being to watch over this place. And might that watchman be your uncle?"
Jiang Miao looked at the dragon. The dragon's expression shifted slightly, and it said coldly, "You would sooner trust an outsider than your own uncle?"