Chapter 689 — Meeting the Lord Again
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"The Plowing Martial Heavenly Master?"
Shen Mu wished he could meet this Heavenly Master at once, but a thought suddenly struck him. "The Woodcutter is honored as a Sage. Are all Heavenly Masters Sages?"
"No."
The Angler shook his head. "Among the four Heavenly Masters, only he can be called a Sage."
Shen Mu was slightly taken aback. "But among the four Heavenly Masters, isn't Teacher Woodcutter the lowest in cultivation and strength?"
The Angler smiled without smiling. "If Sages were judged by how high their martial power reached, then in the Kaihuang Era Sages would have been everywhere. The Woodcutter became a Sage not through cultivation or strength, but through his deeds and his thought. He laid the cornerstone for the Kaihuang Era's twenty-thousand-year foundation. Among the four Heavenly Masters, he stands first. A pity it lasted only twenty thousand years."
Shen Mu was about to ask more, but the Angler was wholly absorbed in fishing for the moon and said nothing further about the other Heavenly Masters.
"Why did Teacher Woodcutter become the foremost of the four Heavenly Masters? And who is the other Heavenly Master?"
Shen Mu suppressed his doubts and cast the Soul-Pulling Art, summoning the souls of the Moon Herders from Youdu. Beside the Soul Spring, countless skeletons of Moon Herders rose to their feet one after another.
The Dragon Qilin trembled like sifting chaff and frantically buried its head in the earth, not daring to look.
Yan Jingjing stepped forward and comforted it softly. "Don't be afraid, big dog. They're all dead. They won't do anything to you."
Suddenly, a Yin Courier came hurrying over on a paper boat, winds of the netherworld gusting around him. He arrived before the Gate of Heaven's Mandate but did not pass through it into the world of the living. In a loud voice he called out, "What trouble are you stirring up now? Can't you behave yourself for a while?"
Shen Mu hastily paid his respects. "Lord, I could not bear to see these righteous men leave their bones exposed in the wilderness, so I summoned their souls back into their bodies. I asked them to bury themselves, and once they have done so, I will send them back to Youdu. I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon!"
The Yin Courier's expression softened somewhat. He glanced at the Angler, who was fishing for the moon and tethering it, and showed a trace of wariness. "Shen Fengqing, I am not unreasonable, but you cannot come to my Youdu demanding souls time and again. If you keep this up, I will have a hard time answering to Tubo! These people's souls—once you have borrowed them, send them back quickly. But Tubo will still mark a demerit against your name."
Shen Mu had the revived Moon Herders dig their own graves. Through the Gate of Heaven's Mandate, he said to the Yin Courier, "Emperor Yanfeng had a little notebook to tally the number of beheadings. Does Tubo also have a little notebook? Lord, how many tally marks are recorded in my little notebook?"
The Yin Courier sneered. "I don't know about the rest, but I do know yours isn't a little notebook—it's a whole thick stack this big!"
He spread both arms to demonstrate. "All your glorious achievements!"
Shen Mu's face immediately turned black.
Many Sun Herders had already dug their graves and carved their own headstones. Each sat within their grave, and these skeletons all bowed to Shen Mu in unison. "Thank you, Human Emperor!"
Shen Mu returned the salute. "Please rest in peace, righteous men."
The Moon Herders' skeletons lay down one after another. One by one their heroic spirits flew up, passed through the Gate of Heaven's Mandate, and returned to Youdu. Shen Mu made an offering, then waved his hand, and the graves closed one by one.
The Yin Courier said, "I will not pursue today's matter further. I will only record one demerit against you."