Chapter 743 — A Conversation Without Accord
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Before Shen Mu had even recovered from the news that Yin Chaojin was Yin Tianzi, the "Brother Shen" of whom Yin Chaojin had spoken had already walked over and saluted Shen Mu and Old Ox. "I am Shen Kai, a lone wanderer with no sect to call my own. My greetings to you both. " Shen Mu suppressed the shock in his heart and hastily returned the salute; Niu Sanduo did the same.
As he returned the salute, Shen Mu shot a glance at Old Ox, and Old Ox gave a slight nod.
Shen Mu understood.
This "Brother Shen" was none other than the Kaihuang Old Ox had spoken of, the first name in the Shen clan genealogy: Kaihuang Shen Ye! He called himself Shen Kai, which was not his true name.
No doubt he too had realized that, because of the strangeness of the Yong River, he might have been cast back into some past stretch of time, and for prudence's sake had adopted a false name. Shen Mu raised his head and studied Kaihuang. Sure enough, there was a certain resemblance between himself and the young Kaihuang: both tall and powerfully built, neither of them handsome by the standards of the young Yin Tianzi and his like, yet both carrying themselves with dignity.
But because Shen Mu had spent his childhood in Yincan Village, he was cunning by nature while wearing the open, sunny face of a boy, like a big lad in the bloom of youth who nonetheless knew nothing of the world. Kaihuang, by contrast, was a man of virile, masculine force; a single glance and one could not help being drawn in by the singular quality that clung to him. It was not the quality of leadership Old Ox had just described.
It was the quality of one who had hewn a path through trackless hardship, whose original resolve had turned a thousand times and yet never once wavered. That was the quality of a man whose Dao heart was forever firm, a man who possessed a grand goal and a grand pursuit. Though Kaihuang stood on the back of the great Kun, though a crowd surrounded him, though the scenery on every side streamed backward at flying speed, he seemed to stand at the very center of heaven and earth: everything else moved, and only he did not.
It was not that he truly did not move. What did not move was his Dao heart; what did not move was the conviction within him.
Shen Mu was perplexed. Could this Kaihuang be the same Kaihuang who had hidden himself away in Wuyou Township, never daring to rise again? Kaihuang's gaze was bright, the light in his eyes like the calm surface of a lake struck by the noonday sun.
His shoulders were a little broader than Shen Mu's, his stature a fraction shorter; he must have suffered greatly in his youth. Seeing that the old man transformed from Old Ox, whose features could not be made out at all, had actually returned his salute, Kaihuang could not help but be surprised. He could not discern the old man's realm, but surely such a figure was renowned even in the Heavenly Court. Why would such a being return his salute with such diffidence? Yin Tianzi introduced them eagerly: "Brother Shen is someone I met just after I first ascended to the upper realm.
His skills are astonishing, utterly out of the common run. And how should I address these two senior brothers of yours?
" Shen Mu smiled. "My name is Mu Qing.
This is my senior brother. His surname is Niu, and his given name is Niu. " "Niu?
" Old Ox's expression shifted slightly. Fortunately, the yellow talisman paper of the Heavenly Equal Sage King concealed any change in his face.
He thought: "Back when Kaihuang first founded the Heavenly Court, he once said to me with a laugh that he would give me a new name, not Sanduo, but Niu. Could he have recognized me even then? " Shen Mu, unaware of his thoughts, turned a warm gaze on Yin Tianzi and thought: "If I kill Yin Tianzi now, will the Yin Tianzi of the future vanish?
The Yin Tianzi of this moment is no Emperor Throne expert. He is not even a god yet.
It should not be difficult to kill him.
.