Chapter 774 — The Ugly-Faced Youth
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
" Shen Mu's vision gradually cleared: all around were green hills and clear waters, birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, and a white-haired old woman sat on a stool before the door of a house, leaning on a cane, smiling at him.
Shen Mu was stunned, and heard his own voice grown deep and rough, booming: "Mother, your son understands. I will go help at once. " Shen Mu was dazed for a moment, and only then noticed that he was handling an iron plow.
He saw his own exceedingly coarse palms set the plow down, and he rose to his feet, his body very tall, nearly twelve chi. Puzzled, Shen Mu looked down at his shadow on the ground, and his mind went off like thunder.
The shadow on the ground had ox horns, and behind its rump trailed an ox tail!
"No, this is not me. . .
" He felt that he could not control his own body; it walked toward the house ahead, and in that modest manor he saw a gentle, virtuous woman, her belly heavy, laboring to wash clothes.
He hurried forward and, striving to make his voice gentle, said: "Wife, take care you do not disturb the child in your womb.
Let me do it! " The woman struggled to straighten up; he hastily helped her to her feet, then sat down himself and began to scrub the clothes.
Then Shen Mu saw his own face in the water.
He had tiger eyes, tiger stripes upon his face, and a pair of nine-curved ox horns on his head. Though the eyes were like a tiger's, they were full of tenderness.
"Tubo. . .
" Shen Mu's mind went blank, and only after a moment did he come back to himself: "Is this the memory of the Life-Slaying Cauldron? That is to say, I have now fallen into the memories of Tubo's Life-Slaying Cauldron.
This cauldron has gained a spirit. .
.
" Tubo had once reincarnated in ages long past; the Soul-Suppressing Auxiliary Envoy had spoken of this matter, saying also that Tubo, being too ugly, was shunned by all, hounded and cursed, and that afterward the ancient gods and demigods plotted against him and killed his wife and daughter, so that Tubo's demonic nature ran out of control and he slew untold numbers of dreadful beings.
"The memory of the Life-Slaying Cauldron must be this very affair.
" Shen Mu felt as though he had become Tubo, reliving that stretch of memory.
Tubo was very gentle; though a rough fellow, he treated his wife exceedingly well, and she was a virtuous woman who honored her elders.
That old woman was Tubo's mother. She had been pregnant for years without giving birth, and in the year she finally bore Tubo, crows filled the sky beyond the window; when the child was born and they looked at him, he was a monster, with a tiger's face and ox horns.
Everyone around said he was the reincarnation of a demon king and wanted him killed, but the old woman kept Tubo, gave him the childhood name A Chou, and toiled bitterly to raise him to manhood.
When Tubo grew up, he displayed extraordinary strength and gained uncommon powers, but he was attached to his home and could not bear to leave his old mother.
Yet ugly as he was, there was still one who came to love him: his wife.
"However ugly, someone will still have him.
" The old woman was overjoyed, and doted on her daughter-in-law.
But his wife did not like to call him A Chou; she preferred to call him Brother A Niu.
The family lived in perfect harmony, and before long his wife gave birth, a boy and a girl. Tubo wept for joy, delighting in holding the two children, teaching them to cultivate; their days were carefree indeed.
The Tubo of this time, ugly though he was, seemed more like a man than the utterly selfless ancient god of Youdu. He was greatly renowned, yet he kept to himself and never made enemies of outsiders. Still, the lands around often suffered famine, and Tubo, generous with his wealth, gave relief to the households nearby, and by degrees the people treated him better and better.
"The people of the neighboring village say that demigods have been seen about lately.