Chapter 789 — Where Does He Rank in All the World?
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The young scholar halted his donkey and looked the pair over, a touch of mischief and world-weary mockery in his bearing. "I mean to slip inside and have a look at the master of this place," he said. "And where might you two be headed, brother?"
Shen Mu smiled. "We mean to slip inside and see what's what. Since our purpose is the same, why not travel together?"
The young scholar thought it over, then addressed his donkey: "Lü Zheng, with two scapegoats at hand, how does that suit you?"
The donkey curled back its lips and said, "Huh."
The scholar laughed. "The radish says it's fine, so we'll go together."
"Scapegoats?"
Shen Mu's guard went up at once, though he spoke with humble courtesy: "Brother, is a scapegoat any different from a fall guy or a shit-bucket bearer?"
The young scholar laughed heartily. "No difference at all."
Shen Mu roared with laughter, then looked ahead to the ancient battlefield. The whole expanse lay shrouded in vast fog, and where the eye could reach there stood scattered ruins of buildings—lofty city walls, towering palaces, high memorial arches and gateways.
Upon the ground were the footprints of demigods, and by following those prints one could find the Earth Mother Sovereign.
Dragon Qilin and Water Qilin walked on ahead alongside the donkey. Water Qilin glanced sidelong at the donkey and said with contempt, "This little beast is dumb as they come. Hang a radish before its face and it just plods on, never realizing it'll never get to eat it."
The donkey shot him a glance, its face full of scorn.
Water Qilin thought to himself: "I made a pact with the Little Earth Count—I can't eat Old Master Lan, but I can eat a donkey! Only, Dragon Qilin's master is a bit troublesome. He and that scholar are getting along famously, and if I eat the donkey he'll most likely fly into a rage and make me his dinner."
Shen Mu had been watching the young scholar all along, and the more he looked the more suspicious he grew. His gaze fell upon the scholar's chest, but he could see no telltale bulge, so he could not quite be certain.
The scholar noticed his gaze and laughed. "Lü Zheng, this youngster's brows and eyes are shifty—he even stares at a man's chest."
Shen Mu flushed red. The donkey brayed with laughter: "Hee-haw, hee-haw—"
Shen Mu ventured, "Sis—how should I address you, brother?"
The scholar laughed. "When we meet, why must we have known each other? Shen Mu, Shen Fengqing—did I ask your name? I did not ask, so why do you ask mine?"
Shen Mu grew more suspicious still. "You know my name and surname, yet I do not know yours. That seems a little unfair. How did you come to know I am Shen Mu?"
"The Sect Master of the Heavenly Saint Sect, Shen Mu, is dashing and unconstrained, learned and talented—who does not know of him?"
The scholar said, "A nobody of no renown like me, the Sect Master Shen would naturally not know."
Shen Mu could get no name out of him, so he turned to the donkey: "Why is this Brother Lü called Lü Zheng?"
The scholar said, "He is a donkey. His speech is ugly and he loves to argue with people, hence the name Zheng."
Shen Mu's eyes flickered. "I know another ox, called Niu Sanduo, and another tiger, titled the Tiger Venerable."
The donkey curled back its lips and said with disdain, "Hee-haw."
Shen Mu's face darkened, and he thought: "I can't understand this donkey talk. Never studied it. No idea what he's saying. But this master and servant are suspicious in origin—could they be the Scholar Celestial Master?"
They walked into the fog-shrouded ancient battlefield. Within the mist a brilliant haze hung thick, and the buildings here were exceedingly ancient, their patterns most wondrous. Shen Mu had Dragon Qilin stop, and he examined the patterns on the crumbling walls, then took out paper and brush and copied and sketched these veins of design.