Chapter 850 — A Single Line of Sword Mark
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 5
The Village Head consoled him. "The Lame Elder is just an old monkey who loves to pick corn and toss it away. Once he tires of the game, he will give Yu Tianzun back to you."
"I hope so." Shen Mu's worried look did not lift.
Just then, the Blind Elder arrived at Yongjiang Academy with Yu Tianzun. Shen Mu was astonished and hurried forward to meet them. The Blind Elder said, "I ran into the Lame Elder at the Flame Dragon Tomb. The scoundrel was being hunted by a pack of flame dragons — they burned a thousand li of barren plain and chased him until he had nowhere to hide! He could not escape while carrying this boy, so he tossed him to me and told me to bring him to Yongjiang Academy."
Shen Mu finally relaxed and looked Yu Tianzun up and down. Yu Tianzun gave a simple, artless smile.
Shen Mu's heart skipped, and he too gave a simple, artless smile.
The Village Head and the Blind Elder cheered in unison: "The Lame Elder taught him well!"
Shen Mu's smile showed eight white teeth, innocent and guileless, bright as sunshine. Yu Tianzun likewise smiled and showed eight teeth, utterly innocent and sunny, rousing not the slightest wariness in anyone.
Suddenly Shen Mu's fingers moved slightly, and a pair of underdrawers appeared in his hand.
At the same moment, Yu Tianzun's arm became a blur. Shen Mu laughed heartily, smug and triumphant: "I never wear those — too stuffy for my taste. Give me back my Taotie Pouch!"
Yu Tianzun was clutching a Taotie Pouch in his hand; it was so heavy that he held it with some difficulty.
Shen Mu's face darkened. He tossed the underdrawers to him and snatched back the Taotie Pouch, saying with bitter grief, "Brother Yu, you have taken to bad ways — you have learned wickedness from that old rogue! Look, though I too have learned Grandpa Lame's tricks, I never steal. I always take things by force, with my own skill. Grandpa Blind, is Grandpa Lame all right?"
The Blind Elder shook his head. "Hard to say. Those flame dragons are exceedingly powerful; they guard the tomb of a most terrifying god-devil. The Lame Elder took your brother into the tomb and stole something from it — surely a treasure of great importance, which is why they hunted him so. I took one look from afar and reckoned any single flame dragon could have killed me with ease, so I laid a decoy formation and fled with the boy. But the Lame Elder is full of transformations; perhaps he can still escape."
Shen Mu was still somewhat worried. He glanced at the Village Head, who understood and smiled. "I will go ask the First Ancestor for help and have a word with the powers of the Flame Dragon Tomb." With that he hurried off.
Shen Mu was reassured. He said to the Blind Elder, "Grandpa Blind, if you have no other business, would you accompany me to the Dao Sect? These past years I have not studied Jingping's dao arts and divine powers, and I have fallen rather behind. I would like to ask Grandpa Blind to teach me a thing or two."
The Blind Elder could not help but feel pleased with himself. "You have indeed fallen behind. These past years I have been studying the array arts of the Kaihuang Era, and a few months ago in the capital I even exchanged views with Heavenly Master Zixi of the Four Great Heavenly Masters. My attainments in array arts have now reached a new height."
Shen Mu was overjoyed. "Heavenly Master Zixi's attainments in array arts truly have no equal!"
The Blind Elder shook his head. "Heavenly Master Zixi has fallen behind as well. I and the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, along with many other array masters, created several new array patterns that she had never seen — it was I who taught them to her. Still, I learned much from her too. She may still be called the finest array master under heaven; I am still not her match."