Chapter 856 — 丹青裡的佳人
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 4
The silent craftsman was the most wretched man in the village, his birth and his fate the most pitiful of all, and yet he had never wept — never, at least, before the villagers. He always smiled, the stump of his tongue showing in his mouth. Wicked as he was, forever playing tricks on Shen Mu, it was only the child's heart stirring beneath that aged shell of his, teasing Shen Mu for sport.
His gaze was always so pure, so limpid, as though he were still that helpless child stepping out of the seal above the bones of countless kin, facing the dark ruins alone, groping and stumbling through the dark forest, pressing on with no one to help him. Shen Mu did not think Qi Xiayu and Indra, the Heavenly King Buddha, were in the wrong; yet seen from the silent craftsman's place, the two of them were wrong past all measure — so wrong that the countless bones of the Heavenly Artisan folk lay buried beneath their feet. Shen Mu gathered himself and said, "Since you are unwilling to show yourself, Sister, there is no profit in my staying, and I will not interrupt your reunion with your disciple.
I have an elder who strayed into the peach grove, a god with a black dragon spear coiled at his waist. I beg you to tell me where he is, and I will take him away. " "That Sacred Pupil God is a fellow of no small ability," said the woman behind the screen with a smile. "He actually broke through the barrier outside the peach grove and came into the inner grove, and I had to divert a portion of my power to hold him.
Yet he is very clever: just now, while I was using my zither music to guide Xiayu in, he traveled along the music, and he has already come into this heaven.
If you go seeking him alone, I fear you will not find him. I will send Yan'er with you. " Shen Mu thanked her and rose to his feet. "You live here in seclusion, Sister, while outside the world lies in flood and fire. Perhaps you have a thousand reasons to keep out of the world; I have only one reason to walk into fire and water of my own accord. " The woman behind the screen tilted her head; the pearl drops at her ears swayed gently.
Shen Mu smiled. "I cannot bear that my people should be treated as fish and meat; I cannot bear that my people should be treated as fools; I cannot bear that they should die in ignorance. I scorn the Buddhist void of the four elements, and I scorn the Daoist rule of non-action.
I must do something, if I am not to fail my own conscience — even if it costs me this body, this life, I would not grudge it; it is my bounden duty.
" He made a deep bow, hands clasped to the ground, straightened up, and said in a low, heavy voice, "Today I have not been permitted to see your true face, Sister, and I do not know whether we shall ever meet again. Perhaps when you think of me, I will long since have fallen in battle. Farewell. " He turned and walked toward the door of the hall. "Wait!
" the woman behind the screen said suddenly. Shen Mu halted. The woman summoned Qi Xiayu; Qi Xiayu went behind the screen, and the woman gave her some instruction in a low voice.
Then Qi Xiayu stepped out from behind the screen, came before Shen Mu, and held out a scroll of painting in both hands.
The woman behind the screen said, "Take this, Young Master Shen.
Do not open it yet — open it after you leave the peach grove. " Puzzled, Shen Mu took the scroll and walked out of the palace. Outside the hall, the girl called Yan'er was waiting for him, a red lantern slung from a pole over her shoulder, and she giggled, "This way, Young Master.
" Shen Mu smiled back. Yan'er produced a grape from somewhere and made to feed it to him; Shen Mu shook his head in alarm.
"Sister Yan'er, I am full — truly full!
" Yan'er's face fell, and she trudged outside with the lantern, crestfallen. Shen Mu could not bear it, and opened his mouth; Yan'er brightened at once and popped the grape in swift as lightning.