Chapter 856 — 丹青裡的佳人
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
The grape was sweet, with a faint astringency to it. But the next moment a peach appeared in Yan'er's hand, and Shen Mu, face dark, silently bit into the peach held up to his lips.
Inside the hall the night-pearl still shone bright, yet master and disciple were long silent.
Suddenly Qi Xiayu said, "Why would you not see him, Master? " The woman behind the screen was silent a while, then smiled bitterly.
"I am crippled now; what use is there in seeing him?
He has carried my painting away with him, and in time he will understand why today's meeting came about. This encounter in the peach grove was only chance, a mere accident.
He has never once imagined what the Heaven Alliance he founded would become.
The Heaven Alliance of those years — the place remains, but the people are all gone.
. . " Shen Mu followed Yan'er with his mouth clamped shut, resolved to accept no more food. However vexed the girl looked, he would not yield; even when she mimed feeding him mouth to mouth, he would not be tempted. His expression was exceedingly resolute. Yan'er gave up, puffed up with annoyance, and ignored him.
At last, deep in the peach grove, Shen Mu found the blind elder, who was still blundering about in every direction. The blind elder was startled and doubtful at his coming and plied him with questions. Shen Mu recounted what had befallen him in the palace, and said, "Blind Grandfather, you have been trapped here nearly a month.
The mistress of the peach grove will not see you.
Let us simply leave. " The blind elder said, "I can find no way out. " "No matter, Elder. I know the way. " Yan'er looked at him with a grin, her eyes bright, and produced a red, ripe peach.
"Would the Elder like a peach?
" The blind elder thanked her, only to find the girl holding the peach to his lips, and could not help but grow wary.
"Why is this girl so attentive? " Shen Mu breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "Now Blind Grandfather will have to endure this on the road.
And it is a good thing he is at my side; it saves me the trouble. " By the time Yan'er led them out of the peach grove, the sky outside had brightened.
The blind elder had been fed by the girl until his belly was swollen and taut, and he truly could eat no more; yet Yan'er was so eager in her attentions that he could not bear her pretense of feeding him with her mouth either, and could only snatch the food away and bolt it down, until the veins stood out and throbbed on his forehead. Shen Mu walked out of the peach grove, and there and then opened the scroll and unrolled the painting.
A ray of sunlight spilled from the east and fell upon the picture. In the painting was a woman, standing in the moonlight, serene and sorrowful. That painting was the work of Shen Mu's own hand. Shen Mu rolled it up, put it away silently in his Taotie Pouch, and looked back at the peach grove.
"Moon Heavenly Worthy, until we meet again.
" Yan'er darted to and fro among the peach trees, then suddenly became a blue sparrow and flew off on whirring wings. A moment later the sparrow flew back to Shen Mu and the blind elder, alighted, and became Yan'er again, her face woebegone.
"I cannot go back — the Lady does not want me anymore!
" Shen Mu could not help laughing.
"In that case, Sister Yan'er, come with us and see a little of the mortal world.
" Yan'er's eyes lit up, and she flipped her hand and produced a peach. The blind elder fled in panic, making off into the distance, crying, "Shen boy, I cannot bear it — enjoy them yourself, one after another! " More than three thousand six hundred characters — truly not short!
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