Chapter 1020 — Metamorphosing Into Fish and Dragon, Leaving No Trace
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
" Shen Mu showed an inscrutable smile and said, "Heavenly Venerable Hao seems remarkably solicitous of Crown Prince Mingya — it exceeds the affection of brothers. " Heavenly Venerable Hao swept his sleeves and departed, his voice trailing back, "You see that this body is restored to health, and mind you — Crown Prince Mingya is, after all, my brother. If you dare harbor any crooked thought against him, no matter which Venerable you are, I will make you die without a grave to lie in! " Shen Mu huffed indignantly and watched him leave; only then did he let out his breath and nearly slump down upon the imperial throne.
*The relationship between Heavenly Venerable Hao and Crown Prince Mingya is plainly out of the common way — Mingya is less like his younger brother than like his son. . .
* The Heavenly Lord's brow split open, and Shen Mu flew out from it, his expression strange. *The imperial house is a tangled web indeed. This Heavenly Lord's fleshly body is no place to linger — it is far too hair-raising.
If I stay inside much longer, I shall give myself away sooner or later! I must leave this Hall of Nourishing Glory at once!
* He gave his body a shake, transformed into a palace maid, and walked out of the hall. No sooner had he stepped out of the Hall of Nourishing Glory than he saw coming head-on the broad-robed, wide-sleeved Heavenly Venerable Hong. Heavenly Venerable Hong wore a single white robe, his brows and beard snowy white, his gown very loose, like some amiable and approachable elder who looked upon everyone with kind brows and gentle eyes.
"Lass, is His Majesty inside the hall?
" Heavenly Venerable Hong asked, all smiles. "I report to the Venerable that His Majesty is still resting," said Shen Mu, making a stately curtsy.
Heavenly Venerable Hong flicked his sleeve and headed into the hall. Shen Mu hastily hurried away, and when he reached a corner of the long corridor, he changed his form, becoming a gliding serpent that slid into the grass. When it reached the pond ahead, the serpent entered the water, and with a shake became a great koi that swam along the waterway of the inner palace.
It swam to the Imperial Garden, turned into a frog, and sprang onto the bank.
Hardly had it hopped a few paces to stand behind a tree when a wildcat stepped out and, after a few quick steps along the foot of the palace wall, sprang up onto the wall and sped along it, weaving to and fro among the great halls.
After a while, the wildcat leaped down from the top of the wall into the shadows beneath. A dark silhouette moved ceaselessly through the gloom, hugging the ground and walls, until it reached the outer city of Jade Capital City, where Shen Mu stepped out of the shadows and walked toward the mansion of Heavenly Venerable Mu.
Within the Hall of Nourishing Glory, Heavenly Venerable Hong knit his brows at the Heavenly Lord's fleshly body, whose legs were covered in wounds, and could not help shaking his head.
"These people — they have not the slightest regard for it.
After all, this body is the face of the Heavenly Court.
. . Who was it that drove this fleshly body into the ancestral land.
. . No!
That palace maid was not right!
Those who serve the Heavenly Lord's fleshly body cannot be a single palace maid! " His divine sense exploded outward, enveloping the grounds about the Hall of Nourishing Glory, examining even the smallest mote as he searched for the maid's whereabouts.
His divine sense was exceedingly strong, and the disturbance it provoked was enormous; instantly, one divine sense after another erupted in the distance and came closing in, clashing against his! Lightning flashed and thunder roared around the Hall of Nourishing Glory — a prodigy born of the collision of several Venerables' divine senses! Heavenly Venerable Hong abruptly withdrew his divine sense and laughed heartily. "Fellow daoists, do you take me for the Grand Emperor? To think you would probe me!