Chapter 1045 — The Twin Emperors of Xuanwu
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 5
"Has Heavenly Worthy Mu come to call upon the Great Emperor Xuanwu? " Shen Mu nodded.
"May I ask where the Northern Emperor Xuanwu is?
" The old turtle laughed.
"In this world there is no Northern Emperor Xuanwu — only Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu.
Does Heavenly Worthy Mu wish to see Emperor Xuan, or Emperor Wu?
" Shen Mu blinked, his expression strange, and ventured, "The Northern Emperor Xuanwu is two people?
" The old turtle laughed. "The two divinities: one dwells in the Kingdom of Men, called the Xuan Kingdom; the other in the Kingdom of Women, called the Wu Kingdom.
Go to the Xuan Kingdom and you may see Emperor Xuan; go to the Wu Kingdom and you may see Emperor Wu.
Only when the two join as one are they the Great Emperor Xuanwu. " Shen Mu thanked him and asked, "And how should I address you, Elder? " "I dare not accept the title of Elder.
I am the son of Emperor Xuan and Emperor Wu, named Youming, and because I committed a fault I was punished.
" The old turtle said, "My father and mother, the two divinities, punished me to bear this mountain and walk the Northern Pole Heaven, and only when every Five Thunder Pot on the gourd vine has ripened may I be absolved of my crime. And now I have walked for six hundred thousand years.
" Shen Mu was startled. "The things growing on this vine are indeed Five Thunder Pots, but surely these gourds would not need six hundred thousand years to ripen? " The old turtle Youming said, "These gourds bloom once every three thousand years, bear fruit once every three thousand years, and ripen once every three thousand years.
In six hundred thousand years, sixty-six generations of gourds have been harvested, yielding nearly six hundred of them. Yet this gourd vine blooms and fruits, fruits and blooms; the gourds upon the vine never cease, and there is never a time when all of them have ripened.
So to this day I remain a criminal under sentence. " The little azure sparrow that Yan'er had become came hopping out of the carriage, alighted on Shen Mu's shoulder, and cried out, "What crime did you commit, to suffer such punishment? " The old turtle shot her a glance. "I was framed by a wicked man and woman, and so came to this pass. Six hundred thousand years ago, when the Four Emperors parted ways with the Heavenly Court, I was ordered to escort the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace to the Northern Pole Heaven.
On the road I met a youth and a girl who fell into talk with me, saying they knew me, and I could not help but take a liking to them. Yet they broke into the Heavenly Court and stole the treasure my father and mother had refined — the Lapis Azure-Sky Banner.
" He gnashed his teeth. "My father and mother were enraged and sealed me here. But to my hatred, that man and woman vanished without a trace! The Lapis Azure-Sky Banner was refined from rare treasures my parents had gathered since the most ancient times; its power is beyond measure, and yet it vanished. My parents searched long for it as well. If ever I find that filthy pair, I will flay their skin, draw out their sinews, grind their bones to dust, and scatter their ashes!
" Shen Mu sighed again and again, thinking, "The Northern Emperor Xuanwu is just as filthy rich. Truly worthy of beings who have lived from the most ancient times to this day — they hold vast stores of heavenly materials and earthly treasures. No doubt many of the ancient gods are like this. They must have gotten these treasures from the Creators' Ancestral Court. This green vine may well be a sacred thing envisioned into being by the Creators.