Chapter 1196 — The Drunken Elder
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 3
Here he had too many memories, yet now the whole layout had changed beyond recognition, giving him the feeling of entering a foreign land.
He walked into Prince Shen's City. The streets were thronged with gods and godfiends, and all who saw him froze, staring at him in a daze.
Shen Mu wore a smile, nodding to the Kaihuang divinities on either side.
They returned his smile one and all.
Before long, word that Shen Mu had come to Fengdu spread far and wide. The first to arrive was the god Chixiu, bird-headed and human-bodied, who swooped down and landed before Shen Mu, saluting him: "Should I call you Human Sovereign Shen, or Heavenly Venerable Mu?"
Shen Mu laughed: "Heavenly Venerable Mu will do."
Chixiu bowed and led the way, saying: "This way, Heavenly Venerable Mu. Has the Heavenly Venerable come this time to visit old friends?"
"Chixiu, you are an old friend of mine as well."
Shen Mu smiled: "This time I have indeed come to pay my respects to all of you."
Chixiu tilted his head: "Yet those old friends of yours would rather not see you. When Tian Shu, Heavenly King of the Nether Capital, heard you had come, he hid himself in a tavern and dared not come out. When Heavenly King Di Yiyue heard you had arrived, she turned pale with fright and hid herself in the deepest level of Fengdu. Heavenly King Dish says he means to go into seclusion to comprehend the Scripture of Immeasurable Calamities. The two Heavenly Masters Wu and Dou have shut their doors and will not come out."
He glanced at Shen Mu: "Even King Yama is not in Prince Shen's Hall, but has gone to the deepest level of Fengdu. Does the Heavenly Venerable know the reason?"
Shen Mu did not answer.
Chixiu said: "Because during the Jingping Calamity, none of us lent a hand, and we feel we have failed you. The Human Sovereign Heavenly Venerable Mu rescued Heavenly King Tian Shu, saved him from the Imperial Palace Divine Blade — he owes you a debt. The Human Sovereign Heavenly Venerable Mu revived Heavenly King Di Yiyue — she owes you a debt."
"The Heavenly Venerable Mu rooted out the Heavenly Court's forces in the Buddhist Realm — Heavenly King Dish owes you a debt. The Human Sovereign Heavenly Venerable Mu opened up the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, saving the warriors of the Dou Niu Realm from being unable to attain godhood — the Heavenly Master Wu owes you a debt. The Heavenly Venerable Mu also saved the people of Taihuang Heaven, and even the Woodcutter Sage feels you did him a kindness."
"Even King Yama owes his firm grip on Fengdu to you. It was for your sake that Heavenly Venerable You and Lord Earth did not destroy Fengdu. They all feel they have failed you."
Chixiu said: "You have done them kindnesses, and so they dare not come to see you."
Shen Mu smiled faintly: "And what of the Fisherman and the Azure Emperor? The Fisherman Heavenly Master and the Azure Emperor Heavenly King have done me kindnesses. Surely they would not dare not come to see me."
Chixiu led him onward: "The Azure Emperor sent the divine dragons of Dragon Village to aid you — in truth, to aid Taihuang Heaven. Taihuang Heaven is a remnant of Kaihuang, so that was not helping you. Yet you helped Taihuang Heaven, and so he owes you. The same goes for the Fisherman Heavenly Master. When the Fisherman Heavenly Master helped you fish the sun and the moon from the Xi Spring and the Po Spring, he was also helping the Sun Herder and Moon Herder under Kaihuang's command — not helping you, but helping Kaihuang. They all feel they have failed you, and so they too dare not see you."
He went on: "Among those under Kaihuang's command, only the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, Prince Shen Wu, dared to help you during the Jingping Calamity. But he no longer considers himself a prince or scion of the Kaihuang era."