Chapter 1613 — A Young Hero Unrivalled in All the World
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 5
Madam Yuanmu was startled, but when she heard him say that he had mastered only one percent of the art, her heart settled again.
"If that dead man really had learned the Red Rope Knot," she said, "then I would have no choice but to make a dead man of him ahead of schedule."
Madam Yuanmu watched Shen Mu, all smiles, capering wildly about in transports of delight, and thought: "But it is only one percent. Then there is nothing to fear."
Shen Mu calmed himself and sat down on the red rope to wash and put himself in order. A moment before he had been in a truly sorry state, so thoroughly undone by the Red Rope Knot that not a trace of a Heavenly Venerable's dignity was left to him. And he needed this moment besides, to use a cool head and sort through, thread by thread, what he had gained in this stretch of time.
—Of course, it was also because the Red Rope Knot was simply too difficult, a problem such as he had never met before, and one that held such a mighty pull upon him that it had brought on that loss of composure.
Seeing him grow calm in the very midst of washing, so serene, his heart of Dao still as a waveless sea, Madam Yuanmu could not help but marvel at the strength of his Dao heart.
Great joy and great sorrow, passion given free rein.
All restraint cast off, utterly sincere, utterly true to his own nature.
And yet in a brief space he could return to the highest realm of the Dao heart. In all the world, it was likely only a freak like Shen Mu who could do such a thing.
Shen Mu looked at the Red Rope Knot, his gaze settling upon the sixth red rope, and his heart brimmed with a thousand feelings.
The Master of Miluo Palace was indeed unfathomable, and at the same time possessed a heart that pitied heaven and had compassion on men. The sixth red rope was not the cord that roused the might and power of this seal of his, but the lead-thread that would undo the sealing art. One need only pull this red rope to lift the seal and set free the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace; he had not wished to kill this disciple of his.
The Second Young Master's conjecture that the Master of Miluo Palace could not kill her was, in all likelihood, a matter of thinking too highly of herself—of a certain self-delusion.
The Master of Miluo Palace had also hidden within this red rope the secret of the Red Rope Knot; this red rope, one might say, was the primer for understanding his divine art. He feared that once the Second Young Master broke free she would bring calamity upon the world with none able to check her, and so he had left behind a method to deal with her.
Shen Mu marveled inwardly. "In cultivation and strength, in conduct and in the handling of affairs, the Master of Miluo Palace leaves no flaw to be found. And his wisdom, too, is beyond anyone's reach!"
The one who could make him prostrate himself in admiration was the Master of Miluo Palace—the first, and the only one.
Even Lan Yutian, or Lord Yutian, had deficiencies in wisdom and flaws in his conduct. Even Xu Shenghua, Young Master of the Shangcang Void, dazzling in bearing and matchless in grace, had his flaws of character. So it was with Kaihuang as well.
As for the Great Emperor, the Celestial Emperor Taichu, Lord Hao, Lord Yun, and the rest, each had his failings, greater or lesser; not one was a perfect man.
Even the unfathomable Taiyi had his shortcomings; at times he cloaked himself in mystery, wrapping his own person in an air of the occult.
And Shen Mu himself had defects of character of every kind.
Only the Master of Miluo Palace deserved the praise of being a perfect man.
"Sweetheart, may we go now?" Madam Yuanmu, spirits high, urged him on without cease.
Shen Mu gave the Red Rope Knot one deep, last look, rose to his feet, and ran through his mind the subtleties of the Dao he had comprehended over these days. After a moment he smiled. "We may go."