Chapter 1643 — Handwriting Reveals Character
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
Bai Yuqiong hurried to raise him up. Yuchenzi knelt and would not rise, holding Shen Mu's jade pendant up in both hands, choking out: "For the sake of the human race, Mu Tianzun's hair turned white in a single night. Feeling that there is no longer any road left for humans in this world, he wept until he fainted, and woke only after six or seven days. He said that only Celestial Master Bai can save the human race and keep it from extinction."
Bai Yuqiong's expression turned complicated. She did not take the Reincarnation Jade Pendant, saying, "If Mu Tianzun surrenders, Hao Tiandi would not necessarily insist on exterminating the human race. I fear Mu Tianzun still harbors thoughts of rising again—or even of dragging everyone down with him—and that is why he believes I can help him win."
She had a pendant of the same kind, forged by Shen Mu to save her.
That Shen Mu had forged a second such pendant plainly meant he sought repayment.
But this pendant she did not dare take, and did not wish to.
Yuchenzi was shaken inwardly, and silently praised the woman's extraordinary shrewdness.
"Celestial Master Bai, Mu Tianzun truly has nothing left. There is no road for him now."
Yuchenzi wiped away his tears and said, "As one of the human race, would you truly watch the human race be exterminated? Even if Mu Tianzun surrenders, the humans will be but meat on the block, to be carved as anyone pleases!"
Bai Yuqiong sighed: "What do you want of me? I am the Celestial Master of the Heavenly Court; I will not side with the human race merely because I am human. Still, if it does no harm, I can help you somewhat—but you must not ask for too much."
Yuchenzi's spirits soared: "Mu Tianzun would not dare ask too much. He asks only that the Celestial Master go to see Celestial Master Meng Yungui."
Bai Yuqiong's gaze settled on his face. She said nothing; after a moment she said, "Meng Yungui, my senior brother Meng, is likewise a Celestial Master of the human race. Though he ranks as the second Celestial Master, even Shang Pingyin is no match for him. He would be more than qualified to be the first—but how could a human serve as the Heavenly Court's first Celestial Master? And so Shang Pingyin still holds that title securely."
She walked two paces around Yuchenzi, kneeling there on the ground, then halted: "Every scheme in Mu Tianzun's heart may be hidden from Shang Pingyin, but it cannot be hidden from Meng Yungui. Meng Yungui weighs schemes and interests more heavily, cherishes his skin and his life more dearly, and is more slippery besides. You cannot hide these little schemes of yours from him."
Yuchenzi's heart went cold. He said, "Mu Tianzun seeks nothing else. He asks only that Celestial Master Bai go to see Celestial Master Meng, and that when he raises the butcher's blade against his own kindred, he raise it a notch higher, so that a few fish slip through the net and live."
Bai Yuqiong closed her eyes and gave a long, faint sigh. Then she opened them, reached out her hand, took the Reincarnation Jade Pendant, and said, "Meng Yungui will still heed my counsel. I will go to see him. You may set your mind at ease."
Yuchenzi knocked his head on the ground again, heavily. Bai Yuqiong, her heart in turmoil, waved her hand: "Go, go! Do not come to my Qionghua Heavenly Palace again."
Yuchenzi rose and took his leave.
Before he had even left Qionghua Palace, the Chancellor suddenly came in at the head of a great host of heavenly soldiers and generals, filing into Qionghua Palace. The whole palace was in an uproar.
"Bind him!" the Chancellor waved his hand and shouted.
The heavenly soldiers and generals surged forward and, without a word, had Yuchenzi locked in chains and bound fast.
Bai Yuqiong hurried out, frowned, and said politely, "Chancellor, this envoy sent by Mu Tianzun is also my nephew; he has come to sue for surrender. What crime has he committed, that he should be seized and charged?"