Chapter 1643 — Handwriting Reveals Character
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
Yuchenzi said, "Your Majesty, since the old thief Mu returned from Youdu, his heart of the Dao has collapsed. He knocks his head and kneels and bows; he calls on Heaven and Heaven does not answer, he shouts to Earth and Earth does not reply. He means to come and surrender and beg forgiveness with a rod on his back, making a spectacle of every sort of ugliness. It was only Ling Tianzun and Yue Tianzun and the rest who dragged him back by force. But the old thief Mu is set on surrender, and so he wrote the letter. Your servant was right there at the time. Because Your Majesty is wise and martial, and he was defeated by Your Majesty's hand, all his old grudges and fresh hatreds surged up at once, and he packed me off as his envoy, meaning to take my life!"
Hao Tianzun's interest was roused: "You were there when he wrote the letter? Tell me all of it!"
So Yuchenzi recounted Shen Mu's state of mind as he wrote the letter of surrender—though of course he cut out the part about Shen Mu stirring himself into a fit of emotion.
He gestured as he spoke, giving a vivid and exact likeness; he mimicked the way Shen Mu had looked as he wrote the letter so uncannily that Hao Tianzun roared with laughter.
Yuchenzi said, "The writing is the man, Your Majesty. Your Majesty may summon masters skilled in brush and ink, and have them study the letter; then Your Majesty will know whether your servant has deceived you."
Hao Tianzun was cautious as well, and glanced at the Chancellor.
The Chancellor said hastily, "Under Lord Wen Chang, Star Sovereign of Literature, there is a company of divinities skilled in the arts of brush and ink. They may be summoned to examine Mu Tianzun's hand."
Hao Tianzun waved his hand, and the Chancellor hurried off.
Hao Tianzun glanced at Yuchenzi kneeling below: "Rise. If your words are not false, I will spare your life."
Yuchenzi knocked his head again and again, and scrambled up.
Not long after, Lord Wen Chang arrived with his favored disciples. They paid their respects to Hao Tianzun, called for the letter of surrender, and studied it minutely. Sure enough, the feeling within every phrase and every word was read out by these great masters of the way of brush and ink, and what they found differed little from what Yuchenzi had said.
Hao Tianzun laughed: "The finest talents of the human race—the elder son Shen Ye, the younger son Shen Mu. The elder has already died by my hand; the younger has shattered his own heart of the Dao and turned back into a cowherd. I may sleep easy now!"
"Your Majesty, wait!"
Suddenly a voice came from beyond the imperial study; the man had not arrived, but his voice came first: "If Your Majesty trusts your servant, then drag this Jingping envoy out and behead him first, and at once send out the armies to chastise Jingping!"