Chapter 1821 — Your Name
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
On the ship the couple was blissful, playing with the child and washing diapers, full of fun, as if they had no idea that a storm was coming.
On the way there, Shen Mu had to control the Guixu Lotus and the World Tree to absorb the energy of the Annihilation Tribulation and nourish Shen Lingyun, and so they had moved slowly. But the return was much faster.
In three months they reached the Annihilation Tribulation of the Seventh Era.
The golden ship gradually slowed.
Ling Yuxiu noticed and looked at Shen Mu. Shen Mu was squatting on the deck, teasing Shen Lingyun and trying to teach her to walk--this father still without a care in the world. Yet the ship was indeed slowing, and slower still.
Ling Yuxiu went over, picked up Shen Lingyun, and said tentatively, "Husband, is something on your mind?
" Shen Mu stood up and looked outside. Beyond the ship, the great annihilation was sweeping through the Seventh Era; the universe that the Heaven-Opening Host of Tiandu had opened could not escape the cycle of cosmic birth and death, and was destroyed in an instant. "Having come all this way without any incident only makes me worry more.
" The smile faded from his face, and his voice was low. "The calmer the waters, the more savage the storm to come. I do not have enough confidence to protect you and our daughter.
" Ling Yuxiu looked at his face. The Venerable Mu, who had always held himself above the world, was now filled with anxiety.
The supreme confidence built since his childhood, the unshakable belief forged in the Jingping Reforms, was beginning to waver. She leaned against him, one arm holding Shen Lingyun, the other hand clasping his, as if to lend him strength and courage.
Shen Mu put his arm around her, his voice low but deep and powerful.
"Do not worry. I will protect you both.
I will not let any harm come to you.
" He looked at the Annihilation Tribulation with dark, calm eyes--so deep as to be almost terrifying.
Long ago, his parents, Qin Hanzhen and Consort Zhen, left the Carefree Village and, chased all the way by the Heavenly Court, were finally caught in the ruined wastes of the Yuan Realm. Qin Hanzhen turned to wood and sent Consort Zhen, who was already pregnant with him, to the Nether Capital. How similar the scene before him was to that scene!
Later, Consort Zhen put him in a basket and asked Aunt Ping'er to carry the basket out of the Nether Capital.
From then on, an orphan named Shen Mu appeared in the Hidden Remnant Village.
"I will not let my daughter walk my path," he said silently in his heart.
No one understood better than he the bitterness of an orphan searching for his parents.
The golden ship set sail again, heading back along one River of Chaos after another.
The Annihilation Tribulation of the Eighth Era: safe.
The Ninth Era: safe. The Tenth Era: safe.
Shen Mu's face grew more and more grave; smiles had all but vanished from his face.
No peril had appeared, which meant that when the peril did come, it would be incomparably fierce! Fierce enough to exceed even what he could bear! Vast as his powers were, with the Heaven-Opening Host of the Miluo Palace and Old Man Wuya before him, and the possibility of all manner of prehistoric forces descending upon him, great and small, he could never hold out alone!
This battle--he must not lose it, but he very well might, and lose all the beauty before his eyes!
The Eleventh Era's Annihilation Tribulation: safe!
The Twelfth Era: safe!
The Thirteenth Era: safe!
The Fourteenth Era: still safe!
At last they came to the Fifteenth Era's Annihilation Tribulation. Shen Mu's throat was dry. He drove the Guixu Lotus and the World Tree to take root in the River of Chaos, trying to draw on the Tribulation's power for his own use.
His heart sank slowly. The Guixu Lotus and the World Tree could not draw on any of the Tribulation's power.
Shen Mu took a long breath. So the Second Young Master Wuji was also waiting for their family of three!