Chapter 159 — The Blind Man's Twin Pupils
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
You are squeezing me to death! Where is the village headman? Has Grandma come back too? Master Alchemist — Master Alchemist, stop hiding, I can see you! " After a while the blind elder and Zaifu paid their respects to the village elders, and the village elders, seeing that these two were older than themselves and crippled besides, were filled with admiration and secretly praised them for being all the stouter for their years.
Ling Yuxiu came out of the house, her hair freshly washed; at the sight of the two old men she took fright and darted back inside, her heart pounding: "Those are the two old men who frightened me and young General Shen on the Yong River that day! " Shen Mu drew the village elders aside, took out the cloth bag at his waist, tipped up its bottom, reached in and rummaged about; after a while he hauled out two legs, then dragged out half a body besides, and said, "Grandpa Tu, is this the glittering golden lower half you lost? " "No.
This is not my body. " Zaifu studied that glittering golden lower half; after a moment he cut a slash across one of the legs with his knife, felt the golden blood that welled out, and said doubtfully, "This body seems to be the Witch Venerable's. I fought a bout with the old rascal and know his blood well.
This lower half is mostly dead already — of no more use. " Shen Mu too stepped up and touched the golden blood. It had half congealed, yet still it held a trace of fiery nature, and one drop of it crawled about on his fingertip, seeking to burrow into his body. Shen Mu hastily stirred his vital qi and transformed it into Vermilion Bird vital qi, burning away at it without cease; only after no small effort did he scorch that drop dry, and he said, "If this is the Witch Venerable's lower half, then Grandpa Tu's lower half must be on the Martial Venerable.
" "That old rascal admires me — admires me to such a degree as this?
" Zaifu stroked his beard and said smugly, "Then the son he bears — is he his son, or mine? " The stubble on his face was hard as steel spikes, and as his hand passed over it, it gave a rasping crackle. The more he thought on it, the more pleased he grew, and he could not help roaring with laughter. The blind elder said slowly, "And if he truly bears you a son, or a whole litter of sons — will you acknowledge them, or not?
" Zaifu was struck dumb; then his face fell, and all his smugness vanished into thin air. Having flattened Zaifu with a single word and left him utterly crestfallen, the blind elder turned to Shen Mu and said, "Shen'er, how do you come to be here?
" Shen Mu recounted the whole business from beginning to end, and the blind elder cried out, "You actually went to blockade the gates of Loulan's Golden Palace? What audacity! This time I came out with Zaifu precisely to go to Loulan's Golden Palace; we have learned that Zaifu's lower half was carried off by the Golden Palace.
Zaifu says he means to fetch it back, though whether it can still be rejoined, no one can say.
" Shen Mu laughed.
"If the lower half is dead, it certainly cannot be rejoined.
But since Grandpa Tu's lower half is on the Witch Venerable, then the Witch Venerable must have grafted it on while it was yet alive.
Only find the Witch Venerable, cut off his lower half, and I can help Grandpa Tu restore his body! " The blind elder smiled.
"A trifle.
That scoundrel Zaifu will be whole at last — before, he had not even a bird to his name. " Zaifu was outraged.
"I can manifest a body with my vital qi — how have I no bird? I can piss and I can shit! " The two fell to quarrelling again, quarrelling until Shen Mu's head ached. Shen Mu hastily said, "Brother Bashan is still trapped in Loulan's Golden Palace, and to this day his life or death is unknown.
You two elders. . . " Zaifu shook his head.
"Never mind that scoundrel. He has no gate on his mouth; he blurts out everything, gabbling on and on without pause.