Chapter 225 — Hanging the Portrait to Quell Evil

They had run several hundred li; by rights they should long since have reached the foot of the range, yet the distance between them and those mountains seemed never to have changed at all! "This person's abilities are no small matter.

He has folded space.

" The Dutian Demon King was sunk in utter despair, and shook his head. "Brat, there is no escape for you. " "We are going into the village!

" Shen Mu said viciously. The dragon qilin and Xue Hu'er were startled.

Shen Mu, angered, lowered his voice. "Whoever dares block my way home for the New Year, I will kill him! Into the village!

" The dragon qilin descended, shrank its body, and returned to its usual size.

Shen Mu jumped down from its back; Xue Hu'er coiled about his neck like a fox-fur scarf; the Dutian Demon King followed behind him, his four faces turning this way and that, warily scanning all around.

Shen Mu walked toward the village entrance.

The village looked quite ordinary: a flagpole at the entrance, and beneath it a dismounting stone and a hitching post. All was quiet within, and a dog was barking furiously at them, baring its teeth, very fierce.

The fox at Shen Mu's neck quietly opened her eyes, which gave the dog such a fright that the wicker gate opened and an old man came out from behind it holding an oil lamp. The dog hastily fled behind the old man, took courage again, and went on barking furiously at Shen Mu. Shen Mu's face was mild. He saluted and said, "A traveler passing through your honored parts, the sky is dark and there is nowhere to rest for miles around.

Heaven has taken pity on me and let me meet you, Elder. Might Elder be accommodating and grant me a place to rest? " "The Nether Demon Sect Master is too courteous.

" The old man had long, narrow brows and eyes and drooping white eyebrows. He said, "The village is small, and most of the guest rooms are still empty. If the Sect Master does not disdain them, he may find himself a room and rest. " The fox's fur on Shen Mu's neck all stood on end, and she trembled and shivered.

The Dutian Demon King and the dragon qilin were chilled in their hearts as well. This white-browed elder made no concealment whatever, calling Shen Mu the Nether Demon Sect Master outright; plainly he had no intention of hiding it, and disdained to hide it. And that they had been circling in the same place was likely this old man's doing as well!

Shen Mu gave thanks and said, "How many people are there in Elder's village?

" The white-browed elder said, "At present, only one man and one dog. But I have already hung lamps in every room, and before long the villagers will come. There will be a revelry then, and it will likely be very noisy; the Nether Demon Sect Master must not take offense.

We are all laborers, men who sell their strength and their lives, and we know nothing of courtesy.

If we give offense anywhere, I beg the Nether Demon Sect Master to forgive it. " "Very well, very well. " Shen Mu took leave of the white-browed elder, came to the center of the village, and chose the largest courtyard.

"Elder, please go back.

We will stay here.

" The white-browed elder said with a smile, "May the Nether Demon Sect Master sleep well. " "I thank you for the kind words. " Shen Mu pushed the door open and walked in; the smile on his face vanished at once, and he said rapidly, "None of you speak. Go into the main hall. Sleep. And no one opens his eyes!

" The dragon qilin and Xue Hu'er were baffled by this.

The Dutian Demon King said, "That old thing means no good. .

.

" Shen Mu flicked a hand, and the Dutian Demon King could not move.

Shen Mu opened the door of the main hall, threw the Dutian Demon King on the floor, and closed his twelve eyelids. The dragon qilin squeezed its way in and split the door open; the two wooden door leaves fell to the ground.

The dragon qilin was about to speak, but Shen Mu made a gesture for silence and motioned for it to close its eyes. Xue Hu'er slipped down from Shen Mu's neck, climbed onto the dragon qilin's back, and closed her eyes.

Shen Mu opened the Taotie Bag, took out a scroll, and with his eyes closed nailed the painting to the wall of the main hall facing the door. "Grandpa Lame said this painting is a village headman that Grandpa Deaf painted in his early years, and that it can ward off evil.

Let us see whether Grandpa Lame was lying to me.

" He lay down, turned on his side facing the door, and stared wide-eyed without moving. All around was dead silent. After a moment, the sound of disordered footsteps came from outside, and a somewhat familiar voice, it seemed to be Lu Wenshu, said, "Senior Qingshan lit the lamps in the dark night and summoned us here; has he perhaps found the Nether Demon Sect Master?

" Then a woman's voice said, "To our shame, we chased and cut him off the whole way and failed to kill him. Instead, Daoist Withered Leaf fell to his venom, and was killed by the demon god he summoned.

" It sounded like Qingyu the Wanderer's voice. Then came the white-browed elder's voice: "The Nether Demon Sect Master has already lain down to sleep in the village.

" "Senior Qingshan is a man of fine means indeed!

I will go and kill him at once!

" "No hurry. Better to wait for the other comrades to arrive, and then take his life and celebrate this great victory! " .

. . After another moment, the footsteps of a dozen or more people arrived.

Hearing that the Nether Demon Sect Master was in the village, they could not help but laugh and talk, each with a weight lifted from his heart.

Outside there came again the sounds of drinking, lamps burning bright; plainly these powerful ones were celebrating.

"The Nether Demon Sect Master's abilities are not high, but his tricks are many, and truly hard to deal with.

To our shame, several of us were wounded and nearly killed by the demon god he summoned.

" "To rid the world of this beast today is to give the world back its justice. Come, let us drink this cup together! " "Senior Brother Feng Qiwu has arrived?

Come quickly, to the great gathering for the extermination of the demon!

" . . .

Outside the lamps blazed bright, casting mottled and restless shadows across the window lattice of Shen Mu's house.

The weather was very cold, very chill.

Shen Mu saw Xue Hu'er shivering and reached out to cover her little belly.

Xue Hu'er turned her head; Shen Mu hastily laid two fingers over her eyelids. Outside, one after another of the experts who had been hunting Shen Mu arrived from every direction, laughter growing louder and louder, wine cups passing back and forth in celebration. After a long while, the white-browed elder laughed and said, "My friends, it grows late.

It is time to see the Nether Demon Sect Master on his way.

" Xue Hu'er trembled and shook. She heard the courtyard gate being pushed open with a creak and a groan, but did not dare open her eyes. Lu Wenshu was first to step into the courtyard, laughing. "The Nether Demon Sect Master has actually fallen asleep, and deeply asleep.

. .

" Suddenly his head slid soundlessly from his neck, and his corpse pitched forward to the ground. A great expert of the Heaven-Man realm had thus, in utter confusion, lost his life.

"There is a master in the courtyard! Brother Lu has met foul play!

" An uproar rose from beyond the courtyard; then with a great booming crash, one powerful being after another smashed the courtyard walls and burst in, light and flame blazing about them, the phantom images of gods standing at their backs, their momentum towering to the heavens!

No sooner had they landed than, one by one, their heads slid soundlessly from their necks. However heaven-reaching their arts, they died inexplicably. As though in this courtyard there stood an invisible god wielding an invisible sword, reaping the heads of any who dared intrude upon the courtyard!

Reading address: