Chapter 313 — The Lord Who Guards the Stars

He had studied how the villagers behaved and handled matters, learned how they did things — yet at bottom he was still a big boy. Before the Star Lord, his efforts, his learning, his maturity — how laughable they appeared. "For the sake of how hard you strive to pass as a grown man, I shall not make things difficult for you. " The Star Lord returned to the tree, her serpent tail wrapped about the divine trunk like a woman embracing the man she loves.

The membrane behind her head spread and quivered as she laughed: "Qin Hanzhen, father and son have met again — you ought to be glad.

Why do I sense such desolation in you? Ah, yes — because from this day on you two will be forever parted, one living, one dead. Hee hee hee, there is no need for that at all…

" She swam to the front of the man in the tree and looked up at him, her body twisting serpent-like as she glided past him, and said slowly: "Reveal the location of the Land of No Sorrow, and then your child, your family, your whole clan may all go to the Netherworld to keep you company.

How amusing — a pitiful human who dares to strike a bargain with a god, thinking he can come out ahead, never knowing that he has lost everything, lost it all clean!

And the stake I wagered was nothing more than your life. " She came to the right side of the man in the tree and could not help laughing, laughing with great delight. Her face pressed to his ear, she said: "I traded your life for the lives of everyone in the Land of No Sorrow — your son's life among them. And you, in return, got nothing but a single glimpse of your son. What a foolish mortal.

Even with the power of gods and demons in his grasp, he is still swayed by his own foolish notions and can never attain the mind of a god. And because the Earth Lord's pact binds you, you cannot break your word. " The man in the tree grew calm again. He opened his mouth, but his tongue had turned to wood, and no sound would come. The Star Lord laughed: "What is it you wish to say? " The man in the tree opened his mouth again, but no words came out.

The Star Lord leaned close, wanting to hear more clearly, and asked curiously: "What is it you are trying to say? " Still the man in the tree could not speak. Shen Mu's heart suddenly grew calm, and he said: "Star Lord, father and son are joined at heart. I think I can understand what he means to say. " The Star Lord glanced at him: "He cannot make a sound at all. You can hear him?

" Shen Mu said: "Our lives, father and son, both rest in your hands, Star Lord.

Do you still fear we might play some trick?

" The Star Lord looked at him deeply, then sneered: "You cannot play any trick.

Come here, and see what it is he wishes to say.

" Shen Mu stepped forward and came before the man in the tree, tilting his head to listen.

After a moment he said: "He is saying that his eyes cannot see, that he cannot make out my face — and so it does not count as seeing me. Therefore the Earth Lord's pact has not yet taken effect.

" The Star Lord was surprised, and laughed: "Interesting.

I did not expect that father and son truly share one heart.

This does make things rather awkward. He cast a forbidden art to fuse with the divine tree.

The art is called Withered Wood Meets Spring; it is a forbidden method for borrowing life, but its backlash is powerful as well. It binds not only their lives but their very flesh together. When your father fought those gods in great battle, he exhausted them to death — and exhausted himself as well, so that he had no choice but to use the forbidden art to prolong his life.

Now only his face has not yet fully turned to wood. To reverse the process is very difficult, but it is no trouble for me — after all, I come from the Netherworld, and I command life and death… " The membrane behind her head opened, revealing the eye-shaped patterns. Two beams of light shot from those eye-like patterns, one to the left, one to the right, and poured into the body of the man in the tree. Gradually the wood upon his surface began to slough away; on his neck, the texture of skin emerged, no longer the grain of wood.