Chapter 365 — Lord of the Dragon Herd

Wang Muran rode up on his stag and shook his head. "Old folk are nothing but trouble."

Shen Mu said in surprise, "Yours too?"

Wang Muran nodded. "In Little Jade Capital there are thirteen old codgers of that sort, and now that the old Daoist and the White-Browed Monk have arrived, that makes fifteen."

Shen Mu laughed. "My village has only eight and a half. All things considered, I'm the luckier one."

Wang Muran said, "Thank goodness Senior Sister Qingdai and Senior Brother Long Yu help share the burden."

Shen Mu's face darkened. In his village he was the only young one; Granny Zhu was of course a young one too, but she always loved to play the elder.

The two of them went on at an unhurried pace, waiting for Mu Qingdai to find Long Yu and bring him back. Before long Mu Qingdai came dragging Long Yu along. This young expert was a slovenly sight: he had stripped off every stitch he wore, and when Mu Qingdai found him he was in nothing but a pair of undershorts, racing through the capital, singing and dancing, raving nonsense all the while.

Mu Qingdai had to fetch this senior brother two or three heavy slaps before he came to his senses. Long Yu spat out several mouthfuls of blood-phlegm that had clouded his mind, then, utterly crestfallen, followed her to catch up with Shen Mu.

Wang Muran had the two of them sit on the stag's back. Long Yu was no longer raving, but his spirits had yet to recover.

Shen Mu said with a smile, "Senior Brother Long Yu, what difference does it make whether you know how high the sky is and how thick? The sky is there; know it or not, it is there. Keep an ordinary mind, cultivate with all your heart, and break through this sky as soon as you can to go outside and have a look. That is the proper business."

Long Yu said gloomily, "I understand everything the Human Emperor says. It is only that whenever I think all of this is false, I cannot help losing my fighting spirit."

Shen Mu understood that feeling well. Not everyone could step out of the shadow as swiftly as Dao Master Lin Xuan had.

The celestial signs were false; that blow had struck Dao Master Lin Xuan hardest of all, and yet he had been the first to walk out of it. Long Yu, lacking Lin Xuan's standing and his experience of shouldering heavy burdens in his youth, was a little less able to withstand the blow.

Still, give Long Yu a little time and he would walk out of the shadow.

"Now that Senior Brother Long Yu is here, let us be on our way quickly."

At Wang Muran's command, clouds gathered beneath the stag's hooves and it soared into the air. Shen Mu urged on the Dragon Qilin, which hurried to keep pace. The stag glanced back, its face full of contempt, and quickened its speed.

The Dragon Qilin was furious and strained to keep up. After a hundred li or so it was panting, rolling its eyes, and said, "Is it worth my while to squabble with a stupid deer? Cult Master, don't you agree? What we're competing in isn't speed, it's endurance!"

Shen Mu answered with a dark face and a grunt of "Mm."

The Dragon Qilin slowed its pace and watched as the stag bore Wang Muran and the other two away until they vanished from sight.

After five thousand li the Dragon Qilin was so exhausted it could not catch its breath and clamored for a rest. Shen Mu had it stop, lit a fire, and cooked a meal, while the Dragon Qilin sprawled nearby, snoring soundly.

Shen Mu ate and drank his fill, then called for a long while before the Dragon Qilin slowly clambered up and, most reluctantly, resumed the journey. They chased on into the night, and from night into dawn, and still there was no sign of the stag or of Wang Muran and the others.

"That stupid deer's endurance isn't bad either..." Dragon Fatty said, lacking confidence.

Shen Mu answered with a dark face and a grunt, tossed over a Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill, and said, "Your rations for today."

The Dragon Qilin still had some self-awareness; it licked the pill cautiously, not daring to swallow it in one gulp. It took a dozen or more licks to finish the single Scarlet Fire Spirit Pill. Shen Mu could not bear to watch, and tossed it a few more.

The Dragon Qilin was overjoyed, hastily gulped down the Scarlet Fire Spirit Pills in a few bites, and said, "Rest easy, Cult Master. I'll run myself to death if I have to, and I'll definitely catch that stupid deer!"

"That deer isn't stupid. The stupid one is this Dragon Qilin of mine," Shen Mu muttered inwardly.

The Dragon Qilin ran through the air with him on its back. Before long a winding, lingering flute melody drifted over. Shen Mu looked around, somewhat surprised. The Dragon Qilin was running high in the air; its speed could not match the stag of Little Jade Capital, but it was hardly slow, and the wind was howling past.

Yet the flute music could reach all the way here; whoever was playing it was surely no ordinary person.

Even as he thought this, the Dragon Qilin suddenly began to sway its head like a drunkard, following the flute music, and ran downward out of the sky.

The melody was playful, trilling up and down, full of joy. The Dragon Qilin too bounced on all four hooves in the air, capering about in delight, its great tail sweeping with a whoosh.

The flute drew out a long note, and the Dragon Qilin charged straight down, hurtling headlong toward the mountain forest.

"Dragon Fatty, stop!"

Shen Mu shouted at once, but the Dragon Qilin seemed bewitched, unable to hear him at all, and seemingly unable to control its own body as it rushed straight for the mountain forest.

Shen Mu hastily leapt into the air, flashed to the front of the Dragon Qilin, pressed both hands on its brow, and pushed with all his strength, shouting, "Dragon Fatty, wake up!"

He used the true words of the Buddhist sect, his voice like thunder, but the Dragon Qilin simply pushed against him and ran on, deaf to it all.

Shen Mu burst out with all his strength, but still could not overcome the Dragon Qilin's power, and was shoved by it into the mountain forest. Cold sweat broke out on Shen Mu's forehead; the flute music grew clearer and brighter, closer and closer.

He looked back and saw an enormous red flood dragon coiled among the mountains, its huge head crouched on the ground, its bloody maw gaping wide. Its mouth was like a vast cave, its teeth like sharp stalactites, and drool still dripped from them.

The flute music came from the brow of this red flood dragon. A girl in a long skirt sat on the dragon's brow, playing the flute. For all the cheer of the melody, the girl's face was covered in frost.

"Long Jiaonan!"

Shen Mu's heart lurched, and he quickly looked around. This flood dragon must be the Dragon King's red flood dragon. If both Long Jiaonan and the red flood dragon were here, then was the Dragon King nearby as well?

The flute melody was sweet and lilting, and the Dragon Qilin joyfully pushed Shen Mu toward the flood dragon's gaping mouth.

A cold light flashed in Shen Mu's eyes. The Carefree Sword rose into the air, and at once eight thousand swords flew out, cutting toward Long Jiaonan without a word.

Long Jiaonan gave a cold laugh, and the red flood dragon lashed its tail over. Countless flying swords clanged and clattered against the dragon's tail and were all sent rebounding back.

Shen Mu's heart sank. This red flood dragon was a being of Cult Master level, its strength immense beyond measure; he feared he would find it hard to escape.

Just then, a great hand suddenly reached down from the clouds, and a voice like thunder came from the sky: "What luck. A stroll down to the lower realm, and I pick up a flood dragon."

The hand reached for the red flood dragon. Its fingers and palm were covered in coarse scales, and the red flood dragon below showed a look of terror and went limp.