Chapter 496 — When It Is Written Into the Annals of History

Luo Wushuang turned and walked away, his voice drifting back from afar: "Shen Mu, Hierarch of the Heavenly Sage, and Great Venerable of the Loulan Golden Palace—when you two have made something of yourselves one day, Luo will surely repay you in full, and wash away the debt of this severed arm. See that you do not die too soon! " He vanished into the thick darkness.

Shen Mu still stood upright, the Carefree Sword still circling and wheeling around him.

He had not relaxed in the slightest, still staring into the dark; only after a long moment did Shen Mu let out a breath.

Ban Gongcuo's face turned bitter. He grumbled, "Hierarch Shen, why did you have to announce our names?

What are we to do now? " "If I had not given our names, he might not have withdrawn.

" Shen Mu's aura collapsed all at once; he dropped down to sit, and the Carefree Sword clattered to the ground.

He no longer had the strength even to urge the sword on, his breath withered: "If he had stayed to fight to the death, we truly might not have been able to beat him. Only by giving our names would he really leave. " Ban Gongcuo struggled to his feet and looked at him, eyes flickering. From the Green Blood Gourd behind him a mass of fresh blood poked out its head, stirring restlessly, as he weighed whether to strike at Shen Mu now.

Feigning anger, he said, "You could have given false names! " Shen Mu's brow twitched. The Carefree Sword, fallen at his feet, quietly lifted its tip, and he said, breathless: "Shen has never left a false name behind in anything he does.

Besides—when we return to thirty or forty thousand years from now, will he be able to find us? " Anger rose in Ban Gongcuo's heart. He ground his teeth: "Hierarch Shen, is the name Shen Mu real?

You never give false names? You have the nerve to say that aloud!

" More blood plasma welled from the gourd; soundless clots of blood floated up.

He narrowed his eyes, then put on another face, mild and genial: "Still, the Hierarch speaks sense. Who knows—that bastard Luo Wushuang may have some skill, but he is arrogant to the bone; he certainly will not live thirty or forty thousand years. Perhaps he will die in the war before long. Hierarch Shen, shall I help you up? " Shen Mu raised his head, his face earnest: "Yes, please.

My body is empty now; if you do not help me, I truly cannot get up. " Ban Gongcuo shuddered abruptly and hurriedly drew back, chuckling: "Man and man, hands off—better to keep our distance, lest rumors start.

" Shen Mu paid it no mind. Leaning on the Carefree Sword, he tottered to his feet: "Luo Wushuang has withdrawn, but we must leave quickly too.

He may bring the main army of the Lingxiu. This place is no place to linger. " The Dragon Qilin had also retracted its dragon scales and clambered, stumbling, out of range of the chest.

With a few thuds, the chest closed and shrank to a modest size. The Dragon Qilin crawled onto the chest, panting from exhaustion.

Shen Mu climbed up with difficulty as well, and turned his head, smiling: "Great Venerable, come up too. " Ban Gongcuo shook his head and burrowed under the chest, hugging one of its legs: "I am fine right here.

" Shen Mu kicked the Dragon Qilin, unable to hold back a laugh: "You—far too cautious. We share one chest, one enemy, one fate, life and death together—could I really do you harm?

" The Dragon Qilin lifted a forepaw and unsheathed several blade-sharp claws; the moment Ban Gongcuo came up, he would be run through. Ban Gongcuo said cautiously, "The Hierarch's kindness is hard to refuse, but I have always been careful by habit and trust no one. The Hierarch may tell Dragon Fatty to put his claws away.

" The chest set off on its feet, walking into the darkness. Shen Mu sat with the sword in his arms, eyes half-closed in feigned sleep, while beneath the chest Ban Gongcuo was alert and vigorous, fighting off sleep, quietly taking several spirit pills from his Taotie Pouch and stuffing them into his mouth, doing all he could to restore his cultivation.

After a long while, feeling his vitality somewhat recovered, his eyes flickered and he quietly stirred the Green Blood Gourd: "This fellow is gravely wounded—now is the perfect moment to be rid of him. .

. " Suddenly he caught the scent of medicine, and hastily checked the impulse to act. One of Shen Mu's hands had slipped into the Taotie Pouch; furtively he had refined several batches of spirit pills, popping a few into his mouth from time to time, and refined several more batches for the Dragon Qilin, who ate them in silence, making no sound at all. Yet the drifting fragrance of the medicine had not escaped Ban Gongcuo's nose.

"To get the drop on him. .

.

it will not be easy," Ban Gongcuo thought. At last a light appeared in the darkness: they had come to the front of that waystation. The waystation was under the protection of a deity, and many common folk were resting there.

Bai Qu'er was gazing anxiously about when at last she saw a bloodstained chest come swaying toward her, carrying a youth and a fat Dragon Qilin.

The chest strode on, racing over hill and ridge with great speed.

Bai Qu'er's heart surged with a strange and particular emotion.

She hurried forward, the son of Bai Qingfu in her arms. Shen Mu jumped down from the chest and stretched, his bones cracking, and asked, puzzled, "Why are you still here? " "We cannot go any farther.

These people have little cultivation, dragging families with them, mostly the old and weak.

" Bai Qu'er pressed her own tender feelings down to the bottom of her heart and said softly, "The deity of the waystation is gone—likely gone to relieve Bailong City; whether he lives or dies, no one knows. Now there is no one left in the waystation but us. " Shen Mu looked at the waystation.

Many people slept on the ground; some had not slept, their eyes bright and dim by turns in the shifting light of the Dragon God Pearls, but none of them made a sound.

Most of those who had escaped were common folk, not wealthy households. The wealthy of Bailong City had fled faster, most of them following the deity of the North Gate—and that road, I fear, led only to utter annihilation. Only these common folk, low in cultivation, had fled a step too late, and so had followed them.

"We cannot stay here long. " Shen Mu mused a moment, then said, "Why not let them into my chest? I will carry them along, and we will get as far as we can.

" Bai Qu'er was briefly startled. She looked at the chest and said, "What about the other man who came with you? He.

. .

" "I am here.

" Ban Gongcuo crawled out from under the chest and chuckled: "Fortunately I did not fail you—we survived. My thanks for the young lady of the Bai family's worry.

" Shen Mu had the Dragon Qilin jump down from the chest and said, "Sister Qu'er, wake them. We truly cannot stay here any longer.

Since there is no deity to protect us, we set out at once, lest pursuers catch up.

" Bai Qu'er nodded and woke the crowd. Shen Mu spread the chest open and let them climb inside.

Ban Gongcuo made to enter the chest as well, but Shen Mu shook his head: "If pursuers overtake the chest and there is no one to hold them off, we will all be wiped out. We stay outside the chest. " Sturdy as Xing An's chest was, it could not attack; it had no fighting strength.

If everyone hid inside it, any single demon from beyond the realm could send them to a grave with no burial ground. Ban Gongcuo swallowed his anger and sneered: "Hierarch Shen, carry on like this and you will find it very hard to survive in these troubled times! We are fleeing for our lives, fleeing Xing An's pursuit—we did not come here to save people! " Shen Mu laughed heartily and shook his head: "Great Venerable, I merely wish to keep a little innocence and goodness alive in this foul, chaotic world.