Chapter 640 — Reunion with the First Ancestor

"I used to dream that Kaihuang was a great hero, a man who could save the common folk from fire and flood. I dreamed that this founding ancestor of ours would live and die alongside his supporters and his followers. I believed he was the man I imagined him to be. But he is not.

" In the hidden remnant village of Yincan, Shen Mu sat beside the campfire, quietly watching the steam curl from the pot, his face calm as he said, "The more of history I uncover, the more I feel he is unworthy to be Kaihuang, unworthy to be the leader of thousands upon thousands of heroes and champions. Perhaps he is nothing but an old man whose courage his enemies shattered long ago, a man who wants only to live out his own comfortable days. He has not the spirit, nor the breadth of heart, to make heroes and champions follow him. " "Kah-dah! " Beside him, a plume-crested fire pheasant-dragon nodded with the gravest solemnity. "You are right. " Shen Mu added more firewood, his expression somewhat bleak.

"If he had such breadth of heart, such spirit, would he have suddenly withdrawn in that final war, abandoning his old brothers and old comrades-in-arms, abandoning the common folk to fire and flood?

If he truly were the great hero I imagined, then what has he done in these twenty thousand years?

He has done nothing! " The plume-crested fire pheasant-dragon nodded, and said with the utmost gravity, "Cluck cluck! " "Heh heh. He has done nothing. No wonder the gods and demons who followed him felt their hearts turn cold. " Shen Mu laughed despite himself and shook his head.

"How I long to return to Wuyou Township, overturn his comfortable nest, and question him to his face.

Perhaps I could repair the Ark of the Other Shore and sail it there to find him. I still have here a mirror that the Headman and the others recovered from the Ark, a mirror that records the path to Wuyou Township.

The Headman sealed it, saying that when I could break his seal, I should go and seek Wuyou Township. . . " "Kah-dah-kah? " said the plume-crested fire pheasant-dragon, suspicious. "You are too good to me, listening to all this nonsense of mine. " Shen Mu turned to look at it, slowly drew a sword, and said gently, "But you know too many of my secrets.

.

.

Do not struggle. Only a plume-crested fire pheasant-dragon that has been boiled and eaten is a plume-crested fire pheasant-dragon that will not spill secrets. In your next life, do not be a chicken. " A great flurry of flying chickens and leaping dogs broke out in Yincan Village; in flocks and droves the plume-crested fire pheasant-dragons huddled into balls, staring in terror at Shen Mu stewing chicken beside the campfire. Before long Shen Mu had drunk the chicken soup and eaten the chicken, cooked to just the right degree, and was wholly content.

"Grandpa Alchemist and the others did not come back here; most likely they went to Fengdu to see the Headman. We are not far from Jianglong City now, and from here I can pass through the Between of Life and Death into Fengdu.

. . Before that, I should go and pay my respects at the Headman's, and let him know that I will come to see him. " He rose and left, and before long came to the small mountain village in his memory. The village had once held only a few households, built around the Headman's stone statue. When Shen Mu arrived, he could not help but start.

Several more stone statues had appeared here, and the Headman's statue was gone! "You mean the statue with no hands and no legs? Someone carried it off.

" The villagers told him, "Some strange men came, a blacksmith, a pig butcher, a medicine seller, and one who paints spring couplets and New Year pictures. They said the statue was an acquaintance of theirs, they helped us move a few statues here for us, and then they carried that one away.

" "The old statue was better!

The old statue often showed its power when we made offerings. These new statues never show a thing. " "That is right, and one of those strange men was an old thief. He made off with the cured pork leg hanging in my house!

" Shen Mu was astonished. "Grandpa Silent Artisan and the others came here?

What did they carry off the Headman's statue for? Ah, of course!

" His eyes suddenly lit. "It must be that Grandpa Alchemist means to call the Headman's soul back, to see whether the Headman can be saved!

" He could not help but grow excited. Then he took his leave and headed straight for Jianglong City.

Jianglong City.

The city had become a commercial holy ground of the utmost importance.

After a few months away, its prosperity had already surpassed Shen Mu's imagination. From south to north, from the Eastern Land to the Western Land, goods of every kind gathered here. Tower ships came and went in the air, dense as woven cloth, and everywhere were vessels unloading cargo. Merchants of the Eastern Land and the Western Land traded here, sparing themselves the journey to Jingping or the Western Land, which made things very convenient.

Beyond Jianglong City, other cities in the Ruins had flourished along with it.

And thriving commerce in turn spurred academy after academy. By now every city in the Ruins had many academies, and the people of the Ruins called the students there scholars; they studied divine powers, and even some shape-shifting spirits and strange beasts had slipped into the academies to study. Shen Mu came to the Between of Life and Death.

It was as clamorous as ever; many scholars paid their money to enter Fengdu from here. The one who guarded the Between of Life and Death was an Incense Master of the Heavenly Sage Cult. Shen Mu naturally had no need to pay to enter. He took a boat that drifted along the Long River toward Fengdu; as it reached the bridge he sprang up and alighted upon it, and by the time he came down from the bridge he had become a skeleton.

"Human Sovereign Shen! " Shen Mu followed the voice and saw the short, stocky Human Sovereign Yishan squeezing his way out of the crowd of ghosts, beaming.

"It really is you! The moment I saw that skeleton of yours, I knew! " Shen Mu hastened to pay his respects. "Great Grandmaster Ancestor!

" Human Sovereign Yishan said warily, "What have you come to Fengdu for?

You are not thinking of coming to beat the Ancestor again, are you? Are you here to stand up for that Su boy? " Shen Mu shook his head.

"I have come to see the Headman.

. .

" Human Sovereign Yishan breathed a sigh of relief, turned, and waved to the crowd peering out from the street corner.

"He is not here to beat us. Come out!

" Human Sovereign Qikang, Human Sovereign Lanpo, and the others came out from the street corner one after another. Human Sovereign Qikang had a very loud voice. "Human Sovereign Shen, did that young rascal Su Muzhe complain to you about us?

" Shen Mu was puzzled.

"What complaint would the Headman make to me about you? " The many Human Sovereigns glanced at one another, wore strange smiles, and each gave a ha-ha, saying nothing of it.

Shen Mu was suspicious. "What happened?

Why was the Headman beaten? How did he offend you seniors? " Human Sovereign Fifth Ancestor gave a ha-ha and said with a laugh, "That young rascal Su Muzhe is not in Fengdu. The old fellow got cocky, and Bronze Face saved him. They say he has gone to Taihuang Heaven to look for you. A few months ago some strange, outlandish people came looking for him and muttered on for a long while, and then one of them, a Bronze Face, said there might still be a way to save him. The Bird God Chixiu also said the Su boy was half-dead and still carried the smell of the living about him, so Bronze Face had the Su boy return to his fleshly body and brought him back to life. " Shen Mu blinked and smiled.

"So that is how it is. Bronze Face is Grandpa Alchemist from our village. His medical skill is the finest under heaven, and it surpasses mine. If he took a hand in the healing, the Headman was certain to come through.