Chapter 711 — Punished in Another's Stead

The old underworld bailiff shot Shen Mu a glance. "Replying to Lord Tu, it has been entered — volume eight, page one thousand and four. Every account is recorded clearly; not a single stroke will be missing."

Lord Tu set down the book in his hand, picked up the eighth ledger, and leafed through it. "Is it recorded every time he opens the Heaven-Bearing Gate as well?"

"It is."

The old bailiff said, "He frightens me half out of my wits; I could hardly leave it unrecorded. And every person who has died at his hands is written down too — clear as day, without the slightest discrepancy — awaiting the reckoning after his death. But those are small matters; I keep them in the miscellaneous volumes."

Lord Tu laid down the eighth volume. "Where are the miscellaneous volumes?"

The old bailiff answered, "There are too many of them. I opened a room specially to store them, and it is nearly full. Shall I bring the miscellaneous volumes here as well for Lord Tu to review?"

"No need."

Lord Tu, himself somewhat pained by the thought, shook his head. "So long as it is all recorded clearly and distinctly, that is enough."

Thud.

Tian Shu toppled straight over. His ram's head struck the ground hard, bouncing twice before it settled. Qi Jiuyi could not help saying, "Brother Tian, Lord Tu surely did not mean you — he meant Brother Shen, Shen Fengqing."

Tian Shu said weakly, "I know he meant him. I thought he and Lord Tu were on friendly terms. Turns out it is the kind of friendship that comes of recording every misdeed he has done. I was hoping he could get Lord Tu to do him a favor; now I think the result of Lord Tu doing him a favor is one more charge laid at my door! Let me lie here a while — I suddenly feel very weak..."

Lord Tu looked at Shen Mu. Shen Mu stood there ill at ease, head lowered, now and then stealing a glance at him and then, as if startled, snatching his gaze back.

Lord Tu said, "Sheltering the criminal Tian Shu and setting him loose to wreak havoc upon the world — this fault is charged to your account. Do you accept it?"

Shen Mu said hastily, "I don't—"

"Charge it to him," Lord Tu said to the old bailiff.

The old bailiff readily assented, took up his brush and wrote it down, then said to Shen Mu, "Lord Tu is just and impartial. He did not ask you in order to hear your opinion, but to inform you, so that when you die in the future you will not die an aggrieved ghost."

Shen Mu was at once relieved, and laughed. "In the future? Then Lord Tu will not kill me this time."

Lord Tu glanced at him. "Your allotted span is not yet spent, so for the time being I will not touch you. But the longer you remain in Youdu, the weaker your mortal body grows, and you will die in the end. I summoned you here today not for your sake, but for his."

He raised a hand and pointed at Tian Shu. With a whish, a whip coiled around him. Tian Shu struggled but could not break free, his face ashen.

Shen Mu stepped forward and planted himself across Lord Tu's path, saying in a clear voice, "May I ask Lord Tu — what crime has Tian Shu committed?"

"He cut off my horn, stole my Youdu, and carved out territory to found Fengdu. Those are grave crimes."

Lord Tu said gravely, "Do you step forward to speak for him? Do you mean to take his punishment upon yourself?"

Shen Mu said in a low voice, "The Imperial Gate Divine Saber was designed by Kai Huang; the order was given by Kai Huang. Tian Shu merely carried out his orders. If a subject obeys his sovereign's command, is that a fault?"

Lord Tu said, "The one who wielded the blade was gravely at fault from the very start."

"Does Lord Tu bully the weak and fear the strong?" Shen Mu asked.

Tian Shu broke into a cold sweat, and Qi Jiuyi was likewise uneasy, thinking, "How does Brother Shen dare say anything at all? Even though he is the Divine Son of Youdu, speaking to Lord Tu like that — that title will not save him at all!"

Lord Tu frowned slightly. Firelight rippled between his ox horns.

Shen Mu went on, "If Lord Tu is just and impartial, then he ought to pursue Kai Huang's responsibility. To let the chief conspirator go and instead call Tian Shu to account — that smacks of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. I am your junior, but a junior may still have a sense of justice; if Lord Tu is unjust, then I am unconvinced at heart and cannot help speaking of it. If Lord Tu does not bully the weak and fear the strong, then when Taihuang Heaven and Luofu Heaven were destroyed and countless living beings died miserably, why did Lord Tu not pursue the chief villain?"

The old bailiff frowned. "Divine Son, you do not know the reasons behind this. Best not to speak of it..."

"Let him speak," Lord Tu said, raising a hand.

The old bailiff had no choice but to hold his tongue, inwardly sweating cold for Shen Mu.

Shen Mu continued, "Who is the chief villain? The honored guest who just walked out of Lord Tu's palace! The Yin Son of Heaven indulged his disciple, forcing the remnant clan of Chiming into the territory of the demon race in Luofu Heaven, touching off a bloody war. Luofu Heaven was destroyed, and of the Chiming remnant only Chixi was left alive. To survive, the demon race had no choice but to attack Taihuang Heaven. Then the Yin Son of Heaven's disciple used the Book of Life and Death to wreak havoc, sacrificing Luofu Heaven in blood to hurl it against Taihuang Heaven, and making Taihuang Heaven crash into Jingping, and countless living beings perished. The chief villain stood here just now — why does Lord Tu not execute him?

"My brother ran wild in Youdu, and Lord Tu recorded a fault against me — to kill or to beat, as he pleased. I summoned the soul of Wei Liao, Star Lord of the Seven Slayings, and Lord Tu recorded a fault against me — to kill or to beat. I fought on the battlefield and cut down enemy generals, and Lord Tu recorded a fault against me — to kill or to beat. And now the Yin Son of Heaven's disciple is about to drown Jingping in blood, wake the stone statues, and bring down calamity upon Jingping, and once again countless living beings will die miserably! Lord Tu, where is your justice and impartiality? Do you dare to kill or beat them?

"You plainly bully the weak and fear the strong, oppress the good and fear the wicked. You do no evil yourself, yet you are greatly evil. What crime was it for Tian Shu to cut off your horn? If the one seated in the Heavenly Court were Kai Huang, would you dare let out a fart?

"You say I am steeped in evil, and you dump my brother's filth on my head. My brother may stop at nothing, but he unites knowledge with action. You, though you are lord of Youdu, say one thing and do another — a disgrace to the name of a heaven-born divinity!

"You would do better to give up your seat and let my brother be lord of Youdu. At least he can hold a bowl of water level, instead of slopping it everywhere as you do!"

Tian Shu, Long Qilin and Qi Jiuyi were frightened out of their wits, and the old bailiff shuddered several times, thinking, "It's over, it's over..."

Lord Tu's three eyes fixed on Shen Mu. Shen Mu looked straight back into those three eyes and did not yield an inch.

"You were always clever, always able to turn circumstances to your advantage, always able to speak to a man as a man and to a ghost as a ghost. Why today do you not know when to advance and when to retreat, insisting on arguing your case to the end?" Lord Tu finally spoke, asking.

Shen Mu bowed. "The people of the world always have grievances; when grievances pile up long enough, they erupt. I too am one of the world's people. I have offended Lord Tu; I beg your pardon."

Lord Tu nodded slowly. "How do you know I do not have a little notebook recording the Yin Son of Heaven's crimes?"