Chapter 87 — A Trap of Hidden Killing Intent

Shen Mu murmured, "Why has the Soul Boat appeared here…"

This ship must be the Soul Boat, which bore a resemblance to the Dawn Boat. All around the Soul Boat reigned utter stillness; not a single human figure was to be seen. The vessel lay overturned among the mountains, a broken crescent moon hung motionless in the sky, and the nearest city was still more than a hundred li away.

And the direction in which the jade pendant on Shen Mu's chest drifted was exactly the direction of that Soul Boat.

Of the two mysterious boats on the map of the Wilderness Ruins, the Dawn Boat and the Soul Boat, both Shen Mu and the Village Head had already seen the Dawn Boat; the Soul Boat they had never yet seen.

This Soul Boat was no smaller than the Dawn Boat. The Dawn Boat was a great volcano that had grown legs and feet, with fire-spewing peaks and lava rolling in torrents; the Soul Boat, by contrast, was silver-grey through and through, crouching there like a three-legged silver toad — or, more precisely, like a toad bearing a ship upon its back, crouched among the mountains.

This Soul Boat seemed to have life of its own: the mountain mass rose and fell by slow degrees, as though breathing. But the hull was already battered and broken — the Soul Boat's condition was far worse than the Dawn Boat's.

The Dawn Boat roamed the Wilderness Ruins and returned to the Dawn Spring; how then had the Soul Boat appeared in the Realm of the Living Dead, without returning to the Soul Spring?

"The Land of No Sorrow — does it mean Fengdu, or the Soul Boat?" Shen Mu murmured.

"The Land of No Sorrow. What is meant by 'no sorrow'? After death one is naturally free of sorrow. Could the Land of No Sorrow mean Fengdu, the Realm of the Living Dead?"

The Village Head pressed down the shock in his heart and said, "Yet the Land of No Sorrow might also mean the Soul Boat. The Soul Boat breaks through the darkness, and the people who live upon it dwell in peace and contentment, free from care… Did you not say that the Sun Guardian told you the Land of No Sorrow appears in the night, but that he did not know where it would appear? That means the Land of No Sorrow is on the move. If that is so, the Land of No Sorrow should be the span this Soul Boat covers — that would explain it. The moon appears at night, and therefore the Soul Boat moves by night. The Soul Boat carries the Land of No Sorrow with it as it comes and goes in the night, and because the ship moves without cease, the Land of No Sorrow too moves without cease, with no fixed place. Shen'er…"

He paused, then said, "This is only my conjecture, but if the conjecture holds, it may be that you are a Moon Shepherd."

"I am a Moon Shepherd?" Shen Mu was slightly startled, puzzled by what he meant.

"If you were born in the Land of No Sorrow, then you may well be the descendant of a Moon Shepherd."

The Village Head smiled. "Did you not say that on the dragon pillar of Crimson Dragon City you saw a woman reach her hand out to you, trying to set her palm against yours? I think that woman may be one of your kin — may even be your…"

He did not finish. Shen Mu understood his meaning: she might even be his mother!

At the time, the Soul Boat must have brought the Land of No Sorrow to the vicinity of Crimson Dragon City as well. The Dawn Boat came by day, while the Soul Boat appeared at night. That woman must have discovered Shen Mu, discovered the jade pendant at his throat, and so wished to make herself known to him!

But this place was so broken, so desolate — were there still Moon Shepherds living here?

And why had the Soul Boat appeared in the Realm of the Living Dead?

Suddenly, a faint singing drifted from the Soul Boat, plaintive and sorrowful, low and mournful, like a mother yearning for a child who had gone far away.

"Long ago, when I set out, the willows swayed green and fair.

"Now, as I come in thought, the snow falls thick and chill.

"The road is long and slow; I bear both thirst and hunger.

"My heart is full of grief, and none knows my sorrow…"

Shen Mu heard it, and felt an urge to weep; yet his present body had no flesh or blood, and no tears to shed.

The song that came from that vast Soul Boat was vague and drifting, holding a measure of loneliness, a measure of sorrow; the longing for a child had turned into low, deep melody.

He looked toward the Soul Boat. In the grey mist a woman stood at its prow, graceful and commanding, gazing back from afar.

Their eyes seemed to meet across the void, and in that gaze lay boundless yearning.

Shen Mu wanted to shut his eyes, but could not; after a moment of silence he said to the Village Head, "Village Head, let us go back."

The Village Head was slightly taken aback, and said in a low voice, "You will not go up and acknowledge her?"

Shen Mu shook his head and said woodenly, "She is not my kin, and this is not the Land of No Sorrow."

The Village Head's heart gave a slight jolt. "The Blind Elder opened the Ninefold Heaven Sacred Pupil for you — what did you see?"

Strong as he was, in the matter of eyes the Blind Elder far surpassed him. The Blind Elder had opened the Ninefold Heaven Sacred Pupil for Shen Mu, and what Shen Mu could see, he might not be able to see.

"What I saw was not a woman, but a demon god."

Shen Mu's gaze rested upon the woman on the Soul Boat, and what he saw was not a mother yearning for her child, but a monstrous, hideous demon god wreathed in black vapour, its whole body cloaked in black light, round disc-like bone spurs jutting from its back!

That demon god was singing softly, as though luring him to come nearer!

This was no scene of reunion, but a trap. From the moment the jade pendant on Shen Mu's chest first began to shine on the dragon pillar of Crimson Dragon City, it had all been a trap, meant to lure Shen Mu, to make Shen Mu enter this place!

"A fine fellow — even an old hand like me nearly fell for it!"

The Village Head drew a long breath, divine light blooming from him, and bore Shen Mu swiftly drifting backward; and the woman on the Soul Boat suddenly lashed her wild hair, rose from the prow into the air, and came flying madly toward them!

In midair the woman spun like a top, her body growing ever larger, her face ever more hideous, until at last she burst free of her skin and revealed her true form: a demon god with eight long legs, two heads and five tails!

Her legs were like human arms, and her feet were shaped like palms; she raced through the air with flying speed, howling in pursuit!

Before the Village Head, lotus flowers bloomed one after another, carpeting the sky, carpeting the earth as well, and phantom images of demon buddhas sat within the flowers, each raising a palm to press its seal upon the Village Head!

These demon buddhas were all phantoms, yet they seemed to turn from illusion into reality, as though they had true bodies; each demon buddha's move was different, and they attacked the Village Head and Shen Mu from every direction.

The Buddha is holy, yet this demon god had refined her demonic powers into demon buddhas — a betrayal of scripture and a defiance of the Way.

The Village Head's expression did not change; still composed, he sent a gleam of sword light flying from between his fingers, flashing and darting among the lotus flowers. The sword light was so swift that even Shen Mu's eyesight could not catch it; he could see only a snowy brightness winding around all the lotuses and demon buddhas.

The next moment, the lotus flowers shattered one by one, the demon buddhas were severed body from head, and then burst apart with a bang, turning into surging demonic vital essence that struck out in all directions.