Chapter 138 — The Debate on Smiting the Gods

Danyang Zi hastily dressed his wounds with medicine lest he keep bleeding; when it was done, the old Daoist and the young one rose and saluted Shen Mu, who bowed in return, and the two Daoists put on their bamboo-woven conical hats and turned to go. Shen Mu watched them depart; then his face changed abruptly, and clutching his left hand he hissed through his teeth: "It hurts!

It hurts like death!

That old Daoist Danyang is a stingy one—he never even offered me a share of the medicine.

" The pain in his left hand and shoulder pierced to the bone; Lin Xuan's sword had wounded him to the bone.

Hissing, Shen Mu was about to go up the mountain when he stumbled, and hastily threw out a hand to steady himself on the half-dragon, half-qilin beast chained beside the path. He had consumed far too much vital qi; Sword Treads the Rivers and Mountains drained it enormously, leaving him feeling rather weak.

Shen Mu had passed the mountain gate several times and never noticed this beast; he had taken it for some sort of dragon-qilin stone carving. Yet touching it, he felt softness beneath his hand and could not help starting.

The dragon-qilin beast raised its eyes, glanced at him, then stretched out its tongue and licked his shoulder. Shen Mu felt his shoulder gradually grow cool, and then the pain faded away bit by bit; hastily he pulled open his collar and looked: the small sword wounds pierced by the sword radiance were slowly shrinking—there were more than ten of them, and all were healing.

Shen Mu was astonished: "This is .

. .

dragon saliva?

Or qilin saliva?

Whichever it is, it is a fine medicine!

" He hastily held up his palm, and the beast licked his palm as well.

Shen Mu watched the flesh of his palm slowly regrow; the flesh at the sword wound sprouted like tender leaves, and the wound soon closed, the injury to the bone seemed healed as well, and his skin quickly knitted. "Senior Brother, do you like sour apricots?

" Shen Mu crouched down, drew a jade bottle from his breast, and set it beneath the beast's muzzle, smiling: "The sour kind—the kind that sets your teeth on edge. You don't like them?

Then what of yellow plums?

Those are especially, especially sour; just think of them and your mouth will water . . .

You don't like those either? Then let me treat you to a lemon. .

. " The beast rolled its eyes at him twice, said not a word, paid him no mind, and sat there motionless, not a drop of dragon saliva or the like dripping from its mouth.

"Then what do you like to eat? " Shen Mu asked. "There's a great green ox on the mountain.

I've had my eye on it for a long time.

" The dragon-qilin beast spoke suddenly, still staring straight ahead and never moving: "Can you get it for me? " Shen Mu patted his chest and laughed: "A brother as loyal as you, I'm bound to make.

Rest easy—I'll bring it to you before long!

" The dragon-qilin was overjoyed; the drool at the corner of its mouth seemed about to fall, and then with a slurp it sucked it back. Shen Mu had no choice but to return up the mountain, thinking: "It seems I'll have to bring him that great green ox before I can cheat some dragon saliva out of him.

That ox—I think I've seen it somewhere, grazing in front of a courtyard, I believe .

.

. Yes, go ask Ling'er; she wanders all over these mountains and knows them better than I do.

" He walked up the mountain; by then the folk of the Scholars' Lodge, the Divine Power Lodge, and the Princes' Garden were waking one after another, coming down the mountain in twos and threes and passing by Shen Mu.

One prince said: "After Imperial Preceptor Jingping's guidance, I feel my cultivation has advanced greatly—I ought to be able to fight that Daoist Son three hundred rounds! " The Second Prince, Ling Yushu, shook his head: "Sixth Brother, do not underestimate the enemy. I have crossed hands with Daoist Son Lin Xuan, and I can feel that he still has powers he has not brought out.

Still, Imperial Preceptor Jingping is truly extraordinary; those three sword forms he taught can be merged with the other sword arts I learned before, making them more perfect than ever, and at least give me the strength for a battle. Only, to defeat him will be difficult indeed.

" Ling Yushu stopped and looked at Shen Mu as he went by, frowning slightly, then withdrew his gaze.

"Second Brother, what is it?

" the Sixth Prince asked.

"Seventh Sister is very close to him.

" Ling Yushu shook his head: "In truth, Shen Mu is good in every way—his abilities are not poor, and he bears the name of a divine physician, having saved the Empress Dowager.

Only, he is after all a castoff of the Desolate Ruins, and Seventh Sister truly ought not to have dealings with him. Never mind that; let us go meet Daoist Son Lin Xuan once more! " They came down the mountain, and heard an uproar from ahead; hurrying forward, they heard someone cry: "Those two Daoists are gone!

" Ling Yushu was astonished; pushing into the crowd and looking ahead, sure enough both Danyang Zi and Daoist Son Lin Xuan had vanished. "Can it be they knew the difficulty and withdrew? " someone murmured.

Ling Yushu frowned and sneered. Danyang Zi and Lin Xuan had come to blockade the gate and slap their faces—how would they back off at the first sign of difficulty and concede of their own accord? Plainly someone had defeated Daoist Son Lin Xuan, and they had conceded and left! "The one who defeated Daoist Son Lin Xuan is among us, and came down the mountain a step before we did! " Ling Yushu's eyes flickered as he scanned the crowd: "Who can it be?

In the Divine Power Lodge, the strongest are three or five men—the Sword Fool Xiao Yin, the Mad Demon Tian Feng, the Mountain-Bearing Strongman Yue Qiu; their abilities are all strong, and their gifts surpass other men's.

In the Princes' Garden there are several as well, and besides myself, Seventh Sister is fond of play and does not apply herself; though her comprehension is good, without application one cannot advance.

And then there is the Heir Min Yue .

. . As for the Scholars' Lodge, I hear Shen Wanyun's abilities are not bad—he has always sat in the seat of the Great Senior Brother—and he too is a possibility.

"