Chapter 931 — At the Road's End, an Immortal Bridge Is Raised
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 5
Yun Jianli smiled faintly. "I have. Her purpose in approaching me is the Heavenly Venerate Mu."
Shen Mu was startled, then laughed despite himself. "Yun Chuxiu's purpose is me? How is that possible? Brother Yun, don't joke!"
Yun Jianli said gravely, "With the Heavenly Venerate Mu's arrival in the Heavenly Court, I, the only male of the Yun family, would surely come to pay my respects according to the ancestral instructions. Through me lies the best path to make the Heavenly Venerate Mu's acquaintance. And moreover..."
He stopped. Shen Mu stopped too, and smiled. "And moreover what?"
"And moreover, as one of the strongest of the Divine Bridge realm in the Heavenly Court, if I were to kill the Heavenly Venerate Mu out of jealousy over a woman, it would be greatly to the Yun family's disadvantage."
Yun Jianli smiled. "And if I, the only eldest son of the Yun family, were to die at the Heavenly Venerate Mu's hands, that would be even more interesting. The Yun family's great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers would in their rage kill the Heavenly Venerate Mu. Thus the Heavenly Venerate Mu dies, and the Yun family is exterminated as well—two birds with one stone."
Shen Mu laughed aloud. "Would you be jealous?"
Yun Jianli panted a few breaths and shook his head. "I would not. I long ago ceased to care about life and death; how could she provoke me? My only worry is that the Heavenly Venerate Mu may not withstand her provocation."
Shen Mu said, "That is hardly likely. Though she is very beautiful, in my heart she is not the most beautiful."
Yun Jianli asked curiously, "Then what does the Heavenly Venerate Mu consider the most beautiful of women?"
Shen Mu answered without a moment's thought, "Big breasts, a full round backside, flesh on her bones, strong and sturdy!"
Yun Jianli was struck dumb.
A long while passed before he came to himself, and he said with a smile, "The Heavenly Venerate Mu's view of his beloved is truly singular. To speak frankly, there was another reason I sent Yun Chuxiu away. It is another of my ancestor's dying instructions."
Shen Mu said gravely, "What did the Heavenly Venerate Yun's instructions say?"
Yun Jianli said, "My ancestor repeatedly showed himself in the guise of the Heavenly Venerate Mu, impersonating him as he walked the Longhan era. At that time some said the Heavenly Venerate Mu had grown weaker, and took my ancestor for the lesser of the two. My ancestor was a man of proud heart."
He did not go on.
Shen Mu smiled. "The Heavenly Venerate Yun was no weaker than I."
"But the world did not think so."
Yun Jianli sighed. "Before he died, my ancestor left instructions. First, that he should kowtow to the Heavenly Venerate Mu in apology for borrowing his identity—this I have already done. Second, my ancestor greatly wished to know whether his arts could overcome the Heavenly Venerate Mu's. His instructions said that when the descendants of later generations met the Heavenly Venerate Mu, they should display his arts before the Heavenly Venerate Mu."
Shen Mu smiled. "But your health is poor. Are you up to it?"
Yun Jianli's face was full of smiles. "The Heavenly Venerate Mu's health is poor too. I fear the Heavenly Venerate may not be up to it."
Shen Mu laughed aloud. "Before outsiders my frame would surely fail me; before you, my frame is very sound. What is the Heavenly Venerate Yun's art called?"
Yun Jianli leaned on the railing and gazed out over the Jade Sea. This sickly young lord chanted in a loud voice, "A towering peak ten thousand zhang pierces the purple empyrean; where the road ends, a divine bridge is raised. Above, one views the azure void and the stars draw near; below, one looks on the world of red dust, so far away!"
"Where the road ends, a divine bridge is raised?"
Shen Mu savored the meaning of the line, and at last understood why the Heavenly Venerate Yun had opened the Divine Bridge divine treasury.