荒墟牧神 - 第1609章 長夜無明 - 墨香閣

Shen Mu said gently, "Rest easy, brother in the Dao. I will go to the Heavenly Court and kneel before the Southern Heavenly Gate, bearing thorns to beg for my punishment. If Hao Tianzun spares me, I will live, and Jingping and the Land of No Sorrow will both be preserved; then I will come back and revive Tubo. There is one thing more. I would trouble you, brother, to inform the Western Emperor, the Northern Emperor, and the Eastern Emperor that they must not rise in rebellion. Tell them to come and kneel with me before the Southern Heavenly Gate."

Tiangong froze where he stood.

Shen Mu stepped down from the golden ship. From the shadow of the ship Shen Fengqing called out weakly, "Little brother, I want to go home..."

Shen Mu smiled. "Go on home. I am sorry, brother. I should never have laid so heavy a charge on you; I should never have let you become Tubo. I can keep you safe. Go back and tell Father and Mother that I am well."

Shen Fengqing stared at him blankly and did not move to go.

Shen Mu walked toward the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge of the Lower Capital of Jingping. Ling Tianzun barred his way. "Yun Tianzun asked me to tell you: we have walked through even the darkest of hours, and walked out of them. He also said that you can walk out of this."

Shen Mu smiled. "But I cannot walk out of it. I can see no way to win. Perhaps in time I will walk out. For now, I am tired."

Ling Tianzun looked at the white at his temples, was silent a while, and said, "Give me fifty thousand years, and I will unravel every secret of the red cord knot of the master of the Miluo Palace. By then, no one will be your match!"

"Fifty thousand years..."

Shen Mu's smile was a little frail. He shook his head. "I can wait. Jingping cannot. The human race cannot. If we keep resisting, the human race will be erased. Elder Sister Ling, do not block my way."

Ling Tianzun fell silent and stepped aside.

Shen Mu walked on. Ahead, Langwan stood waiting for him, still and graceful, quietly watching him come.

Shen Mu halted and asked, "Langwan, have you come to stop me as well, from bearing thorns and surrendering to the Heavenly Court?"

Langwan shook her head. "I have come to go with you."

Shen Mu was startled.

Langwan said calmly, "If you go to beg forgiveness, you can preserve only Jingping and the Land of No Sorrow; you cannot preserve the last of the Creators. I mean to go with you to the Heavenly Court. You kneel before the Southern Heavenly Gate, and I will go to Hao Tianzun. Perhaps I can become his empress, and preserve the Creator race."

A complex look crossed Shen Mu's face. After a moment he said, "I am unworthy to be the Holy Infant of the Creators. You all set your hopes on me, believing I could lead you to restore the glory of the Creator race, yet all of it was a lie of mine. I have failed you and your people. If you will trust me, I will do all in my power to preserve the Creators of the Land of No Sorrow."

Langwan shook her head. "Hao Tianzun wants me for his empress. That is the victor's right. As the defeated, you have no standing to bargain with him."

Shen Mu said nothing, and walked on with the thorns on his back.

Suddenly Yue Tianzun came hurrying from Dide Yuanjun's celestial palace with the Village Chief and the Alchemist, set them down, and ran off.

The Village Chief steadied himself, his face grave, and shouted in a heavy voice, "Shen'er! Is one setback enough to break you? When you were small, how did I teach you? You are the Overlord Body, the matchless Overlord..."

Shen Mu's voice was hoarse and low. "Grandpa Village Chief, the Overlord Body was only a lie. It spurred me on for a time; it could not spur me on for a lifetime. The dream of the Overlord Body should have ended long ago. I am only an ordinary man, an ordinary child you picked up by the riverbank. I am not even the equal of ordinary men. I have no soul of my own; this body is my brother's. I am tired..."