Chapter 1668 — Gnawing to Prove the Dao
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The Village Elder asked, "And if the Heavenly Court forces Jingping to sign before Jingping is ready? Draining the blood of other heavens only slows the decline of the Heaven Coin, but draining Jingping's blood would settle the Heavenly Court's problem once and for all! You want to buy time, but Emperor Hao may not grant you the chance! Can you stake the lives of every soul in Jingping on it?"
Shen Mu shook his head. "I cannot. So when the Heavenly Court brings the agreement, I will sign. But a contract I have signed is also a scrap of waste paper, to be torn up at any moment."
The Village Elder and the Alchemist gaped, watching his back as he walked into the palace.
"Before the question of Jingping's survival, what do one man's honors and humiliations matter? The boy Shen has truly grown up."
The Village Elder rose, smiling. "I too must make a trip to Jingping, to negotiate with the Heavenly Court's envoys. Alchemist, come with me. You stand on excellent terms with Lady Yuanmu; if you take the field and open up that channel through Lady Yuanmu, we can surely put off the day a while longer."
The Alchemist's face turned bitter; the Village Elder meant for him to sell his charms.
He had only with great difficulty used the war in the Southern Heavens as his chance to escape Lady Yuanmu's clutches, and now he was to go back?
"Heavenly Venerate Mu."
The woodcutter Wentian Ge, the scholar Yan Yunxi, the old farmer Zhuo Cha, and the fisherman Han Tang saluted Shen Mu. Shen Mu returned the courtesy and said to the woodcutter, "Master, what brings you here?"
The woodcutter said, "Di Yiyue, the First Heavenly King, has succeeded to the office of Kaihuang, and so we have come to inform Heavenly Venerate Mu. Will Heavenly Venerate Mu attend the ceremony?"
"Di Yiyue has become the second Kaihuang?"
Shen Mu pondered a moment, then said, "In strength she may well be called the first person in Carefree Land, though she is still far inferior to Kaihuang in his prime. I am living in seclusion now, so I will not go."
The woodcutter said, "If Di Yiyue becomes the second Kaihuang, then the Heavenly Court will surely strike at Carefree Land. Can Carefree Land buy Jingping some time?"
Shen Mu gave him a long look and shook his head. "If Carefree Land pours out all its strength to resist a Heavenly Court expedition, holding out a single year would already be admirable. One Heavenly Venerate descending to the lower world at the head of a million gods and demons would be enough to crush Carefree Land within a year!"
The old farmer Zhuo Cha asked, "Would one year be enough?"
"The time I need is twenty years at the very least."
Shen Mu said, "Carefree Land need not throw its lives away for nothing. If you truly wish to help Jingping, then send every skilled craftsman of Carefree Land into Jingping, to help forge mighty instruments for the great war twenty years hence! Forty years from now, Shen Ye will appear as Kaihuang."
The four Heavenly Masters were shaken, and exchanged glances.
Shen Mu smiled. "If you trust me, then place Carefree Land's future in my hands. When Yuchenzi negotiates, Carefree Land will be a chip as well, one that can be sold away."
The old farmer Zhuo Cha flew into a rage, but the Woodcutter Sage, hearing the strings and knowing the melody, laughed. "Carefree Land is indeed an excellent chip. Then it is settled."
Once he spoke, the other Heavenly Masters all fell silent, raising no protest.
Shen Mu asked curiously, "The four Heavenly Masters would not have come together merely over Di Yiyue becoming the second Kaihuang. Is there something else?"
The Woodcutter Sage said, "I come on private business. You are my disciple, after all; as your teacher I ought to come and see you in person. Did you look at the congratulatory gift I sent when you were married?"
Shen Mu nodded. "I looked."
The Woodcutter Sage looked expectant. "Was it able to make up for what your cultivation art lacked?"