Chapter 1861 — Must Be an Old Acquaintance
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Shen Mu wandered through Jingping. As he drew near the Heavenly Court of Jingping, people gradually began to recognize him.
Not everyone had forgotten him, but those who knew him were all figures from the past.
An occasional exchange of pleasantries slowed his steps.
These friends had not attained the Dao. They had remained behind in Jingping—some living in seclusion, others still part of society. Seeing them filled Shen Mu with boundless emotion.
His arrival stirred no ripples in Jingping. No one knew the origins of this white-templed youth walking through the bustling streets. People only saw that renowned elders came to greet him, and dust-covered swordsmen hurried to meet him.
Some of those figures were famed throughout the world, patriarchs enthroned in halls of power; others were utterly unknown, their names unrecorded.
Shen Mu did not linger long. He still had others to see.
Jingping's Upper Capital and Lower Capital had also changed beyond recognition, dampening his spirits.
Night fell. Jingping's night was enchanting—divine light blazed forth from one God City after another. The people here no longer needed to fear the assault of darkness; the radiance of the God Cities made even the bright moon in the sky seem dim by comparison.
Shen Mu looked up. The moon above was as luminous as ever, yet it seemed distant and cold.
He ascended to the moon. In the Moon Palace, a goddess danced with sword in hand, its blade-light like moonlight from a dream, spilling across the palace halls.
Shen Mu stood quietly to one side, watching. After a long while, the goddess in the Moon Palace sheathed her sword, and only then did she see him.
The two stood in silence for a long time, then smiled at each other.
Three and a half billion years—too long. The feelings between them were no longer the love of man and woman, but something more like a harbor, having nothing to do with spirit or flesh, nothing to do with desire or possession—purely a refuge for the soul.
That refuge had become a kind of longing, and the longing gathered into a shallow harbor where one might briefly anchor—no wind, no waves, tranquil and beautiful.
Shen Mu and Bai Qü'er sat on the stone steps of the Moon Palace. Once, their feelings had burned fierce as wildfire. In those days they had ridden sword-light across the night sky, roaming the false heavens, stirring brilliant stars, setting the galaxy itself astir for them.
They had been moved by each other, and even the Jingping sky-screen could not conceal it.
Then, they might have been together, but various matters had delayed it. Now, reunited, ancient divine consciousness surged, rippling in countless waves. Love had sublimated, become a refuge—nothing to do with passion, nothing to do with the future, nothing to do with feeling.
They talked and laughed, savoring the beauty of tranquility.
After a long while, Shen Mu rose. Bai Qü'er smiled and said, "Will we meet again?"
"We will. As long as you still wait for me."
Bai Qü'er watched him depart. The moonlight was hazy, bearing the sediment of ages, substantial yet somehow light.
The sun rose. Jingping's moon grew thin and hid behind the clouds.
Aboard a ferry, Shen Mu saw Lang Wan. Reincarnated, Lang Wan no longer possessed her peerless beauty from the previous life. Through the cabin window, Shen Mu gazed at the woman who had once haunted his dreams.
He could see her soul, see all the experiences of this life, see all the lives before.
Lang Wan seemed to sense his gaze. She turned her head and met his eyes through the window.
Lang Wan smiled and walked over to the window. "This brother—have we met before? You give me a familiar feeling."
She was poised and at ease. Though she no longer had her former face, she still possessed that transcendent bearing.
Shen Mu shook his head and smiled. "We have not met. I merely find you familiar—perhaps we were old acquaintances in a past life."