Chapter 41 — One Push of the Blade Reveals True Mastery
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
As Shen Mu ran he stirred up wind, and Granny Zhu and the blind elder simply sat upon the crest of that wind, borrowing its force to travel. A wind crest is like a wave crest: waves are made by the flowing of water, wind by the flowing of air, and the crest of the wind Shen Mu had just raised was such a wind crest. The young man on Shen Mu's back slid down at once and, leading the three of them at a brisk pace toward his own house, cried, "This way, sirs, this way, hurry!
" Shen Mu put the matter of the wind crest aside and, coming before the house and its yard, looked around; this village was much larger than Yincan Village, holding a hundred or more households, its houses very old and very plain.
In this courtyard stood a great tree whose crown shaded half the house, and the woman in labor lay in the room beneath that crown. A village woman poked her head out and said, "Her waters have broken—quick, boil some hot water!
Eh?
It's the old midwife from Yincan Village! Now we're lucky; mother and child are sure to come through!
" Granny Zhu cast a glance around, understanding dawning in her, and said, "Shen'er, open your eyes and look about for anything strange. If there is something strange, just deal with it; I'll go in and deliver the child.
Blind Elder, you be careful too—don't let anyone take you unawares.
" "Heaven-Soaring Eye, open!
" Shen Mu opened the Heaven-Soaring Eye and looked about, and all at once his gaze fell upon the dense crown of that great tree, and a chill ran through him; he nearly cried out in alarm.
The trunk within the crown was very thick—at a glance a trunk, but at a closer look a great serpent as thick as a water bucket! The serpent was hidden in the crown, half its body sunk into the trunk, and the great lumps that bulged here and there from the trunk were the portions of its body left bare!
Judging by what could be seen of it, the serpent must be longer than any he had ever set eyes on; the other half of its body was no doubt hidden among the roots beneath the tree, buried in the earth—larger even than the Azure-Scaled Serpent-dragon that Huo Ye and the others had caught! The whole tree, crown and all, gave off a thick black vapor that wrapped itself around this house!
Just then the serpent was flicking its blood-red tongue, lowering its head toward the room where the woman lay and breathing in and out—no telling what it was at!
Fearing his eyes had deceived him, Shen Mu dispersed the Heaven-Soaring Eye and looked with his naked eyes: the great tree was still a great tree, not a serpent.
He opened the eye again, and there the serpent still coiled in the crown, waiting to devour the soul of the child the pregnant woman would bear! Clearly, in the years past, whenever the mistress of this house had conceived and given birth, the children she bore had all had their souls devoured by this serpent!
Rage blazed up in his heart, and he said in a low voice, "Blind Grandpa.
.
. " The blind elder, utterly unruffled, said unhurriedly, "The old granny said to leave it to you.
Deal with it as you see fit.
This will be your first hunt.
Hurry—the child is about to be born.
" Shen Mu steadied his heart, walked straight to the foot of that great tree, and breathed slowly in and out.
His essence stirred from stillness into motion; as the rage in his heart grew, its circulation spun faster and faster, and the essence grew vaster and mightier!
The essence within him surged and churned, and the fire of his wrath burned higher and higher!
Zheng— Suddenly the Butchering Blade on his back resonated with the quaking essence in his body; with a ringing hum it leaped from his back and shot up above his head!
Shen Mu raised a hand and gripped the blade; his essence went berserk, pouring madly into the Butchering Blade as he swung!
He swung with every scrap of strength he had!
Let the essence burst, let the fury burst—a wild, glorious bursting in a single stroke!
Cut!