荒墟牧神 - 第66章 祭祀水神 - 錦書坊

Shen Mu was puzzled. How could touching a sweat towel bring ill fortune, three years of bad luck? Yet the "sweat towel" was soft and smooth to the touch, carrying a natural fragrance of its own, and would indeed do nicely for wiping away sweat. It must have been woven from the silk of some rare breed of silkworm, worth no small sum; in all the Wasteland one seldom saw cloth of such quality. Shen Mu stuffed the towel into his bosom, turned the Chubao sword and its scabbard over in his hands, and was greatly pleased. The upper half of the scabbard was gold, studded with jade and pearls; at its mouth was carved a fish-dragon swallowing a blade, and where the fish-dragon's mouth opened, there the sword came forth. The lower half of the scabbard was silver-gray, without ornament or carving of any kind, and at the tip was carved the tail of the fish-dragon, also gold. Ding. Shen Mu returned the sword to its sheath; his vital essence flooded into the scabbard, and the Chubao sword came forth again. As it left the sheath, a monstrous fish-dragon surfaced from the scabbard, leapt above his head, and spat the sword from its open mouth. Shen Mu raised his hand, drew the blade from the fish's mouth, and felt a great ease in his heart. "This scabbard is a truly fine thing, to be able to manifest a fish-dragon!" He sheathed the sword again; the fish-dragon swallowed the Chubao blade and vanished into the scabbard. Shen Mu was beside himself with delight. Again his vital essence poured into the scabbard, again the fish-dragon appeared and spat out the sword; he drew it, thrust it back into the fish's mouth, and the fish-dragon merged once more with the sheath. Over and over he played, until the blind elder at his side could not help saying, "Shen'er, stop playing. Your granny has brought in a few more head of livestock and wants you to herd them. These cattle are to be driven to Crimson Dragon City and sold in a day or two." Shen Mu answered and hurried back to the village, then drove six bullocks out to pasture, wondering to himself, "Not long ago Granny sold off all the village livestock, so where did six more oxen come from? Where do these cattle come from?" As he left the village he saw the village head, the alchemist, the silent smith and others gathered together discussing something. The lame old man sat to one side, dismantling a Netherworld Soul-Devouring Banner: the banner cloth he tossed to Grandpa Huo for a door curtain for his carpentry shop, and the banner's pole he threw to Granny Zhu to chase the chickens with. The next day, Shen Mu harnessed the ox cart, and Granny Zhu said with a smile, "Shen'er, come along into the city this time." Surprised and overjoyed, Shen Mu hastily slung the Chubao sword on his back, gathered up the butchering knife, the bamboo staff, the iron hammer and the rest, and leapt onto the cart. Behind him the blind elder came strolling at an unhurried pace and sat down on the cart, one on either side with Granny Zhu. The cart was loaded with ironware the silent smith had forged, with several bales of the hides of exotic beasts that Grandpa Huo, the lame old man and Shen Mu had taken in the hunt, and with two sheep, their hooves bound, set down among the goods. Three big yellow oxen were harnessed in front, strong beasts, and three more were tethered behind. The youth flicked his whip; the big yellow ox blinked its innocent eyes and started off out of the village. It was his first time going to the city, and his heart could not help but surge, so much so that his body seemed ready to lift off, and he never noticed the innocent looks in the eyes of the yellow oxen and the goats. Crimson Dragon City lay far from Old Cripple Village, a thousand li away, and so a trip to the city was a great affair. The Wasteland was desolate, though, and the overland road was not easy going: one had first to travel by water, and then ten-odd li overland, before reaching Crimson Dragon City. Shen Mu drove the cart to the bank o