Chapter 15 — A Reed Stalk Crossing the Yangtze on the Waves

Shen Mu ran at tremendous speed, his vital energy growing ever stronger. No one knew how many miles he covered in this way, yet the villagers of Hidden Cripple Village continued to keep pace with him. Even the Blind Elder moved as though on level ground, following steadily at the others' side. Just as Shen Mu charged into a stretch of woodland, a dark, hulking figure suddenly rose from among the trees and roared, "You little wretch, die..." It was the Nether Ape. Seeing the "little wretch" trespass once more into its territory, one could imagine the fury that seized it. Ma Ye, the One-Armed Man, cast the enraged beast a single glance. The Nether Ape shuddered, abandoned its territory without a second thought, and turned tail. There had not been the slightest trace of feeling in Ma Ye's eyes. The colossal creature could not help but feel that death awaited it in the very next instant, and so, rather than continue its bluster, it fled at once. No one else paid the matter any mind. Shen Mu continued sprinting, his vital energy surging vigorously through him. Only when he returned to Hidden Cripple Village did he emerge from his trance, at which point he discovered that his entire body was caked in filth. At some unknown point, a thick layer of foul matter had congealed over him, though he could not tell whether it was black blood or greasy fat. Grandma Zhu instructed him, "Go wash yourself in the river, Mu'er. Blind Elder, go with him, and be careful not to let the monsters in the river drag him away." Leaning on his bamboo staff, the Blind Elder followed Shen Mu to the riverbank. Shen Mu immediately stripped naked and leapt into the water, washing the grime from his body. The Blind Elder lightly tapped the river with his staff. A great fish that had crept close to Shen Mu was startled and hurriedly sprang from the river, landing more than a hundred feet away. It was a massive green fish over twenty feet long, its whiskers like eight tentacles each a hundred feet in length. After Shen Mu had finished washing, he suddenly looked out over the rippling jade-green river. A surge of heroic spirit slowly rose from the young man's chest, burning like a raging fire. His vital energy instantly grew restless. It surged and roared upward, rushing straight into his throat, as if he had suddenly opened the treasury of celestial music. A deep, resonant howl burst from his throat. His long cry rang through the mountains and woods, sending waves across the river. Amid the echoing howl, Shen Mu vaulted from the water. Then, in an instant, he began to run wildly, his feet pounding across the surface of the river. The moment one foot struck the water, the strength contained within his sole fused with the vital energy settling downward. The two forces merged and erupted with violence, and wherever his foot landed, the river exploded in every direction. Before the water had time to fall, Shen Mu's body had already shot more than ten feet forward, and his other foot came down upon the river. Tap, tap, tap, tap. A string of crisp footfalls rang out across the water. Shen Mu ran straight over the river, soon covering more than two miles upon its surface. His howl grew ever more exultant, unrestrained and carefree, like heavenly music drifting down from above, like immortals playing a celestial melody, like dragons and phoenixes singing in harmony. His steps, too, were open and unrestrained, utterly free, as he raced across the river in wild delight. A gentle breeze skimmed the river, raising wavelets in rippling rows. The boy's steps were frighteningly swift. Before long he had run from one bank of the Yong River to the other, then turned and raced back across the water. The Blind Elder stood at the riverbank, leaning on his bamboo staff. The river wind brushed his white hair. Listening to Shen Mu's howl rising from the heart of the river, the old man nodded lightly and smiled. Then he suddenly broke into song: "The apes on either bank cry without end; the bleak wind blows, and my crotch is cold! Mu'er, you're racing naked across the river, swimming with your bare bottom exposed. Don't you feel cold?" A startled cry came from midstream, followed by a loud splash as Shen Mu fell into the water. Some time later, the boy swam to shore, his face flushed with embarrassment. He dried himself and put on his clothes. He had attained sudden insight by the riverbank and become so carried away that he had completely forgotten he was stark naked when he leapt into the air and began running across the water. That wild dash along the river had indeed been cool and refreshing, his bare bottom exposed to the current. "Thank goodness Grandpa Blind can't see..." Shen Mu finished arranging his clothes and abruptly looked up. There, in the woods along the riverbank, stood Ma Ye, the Mute, the Hard-of-Hearing Elder, and all the others. Even Grandma Zhu had come, and the village headman had been carried over on a litter. Shen Mu's face turned scarlet. Stammering, he asked, "Grandma, when did you all get here?" Grandma Zhu burst out laughing. "Mu'er, how many times have we seen your bottom already? What is there to be embarrassed about? We heard your howl. Your vital energy was so abundant that we came to take a look." The village headman coughed and said, "Come here, Mu'er. You were pursued by five warriors of the Spirit Embryo Realm. There may be hidden injuries. Let the Alchemist examine you." Shen Mu stepped forward. The Alchemist inspected him carefully, then shook his head. "Nothing serious. They are all superficial wounds." The village headman examined him as well, then signaled that he could leave. Shen Mu was immediately summoned by the Butcher to train in saber techniques. The Butcher was deeply displeased that it had taken Shen Mu more than five thousand strikes to defeat Senior Brother Qu. He was even more displeased that Shen Mu had ultimately killed his opponent with a sword. For that reason, he intended to discipline the boy severely. "What did you discover, Village Head?" The Alchemist walked to the village headman's litter, his gaze fixed on Shen Mu, who was currently brimming with vitality as he exchanged saber blows with the Butcher. He lowered his voice and asked, "His cultivation of vital energy is advancing at a frightening rate." The village headman did not conceal his thoughts. "Extremely fast. From yesterday until now, the speed of his progress has exceeded all imagination. I heard his howl just now. It was produced by the resonance between his vital energy and his throat, and it faintly carried the sound of gods and demons. Let alone the fact that he has yet to break through the Spirit Embryo Barrier, even a warrior who has broken through it would be incapable of achieving resonance between gods and demons. If I were an ordinary person like him, it would take me twenty years to cultivate my vital energy to this level." Shen Mu had howled across the river, his vital energy resonating with his throat and producing the sound unconsciously, yet within that howl he had unknowingly fused the demonic music he had heard in the ruins within the gorge. Stranger still, while carefully pondering the dark demonic music the previous night, he had also listened to and memorized the divine music of the goddesses in the ruins. Every subtle fluctuation of that divine music was familiar to him. Thus, his howl had naturally absorbed the goddesses' divine music as well. To other ears, there was nothing unusual in it, and no one could discern its mysteries. But to the village headman, it was another matter entirely. He had heard it with perfect clarity. "Resonance between gods and demons?" The Alchemist was startled. "How did he accomplish that? And to possess, in a single night, the power that would take an ordinary person twenty years to cultivate... That is terrifying. Could it truly be the effect of the Four Symbols Spirit Marrow?" The village headman shook his head. "The Four Symbols Spir