Chapter 42 — In the Dead of Night, Wild Shadows Draw Near the Village Gate
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 3
ound ever came forth; it was eerie and silent, and nothing was damaged. After a moment the shadow suddenly shuddered, spat a mouthful of blood from its shadow-mouth, and the white pennant flew off with a clatter; the black shadow flowed like water out of the room and vanished. The silver bead paused a moment, then returned to the inner room and was gone. Only then did Shen Mu feel that he could move. He gasped for breath in great heaves, not understanding what had just happened, though the bloodstains on the floor proved it had all been real. Outside, all was silent; after a moment came the sound of a gong — the village night watchman calling the hour, lest the villagers rise early and be swallowed by the gloom beyond the village. The watchman struck the gong three times, put it away, and headed home. Just as he reached his own house he saw a blind old man passing by the roadside, leaning on a staff. "Old brother, find a place to rest!" The watchman hurried to stop the blind elder, smiling. "It's so late — take care not to wander out of the village and be eaten by monsters!" The blind elder smiled, tapped his bamboo staff on the watchman's shadow, and said with a laugh: "Thank you for the warning." With that he went on his way, the staff tapping and poking along the road, until he gradually passed out of sight. Pfft, pfft — two bloody holes burst open in the watchman's chest, piercing clean through, and his body swayed and fell to the ground. "What a fast spear, to break my sorcery! Cough, cough — I know you. You went blind, and you grew stronger..." The watchman breathed his last and died. A triangular white pennant drifted down from the air and covered his face. ————Thanks to the hard work of the administrators of the reader-group events and the sponsorship of Alliance A, the first weekly recommendation-vote event achieved quite good results, and the list of winners will be announced on the WeChat public account (zhaizu00). Thanks also to all readers for your enthusiastic participation, and thank you for your support! The weekly events will continue, and there are also monthly events with even richer rewards; you can check the review section or look at the group files in the group — plenty of rewards, don't miss out. Friends who have not yet joined a group may choose one of them: Qidian Group One is 600290060, Qidian Group Two is 624672265. Once the new-book period is over I will drop in to chat with everyone. Thanks again, everyone.