荒墟牧神 - 第45章 湧江水府開龍門 - 雲海書庫

doubts, young master. My name is Hu Ling'er; may I ask yours?" "My name is Shen Mu—it means a cowherd of the Qin family, not some young master," Shen Mu said with a smile. "I live near here, not far away. Where did you get these ancient books?" Hu Ling'er drank her hangover soup, feeling that her foggy head was somewhat better, and said, "Sixty li to the west of here there is a ruin. Once, when I went out and came home late, I hid from the Darkness in that ruin and accidentally opened a stone chamber, where I found these books and also a bottle of elixir pills. I swallowed the pills, and all at once my eyes and ears grew keen and I gained wisdom. I thought the books were good things, so I brought them back—only I cannot read, so all along I could do no more than look at the pictures. Every one of my magic arts I learned from those books." "Sixty li west?" Shen Mu was startled and pondered. "Could it be the Dragon Palace of the Surging River's Dragon King?" Hu Ling'er's eyes brightened. "Indeed, there are many dragon statues there. But the place is very dangerous, with great perils; I did not dare go in, and only brought back a few books." Shen Mu said eagerly, "Can you take me there?" The little white fox said, "It is very fierce in there; one cannot enter lightly. I had no sooner reached the entrance than I was scared..." She was deeply ashamed and did not finish, evidently having been frightened out of her wits. Shen Mu was rather excited. "Don't you want to see the Dragon Palace? There may even be a Dragon King inside!" "No." Hu Ling'er thought it over, her eyes blinking craftily. "If Young Master Mu will come often and explain these ancient books, then I will take you there—but I won't go in." "Deal!" Shen Mu laughed and raised his palm. Hu Ling'er hesitated a moment, then raised her furry paw and touched it to his, and drained the hangover soup to the last drop. Man and fox walked out of the thatched hut and headed west. "Whose banquet did you attend the day before yesterday?" Shen Mu, recalling the events of that day, asked. "It was a banquet hosted by Demon King Yaoling, inviting all the great demons of every direction. After I obtained the ancient books from the Surging River Dragon Palace, my spiritual intelligence opened wide, and I have become a great demon of some small fame nearby. It is only that I cannot defeat those fellows with brute strength, so I rank last among the great demons." Hu Ling'er hopped onto a plantain leaf, worked her magic, and raised a demonic wind that lifted the leaf, and she laughed: "Demon King Yaoling has already cultivated a human form—truly remarkable. All the great demons within a thousand li, whether lords of exotic beasts or not, must obey his commands." The demonic wind stirred the plantain leaf and sent the white fox into the sky. Shen Mu leaped up and, treading the wind's ridges, hurried westward. At this very time, two or three li from the thatched hut, a giant taotie was looking around in every direction, utterly mystified: "By my count, Mu'er should have arrived long ago. This time I have disguised myself as an exotic beast, so he certainly will not recognize me... Strange! Where in the world has the brat gone? Eh? A fox's demonic wind! The brat goes out hunting for the first time and is carried off by a vixen!" On the river, a hundred li from Hidden Remnant Village, a breeze stirred a plantain leaf a full zhang in length; on the leaf sat a white fox, and beside her ran a youth upon the wind—none other than Shen Mu and Hu Ling'er. "With my cultivation, I still cannot fly on my own; I can only use my arts to raise a demonic wind, and it is the wind blowing the plantain leaf that lets me stay in the air. If I tried to run in the wind like you, I would certainly fall... The Dragon Palace is right around here!" Hu Ling'er brought the demonic wind down; Shen Mu and the white fox on the plantain leaf gradually neared the ground, and after a moment, the two landed. Shen Mu looked arou