Chapter 48 — The Sunken River Dragon Soul Has Not Perished
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 3 of 3
" The old man laughed from his throat. "How would that old bald donkey honor a losing wager? How old are you? " "I turn twelve this autumn.
" The purple-robed old man praised: "To defeat the old bald donkey's disciple at twelve years of age—truly remarkable. " Shen Mu blinked and asked, "Senior, how is it that you came to be sealed in ice here? " The old man chuckled.
"That, naturally, is a story, and it must begin at the very beginning.
. .
Don't leave!
Come back!
" Shen Mu halted, looking reluctant.
"Senior, I am in a hurry to get home; I have no time for stories.
" The old man coughed and said, "To keep it short: I was journeying through the Wasteland Ruin with a company of disciples when I happened upon this place.
Seeing the many dried corpses, I understood that this Dark Water Dragon Pearl was the culprit—it killed everyone who entered here, siphoned off the warriors' vital essence, and sucked them dry into husks.
This Dark Water Dragon Pearl absorbs the vital essence of others in order to prolong the life of the young black dragon in the ice!
As a cultivator of the Way, confronted with such a thing, how could I stand idly by?
So I moved to seize this Dark Water Dragon Pearl and put an end to its harm to those who came after. But alas, I was one move short—I never dreamed this pearl was the Dragon God's own Dark Water Dragon Pearl, and it sealed me here in ice! And of my disciples, not a single one escaped this place; every one of them was drained of their vital essence by this pearl to prolong the little dragon's life! " Snow Fox, hidden in Shen Mu's bosom, quietly poked out her head and whispered, "Young Master Mu, do you believe his story? " Shen Mu hesitated. His own guess ran exactly counter to the old man's tale. In the old man's story, the mother black dragon had been saving her child, using the Dark Water Dragon Pearl to harm people and drawing others' vital essence to sustain the little dragon, while the old man, upholding justice, had been ambushed by the pearl. Shen Mu's guess, however, was that the old man had been frozen in ice at the dragon pillar and, in order to prolong his own life, had resorted to evil arts to harm people, devouring the vital essence of the warriors who found their way here. He had to admit that both his guess and the old man's story were plausible. But which was the truth?
Shen Mu looked around him—the mist was pressing in from all sides.
He at once made the Brahma-Quiet Twelve-Ring Staff vibrate, then planted it heavily upon the ground. "Thus have I heard! " Behind him, the Buddha's silhouette reappeared, and a great Brahma voice resounded: "All sentient beings, from beginningless time, are bound in the succession of birth and death, all because they do not know the ever-abiding true mind—whose nature is pure and luminous—and instead employ all manner of deluded thoughts.
These thoughts are not true; therefore there is the turning—the turning—the turning—the turn——" "The Buddha-dharma of Great Thunder-Roar Temple is no mean thing. " The old man in the ice said admiringly.
"How should I address you, Senior?
" Shen Mu asked. The old man in the ice replied: "I am Pei Wujiu, Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince of the Jingping Kingdom, an official of the first rank.
If you can rescue me, then once we reach the Jingping Kingdom, I shall guarantee you wealth and glory beyond your wildest dreams!
"