Tales of Herding Gods

Qin Mu looked at Earth Count’s reincarnation. He must have been an incomparably strong devil god during the Dragon Han Era, but the sins he carried caused him continuous suffering under the hellfire.

Earth Count was selfless, and even if he were the one who made a mistake, he wouldn’t let himself off the hook.

However, one could see from this how many ancient gods and half-gods had died in Earth Count’s hands, for the hellfire to burn for a million years and still be burning fiercely. Earth Count had used hundreds of Hellfire Virtue Monuments to suppress himself in hopes of washing away his sins.

“The reincarnated Earth Count must have been extremely furious, so furious that he broke through his shackles. Back then, he must have been completely controlled by the devil nature.”

Qin Mu thought of his older brother and compared them. Earth Count who got controlled by his murderous intent was different from Qin Fengqing.

Qin Fengqing was like a vicious but ignorant child. Even though many people told Qin Mu that Qin Fengqing was controlled by his devil nature and only knew how to kill, Qin Mu still felt his brother wasn’t controlled by the devil nature. He controlled the devil nature.

Comparing how the reincarnation of Earth Count had acted and how Qin Fengqing had acted, he could affirm this point even more.

“Walking slightly forward, that would be Qin Fengqing’s place of punishment.”

( AllNovel )   Left Soul Guardian hesitated and said, “I’ll send you guys here, I won’t be going in.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “Just a little bit more. Once we are there, I won’t force Dao brother to stay.”

Left Soul Guardian could only brace himself and continue walking forward. There were numerous Hellfire Virtue Monuments in front, and after walking three to five miles, the surroundings opened up into a clearing. There were green mountains, and small rivers flowing from the top to the bottom of the mountains—meandering passed fields of crops and into the lake.

Several hen dragons were currently running in the fields, and they chased after three-legged toads while clucking non-stop. Those hen dragons stood beside the shore and clucked angrily at the toads that floated up in the lake.

Qin Mu was stunned. This barren Youdu was supposed to have no greenery. Volcanoes, lava, and monsters were everywhere.

Yet over here, in the famous Jade Lock Pass, a forbidden ground that was supposed to suppress the evils, there was actually such green hills and clear waters. This was truly strange!

When he looked down the mountains, he saw a few households below, and there were women weaving in front of the door while farmer girls were gathering mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms.

There were also a few farmers harvesting vegetables.

This place didn’t look like Youdu. It didn’t look like a forbidden ground that was used to imprison serious criminals and instead, it looked like a peaceful small village in the Great Ruins.

“They don’t have hellfire on their bodies, and even if they do, they are long gone.”

Left Soul Guardian whispered, “Back then, when they barged into Youdu, they literally sent themselves into the trap. There were the four great provincial governors that the celestial heavens had stationed in Youdu, there were also other powers in ambush. After they barged in, they had to hide left and right. Within a few days’ time, you were born, and you got caught up by the pursuers from the celestial heavens. You should have some memory of what happened next, right?”

Qin Mu shook his head and said uncertainly, “My brother should remember, I wasn’t born back then.”

“Those that beat mother were all eaten up by me!” Qin Fengqing said ruthlessly.

“Back then, you were too ruthless, and you destroyed the army of the four great provincial governors that the celestial heavens had stationed in Youdu. The four of them suffered heavy injuries, and they still haven’t recovered their vitality completely, even now.”

Left Soul Guardian said, “These four great provincial governors are also not nice people. They have wide networks of friends in Youdu, and they invited the other big shots of Youdu. These big shots were either beaten, eaten, or killed, and this attracted numerous ancient beings. Then, the exact same thing happened again. At that time, Youdu was simply too lively. Numerous existences that didn’t belong to Youdu also sneaked in and looked at this commotion. Because the entire incident was blown up way beyond proportion, Earth Count had no choice but to suppress you. Your mother took your place for the punishment and got sealed here. Qin Fengqing, go and reunite with your mother.”

He paused and said, “But don’t think of bringing her out. Back then, to protect you, Earth Count also spent quite some effort. Otherwise, you would already be dead. It wasn’t as simple as letting your mother suffer in your place. Back then, those that sneaked into Youdu didn’t simply come for the show, danger was actually lying all around.”

Qin Mu was silent.

Over twenty years ago, there were indeed countless powerful existences that had went to look at the show. Based on what he knew, Brahma Buddha and Heaven Duke had both sent their clones.

And other than them, Son of Heaven Yin had also infiltrated Youdu.

This was still only what he knew. There must be even more that he didn’t know!

“Furthermore, Earth Count didn’t create trouble for your mother and you, so don’t trouble Earth Count this time.”

( AllNovel )    Left Soul Guardian said, “Don’t try to bring her away, she’s very good here, and she will only be in more danger if she goes out. And also, be careful when you go out.”

Qin Mu bowed and said, “Many thanks, Dao Brother!”

Qin Fengqing hesitated and said, “I won’t eat you this time, but you better run faster the next time you see me. I won’t eat you if I can’t catch you. Remember, you must run faster!”

Left Soul Guardian smiled and turned to leave.

Qin Mu looked at the small village at the foot of the mountain, and his emotions couldn’t calm down for a long, long time. He finally composed himself and took a step forward.

His body became smaller and smaller, and he transformed back into his normal size from an incomparably huge giant.

His footsteps sped up, and he suddenly stopped. Qin Fengqing wasn’t willing to walk forward anymore.

Qin Mu was puzzled and asked with a soft voice, “Brother, didn’t you want to meet mother the most?”

“She doesn’t want to see me.”

Qin Fengqing lowered his head and said bitterly, “It was her who put the jade pendant on me to seal me. I can still remember the fear in her eyes when she looked at me, I don’t want her to feel scared. I’m going back into the seal, you can go meet her by yourself. Tell her I’m being sealed properly and can’t come out, tell her not to be scared…”

Qin Mu had an indescribable feeling in his heart, and after, power faded away, and he sensed the other him in his body had vanished.

Qin Fengqing had returned back to Qin word land.

Qin Mu was in a daze. In Qin word land, that big-headed baby also sat on the ground in a daze.

After a moment, this baby crawled quickly to find Heaven Duke and Crimson Emperor to vent his anger.

Qin Mu composed himself and dispersed his three heads and six arms. He walked towards the small village.

He got closer and closer to the small village, and the village was in peace. The farmers in the fields straightened their backs, and they looked at him walking over in a daze.

Qin Mu smiled and nodded his head as a sign of goodwill.

Those farmers were somehow affected by his smile, and they also nodded their heads and smiled in return.

“How similar…”

A farmer muttered, “He looks so similar to King Zhen. Who is he?”

Qin Mu came to the village entrance, and the few village women that were feeding the silkworms saw him. They turned their heads to examine him, and their eyes sparkled. They were gods that had cultivated to Celestial Palace Realm, and even though they were wearing coarse and rough clothing, their beauty couldn’t be hidden.

Qin Mu revealed a smile and said, “Big sisters, my name is Qin Fengqing, I’m from Carefree Village and ended up in the Great Ruins. My age this year is twenty-two, and I’m here to look for my mother.”

Those village women were stunned, and the bamboo winnowing baskets fell to the ground, scattering the mulberry leaves on the floor.

The woman that was currently weaving in the village suddenly trembled, and she turned around.

Qin Mu saw her face, and it was the same face he had seen on his father Qin Hanzhen’s ship. That was the face of his mother he had yearned for day and night.

On the treasure ship, he had seen an echo of history and that was what his parents had encountered when they drove the treasure ship from Carefree Village to the Great Ruins.

That was the first time he had seen his parents and knew he still had family in this world.

He could never forget that sight.

The woman in front of the spinning wheel stood up, and she looked at him helplessly. Even though she was dressed in coarse clothing, her bearing was still graceful and elegant. It was just that her mind was in a mess right now and she didn’t know where to place her hands.

She stumbled over and looked at this youth at the village entrance. She knocked the frames that were holding up the gauze and got tripped by a water cauldron, almost falling down.

“Fengqing? Are you Fengqing?” she asked from afar.

“Mother.”

Qin Mu knelt down and bowed his body to the ground. “Your child has returned.”

A pair of warm yet trembling hands helped him up, and that pair of gentle eyes looked at him in agitation. Her voice trembled as she asked, “Are you Fengqing? I’ve always missed you…”

“Whenever I dream, I reproach myself when I see myself putting the jade pendant around your neck. I would always be jolted awake by nightmares of you dying outside, of you dying in the basket…”

“I’ve always missed you, and I’m always worried about you, I was worried you would encounter dangers outside…”

…

Qin Mu gave a warm smile and held her hands tightly. “Mother, I’ve come back in one piece.”

“You’re back.” That woman choked on her tears and held onto his hands tightly. She wasn’t willing to let go as she was afraid this was a dream. She was afraid of him fading away like a dream.

Several farmers walked over and looked at this pair of mother and son. Those few village women walked over and said with a soft voice, “Princess Consort Zhen, it’s good that His Little Highness is back, there’s no need to be sad.”

“This is a happy occasion.”

Another woman said with a smile, “I shall catch some frogs and slaughter some chickens, let us have a nice meal today! Oi, Left Assistant Minister, let us go catch frogs! Catch those few fish in the lake too!”

That Left Assistant Minister hurriedly said, “We can also harvest the vegetables at the village entrance, quickly prepare some!”

“There are also fruits in the mountains, I shall go grab a few plates of fruits!”

They quickly became busy, and Qin Mu’s mother was still looking at him, afraid that she was dreaming. Qin Mu told her about his encounters in Disabled Elderly Village, about how he got chased by hen dragons, how he trained beside the Surging River.

He told her about all his fun times and scandals, overexaggerating certain parts and tried his best to cheer his mother up.

That woman listened quietly, and she suddenly burst into laughter. However, tears streaked down her cheeks.

“Where Ping’er?”

She asked, “Ping’er delivered you to the world of the living, so why isn’t she with you?”

Qin Mu’s expression dimmed, and he broke into a smile in the next instant. “Mother, let me tell you about the interesting things that happened to me in Eternal Peace.”

“Your Aunt Ping’er has passed away, am I right?”

Qin Mu was silent. He then said bitterly, “Granny Si picked me up by the riverside and Aunt Ping’er’s corpse was under the water, lifting me up. Then, she was swept away by the current. Afterward, I met her on the river surface, and I told her I was very well. Only then did she leave in peace… Mother, big brother also wants to meet you very much.”