Tales of Herding Gods

“Young master, Palace Master has invited you in. Please follow us.”

Those few girls carried lanterns, and the lanterns gave off a red glow as they swayed in front of Qin Mu. They moved down slightly along with the girls.

Those few girls took half a step backward and placed their left fists on their waists while the right hand that was carrying the lantern pressed down on the left hand. Their bodies moved down as they greeted him.

Qin Mu returned the greeting and saw the lanterns turning half a round. Those girls turned around and led the way forward with their graceful figures.

The red-colored candlelight from the lanterns lit up the path ahead. The floor was very clean, and not a withered leaf could be seen.

Qin Mu moved along with them and examined his surroundings. He was trying to deduce who the master of the place was from the style of its construction, but there were no patterns or carvings on the constructions here, so he couldn’t tell which era it was from.

Being able to tell the era of the construction by looking at the styles wasn’t much trouble for Qin Mu. Every era had constructions of different styles, so it was very easy to differentiate between them.

Even if they were from the same era but of a different race, the style of construction would be as different as can be.

However, there were no decorations inside this palace of the peach forest. There were only white walls, red bricks, and green tiles—it was as simple as it could be. Even so, there was a different kind of beauty, especially under the shine of the starlight and the candlelight, looking concise and free from vulgarity.

‘Just now, that woman said her old friend had arrived. In that case, am I the old friend, or is it Heaven Duke and Earth Count who are in my eye? Or could she be someone that Crimson Emperor and the rest know?’

Qin Mu’s consciousness moved and traveled into Qin word land. “Heaven Duke, I don’t know who this woman in the peach forest is. Can Heaven Duke help me check from the sky?”

Heaven Duke’s clone shook his head and said, “I can’t see the situation inside the palace. There is a strange screen over here, and when I look over, peach blossoms fill my sight, dancing chaotically in the breeze.”

Qin Mu was astonished. Blind had also said he could only see peach blossoms when he looked at the palace in the peach forest.

“Heaven Duke, you said you saw me located in a strange heaven. What does this heaven look like?”

Heaven Duke’s voice gradually became weaker. “The space of this heaven is being distorted, which formed various kinds of overlapping space. You can cross thousands of miles with one step, and you can even walk from one world into another. I have never seen this kind of heaven before…”

His voice vanished as though it was being blocked out.

Qin Mu tried to sense Qin word land, but he realized Qin word land seemed to have disappeared as well.

He tried to sense Youdu, and he discovered that he couldn’t sense Youdu either!

He composed himself and thought, ‘Since she’s an old friend, she shouldn’t have ill intentions…’

He had followed these women into the hall quickly. The decorations inside the hall were also very simple, and there weren’t many decorations. Luminous pearls hung in the surroundings and shone brightly, turning the hall warm like spring.

There was a screen blocking in front, and a woman could be faintly seen behind the screen. She sat there and seemed to be playing her zither. However, she was playing very slowly and would pluck a string occasionally. There was no temperament, and yet it had a lingering aftertaste.

The woman behind the screen was seated sideways, and behind her was a luminous pearl that was projecting her shadow on the screen.

The girls holding the lanterns bowed towards the woman behind the screen before turning around to hang the lanterns outside the door. One of the girls fetched a praying mat and invited Qin Mu to take a seat.

Qin Mu sat down and faced the woman behind the screen. His eyes blinked, and the vertical eye on the heart of his brows would blink from time to time as well. He didn’t speak.

After a moment, the zither was plucked once more, and the zither note rose in spirals.

“Heaven Duke is really meddlesome, leading you here for no reason at all.”

The voice of the woman behind the screen was very pleasant. She gently tilted her head, and the beautiful hair on her temples flowed down, faintly showing a pearl earring dangling under her earlobe.

“It has been a long time since I had a visitor here. I shouldn’t have met you originally, but since Young Master Qin has graced me with your kindness before, I have to meet you now that you have found your way here.”

That woman said with a smile, “It’s rare to meet an old friend. I’m ashamed as the host for my lack of hospitality, please pardon me.”

Qin Mu’s gaze twinkled, and he tried to see through the screen. However, he didn’t know what kind of treasure the screen was, but he couldn’t see through it with his Nine Heavens Eyes Awakening Skill. Even the vertical eye on the heart of his brows couldn’t see the appearance of the woman behind the screen.

“Big sister, since you’re an old friend, why aren’t you coming out to meet me?”

Two girls lifted a small jade tea set in front of Qin Mu and poured a cup of tea before falling back. Qin Mu took a sip, and the fragrance lingered on his lips. It was even better than the High Heavens’ tea. He said with a smile, “Now that the Primordial Realm has reappeared, it was difficult for me to find this place in the whole of the Primordial Realm. Since this is a rare meeting, why is big sister hiding behind the screen?”

“I’m no longer what I was back then.”

The woman behind the screen sighed and said, “My legs are broken, and I can’t get up. Young Master Qin, please forgive me.”

Qin Mu stood up and walked over to the screen with a smile. “I’m skilled in the art of healing and the art of creation. I can cure any illness, and it’s no problem for me to even create a new corporeal body for you. Since it’s inconvenient for you to get up, let me get up and meet you.”

He came to the screen and walked around it. He was suddenly stunned when he still saw the screen in front of him.

Qin Mu walked around it again, and it was still a screen in front of him. No matter which angle he rotated to, he would always face the front of the screen. The shadow of the woman still remained projected on the screen and didn’t seem to have moved at all.

Qin Mu turned around and looked at the door to the hall. He took a step to the side, and no matter how he moved, he would always face the door of the hall.

The divine art of this woman should be a kind of divine art that was extremely mysterious.

“Young Master Qin should just take a seat.”

The woman behind the screen plucked her zither and said with a smile, “The current me is ugly, and my body is crippled. I don’t want to scare you. As for the injuries on my body, Young Master Qin probably doesn’t have the ability to treat them now. My injuries were caused by divine arts, and the remnants of the divine arts are still in my wounds, breaking down my corporeal body and primordial spirit constantly. You still don’t have the methods to get rid of these kinds of divine arts.”

Qin Mu could only return and continue to sit on the praying mat. “Big sister…”

That woman burst into laughter. “How many big sisters does Young Master Qin have?”

Another two girls carried plates of fruit in and placed them on the table in front of Qin Mu. On the plates were cleanly washed peaches with a sweet fragrance that seeped into his lungs, raising his appetite.

Qin Mu blushed, and he said with a smile, “I have never counted before. Big sister, have we met in the past?”

“We naturally did.”

That woman said, “Only after the meeting did I know…”

Suddenly, the sound of zither came from outside, and the expression of the woman moved slightly. “I have a guest here. Yan’er, please lead Young Master Qin to the back of the hall to rest, bring the tea set over as well.”

She said apologetically, “May young master please go to the back to drink some tea and enjoy some fruits.”

Qin Mu could only get up. The girl named Yan’er carried the tea set away with a few other girls.

The zither sounds from outside were gradually getting closer. The woman behind the screen also plucked a string, and it was very exquisite.

Qin Mu sat in the back hall and listened to the zither notes. The woman behind the screen would just pluck once in a while, while the zither notes from outside were a complete melody.

The zither notes seemed to be clashing in the air and making space unstable. Space was like zither strings dancing, and it was also like the rhythm of the notes.

Qin Mu’s heart stirred, and he instantly knew who was coming. ‘Red Deity Qi Xiayu! Why is she here?’

As he was thinking, the zither notes had already come to the hall, and they suddenly stopped. Qi Xiayu’s voice rang out. “Disciple pays my respects to master! Is master doing fine these years?”

“I’m doing fine,” said the woman behind the screen.

Qin Mu’s heart trembled violently. ‘Qi Xiayu is the disciple of this woman behind the screen? Wait a minute, wait a minute, Qi Xiayu is a strong practitioner on Emperor’s Throne, the Southern Heaven Red Deity of the Celestial Heavens. She was also the head of the phoenix race under Mother Earth! This woman is actually her master, so who could she be?’

What made him even more fearful was Qi Xiayu’s experiences. Qi Xiayu was first a subordinate of Mother Earth, then she was a general under the North High Emperor Celestial Heavens. When the High Emperor Era was wiped out, she was defeated and captured, thus turning towards the extraterritorial celestial heavens.

After submitting to the extraterritorial celestial heavens, Qi Xiayu even got together with Li Youran, one of the four great heavenly kings of Founding Emperor, also known as Sakra Buddha later.

These relationships were very complicated, and as a result, Qi Xiayu’s character received criticism.

However, what if all these experiences were already planned long ago?

What if Qi Xiayu’s every movement was being controlled by this woman behind the screen?

“Have the injuries on master’s body erupted again?” Qi Xiayu’s voice rang out again.

The woman behind the screen said, “Ever since you left, they would erupt once or twice every several hundred months. I no longer count how many times they have erupted now. I have probably gotten used to it.”

“If master can find Dao Ancestor or Brahma Buddha, you might be able to get rid of these injuries.”

“It’s useless, Dao Ancestor came and took a look before, he said he’s helpless.”

Qin Mu was entranced in listening. That girl named Yan’er lifted up his teacup and signaled for him to drink. Qin Mu hurriedly took the cup and drank a mouthful before putting it down to continue listening.

That girl sat down beside him and held a shaved peach to the side of his mouth. Qin Mu wanted to take it, but Yan’er shook her hand. Qin Mu could only bite, swallowing it whole. He whispered, “Big Sister Yan’er, let me do it myself.”

The girl called Yan’er burst into laughter. “You really call every girl big sister.”

The other girls also burst into laughter.

Qi Xiayu seemed to sense something and became wary. “Master is hiding a man in the palace? I heard the voice of a man!”

The woman behind the screen said with a smile, “It’s an old friend of mine that has come to visit me. You are getting suspicious again. You are too suspicious. That’s why your life isn’t blissful.”

Qi Xiayu got up and walked over with a smile. “Since it’s master’s old friend, I naturally have to meet the senior.”

She quickly moved to the back of the hall and said with a smile, “Why does senior need to hide? Junior Qi Xiayu is here to pay my respe… Why is it you?”

She opened her eyes wide and saw a sunshine-looking youth sitting on a praying mat. Several girls nestled against him, and they were all trying to feed this youth peaches.

Qin Mu was currently chewing on a peach, and the juices filled his mouth. He looked awkwardly at her and said with a smile, “Red Deity, no need to be too courteous.”

Qi Xiayu was furious and walked over while gritting her teeth. “The flirter beside the traitor. You actually came to my teacher’s place to flirt around. I shall send you off to hell today!”

At this moment, the woman behind the screen coughed, and her voice rang out. “Xiayu, he is my esteemed guest, you cannot be rude!”