Tales of Herding Gods

Qi Xiayu gave a fierce stare at Qin Mu and Qin Mu smiled helplessly. The girls beside him continued to send peaches to his mouth so Qin Mu could only continue to eat.

Qi Xiayu looked at his distressed state and didn’t know if she should be angry or if she should laugh. With a straight face, she said, “Stop eating! They are green sparrows, South Deity had gifted them to my teacher and they always loved to serve people, that is also what makes them annoying. They would always put food in their mouths to feed you like a mother bird feeding a baby bird. Furthermore, they have no restraint so be careful of being stuffed to death!”

Qin Mu came to a realization. No wonder these girls kept like to feed him.

“Has Big Sister Qi been fed by them using mouth to mouth?” Qin Mu had a weird expression and he couldn’t help imagining the sight of these girls feeding Qi Xiayu, thus he asked.

Qi Xiayu’s face turned slightly red. “They fed me before when I was young… Bah! You are still eating? Are you not going to get up?”

That girl called Yan’er giggled. “Cult Master Qin, we can also bite on peaches to feed you, we can even feed you tea.”

Qin Mu’s mind was shook. This sight was simply erotic and even thinking about it was making his body hot.

He was already no longer the innocent youth back then. After seeing “Romantic Dairy of the Capital City”, he knew about some stuff and this kind of sight made him unable to control himself.

The youth got up in a hurry and said, “I’m not drinking anymore! I’m also not eating anymore! Big sisters, thank you for the care! Big Sister Qi…”

“Don’t call me big sister, we aren’t familiar!”

Qi Xiayu’s expression darkened and swept her sleeves as she turned around, her rainbow-colored clothes that were like the feathers of a phoenix covered Qin Mu’s gaze. She walked towards the hall and sneered. “Master, why have you brought this lecher over? Your peach forest is so complicated that without Master’s zither notes guiding me, it would have been hard for me to enter as well. You had clearly let him come in!”

Qin Mu wiped his mouth and followed her to the hall.

The woman behind the screen said, “Who says I was the one that had let him in? Heaven Duke was the meddlesome one, he hung a star in the sky to guide the path for him, disrupting the spell in my peach forest. I had already crushed that star of Heaven Duke so that he won’t glance over.”

Qi Xiayu said, “Heaven Duke can’t even protect him yet he still is so restless.”

Yan’er and those girls moved the jade tea set and praying mat over to let Qin Mu take a seat.

Qin Mu sat upright and ignored those cute maidens. He also ignored the tea that was brought to his mouth.

Yan’er took a sip of tea and moved her mouth to the side of his face as she looked at him in anticipation.

‘Monk Ming Xin had gifted me a heart sutra which can compose myself, how did it go?’

The youth was slightly flustered and he felt that his Dao heart had received a severe challenge. His entire mind was full of red lips so how could there be any buddhist scripture?

Qin Mu hurriedly distracted himself. ‘Just now Qi Xiayu said Yan’er and the rest were green sparrows that South Deity had gifted to the woman behind the screen. In that case, Big Sister Zhu Que’s relationship with this woman behind the screen isn’t shallow. To be able to make friends with an existence like Big Sister Zhu Que, she mustn’t be too inferior to her. In that case, the identity of this woman behind the screen is just on the tip of my tongue now…’

The woman behind the screen got Yan’er and the rest of the girls to fall back before apologizing. “Yan’er and the rest have troubled Young Master Qin, I see you are sweating from the anxiety.”

Qin Mu was indeed sweating profusely from his forehead, however, when Yan’er and the rest of the girls left, he returned back to normal and was no longer ill at ease. He said with a smile, “Never would I expect Red Deity to be big sister’s disciple. Red Deity had once pursued after my life before and I’m really relieved to have resolved this conflict with her.”

A vein popped out on Qi Xiayu’s forehead and she said, “Master, I wasn’t pursuing after his life, I was pursuing the traitor. Furthermore, this man is as unreliable as the traitor, always talking frivolously, please don’t believe him! He and the traitor had wrecked havoc in the twenty heavens of Buddha Realm and Brahma Buddha used them to kill the power of the celestial heavens planted there. Now, the celestial heavens has already dispatched other strong practitioners to capture the traitor.”

The woman behind the screen said, “Young Master Qin, Xiayu actually has no ill intention, don’t blame her. Her life has been rather bumpy, she wasn’t valued in the phoenix race and restrained by Mother Earth. When Mother Earth’s son became the celestial emperor of North High Emperor Celestial Heavens, she chose her to enter the palace as his concubine. She had no choice but to rebel and escape to South High Emperor Celestial Heavens.”

Qin Mu’s gaze sparkled and he said, “And when South High Emperor Celestial Heavens was defeated, she then submitted to the extraterritorial celestial heavens.”

Qi Xiayu raised her brows but she didn’t speak.

The woman behind the screen laughed and said, “When Xiayu was young, it was South Deity that had recommended her to learn under me, she is both our disciples. I originally didn’t want to deal with the worldly affairs but since South Deity had an extremely close relationship with me, it wouldn’t be good of me to reject when she had asked personally, thus I took her in as a disciple. Young Master Qin, there’s no need to be suspicious of Xiayu. Actually, what she had done are mostly my ideas.”

Qin Mu said, “Big sister is hidden in seclusion here but your heart isn’t in seclusion, you still have some thoughts on wanting to change the outside world through Red Deity. However, with Red Deity’s repeated betrayal, from Mother Earth to North High Emperor, from North High Emperor to South High Emperor then to the extraterritorial celestial heavens, finally to Founding Emperor Era and betraying Sakra Buddha. Even though it wouldn’t be nice for me to say anything in front of Red Deity, I despise her in my heart slightly.”

Qi Xiayu said indifferently, “I don’t care how you view me or how the people of the world view me. However, that Li Youran is a traitor in love. He said I had betrayed him and that is twisting the truth! Not only did he betrayed me, but he also betrayed Founding Emperor and ran away to become a monk!”

Qin Mu frowned slightly.

About Sakra Buddha, there was indeed not much he could say.

The woman behind the screen said with a smile, “Xiayu is indeed too suspicious about everything but every cause has a reason. No matter if it’s from her view or it’s from Li Youran’s view, both of them had done nothing wrong. Young Master Qin doesn’t have to be strict on them.”

Qin Mu sighed and said bleakly, “I’m just feeling pity for the Heavenly Works God Race. It’s a pity that they were trapped to die in Paramita Ark and only a child managed to make it out alive. I pity that this only surviving child had become an old blacksmith in the end and for fear of revealing his birthrights, he had no choice but to cut off his tongue, becoming a mute willing.”

His expression dimmed and his eyes became swollen when he thought of the mischievous elder in the village that kept “apa apa”.

Mute was a person in the village that had suffered the most. His history and his experience were the most miserable one but Mute had never cried before, at least not in front of the villagers.

He always put on a smile and revealed the other half of his tongue in his mouth.

Even though he was very mischievous and always played tricks on Qin Mu, under his old appearance was a young heart that was causing mischief. He was just playing around with Qin Mu.

His gaze was always very pure and clean. It was as though he was still the helpless child that had managed to walk out of the seal from the corpses of his clansmen. When he had to face the darkness of Great Ruins and stumbling in the forest to continue forward helplessly.

Qin Mu didn’t think Qi Xiayu or Sakra Buddha was wrong but when he stood on Mute’s point of view, both of them had done too much wrong, they were so wrong that the corpses of countless Heavenly Works God Race were buried under their feet!

Qin Mu sorted out his feelings and said, “Since Big Sister isn’t willing to show yourself, there’s no point for me to remain at this place, I shan’t disturb your reunion. I have an elder that had walked into the forest by mistake, he is a god with a black dragon spear around his waist. May big sister tell me where he is and I shall bring him to leave.”

“That divine eye god’s abilities are extraordinary.”

The woman behind the barrier said with a smile, “He actually broke through the barrier on the outside of the peach forest and walked into the inside of the peach forest. I had no choice but to use a portion of my magic power to trap him. However, he is very intelligent. He took the space that was created when I use zither notes to receive Qi Xiayu and moved along with the zither notes, he is already in this heaven. If you go find him alone, you probably can’t find him, I shall let Yan’er follow you.”

Qin Mu gave his thanks and he stood up. “Big sister is hidden in seclusion here but it is currently an abyss of suffering outside. Maybe you have a thousand and one reasons why you can’t come out but I only have one reason to jump into the danger.”

The woman behind the screen turned her head and her earrings gently swayed.

Qin Mu revealed a smile and he said, “I can’t tolerate humans being treated as livestock, I can’t tolerate humans being treated as foolish, I can’t tolerate them dying in ignorance. I despise Buddhism’s treating this world as an illusion, I despise Dao Sect for not doing anything. I need to do something so I won’t go against my conscience, even if I have to sacrifice this body, sacrifice my life, I won’t hesitate, this is my duty!”

He bowed to the ground and stood up to say solemnly, “I can’t see big sister’s true appearance today and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see it. Maybe when big sister thinks about me again, I might already have died in battle. Farewell.”

He turned around to walk out of the hall.

The woman behind the screen suddenly said, “Wait a moment!”

Qin Mu stopped in his footsteps and that woman called Qi Xiayu over. Qi Xiayu walked to the back of the screen and that woman instructed her. Qi Xiayu walked out of the screen and came to Qin Mu, holding a scroll in her hands.

The woman behind the screen said, “Young Master Qin, please accept this. Don’t open it first, take a look after you leave the peach forest.”

Qin Mu was puzzled and accept the scroll. He walked out of the palace.

Outside the palace, that girl called Yan’er was holding a lantern and waiting for him. She grinned and said, “Young Master, please follow me.”

Qin Mu smiled back and Yan’er took out a grape from somewhere to feed him. Qin Mu hurriedly shook his head. “Sister Yan’er, I’m already full, I’m really full!”

Yan’er face dimmed. She carried the lantern and walked out in disappointment.

Qin Mu couldn’t bear to see her disappointed and Yan’er became happy again. She quickly sent the grape into his mouth.

The grape was very sweet and also a little acerbic.

Yet in the next moment, a peach appeared in Yan’er’s hand and Qin Mu took a bite with a black face.

In the hall, the luminous pearls were still very bright. The master and the disciple didn’t speak for a long time.

Suddenly, Qi Xiayu said, “Why didn’t master meet him?”

The woman behind the screen was silent for a moment and smiled bitterly. “I’m now crippled so why do I need to meet him? He has taken away my painting so he would understand today’s meeting in the future. This meeting in the peach forest was only a chance encounter. He has never thought about what has become of the Heaven Alliance he had created. The Heaven Alliance from back then is still Heaven Alliance but the people have long changed…”

Qin Mu followed Yan’er and shut his mouth tightly. He was adamant in not taking any more food from her no matter how distressed she looked. Even when she used her mouth, he also ignored the temptation and had a very firm look.

Yan’er was helpless and ignored him in a fuming manner.

Finally, Qin Mu found Blind who was wandering around in the depths of the peach forest. Blind was astonished at his arrival and asked him. Qin Mu talked about his encounter in the palace and said, “Grandpa Blind, you have been trapped here for a month, the master of the peach forest won’t meet you, let us leave.”

Blind said, “I can’t find the way out.”

“No worries elder, I know the way.”

Yan’er grinned at him and her eyes lighted up. She took out a bright red peach and asked, “Elder, do you eat peaches?”

Blind gave his thanks, only to see this girl sending the peach to his mouth. Blind couldn’t help being bewildered. ‘Why is this girl so eagerly attentive?’

Qin Mu let out a sigh of relief and thought to himself. ‘Grandpa Blind is in for a ride. Luckily there’s Grandpa Blind beside me, this saves me the trouble.”

When Yan’er brought them out of the peach forest, the sky outside has already turned bright. Blind’s belly was already swelling from the food fed by this girl and simply couldn’t eat anymore. However, because Yan’er was too eagerly attentive, he couldn’t take it when she tried to use her mouth so he just grabbed the food from her to chomp down. He was so stuff that veins were popping out of his head.

Qin Mu walked out of the forest and immediately unscrolled the painting.

A ray of sunshine shone down on the painting from the east. In the painting was a woman standing under the moonlight, it was peaceful yet laden with grief.

This painting was done by Qin Mu himself.

Qin Mu scrolled back the painting and put it into his taotie sack silently. He turned back and looked at the peach forest.

‘Celestial Venerable Yue, we shall meet again in the future.’

Yan’er scuttled to and fro in the peach forest and she suddenly transformed into a green sparrow to fly with her wings. After a moment, the green sparrow returned back to Qin Mu and Blind. She landed down and transformed into weeping Yan’er. “I can’t go back anymore, Goddess doesn’t want me anymore!”

Qin Mu burst out in laughter and said, “In that case, Sister Yan’er can follow us and travel in the mortal world.”

Yan’er’s eyes lighted up and she flipped her hand to take out a peach.

Blind hurriedly scuttled away and escaped into the distance. He cried out, “Mu’er, I can’t take this no more, you can slowly enjoy them!”