Chapter 870: Drunken Cowherd by the Riverside

Dragon Qilin was startled by the words, but the voice seemed familiar.

Even so, he didn't dare to be complacent. He instantly transformed into a robust young man with a qilin's head and human body, but his transformation was so quick that he forgot Qin Mu was still on his back.

Qin Mu tumbled down, flailing his limbs. Dragon Qilin hastily scooped him up and placed him on his shoulder, then cautiously peered past the moonlight.

It was the seventh day of the lunar month, and the moon formation, when activated to this day, displayed a large crescent. The rest of the formation was obscured by shadows.

The formation was vast, spanning hundreds of miles. The parts concealed by shadows had not actually vanished; the formation was still active, merely hidden from view.

The formation resembled a lunar palace, complete with graceful structures within the moon, presenting a beautiful and pleasant scene.

"The one who controls the moon in the celestial map must be a beautiful woman."

Dragon Qilin peeked out from the shadows and saw moonlight pouring out like flowing water from a damaged part of the moon.

A woman sat on the tip of the crescent moon, looking their way and blinking.

"Is it her?"

Dragon Qilin was slightly taken aback. Qin Mu, draped over his shoulder, resembled a broken puppet, his limbs limp as he slid down, his head askew.

Dragon Qilin quickly steadied Qin Mu. The woman on the crescent approached, asking in surprise, "What happened to him?"

"The Cult Master is injured," Dragon Qilin told the woman. "His injuries are severe, but it should be fine. Cult Master, wake up!"

He shook Qin Mu, whose head bobbed like a rattle-drum. Qin Mu then opened his eyes, hazily looking at the woman. He recognized the familiar face but couldn't recall who she was.

"What are you doing here?" he mumbled, then drifted back into a daze.

"See? No big deal!" Dragon Qilin declared confidently.

However, the woman was very worried. She led him to the lunar palace and said, "I just cleaned this place up. You can recover here for now."

After Dragon Qilin settled Qin Mu, the woman diagnosed Qin Mu's injuries. After a moment of contemplation, she began refining pills and brewing medicine for him.

Dragon Qilin leaned closer and chuckled, "Back then, you didn't know anything, and now you can refine pills and brew medicine?"

The woman smiled, "After you left, I had to do everything myself. I was very young then and had to learn everything. The more I learned, the more I became proficient."

Dragon Qilin mused, "That year truly felt like a dream. The Cult Master, Grand Venerable, the box, and I, we just stumbled into Bailong City. We left at dawn, but that night's experience was wonderfully strange, unforgettable for a lifetime."

The woman turned and looked at Qin Mu sleeping peacefully on the sickbed, a gentle smile gracing her lips. "Yes. For tens of thousands of years afterward, I woke countless times from nightmares. Remembering that night's experience suddenly gave me the courage to live on."

Qin Mu heard familiar voices in his ears and tried to open his eyes several times, but his injuries were too severe, having damaged his life essence, causing him to repeatedly drift back into unconsciousness.

He was no longer in critical danger. The main reason for his condition was his desperate battle with Emperor Heaven Sovereign. The opponent was too strong, employing his ultimate Dao Arts, a continuous barrage of twenty-eight divine abilities, from the first to the twenty-eighth heaven of the Dao realm. Qin Mu had no choice but to fight with his life.

After that life-and-death struggle, he was almost completely depleted, yet he had to use his last reserves of primordial energy, alongside the Impeccable Creation Scripture and the Three Primordial Spirits Undying Divine Sense, to mend his physical body and primordial spirit. This further deepened his exhaustion.

Currently, he was in a daze, tasting a bitter sensation in his mouth. It seemed someone was feeding him medicine. As the spiritual medicine went down his throat, it transformed into a warm current flowing into his abdomen, then surged outwards, permeating his entire body.

He opened his eyes, hazily seeing a familiar woman open her mouth and exhale a spiritual bead.

The spiritual bead rotated around him, bringing an indescribable comfort to his primordial spirit and damaged divine treasures.

Qin Mu drowsily drifted back to sleep, hearing the woman and Dragon Qilin conversing in his ears. Clearly, Dragon Qilin was very familiar with the woman.

After an unknown period, Qin Mu heard other voices, sounding like the Woodcutter, and also Imperial Preceptor Zi Xi, and perhaps Emperor Yi Yue.

He couldn't tell what they were saying, then silence fell.

Qin Mu remained in a deep slumber. In his dream, he seemed to return to his childhood, as if time was flowing backward. He was back in Crippled Old Village, diligently practicing under the supervision of Grandpa Ma, the Butcher, and others.

Then, time in his dream flowed forward again, and he became an infant, lying in a small basket. He gurgled and stretched his limbs, his bright eyes gazing at Granny Si, who extended her arms towards him.

Granny Si was ugly, yet her gaze was gentle as she picked him up from the basket.

Beside her was a stone statue, and beside that, the equally gentle Grandpa Ma.

The dream sequence faded, and time seemed to reverse again. He was still in the basket, and he saw a girl carrying the basket, desperately trying to evade the pursuit of gods and devils in the Surging River.

Torrential black waters swept over everything. From his swaddling clothes in the basket, he stared blankly at the girl, who was strenuously fighting against the gods and devils, protecting his safety.

Her body was covered in wounds, and she was utterly exhausted.

"Aunt Juan'er..."

The infant in the swaddling clothes raised his short arms, wanting to touch her face, but couldn't reach.

He had never recovered his memories from when he drifted from Youdu to the Great Ruins. He was too young; Earth Lord sealed him, and his mother entrusted him to Aunt Juan'er, who escorted him out of Youdu and into the Great Ruins.

Aunt Juan'er's body sank into the Surging River to protect him, and Granny Si picked him up when darkness arrived.

This period of memory was a blank for him, but this time, in his dream, he vaguely saw those events.

In the darkness, the black waters of the Surging River surged, overwhelming everything. Ferocious gods and devils pursued them in the water and on both banks. Aunt Juan'er's injuries worsened, making it increasingly difficult for her to protect him.

At this moment, in Qin Mu's dream, a snow-white mist appeared in his memory.

Aunt Juan'er, carrying the basket, stumbled into the mist.

The pursuers also entered the mist.

When the mist dissipated, it was a bright sunny day. The sunlight was so radiant that the infant in the swaddling clothes closed his eyes, hiding his face in the blankets.

Aunt Juan'er, bleeding from her mouth, stumbled forward, her hand covering the basket, humming a lullaby to help the baby sleep.

"Reeds tall, reeds long, hide-and-seek in the reed marsh. How many dignitaries seeking fame and fortune, were once herd boys there.Reeds tall, reeds long, gazing across mountains and waters far. This side of the reeds is home, that side is the ocean vast.Reeds tall, reeds long, busy weaving by the reed marsh. Woven into my travel pack, to accompany me on a distant voyage.Reeds tall, reeds long, how melodious the reed flute's song.Shepherd boys echo from afar, making one miss father and mother..."

Qin Mu listened in a daze, wanting to sing along, but in his dream, he was still a two or three-month-old infant, unable to make a sound.

The pursuers returned; the gods and devils were ferocious.

At the source of the Surging River, in despair, Aunt Juan'er saw a woman washing her sword by the water.

Qin Mu recognized the sword-washing woman's face; she resembled the girl who fed him medicine. Aunt Juan'er pleaded for help. The woman drew her sword; it flew like a white dragon, a single stroke of her blade stunning the land and illuminating the Nine Provinces.

That was a familiar sword light, a swordsmanship evolved from Qin Mu's own techniques, imbued with the spirit of protecting the common people in an apocalyptic world.

"What is his name?"

The sword-washing woman came to Aunt Juan'er's side and looked at the infant in the basket.

"His name is Qin Fengqing."

Aunt Juan'er gazed tenderly at the infant in the basket, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "I want to take him, bring him to a safe place, and not let those gods and devils harm him. But I can't go on. I want to entrust him to you..."

The sword-washing woman shook her head. "My name is Bai Qu'er, a remnant of the High Emperor's lineage, currently fleeing from enemies. I've already eliminated a group of pursuers. Entrusting him to me would only put him in greater danger. I can escort you for a while, but not for too long."

They traveled along the river. The brilliant sun hung in the western sky. Aunt Juan'er hummed a children's song, and the sword-washing woman listened quietly. They walked an unknown distance before the song abruptly ceased.

The sword-washing woman looked at Aunt Juan'er; she had drawn her last breath. Her eyes were vacant, yet she continued to walk on the river surface, clutching the basket like a zombie.

A powerful obsession propelled her forward, stubbornly carrying the infant in swaddling clothes, searching for a safe haven to entrust him to someone who could care for him.

The sword-washing woman was lost in thought; she did not take the basket from Aunt Juan'er's arms, as she was not someone worthy of such a trust.

She could only protect this persistent corpse, ensuring she found a family worthy of entrusting the child.

She then hummed the children's song that the girl had hummed while alive.

"Reeds tall, reeds long, hide-and-seek in the reed marsh. How many dignitaries seeking fame and fortune, were once herd boys there..."

Aunt Juan'er's corpse continued to walk forward, a smile on her face, guided by the song.

They traveled downstream along the river, the song never ceasing.

Finally, the sky darkened, and night was approaching.

"...Reeds tall, reeds long, how melodious the reed flute's song. Shepherd boys echo from afar, making one miss father and mother."

As the sword-washing woman sang this children's song, darkness and mist surged forth, engulfing Aunt Juan'er behind her.

The sword-washing woman walked into the mist, watching Aunt Juan'er sink into the water, yet still holding the basket high.

The river currents flowed rapidly, carrying them downstream.

"It's dark. Don't go out."

From a distant village by the river, a voice called out: "Listen, there's a child crying outside!"

"Impossible, you must have misheard... Huh, there really is a baby crying!"

In the mist, the sword-washing woman watched a hunchbacked old woman pick up the infant from the basket. Only then did she slowly retreat.

"I used the Immeasurable Calamity Scripture to enter the Dao through dreams, helping him retrace his origins and preserve his soul. Now, his life is no longer in danger."

In the Qin Character Continent, the Old Buddha, who had been in a dream-like state, had landed at some point. He said to Heavenly Duke, Earth Lord, and the others, "My Immeasurable Calamity Scripture was originally meant to be passed on to him, but unfortunately, he never had the opportunity. Now, by helping him enter the Dao through dreams, remembering all that came before, it's only a matter of time before he comprehends my Immeasurable Calamity Scripture."

Heavenly Duke said, "Fortunately, Old Buddha woke up in time. Otherwise, even if he survived, his Dao cultivation would have been severely damaged."

At that moment, Qin Mu slowly regained consciousness, a familiar children's song reaching his ears.

"Reeds tall, reeds long, reed blossoms like snow, boundless white. Reeds know the raging winds best, reeds know the wild rains best..."

He struggled to sit up from the bed and walked outside, following the song.

The song made him feel as if he had returned to his days of herding cattle, by the reed marsh, with the clear and melodious sound of the shepherd's flute, and white reed blossoms swaying in the wind.

He stepped outside. The moonlight was bright, and a familiar girl sat in the lunar palace, humming a children's song, gazing down at the Yinkang mountains and rivers below.

She turned her head and gave him a quiet, shy smile.