Chapter 133 Xuande Sword (2/2)

Shen Lian answered, ”Even if you don’t like it, I’ll still call you this. After all, I am the master.” The autumn breeze brushed past his face. Shen Lian’s posture was relaxed and he was not sad, nor did he recalled emotions because of the bleak autumn scene.

Shen Lian felt that he could adapt to any kind of environment but he still ultimately like to be left alone, because he was not from this world. Even when he search for celestials and learn about Daoism, he still felt the distance between himself and this world.

This feeling did not decrease as his cultivation got deeper, when in fact it popped up from time to time.

It seemed that loneliness and solitude would make a person sad, but these emotions would not depress a person.

It was different than meditation or the silence between life and death. To best put it in word would be, ‘There was nothing in the beginning’.

Shen Lian trickled past the Yushui River. The rushing river tide did not affect him at all. He walked westwards and he did not know how long he walked. Shen Lian was still not entirely clear what kind of place would Temple of Killings be.

Without realizing, he had walked out of the Dazhou land and really reached the wasted Xi Huang.

The ‘waste’ did not mean that it was laid to waste but it was desolated and uninhabited.

Of course, how would that be the case when he heard someone belted out, ”The king told me to patrol the mountains.[2]” Shen Lian was jarred by this unpleasant singing.

He did not reach an epiphany but it was just that his heart and soul were really at ease.

Of course, the owner of this voice did not seemed to let him off the hook just yet, ”Oi, the young fellow in front, you better stay right there.”

To put it more accurately, the one singing was no human, but someone with the head of an animal and the body of a human.

It was a Water Deer Demon, his mana was shallow. The reason he was able to take human form was most likely him getting external help by other powerful demons.

The Water Deer sniffed from far away and came up holding a steel fork. He said, ”What are you? There is no human scent on you but how do you look like a human?”

The demons of Xi Huang loved to eat humans. To be able to eat humans, they developed an ability. That ability was that whenever they wanted to eat humans, they would sniff from the top of the mountains and they could smell the human scent around tens of miles.

Shen Lian did not have any human scent.

Shen Lian had a pure fragrance of grass and tree on him. To the demons that were used to the bloody smell of meat and fish, it was not really a good taste.

There were bound to be demons who were vegetarians but this demon was an exception.

Shen Lian simply smiled, ”I am a human.”

The Water Deer Demon shook his head and replied, ”No, no. You do not have the human scent, how could you be human? Do not think of lying to me.” He then lifted his head and with an angry look, he followed, ”I guess you are lying to me on purpose so that I would embarrass myself in front of the king. Because the king has allowed me to patrol the mountains, capture a human and make it into a dish for the newly arrived guest.”

Shen Lian suddenly thought of this sentence, ”If this demon was going to die, it would be because of his stupidity.”

Translator’s note:

[1] 秋风萧瑟,洪波涌起 are verses from Cao Cao’s （曹操）‘The Sea’,”观沧海”.

[2] 大王叫我来巡山 is an actual song sang by Zhao Yingjun (赵英俊) for the movie ‘Surprise’”万万没想到:西游篇”.