Tales of Herding Gods

“The emperor has let Sun Guardian guard Supreme Emperor Heaven so I would still need to take a trip to the Sun Herd Tribe!”

Qin Mu left the palace and called the dragon qilin over to head to the Great Ruins. After six days, he went to the Sun Well and found Yan Jingjing.

After a few years of not seeing her, she had already grown up and was charming in every way. When she saw Qin Mu arrive, she immediately rushed out with a smile. “Brother who herds the cows, look at my legs, they are completely healed!”

Qin Mu’s gaze fell on her body. She was wearing slightly loose clothing. She had an outer garment that was light green in color and an inner garment that had a three-legged crow embroidered on it.

Her outer garment was very long and hung all the way to the ground, covering her feet.

From the handiwork, it must Yu Zhaoqing liked sewed it. The Sun Herd Tribe had done a favor for the Heavenly Feather Race so ever since the Heavenly Feather Race had settled down in Eternal Peace, the two families frequently moved together.

Yan Jingjing tilted down to one side and lifted up one side of her skirt to show her leg. Her leg was very slender, and her skin was as white as snow. As she didn’t wear any long pants on the inside, it was a pleasant sight for the eyes.

However, Qin Mu only had a few improper thoughts which he quickly suppressed. He had checked Yan Jingjing’s legs before and had even touched them several times, therefore, he still has some self-control.

“Show me the other leg, let me check if they have both grown equally,” Qin Mu said.

Yan Jingjing hugged one side of the skirt with one arm and bent over to the other side to lift the skirt with her other hand.

Qin Mu squatted down and checked. He saw that her legs were side by side and there was no gap. “They have really healed.”

The Sun Herd Chief walked and coughed repeatedly. “Cough, cough, Sun Guardian, put down your skirt in front of outsiders.”

Yan Jingjing hurriedly put her skirt down, and her face blushed slightly. Qin Mu stood up in a fluster and only then did he see Saint Woodcutter behind the Sun Herd Chief. Since the Sun Herd Chief’s body was sturdy and far larger than an ordinary human, he didn’t see him earlier.

Saint Woodcutter walked towards him with a smile that was not a smile. Qin Mu’s expression didn’t change, and he asked, “Why has teacher come?”

“The Sun Ship was designed by me.”

Saint Woodcutter said with a smile, “I’ve come this time because I plan to take back the blueprints I left here and pass it to Eternal Peace, allowing the Heavenly Workers of Eternal Peace to forge several Sun Ships and Moon Ships.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “I had also planned to take apart the Sun Ship of the Sun Herd Tribe to draw a detailed blueprint in order to make several Sun Ships. Luckily teacher was a step earlier than I or I would have torn a Sun Ship apart.”

The Sun Herd Chief’s red face instantly turned black like an extinguished sun. He thought to himself. ‘Tear apart our ship? You have already torn our sun apart the previous time you came! Luckily you have hooked one back up yet you still want to tear our ship apart now…”

Saint Woodcutter walked towards the Sun Well and said, “The Sun Ship isn’t too troublesome to construct, but with Eternal Peace’s current foundation, no one can design such a huge artifact. I might be the one who had designed the Sun Ship and the Moon Ship, but I wasn’t the one with the highest realm in crafting—there was someone else!”

Qin Mu’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Could this person be a buddha?”

Saint Woodcutter walked to the side of the Sun Well and looked down. “When I was teaching, he still wasn’t a monk. When affairs of the heart plagued him, he escaped to buddhism and became the junior brother of Brahma Buddha. He was the one who designed Carefree Village… There are still quite a number of suns in the well, so we can forge a few more Sun Ships.”

Qin Mu said with a smile, “I’ve met Sakra Buddha before, he’s currently being chased by Southern Heaven Red Deity Qi Xiayu.”

Saint Woodcutter said in astonishment, “Being chased? He deserves it. However, since he has already hidden in the Buddha Realm, Red Deity wouldn’t lay her hands on him. So why is she chasing him this time?”

“He has caused some problems.”

Qin Mu had a look of being unrelated to the trouble and said, “He created a ruckus in the Buddha Realm and nearly killed every single one of the spies that were planted in Buddha Realm by the celestial heavens. He then created a Little Youdu in the supreme heaven of Buddha Realm; thus Brahma Buddha took his name out from the Buddha Realm and exiled him. Red Deity then took the chance to pursue him.”

“So I see. He is young and handsome, a handsome man that was famous during Founding Emperor Era, it’s no wonder Red Deity would take a liking to him. It’s all the fault of beauty.”

Saint Woodcutter rose and called the black tiger god. He handed him a huge stack of blueprints and said, “Send them to the capital city and hand them over to the emperor.”

The black tiger god received his order and rushed away.

Saint Woodcutter took a glance at Qin Mu and said, “Beauty is the root of all troubles, and this phrase is in its truest sense. He was too handsome and thus, many women liked him. You have to be careful too.”

Qin Mu was delighted. “In that case, I’m also very handsome…”

“You look alright; you just can’t be considered ugly. The problem is how you like to leave behind affection everywhere.”

Saint Woodcutter poured a basin of cold water over him with his words and said, “With Sakra Buddha and Apothecary as examples for you, you should be careful. Little girl, let us go find the person who can fish up the suns.”

Yan Jingjing replied with an acknowledgment and followed after him. Qin Mu also accompanied them.

Saint Woodcutter brought them out of the Sun Well, and the sun was hanging high up in the sky. It was just because Luofu Heaven covered the sun that the sky was slightly dim.

“Sakra Buddha’s layperson name is Li Youran, and after his love with Red Deity turned sour he turned to buddhism and exhibited his root of wisdom. Brahma Buddha conferred the name of Sakra on him. When Founding Emperor Era was erased, he had originally planned to forge a huge ship to bring the clansmen of the Heavenly Works God Race to head to Carefree Village. When Red Deity gave chase, he was afraid Red Deity would harm his clansmen and chose to lure Red Deity away. However…”

Saint Woodcutter sighed after a moment. “He returned to find the ship destroyed and his people were dead. He thought they had died under the ruthless hands of Red Deity and he was completely disheartened. Brahma Buddha came to receive him, and thus he left with him. After Red Deity heard that he had gone to become a buddha, she said as long as he leaves the Buddha Realm, she would take his life. The name of this ship is called Paramita Ark, and it is right in the Great Ruins.”

Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing listening in a trance and Yan Jingjing suddenly said, “The one that had killed his clansmen, was it Red Deity?”

“I have no idea.”

Saint Woodcutter shook his head. “With the turmoil and chaos of war, who knows?”

Qin Mu said, “I have been to Paramita Ark, and I had thought that place was Carefree Village. But when I reached there, I realized it wasn’t the case. Someone had sealed Paramita Ark, and the remaining survivors are trapped inside. Those Heavenly Works God Race used twenty thousand years to break through the seal and only a child of several years old lived to walk out.”

Saint Woodcutter heard what he said and said, “In that case, this is Li Youran’s fault, he didn’t check carefully and left with Brahma Heaven. Afterward, that child that had left Paramita Ark grew up and rolled in the dirt every day. He got scammed countless times and spilled many secrets. He was very sad, and he steeled his heart and cut off his tongue as he was afraid of talking too much.”

Qin Mu was silent.

Saint Woodcutter continued to say, “He was the last Heavenly Worker, and even though he had cut off his tongue, people still tricked him; therefore he hid in the Great Ruins and became a blacksmith.”

Qin Mu was silent for a period of time, and he said with a smile, “But now he has cultivated Anasrava Creation Mysterious Scripture.”

Saint Woodcutter brought them across the ravine, and his speed was very fast. He said, “I hope he can endure not talking or else his tongue is going to be cut off sooner or later.”

Qin Mu said, “Now he speaks very little but he scolds people very fast with his hands, they are much faster than speaking.”

Yan Jingjing said with a smile, “I know who you guys are talking about, it’s that grandpa who forges. His hand signals are really very fast, and he even needs a grandpa with iron ears to help him translate.”

Qin Mu said, “When he signals with his hands, most of them are scoldings.”

They came to a ravine with few people, and there were trees everywhere. There was a pond that was so deep that one couldn’t see the bottom. Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing saw that there was still a stone statue there, and the stone statue was an old man wearing a bamboo hat.

One hand of the old man was stroking his chin and beside his feet was a fish basket.

The old man had already petrified completely, but the weird thing was his fishing rod and fishing line had also petrified. Even the fish basket had turned into stone.

Qin Mu looked at the fish basket and saw something even stranger. There were actually two stone fishes in the fish basket!

“Even the fishes have turned into stone! Could these two fishes be gods as well? If they are, how would they be hooked?”

He was rather puzzled.

Saint Woodcutter came to the side of the angling elder and took out a stick of incense. He lit it and stabbed it beside the angling elder. “Senior brother, it’s time to wake up.”

The smoke of the incense rose up in spirals, and it was like a spirit snake tunneling into the nostrils of the stone statue.

After a moment, the nose of the stone statue gradually become flesh and spread out into the surroundings of his nostrils. Soon, the stone texture on the angling elder’s body faded away. His flesh, blood, muscles, skin and even clothes were becoming vibrant.

The fishing rod in his hand also slowly transformed back to normal and the transformation even stretched to the fishing line, which smoothed out!

The fishing basket beside his feet also turned back to normal, and flopping sounds sounded out from inside. The two bright red fish had also returned to life and flopped once or twice in the basket.

Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing were in a daze from the sight when they saw the angling elder stretching his back and shifting his buttocks that were on a small stool. “What a good sleep. Woodcutter, what have you woke me up for?”

Saint Woodcutter said with a smile, “To fish suns and fish moons.”

Elder Angler took down his bamboo hat and blew away the dust on it before putting it back on. “The suns in Sun Well? The moons in Moon Well? With your abilities, it isn’t difficult for you to fish them up so why do you have to wake me up?”

“I still have other things I need to do, and I can’t be distracted. Therefore I can only wake senior brother up.”

Saint Woodcutter said with a sigh, “Twenty thousand years have passed, it’s a new era. Senior brother shouldn’t sleep anymore.”

Elder Angler stood and picked up his fish basket to carry on his back. After he kept his fishing line and carried his fishing rod, he turned around to meet Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing.

His head was huge which made his neck seem short. The bamboo hat on his head was stuck on his hair bun, and his face looked much older than Saint Woodcutter. Wrinkles covered his face, but his eyes were enormous.

Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing greeted him, and the Elder Angler said, “These two children are…”

“The boy is a Qin descendant from Carefree Village, and the girl is the current Sun Guardian.”

Woodcutter said, “Mu’er, this is Heavenly Teacher Fisherman, he was one of the four heavenly teachers of Founding Emperor Era.”

Elder Angler waved his hands and said with a smile, “Founding Emperor Era has already ended twenty thousand years ago so what are heavenly teachers? Woodcutter, I’m not as shameless as you to still hold onto the title of heavenly teacher. The Qin descendant of Carefree Village coming to the Great Ruins, could Founding Emperor be planning to fight back?”

Saint Woodcutter’s expression was dim.

Elder Angler saw his expression and shook his head. “Carefree Village has now become a safe nest, and Founding Emperor’s heart might have already become old. He won’t come out from his safe nest. Let us go and fish some suns!”

Saint Woodcutter said to Qin Mu, “Mu’er, go with him. I still have other matters to attend to.” After he finished, he turned and vanished quickly without a trace.

Elder Angler also kept the stool and walked out of the ravine. “Two little fellows, follow.”

Qin Mu and Yan Jingjing hurriedly followed after him, and Yan Jingjing whispered, “There are still fish in the basket…”

When she said that, one of the bright red fish laid on the side of the basket with its fins and popped its fish head out. It looked at them with two beady eyes and asked, “Are you two husband and wife?”

Yan Jingjing’s face turned red, and she lowered her head bashfully. “We are not yet…”

Another red fish popped its head out of the basket, and a woman’s voice came from her body. “We are.” After saying so, the lips of these two fishes touched as they kissed.

Yan Jingjing’s face turned even redder, and she tugged on Qin Mu’s sleeves. Qin Mu was currently in a daze and only came back to his sense after being tugged by her. He muttered, “Cooking them in soup should be even more delicious… Sister Jing, what’s up?”