Poison of the Human Panacea
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Chapter 15
A cruel look was shown on Bai Tan"s face, "Not attending? Then, would I* not become a coward? Allowing those slandering rumors to spread in Wu Lin, saying that I* am a boy toy that uses a pretty appearance to obtain others" liking and became the Sect Leader only by using my body, using the Arts of Enchantment, that thousands had rode and ten thousands had f.u.c.ked? I*cannot bear this unpleasantness. They want to see what I* look like then I* will let them see."
Li Wuzhang stopped moving as though he was a freezing cicada. These rumors, originated from Yue Yin Palace, were indeed spreading rapidly.
Ever since the former Gong Zhu[1] Qi Ye died, there was no one to lead the members of Yue Yin Palace and as a result, there had been endless internal conflict. Till date, the position of Gong Zhu was left empty so the Er Tang Zhu, Fu Lu was temporarily put in charge.
Fu Lu was one of Qi Ye"s G.o.dson and so, it was natural that he hated Bai Tan a lot. Moreover, he had done well in the previous Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly and became one of the seven strong fighters in the Wu Lin of the Western Region. This gave him the desire to rule over the Wu Lin of the Western Region. Hence, he put up a bounty in Jiang Hu for Bai Tan"s head as well as spread rumors as he pleased, trying to force him to come out and to step up for a battle. There were two motivations for carrying out such an act, one was to avenge Qi Ye and two was to make use of this opportunity to prove that he was in no way inferior to Wu Yanfu, the former overlord of the Wu Lin in the Western Region.
The rumors were like a rolling s...o...b..ll, the more it rolled, the larger it would become, the more there would be. Currently, almost the entire Western Region Jiang Hu saw Bai Tan as the shame of Wu Lin. The number of people who used him as a topic for after lunch talks was not small either. Even those "admirers" who wanted to see how good he looked, were not little. Even though Bai Tan had sent out ten rakshasas to kill quite a number of people, the rumors showed no sign of stopping and that made him so angry that he almost vomited blood. He was absent during last year"s Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly because he was in seclusion to practice his skills. If he were to not attend the Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly this year too, who knows how the rumors would morph.
After some thoughts, Bai Tan stopped hesitating and immediately picked up a brush to write a return letter.
Li Wuzhang looked at him, not without worry, "Sect Leader, do think through it carefully before proceeding. You have yet to reach the last level. It is too risky."
Bai Tan ignored him. With a raise of his hand, a large bald eagle flew in through the window accompanied by the sounds of its wings flapping. In the next instant, it had flown afar with the letter held in its mouth. His eyes chased after the eagle as it blended into the night sky and said as though he was pondering, "Just in time, using the Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly, I* will also need to find someone suitable to help me* in the cultivation of the Sky of Six Desires."
Wu Yanfu"s expression changed when he heard it and looked towards him.
He touched his own face and said in self-mockery, "Shixiong, what do you think? With this face of mine, would it be difficult to seduce a man whose neili[2] is top grade and pure, that also practices Tong Zi Gong[3], to fall in love with me?"
Li Wuzhang moved his line of sight away uncomfortably and looked at the wall. "Sect Leader is joking right?"
Bai Tan smiled, "Either way, it can"t be cleaned, so I might as well as make it come true. As long as it is possible to practice the Sky of Six Desires, secure the position as the overlord of the Western Region Wu Lin and have everyone look up at me, I will see who would still dare to mention the words "boy toy". It is just trampling on my own body, in any event, this body of mine was supposed to be given to the old devil. An intercourse with anyone is the same, I* am not a woman either so it is not like I can get pregnant, can I?"
Wu Yanfu heard his light-hearted tone and his eyes turned darker and ghastlier.
It was only then that Li Wuzhang realized, "Could… could this be the method that is in the final part of Xing Yu Jing, which Jidu spoke about?"
"That"s right."
Li Wuzhang clenched his teeth tighter and did not say anything. The usual expression of playfulness and laughter was gone, and he forcibly tugged the corners of his lips, "Your subordinate would definitely find a suitable candidate for the Sect Leader."
Bai Tan lowered his eyelids, "Shixiong treats me really well, so well that I do not dare to believe that it is real. The people of this world are too fickle. A moment before, they could be saying words of love and praise but in the next, they could push a person into h.e.l.l. The old devil was so, I am so. Do you know how he lost his life in my hands?"
Spreading a blank piece of sheep skin paper as he spoke, he then dabbed the tip of the brush into the colorless and odorless Chi Lian Chong juice[4]. He drew an invisible mark on the paper before he rapidly outlined the rest. The strokes were twisted and tilted, which made the pattern unrecognizable.
Li Wuzhang stared at the sheep skin paper and was vaguely aware of what it was.
"I said, "Shizun, Tan"er"s life is yours, to die for you, Tan"er is very happy." he believed it and drank the dew that I fed him." Bai Tan"s brush stopped moving for a moment, "what do you say, is it funny?"
Li Wuzhang stayed silent and his breath faltered a little.
"He did not know that I had added this juice of Chi Lian Chong that is used to write secret letters into the dew. It is colorless, odorless and its poisonous effects only surface when heated. That is why after his practice had gone awry, his innards were burned and he did not have a single shred of strength to retaliate. Shixiong, do you remember before that day, I begged you to bring me a scripture that was about the arts of disguising?"
Bai Tan lowered his body towards the table and drew each line carefully with great details. It was as though he was holding a needle and was embroidering the hidden secrets of what had really happened that day.
"I burned it to make it into the powdered medicine."
"In that case, I can be said to be an accomplice of yours. If Shizun did not die, I would have died together with you, isn"t it?" Li Wuzhang had a saddened smile, "when I took the scripture back and realized that there was a missing page, I knew that there was something amiss. And that day, Shizun went into seclusion with you for double cultivation and the practice had gone awry, I was just outside. So, how could I not have known about the commotion inside? Before Shizun died, he told you he had a secret that he wanted to tell you right?"
"You know what that secret is?" Bai Tan lifted his eyelids.
"I don"t."
Li Wuzhang had actually betrayed him for Bai Tan? Wu Yanfu laughed coldly in his heart. It was something that was to be expected.
Bai Tan, this little evildoer, was born with alluring bones and was good in the Arts of Enchantment, he really was troublesome. It would have been fine if he did not have the intention to but if he had the intention to seduce, there would probably only be a few who could resist him. Even if it were him, it would be the same too.
"Forget it, shixiong is actually so good at guessing things. If it was not for you, I probably would not have the time to take the blood relic." Bai Tan sighed, "come here, remove your clothes."
Li Wuzhang did not understand but he still removed his robes, revealing a skinny body. Bai Tan shook the piece of sheep skin paper that seemed to be blank, he walked over and put it over the man"s white chest before reaching his hand out to hug him and pressing his body tightly against him.
Li Wuzhang froze in a daze, then he understood Bai Tan"s intention and carefully pressed down the younger man"s back.
"Once the Chi Lian juice ink gets onto the skin, it can never be washed off, that being the case, you will be my human skin treasure map and you will be targeted by the public. Only I can protect you, even if you were wanting to betray me, you wouldn"t be able to betray me anyway."
Li Wuzhang sniffed the faint fragrance that was vaguely present on his body, "Sect Leader is very cruel. This way, would Wuzhang not have become your Bo Xi[5]?"
Bai Tan smiled and threw the sheep skin paper into the ground furnace, "you are completely right, a Bo Xi. You are now my Bo Xi and your sister, Yin He will also be loyal to me. Isn"t this move I made excellent?"
Li Wuzhang laughed loudly as he clapped and praised, "very good, very good."
With a light puff from Bai Tan, the burnt, withered and blackened sheep paper crumbled into fine powder within the breeze.
He lowered his eyes and stared at the tinder among the ashes that was lit by a spark, as it flickered, "Shixiong, I know how well you treat me in my heart. It"s just that I am an unlucky person. Take a look, anyone who was connected to me all did not have a good ending. Even though I do not know what is grat.i.tude and righteousness, I am not cold blooded like Wu Yanfu. Since you followed me, as long as I am still breathing, I will definitely do my best to not let you die."
Li Wuzhang heard him say it in that manner but in his heart, he sighed.
Was Shizun really cold blooded like he said? In this world, other than himself, there was indeed just a couple people who knew. However, it would probably be good if Bai Tan never found out the truth.
The person"s ashes were scattered by his own hand, knowing the truth would only increase his pain and suffering unnecessarily.
The longings, anger and resentments of this world, did they not all come from being unable to attain while alive and unable to forget when dead?
Since Bai Tan has chosen to break off and to leave, then, it will be up to him to break off and leave.
"The Sect Leader"s meaning, Wuzhang understands." Li Wuzhang put on his mask, he turned around and covered the markings of the treasure map that was just starting to appear on his chest by putting on his robes.
"There will be dangers lurking around during this outing, I* do not want my tracks to be exposed. You, Yin He, Ji Du and Suo Tu is enough. You can go and pick a Rakshasa to dress up as me*. Then, let the other three Tan Zhus escort openly on routes that are different to ours."
"The Sect Leaders considerations are right. We need to be extremely careful on our way to the Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly." Li Wuzhang softened his voice, not without worry, "It is timely. This subordinate heard that a group of Persian envoys is on the way to Yan Qi and is heading towards Lop Nur, we will be taking the same route. How about we conceal ourselves among them?"
"Conceal ourselves?" A sharp glint flashed pa.s.s Bai Tan"s eyes, "why not just simply replace the peach with a pear? Why should we care if those Persian envoys reach Yan Qi or not?"
Li Wuzhang laughed and was dumbfounded, "That is true. When do we leave?"
"Obviously, during night time."
"Understood." Li Wuzhang asked again, "Do we bring the yao ren along?" Bai Tan frowned, "If we leave him here, would he not get stolen in the blink of an eye? I* cannot stay away from his blood now."
Worry appeared on Li Wuzhang"s face, "Forgive your subordinate from overstepping and asking this question, Sect Leader, how frequently do you drink the yao ren"s blood now?"
Bai Tan was a little irritated, "once… a day."
"Then, would the Sect Leader please not consume anymore for a month, starting from today." Li Wuzhang spoke in a low voice, "The blood of a yao ren cultivated with demonic vines is not an ordinary medicinal item. Even though it can cure a hundred poison, replenish one"s neili but everything, if consumed excessively, will become bad. Despite not knowing what the consequences are if it was to be consumed in excess, you subordinate still wants to remind the Sect Leader to be a little more cautious."
"Noted." Bai Tan had the face of not treating it seriously, "hurry and leave."
He had only remembered that he should hide those scriptures in Cang Jing Ge properly when he had finished instructing his subordinates to pack his clothes, to prevent them from being stolen by others. Hence, he left in a hurry and enhanced all the traps inside and out.
Ssss… Ssss…
An eerie sound rang in the silence, as though there was a snake slithering.
Wu Yanfu narrowed his eyes and looked towards the source of the sound.
On a stone pillar, a few steps away, there was a red-scaled poisonous snake, curled around it. Its triangular head was raised as it spat and retracted its forked tongue. It was solemnly getting ready for a deadly strike. Yet, he moved his line of sight away as though he had not seen it and stood still like a stone statue.
"Shizun… it is you, right?" The snake moved its tail and had emitted a human voice.
"The last remaining fragments of soul that was left in the body could not have left Tian Shan…"
"So what if it is?" Wu Yanfu was expressionless and reached out a hand that was wrapped with vines. His fingertips touched the snake"s head and saw it shrinking backwards in fear. With a turn of his hand, he grabbed its weak point and despite not having much strength, the threat behind the action was in no way weak, "did you think that you could take advantage of my moment of weakness to kill your Shizun?"
"Ss… your disciple does not dare to do so." Ji Du did not expect that he would be so calm. He did not have the look of a weakling who had lost his strength. Instead, he was able to get him under control first and that made fear surged from within his heart.
Even though he had changed his body and had a sickly appearance, from his speech and movements, the aura of the overlord of the Western Region Wu Lin was still present. Ji Du had originally gone to spy with the intention of killing but he really did not dare to act rashly now. One must know that Wu Yanfu has always been good at guessing things and strategizing. He had been un.o.bstructed in Wu Lin as well as the Royal Court and was able to cover the sky with his hand. In people"s eyes, he was a character who was like a demonic G.o.d and that was true even in the eye of this disciple. Even if he had taken the wrong move with the chess piece, Bai Tan, and his corpse has already been destroyed and scattered, he still had not fallen into a dead end.
"Do not dare? The owner of this Tian Shan had only just changed yet I saw you treating that little evildoer well, and you even had thoughts about your Shizun"s corpse…" Wu Yanfu"s voice suddenly became deeper, revealing some fierce violence, "that was rather brave of you."
"Had I known that Shizun had already borrowed a body to come back alive, your disciple would have never done that." Ji Du carefully tempted, "Shizun really is good at predicting the future, the body of the yao ren must be extraordinary, recovering skills would not be a difficult task either."
Wu Yanfu"s narrow eyes were half lowered and the corner of his lips curled up with humor, "This little move of yours is still capable of tricking the little evildoer but there is no need to do it when it"s me. Even though your Shizun is now in this miserable state but I haven"t forgotten about the curse that was casted on your body."
Ji Du"s heart tightened, "when did Shizun cast a spell on your disciple"s body?"
"Otherwise, why do you think that your skills have been stagnating and your appearance has been aging in the past year or so? The Chi Dan Zhong Xin[6] curse was casted when your Shizun found out that you were in contact with Yue Yin Palace. Originally, if you had realized your mistakes and knew how to turn around, the curse would not have seeped into your organs, it would, at most, make your eyes feel uncomfortable. Tsk, your Shizun saw that there were traces of blood in your eyes the day before yesterday. The blood vessels in your eyes must swell quite often and your eyesight would be good at times and bad at others. This is the sign that the cursed has entered your organs."
"Shizun has such good means, your disciple actually had no idea that it was a curse you casted and thought that it would be something I had to experience while practicing the "Hundred Insect Curse Poisoned Scripture"…" There was hatred in Ji Du"s voice and the snake slithered towards the man"s neck.
Wu Yanfu, however, did not mind it at all and was pinching the snake"s tail in one hand, playing with it nonchalantly as he mocked, "your Shizun also knows, you begged the little evildoer just for the treasure map in his head to get the spring water from Samudra Manthan to cure the poison. However, you did not know that your Shizun was the only person under the sky who can save you."
The poisonous snake curled around his wrist, tamed, "But, what needs to be done for Shizun to agree to undo the curse on your disciple?"
"You just need to stay by his side, be his limbs and help him with everything. The more loyal you look, the better it is." Wu Yanfu lowered his eyelids and the shadow casted by his eyelashes dyed the faint blue into a dark one, his voice was very low too, "your Shizun only wants you to, give him a little push at the right moment… sending him into your Shizun"s hand."
"Shizun, how should the first move be taken?"
Wu Yanfu spoke calmly, "borrowing strength to fight against strength and the toughest work can be accomplished with little strength. The chess piece that had been inserted in Yue Yin Palace can be put into use. Go and spread out rumors that the Da Tang Zhu, Tian Su, is still alive."
Ji Du pondered for a while and understood. Then, he smiled, "Shizun, this is a very good plan. Currently, Shizun has Tian Su"s body and during that year, because of the great moves that were made, his reputation in Yue Yin Palace had become extremely high. There were quite a number of people who looked up to him as the leader. Especially San Tang Zhu, Lian Jiu, he is extremely loyal. Once you return, you could become the backbone. Arriving at Yue Yin Palace, it would be your territory. We will see how the little evildoer can be atrocious."
Wu Yanfu"s thin lips curled up in a very faint smile, "speaking of this, the time is still too early. We shall see how things proceeds with every step we take. This time, please don"t disappoint your Shizun again." He paused and retracted the smile, "also, if anyone were to touch a single strand of his hair before your Shizun strikes, your Shizun will hold you responsible."
"Understood, your disciple only wishes to use merit to make up for past mistakes, to make a comeback for Shizun."
Wu Yanfu spoke again, "Since you are so loyal, lend your nightmare snake over to your Shizun. Also, take the puppet needles which are in the weaponry and deliver it to your Shizun. It is currently inconvenient for your Shizun to use huge weapons but the puppet needle can still be used."
"…Yes."
Just as the voice fell out, the snake that was wrapping around his wrist disappeared into the darkness, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Within the time for half a joss stick to finish burning, it slithered back up to his arm. Wu Yanfu looked down and indeed, saw that the snake held a few puppet needles that were as thick as nails in its mouth.
A few demonic vines curled around the needles, picking them up and stuck them into a few major acupuncture points at his wrists and ankles. The puppet needles were more than half an inch into the skin and reached the bones. Yet, he did not blink even once and only his pupil constricted.
A short moment later, he moved his limbs and let out a long breath.
Even though he still could not move around freely like a normal human, but he had more strength now compare to what he had before.
The one who really needed the rumor spring water from Samudra Manthan that was in the Heavenly Hall and contained the "Immortality Dew" was not Ji Du but himself.
Samudra Manthan was also the demonic vines–also known as "Asura"s hand", true origin.
In Tian Zhu myths, when Vishnu poured the "Immortality Dew" into Samudra Manthan to share it with the other G.o.ds, Asura had turned himself into a heavenly G.o.d in order to get a share of it. He was exposed by Vishnu, who then took out the Sudarshana Chakra, the most precious treasure in the Heavenly Hall, and chopped off a hand and a head of Asura"s but Asura had already drunk the dew and his head flew up into the sky, obtaining immortality while his hand was left in the Samudra Manthan and turned into the current "demonic vine".
Even though the authenticity of the myth is uncertain but the treasures in the Heavenly Hall actually exist. "Sudarshana Chakra" appeared in the world from the pictures that the craftsman had drew and the demonic vines had grown through the layers of ice and snow from the Heavenly Hall underground and emerged onto the ground surface.
However, after leaving the spring water from Samudra Manthan, the demonic vines that live on human body parasitically would slowly start to mutate and on the day of the solar eclipse, it would cause its host to lose their mind, becoming a violent corpse that is like a demon, like a beast. Its madness would skyrocket. He had seen with his own eyes Sa Man yao ren walking in the snow mountain with the violent corpse that was restrained with metal chains. That was the reason he severed the nerves in the limbs and bounded the yao ren up in the water dungeon even after laying the original owner"s martial arts to waste.
Back then, in order to revive Bai Tan, he had tortured this person so much that he would have preferred death, never had he thought about retribution. He also did not expect that the retribution would strike him in the same way as he had treated Bai Tan.
It really was his retribution.
He was naturally unwilling to concede his fate but thinking about it in detail, it had already been seven years since the last solar eclipse. According to the signs from the comet "Ji Du[7]" that he observed back then, the next eclipse would be at the end of the year.
According to the myth, the arrival of the solar eclipse was the time Asura swallowed the sun. There would not be light in the world and hundreds of ghosts will roam.
The demonic vines would also respond to Asura"s call on the same day and turn into a demonic creature.
If he wants to enter the Heavenly Hall to obtain the spring water from Samudra Manthan, he would still need a few more pieces of Vishnu"s weapons and if he wants to get those weapons, he would need to keep this ident.i.ty and play a game of chess, planning his every move carefully.
Tan"er, even if you were to become the overlord of the Wu Lin in the Western Region, you would still be unable to escape your Shizun"s clutches. Even if you were seated at the pinnacle, looking down on the rest of the world as well as all other people, you would still need to remain under me.
Translator: Yeong
Proofreader: CSchick911
QC: Xiao
Xiao"s Comments: Finally, Wu Yanfu is making his move. I, also, cannot wait for Bai Tan to be under Wu Yanfu…
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Gong Zhu（宫主）is the leader of the palace.
[2] Neili (内力) is one of the force of energy that is summoned internally from within the body. It is similar to zhenqi（真气）or qigong（气功）.
[3] Tong Zi Gong(童子功) is a skill that came from Shaolin. The name of the skill can be understood as, the young boy skill or the virgin boy skill.
[4] Chi Lian Chong juice (赤练虫汁) I"m not really sure what this thing is but if directly translated it can be read as the "red ribbon insect juice" but sometimes in olden times, they would refer to land animals with a name that has the same character as insect, so it could mean a snake that has red and black patterns on its body. As for the juice part… it could just mean its venom.
[5] Bo Xi (柏奚) is not a person but a doll carved from the wood of Cupressaceae. It was widely used in ancient time to help a family block misfortune or mishap that would have otherwise have fallen on the family, others bury it in graves for accompaniment for the deceased.
[6] Chi Dan Zhong Xin（赤胆忠心）literally means to bare your gall and a loyal heart.
[7] Ji Du(记都) this Ji Du is different from the other character Jidu(姬毒).
Chapter 16