Poison of the Human Panacea
Chapter 25
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Night had fallen, the sands were like snow and the moon was like a hook, while the wild winds made a great commotion alongside the scenery.
The ship slowly approached the riverbank. Bai Tan brushed the water off of his clothes, he held the Shi Yue Hook and slowly walked towards the side of the ship"s mast. With his hands behind his back, he looked down and astride the lead horse, saw a man in red clothes coming toward him at an incredible speed.
Mi Lansheng looked up at the figure on board the ship, when he"d first seen his posture from far away, he"d merely thought of that persons figure as striking. But upon a closer look and with just one glance, he realized it was actually a young male of stunning beauty. The cold yet gorgeous face was just like an epiphyllum flower in the early stage of blooming. The sight of the flowers b.l.o.o.d.y redness within the night sky, the sight of it dancing within a sky full of pouring sand, it all suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes. Mi Lansheng couldn"t breathe for a moment and he pulled harshly on the reins.
The horse released a scream towards the sky, braking quickly with its front hooves.
Mi Lansheng looked straight at the young male and collected his thoughts, then spoke in a clear voice, "Could your excellency be the current sect leader of Fu Tu Sect, Bai Tan?"
"It is me*." Bai Tan pulled out the Shi Yue Hook as his eyes illuminated in the light from the blade, showing a cold and chilling gleam. "Then your excellency must be…Sect Master Mi, Mi Lansheng, right?"
Mi Lansheng heard his impertinent tone, then saw the Shi Yue Hook and remembered Wu Yanfu"s domineering aura when he held that peerless, G.o.dly weapon. Those attacks of his, they were enough to shake up the sky and earth, enough to make the demons and G.o.ds cry. A sudden feeling of sympathy rose up within his heart and he thought that not only had this person killed his own shizun, he"d even taken his weapons as his own. Truly a rebellion[1]. Even though he, himself, wasn"t one of those who walked on the righteous path of Wu Lin; yet, this type of betrayal and foul act was something he"d definitely not do.
But, seeing again that Bai Tan was an arrogant one who didn"t see anyone as his equal, he was basically a little wolf cub who had just finished sharpening up those ferocious claws and teeth of his and was ready to show them off. Then, Mi Lansheng showed a vicious expression, "That is right, I am Mi Lansheng. Shizun"s body and bones haven"t grown cold[2] and yet, Sect Leader Bai came to partic.i.p.ate in the Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly in such a known manner. You sure are in a great mood for it."
Bai Tan furrowed his brows and only replied briefly with a few words, "That is natural. I* had just annihilated his body, since then I"ve been in a great mood, so of course I have to travel outside to relieve myself a bit."
Relieve? What an easy thing to say.
Mi Lansheng thought that and had already made the decision to slice the betrayer up with his own hands in place of Wu Yanfu. His arm shook and the Tu Luo Po Zhang Jue[3] was in his hand. His well mastered neili ripped open one of his sleeves revealing the firmly built arm with the tattoos of angered deities. His fierce and dominant aura was high, "Since you are in such a good mood, I wonder if Sect Leader Bai holds interest in exchanging some moves with me? For a while now I"ve been hearing of Sect Leader Bai"s extraordinary talents, they say you have a great natural talent for learning martial skills and are also self-taught. I wonder if those words are true?"
Bai Tan heard his mocking tone and anger immediately rose to the maximum in his heart. He felt that he"d dare to act recklessly under the influence of his emotions. He tapped with the tip of his feet once then leaped down to the top of the ship"s keel and turned sideways, "Whether the words are true or not, you can try and find out."
Mi Lansheng saw that he had no intention of coming down and he, himself didn"t hesitate. With a smack of the whip, his horse ran towards the sh.o.r.e of the lake. Then, with one last push by stomping the horse"s back, he flung himself towards the figure that stood above the ship"s keel, high in the air.
Bai Tan had read some weapon scrolls before, and that the Tu Luo Po Zhang Jue of Mi Lansheng"s was extremely powerful. Once it touched blood, a deadly life-s.n.a.t.c.hing poison would come out. The poison would travel into one"s body through the blood and countless meat flowers would blossom as it split their meridians open. Not only was it an extremely painful death, the resulting appearance was extremely wretched. The weapon was one where not even a single piece of hair could be touched by it, meaning that one shouldn"t go up against it with force and fight it head on. One should use techniques to win[4], take one step back to advance two steps forward[5] and conquer the unyielding with the yielding[6].
Then, Bai Tan tapped the ship keel and lightly landed on the water"s surface. Every single step of Mi Lanshengs was bringing him closer and at the sight of the other facing towards him, Bai Tan"s body floated backwards softly, like a bird flitting over the surface of the water with the pure intention of avoiding him. This was the high cla.s.sed qinggon "Wu Feng Nong Yue[7]" from the Sky of Six Desires. But the way he used it was different from the unconstrained way of Wu Yanfu"s. Alongside the appearance of the corner of his clothing floating and his raven hair dancing in the wind, there was also the inexplicable feeling of one"s heart-strings being tugged through the sight of his gorgeous dance.
Bai Tan didn"t know what the result of that one tap was going to be either, he had already practiced countless skills of the Arts of Enchantment and the practices of soul hooking skills" had been burnt into his heart. He just had to combine different skills and techniques together, then let his neili act, the stronger the opponent he met was, the stronger the scent of enchantment there was on him.
The quicker Mi Lansheng chased, the closer he got and the better he was able to feel the indescribable seduction from the other. Under the distraction, his aura of murder slowly weakened and his movements slightly lagged behind, which put him at a disadvantage. Bai Tan took hold of the chance and with one move of "Tiannu Zhaihua"[8] he went from defense to offense. Waves of water fiercely crashed over Mi Lansheng and the pulling of the waves made the tip of his jue miss its target. The hooks body suddenly seemed as if it"d transformed into a jia dragon as it raced towards his right arm, in desire of getting rid of his weapon, while the blade shaped hilt-end went straight for his face.
Mi Lansheng quickly dodged it and the Tu Luo Po Zhang Jue within his hand let out a sharp cry as the golden jue head abruptly cracked open to bloom into the shape of a flower. After leaving the body of jue, flower petals that seemed like both a shuttle and an arrow suddenly flew towards Bai Tan, one by one!
Bai Tan"s expression darkened and scalding winds burst out from all over him to disperse the deadly poisoned flower petals. Shi Yue"s hilt had just struck the jue within Mi Lansheng"s hand and its tail hooked onto Mi Lansheng"s firm metal-like right arm, the two of them were neck and neck with each other, as both of their neilis clashed and the weapons intersected. Huge waves that seemed like they could reach the sky were raised in the moment of impact and both of them looked like they were just about to fall straight into the water.
With his back slightly touching the water surface, Bai Tan"s scalp tightened and immediately, a wave arose, he then turned to push Mi Lansheng below him, only to see that the other"s jue had blossomed another golden flower, pointed right at his chest. He unconsciously opened his gorgeous, red lips and as his mouth and jaw hung open. Unknowingly, he used the extremely high skilled "Yan Shi Mei Xing[9]" practice from the Arts of Enchantment. Mi Lansheng already had a little consideration of not being able to fight him due to some reasons, but when he felt the charms flying straight to his face again; his whole body immediately shook. In that instant, his momentum was broken and he fell into the water.
What was more surprising to Mi Lansheng, was that Bai Tan pursued further beyond his victory and with one hand, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the Tu Luo Po Zhang Jue from his hand, as his other hand used the Shi Yue Hook to hook into his waistband. He lifted him up from the water, then leapt back onto the ship.
Mi Lansheng steadied his feet, then scanned over all the disciples from his sect below the ship and suddenly felt ashamed. He, as someone who was ranked number five within the top seven masters of the western region, he felt a bit undeserving of this result. Coming to the Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly this time, he"d merely wanted to show off his dominant skills and never would"ve thought that he"d be beaten so badly by the little evildoer that was seen as the humiliation of the Wu Lin on his way to the a.s.sembly.
No matter what, he couldn"t think it through. The skill Bai Tan had used just now was definitely a sharp and precise killing move and not some kind of low-life enchantment art, so, why was it able to seduce him to where he couldn"t even control his own body? Even if it was an Art of Enchantment skill, he definitely wouldn"t have fallen for it that easily.
Even though he wasn"t willing to accept the defeat, thinking back to earlier, the other didn"t play any dirty tricks so he didn"t win in a despicable way. He obviously had the chance to kill him as well, but he didn"t take advantage of him and stopped before going too far. So up to this point, Mi Lansheng couldn"t help it, but some of his viewpoints were changing. He held back his anger, "Sect Leader Bai is just as the words describe. I*…my[10] weapon, could it be returned to me?"
Bai Tan didn"t reply immediately, he held onto the golden jue and spun it around a few times, as if he was playing with a toy before hiding behind his back, "I"ve* defeated you, then this toy of yours will be my* prize. But…" He took one step closer towards him as the corner of his mouth slightly rose, "If Sect Master Mi could accept a favor of mine*, then I"ll* give you your weapon back and you could still fight with me* once more in the Great a.s.sembly of Wu Lin."
Mi Lansheng"s brows furrowed and he stared as he asked, "What favor?"
"Give some face and stay on the ship tonight to drink with me* and we can be friends, how"s that?"
"Be friends?" Mi Lansheng showed a great deal of surprise.
"That"s right. For Sect Leader Mi to go there this time, were you not thinking of competing for the overlord position and to feel prideful? I* want to fight all of those matches and wash away my shame once and for all. Why don"t we team up to advance forward, and then we can fight again to see who is above and who is below?"
Li Wuzhang listened and felt shocked, but Ji Du had already seen through it all. His wrist was also wrapped dead tight by the nightmare snake on his arm and he knew that shi zun knew better than him…there was no way Bai Tan was trying to find an ally.
He is such a sensitive and doubtful wolf cub, why would he trust Mi Lansheng? He was obviously interested in him and wanted to lure the other into double cultivation with him and steal all of his pure neilis to break through the dangerous level of the Sky of Six Desires.
"If Sect Master Mi isn"t willing to give me* this face, then whatever. Thinking again, Sect Master Mi would mainly think that since my* name isn"t viewed fondly and to be defeated by my* hands, it doesn"t give you any light. So now you don"t even plan on attending the Great a.s.sembly of Wu Lin anymore."
After he finished, Bai Tan turned and was about to enter the cabin. Mi Lansheng hesitated a bit then spoke, "Sect Leader Bai, wait."
"Sect Master Mi, welcome." Bai Tan turned his head and smiled, he lifted up the felt curtain in front of the cabin door and made a welcoming hand gesture. He was already born looking like some kind of demon or fairy, his charm flew out even more when he looked at people with squinted eyes and there was an inexplicable sense of ambiguity.
Even though Mi Lansheng was young, he was still the master of a sect. He"d been through many people who tried to seduce him to take advantage of him, and he had also been through many life and death battles. Naturally, he was cautious. But at the sight of the other"s appearance now, his breathing couldn"t help but stumble. He didn"t think as he stepped forward…the more dangerous the dragon chasm or tiger cave was, the more he wanted to venture in. He wanted to see exactly what trick this shizun-killing evildoer was trying to play. With that thought in mind, taking vigorous strides, he followed in.
Li Wuzhang wanted to go in as well, but he was harshly glared at by Bai Tan so he could only stop behind the door and order the rakshasas to guard outside the cabin door, the disciples of the Mandala Sect didn"t know what was happening and they didn"t dare make any rash moves either. They only gathered to sit around the river sh.o.r.e to wait for their Sect Master, Mi Lansheng"s orders.
Only the old shaman came down off of his horse shakily and walked to the side of the ship. He lifted his head up to look at Li Wuzhang and a face covered by countless creases like a trees bark was revealed from beneath the capes hood. It looked as if he was so old he should be in the ground, yet his eyes were as sharp as a hawk"s. It was as if he could see through one"s outer skin in an instant and catch whatever he was looking for.
Li Wuzhang walked closer towards the ship"s mast, "This elderly, is there anything you need?"
"When my old self hid within the Xu Mi You Valley of Tian Shan, I met Sect Leader Bai there once and I have some things to ask him. But, it isn"t urgent. My old self can wait until he is done drinking with the Sect Master, it won"t be too late.
"Oh? Xu Mi You Valley? This junior here has never heard of this," Li Wuzhang wondered, "When did our sect leader go there?"
The old shaman chuckled with a "hehe" sound and he rubbed the night pearl on his wand, "Sect Leader Bai probably doesn"t even remember it himself, but to my old self, the memories of that year are still freshly new."
The clay pot was full of Persian grape wine…once it was opened, the sweet aroma of the wine immediately filled the room.
A short table was placed inside the cabin and the two sat across from each other, the Persian beauty that was supposed to be gifted to the Emperor of Yanqi sat in the corner as she played the konghou. The sound of the konghou was like a slow river stream and the humming of a nightingale.
"Whoosh…" A thin and long hand reached out to where Mi Lansheng could see it under his eyes and it poured a cup full of wine, the wine had been fermented to the point where its liquids were as red as blood. It made the hand look even whiter, as if it was a magnolia and even if it was just one action of pouring wine, it looked like the nature"s floating clouds and flowing water. No other sight could be compared to this beauty, even the one drop of wine that stained his hand became the cinnabar[11] of a painting.
Mi Lansheng wasn"t someone of the righteous way and he also knew that Bai Tan had been a boy toy, how could he not get the hint? Seeing how ambiguous the other was, he went along with the flow happily and reached out a hand to wipe away the drop of wine from the back of the youth"s hand. Then right after, he held the hand that was pouring wine in his own hand, "Looking at Sect Leader Bai"s hand, it is both white and thin, it really doesn"t look like one of a fighter."
"Then what does it look like?" Bai Tan didn"t mind and just let the man hold it and slowly delivered the wine cup to his lips. Mi Lansheng didn"t smell it, nor did he taste it, he only stared straight at the thin, charming, red lips of the youth and pa.s.sed it back to him.
"Master Mi is thinking too much, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done so earlier. What is the point in using such a childish trick?"
Bai Tan gave a slight smile as he used one hand to hold his head up while his body t.i.tled, he took a sip of the wine and his lips were painted by a stain of bright red. He lifted his eyes and it moved from down to up, his thick eyelashes were like night b.u.t.terflies, spreading their wings with the desire to fly. It lured the other to walk into the warm and beautiful dream within those gorgeous eyes.
Not knowing how, but the sense of loathing and hatred Mi Lansheng had for the youth in front of him just disappeared without a single trace. An unpredictable fire of desire burned in his heart and he couldn"t help but s.n.a.t.c.h the cup of wine with one hand. He tilted his head back to swallow, but it was like adding fuel to the fire and he then wanted to embrace the youth"s body, unexpectedly, the other dodged aside. Bai Tan reached his hand out to take the veil off of the Persian beauty on the side and put it on his own face, before sending her out.
When only two people were left within the cabin, Mi Lansheng saw the youth"s turned face as he looked over with the translucent veil covering half of his face, exposing only an impressive pair of phoenix eyes. There was no sign of the youthful sect leader that was just fighting with him anymore, he was now like a rare, elegant, and graceful beauty of this world. "Fine wine and delicacies, how can it go without some songs and dances for entertainment? Let me[12] dance to a song for Master Mi."
"Excellent, excellent!" Mi Lansheng had a frank and straightforward personality and since he was excited, he laughed out loud without constraint. He opened his sweat drenched clothing and lifted up a clay pot from beside him, tilting his head back as he gulped down a mouthful of fine grape wine.
Bai Tan pressed onto the veil with one hand and his five fingers slowly blossomed open in the shape of a lotus flower, his arm twisted a bit as it sat above his head. This was the starting position of "Tiannu Gouhun", then, one of his jade-like feet stepped onto the short table. He tipped his toes and with one shake of his ankle, the bells on the human skull bracelet let out a moan-like sound. This was a vessel used for Arts of Enchantment, he hadn"t destroyed it yet. But it was only there to cover up the eye awakening mark left by the shackles.
Never did he think that he"d still have a chance to use it today.
"Sssss…" The two hadn"t realized yet, but a red scaled, venomous snake made its way into the room through one of the corners and hid within the dark to observe them. Nor did they know that there were ears in the wall and a person had their back against the wall as they listened to the movements behind the wall with closed eyes, their two hands were already curled into fists and its bone joints let out soft, cracking sounds.
Translator: Crispyfry
Proofreader: Grumpykit
QC: Xiao
Xiao"s Comments: Mi Lansheng, I had high hopes for you…but you couldn"t resist Bai Tan"s charms afterall…well, can"t really blame you.
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Rebellion – 遁天妄行, the original Chinese text is an idiom used to describe one who violates rules and does whatever they want.
[2] bones haven"t gone cold – 尸骨未寒, literal translation, an idiom used to describe one that"s only been dead for a short period of time
[3] Jue – 橛, a weapon, usually made of bronze, silver, wood, or elephant tusks, called "vajvakilaka" in the Sanskrit language. Image; (search keyword "vajvakilaka" or "金刚橛" for more reference)
[4] use techniques to win – 以巧取胜, literally means "use (their) skills (to) take (the) win"
[5] take one step back to advance two steps forward – 以退为进, literally means "use back (meaning to back off) to advance"
[6] conquer the unyielding with the yielding – 以柔克刚, literally means "use softness (to) overcome toughness"
[7] "Wu Feng Nong Yue" – "舞风弄月", literally means "Dancing Wind Do/Fetch/Handle/Fool with Moon"
[8] "Tiannu Zhaihua" – "天女摘花", literally means "Heavenly Girl Picks Flower"
[9] "Yan Shi Mei Xing" – "烟视媚行", literally means "Smoke/mist Vision Charm Behavior" it is an idiom used to describe someone being shy and awkward.
[10] My – 在下, he addressed himself in a modest way one would use against an elder/higher ranked person, and the "I" he used earlier in the sentence is the same p.r.o.noun Bai Tan usually uses to address himself as a high ranked individual.
[11] Cinnabar – 朱砂, a mineral that is commonly used to make rouges in ancient China.
[12] Me -, Bai Tan used the modest term a woman in ancient China would use to address themselves by.
I/my* – The use of "I" or "me" makes a reference to Bai Tan"s position or suggest a high rank.
Chapter 26