Poison of the Human Panacea
Chapter 7
He lifted the curtains and saw that within a small distance away, there was a group of people heading towards the northern gate of the Mandala City.
Their leader had a leather hat on and was covered in an outer robe made from the skin of a python. The left of the collar of his inner robe crossed over the right[1] and the sleeves were long and loose. The man had tanned skin and was dressed like a person from Xi Qiang[2]. He was Suo Tu, one of the five leaders who were at the Great Hall, and was also known as "Di Long[3]".
His arm was holding a teenager captive who had eye-catching blond hair like Hu Ren[4].
Bai Tan was stunned for a moment and immediately shouted, "Stop the carriage!"
"Leader, look, is that not the Sect Leader"s carriage?"
Hearing the soft call from the side, Suo Tu quickly pulled on the reins and jumped off the horse while the teenager was still struggling for his life, crying and shouting continuously. It made him frustrated to no end and he wanted to break the recently caught little beauty"s neck there and then, but a shadow flew towards him before he could do it.
Suo Tu released the prey in his arms and he quickly slipped away; his body like a python. Looking over, he discovered that it was a dart shaped like a dragon scale. It was from Shi Yue. He could not help but feel a chill in his heart and fell to the ground in a kowtow.
Bai Tan arrived elegantly and without sparing Suo Tu a look, he went straight for the blond boy who looked fl.u.s.tered and whose robes were ragged, bringing him into his arms in one swoop.
"Mi Sha, how did you get caught by them again?"
"Tan, Tan GeGe[5]?!" The teen was still in shock but he shook his head, "After the snake room was burned down, we escaped down the mountain. However, Tian Shan is too big and I was lost for a few months. Today, I b.u.mped into these people who were trying to attack the place. There… there are many, you, you should escape now?"
"Attacking? They are here to worship me." Bai Tan smiled coldly as he shot a glance over at Suo Tu.
The tanned face under the hat instantly turned very dark. Even if he was used to being arrogant, he would not dare to offend this new Sect Leader. Sinking lower with his head and limbs all touching the ground in a kowtow, it really did seem as though he had become an earthworm[6].
Bai Tan persisted and slowly pressed on closer, step by step. Each step was slow and light but they left one footstep after another on the acc.u.mulated snow that looked like burn marks. Suo Tu heard the hissing of the snow melting and did not dare to raise his head, hearing only the pleasant soft laughter from the other person.
"I* burned the snake room down personally and dismissed the people there to let them live. What, are you ignoring my orders because I am still new to the position?"
"This subordinate does not dare to." Suo Tu replied in a low voice and his head was lifted by a slender hand.
His eyes lingered on the youth"s beautiful neck for a moment before meeting the pair of eyes.
The bottom of the pitch-black eyes were full of hatred, sharp as an ice blade.
Suo Tu stopped breathing as he knew that he had touched on a taboo matter.
The "snake room" was where the "Concubine Ming" of Fu Tu Sect were raised[7], where young boys and girls with a special physique were locked up. Once they entered the place, there were only two outcomes. They either die being used for others" cultivation or they die of old age in the cage.
Although Wu Yanfu had taken him, a member of the royal family, in as a disciple, he was placed in the snake room and was even treated like a boy toy [8]. He was not taught a single powerful skill and was only taught how to practice the Arts of Enchantment.
It was a past that everyone knew and Bai Tan had forbidden his underlings from mentioning a single word about it.
Suo Tu felt as though he was facing a huge enemy and wondered if his actions were equivalent to slapping the Sect Leader in his face in public?
"Sect Leader, Sect Leader pardon me. Your subordinate had no intentions of going against your orders." Suo Tu was vicious and lecherous but not good with words. Under Bai Tan"s gaze, it did not take long before he was blushing and stuttering.
Suo Tu had been very curious when he heard about how Shizun treated the youngest disciple as a boy toy and had always wanted to take a peek at his appearance. However, Bai Tan was like a young lady living in her room[9]. It was only during the trip with Shizun to Xi Jiang when he got the chance to see. It was a fleeting glimpse but it stole his heart[10]. He was seen sharing a horse with Shizun and was leaning against Shizun"s chest, wrapped in a layer of snow leopard fur, revealing only half of his face and a pair of slender ankles. He looked very weak like a crystal beauty that would break with a single touch.
It was different from this current self where his sharpness was exposed and an air of hostility radiated off him.
It really is, too much, too much…
Although he was covered in poisonous thorns…but the more poisonous the flower, the more fragrant it is, was that not so?
Suo Tu did not dare to look him in the eye, so he could only look at his feet; his thoughts could not help but become even more jumbled up. It turned out that Bai Tan had taken off his shoes while taking a rest in the carriage earlier and came out without putting them on. He was barefoot as he walked on the snow.
His toes were white and clear, really resembling a pair of white flowers" first bloom under the moon. He was like his name[11].
When he was in the great hall during the day, there was some distance between them so he could not feel anything. Now that they were close, he could feel an unexplainable heavy feeling of enchantment seeping out, even from his toes, and it made it difficult to breathe.
It was no wonder why even a person like Shizun could have become careless and ended up dying in his hands.
Seeing how sweat was pelting down Suo Tu"s face and how dumb he looked at a loss for words, Bai Tan became a little impatient and could not be bothered to pick on his faults. He swished his sleeve in disdain and pulled the other boy into the carriage. Without looking back, "Suo Tu, I* took a beauty of yours, naturally another will be returned in exchange. The person should reach your place[12] within a few days."
"Thank, thanks to the Sect Leader for bestowing."
Suo Tu wiped the sweat off his face and sent one more longing glance over just in time to see the curtain fall back down. A pale face flashed by and he could not help but be stunned.
He had always had good eyesight and was usually keen when it came to remembering and recognizing beauties.
Earlier in the Great Hall, he did not get a good look but looking now, sss[13], this yao ren was not only extremely beautiful but also looked a little familiar. It was as though he had seen him somewhere, years ago. But, where did he see him before?
That"s right, that year, from Ying Yue Palace, that…
It was very strange. He was the one who saved Bai Tan back then – how did Bai Tan not recognize him?
Suo Tu sank deeper into his thoughts as he wondered. He vaguely remembered that back then, when his Shizun, Wu Yanfu, fought against this person to s.n.a.t.c.h Bai Tan back. Despite being injured, each strike was filled with great killing intent as though a demon G.o.d was born. His attacks were able to slice the wind and execute the moon. It would cause the G.o.ds and ghosts to cry as well as destroy the skies and exterminate the ground. There was barely anyone in the entire Wu Lin who was able to block a single attack. He was taken in for ten years but had never seen Wu Yanfu give his all. Yet, that person was able to seriously injure the Wu Yanfu back then with a single arrow. It was unthinkable. It could have been because the other"s inner energy was sufficiently overwhelming or that Bai Tan was in the other"s arms, but Wu Yanfu was apprehensive about it and this incident has remained a mystery in Suo Tu"s heart even now.
What he does not understand even more was why Shizun, even after deciding to abandon the chess piece, Bai Tan, returned to Yue Yin Palace when they were already on their way back. Going through all the ha.s.sle to s.n.a.t.c.h Bai Tan, who was on the brink of death, back. Even at the cost of losing the treasure that they had originally set out to get. It was something he could never get his head around.
He wanted to bring up this question many times before but always ended up retreating.
Hence, even "till Wu Yanfu"s death, he never did know what exactly he was thinking of.
He only knew that saving Bai Tan, who looked weak on the outside but was actually a cruel little demon, was perhaps the one and only miscalculation his Shizun, who was good at planning, strategizing, and was cold-blooded as well as emotionless, ever made in his life.
ꟷ It was also the miscalculation which cost him his life. ……
Hearing the clopping of the horse"s hooves slowly leave as the carriage shook and swayed its way up the hill, the blond teen finally came back to his senses. He lifted his head from Bai Tan"s embrace, still feeling lingering fear, "Tan Gege, I"m very scared."
"Don"t be scared, your Tan Gege is now the Sect Leader. If you follow me, n.o.body would be able to do anything to a little sheep like you." Bai Tan called him intimately using his Tantric nickname, smoothed his hair, and smiled. He really looked like a gentle older brother. When he was still living in the snake house, he and Mi Sha, who was three years younger than himself, relied on each other. They were as close as actual brothers and to date, Mi Sha was one of the few who was still not afraid of him.
"Really? That Suo Tu will not come to catch me anymore?" Mi Sha blinked, his pair of green eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fear really resemble that of a little sheep really make people care for him.
"He dares and I will personally skin him for you to play as a drum." Suddenly there was cruelty in Bai Tan"s eyes and it scared Mi Sha. However, in an instance, he was smiling again, "It"s my fault, I was negligent. Qiu Ci is far from here, how were you supposed to walk there by yourself. I will send you back personally when I go to Xi Ye in the future."
Mi Sha shook his head hurriedly. It was as though he had remembered something sad and tears started glistening in his eyes. He clenched his teeth and said, "No, Mi Sha wants to stay with Tan Gege and learn powerful martial arts. Mi Sha does not want to return to Qiu Ci to be a slave again. If I must return, I should return to Lou Lan instead. That is where Mi Sha"s hometown is."
It was only then that Bai Tan remembered the past that Mi Sha had told him about and his heart softened, "Forget it. It would be good if you learnt martial arts too. Tomorrow, I will get Wuzhang to teach you some Kungfu."
"Nn[14]." Mi Sha wiped his face and a smile immediately graced his face. He was, after all, a naïve teenager and his attention was quickly caught by the other person in the carriage, who was silent.
That person was very handsome but also very scary as he was covered in vines and blood. He was curious and scared at the same time but could not resist touching the demonic vines on the white-haired man. He actually felt it moving slightly as though it was alive and shouted out in shock, "I have seen, seen this type of plant before?"
"Oh?" Bai Tan questioned, "Where did you see it?"
"When I was lost in Tian Shan, I saw an icy pond. In the icy pond, there were quite a number of corpses and demonic vines like these were growing on their bodies, like algae. There were a few people who looked like the Sa Man shamans[15]. They were kneeling and kowtowing at the edge of the pool. They seemed to be praying for the corpses to come back to life. It was really scary. I was really afraid, so I ran."
They were probably also raising yao rens. Bai Tan thought to himself, now that he knew the source of these demonic vines, he could not help but feel happy. In this case, if he had sucked this yao ren dry, he would not need to worry too much.
Wu Yanfu was listening but was a little distracted. In that moment, he was in the depths of a snowy mountain and was riding a white horse. There was a person on his back and another person in his arms while trudging through the snowstorm – trying very hard to find something. However, his memories were fragmented and he could not remember the exact situation, but he had an inkling that he was looking for the icy pond.
Why did he search for the demonic vines and raise this yao ren?
Who was it for? Was it for himself? When was he so severely injured?
Mi Sha poked his chest, "This person, did Tan Gege dig him out from the icy pond?"
"That is naturally not the case." Bai Tan saw that Wu Yanfu had his eyelids lowered and was not speaking at all, looking exactly like a certain type of herbivore. He could not resist scratching his distinctly sharp chin, "This is the yao ren I raised. His name is Ah Chi. Look at him. He looks tall and handsome and is also very tame. Doesn"t he remind you of "Yin Jiao"?"
"Yin Jiao" is a highland horse Wu Yanfu raised. It was picked from ten thousand horses. It was extremely strong and vigorous when it galloped, like dragons and Jiao[16]. Its whole body is snow white and its fur was almost like silver in color. It could understand human speech and reply in horse language. Bai Tan liked it a lot and had asked for it when he went to Xi Jiang with Wu Yanfu.
When Wu Yanfu died, this sharp horse seemed to have felt something. It cried tears of blood and would not stop neighing. It bit the corners of his robes and carelessly pulled at it. From then on, no matter how he tried to tease and play with it, Yin Jiao would not make any more sounds.
Xiao"s Comments: Okay…that part about the horse made me cried…at least someone was sadden at Wu Yanfu"s death. Animals are the most loyal! Wu Yanfu, Wu Yanfu, if you don"t know your own feelings or remember your own memories, how am I supposed to know what"s going through your mind?!
Translator"s Notes: [1] The collars cross each other diagonally with the left crossing over the right. #Garments
[2]
[3] Literally means ground dragon. It is actually dried earthworms used as Chinese medicine.
[4] The general term used by the Han Chinese in Ancient China to refer to people from other tribes, mainly for people from the Eurasian Steppe.
[5] Gege is a term used to refer to older brothers or men who are older but not necessarily blood related.
[6] Referring to Di Long (note 3) which means dried earthworm.
[7] The term is more frequently used for raising animals and has the meaning of raising for use.
[8] Catamite might have been a more accurate term but because it is a term used more specifically in the Ancient Greek times so boy toy was used instead.
[9] The girls in ancient china rarely left their houses, especially if they are from rich families so it would be hard to see their appearances.
[10] The original phrase would mean that a glimpse from Bai Tan stole Suo Tu"s heart. However, it was used to mean Suo Tu"s glimpse at Bai Tan stole his heart.
[11] The flower refers to a type of plant in the cactus family, epiphyllum, which blooms large fragrant flower for a single night only. It also has the same character as Bai Tan and Bai also means white.
[12] 坛部is literally altar department. However, in line with how the leaders are 坛主, it can be referred to as department but I figured place would suit better.
[13] Sound of the guy taking a breath/inhaling through clenched teeth.
[14] Sound of agreement, like mhm.
[15] These are actual shamans who practices Shamanism and is different from the main character shaman
[16] It is a Chinese mythical creature that somewhat also resembles a dragon.
*The “I” or "me" makes a reference to his position or suggests a high rank
Chapter 8