Poison of the Human Panacea
Chapter 27
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…How? Not knowing what to do, he couldn"t help but curl his hand into a fist. But his wrist was grabbed.
The five chillingly cold, thin and long fingers dug in between his fingers. Then the other"s thin lips came close to his earlobe and exhaled heavily, yet his voice was fresh and clear, "Ah-Chi…likes you."
As the few words left his mouth, in his mind, Wu Yanfu couldn"t help but to start laughing at himself. Throughout his entire life, he had always been one high and important individual who was always cautious of others. Not many trust-worthy, close friends of his existed, and of course, he couldn"t remember how many fake words and riddles he"d spoken. Nor could he remember how many traps he had set for others, but only this sentence…uncontrollably, every single word was true.
Yet, he was wearing someone else"s skin.
Bai Tan froze there and not knowing what to do, he turned his face sideways. His sight landed on that pair of blue eyes just inches away, the bottom of those eyes were mottled and it made him feel like he"d sunk down to the bottom of a foggy river. In that moment, he couldn"t tear his eyes away, nor could he escape the feeling.
There were many people in this world who hated him, who looked down on him. People who wanted him to become even bigger than he was existed too, but not one had ever been so straightforward and frank as to tell him; they liked him.
Yet, it was from a yao ren that shouldn"t have any natural desires.
But in this world, there was no other who had treated him as faithfully and devotedly as the yao ren.
Bai Tan s.p.a.ced out, then looked at the yao ren in bewilderment; it felt as if the layer of ice that had frozen his heart for the longest time had broken and it brought him immense pain
The pain came so unexpectedly, he didn"t know what to do, he covered his face with his hands in panic and buried his head between his knees; wanting to hide himself.
But a pair of hands wrapped around his body from behind and pulled him into a tight embrace, he then felt the back of his shoulder dipping down slightly. It was because the man behind him had put his chin on it, Bai Tan tried to resist on instinct, but only felt the arms around him tightening up more. The cool thin lips flitted over his cheek and sucked away the teardrops.
Bai Tan"s head bent down and he let his own hands go with the attempt to peel the other"s arms off of him. From the side, Wu Yanfu saw a teardrop sliding from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth and, as if he was under a spell, he lowered his head to lick it. It felt like some fine wine that had finally quenched the thirst of a land that had been dry for too long, it seemed like he could taste a thousand different flavors.
Bai Tan naturally didn"t let him continue tasting it, his alluring bone had reacted violently from the lick and his face lost all its color from the shock, he turned and slapped the person behind him. He unconsciously used neili in that single slap and the power was great enough to fling Wu Yanfu into the wall, which then made him fall to the floor in an embarra.s.sing state. Wu Yanfu let out a few breaths then straightened himself up, he coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood and yet the corner of his lips curved up in mockery, "Master…did Ah-Chi do something wrong?"
"Good that you know." Bai Tan took in a deep breath and closed his eyes before opening them again. His face was now cold, the tears from the corner of his eye were still there, but they were like some thousand-year-old ice crystals. How could anyone find a single sight of emotion in there?
Before, he used to have a nice-flowing personality, like the water, his heart was soft and he was also a timid scaredy-cat. With a few inches of ice appearing, the water had turned into strong ice and that definitely didn"t come from only a day of coldness. He went through all those trips and falls, stepping up to the sect leader position from all of his slow and cautious movements. How could it be said so easily? If his heart and emotions were to be moved so easily, how could he rule the world with no worries and fears?
So what if he"s his savior? So what if he, himself neglected the kindness he had received and betrayed him in return?
He had already done such a thing as killing his own master, would he be scared of karma?
Not waiting for the yao ren to get up, he waved his hand and ordered the other to bow down on his knees in a crawling position under his feet. He looked at him with droopy eyes, as if he were a G.o.d looking down on an ant, "You have to know, you are my* yao ren. You were born as a medicine and will die as a medicine. Other than that, don"t be greedy for the impossible."
As the words left his mouth, his breath hitched and he backed away a few steps as he covered his mouth.
How…how could he say such similar words to that man?
Why?
Bai Tan"s heart was in a mess and his eyes unintentionally landed on a pot of wine beside him, he immediately flung the pot lid off, shattering it to pieces. He raised the wine pot and drank satisfyingly, even if his face and head were drenched all over by the wine, he didn"t care. In one gulp, he drank to where the bottom of the wine pot could be seen and he couldn"t fight against the drunkenness anymore. He tossed the wine pot away randomly and it shattered into pieces, then he sat beside the table with all his limbs spread out. He scooped the konghou from the wall corner into his arms and started playing randomly.
The notes and tone were all over the place, which happened to be the exact representation of one"s chaotic emotions.
This was the first time that he had drank this much wine, he was drunk to the brim as he started to speak nonsense, "They say that wine doesn"t make one drunk, only one would make themselves drunk[1]. A flower will not enchant one, only one would be enchanted[2]…they"re all idiots, I don"t wanna be an idiot."
When he finished, he hugged the instrument and bent over the table then fell asleep, drunk.
Idiot?
Wu Yanfu stared at the young male"s sleeping face and one of his hands flitted across his cheek then it softly rested on the strings of the instrument, his other hand went to pick up the wine that lay on its side on the table. With no sounds, he arched his neck and drank all the remaining wine in one go.
Tan"er, do you know, the one that is idiotic now…is not you.
That night, in the madrugada [3].
Everyone was in a deep sleep and no one had noticed that a person had snuck into the bottom compartment of the ship.
"Ziii, ziii…"
In the darkness, the breath of the b.l.o.o.d.y person tied to a pole of the ship had stopped. But in the single empty cave socket of his eye, a white figure, as thick as a finger was squirming slowly, climbing out, little by little.
When it poked its head out, a thin, long, white hand came from nowhere and trapped it between their fingers.
A pair of blue eyes squinted and it studied the gu insect[4] for a while then put it on his meridian, the gu insect"s long, thin body arched, then dug into his skin and disappeared completely out of sight; only a b.l.o.o.d.y hole was left behind. But on his arm, a blood vessel started to twitch slightly.
Wu Yanfu closed his eyes as all his fingers stretched out, the points of his ren and du mai had blood seeping out to form dots of blood on his skin. In a short while, his whole body was covered in blood and the circulation within his eight extraordinary meridians slowly strengthened. He let out a long breath as he felt comfort from all over his body, then he pressed down hard on the spirit seals[5] with two fingers.
He touched the protruding spot and immediately pinched down to force it all the way up to his meridian and with one squeeze of his fingernail, the gu insect was sc.r.a.ped out and tossed to the ground. With a flick of his middle finger, a golden needle shot out of his hand and it was instantly pierced to death.
"Ssss," Suddenly Wu Yanfu heard some noises from behind him.
He turned his head to see a strip of moonlight entering the room from the crack in the door, and it outlined the young male"s gorgeously detailed face.
Bai Tan pushed the door open and walked over slowly. His hair was down and he only had a long black gauze robe on, it covered his jade-colored skin like light smoke covering the surface of cold water. He, himself, was entirely like some fog that had been blown in.
Wu Yanfu fixedly stared at him and didn"t utter a single word, the young male turned his own body and descended lightly onto the other"s crossed legs.
That raven black hair was like flowing water as it immeasurably seeped into his embrace, his soft arms hooked around his neck and held it intimately tight. The dark red lips were half-closed and half-opened, closing in on the other"s cheek slowly.
Wu Yanfu"s eyes sparked and his hands stroked the young male"s face, but as they slid from the other"s earlobe down to his shoulder, he pressed onto it.
"Lian Jiu, did you follow me here the whole way?"
In an instant, the illusion was broken.
The young male"s face that had lain within Wu Yanfu"s embrace suddenly had sharp edges and it turned into the handsome face of a youth, as his figure also became taller.
"What a disappointment, little bro"s little tricks can never fool big bro." Lian Jiu sighed and reached out his hand to take off the Soul-Bewitching b.u.t.terfly, that had its two wings spread open from his forehead and reluctantly got up from Wu Yanfu"s embrace. But unexpectedly, he felt a tightness around his waist and he realized he was being held.
Lian Jiu was a little stunned and he turned his head around to look, the darkness had covered the slight redness blossoming on his cheeks, "Big bro? I thought you, towards that little evil-doer…"
"How is that possible?" Wu Yanfu lifted up the scorpion-shaped braid from his collar and wrapped it around his own finger, then spoke in a deep voice, "When I saved him that year, it was only for the sake of going up against Wu Yanfu. Now that I have to stay by his side every single day…it"s an experience where I"d rather choose death over life. Plus, my feelings, do you still not know?"
Lian Jiu couldn"t hold back his joy and held on tightly to the person he had been thinking of from morning to night, he even became so enamored, he left a kiss on the other"s vast, wide chest. But he had coincidentally seen the few blood holes that were barely healed and couldn"t help but be suspicious, "Big bro, why does this look like…?"
He stopped a bit, his face immediately changed color and he asked in anger, "That little evil-doer cast gu on you?"
He then realized that his right arm was perfectly intact as well, which shocked him even more.
Wu Yanfu went on, "Don"t be shocked, someday, I"ll explain it to you myself." As he spoke, he stretched his legs out and sniffed some phosphorus powder he had grabbed. "Lian Jiu, since there is no one around now, quickly, cut off both of my legs."
"Ah?" Lian Jiu was shocked upon hearing the words, but he quickly turned his focus back on and hesitantly took his Soul Hooking Claw out from his sleeve. The sharp claw blades slammed down on his right leg and the leg and hip instantly separated as fresh blood spurted out in every direction, Wu Yanfu groaned stiffly. The joints made clicking noises and he let out a breath, then continued with a hiss, "Again."
Lian Jiu wiped a handful of sweat from his forehead and just as he was about to cut the other leg off, he heard footsteps sounding from outside. He quickly put Wu Yanfu"s arm around him, wanting to run away.
But Wu Yanfu ripped his arm off of him, "Lian Jiu, you mustn"t take me away now."
Lian Jiu clenched his teeth and hearing the footsteps coming closer and closer, he could only shrink his body down and hide in a dark spot.
Since Bai Tan had drunk quite a bit of wine, he came down to release some water. But just as he pa.s.sed by the toilet cabin, he heard some unusual noises from the bottom compartment. He thought, could those captives from the daytime still have the energy to escape?
He held in the urge to pee and holding on tight to Shiyue, he opened the door to the ship"s bottom compartment and a strong smell of blood came right at his face.
Black clouds were covering the moon at this time and it was immensely dark within the ship, he could only use the Shiyue Hook"s gemstone light to have a peek at the situation inside the ship. In the blurriness, he saw a figure crawling on the ground, their back rose up and down as they let out large breaths. He couldn"t help but be shocked in his heart and he let out an "Ah-Chi" from his mouth, then quickly walked up to it.
With just one look, he saw the yao ren lying in a puddle of blood as one of his legs was cut off. Bai Tan couldn"t help but be surprised and then the door behind him closed with a creaking sound; causing the ship to become even darker. He could feel the murderous aura from behind him and the Shiyue within Bai Tan"s hand glistened coldly, he swung it towards his back and sliced open the thick darkness with bright light, then a face appeared behind it.
Bai Tan"s face instantly paled and his legs turned weak, he staggered and almost kneeled onto the ground.
But that figure walked towards him, step by step, getting closer and closer. Light from the cold blade outlined the man"s thin lips that curved up like a smile, yet it also looked like it wasn"t a smile. A pair of unpredictable, narrowed eyes with no stars and no moon and a pair of sword-like brows was also seen.
All of those clear features, it seemed like his nightmare had come true.
Bai Tan could feel the tips of his own fingers shaking, the back of his hand shaking. Then the vibrations spread like a plague as it infected his whole arm, to the point where he couldn"t even hold Shiyue securely and the hook blade let out buzzing sounds.
"Don"t come closer!"
As if the figure didn"t hear, it kept walking over, getting closer and closer.
"You…you…how could you still be alive?!"
Bai Tan stared at him and his lips quivered like a bird that had just fallen into the water, redness spread over his eyes.
The figure didn"t answer and just slowly reached out a hand to hold down the dangling "Shiyue" in front of him, within the dense, cold light, he could only see the pair of thin lips curve to an even deeper degree. Those thin, long fingers followed the path of the dragon-snake-shaped blade up and in that moment, it looked as if he wanted to stroke the other"s face. Then again, it also seemed like he had the desire to choke the other by the neck. Bai Tan"s breathing sped up and with a movement of his wrist, he wanted to pierce his chest through with the hooked blade. Yet no matter what, he couldn"t move as his body shook immensely.
"What…? Are you that scared of me?"
That person smiled slightly and his voice was like both a weave and web, Bai Tan felt as if his heart was trapped tightly. Heat rose from his throat and a b.l.o.o.d.y taste seeped out from the root of his tongue. "Wu[6]!" He covered his mouth with one hand, forcing the mouthful of fresh blood down.
Wu Yanfu"s eyes immediately darkened and his look was almost electric, shooting towards the person in front of him.
Lian Jiu was having a great time, how could he just stop now? Looking at Bai Tan"s current appearance, he could tell that the Soul-Bewitching b.u.t.terfly had lured out the greatest fear within him. So he went on, even further, in desire of taking this chance to torture the other to his heart"s content.
"Did you miss me…?" Bai Tan heard a slight smile within the devil"s voice, the tone was strangely filled with deep emotions. His fingertip almost touched the corner of his eyes but then flitted past by the tip of his nose and landed on the back of the hand that he covered his mouth with. With just a soft touch, Bai Tan acted as if he was splashed by a fiery star[7] and aggressively backed off a great step. He stepped on the puddle of blood and he fell on his b.u.t.t onto the floor, he squirmed his legs and couldn"t help but back away. He held tighter onto the hook within his hand as well, the tip of the blade pointed perfectly at the other"s heart.
Of course, he had once scooped out his heart in one cut, how could this person still be alive?
Thinking like that, the b.l.o.o.d.y taste within his mouth instantly became stronger.
"Look at how scared you are, it"s not like I"m gonna eat you…"
Lian Jiu sighed and bent down, suddenly getting bolder and excited.
"Are you really this scared of me? Or is it because you can"t let go and forget?"
"Don"t come closer!" Bai Tans whole body shook and shivered as if he was in great cold, even the pitch in his voice changed. One was because of fear, and the second was because his alluring bone started to squirm like a fox tail. Each move was extremely intense. Seeing that Wu Yanfu"s face was getting closer and closer, Gui Yu"er"s words rang beside his ear. Under the terror, he started to scream, "Whether you are a human or ghost, if I can kill you once, then I can kill you twice!"
Wu Yanfu"s heart skipped painfully and saw the young male swinging towards it as if he had gone insane, the figure in front of him instantly disappeared.
Bai Tan straight out missed and two pieces of blue b.u.t.terfly wings slowly fell down in the light of the blade, breaking down to powder. It was only then it seemed like he had finally woken up from a dream, he looked all around and there wasn"t a single shadow of Wu Yanfu.
Earlier, it had obviously all been an illusion.
His wrist was still shaking and his heart was jumping like a fierce horse trying to escape from its leash. Bai Tan held tightly onto the Shiyue Hook and roamed around the ship once, after not being able to find any sign of the unwelcome guest who had created the illusion, he went back to the yao ren. Seeing that his broken leg had already grown back, he bent down to lift him up but who knew that his legs were so weak that he instantly keeled over onto the ground.
A pair of large, ice-cold hands held tightly onto both of his shoulders, Bai Tan suddenly felt as if he was the survivor of a disastrous event and he had just started to calm down. Now that his heart finally had a place to settle in, he hooked onto the yao ren"s neck and buried his head in the other"s chest, "Ah-Chi!"
Wu Yanfu caressed his back and upon feeling the heart jumping up and down, he knew the other was definitely scared.
…To rely on your savior this much, but towards your shizun…you are as frightened as one meeting a snake and scorpion[8]? Good, really good.
"How did you end up here? Did the person who tried to abduct you from a few days ago come again?"
Wu Yanfu didn"t answer and the golden needle between his fingers glistened then pierced through Bai Tan"s nao hu point[9], making him let out a stifled moan and then he lost consciousness.
"So, this little evil doer"s already growing an attachment towards big bro…" The youth"s light sigh came from one of the corners, "Little bro was the one who had thought of this way too easily. Big bro, of course, you are brilliant."
Wu Yanfu lifted his eyelids to look over at the figure in the corner and the color of blood slightly raised from the bottom of his eyes as a murderous intent appeared, but they immediately dispersed and he spoke in a soft voice, "Lian Jiu, if you are to be this childish next time. Torturing this evil-doer like that, what if he goes insane from fear and dies? Then all of big bro"s hard work will be of no use, do you know how much damage will be caused?"
After a while, the voice finally answered angrily, "…Understood."
Translator: Crispyfry
Proofreader: Grumpykit
QC: Xiao
Xiao"s Comments: I think Wu Yanfu"s doing all he can to hold himself back from killing Lian Jiu since he still needs him. But mess with Bai Tan again and he might just eat the dust~
Translator"s Notes:
[1] wine does not make one drunk, only one would make themselves drunk – 酒不醉人人自醉, a saying that basically means one would get drunk by drinking wine.
[2] A flower will not enchant one, only one would be enchanted – 花不迷人人自迷, a saying used to describe that a flower will not enchant people and it is beautiful solely because people like them. Which is also used to describe someone paying extra "colorful" attention to certain things
[3] night time/madrugada/early morning – 丑时, specifically, it is the time from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM
[4] Gu insect – 蛊虫, literally means venomous insect. (refer to the very first paragraph)
[5] spirit seals – 神封穴, two acupuncture points,
[6] Wu – 唔, gagging or groaning type of sound, does not relate to Wu Yanfu"s name.
[7] Fiery star – 火星, literal translation, but it could also be translated to "Mars"
[8] snake and scorpion – 蛇蝎, snake and scorpion can be used to describe a vicious person.
[9] Nao hu point – 脑户穴, an acupuncture point, literally means "Brain"s Door Point,"
I/my* – The use of "I" or "me" makes a reference to Bai Tan"s position or suggest a high rank.
Chapter 28