Poison of the Human Panacea
Chapter 31
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Bai Tan landed on the ground softly, before he started to look around.
He was inside a hexagon-shaped room, there was a dark aura inside the room and it was elegantly decorated. In the center of the room stood a stage set at a higher level than the ground, it seemed like a stage for people to enjoy music and perform dances on. On each of the six walls, there was a door covered by curtains, as they swayed along with the wind, he was able to get a slight peek of a long hallway behind it, but didn"t know where it led to.
"An a.s.sa.s.sin snuck into the palace! Take the a.s.sa.s.sin down!"
Hearing people screaming outside, and by the sounds of chaotic and urgent footsteps, Bai Tan could tell Loulan"s palace guards were here after learning what"d happened. How high could a guard"s martial skill be? He wasn"t afraid of them, but right now he felt some trepidation towards Si You and Fu Lu. Si You obviously has qi deviation from training the Sky of Six Desires and even though he didn"t have much time to live, coincidentally; all his potential was brought out because of his qi deviation. So his martial skills might just one up his and as for Fu Lu, if he was really as Mi Lansheng described him, then there was even more reason not to look down on him.
But, he couldn"t leave just yet.
Shiyue was definitely in Si You"s hands and he needed to get it back. Si You wanted to use him in exchange for one of the Rengu Nian Beads from Fu Lu, and since the Rengu Nian Beads were so important to Fu Lu, they should be in his possession.
Since he was already here, there was no reason for him to return empty-handed.
Bai Tan clenched his fists and walked towards one of the doors, he pulled the curtain aside to look out. The end of the long hallway was facing the nearby lake, there was no longer any sign of the mysterious beast masked man or Si You.
He reached out a hand to gesture at the lake and waited for a bit, but still didn"t see a single shadow of Shiyue, he couldn"t help but furrow his brows.
Ever since he"d swallowed Wu Yanfu"s blood relic, Shiyue had accepted him as its master.
This type of weapon with extremely high spiritual powers, no matter where he was, as long as he reached out a hand to call for it, then Shiyue would come and search for him by itself. But at that time and moment, there was no movement at all and he didn"t know the reason for it either.
Without the weapon he had become used to having in his hand, Bai Yan felt a little unsettled inside. Thinking back to the scene of the beast masked man and Si You fighting, he played the move of the "Zhu Tian Hua Mo Zhang" technique that he hadn"t practiced for a long time in his head and thought that something was not right. The moves the beast masked man used were a little different to how it was written in the book.
Thinking about it a little more, not only was it a little different, but it was also a lot more refined. It looked like the other had made an advanced version of the move himself.
Bai Tan wasn"t aware of Wu Yanfu"s hidden trick. When Wu Yanfu had learned "Zhu Tian Hua Mo Zhang" dozens of years ago, he created a new palm gesture based on the original"s base palm gesture by himself, then destroyed a part of the scroll that recorded types of palm gestures, and then reversed the order. This was to prevent outsiders from learning it and it also blocked Bai Tan, who liked to hide in the Cang Jing Ge to learn martial skills secretly. But Bai Tan"s raw talent in learning martial arts was extremely high, so after observing the move in his head once, he had already had it down. Right now, his hands were extremely itchy as he wanted to compete with the mysterious person and learn a few moves from him as well.
"Who"s there?"
He heard a soft call from nearby, Bai Tan was shocked inside and looked towards the direction the sound came from. He saw candlelight behind a window and immediately leaped through the window, just as he was about to hit the figure with his hand, the pure and tender face of a youth was shown in the fire light. He quickly stopped his hand and switched to "Cui Hua Zhe Zhi Shou" and pressed a few of his acupuncture points, he waved his sleeve and the candlelight was extinguished.
Using the dull moonlight that seeped in through the window, he was able to see that there was only a sick and weak youngster in front of him.
He was dressed in rich clothing, wearing a quilted styled long silk robe. His thin body was in a wheelchair and his face had the standard look of a Loulan citizen, elegant and gorgeous, with a face like a piece of gold paper. There was no sign of blood color on his lips either and his light gold, long hair was held up by a crown made of peac.o.c.k feathers. His slim hands lay on the wheelchair armrest, a small tight sleeve was rolled up to his forearm and on each hand respectively, there was a tiny, black, blood hole.
That was the injury caused by raising a gu with one"s own body.
Bai Tan backed off one step in caution, frightened that a gu insect might climb on him.
The youth used his bright amber-like pair of eyes to check the other from head to toe, then he shook his head as if he was comforting the other with no words, telling him not to be afraid of him. An aura of desolation and despair was all around him, as if he was a plant growing towards death[1], about to wither at any time, making it hard for one to have any ill intentions towards him.
Bai Tan looked around the room and discovered that there was a gauze curtain hanging in front of the door, a slight fog was also floating in through the curtain gap. It seemed like behind it, there was a bathing room and a few female servants" figures were swaying around in there.
Bai Tan didn"t want to attract the snake by beating the gra.s.s, so he used one hand to hold the youngster"s neck and pa.s.sed his voice into the other"s head, "Tell them all to leave first, I"m gonna hide here for a while. If you don"t scream or anything, then I won"t kill you."
The youth nodded his head obediently and Bai Tan unlocked his mute point, then heard the other speak softly, "You are dismissed, I[2] want to spend some time by myself."
"Yes, your highness." The servants all answered together and the sound of footsteps faded away.
This person was the Loulan prince? Why would the Loulan prince be raising gu within his body?
Bai Tan thought it strange, but then remembered the stuff that Mi Lansheng said about Fu Lu and his heart jumped. Fu Lu had made his own son into a gu mu[3] in order to control gu ren, so, could this person be Fu Lu"s son?
Before he could question, the youth spoke first, "Jiejie[4] is the a.s.sa.s.sin the guards are trying to catch, right?"
Bai Tan was a bit stunned, but then realized it was his attire and appearance that caused the youth to misunderstand.
"Jiejie should leave quickly, the Loulan Royal Palace has high security, if you wanna break in then it"ll be extremely hard. If you wait until my father[5] realizes, then it"ll be too late to escape, even if Jiejie wanted to."
That one "Jiejie" was extremely ear-piercing to him and Bai Tan didn"t want to say anything unnecessary, "Is your father someone really powerful?"
The youngster nodded, "They say that my father is the number one master within the current Wu Lin, no one can beat him."
With those words, Bai Tan knew who he was. This youth, who appeared a few years younger on the surface than his actual age, was definitely Fu Lu"s blood-related son. Though Fu Lu was extremely sly and full of dirty tricks, yet, his son was so pure and pitiful. Tortured into this abnormal state by his own father.
Whatever, he couldn"t stay here for long, so might as well abduct Fu Lu"s son first, and make him a hostage.
When the thought flashed through his mind, Bai Tan locked the other"s mute point again and lifted the person up from his wheelchair. But the youth made a few "wuwu" sounds in fright as his eyes looked towards the window, seeming to be telling the other to be careful of his back.
No sooner said than done, a strong wind attacked him from behind and Bai Tan immediately dodged it to see a black shadow leap in through the window, he landed on the floor on all fours like some sort of beast. He had a pair of fierce, frightful, and b.l.o.o.d.y red eyes, several vines were growing all over his body and they shone a dull blue under the moonlight, it appeared as if they were ghost vines.
Bai Tan was shocked, but seeing that his hair wasn"t white, he immediately realized this was one of Fu Lu"s gu ren. He gathered his neili and was ready to attack, but unexpectedly, the gu ren lowered his head and leaned his body downwards in a tame manner. He looked up to see the youth behind his back and let out a "mrruh" sound that he couldn"t understand, the other really seemed like a big obedient cat though.
Bai Tan guessed then, since the gu ren listened to the gu mu, it was probably waiting for its gu mu"s order. He remembered the scene from a few days ago where the yao ren from the underground ruins went mad, it looked extremely similar to the gu ren in front of him. He couldn"t help but close in to look at him and saw, without a doubt that the things on the gu ren were truly ghost vines, many questions instantly popped up inside of him.
Thinking back and forth, he couldn"t think of an answer then, so he stopped the thought and turned his head to the youth on his back and ordered, "Keep your little pet in check, or else, I will end your life right on the spot."
The youth nodded and the gu ren moved aside as expected, Bai Tan looked out of the window and saw firelights swaying outside. He turned to walk towards the door and the gu ren followed slavishly behind them, keeping his pace.
Bai Tan carefully walked outside and asked, "Are there any secret pa.s.sages leading to the outside of this royal palace?"
As he asked that, he grabbed onto the youth"s soft, weak hand, pinching onto his life meridian. Then he saw the other raise his index finger and point beneath his feet. Bai Tan bent over and lifted the elegant Persian carpet beneath his feet up and indeed, there was a secret door.
At this time, on one side of the lake sh.o.r.e, a figure leaped out of the water and jumped into the forest beside the lake. Another person quickly followed behind and chased with all his might, which left the trees leaves swaying and making a "rustling" sound for a while. The two stopped, with one person in the front and the other behind.
"Who are you? Why did you teach me those techniques and why do your moves also look like they were taught directly by the sect leader?" Si You stared at the figure between the multi-shaded tree shadows and the looming cold light shining in the others hand, "And you are even able to call Shiyue?"
That person stood on the end of a tree branch, he was already injured and was wearing a fierce beast mask. But there was a natural dominant aura around him as he held Shiyue behind his back in one hand, he showed an elegant and admirable pose, enough to stun one on the spot.
The more Si You studied this person"s every action, the more familiar they looked to him and made him feel unsettled. If it weren"t for the fact that he had seen Wu Yanfu"s corpse with his own eyes, he would"ve instantly kneeled in front of this person and called out, "Sect Leader."
"You must think this is strange, right?" That person chuckled lowly and one-handed, removed his mask, exposing the face of a stranger, "Si You, do you remember thirty years ago, the day when the three stars of sha po lang united[6]?"
Si You was shocked upon hearing those words.
He still remembered, forty years ago, in order to have a chance at survival; how the ten-year-old child that pretended to be deaf and mute[7] walked up to the altar. How he"d killed his birth mother with his own hands, how he"d peeled off her skin and offered it to his birth father, who"d sat there on his throne. His body was covered in fresh blood and yet, he didn"t blink, not even once. It was as if he had been born without a conscience, which caused his father, Wu Lianyun, to compliment him and give him a great reward. Saying that he was naturally born with no love and no fear, he was the best figure for training the Sky of Six Desires and from that day on, he taught the other with all his heart.
After ten years of hardship and with the treasure sword out of its scabbard, on the day the three stars of sha po lang united, was the death day of Wu Lianyun.
The phrase, "no love and no fear," was an unfortunate prophecy.
How he"d killed his birth mother years ago, back then with his own hand, he"d paid it back ten-fold to his birth father on that day.
He"d peeled off his birth father"s skin, yet, he"d also kneeled at it and gave three, clear sounds of bowing with his head to the ground and then burned it all to dust with fire. Within the huge fire that reached for the sky, he walked towards the sect leader"s throne, as he had years back when he buried his birth mother"s skin under the throne.
He hadn"t said a single word in the past twenty years, and finally, after becoming the Sect Leader, the first thing he"d said was the frightful and tyrannical-like words, "Ones who follow me, will live and advance. Ones who rebel against me, will face death."
After ten days of the mandala being washed by the blood of thousands of cruel tactics, it made thousands of people, from all ten altars of the sect, obey him in fear.
The son of a "concubine" was an existence that many people looked down on, but he had become the most unprecedented and incomparable sect leader of the Fu Tu Sect within all its three hundred years of existence. He"d even became the all-powerful master of the Wu Lin"s western region.
Even after changing skin and face, it still couldn"t wipe away his special aura of being high above everyone else.
How could he not recognize him?
Both his knees turned soft and he kneeled down instantly, "Sect leader, Sect Leader, is it really you?!"
The shrubs in front of him made rustling sounds and the person landed swiftly in front of him.
"That"s right. I* am here, hu fa "Death Demon," listen for my order."
"Sect leader…" Si You felt hundreds of emotions mixed together within him and couldn"t get a word out as his lips quivered softly.
Wu Yanfu squinted his eyes and observed him for a while before speaking, "Si You, your past illness hasn"t been healed yet and you don"t have enough of a foundation for it, so how could you train the Sky of Six Desires? Now that you"ve already deteriorated this far with the qi deviation, not even I* would be able to save you."
"This subordinate only did it to…" Si You closed his eyes and blood veins slowly crawled up the sides of his forehead as his expression showed sorrow, "To kill that little evildoer and avenge the Sect Leader. Sect leader used his own life to continue his life that year, not only did it take away dozens of years from your lifespan, it also almost drained all of your martial powers. Yet, he did such a cruel thing to you…"
"We won"t talk about this now. Why are you together with people from the Yue Yin Palace?"
Si You suddenly widened his eyes and his lips trembled a bit, "Is the sect leader suspicious about this subordinate?"
Wu Yanfu raised his chin up with his hand, and with droopy eyes, gazed at the extremely dulled mark on his forehead, "You"ve gone through life-threatening situations for me* in the past dozens of years and have never diverted your loyalty, how would I* not know that?"
Si You grabbed onto his wrist and the blackening fingernails almost pierced his skin, the corner of his lips curved, "Ever since that little evildoer went on a killing spree, it created huge chaos within the sect. This subordinate then left Tian Shan to travel around, only with the wish of finding a solution to revive the Sect Leader. Then by chance, I heard that Fu Lu was giving out rewards in the Jiang Hu. For the little evildoer"s head, he"s willing to give one of the Rengu Nian Beads as a reward, so this subordinate…took the chance."
"So…Fu Lu made the inside of this royal palace even more secure then?"
Si You lifted his eyes, they glowed with lights like poisonous sharp blades within them, "In here, the little evildoer doesn"t have anywhere to escape to."
Wu Yanfu"s pupils shrunk and he spoke, "Si You, you need to transfer half of your neili to me*."
Upon hearing those words, Si You quickly smiled and that psychotic look of his was completely gone and replaced with a soft and kind look in his eyes, "Si You was originally the sect leader"s concubine, if Sect Leader wishes, you can always take away all of Si You"s martial powers."
"I"ve* said this before, I do not wish for you to die. How it was ten years ago, will remain the same ten years after." Wu Yanfu spoke with an alluring, deep voice. He swept aside a strand of the other"s hair with his long, thin finger, then his hand followed down his arm, with five fingers coming together as they slowly slid toward his meridian, he used "Hu Shi Shen Guang Spell" to take out some neili from his meridian and directed it towards his own body.
"But if you want him dead…then that is another matter."
As he finished speaking, the finger he pressed up against the other"s life meridian suddenly tightened, stopping the neili that was surging with no ends.
"Do you understand?"
"Why?" The purple clothed man had a pale white face and now there were even more veins on the two sides of his forehead, "Could Sect Leader still be unable to let go of him?"
Wu Yanfu raised the corner of his lips in a smile that didn"t look like a smile, he smiled so naturally. It was as if he had subconsciously released a hidden joy and interest he"d had inside, "Yes or no, I"ll have to catch him first, then I"ll know."
Translator: Crispyfry
Proofreader: Grumpykit
QC: Xiao
Xiao"s Comments: Ugh, Wu Yanfu, you"re so cool~
Translator"s Comments: Fu Lu, you sc.u.m.
Oh but, other than that, his son seems cute. And the image of Bai Tan in a torn up woman"s wedding clothes, carrying the weak prince and a red-eyed man crawling behind them like a huge cat? Looks like an interesting and cute image to think about.
Proofreader"s Comments: Whoo diddy, Daddy Wu is p.i.s.sed at you Si You for trying to kill his baby boy.
(What you get when you want to check something: "The boy nodded well, Baishan untied his dumb hole," I"m laughing my a.s.s off right now!!!)
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Growing towards death – 向死而生, this is the literal translation but it is also a well-known phrase (being towards death) of Heideggerian terminology in both Chinese and English; #Being-toward-death
[2] I – 小王, literally means "small king" so it was a way that princes could address themselves by.
[3] Gu mu – 蛊母, mu means "mother"
[4] Jiejie – 姐姐, means "older sister" and can be used to address unrelated older female as a form of respect or intimacy.
[5] Father – 爹爹, father is the literal translation but it could also be used to address one"s grandfather.
[6] "the three stars of sha po lang united" – 杀破狼三星聚首, a collective term for three stars in Chinese astrology, it is a method of fortune telling;
[7] "pretended to be deaf and mute" – 装聋作哑, usually this saying is used to describe one who would ignore certain things as if they don"t know about it. But the author most likely meant it literally here because in a few more paragraphs, it says that Wu Yanfu had not said a single word for twenty years, until he became the sect leader.
Chapter 32