Poison of the Human Panacea

Chapter 11

Satisfied[1], after finishing the delicious food and good wine that his subordinate brought, Bai Tan sat on the bed and picked up the recently obtained treasure from the table. Peeling the rusty surface off, radiance spilled out of "Pori" and it made the candlelight in the room seem dimmer. Wu Yanfu looked over and was shocked. It actually was–Pori?

Bai Tan stroked the Sanskrit text on the ax"s blade, trying to identify the characters one by one.

The people of Xi Ye originated from Tian Zhu[2] and so the characters used in the country was based on Sanskrit. Hence, to be able to understand the meaning of each word was not too difficult, but, when grouped together, it was difficult to make sense of it. It seemed to be a paragraph of curse scripture. He thought to himself, tomorrow I will visit Cang Jing Ge first. Maybe I will be able to find where this curse scripture is from.

"Is Master thinking what is carved on the surface?"

At that exact moment, a voice came from where the bath was. It was the yao ren speaking.

"You…… know?" Bai Tan pushed himself up confusedly. Seeing that the yao ren had emerged from the water and was staring at Pori before he nodded his head as though he had a thought in mind, he approached him partially in doubt.

Wu Yanfu looked at Pori and thought to himself that not only did he recognize it, this powerful weapon almost became his possession. He nodded. "Master, the carvings on the surface should be the Jie Ri E Shen Zhou[3]."

"Oh?" Bai Tan was startled and he thought of something. "Were you originally from Yue Yin Palace?"

Wu Yanfu had thrown the bait out and replied with indifference, "Ah Chi does not know, only recognizes the words there."

Bai Tan pinched his chin, forcing him to look himself in the eye and asked in a strict voice, "Do you really not know?" His fingers moved slightly as he asked, casting a spell. The yao ren"s eyes immediately glazed over but he still shook his head, answering that he did not know.

"Forget it. It is pointless making it difficult for a useless thing like you." He stopped casting the curse dejectedly, but he could not help the budding curiosity about the yao ren"s past. He grabbed the yao ren"s hand and turned it over, again and again, looking at it in detail – trying to figure out if he used any weapon in the past and found on the slender and wide palm, other than the calluses formed from crawling on the floor for a long period of time, he found a unique scar on his thumb, and his heart fluttered.

It was similar to a mark that would be made by a thumb ring due to the frequent use of bow and arrows.

Wu Yanfu saw he was in shock and was not speaking so he asked again, "Master? My hand, is there a problem?"

Bai Tan frowned and shook his head, "I remembered a benefactor who saved my life. There should also be a scar like this on his hand too. It is just that he has already been dead for many years."

"Does Master miss him a lot?" Wu Yanfu stared him in the eyes. Bai Tan caressed his thumb and a lump formed in his throat. "If it was not for the benefactor, I would have either died a long time ago or became a disabled person who would not be able to see or speak and still be stuck in a dungeon."

"Then, how did he die?" Wu Yanfu asked again.

Bai Tan clenched his teeth and his eyes reddened. "By that cold-blooded devil."

Wu Yanfu felt the demonic vines, which were coiled around his entire body, tighten until his bones and flesh became extremely painful.

Benefactor? what a benefactor.

Tan"er-ah[4] if you knew that your "benefactor" was right in front of you, what would you do? Would you "repay his single drop of kindness with a fountain in return"? Would you give him your body or pay him with your heart?

If you knew that this "benefactor" of yours was only a spy who followed your shizun"s orders and that him saving you was only on my orders. He was killed because he betrayed your teacher. He held you in his arms; protecting you was only because he wanted to hold you hostage. If you knew this, would you have a shred of regret?

He closed his eyes as he brushed his hand past the body of "Pori". The blade of the ax slashed a ghastly looking wound when his palm swept past it, and Bai Tan immediately nabbed his hand. "What are you doing? How could your blood be wasted in such a manner?" He lowered his head immediately to lick the blood on his fingertips. It was like a greedy cat, yet, Wu Yanfu felt a wetness. .h.i.t the back of his hand.

He looked over and saw a teardrop embellished on the youth"s eyelash, about to fall but still holding on.

Was he crying for that person?

A plan was silently forming in his heart. He narrowed his eyes, and with his thumb, he swept the eye-piercing teardrop away; his finger left a trail of blood on the youth"s tender cheek.

Bai Tan was stunned for a moment, feeling that the action of him wiping tears was familiar. If it was accompanied with a call of "Tan"er," it would simply be Wu Yanfu"s reincarnation. He was speechless and suddenly felt like crying even more. However, he was sure that it was definitely not because of regret or missing. It was only, it was only because-because of what?

That person was already dead, even the deepest hatred should have been eliminated. In this moment, he was very lost and could not find an answer no matter what. He wiped his face harshly, pushed the yao ren aside, hugged the tiger skin on the bed, curled into a bundle, and said coldly, "Scram, I do not need[5] you to comfort me*."

Do not need?

Wu Yandu looked at his back fixedly. His eyes turned darker and the hands hanging by his sides curled tightly, crushing the teardrop and drop of blood in his palm. The flower your shizun raised can only bloom and wither by your shizun"s hands.

No matter if you are laughing or if you are crying, it must never…… be for another person.

It became quiet in the room, but Bai Tan could not sleep no matter what. In the past, when he woke up at midnight, he would secretly slip into Cang Jing Ge to sneak a look at the martial arts manuals or practice martial arts by himself on the mountain behind the snake room, but now that he could do these things in broad daylight, he no longer had the state of mind where he had the motivation to work hard and improve.

Compared to memorizing the manuals and practicing martial arts, there was another thing he wanted to do even more at that moment. He sat up, carried the Kong Hou by the side of the bed up, and started torturing Wu Yanfu"s ears continuously.

Just as Wu Yanfu"s ears were overgrown with ulcers from listening, another string broke with a snap and all motions ceased for a long time. He raised his eyes and saw Bai Tan staring blankly at the broken string, his lips were pressed tightly together and his face was flushed. He looked exactly like a child who had a big grievance and looked as though he was about to cry.

Wu Yanfu observed silently and with interest.

In the past, this brat was a crybaby, shedding tears easily and he was also fooled by the side of him that cried easily. He did not think that Bai Tan would kill him mercilessly and not shed a single tear while doing it.

If outsiders were to find out that the great Sect Leader of a demonic sect was a crybaby, who knows if their front teeth would fall out from laughing.

Bai Tan was holding the string with a strong grip and wrapped it around his index finger with a few turns. His chest was heaving as his eyes reddened and he started speaking to himself. "Yin Jiao is heartbroken and is ignoring me. Are you not listening to me too because you are heartbroken? Such a person, what is there to miss about him? You were all just toys – just like me. Why would your heart be broken?"

Wu Yanfu could not help being startled. Bai Tan raised and lowered his hand again, breaking yet another string in an instant. As his tears fell continuously, his hand did not stop either. Breaking two was not enough for him to vent his anger so he went on pulling on the remaining strings, but the strings were made of hair and were a weapon capable of killing. They were very strong and snapping them with bare hands would definitely inflict serious wounds.

Seeing that his ten slender and thin fingers were turned into a b.l.o.o.d.y mess in the blink an eye, Wu Yanfu grabbed his hands in a hurry with strength summoned from beyond his means. Bai Tan was actually unable to break free from it and glared at him with teary eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Master is injured." Wu Yanfu placed a hand over the open wounds on his hands and thought it was funny as he felt a strange feeling of joy in his heart when he ducked his head to put Bai Tan"s fingertips into his mouth.

His mouth and tongue were gently sucking on each finger, as though kissing them, and it brought out a hint of a soft itch as though he was being doted on. Bai Tan was stunned for a moment and was looking dazedly at the demeanor of the man in front of him whose head was lowered. Some gentleness from a love as deep as the sea actually grew as he looked and his heart thumped erratically. He shook his head promptly and curled his fingers.

Wu Yanfu held his fists and sighed helplessly, "Master, the cuts have not yet healed."

Bai Tan extended his fingers out again but touched Wu Yanfu"s cheek, just catching him raising his eyes, and their eyes met for a moment while being separated by a layer of skin – a layer of an inexplicable barrier.

The hands around his wrist tightened. Bai Tan looked at the pair of clear blue eyes and felt that there was something unexplainable hiding there. His heart was thumping severely, and he drew his hands back in panic. He then carried the Kong Hou and shrunk back into the tiger skin again – this time covering his head as well.

Wu Yanfu turned around and leaned against the bed. He closed his eyes and took a suppressed breath.

He raised his head and gulped as his hand slid downwards. His larynx was rolling up and down; the vein on his slender neck was pulled taut, and the corners of his lips curled mockingly.

Ha, the top fighter of the Western Region for nothing.

Now, he had actually fallen to such a useless state. Tan"er-ah, Tan"er.  

Xiao"s Comments: There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding between Wu Yanfu and Bai Tan…this is why communication is key. Bai Tan is also so deep in denial of his love for Wu Yanfu that I wonder if he"ll ever admit to it. On the other hand, I love angst so, yayyy!!!

Translator"s Notes:

[1] Literally says to have his fill of wine and feel full.

[2] How India was referred to in ancient times.

[3] "Undoing Sun and distressing G.o.d Curse"

[4] "-ah" is an exclamation of sort without much meaning.

[5] It has a sense of looking down on someone, as though the person does not have the ability or it is not their place to do it. *The “I” or "me" makes a reference to his position or suggests a high rank    

                                                                                                                            Chapter 12