Poison of the Human Panacea
Chapter 28
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Li Wuzhang heard the odd noises and came down the wooden stairs, he walked up to the bottom cabin and opened the door to look inside…
…But there was no one inside.
Why did it seem like he"d heard the voice of his shidi just now?
He thought it was strange and went back to the cabin door and opened a little crack to look inside. He faced a room full of the scent of wine as Bai Tan lay on the yao ren"s leg, looking like he had just gone through a greatly satisfying drinking session and wasn"t done yet. He smacked his lips against each other and turned his body around, hugging onto one of the yao ren"s arms.
As if sensing that someone was peeking, the yao ren lifted his head. The pair of bright blue eyes looked over and Li Wuzhang suddenly felt guilty, so he closed the cabin door softly.
Sleeping like that, Bai Tan ended up sleeping till the next night.
"Sect leader? Sect leader?"
Half-conscious, he heard someone calling him. Bai Tan opened his droopy, sleepy eyes and met a pair of blue eyes just inches away, he couldn"t help but be a bit stunned. He then realized he was lying on the yao ren"s legs, which gave clear evidence that he"d slept all night like that. He pushed himself up and observed his surroundings, he was still in the cabin. The yao ren was by his side as well, what of the bottom cabin? And where was Wu Yanfu even? He gave a great stretch, then confidently thought it was just a nightmare.
"Sect leader, are you awake?" Li Wuzhang called from outside.
"What is it?" Bai Tan replied.
"The Mandala Sect"s Elder requests to see you."
What does the Mandala Sect Elder need from him? Could it be Mi Lansheng"s wish? Bai Tan thought about it and at first, wanted to reject the request, but upon remembering the events from last night, he felt uneasy. Last night he hadn"t succeeded in his plan, he can"t let Mi Lansheng keep thinking of those nonexistent events. Otherwise, if it spread around Jiang Hu, it would just add another ugly history onto his reputation.
"Servants, serve me* for a bath."
At this time, a crescent moon hung in an arc in the sky, shedding down rays of light.
Seeing the young male"s figure that walked under the moonlight, Mi Lansheng"s eyes stopped a bit. It felt as if the fragrance was still swirling around inside his nose. Remembering that the owner of the fragrance had been dominated by him just a while ago, made his mouth dry up like a desert. A sense of disgust grew from his heart, but what made him disgusted was not Bai Tan, instead, it was himself.
He coughed drily, "Elder, what are you seeing the little evildoer for?"
Even as the words "little evildoer" came out of his mouth, its taste changed, as if a sweet fragrance came out of his lips and teeth along with it. Mi Lansheng used his sleeve to wipe his nose, but the fragrance still lingered, he couldn"t help but tsk in irritation.
The old shaman supported himself upon his wand and walked down the ship"s bridge slowly, "Naturally, it"s related to a major issue of our sect…the Yue Yin Palace"s second Gong Zhu, Fu Lu, already has great martial skills. He isn"t an easy opponent, now that he also has a gu ren[1] and is one of the top seven martial masters; to steal the Rengu Nian Bead[2] would be even harder than before. My old self saw that the little sect leader"s skills aren"t too bad…if we could get his help, it would become a lot easier."
Mi Lansheng"s face didn"t look too good upon hearing these words, "Elder, please hold. Why would I need that little evildoer"s help? The battle just now, he only won by those little skills and I, coincidentally miscalculated. Plus, he"s the culprit that killed Brother Wu, I obviously can"t be civil to him."
"Sect master, hear my old self out. If we don"t take back our sect"s sacred treasure as soon as possible, as each day pa.s.ses, the chance of a great disaster soon falling upon us increases. Fu Lu is offering a reward within Wu Lin for the little sect leader"s head. In my eyes, the little sect leader is someone who would retaliate against any big or small insult, so he definitely wouldn"t forgive him. You two wish for the same goal, so why not form an alliance? Having one more friend is always better than having another foe…"
Mi Lansheng"s eyebrows knitted further and further as he listened, but at last, they relaxed.
"Elder has a point, I didn"t think it through thoroughly and only thought of avenging Brother Wu." Even though he said this, his grip still tightened a bit on his sleeve.
Bai Tan walked towards the two with his hands behind his back, he didn"t spare Mi Lansheng a single glance and just nodded at the old shaman expressionlessly, "What could this senior possibly want, searching for me*?"
Mi Lansheng listened to his self-righteous wording of "me" that didn"t show a bit of respect, subconsciously, disapproval ran through his mind. A sect leader that doesn"t understand the basic manner of Jiang Hu, where did he have a slight bit of the aura of someone like Wu Yanfu? Nowhere did he seem like a discipline that Wu Yanfu had raised, he was a disgrace to Fu Tu Sect; the lead of top three demon sects of the west.
But the old shaman didn"t mind, he looked at the other as if he was just a young beast trying to show off their dominance. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, deepening the wrinkles on his face even more, "I wonder, does Sect Leader Bai remember my old self?"
Bai Tan stared at the old tree bark-like face and raised a brow, "Not at all."
"Sect Leader Bai doesn"t remember this old man, but this old man here thinks Sect Leader Bai"s face is very familiar."
"Oh? What is the meaning of that? Could this senior have seen me* before?"
"Does Sect Leader Bai remember the place in the deepest part of Tian Shan, Xu Mi You Valley?"
Bai Tan shook his head, "Never heard of it, never been there either."
"Then, Sect Leader Bai, do you remember going to an ice pond? That ice pond had been frozen for ten thousand years, yet it showed countless veins that grew from the bottom of the ice-layer on its surface. At that time, Sect Leader Bai was there with his shizun."
Bai Tan stopped a bit, when had he ever gone to such a place with the old demon? So, he answered, "Can"t recall."
But his curiosity also grew, so he couldn"t help but continue asking, "What kind of place was it? How did the senior see me* there?"
The old shaman shook his head and let out a long sigh, "It"s okay, it seems like Sect Leader Bai really doesn"t know. Reconsidering, this was probably your shizun"s intention, this old man has meddled too much."
Bai Tan was immediately hooked, in an unstable tone, his voice was loud, "What does that mean? I* truly hate it when other people only speak half of their sentences! Isn"t this senior here just trying to give me a hook? For you to come and find me* in person, your only goal probably wasn"t just to tell me that I* look familiar, right? But if this senior just wants to tick people off, then I won"t accompany you!"
As he finished, he waved his sleeve, ready to leave.
"Sect Leader Bai! Wait!" Mi Lansheng called softly and blocked his way, the light fragrance hit him right in the face again and made him stumble as the item within his sleeves fluttered to the ground.
Bai Tan glanced over at it and Mi Lansheng stepped on the veil quickly, but a corner was still exposed. Bai Tan understood then and moved his phoenix-like eyes in the other"s direction as the corner of his lips curved slightly…this person, was obviously enraptured by him.
Still acting with all that integrity and even called him immoral, what a load of s.h.i.t!
Mi Lansheng was getting hard just from his stare, "I have a request to make."
"Oh?" Bai Tan turned around and tilted his head, "Then, let your Elder finish his sentences first."
At this time, the cabin door in front of them was blown open by the wind. A figure inside was seen for a split second before the door quickly closed.
The calm and collected eyes of the old shaman were now finally showing signs of shock, "Wu Yanfu is already dead, how is that yao ren still living? This is odd…"
Bai Tan stared at the old shaman weirdly, "How do you know he"s a yao ren? Why is it, if Wu Yanfu"s dead, then he can"t live? What does that mean?"
The old shaman shook his head in disbelief and spoke slowly, "My old self has lived for over a hundred years, how would I not have seen that yao ren before? Not only does my old self know that he"s a yao ren, I also know the ghost veins growing in his body are the veins from Xu Mi You Valley. These ghost veins are grown from nether-like places, so it"s naturally very ominous. Once it"s grown on a person, the person would slowly die. If no one were to replenish life for that yao ren, then he wouldn"t have been able to survive even a day. But in order to replenish life for him, there has to be a person who is willing to share their life with him, enabling him to live on. It would use up that person"s life span and neili, until they die. Since they"re sharing the same life force and using the same life, if one of them dies, then the other won"t be able to live on either."
"So, this senior is saying that Wu Yanfu replenished life for this yao ren?" Bai Tan"s eyes widened and he grew a stomach full of doubts, causing him to ask, "Why does this senior know so much? Could you have seen it with your own eyes? Why would he do such a thing?"
The old shaman stayed silent and it seemed like he had to think it through for a while before replying, "It isn"t that my old self doesn"t want to say, but, this life-sharing spell has a taboo to it. If the caster of the spell is to spill the secret on why he used the spell, then the spell will become invalid. It seems like your shizun hadn"t told anyone his secret, even unto death, this was probably also his dying wish. My old self is a shaman, I"m one who respects the dead. But, if the sect leader really wants this one answer, then this, my old self is willing to cast the evocation spell. The soul himself can decide whether or not he would like to give the answer."
"Evocation?" Bai Tan mumbled and felt a bit perplexed. Evocation, what could even be summoned?
That person, he was already completely annihilated by him.
Thinking like that, he immediately felt a cold feeling all over his body, as if he was now standing in a great amount of snow.
Since he"s already dead, what is the point of finding out about those secrets now?
But the old shaman suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Sect Leader Bai, your shizun really did treat you with his heart sincerely."
"What did you say?" Bai Tan came back to his senses.
"Nothing, my old self just felt a bit lamented, that"s all. Since there is no corpse left anymore, to use the dead"s relic as the medium can create an illusion. As long as the object had been kept by his side for a period of time, then it will replay the scenes from that year."
Bai Tan came back to his senses again and felt a bit doubtful, he raised Shi Yue, "Could a weapon work?"
"Of course it can. But…" The old shaman was silent for a moment as he laid one of his hands on top of Shi Yue"s blade, his palm ran past the gem on top of the handle. The gem"s center flared up slightly and subsided in an instant, "This spell is very dangerous, I will need an object to protect me in order to cast it."
"What object?" Bai Tan thought inside then, tsk, so he"s here seeking something. Maybe that was a lie too.
"It"s our sect"s sacred treasure, the Lakshmi Rengu Nian Bead."
Bai Tan heard the hidden meaning behind those words, "Bead? Does senior not carry such a thing on himself?"
"Who would carry a sacred treasure on them?" Mi Lansheng couldn"t help but interrupt.
"To be honest, my old self isn"t proud of this. Years ago, the treasure was stolen by the traitor Su Guiyu from our sect and given to the second Tang Zhu of Yue Yin Palace, Fu Lu."
"Su Guiyu…" Bai Tan heard it and thought the name was unexpectedly familiar. Then when he thought about it for a bit, isn"t that the actual name of the aunt he had just met[3]? So, she has history with that Fu Lu?"
Could she be a spy sent by Fu Lu? But her alluring bone and his mother"s earring, all those couldn"t be fake.
He will question her thoroughly, before saying anything.
"What…? Could Sect Leader Bai know that woman?" Mi Lansheng saw his odd look and asked.
"Only heard of the name, who is she? Why did she do such a thing?"
The old shaman coughed a bit and closed his dark shaded eyes, hinting that he didn"t want to talk about it.
Mi Lansheng saw Bai Tan looking at him straight on, wearing a look that said he was gonna see to the end of this. So he could only speak the truth, "She was originally our sect"s female priest who protected the sacred treasure and also the childhood friend of Fu Lu"s. They grew up together and a few years ago, Fu Lu fought with Brother Wu when he came to the Yue Yin Palace for Pori, he was hurt then. Su Guiyu heard about his deep injuries that put him one step away from death, as the guardian herself, she stole our sect"s sacred treasure to save his life. Who knew that Fu Lu was so vicious, he had already made a plan and wanted to break the bridge once he was past the river. Once his injuries were healed, not only did he take the sacred treasure for himself; he also made Su Guiyu into a great prize and offered her to the Emperor of Loulan in order to obtain a high position and great wealth. Such a thing, doesn"t need to be mentioned."
The tip of Bai Tan"s heart shuddered as if a knife stabbed his old wound as he remembered the hurt look in Gui Yu"er"s eyes.
…So, both of them had fallen under a familiar tragedy.
"Then, what happened later? Why didn"t Su Guiyu kill Fu Lu? Such a dreadful person should be killed."
Mi Lansheng was at a bit of a loss for the answer too, "Even if she wanted to kill him, she wouldn"t have been able to. Fu Lu has the Rengu Nian Bead, one bead on there is equivalent to one life. Him carrying it would mean that he had thirty-two extra lives, then he also obtained a vicious gu ren from the old Gong Zhu of Yue Yin Palace. He had raised his own blood-related son into a gu ren for defense. Even if the other six masters of Wu Lin were to form an alliance to attack him, it would have only ended in a draw. If Brother Wu was still alive, then there would be a chance of defeating him, too bad…" As he spoke, his eyes glared at Bai Tan ferociously, as if they were a tiger"s. There was also an irritated tone in his voice.
"So, you guys came to find me*, because you guys wanted me* to form an alliance with you to kill Fu Lu?"
A fire started in Mi Lansheng"s heart because of his self-righteous tone, "That"s right."
Translator: Crispyfry
Proofreader: Grumpykit
QC: Xiao
Xiao"s Comments: Feel kinda bad about Mi Lansheng since he actually do seem to care for Wu Yanfu like a brother but he"s truly captivated by Bai Tan even though he doesn"t want to be. Also, finally, more hidden secrets about Wu Yanfu and Bai Tan, can"t wait until we learn more~
Translator"s Comments: I got something to say, I really don"t like this Fu Lu guy. I really, really, really, don"t. But I haven"t finished the book so idk what"s gonna happen but currently, I despise him ?
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Gu ren – 蛊人, a person who raises gu (insects) and uses them
[2] Ren Gunian Bead – 人骨念珠, literally means "bone, thought, bead"
[3] Just met – 刚认, this could also mean something like "…the aunt he had just accepted?"
Chapter 29