Poison Of The Human Panacea Chapter 23

Poison of the Human Panacea

Chapter 23

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Li Wuzhang reached out a hand to check on the condition of Bai Tan's pulse and discovered there was no big crisis, he had only fainted. So he softly pinched the area between his nose and upper lip, making Bai Tan wake up, his eyelids twitched slightly as he opened them.

After getting a clear look at the person in front of him, Bai Tan looked around at his surroundings and let out a breath. He wanted to stand up, but he felt dizzy and his eyes were blurry, he wasn't able to use any strength and nor could he remember how he'd fainted earlier; he couldn't help but feel a little afraid, "You guys sure came at the right time." He blanked out for a moment, then realized, "Right, where is that blue eyed man?"

Li Wuzhang replied, "He ran away."

"d.a.m.n. That person's probably not gonna give up this easily, letting him go is only gonna bring more trouble in the future." He weakly scanned over Wu Yanfu to see if he was alright, and then his own body became weak all over. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he laid his head on Wu Yanfu's shoulder and mumbled out an order, "Look to see if any of them are still alive…take the living ones back." 

"Yes." Li Wuzhang pulled Wu Yanfu's hands apart, which were in the way and brought Bai Tan into his embrace with one arm, while the other yanked Wu Yanfu up, he used qinggon[1] and went back down to the hidden entrance beneath the stone temple. 

It was directly connected to the inn.

Apparently, this Shen Lou was a part of the underground stone temple that was exposed up above, and the Da Qin people, who traveled here, made use of it and then used it as the foundation for building a new city on top of it. 

Li Wuzhang lay Bai Tan down on a bed and sat behind him with crossed legs, he pulled the other into his embrace, he removed his robe and Bai Tan's upper clothing, which was already loose. His chest pressed up against Bai Tan's back as both pairs of hands touched, he regulated his own breathing and slowly sent a share of zhen qi in through Bai Tan's pulse, urging the other's neili to swim through the small circuit[2] in his body calmly.

Before he'd finished one lap around the small circuit, he felt Bai Tan's whole body heating up and the zhen qi that he'd sent into his body moved around chaotically. It was the signs of one that would lose their sanity with reversed blood flow. 

Li Wuzhang's forehead was covered in sweat and it felt as if the zhen qi he'd sent in was like a clay ox entering the sea. No matter how much he sent into the other's dantian, there seemed to be a whirlpool inside that sucked it all in, chewed it into tiny pieces before it was all swallowed down into a bottomless pit. He was suddenly, deeply shocked.

He wanted to keep forcing himself to go on, but he felt a sharp pain from the side of his neck, then lost his consciousness. His body t.i.tled and rolled off the bed, where he fell, face first, onto the floor beside Wu Yanfu with a 'dong' sound.

Wu Yanfu glanced at him with droopy eyes, reached out two long, thin fingers and removed the golden needle from his neck, he then pulled Bai Tan into his embrace with one arm and carried him onto the bed. He bit the tip of his own tongue and fed the other a mouthful of fresh blood.

Bai Tan immediately sucked hard on the soft tongue between those lips like a leech, he reached up both of his arms and wrapped them around the other's neck, Wu Yanfu raised him up and let him sit on his lap with his arms and legs wrapped[3] around him. His hands followed the order of the small circuit's path as he pressed all eight of the extraordinary meridians[4] on him to direct his blocked neili. 

After all, he was once the master of a sect. No matter if it was neigong[5] or spell casts, he had already trained them to an unrealistic level. Even if his neili was weak at the moment, with the dozens of years of skills retained in his mind, the skills of some juniors, like Li Wuzhang, were definitely incomparable. With just a little bit of work, Wu Yanfu had led Bai Tan's reversed blood flow back in the right direction. They sank back to the dantian as if they were river streams, flowing back into the ocean at once.

Bai Tan let out a long, relaxed breath as his breathing slowly became balanced.

In the darkness, he could only feel himself under the protection of someone's embrace and was fed liquids that quenched his thirst, sip by sip, the palm of the person also softly soothed his back. His thoughts subconsciously drifted and he fell back into a nightmare[6] from years ago.

Back when he was barely conscious and on the verge of death, there had been another person who treated him with such gentle care.

In a daze, he felt as if he was still locked down in the underground prison, that had no sunlight, only darkness. His whole body trembled, then he'd reached out his hands to grab onto the other's neck as he buried his face into his chest, he heard the fast and clear sound of a heart beating and was able to relax himself a bit. Yet, he felt a tingling sensation in his nose and couldn't help but sob softly as he spoke, "Savior…is it you, savior?" 

The breathing on the side of his neck suddenly deepened, and he'd felt a sharp pain from his earlobe. 

Bai Tan uttered a painful moan and was held even tighter, so tight it felt like all his bones were about to be broken. The ten fingers that were prominent enough to show blue at its joints had slowly curled in behind him, leaving a few b.l.o.o.d.y scratch marks on his back.

Under the pain, Bai Tan immediately woke up and when he opened his eyes, they were met by a pair of blue eyes. Because of how close they were, he was able to see clearly through the pair of eyes that had always shown only signs of confusion and loss, and now were like a dark river under a layer of cold ice. It looked peaceful on the surface, but underneath was an unpredictable depth that seemed to have a turbulence hidden there that could drown anyone in an instant. 

He shuddered, suddenly his heart started beating abnormally fast, "Ah-Chi?"

"Master." The man blinked and the indescribable things behind those eyes immediately vanished. 

Bai Tan moved his body a bit and finally realized he was in his arms, it felt as if he was still in the dream, suddenly his intestines had a hundred knots. It was as if the person in front of him was the closest person he'd ever had in this world, he willingly allowed the other to embrace him tightly.

"Ah-Chi, you're so nice to me."

Wu Yanfu fell silent for a while, then asked, "Really?"

Bai Tan nodded his head and felt that just by being in the other's arms, there was a sense of security he'd never known before. Feelings of sleepiness suddenly overcame him and he spoke in a soft, small voice that sounded like he was sleep talking, "You saved me once, years back, and now you've saved me again. Whether you remember me or not, I, Bai Tan, will repay those little droplets of kindness with even more grat.i.tude."

Wu Yanfu placed the young male in his arms onto the bed and stared at the other's soft, sleeping face, it was pale white. The blue-green veins on his hands knotted together as his fingers pierced through the bed and dug down to the wooden base a little bit, the corner of his mouth trembled a little before finally lifting up.

What grat.i.tude?

Li Wuzhang exhaled as he woke up from the long dream, he rubbed his eyes, only to see the yao ren covering Bai Tan with a blanket and that Bai Tan had already recovered since his breathing had balanced out. Li Wuzhang couldn't help but be confused.

Did he faint from trying to heal Bai Tan?

Then who had helped Bai Tan recover? Could it have been the yao ren?

Li Wuzhang checked Bai Tan's pulse and was puzzled as he looked over at the yao ren who kneeled down beside the bed with an expressionless face, then he suspiciously asked, "Just now…was it you who saved him?" 

The yao ren nodded his head, "I gave Master my blood to drink."

Li Wuzhang shook his head in disbelief and thought that, with this kind of yao ren as a support, it was definitely more useful than a bunch of other exotic medicines out there, he should also train one for himself someday. It was a good thing the yao ren was here today, or else who knew what would've happened to Bai Tan. With this kind of thought, his eyes returned to Bai Tan's face.

Under the yellowish lights, the young male's lips were blood red, along with the soft, perfect skin, except that it was a little bit too pale. He looked just like a porcelain doll that could be easily broken with one touch, it seemed that he was even more beautiful than before, beautiful at an almost unrealistic level.

Li Wuzhang's hand reached out of its own accord, with the desire to touch this person that he could barely look at on a daily basis, but a cold hand, that acted like an iron tong, grabbed onto his wrist and a chilliness pierced him, bone deep.

He lifted his eyes to look and saw a pair of blue eyes nearby, gooseb.u.mps appeared on Li Wuzhang as he felt the chilling sensation of being targeted by a predator who only came out at night.

The yao ren looked at him and quietly said, "Master is sleeping."

Li Wuzhang yanked his hand back and left the room with an unexplained feeling of fear.

Wu Yanfu stared at the young male for little bit, then leaned over to blow the candle out.

On that long night, he was the only one that had a hard time falling asleep.

The next day, under the advice of Gui Yu'er, the group of people didn't stay at the inn any longer and left the Shen Lou of Stone City. They traveled along the Tarim River[7] to one of its ports and travelled by s.h.i.+p in the direction of Lop Nur[8]

The smell of blood was thick in the bottom compartment of the s.h.i.+p, with continuous whipping sounds and shrill cries.

Bai Tan put away the whip full of poison spikes and used a clean silk cloth to wipe away the blood stains on his face, he then lowered his head to look at the white hufu[9] that had been stained by blood around the chest area. Then finally, his eyes landed on the few people tied to the pillars, bleeding from their rotten, beaten up flesh.

"Yue Yin Palace…pretty fast with your hands and feet, huh? I've* only just left the mountain and you guys already found out and came after me?" Bai Tan reached out his hand and used the whip tip to lift up the head of a scar faced man with a long beard, he turned his head towards Wu Yanfu who sat on a nearby chair. "I heard from that guy named Lian Jiu, he is your guy's Da Tang Zhu, right?"

"It's not untrue." The bearded man glared at him with bloodshot eyes, "Evildoer, what are you trying to do?"

"I'm* not trying to do anything, I* just wanted to know if what that Lian Jiu spoke was the truth. That year, was it him who took me* out of Yue Yin Palace and then fought with Wu Yanfu?" Thinking back to the events from that year, Bai Tan whipped once more, with even more strength and with a sound of 'pu' it pierced through the man's abdomen. "If you can give me evidence and prove whether Lian Jiu's words were true or not, I'll* spare your life."

That person cried out with an 'ah' scream and even though he had no energy to talk from the pain, he still had a strong, determined look on his face, "Peh, why should I tell it to an evildoer like you?! Someone like you who kills their own master for authority and power, a despicable little person. Whether our Da Tang Zhu saved you that year or not, why does it even matter?!"

"What a strong-willed one, I* like it." Bai Tan's red lips arched up and just as the word 'like' came out of his mouth, he moved the whip tip in his hand around a bit and the white intestines fell all over the floor with plopping sounds.

Wu Yanfu's eyes lingered on the side view of the youth's blood stained, cold, yet beautiful face, he gulped.

"Boring, dying so easily."

Bai Tan furrowed his brows and walked over to a baldy, whose face had turned a dirt-brown color with fear, the whip tip inched closer and closer until it reached that person's eye then he asked, with a soft voice, "How about it, do you have anything to say to me*?"

"He…when he fought with Wu Yanfu that year, he held you in his embrace and shot three arrows in a row towards Wu Yanfu. The first two shots were a failure and before the third shot was even sent out, his meridians were broken and he spit out blood, you…you, you s.n.a.t.c.hed the arrow in front of Wu Yanfu and stabbed yourself in the stomach, wanting to die with him because of love!" 

Bai Tan's hand moved and the whip tip pierced that person's eyes, making him faint from the pain.

"Haha! Haha!" The bearded man with intestines falling out of his broken stomach, still had a few last forced breathes left, yet the poison had already made him insane. White fluids surged out of his mouth as his whole body trembled, he suddenly started to laugh wildly, "Love? So even an evildoer like you has feelings, but too bad that it was probably just one-sided. Our Da Tang Zhu was already decided as the heir by Lao Gong Zhu in private, for someone like you…Someone that's already been abandoned, you think he would really just betray us and run away?"

"What did you say?" Bai Tan's face changed and just as he was about to continue asking, that person's head tilted and no breaths were left.

He then turned his head over and held onto the last person's chin, he slapped him in the face twice, "What was that person saying? Is he still considered by the elders to be the heir of Yue Yin Palace?"

That person's teeth chattered, "Y-Yes…that's right."

"So for you guys to use this much strength and power to save him, is it for that reason?"

"Yes, that's exactly it! All the elders within the palace would listen to him, San Tang Zhu wanted to save him, so that he could use his figure and bring all the Tang that've split apart within the Yue Yin Palace back together!"

"Oh? So does that mean, since Yue Yin Palace doesn't have a Gong Zhu now, everything is under the Tang Zhus' control?" Bai Tan softly poked and the whip tip landed directly on that guy's eye, "Then the one who offered a reward to anyone who brings my head for him, the one who spread rumors of me* in The Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly, which Tang Zhu is that?"

"It's Er[10] Tang Zhu, Fu Lu the Er Tang Zhu!"

"Do you know where I could find him?"

"He…he's also going to The Great Wu Lin a.s.sembly…as of now, he should be on his way." 

"Then…you will go and find him for my sake." Bai Tan flicked his wrist and "San Du" came out of his sleeve and climbed up to the man's neck and bit down harshly. "If you can kill your Tang Zhu, then I will let my little pet save you. If you can't, then you can just wait for the poison to end your life."

As he finished speaking, he flipped his sleeve and walked out of the s.h.i.+p's bottom compartment. He took in a deep breath of fresh air, to compress the chaotic emotions inside. …That yao ren, he is his savior without doubt then.

But, just like what that person said earlier. For a person who was about to become the heir, why would he betray them, for the him back then, and why would he be willing to abandon his position within Yue Yin Palace?

Is it really just because he liked to?

Or is it because…for uses? What use could he have been to him? To lure Wu Yanfu back? 

Funny. Even if he didn't know why Wu Yanfu came back that year, he also knew he definitely didn't come back with a change of heart, to reclaim an abandoned child like him. It was most likely because the Yue Yin Palace had something valuable that he needed. 

"Sect leader."

Suddenly, a woman's soft, alluring voice came from behind. Bai Tan averted his head and his wrist was immediately grabbed by a diligent hand, its thumb pressed up against his thenar s.p.a.ce and Gui Yu'er looked at him with a slight sign of worry in her apricot-shaped eyes, "May I# question the sect leader, what happened down there, that caused your alluring bone to grow this much?"

Bai Tan was suddenly shocked inside, "What?"

Gui Yu'er flipped his hand over and pointed towards the area of his humerus, and as expected, it was showing a slight redness there.

"Even though the alluring bone is at the end of the tailbone, but it is also connected to the humerus. The more radiant the color is at these two spots, the closer the alluring bone is to maturing. Me# and the sect leader are connected by blood, so we are able to perceive such things about each other. Sect leader, I've# already told you the ways of nouris.h.i.+ng yang, but there is also a big taboo that I can't keep a secret."

Bai Tan furrowed his brow, "It's fine to say it."

"Is there anyone in the sect leader's heart?"

Bai Tan was stunned, then quickly shook his head, "There's none."

"Then that is good. If sect leader doesn't wish for the alluring bone to mature, then don't have those feelings for anyone. Even more so, don't have skin to skin contact with the person in your heart. If that happens, then the alluring bone will transform into the fox bone and the result will be unimaginable." Gui Yu'er's eyelids drooped and her eyelashes were like a little bird flitting past by the surface of the water. Ripples occurred at the bottom of her eyes, it looked like there were endless sorrows shown there. "Years back, I# had learned a lesson from it. The t.i.tle, Demonic Beauty of Loulan, also came from that incident."

Gui Yu'er lifted her hand up to fix his falling hair as she spoke, "Since I# was like that, your mother was like so, as well. Trapped by her feelings when she fell in love with your father, then ended up with the crime of causing chaos within the royal palace and was imprisoned to death."  

"What is such a thing called love in this world? It is…a poison to the world."

Translator: Crispyfry

Proofreader: Grumpykit

QC: Xiao

Xiao's Comments: I understand Bai Tan's distrust of Wu Yanfu…but, ugh, this is how misunderstandings are made. Also, I have a bad feeling about Bai Tan's Alluring bone…

Translator's Notes:

[1] Qinggon – 轻功, A movement technique in Chinese martial arts that allows its user to move swiftly or with other effects depending on the type of qinggon the user applies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qinggong

[2] Small circuit – 小周天, can be used to describe the area from the forehead(ren and du mai) down to the perineum, and it is also a technique;

[3] arms and legs wrapped – 明妃缠绕金刚姿势, this literally translate to 'ming fei wrapping around jin gang position' by comparing their position something like this; http://upload.art.ifeng.com/2016/0826/1472194817645.jpg

[4] eight extraordinary meridians – 奇经八脉, represent the body's deepest level of energetic structuring;

[5] Neigong – 内功, literally means 'internal skill'; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neigong

[6] Nightmare – 梦魇, specifically it's sleep paralysis

[7] Tarim River – 塔里木河, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_River

[8] Lop Nur – 罗布泊, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lop_Nur

[9] Hufu – 胡服, a traditional Chinese clothing(robe) that people in the West and North of ancient China wore

[10] Er – 二, second

*I/me/my – The use of "I" or "me" makes a reference to Bai Tan's position or suggest a high rank.

#I/me/my – The modest way of a woman addressing herself, mostly used by married women back in ancient China.

                                                                                       Chapter 24