Ch.22: Shortened Distance; Adrift in Sandstorms 3
The scorpion tail!
Yet because of the sting, Xie Lian was able to grab hold of the tail and capture the
snake properly. He squeezed it down hard until it became unconscious. Even having
been stung, Xie Lian’s face never changed, and tossed it to the ground indifferently,
“Everyone be careful, there may be more snakes around…”
He felt a tightening on his wrist before he finished his words, and looked to see it was
San Lang who caught hold of him.
“San Lang?” Xie Lian looked at the boy puzzled.
The reason he sounded confused was because at this very moment, the expression on
this youth’s face was quite off; it was indescribably frosty to the point of frightening. His
eyes were focused intently on the wound on the back of Xie Lian’s hand that had now
ballooned thanks to the vicious venom. The small puncture wound became visibly
enlarged to the size of a knife cut because of the angry swelling.
With a dark expression and, San Lang wordlessly snatched Ruoye from Xie Lian’s arm
and immediately knotted it firmly on his wrist, preventing the venom from advancing.
While Ruoye enjoyed snuggling up to Xie Lian, it wasn’t that well-behaved either, yet in
San lang’s hands it was so compliant it was like it was dead.
Ever since they had known each other, Xie Lian had never seen San Lang looking like
this. He opened his mouth to speak but San Lang turnedto pull a dagger from the waist
of one of the merchants. Nan Feng saw and knew instantly what San Lang was about to
do, and ignited a palm torch. Without sparing any looks, San Lang burned the tip of the
dagger to disinfect it before turning back to Xie Lian and drew a cross on the mouth of
the puncture wound.
Just as he was about to lower his head to the hand, Xie Lian hurriedly said, “It’s ok. The
venom is aggressive, sucking it won’t do much. I don’t want you to get poisoned…”
San Lang ignored him, tightened the hold on Xie Lian’s hand and placed his lips upon it.
His hand trembled slightly and Xie Lian couldn’t explain why.
Next to him, Fu Yao said in disdain, “I can’t believe you went and got yourself pricked.
What are you doing catching the snake when the kid might not even get bitten? You’re
just making trouble needlessly.”
His words were probably true. Xie Lian recalled the airy way San Lang played with the
snake in the cave; he probably wouldn’t have even cared for any attacks and wouldn’t
have gotten bitten. But just in case. Just in case San Lang didn’t notice the snake and
get bitten, it’d be too late then.
Xie Lian waved his good hand, “Don’t mind it. It’s not like it hurts, and I won’t die from
it.”
“You’re really not in pain?” Fu Yao asked.
“Really. I don’t feel pain anymore.” Xie Lian answered truthfully.
Since Xie Lian possessed the worst of luck, every time he ventured deep into the
mountains, eight times out of ten he would step onto vipers or run into poisonous
insects, and get bitten, stung, jabbed, or poisoned in thousands of ways. Perhaps it was
because of his heavenly status, he couldn’t die, so at most he’d run a fever. After three
days and three nights of fevers, he’d be right as rain when he woke and continue on as
if nothing happened. Gradually he became less and less sensitive to pain, and just lived
with it.
Right after the words had left his mouth San Lang finally looked up. The red swelling on
the back of Xie Lian’s hand had gone down, a stain of blood red on San Lang’s lips. His
eyes were extremely cold, and he moved his glare to the unconscious snake on the
ground. BOOM! The snake abruptly exploded into a pool of blood and flesh.
The sudden blast surprised everyone, but no one knew who did it. Even if the blood
didn’t splatter onto anyone, there was still a blanket of unease. Tian Sheng who still
remembered that Xie Lian also got stung, asked worriedly, “Gege, you got pricked too!
What will you do?”
Xie Lian felt the bandage on his wrist and smiled, “Don’t worry, little one. We’ll still stick
to the plan of going to the BanYue ruins and search for the ShanYue fern.”
Another merchant asked, “You guys are going? What about us? Should we also send
someone to go with you?”
“You can all stay here. BanYue territory is a dangerous place, the more people there the
more mishaps that can happen. We will find the fern and bring it back to you within
twenty-four hours.” Xie Lian said.
“For… for real? Thank you so much! –”
“How can we possibly ever…”
A number of merchants started stuttering their thanks, but then their faces changed
when Xie Lian continued to speak, “In order to reach BanYue as soon as possible, I
want to borrow your guide temporarily, if that’s alright.”
Naturally, Xie Lian meant A-Zhao. The merchants went from grateful and relief to
hesitation. Xie Lian knew where they’re coming from. They were afraid that Xie Lian
might run off with their guide once he finds the ShanYue fern; and even if A-Zhao didn’t
run away, timing would still be delayed. Nevertheless, none of them wanted to venture
into that wicked place where ‘at least half goes missing’. Their worries were entirely
understandable, so Xie Lian added, “And just in case anything else comes to attack
you, Fu Yao will stay until we return.”
A man for a man, now there was insurance that Xie Lian would come back. The
merchants finally agreed and nodded, “Alright. As long as A-Zhao is willing.”
Xie Lian turned to A-Zhao, “Are you open to giving us a hand, my friend? If not that’s ok
too.”
A-Zhao nodded and said, “Yes. But the BanYue ruins is actually not hard to get to; just
keep heading in this direction.”
After bidding the merchants farewell, A-Zhao took the lead with Xie Lian, San Lang, and
Nan Feng following right behind. A while later, Xie Lian inquired, “A-Zhao, do the
scorpion snakes appear frequently in this area?”
“Not frequently. This was my first time seeing them too.” A-Zhao replied.
Xie Lian nodded and had no more questions. Truthfully, he did live in the BanYue area
for a number of years, and this was also his first time seeing a scorpion snake. A-Zhao’s
answer was not out of place. Nan Feng realized Xie Lian’s intentions and asked in a low
voice, “You’re suspicious of this A-Zhao?”
Xie Lian responded in a whisper, “Either way we’ve brought him out. Just keep an eye
on him.”
In the past it was usually San Lang who would talk to him first, but since the incident
earlier the boy hadn’t looked approachable, walking stoically and silent. Xie Lian
couldn’t figure out what’s going on and didn’t know how to talk to him, so he kept on
walking too.
The four continued to trek through the vast Gobi desert; the windstorm had long passed,
and without any obstructions they advanced quickly, and soon they could see ragged
weeds here and there growing in the cracks of rocks and sand. By the time the sun was
setting, Xie Lian finally spotted an ancient fortress in the horizon.
The fortress was difficult to see because it was the colour of sand, camouflaged in the
yellowness and becoming one with the desert. Some parts of the fortress walls were
also caved in and buried. As they approached, they found the fortress walls were
extremely high, towering at over hundreds of feet. It wasn’t hard to imagine its past
magnificence, how grand it must’ve been.
Passing through the barbican, the four formally entered the Kingdom of BanYue.
Past the gates was a wide and empty city street, dilapidated houses on each side;
rotten beams, broken bricks strewn about. Out of habit, A-Zhao cautioned the others,
“Please be careful and don’t leave the group on your own.” The other three didn’t need
that reminder. The actual BanYue fortress was probably different than imagined, and
Nan Feng wondered, “This is the Kingdom of BanYue? It’s smaller than a capital!”
“A desert country is only as big as the oasis it’s built on.” Xie Lian explained. “At its
peak, the population was only just about ten thousand. It’s actually pretty lively in a
small fortress like this.”
Nan Feng continued to observe the surroundings, “It would probably only take a few
days to siege a country of this size.”
Xie Lian shook his head, “Not necessarily. Don’t underestimate the people of BanYue,
Nan Feng. Even if their population wasn’t more than ten thousand, they kept the
number of soldiers at an average of four thousand. There were more males than
females; aside from the sick and old, and the farmers, most men joined the army.
Besides, most of those soldiers were over nine feet tall, each more violent than the next.
With a mace in hand, they would keep fighting even with swords through their chests.
They’re very hard to fight.”
A-Zhao was surprised and glanced at Xie Lian, “This young master seems to know a
lot.”
Xie Lian maintained his smile and was about to converse some more when Nan Feng
posed a question, “What’s that wall?”
He was indicating a giant mud yellow building in the far distance.
Building wasn’t quite the right word to describe it, because it was a giant enclosure
formed by four massive mud coloured walls without neither doors nor roofs. Each wall
was over a hundred feet, and on the very top there was a pole, with something tattered
attached, flying in the wind. It was a chilling image.
Xie Lian turned his head and took a look, then said simply, “That’s the Sinners Pit.”
By the sound of the name alone it was obvious it wasn’t anything good. “Sinner’s Pit?”
Nan Feng frowned.
Humming gravely, Xie Lian explained, “You can think of it as a jail. It’s made specifically
for imprisoning criminals.”
“How does it imprison if there isn’t even a door? Throw them in from the top?” Nan
Feng wondered.
Xie Lian was just hesitating in answering when San Lang suddenly spoke up, “They get
thrown in. And the pit is full of poisonous snakes and starving beasts.”
Hearing him finally speak, Xie Lian felt relieved, but when he looked over to San Lang,
the boy met his gaze and turned away. Nan Feng swore, “That’s no fuckin’ jail?! That’s
torture! How cruel! Those people of BanYue were either sick in the head or savage
psychos!”
Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, “Not all of them. Some of them were quite endearing…”
He paused suddenly, his brows stiffening, “Wait.”
The other three stopped, and Xie Lian pointed upwards, “Look at that pole up on the pit.
Is that a person hanging from it?”
In the dimming light of the setting sun and with such distance, it was difficult to see what
exactly was hung on the pole. But going closer and scrutinizing the shape, it became
obvious it was a scrawny little person in black, their clothes unkempt, dangling in the
wind like a ragdoll.
“It’s a person,” San Lang confirmed.
When A-Zhao saw the hanging person, his face paled. This was such a chilling and
peculiar display that even a calm individual like him couldn’t bear the sight of it. Just
then, San Lang tilted hi head, and said in a low voice, “Someone’s here.”
He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Xie Lian also heard featherlight footsteps
approaching. The four immediately moved to hide in the many decaying houses on the
roadside. Xie Lian and San Lang entered one house, and Nan Feng and A-Zhao hid in
the one across the street. Soon after, at the end of the broken street, revealed the
woman cultivator in white.
The woman was dressed in a light white robe, a whisk in her arm, roaming along the
street, peering here and there, eyes bright and observant, as if she was in her own
backyard garden, and not the BanYue ruins. Strolling right after her was another woman
clad in black, her hands behind her back.
The black clad woman was beautiful yet cold, her eyes piercing, her raven hair long and
free, as if radiating chill from her very person. Although she was walking behind the
woman cultivator, no one would have mistaken her as a subordinate.
It was the same two women they saw outside the abandoned inn at noon time.
At the time they passed by too fast and Xie Lian couldn’t make out the details of the
lady in black, but he now saw clearly that she was indeed a woman. If the one in white
was the Witch of BanYue, then who was the one in black?
The witch swished her whisk leisurely and spoke, “Now where did those people go? We
were careless for one moment and they all disappeared. Do I have to dig them out and
kill them one by one?”
As Xie Lian had thought, they were watched the moment they stepped foot into the
fortress.
The lady in black approached and stoically said, “You can call your friends to help you
kill them.”
Those ‘friends’ must have meant the soldiers of BanYue. The Guoshi of BanYue
laughed, “Ha! I don’t like calling other people. I like calling you. Aren’t you glad?”
The lady in black ignored her completely and said cooly, “There’s nothing agreeable
about being called out by the likes of you for something like this. Just go.”
The Guoshi of BanYue arched her brows but still sped away. Listening to them it
sounded as if they were close. They were no ordinary folks, so the lady in black must
have some renown. Someone who would be close to the Guoshi of BanYue? A
mysterious fellow cultivator? Or was there a queen or general they didn’t know about?
Xie Lian was trying to connect the dots rapidly in his mind, but held his breath. Now
wasn’t the time to be discovered. It looked like the guoshi had an unpredictable
personality; if she should find them and excitedly summon her legendary, 9 feet tall,
mace-wielding BanYue soldiers, then more time would be wasted fighting them.
Twenty-four hours. One hour wasted was another hour they’d sink deeper into danger.
But, there was no helping his bad luck; whatever he didn’t want happening would
always happen. The lady in black was passing the house Xie Lian hid in, but stopped
mid step, and her piercing gaze came sweeping over the decayed shelter.
The Guoshi of BanYue was already further ahead but noticed that she had stopped and
came back around. “Hey, are you not coming?”
The lady in black didn’t look at her. “You. Step back.”
“Alright.” The guoshi responded obediently and actually retreated. The lady in black was
about to raise her hand when suddenly, a loud rumble blasted from across the street!
Across on the other side, it was the house Nan Feng and A-Zhao hid in that collapsed!
The crumpling of one house led the entire strip to cave in. Dust and sand rolled into the
air and clouded the whole street. Within, a black shadow leapt out, shot a streaming
flame towards the gushi, but the lady in black rushed forward and blocked the guoshi
from harm. With her left hand still behind her, she flipped her right palm and easily
absorbed the flames before rebounding it right back. The black shadow parried with her
while escaping, and soon disappeared. The guoshi immediately chased after it, but the
lady in black gave the house behind another sweeping look before following after the
guosi.
‘Bless you, Nan Feng,’ Xie Lian thankedmentally. All of this happened so quickly, but
Nan Feng had no doubt known somehow that they were about to get in trouble and
created a diversion to lead enemies astray. He was the only one who leapt out, so
A-Zhao must still be inside the collapsed house. After making sure the guoshi and the
lady in black were indeed gone, Xie Lian dragged San Lang out of their hiding and
called out, “A-Zhao are you still alive? Are you hurt anywhere?”
A moment later, a sulky voice came from under the ruins, “…I’m fine.”
Xie Lian was relieved. “Thank goodness.”
Although Xie Lian trusted in Nan Feng’s ability to control the crash and would no doubt
leave enough space for A-Zhao to stay safe, it was still more reassuring to see it with
his own eyes. He raised one of the rotten beams with one hand, and after a moment
A-Zhou emerged from under, covered in dust from head to toe. He patted himself down
a bit and returned to his stoic expression.
“Now there’s only three of us left,” Xie Lian said. “Nan Feng is running a diversion so we
must move faster. Do you know where we can find the ShanYue fern, A-Zhao?”
The young man shook his head and said, “Sorry. I only know where the fortress was,
but I’ve never been here before, so I don’t know where the fern can be found.”
San Lang spoke up, “They say the ShanYue fern prefers shade, is small, its roots thin
but leaves large, like a heart-shaped peach. Why don’t you search near a large
building?”
“A large building?” Xie Lian contemplated.
If they were talking big, there was no building larger than the palace. In the legend, it
was after the festivities that the queen picked a ShanYue leaf, which could mean the
fern grew in the palace grounds.
The three moved their gaze to afar, and to the centre of the fortress was indeed a
palace built of brick and wood.
From the distance, the palace had a grandiose aura, but from a closer look, it was not in
much better shape than the dilapidated houses on the streets. Through the palace
gates was a massive garden; perhaps in the past it wasn’t a garden but a palace
square, but with years of neglect, weeds had flourished and spread.
Indeed, it wasn’t sand beneath their feet but mud. This was most likely the last sign of
an oasis that once was; ShanYue could very well be growing amongst all the other
plants.
“Let’s not waste time,” Xie Lian said, “We only have twenty-four hours, but be careful of
the scorpion snakes.”
A-Zhao and San Lang both hummed in acknowledgement and lowered their heads to
start searching through the plants. As they rummaged, it suddenly came to Xie Lian that
if the Witch of BanYue could control scorpion snakes, there should be an abundance of
them slithering about in her territory. Ever since they entered the fortress they had not
seen a single snake.
He straightened up and was about to speak when one of his hands felt up a long object.
Looking down again, he found that it was a human leg.
Ch.23: Shortened Distance; Adrift in Sandstorms 4
“WAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Xie Lian took his hand back and was speechless.
It came to him that every time he saw or touched anything thrilling in the dark, it was
always the other party that’d scream first while he remained silent. But shouldn’t it be
him the one who should be the most scared?
The plants in this garden were tall and thick; it was someone who was already hiding
and crawling in the weeds whose leg Xie Lian felt. The moment they touched the leg
recoiled and the weeds in front of him bustled, and someone called out, “Don’t hit me!
Don’t hit me! Gege, it’s me!”
Xie Lian scrutinized the wild grass and saw that the one emerged crying “Don’t hit me!”
was the thick browed large eyed Tian Sheng. The boy in turn saw that Xie Lian
recognized himself and sighed a breath in relief. Xie Lian on the other hand wasn’t
relieved, but became even more alert, and raised his good arm in a defensive stance. In
circumstances like these, it was usually more likely that this was an illusion created by
something evil.
“Weren’t you with the others back at the desert? How are you here? Are you really Tian
Sheng?”
Tian Sheng explained hurriedly, “It’s me! I’m the real thing! I’m not the only one; three
other uncles also came. They’re just inside. Look if you don’t believe me!” He pointed
towards inside the palace, and sure enough, three men came running out and they were
indeed the men from the caravan. When they saw Xie Lian they froze in their steps and
looked awkward.
Xie Lian puffed a breath before finally rising to his feet and dusted his white sleeves,
“What’s going on?”
The merchants looked at each other and no one made any noise. It was Tian Sheng
who spoke up after an awkward silence, “…Gege, after you guys left, Uncle Zheng’s
pain flared and was really miserable. We didn’t know how much longer to expect you to
return and were afraid that you guys might’ve gotten lost. A-Zhao-ge said to go straight
to get to the Kingdom of BanYue, so we thought the more hands to help the better so…”
So what he really meant is the merchants regretted letting them go after all. They were
afraid that Xie Lian would rob them of their guide after finding the ShanYue ferm for
themselves, so they sent people to come follow after them. Xie Lian imagined the Fu
Yao couldn’t hold them back, and was probably too lazy to hold them back. It was
impossible to stop stubborn people who refused to listen to reason.
Xie Lian felt rather exasperated, “You’re all too reckless. Who knows what there might
be, and what might happen in a fortress like this and you still came?”
Tian Sheng himself knew that what they’d done made it obvious they didn’t trust Xie
Lian and felt bad, so he didn’t make a sound while hiding in the weeds earlier, as
awkward as it was. “Sorry, this concerned a man’s life and we couldn’t sit still, so…”
No matter. This was a life and death situation and to be wary was entirely natural. To go
so far in danger for an antidote also proved them to be worthy companions. Xie Lian
couldn’t berate them for this and sighed. “If you didn’t bump into anything weird when
entering the territory then it’s your good fortune. But how did you know to come to the
palace to search for the ShanYue fern?”
Tian Sheng scratched his head and replied, “We didn’t know where to start, but in the
story the red clothed gege told it was the queen who picked the leaves, right? The
queen couldn’t possibly leave the palace grounds, so I thought we’d come and try our
luck.”
Well this kid’s mind could certain spin, and it spun right on target, Xie Lian thought. Just
then, San Lang spoke up from the side, “I found it.”
Xie Lian turned to see San Lang strode with his lithe long legs towards him. In his hands
was a few turquoise leaves still with roots attached at the stems.
The leaves were about the size of a baby’s palm, in the shape of peaches, slightly
pointy at the ends, and its roots thin and tiny. Without A-Zhao to confirm, Xie Lian knew
without a doubt that it must be the ShanYue fern. Without waiting for Xie Lian to say a
word, San Lang grabbed onto his wounded hand and lifted it.
The hand that had been pricked was originally frighteningly swollen, but after San Lang
had sucked out poison from the wound, the swelling had gone down significantly
despite it not fully cleaned out of venom. With Xie Lian’s wrist in one hand and the
ShanYue fern in the other, San Lang closed his palm on the plant, and in a second
when he reopened his palm, the fern had been crushed into powder without him
appearing to have exerted any force.
San Lang gently and firmly rubbed the powder onto Xie Lian’s hand, and he could feel
strings of coolness and relief on his skin. “Thanks, San Lang.” Xie Lian said.
San Lang didn’t respond however, and after applying the powder he let go of Xie Lian’s
hand. Xie Lian couldn’t help but think his attitude and this weird atmosphere between
the two of them was really peculiar, but didn’t know how to ask about it without sounding
weird. This wasn’t something anyone else would notice either and couldn’t possibly
understand.
“Gege,are you feeling better? Is the herb working?” Tian Sheng asked anxiously.
Xie Lian snapped out of it and replied, “Much better. It should be the right herb.”
Hearing this, everyone became excited, “Hurry! Let’s find more!” Soon, A-Zhao also
raised a handful of leaves crying, “There’s more here!”
The ShanYue leaves in A-Zhao’s hands were much bigger and fuller than the small,
pitiful one San Lang had used earlier, but the shape and marks were all correct, so
everyone crowded over and happily exclaimed:
“There’s an entire field here!”
“So many!”
“Pick lots! Let’s pick a bunch! Do you think we can sell this?”
The merchants were busy picking the herbs noisily, and Xie Lian turned his head over,
examined his hand for a moment, then tried to start a conversation with San Lang, “You
searched the same area they’re at now before, right? Didn’t you find any at the time?”
It was obvious Xie Lian was trying to force a conversation, and after having asked the
question, he himself felt rather pathetic. But San Lang shook his head, “You shouldn’t
use the ferns over there.”
“Why? Xie Lian was curious.
Before San Lang could answer, they heard someone scream “GO AWAY!”
Everyone stopped, their movements halting.
“Who said that? Who’s screaming?”
“It wasn’t me?”
“It wasn’t me either…”
Then they heard that sharp voice again, “Go away! You’re stepping on me…”
Only then did the group notice – the voice came from next to their feet!
In a flash, the crowd dispersed from that small field of fern. Seeing this, Xie Lian walked
over. He was used to being the one in the lead when it comes to those things. He
approached the bush where the shrieking came from and stripped away the thick
weeds. Everyone’s breathing hitched.
Under the weeds, in the mud, was a man’s face.
In a field such as this, a live human being was buried in the mud with only a face
showing on the surface!
It was a nightmarish picture, and a couple of merchants held onto each and screamed.
Xie Lian comforted them in a skilled and practiced manner, “Don’t panic. Everyone calm
down. It’s only a face, nothing extraordinary. We all have faces, no?”
That face chuckled, “Oh, did I scare you? Sigh. I frequently scare myself too.”
After reassuring the others, Xie Lian half crouched down and examined this face in the
mud.
It’s a man’s face without a doubt; quite flat when he wasn’t not smiling, but full of
wrinkles when he did. Xie Lian couldn’t tell whether if he was old or young, and couldn’t
say whether if he was handsome or not. He couldn’t make much out of this face, so he
simply asked directly, “Who are you?”
The face in the mud asked back, “Who are you?”
“We’re merchants passing through.” Xie Lian replied.
The mud face breathed a long sigh, “Merchant passersby. I used to be part of a caravan
too, but that was fifty-sixty years ago.”
The situation just became freakier.
Was a man buried in the grounds of an old fortress ruin for over fifty to sixty years still
human?
One of the merchants shakily asked in trepidation, “Then… then.. How did a senior like
yourself… come… here?”
The mud face cleared his throat and screwed up his face. “I… I was captured by the
BanYue soldiers. I accidentally entered the city. They caught me and buried me here,
and made me the fertilizer for their ShanYue ferns…”
No wonder the herbs in their hands were big and full! They were fed with live humans!
The merchants immediately dropped all the plants in their hands, feeling as though they
were touching corpses. Xie Lian couldn’t help but glance at his hand too, but heard San
Lang say, “That one was fine.”
It dawned on Xie Lian. That was why even though San Lang had looked through this
field earlier, he left it to pick a small, almost withered fern from elsewhere. He probably
already saw what was in the soil but ignored the face completely. The herb he applied
on Xie Lian’s hand was one he found in an area much more remote but clean of
corruption.
“San Lang was considerate and careful, thank you, truly.” Xie Lian said.
San Lang shook his head but his face was still gloomy.
Ever since Xie Lian had gotten stung by the scorpion snake, San Lang had behaved like
this. A