The Immortal’s Poison

Gu Xiaojun lowered his voice and spoke at an even pace, “The small town of Tuer is adjacent to Lake Namtso. As it is not located nearby any transportation lines, it is not surprising that tourists do not linger there for long. However, something must not be right if not even one pilgrim passes through the town, right?”

Namtso was sacred land to the Tibetan Buddhists. Every spring and summer, swarms of Buddhist believers came from all over the world to go on a pilgrimage. Many devotees made the difficult and long walk to Namtso. To these believers, who put in painstaking effort into the journey, did not care for mobile transportation. For within their hearts, each step on the rugged path beneath their feet were like pious deeds; Namtso, at the end of their vision, was the homeland which they sought.

However, when these believers arrived at the edge of the small town of Tuer, they avoided it, refusing to pass through or seek temporary lodgings there.

“This is because the people of this small town are not Buddhists.” Gu Xiaojun spoke in a low voice but his tone conveyed seriousness.

The Tibetan religions had distant origins and a long history. However, it was not complicated. The Bon religion, which originated in Tibet, and the foreign Buddhism had combined and is practiced as today’s Tibetan Buddhism. Even though Wen Leyang did not understand Tibet well, he knew that the majority of Tibetan people were very devout in their beliefs. Over thousands of years, both the Potala Palace and Lake Namtso had turned into the Tibetan peoples’ source of spiritual sustenance and was regarded as the homeland of their beliefs.

Gu Xiaojun continued, “This small town is next to Lake Namtso but the townsfolk do not practice Buddhism. In the eyes of most Tibetan people, that is a sin. That is why no one is willing to enter this town.”

Xiao Sha squinted his eyes until they could barely be seen. He shook his head as he asked curiously, “That doesn’t sound right either. Why would the Tibetan people, who are known to be bold and brash, allow a bunch of people who aren’t Buddhists to stay at the borders of the sacred lake?”

Gu Xiaojun glared at him. In comparison, the old man’s eyes were much bigger than his. “It is the border of the sacred lake. How can you expect them to fight and kill here? Even though the people of this town don’t believe in Buddhism, they aren’t slandering Buddha. They mind their own business and stay out of each other’s way. Do you think all the eminent monks of Tibet are like you, fighting at the slightest hint of provocation?”

Wen Leyang only then became aware of Xiao Sha’s hot temper.

“However..” Gu Xiaojun changed his tone as he came back to the topic of conversation, “Now that you mention it, there is a record stating that seven hundred years ago, some Tibetan people had decided to relocate here, nearly causing a fight to breakout. The conflict was resolved by the Head Lama, Geshe, who was on one of of his routine ritual walks around the sacred lake. Ever since then, no one has paid any attention to this place.”

Fei Fei was stunned for a moment. She asked in surprise, “Seven hundred years ago, this town had already existed?” She looked towards Wen Leyang, her face filled with puzzlement. She then smiled and explained herself, “After seven hundred years, a desolated small town should either develop into something bigger or vanish completely. As such, it truly is a wonder that this place, which are at such odds with its surroundings, survive for seven hundred years!”

Wen Leyang thought otherwise. “The three families of Wen, Miao, and Luo have never came into contact with outsiders in the past. Yet, our teachings have been passed down for over two thousand years.”

Fei Fei shook her head. “That is different. The three families may have lived in seclusion but they were not absolutely cut off from the rest of the world. A maiden from the Wen family could be betrothed to an outsider and a man from the Wen family could take a bride who is not from the Wen family as well. Even the most conservative Qing Miao clansmen have intermarried with the nearby Miao clansmen. Hence, the three families are still considered to be connected to the outside world!”

Gu Xiaojun nodded from the side. “That is correct. Firstly, the residents of Tuer Town have almost never come into contact with outsiders. Secondly, there was never a reason for the outsiders to seek them out. This town should not have even lasted a few decades, let alone centuries!”

Wen Leyang picked up a half carrot, puzzlement written all over his face. He appeared uncertain as he asked, “Then, what is going on with them? It can’t possibly be…” He was halfway through his musing when he suddenly thought of a possibility that frightened him. “It can’t be that they are demons which have lived for hundreds and thousands of years, right?”

In these modern times of the magical realm, excluding the demons, such as the big and little demon rabbits and the Sword Immortals of Black and White Island, an ordinary master sorcerer that could live up to two or three hundred years was already considered to have lived a long life. Both the three hundred year old enlightened person, Zi Que, who was already deceased, and the Great Mercy Temple’s two hundred year old monk, Hope Sense, was held in high regard in the magical realm.

If the people of this town possessed the magic to stay alive for thousands of years, their actual power was unspeakable.

Gu Xiaojun shook his head, his expression solemn, but without any traces of anger. “I do not know. Tibet is a mysterious place. There aren’t many historical studies of this place that were passed down, and even fewer records about the existence of this small town of Tuer. Since we are all here, there would be no point in us making blind guesses at things we can’t understand. We will wing it from here on out!” As he said that, he took out a medium-sized satchel from his travel bag and passed it to the small eyed Xiao Sha. Wen Leyang’s was surprised, he realized that the old man’s face, that was usually serious, was showing a hint of a mischievous smile.

Xiao Sha was confused. He unzipped the satchel and pulled out something that looked like a folded plastic bag. He shouted ‘oh no’ and his face turned a bright scarlett in the blink of an eye.

Fei Fei cried out in surprise. She jumped up and ran out of the tent. She did not expect to run into Qin Zhui, who was hurrying into the tent.

With swift, agile motions, Qin Zhui stretched out his arms and gently caught the blushing Fei Fei. He was about to speak when he spotted the item in Xiao Sha’s hand. He laughed and asked curiously, “This was made with some skill. What is it for?” As he said that, he took in a deep breath and blew it out into the air valve on the seam of the plastic bag.

A practitioner’s breath was unusually strong. With the a thump sound, a blow-up doll, the size of a real human, made of some unknown material which was amazing to the touch, abruptly appeared in Qin Zhui’s hand!

Gu Xiaojun tried hard to keep his face looking serious. He said to Xiao Sha, “Don’t you dare think of anything funny! Today is the middle of the month, the day the disciples of Nine Returns offer sacrifices to their god! Every evil cult gathered here has a sacrificial offering. How do you expect to fake through the ritual?”

Wen Leyang could not decide if he wanted to cry or laugh, “Using a blow-up doll as a sacrificial offering wouldn’t just be a failure, it would be like slapping the evil cults in the face!”

In contrast, Fei Fei, who was still blushing, shook her head. She pointed to Xiao Sha. “He… he has a way!”

The blush on Xiao Sha’s face was so intense it seemed like he was turning into a red cloth. He gave out a forced smile as he stared at Wen Leyang. “With folk magic, most tricks are just camouflage tricks. With this in our hands…” As he said that he patted the blow-up doll. “It won’t be difficult to pass this test!”

Wen Leyang did not believe him. In the sacrificial ritual of ‘Nine Returns’ a living person was to be killed and separated into skin, bones, blood, flesh, and five internal organs, to represent the nine heads of Xiang Liu. Moreover, the mysterious small town’s residents and the overseas evil cult followers were no ordinary people. Naturally, their vision was sharp. It would be pure foolishness to use the blow-up doll for this test.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Sha raised his chin. He laughed arrogantly. “You couldn’t even tell where the four buckets of water I drank went to. By nightfall, similarly, you would not be able to tell that this is just a blow-up doll either! However…” Xiao Sha suddenly became dispirited. He waved his hands towards their leader. “The performance is simple, but as for the rest of the items, the skin, flesh, bones, blood, and what not, you can’t expect me to conjure them out of thin air right?”

Gu Xiaojun sniggered. “I have already prepared those items for you ages ago! I got them from a hospital before I came here. Those items are all in the travel bag. You will need to generate some steam for them.” They had followed the evil cult followers on their tour of all the scenic spots. By the time they had entered Tibet, it was already the beginning of the ninth month of the lunar year. The temperature at night was no more than a few Celsius. Following that, freshly harvested blood and flesh would release steam with hot air.

The two young, master practitioner of the magical realm, Wen Leyang and Qin Zhui, gazed at one another. Their forehead erupted with goosebumps.

Xiao Sha opened the box that he carried with him. The box was was densely packed with small compartments, all filled with small tools, herbal medicine, pigments, et cetera. All the items were arranged by categories. Xiao Sha picked out and hid various items on his body, in preparation for him to display his skills during the sacrificial ritual tonight.

Fei Fei caught Wen Leyang’s curious gaze. She laughed as she explained to him. “Xiao Sha is proficient in the practice of folk magic, also known as the Art of Jianghu, to put it simply, it is the ability of the Jianghu people back in ancient times. The tricks of Jianghu are divided into eight elements of gold point, hide, magic, martial arts, critic, cross talk, mediate, and Dagu. The people of Jianghu depends on these skills for a living.

Wen Leyang raised his eyebrows, looking interested. ‘Please, tell me more!”

“Gold point refers to fortune-telling, hide means medicine-selling, magic are actually tricks being performed, there’s also a form of martial arts practice, critic means book-commenting, cross talk is voice mimicry, mediate is the use of medication in cessation of opium use, Dagu means the art of performing Dagu. Each of these eight sects’ artists has their own abilities…”

Qin Zhui interrupted Fei Fei, laughing in disapproval, “Let’s leave the others aside for now, I want to know about the unique skill used in the cross talk sect?

He had only just finished his sentence when Wen Leyang’s let out a scornful curse which echoed next to his ears, “Qin Zhui is a fool, a blockhead that is no more than a tool!”

Qin Zhui turned around abruptly and glared at Wen Leyang. Wen Leyang hastily waved his hands and shook his head as he gave out a nervous laugh. “That wasn’t me! I didn’t say that!” Before his voice died away, Qin Zhui’s voice echoed throughout the tent. “You said it right, Qin Zhui is only a fool!

Qin Zhui, upon hearing his own voice, was so startled that he squealed. One hand gripped tightly to his Tang knife as he scoured his surroundings.

Following that, loud cheers accompanied by a round of applause came at them from all directions. Qin Zhui took one more look at Gu Xiaojun and Fei Fei. Their mouths curled with a slightest hint of a smile but they still stood in the same spot as before. On the other hand, Xiao Sha was still tidying his tools, his mouth shut tight.

Qin Zhui was honest and straightforward. He was not that foolish. He figured it out pretty quickly and used the hilt of his knife to poke at Xiao Sha’s buttocks. He sniggered as he gave the thumbs up. “That is amazing, how did you make those voices?”

Xiao Sha laughed, and gave his usual response. “It is one of the many talents that sustain me, I can’t tell you much but I can tell you that this trick was passed down by the Flat Word Sect.

This was an eye-opening experience for Qin Zhui. He was still reeling from the experience as he inquired closely, “So, what is Dagu?”

“An actor’s name changes over a hundred times and the actor’s face changes over a thousand.” Xiao Sha explained simply. Following that, he stretched out his left hand and positioned his knife above the blow-up doll in front of him. With the knife, he stabbed the doll’s neck in one quick, ferocious movement. And agonizing scream was heard immediately. The entire doll trembled. When he pulled out the knife, not only did the doll not explode or leak, a gush of fresh blood spurted out following the removal of the blade.

Qin Zhui knew that it was all a fake but a few drops of cold sweat sprung up on his temples.

On the other hand, Xiao Sha looked at his leader in joy, “The joints on the fake human are really well-made, it’s joints are very flexible, very easy to position.”

Gu Xiaojun laughed in a wicked manner, Öf course, it’s one of the best!”

Xiao Sha nodded as he spoke in a formal tone, “It is done. There will be no problem of me posing it as a living human in a while.”

Gu Xiaojun was elated. “Wonderful! After the mission is complete, you may take this doll as a reward!”

Wen Leyang admired Xiao Sha. He laughed as he patted Xiao Sha on the shoulder. “Please teach me a few tricks of your, I will exchange it for information of my own methods!”

Qin Zhui immediately bounded over. “I will teach you how to wield a knife, we can exchange as well.”

The three young lads was joyously discussing how to go about the exchange of their unique skills when Wen Leyang recalled something. He turned to the side and asked Gu Xiaojun, “If the rest of the evil cults are to use living people in their sacrificial ritual tonight, will you be interfering?”

It was Gu Xiaojun had anticipated this question. He laughed confidently. “Don’t worry, I have already figured that out. Did you notice, within their numbers, the further they walked, the fewer people there were?”

Wen Leyang was stunned for a moment. He then reacted, “So you are saying that… they are using their own people as sacrifice to the god? Voluntarily?”

Gu Xiaojun nodded. “They are a bunch of devil worshippers, they are proud to die. I am too lazy to interfere in that! We will not look at them but only carry out the ritual according to the way of ‘Nine Returns’.” As he said that, he paused, as if he was trying to recall something. He turned around and looked towards Qin Zhui, “I thought you were keeping an eye on those people outside? How come…”

Qing Zhui finally remembered why he had come back into the tent. He hastily said to the group, “A group of townspeople have started approaching each camp. They entered and spoke a few words to the tenants inside before leaving. Then, I saw that the foreigners start discussing amongst themselves.” Upon saying that, Qin Zhui blushed, he laughly shyly. “The townspeople spoke in the Tibetan language and the foreigners spoke in their foreign tongue. I understand neither.”

Gu Xiaojun’s eyes were flashing with excitement. Having someone come to visit on their own accord was far better than waiting around foolishly. Xia Sha released the air from the blow-up doll in quick succession and stuffed it into his sleeping bag. He started choosing an attire and pigments, in preparation to apply makeup on the fake human to make it realistic.

Now long after, the portiere of their tent was raised. A few Tibetan people appeared on their doorstep, one of them entered. With his gaze on the ground, he dully uttered a few sentences in the Tibetan language. He did not care if they had understood him or not, just turned around and left. It was unknown whether it was because Wen Leyang’s group had such few people or because of the location of their camp, the few Tibetan people had visited the other camps before they came to theirs.

Gu Xiaojun and the siblings understood the Tibetan language. The moment the Tibetan visitors left, Gu Xiaojun’s expression immediately became gloomy. He frowned as he started to ponder. Fei Fei translated the other party’s speech to Wen Leyang in a soft voice, “There are almost twenty troops of people in total that arrived but there can only be nine troops that are to move forward in the end! The Tibetan people said that we can either leave on our own accord or we can chase away or kill the others, they do not care.”

Wen Leyang frowned, “The monster had nine heads. Is that why only nine troops are to be left? What if we accidentally killed too many and only eight troops are left?”

Fei Fei shrugged, she smile mischievous smile, signifying that she had no comment. “I don’t know about that, they even gave us a deadline. Starting from dawn tomorrow, it ends in three days. By that time, if there are still more than nine troops left, they will not bother with us anymore.”

Wen Leyang squinted his eyes, “What do you mean?”

Fei Fei was still wearing the same helpless expression. Ï think we will have to carry out some tasks. It will proceed if there are nine troops left, but if ten troops are left, they will refuse to bring even one.”

Qin Zhui burst out laughing. He had a carefree expression on his face. “Leaving only nine troops? That’s a lot. I don’t think you should worry even if only one troop is left! However, do take care when you are fighting.” As he said that, he used his knife hilt to knock Wen Leyang’s shoulder. “Seize just the right amount, don’t fight until there are only eight troops left. It is not that easy to pool together if we are one troop less.”

Gu Xiaojun was not as carefree as Qin Zhui, his expression was solemn as he shook his head. “It is not a difficult task to survive this but to not draw attention to ourselves…”

At that moment, outside became chaotic. The sound of footsteps and talking, accompanied by the highland wind, echoed and rippled continuously. Wen Leyang and the rest walked out of the tent. Looking towards the rest of the far away campsites, people had already started approaching one another, trying to establish ties and make pacts.

Wen Leyang derided and taunted involuntarily, “They have been like the living dead during the whole journey, turns out they were just playing it cool!”

Ever since the evil cult followers had entered Tibet, they had appeared numb and desolate. However, upon hearing about the organization of the elimination tournament, they immediately became animated.

The Tibetan people in the small town of Tuer had made the first move. It was obvious that they were regarded as the leaders. Even the evil cult followed that worshipped the nine-headed monster did not oppose their words. The evil cult followers gradually bustled about and started forming their own factions. In preparation for the approaching battle. Everyone here was a fanatic and had traveled all the way to Tibet from a great distance. They would never retreat and leave so easily.

The evil cult followers walked to one another, yet no one walked towards Wen Leyang’s camp. On the contrary, the glance they shot to Wen Leyang and the rest spoke of savage, wild beasts, hunting for prey. Qin Zhui scolded quietly in rage, “These snobbish things that despise the feeble folk, they think they can bully us since our group is small!”

The smaller groups were made up of ten people while the bigger groups had up to the dozens. Only Wen Leyang’s group, counting the blow-up doll, was made up of six people. Other than Gu Xiaojun who had recently joined them, the rest of them were young people.

Besides, Wen Leyang appeared as though he was only fifteen or sixteen years old after he had his face squeezed by Xiao Sha. His face was filled with the immaturity of a teenager. In the eyes of the rest of the evil cult followers, they were the weakest link. Not only was no one willing to come forth and form an alliance with them, they became the first troop targeted for slaughter at that moment.

Gu Xiaojun turned around and winked at Xiao Sha. Xiao Sha nodded in response and pulled Qin Zhui with him to the other campsites. They entered and came out in a while. Qin Zhui’s fury becoming more and more obvious as they went. In the end, they were even chased out by the other parties. Qin Zhu was pointing angrily at the other parties and breaking out in curses. If it was not for Xiao Sha’s persistent pulling, perhaps he would have raised his knife and cut down the other party’s tent.

Gu Xiaojun did not think that it was possible for anyone to want to form an alliance with them but they should still pretend to try.

Fei Fei suddenly laughed. She pointed with her chin towards a few dispirited and dejected looking Africans. “They are the same as us, they have been abandoned!”

More than ten black people with tall and slender physiques, with a sallow complexion, had already visited the majority of the campsites. In theory, they were not lacking in numbers, but for some reason, everybody refused to form an alliance with them. Seeing that they were receiving the same treatment as them, Gu Xiaojun’s old face broke into a smile.

After they had visited five or six campsites, Qin Zhui was red with rage as he pulled Xiao Sha back to their camp, refusing to visit the remaining campsites. Gu Xiaojun burst out laughing. “The other parties are wolves forming an alliance with the dogs. Their initial purpose is to kill the rabbit, of course, they will not be bringing the rabbit along to play together with them…” As he said that, he turned around and glared at Wen Leyang who had just brought out a stick of carrot. “You’re role-playing, aren’t you!”

Wen Leyang burst out laughing, he ducked back into the tent. At sunrise tomorrow, a chaotic battle would break out. By then, everyone will see the outcome clearly. Wen Leyang’s speculation that the evil cult followers would make them a top target. It would not be a difficult task for him to protect his group. Everyone may be scheming and plotting, but once the opposing parties knew that these few followers were not delicious pork chop but were rocks instead, an internal conflict would be triggered immediately.

The situation that seemed unfavourable did not seem too scary. Wen Leyang’s real concern was for the small town’s residents, who had not changed in many centuries. He was not concerned about the troops of foreigners.

Above the highlands, the sun had gone down but the sky was still bright. By the time the moon rose to the sky, the dozens of evil cult follower troops that were staying in the small town almost simultaneously ignited the bonfires by their campsites and began the worshipping ceremony to the nine-headed snake.

It was night, it was the fifteenth day of the lunar month with a full moon!

It was unknown whether the intensity of their prayers was due to devotion to their beliefs or for tomorrow’s violent battle. Every single follower concentrated on performing all sorts of ceremonies. No one was scouting out the other campsites. The citizens of the small town of Tuer had since closed their doors as if they had entered dreamland. Everything was peaceful and quiet for now in this small town, whose period of existence was unknown.

Xiao Sha’s performance truly left Wen Leyang dumbstruck. They obviously knew that the person who was being sacrificed was a fake. However, the movements of Xiao Sha stripping the skin and cutting away the flesh, causing the corpse to bleed and pulling out the bones were swift and agile. The fake person also seemed to struggle continuously, never ceasing to convulse. It’s mouth opened and closed, rippling in agonizing screams. Not even they could see any flaws. By the time the sacrificial ritual was completed, Xiao Sha’s clothes were drenched in sweat.

Just as the sacrificial ritual was completed and Xiao Sha was about to tidy up the mess at the campsite, the unfortunate black people, who had suffered the same fate of not being able to form an alliance like them, visited with a solemn expression.