The day still had much more in store for Lai Yiteng.
Xian Wu barged in a bit later with a big stupid smile and a pile of food, causing Lai Yiteng to jolt to his feet at once.
"I saw that inn attendant paying special attention to you," Xian Wu teased. "Is that the benefit of cross-dressing? You get all the ladies to touch you without breaking any social rules? Should I try it too?"
Lai Yiteng did not want to imagine such a thing...and yet he did! He imagined Xian Wu with clumpy red rogue on his cheeks and at the rims of his eyes, and a dress stretching over his broad shoulders and chest unnaturally. How terrifying...
But Xian Wu's personality had really worn him down over the day, so Lai Yiteng for once didn't give any sharp words in response. He just grunted vaguely with his head lowered. For some reason his eyelids were heavy like lead.
Xian Wu only sighed as unknown thoughts went through his silver-graced pupils.
He pulled over a wooden stool and sat down, eating a soft dumpling or two, and Lai Yiteng was soon hard-pressed by him to eat more than his stomach could hold.
Soon all that was left was for Xian Wu to stir up that familiar yet strange concoction. He first ground some leaves and powders with a motor and pestle, then stirred them into a few liquids from various porcelain vials he kept within his belongings.
Lai Yiteng could watch him do it every time and never come closer to identifying any of the used materials. Perhaps he was better off not knowing.
In any case, the end result was a 'medicine' that was faintly purple with green bits of unidentifiable leaf floating along a scummy top. It tasted as awful as it looked, like eating a grub.
Xian Wu handed it to Lai Yiteng with a smile.
"Here is the detoxifying agent, drink it all."
"..." Fortunately Lai Yiteng was used to consuming foul tasting and smelling liquids, even this medicine wasn't too bad in comparison. He only made sure to swallow it without breathing in the awful smell through his nose.
Still, not knowing what he was drinking made his stomach turn over every time in apprehension and doubt. Apparently Xian Wu had been feeding it to him ever since he'd been shot by the poison arrow, but how long it could possibly take to clear up a little deadly poison?
At least the 'medicine' hadn't killed him yet.
Lai Yiteng tried to ignore the rancid taste remaining in his mouth as his pupils lowered to gaze at the floorboards in the room, following the cracks and noting little specks of dust.
It was strange that these days with Xian Wu almost felt normal by now.
Lai Yiteng wondered if he'd been too isolated, so even this much seemed like being social. Although the words that came out of Xian Wu's mouth were often dumb, he was still patient, and sometimes Lai Yiteng could believe that the man truly meant well.
Tonight was one of those times.
"Okay, Yi'er," Xian Wu said, "lie down and I'll check your pulse."
Lai Yiteng really laid down on the bed and tolerated the two fingers checking under his neck, then Xian Wu sat back in his seat.
"It's improved besides your throat. That's only because you coughed up a lot of stomach acid those first few days you recovered, and the medicine you take is acidic, so it irritates your throat slightly. If your throat is itchy, then drink some water with syrup."
Even though Lai Yiteng was too old for this treatment, shouldn't trust this man who'd come out of nowhere, he still felt a warmth in his heart.
"En," Lai Yiteng whispered.
Xian Wu examined him from the corner of his eye. He muttered, "Oh, if you don't say much then you're really an adorable brat."
"...shut up."
That seemed to mark the end of their flourishing conversation. Lai Yiteng had gouged his wallet in order to get Xian Wu a separate room to sleep because didn't like sharing a room with a person. And even if Xian Wu was annoying, he was still going to be his teacher, so he needed to allow him respect in these ways.
But Xian Wu had one hand on the door to leave when Lai Yiteng suddenly felt as if he had to ask something else.
"Gege."
There was a long and draw-out silence in the room.
Xian Wu had assumed that he would never even hear the words 'ge' uttered from Lai Yiteng's lips, let alone 'gege', so he didn't believe his ears for a second. But s-shit...this kid actually called him gege! He gave an awkward cough to collect himself then responded.
"Hmmm?"
"If you do teach me the martial arts, that's repaying more than what I did for you in the past."
Xian Wu waved his hand dismissively. "Who says? What you saved was not just my life, but something more important. For priceless things like that, there is little that can repay it."
Lai Yiteng did not understand his meaning.
…
About two hours after Xian Wu had left, Lai Yiteng was still pondering about it. Now, pondering in itself didn't keep him from falling asleep, it was actually the opposite, he needed something to occupy his mind during the time that he couldn't fall asleep.
Thinking of these things would lead to becoming sleepier at some point.
Probably.
After thinking on what Xian Wu said, he'd come to the conclusion that there were many things more important than one's life. If one lost those things, like freedom to roam and speak as one pleased, or the people one holds dearly, perhaps then there would be no point in living anymore. Life would take these things away, too, by means cruelly, apathetically, or without rationality.
However, he couldn't understand how what he did was so important to Xian Wu, nor how it would be worth offending the entire Lushang Sect over.
Although Xian Wu argued that one could transfer from one sect to another, in the end Lai Yiteng's case was not so simple. He was a criminal that even common-folk brought up during conversation to scare one another. And even within criminal acts, it wasn't as though he'd merely stolen an item or slandered someone's name--he'd gone and dismembered Gojun An, a renowned elder martial artist at Lushang Sect.
If he were being honest, Lai Yiteng didn't remember very well what occurred at the time of the...dismembering. All of it was a scattered memory, he knew that he did it and didn't feel guilty, either, but all the details were foggy...
Right before Gojun An was dismembered, he knew that his plans to escape had succeeded. After he was dismembered, he knew that he'd need to quikly leave Lushang sect grounds by using Gojun An's jade slab. This was an etched key that could activate the entrance to the underground dungeon that Lai Yiteng had been imprisoned in.
In between those two things were all the missing details.
By the time he came out of his crazed stupor, Gojun's arms and legs were strewn over the floor willy-nilly, the intestines were hanging off a piece of furniture, and Gojun An's ugly head had been rolled far down the dungeon hallway, lying against iron prison bars with two bulging eyes.
The Jade slab had been lying at Lai Yiteng's feet, crimson and sticky with blood.
At that point he knew he'd 'snapped' just a little.
Perhaps he'd snap again in the future.
Lushang Sect had been doing arcane and excruciatingly painful rituals on Lai Yiteng's body. He was not told why, and Lai Yiteng himself did not know what the result was. He could be a failed experiment or a successful one. But he did know that they often poured foul, blackish liquids down his throat or injected a bright red and viscous substance into his body.
There had been other people put through these experiments, too, although he did not have to chance to speak with many of them. Usually everyone would be so crippled with pain and exhaustion that they would lie prone like corpses in their cells, even blinking their eyelids was a chore, holding a conversation was even more out of the question. Of the times he did speak to someone, people who were not well known and who would not be missed.
Lai Yiteng did not feel like he belonged there. He had been talented, his future bright, his shifu had chosen him as his successor. All of it had come crashing down so quickly...
Of all these things that had passed, however, Lai Yiteng tried not to let his mind linger on it too long. Otherwise he'd probably go insane again.
The conclusion of his thoughts were that Xian Wu's decision to harbor him wasn't a trivial one, and in his opinion, Xian Wu didn't even seem like the type to do such a kindness. So, despite the time Lai Yiteng had put into trying to understand that man's actions, no answer came to mind.
He was waiting for that moment he'd be betrayed again.
Lai Yiteng had curled himself into a corner of the inn room, with his back facing the nook in the wall and his legs halfway drawn up to himself. Obviously the bed was the first targeted place by assassins! He always slept elsewhere if given the chance. It was also fortunate that he had martial arts behind him, allowing him a keener sense of hearing and awareness. These things were invaluable for detecting anomalies.
His knife was held in one of his hands as he sat there, letting his eyes turn unfocused as they aimlessly wandered about the darkened room.
If his shidi hadn't betrayed him, if he hadn't suffered under the hands of Lushang Sect for over a year, it might not take him as long to fall asleep every night. To Lai Yiteng, 'trust' was a mystical element and probably something of more value than his life.
He was in luck though...with the weariness he gained from the day, it didn't take him much longer to fall asleep.