Chapter Seventeen Pu[1]
Zuo Mo slowly woke up. His head was still aching, but compared to the pain that had cut through his entire body, it was much less.
Thinking of what had happened before he went unconscious, his face suddenly changed.
He always had been one with a clear mind. Under the situation where his head was aware and he could think clearly, he quickly organized the cause and result. Without any great need to think, it was definitely that black dandelion seed that was the culprit.
The one that released the sword essence was him. And the one that pressured him was also that one.
Thinking about it, Zuo Mo's heart burned in anger.
That guy tried to play tricks on his head, he didn't know what he was getting into!
He suddenly thought that he had said something before he went unconscious, and his face changed. Was it that he didn't persevere and had capitulated?
Thinking about this, he quickly calmed his mind and entered his consciousness.
When he enters the sea, he was stupefied.
On the undulating hills, it was groups of large ancient trees. The green grass was like a carpet, spreading out in patches. Fine wild flowers mixed within the grass, adding hints of life.
It was as though he walked into a forest.
Before, his sea of consciousness was only empty space. This living and breathing scene in front of him...
Zuo Mo was completely pinned to the ground. The scene in front of his eye far surpassed the limits of his understanding.
He dazedly walked on the grass, feeling the softness of the grass under his feet. The smell of the green grass wafted into his nose. Zuo Mo was dazed. He was only an eighth level lianqi low-level xiuzhe.
When his gaze turned towards a hill without any trees, he instantly came back.
He started to run like a maniac towards that hill.
On the hill, a man dressed in black was sitting on a stele, black clouds moving around it. One hand was lying on the leg, another propped up his chin, his expression carefree and pleased.
When he neared, Zuo Mo finally made out the black-clad man's appearance.
A perfect face!
Zuo Mo had never though men could be so handsome. An androgynous face, a high nose, the raven back hair covering up the left eye, the right eye as narrow and long as a blade, the serene crimson red pupil was like a bottomless blood pool, the thin and wide lips eternally held a shallow yet strange curve. A piece of dark red rhombus shaped crystals were in each earlobe, the wide black clothing soft and smooth, just like his hair, it gave off a black glow as it kept close to his body, full of a strange enticement.
Zuo Mo blanked at his position, not knowing what to say. He was only the most normal disciple of a small sect. When had he ever seen someone so outstanding?
"I am called Pu." A sweet-sounding and beautiful voice. He propped up his chin, looking in interest at Zuo Mo, the curve of his mouth more evident: "What are you called?"
"Zuo Mo." He replied dumbly. He definitely was dreaming. Pu seemed to be just sitting there but all the light in the sea of consciousness seemed to have been unconsciously sucked away to him. Zuo Mo had seen those female disciples at the Eastern Peak. Not one of them was better looking than Pu.
When a man looked like this, he probably would want to cry.
When this thought came out, Zuo Mo came back to awareness. Pu's enticing and shocking aura was instantly shattered by this humorous thought.
Seeming to have noticed Zuo Mo returning to his senses, Pu smiled gently, and wasn't irritated. He still used his melodious voice: "It seems we will have to be in contact for a long time. But I believe we will have delightful interactions. Oh, right, this is for you."
Pu casually threw a glowing ball at Zuo Mo. On the surface of the ball, countless seals flashed.
"What is it?" Zuo Mo instinctively received the glowing ball.
Boom.
It was as though he was struck by thunder, his body frozen. Countless characters were shoved into him mind, circulating relentlessly.
"[Embryonic Breathing Spirit Cultivation], just a little plaything. It can repair your spirit, count that as a greeting gift." Pu's tone was lazy: "Even though I want to live for free, but there's no other way. Your sea of consciousness is so broken. Fix the sea of consciousness quickly, otherwise I have to find another place again."
He gracefully waved his hand. Zuo Mo, still unmoving at his spot, felt the space around his body tighten. When he opened his eyes, he found that he had come out of his sea of consciousness.
His heart was suddenly terrified. Pu seemed to be even stronger than he had imagined. A person like this that he couldn't control in his consciousness, no wait, controlling his sea of consciousness! He had no joy at receiving [Embryonic breathing Spirit Cultivation]. Terror spread through his body like poison.
Managing to swallow his saliva and suppressing the terror in his heart, he pondered what to do.
Report to the sect?
In these two years, he had only seen the head of the sect once. That was when he had been picked by the leader and when he opened his eyes. As to the other elders and shishu, he had never even met them.
What he was really worried about was another conjecture.
He was very suspicious, Pu was very likely to be a yaomo!
Such a beautiful yaomo, he almost couldn't believe it, but for some reason, this suspicion was like a maggot burrowing into the bones, taking root in his mind, unable to be swept away.
Zuo Mo had never seen yaomo, all his ideas about yaomo came from the sound tablet. When it mentioned yaomo, it was killing, it was death and bleeding. But the between yaomo and xiuzhe were that of natural enemies, he was very clear about that. Destroying yaomo was the duty of each xiuzhe, no matter where.
However, Zuo Mo was a beginner xiuzhe whose cultivation just reached the eighth level of lianqi. Not speaking of destroying yaomo, the yaomo wouldn't even lower themselves to destroying him.
What he was more worried about was that if someone else knew that a yaomo was in his body, he definitely would be destroyed, ground until not a trace could be found. In the eyes of those higher level xiuzhe, just an eighth level lianqi like him, he couldn't even be considered cannon fodder.
Maybe, they would throw him straight into the dan[2] furnace and get refined with the yaomo...
He couldn't help but shudder, his heart beating furiously. He quickly stopped those terrifying thoughts.
In a daze, for the next two days, Zuo Mo seemed to not be in this mortal coil.
He naturally had to practise [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation]. Otherwise, before he could be crippled by Pu Yao, he would cripple himself first. Pu Yao, that was the new name Zuo Mo gave Pu. Regardless if he was a yao, just how he looked, he deserved the character of yao.
The effects were very good. After a few days, half of his spirit had recovered. But Zuo Mo felt no gratefulness towards Pu Yao. Because he finally remembered, the reason that his consciousness was wounded, it was Pu Yao's fault.
In these few days, he didn't go to his sea of consciousness.
If it was said at the first glance, the deepest impression Pu Yao left on Zuo Mo was enchanting, now, enchanting changed to wicked!
What did the guy really want?
That was the true cause of the terror.
Zuo Mo quickly found that his life became incomparably terrible. To a xiuzhe whose goal was to become a ling plant farmer, living was the most important.
He decided to have a discussion with Pu Yao.
Just like last time, Pu Yao sat on the stele idly, in the same black clothing. Seeing Zuo Mo he smiled. That smile coming among the thick black smoke revolving around, it made him look full of evil. The conjecture about whether or not Pu was yaomo jumped out again of its own accord.
Zuo Mo's heart shook. He didn't lack in courage, but when the other was in complete control, he wouldn't do such a stupid thing as to express bravery. He suddenly noticed the stone stele under Pu's body. Half a person high, the stone stele was shrouded in black clouds. When he accidentally swept across the surface of the stone stele, he couldn't help but be shocked.
Grave!
This was a grave!
It wasn't a stone stele, it was a gravestone!
He instantly was frightened, his heartbeat speeding up.
"What? Wanted to find me for a chat?" A lazy voice. He didn't know if it was this gravestone at fault but Zuo Mo felt that Pu's voice was full of a kind of dark coldness that easily seeped into one's heart.
Zuo Mo calmed his emotions, a fawning smile on his face: "Da ge,[3] look, my cultivation is this weak, and my body is all bones, there isn't a few catties of meat, not good to eat."
"Eat?" Pu suddenly smiled. He opened his dark red right eye, slowly speaking: "Speaking of delicious human meat, oh, that's so long ago. The best human meat, there's a lot to consider. The best is sixteen or seventeen year old girls. Tender meat, crunchy bones. Yum, yum."
A scarlet tongue licked the lips, his expression full of reflection.
Zuo Mo's heart was beating out of his chest. He forced a smile: "Yeah, yeah, see, shouldn't you change a person?"
"Change a person?" Pu tilted his head, staring at Zuo Mo: "What? You don't like it? Feeling that I took over your space?"
Being pierced by Pu's deep red right eyes, cold spread through Zuo Mo's heart. He hurriedly waved his hand: "No, no! This is my honor! Honor!"
He seemed to be very satisfied with Zuo Mo's answer. Pu took away his gaze, his right eye closing again, his mouth absent-mindedly asking: "In your generation of disciples, how many are jindan? Ten?"
Zuo Mo shook his head.
"Eight?"
Zuo Mo continued to shake his head.
"Five?"
Zuo Mo finally couldn't endure it. He felt the other was making fun of him: "Not a single one. In the shixiong of this generation, the highest cultivation is the last stages of zhuji."
For the first time, a shocked expression came onto Pu's face with his closed right eye. This made Zuo Mo feel smug.
After a while, Pu shook his head, sighing: "No wonder you suck so much."
Zuo Mo almost spat blood.
Pu opened his eye, his gaze once again landing on Zuo Mo's body. He examined up and down, his hand propping up his chin, murmuring to himself: "The body is really weak. Hmm?"
Zuo Mo was very irritated at how the other was discussing him like he was examining an object, but Pu's "hmm" made his heart jump.
"Is something wrong?" He couldn't ask hurriedly. He knew his body wasn't normal. The hard zombie-face, and that dream that appeared countless times, it was like a thorn in his heart.
Pu lifted his head, the hair in front of his forehead almost covering the left half of his face. The crimson right eye that wasn't covered glanced at Zuo Mo's face, one corner of his mouth lifting: "No problem."
"Alright, you suck very much, but not to a terminal point." Pu returned back to his lazy tone of voice.
"I wanted to ask... ..." Zuo Mo decided to lay his cards on the table with Pu. He wanted to find out what Pu's true aims were.
"Oh, right." Pu interrupted Zuo Mo. His blood-red right eye narrowed, his thin lips lifting upward on an angle: "Started practising [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation. How is it, is the effects alright? Almost forgot to tell you, [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation is good, but it has one pesky problem."
Zuo Mo's heart beat frantically. He had a bad feeling.
"Once [Embryonic Breathing Spiritual Cultivation] is started, it can't be stopped. Supposedly, if one can't get to the first embryonic breath in three months, there would be some minor problems."
He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers, the corner of his mouth raising higher, the fresh red of his eye even brighter: "Really, it's just small pains such as blood flowing in reverse. Oh, did you know, before I had a very creative friend. He was in charge of the torture prisons."
Pu seemed to be telling a story, actively narrating.
"One time, he encountered a very hard nut. He tried everything but couldn't break open this guy's mouth. He then begged for this method from me. He sent a subordinate to pretend to be a criminal and near this guy. And then, using his subordinate's mouth, he passed this scripture over to him. Oh, you have to know, I always admired this guy. Creative, and patient."
He said with a few hints of glee: "Such a pity that this criminal didn't have much talent. Three months, he didn't reach one embryonic breath. Oh, I always felt, it must have been that my friend purposefully left out a few words."
"And then?" Zuo Mo asked, his voice shaking.
"And then?" The smile on Pu's face became even brighter: "Cracked on the thirty-first day. But my friend was a soft-hearted one and didn't kill him. Left him hanging for three months. Each day, he begged my friend to kill him. Listening to the exquisite and mellow wailing, such an experience! Supposedly, when he died, oh, his soul just exploded like a firework, extremely beautiful."
A bone-aching cold spread over Zuo Mo's entire body.
His pitiful nerves were like a spring that was pushed to its limits. All the accumulated anger exploded in one instant. He lost his rationality and screamed as he leapt at Pu.
––"You perverse renyao![4] Ye'll kill you!"
[1] It is pronounced a bit like "poo". The character used is the same one that is usually used for dandelion.
[2] 丹: pill, pellet. Common used as "pills of immortality" by Chinese emperors in search of eternal life. A gaming equivalent would be potions.
[3]大哥: big brother
[4] 人妖: Hong Kong slang for Thailand transvestites. It was then adopted as internet slang for males that used female avatars in MMORPGs. It's also used to describe "girliness" in boys. The literal meaning is human-spirit. In this case here, Pu is really a yao, and he does look androgynous.