The silence and stillness inside the small bamboo hut were more unsettling than the loudest thunderstorm. The three strangers—Kuo Lok, the man, and Chen Dandan—stared at each other without blinking. No one dared to make a sudden move, fearing it would give the others a fatal advantage.
Then, a sudden, dawning realization came to Chen Dandan. She broke the silence, her voice trembling with excitement. "Shixiong! They are here! This means they must be highly skilled! This means—" Her fragmented words made the siblings smile at each other, their shared excitement palpable.
The man's smile widened. "This means we can finally leave this place." He looked at Kuo Lok. "Da xia, if we save him, can you take us out of here?"
"Chen Yisheng, if you can save him," Kuo Lok said, his voice filled with passion. "I will be willing to cross a sea of fire or a mountain of swords."
"You don't have to go to such an extreme," Chen Dandan replied flatly. "We just want to leave this place."
"Okay," Kuo Lok said, accepting the terms without hesitation.
"By the way," Chen Dandan said, pointing to the man. "He's not Chen Yisheng. He's my da shixiong, Yan Zhanjin. I'm Chen Dandan, Chen Fa's daughter."
"Then where is Chen Yisheng?" Kuo Lok asked.
Chen Dandan pointed to the spirit table. "He's long dead."
"Then... who is going to save Batu?" Kuo Lok asked, his voice drained of all hope.
"I will," Yan Zhanjin said. "But our deal stands. I save him; you take us out of here."
"Alright," Kuo Lok agreed instantly. "As long as you save him, I'll take you out of here."
Yan Zhanjin approached Bazar Batu, his expression calm and assessing. He looked up at Kuo Lok. "If you hadn't constantly transferred your inner energy to him," he said, "he would have died long ago."
"Can you save him?" Kuo Lok asked, his voice raw with desperation.
"Not yet," Yan Zhanjin replied. "I don't even know how to. Give me a day, and I'll come up with a solution."
Kuo Lok looked down at Bazar Batu, his face tight with worry. "I've noticed I have to transfer my inner energy to him more frequently now."
Yan Zhanjin continued his chilling explanation. "Of course. At first it was once a day, then twice a day, then every twelve hours, and so on. As he gets closer to death, you'll have to transfer inner energy more frequently. Once it reaches the point where it's necessary to transfer it every hour, he will die within two days." He sighed. "Don't disturb me," he said before walking out the bamboo door.
Kuo Lok looked at the black spider on Bazar Batu's chest. His hand shot out to move it, but Chen Dandan suddenly grabbed his hand.
"Kill the spider with a knife," Chen Dandan said, her voice low. "Don't try to remove it with your hand. The spider's bite is also poisonous."
"Oh," Kuo Lok said, his hand slowly withdrawing.
"It's best for him to sleep like this," she continued, her voice clinical. "If he were to wake up, he would be in a lot of pain."
The next morning, Yan Zhanjin finally left the room. He walked into the bamboo shed, lit three sticks of incense, and bowed to Chen Fa's memorial. Then he sat down at the table. A moment later, Kuo Lok walked in through the front door.
Kuo Lok quickly walked to Yan Zhanjin, his voice filled with urgency. "Have you found a way to save Batu?"
"I'm not one hundred percent confident," Yan Zhanjin said, "but it's better than letting him die slowly."
"Shixiong, what do you suggest?" Chen Dandan asked.
Yan Zhanjin explained his plan. "I'll use the Mu acupuncture technique to forcibly return the poison to the open wound." He looked at Kuo Lok. "Then, you will have to use your inner energy to disperse the poison. We'll have to do this at the back waterfall."
"Why?" Chen Dandan asked.
Yan Zhanjin poured himself a cup of water, his voice calm and clinical. "If the poison touches his skin, it will rot it. The natural water flow will help to carry the poison away as it's expelled." He looked at Kuo Lok. "You will have to slowly use your inner energy to expel it."
"Shixiong," Chen Dandan said, "if the poison is released into the water, won't it contaminate our water source?"
Yan Zhanjin shook his head. "No," he said calmly. "The poison inside the little one only reacts to human blood."
"And how do you know?" she asked, a hint of skepticism in her voice.
"I tested it," he replied. "On a mouse, a chicken, and a lizard. They all survived."
"Oh," she said, absorbing the chilling detail. "Then how long does the process take?"
"They will have to soak in the water for twelve hours," Yan Zhanjin said, pausing for a beat. "Naked."
"Naked?" Chen Dandan echoed, her eyes wide with surprise.
Yan Zhanjin didn't flinch. "They are both men, so there's nothing wrong with that," he said, his voice flat. "The only problem is that you are not allowed to step into the back mountain and spy on them." He looked at Kuo Lok, as if seeing him for the first time. "I don't even know your name."
"Kuo Lok of the Jinfeng Sect," he replied.
"Kuo-xiong," Yan Zhanjin said, using the honorific for the first time. "Let's go."
He walked over to Bazar Batu and, without a moment's hesitation, stabbed the black spider with a knife. "Pick him up," he ordered.
Kuo Lok slowly shifted Bazar Batu into a sitting position and hoisted him onto his back. He followed Yan Zhanjin into the back mountain, a quiet procession winding through the dense forest. They arrived at a small waterfall, its cool mist settling over the rocks. Kuo Lok gently placed Bazar Batu on a flat stone at the water's edge.
Bazar Batu stirred, his voice a weak murmur. "Lok gege, where are we?"
"I'm going to help you remove the poison," Kuo Lok said, his voice soft but firm.
Kuo Lok took off his clothes, then gently removed Bazar Batu's. He carefully picked him up and waded into the pool at the foot of the waterfall. He settled onto a large rock, sitting directly behind Bazar Batu, feeling the soft, cool water flow over them.
Yan Zhanjin's voice was sharp but serious. "Kuo-xiong, I'm about to begin. Once you start, you cannot stop. If you stop, everything you've done will be in vain."
"I understand," Kuo Lok replied, his voice calm and steady.
Yan Zhanjin pulled out a silver needle and began the intricate Mu acupuncture technique, meticulously drilling one needle into Bazar Batu's skin at a time. When he had placed twenty-four needles on all the pressure points of Bazar Batu's upper torso, he stepped back to the shore of the waterfall.
"Lok-xiong," he said, his voice firm. "You can begin. You must remember not to be distracted and keep the energy flow at a constant, even speed."
Kuo Lok closed his eyes, raised his hands to his chest in a gesture of concentration, then gently placed them on Bazar Batu's upper back. He began to transfer his inner energy into Bazar Batu's body, starting the long ritual.
The ritual had begun. From Bazar Batu's wound, a stream of thick, black blood began to flow, and the clear, cold water of the waterfall washed the poison away, carrying it harmlessly downstream.
"Lok-xiong!" Yan Zhanjin shouted from the shore, his voice a distant echo. "I'll be back tomorrow!"
Kuo Lok felt his inner energy slowly and steadily spread from his palm into Bazar Batu's body. As his energy flowed, he could hear not only his own heartbeat, but Bazar Batu's as well, two rhythms beating as one.
The biting wind was a chilling companion, and Kuo Lok's body had grown numb with the cold, but his will was a furnace. He could not, would not, give up this one chance to save Bazar Batu's life. Gradually, a subtle warmth spread through the water surrounding Bazar Batu, a tangible sign that the poison was being expelled.
As night fell, the wind subsided, and the forest fell silent. Bazar Batu slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to a stunning vista—the night sky, a velvet canvas strewn with a billion stars, and a moon as bright as a lantern. He felt Kuo Lok's hands on his back. As he started to turn, Kuo Lok's voice came quickly, sharp and urgent.
"Don't move. Concentrate."
Bazar Batu's heart filled with a quiet peace. He smiled, closed his eyes, and listened to the calming sounds of the night, knowing he was safe.
Early the next morning, Kuo Lok heard the soft, deliberate footsteps of Yan Zhanjin approaching the waterfall. He sat on a rock, took off his shoes and socks, and waded into the pool. Standing in front of Bazar Batu, he began to methodically pull the twenty-four silver needles from his torso, one at a time.
"Lok-xiong," Yan Zhanjin said calmly. "You can stop transferring your inner energy. It seems the poison is completely gone. The next step is to heal the wound."
As soon as Kuo Lok withdrew his hands, Bazar Batu coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of black blood.
"What happened?" Kuo Lok panicked, his voice laced with fear.
"Don't worry," Yan Zhanjin said calmly, his gaze on Bazar Batu. "It's just old blood."
He looked at Bazar Batu. "How do you feel?" he asked.
"Much better," Bazar Batu replied, his voice clearer than it had been in days. "Breathing isn't as difficult."
"Good," Yan Zhanjin said with a nod. "You'll be fully recovered in fifteen days."
Bazar Batu offered a weak smile. "Thank you," he said.
"Don't thank me," Yan Zhanjin replied, gesturing to Kuo Lok. "You should thank the man behind you. Without him, I could not have helped you."
Kuo Lok looked at Yan Zhanjin, his eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you," he said simply.
Yan Zhanjin gave a slight nod. "You don't have to thank me. We have an agreement, and you will take us out of here."
Bazar Batu quickly turned around, his face etched with surprise. "Lok gege, you made a deal with them?"
Kuo Lok nodded once, his expression calm.
"Let's get home," Yan Zhanjin said, already turning to walk away. "We can talk about how to leave this place."
The three men took the short walk back to the bamboo hut. Inside, the table was set with several plates of steaming food, the scent of a hearty meal filling the air. As they sat down, the rear curtain parted, and Chen Dandan entered.
"You guys made it just in time for breakfast," she said with a faint smile, her gaze meeting theirs. The four of them settled at the table, a quiet sense of normalcy returning to the group.
"Did you prepare all this yourself?" Yan Zhanjin asked, a hint of surprise in his voice.
Instead of answering, Chen Dandan placed a dark, steaming bowl of medicine on the table.
"This will help with your blood flow," Yan Zhanjin explained, "which will speed up your recovery." He pushed the brewed medicine to Bazar Batu.
Chen Dandan then set a small cup of honey beside the bowl. "This will help with the bitterness," she explained, her voice softening slightly.
After taking the medicine and the honey, Bazar Batu looked at the young man and woman across the table. His voice, now much stronger, was filled with a new curiosity. "Do you know the way out of here?"
"Yes," Yan Zhanjin replied.
"Then why don't you leave?" Bazar Batu asked, confused.
Chen Dandan looked at him, her smile gone. "If we could," she said, a tragic note in her voice. "We would have left the day my father died."
"We don't know martial arts," Yan Zhanjin confessed, his gaze fixed on the dense forest outside. "To cross a cliff like that, you need immense lightness foot skills."
A flicker of hope crossed Chen Dandan's face. "Then how did you two get here?" she pressed.
"Lok gege carried me on his back and flew us across," Bazar Batu answered simply, his tone full of trust.
A sharp, determined look appeared in Yan Zhanjin's eyes as he turned to face Kuo Lok. "Then in two days, you'll carry us both on your back and fly us across."
"I will keep my promise to you," Kuo Lok said, his voice a calm, unwavering echo of his resolve.
Yan Zhanjin simply nodded. "Good."
Later that night, with only the glow of a single candle, Chen Dandan sat across from Yan Zhanjin. Her hands were clasped tightly on the table, her eyes wide with fear and doubt. "Shixiong," she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "What if they go back on their word? What are we going to do?"
Yan Zhanjin gave a cold, confident smile. "If they go back on their word," he replied, his voice a low, chilling whisper, "I will ensure they're trapped here forever."