His parting with Liu Qi on that riverbank was on filled with sorrow. An ‘unwilling to part’ expression clung upon the departing man’s scarred face, seeming to increase its displeasing appearance; yet, it was nonetheless, exceptionally touching and sincere.
Yan Feili stood at that river’s edge, following Liu Qi with his eyes as the passenger ship he boarded sailed farther and farther away. That boat seeming to not only having carried away his childhood friend, but also the dream he had spent the first half of his life in pursuit.
“Xiao Yan!” Liu Qi, ignoring the side-eyes of the others on that boat, suddenly stood up and shouted towards Yan Feili: “If there comes a day where you can no longer get by in any part of world of Jianghu[1], remember, you can come find me! Remember, okay!”
With a soft smile and a hand lifted in a wave, Yan Feili motioned towards him, feeling both his eyes had become moist.
Liu Qi too, for a while now, had felt his own eyes hazy with tears; only being able to see the shoreline in the distance where Yan Feili stood waving towards him slowly, and the look on his face seeming to have been that of a smile…
***
In truth, when Yan Feili had laid eyes upon the earring in that youth’s left ear, he immediately knew who that lad was. Because a Flying Dragon was used to denote the highest of symbols, only the Four Masters of Tianmen had them.
A bright yellow was the colour of the Eastern Sect’s Master, Dongfang; cyan was the one used by the Southern Sect’s Master, Nangong; flaming red belonged to Eastern Sect’s Leader, Ximen; and the colour silver… well, that was wielded by the Northern Sect’s Master: Beitang Ao!
Yan Feili brought his former subordinates with him, three-thousand strong, all who voluntarily chose to follow in joining the Northern Sect. And because of him, the Four Sects of the Tianmen had broken their long held rule of never accepting a foreigner within.
It had been, that apart from their former subordinates from dynasties past, the Four Sects of the Tianmen had utilized many tier levels to appoint persons to official positions, and these required passing a strict selection process and training to even get into.
Plus, Yan Feili was not the only one to be let in, three-thousand of his men were also to be let in the same. Once they entered, he was appointed as a personal general of Beitang Ao’s, left in charge of all his former troops who had came along with him and did not leave. And back then Yan Feili was completely unknowing of disturbances and disagreements these matters had caused. Even upon looking back, he was himself quite shocked by Beitang Ao’s persistence in breaking so many rules for his sake; but secretly, such an act, had also made him delighted.
After those matters were settled, Yan Feili accompanied Beitang Ao for eight whole years, following that man through fire and water—through whatever perils they faced.
Into all corners of the world of Jianghu, into the field of battle—even into that complex, and ever-changing, Imperial court; he always silently stood behind Beitang, becoming the darkest star beside that brilliant moon, but he was also the most determined of them all.
Looking at every step of Beitang’s, he conformed his own, as that man strode towards this day, gradually grasping power, and forged a piece of this world of his own.
He was never arrogant enough to believe any part of the man’s accomplishments were due to his own contributions. As he knew full well they has all been gained by Beitang Ao’s own wisdom and strength—himself included! Cherishing Beitang, from there very first meeting, was simply something that he knew. The feeling not only one of the respect and admiration a subordinate towards their master ought to hold, but also one that should never have come into being—an obsessive feeling, deemed as intolerable by this world.
In his years following Beitang Ao, that feeling… not only was it not inhibited, it instead grew even more profound! But despite the torment such a feeling had brought him, Yan Feili had never once regretted it existence. Therefore, after Beitang was placed under the influence of that weird aphrodisiac from the Evil Spirits within that Ghostly Realm[2], he could not bear to look on as that man suffered from the ill-effects of that drug.
On that day, they had both exterminated those wicked monsters from the mountains and those evil creatures of the lakes. He was the only one who followed his Sect Master when the man entered that dense valley of the Ghostly Forest back then; and he was also the one whose carelessness made him fall into an enemy’s trap, forcing Beitang Ao to throw out his dragon-whip[3] to pull him out in the nick of time. But, sadly, that man had gotten himself snared when those wicked creatures sneakily attacked him from behind. So although no poison of any kind can invade Beitang’s body, this time around the plot was not to use a poison, but the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world: Temptation.
The strength of this drug lay in that the one one who has it in their system must vent—release those pent up desires—immediately, or else not only will they use their humanity, they will also lose their power.
From within the dense fog of the Haunted Forest, not a ray of sunlight could be seen. Let alone an actual woman, not even the shadow of one was a possibility; so where could one go to even find one to vent.
Those wicked creatures had already suffered grievous injuries, and were well aware they would make out this mountain pass. Thus, they hatched this extremely sinister scheme, employing the use of that drug.
As they lay before death’s door, those vile beings still teased: “Except for venting, there’s no antidote for that drug! Who could have ever guessed that Master Beitang would become an invalid at such a young age! And on top of that also lose his humanity—for the rest of his days!
“Oh, what a truly pitiful sight! So, so pitiful!”
At these taunts, Yan Feili grew enraged. With ruthlessness, he cut them all down, delivering them to the afterlife. While during this, Beitang was already seated on the ground, legs crossed, and using his Yungong[4] cultivation for suppression.
“Sect Master, are you alright now?” seeing Beitang’s face flush as if he were drunk, Yan Feili asked worriedly after some time had passed.
Beitang’s eyes opened wide, the originally clear blacks and whites of his eyes, to one’s surprise, had already become filled with wisps of blood. Giving a light shake of his head, as he was unable to speak, all he could do was hint to the other man that he should not approach.
His speech hindered by his seashell white teeth sunk deeply into his lower lip, causing a significant trail of blood to flow over them; large beads of sweat dripping from his temples; all made Beitang gradually feel as if he was forcing himself just to maintain his consciousness—a task which was already in itself quite difficult. The lust taking hold within him, caused his whole body to feel like it were aflame. Leaving him with no other alternative than to stake his life on putting all he had into his Yungong cultivation for support. Though he had no belief in his ability’s capability in combating the most powerful aphrodisiac in the world.
Yan Feili paced back and forth helplessly, looking at his Sect Leader endure such great pain.
Watching on as the drops of fresh blood trickling from that man’s, once elegant and thin, lips fell onto his snow white lapel, dying it red, and creating a contrast that was quite amorous; but it also crafted an utterly horrid sight to behold.
No! Such a noble and proud Bright Moon should not have to suffer and endure torment like this!
Thus, Yan Feili made a firm resolution that he must take Beitang Ao away from this place, come what may, as it would be much better than just standing by and watching him suffer in pain.
But everything that followed next, was completely beyond Yan Feili’s expectations—causing his mind to be so stunned, it had gone utterly blank!
… All he did was move closer, yet Beitang’s eyes sprung open. His orbs were now a bloodshot and terrifying-looking red. No different than those of the beasts in the wild when locking onto their prey.
With little time to realise his current situation with the Sect Master was quite strange, that man suddenly yanked him, using one hand to hold his body tightly while another began tearing away at his garbs.
“Sect Master—” Terrified by such a cruel and abrupt act, Yan Feili’s mouth was left gaping in shock. As who could have possibly known, once those two words were cried out, both his lips would be mercilessly sealed by Beitang Ao. Proceeded by a burst of frantic nips and sucks.
Yan Feili’s eyes grew large as they gazed at that man’s cool and handsome face, the image of it all leaving his mind in a daze. Due to the cruel baptism those plump lips of his endured, they immediately swelled to the point where a mere nip caused a thin trail of blood to seep out. Unknowing of whether the salty, metallic taste filling both their mouths, came from his own injured lips or if they came from Beitang Ao.
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Notes:
[1] Jianghu (江湖 jiānghú) – literally translates as “Rivers and Lakes”, but figuratively refers to the “underground world of martial arts”. A section of society consisting of martial artists, gangsters, thieves, beggars, prostitutes, merchants, entertainers, and anyone else wanting to operate outside of mainstream society or in the grey area of the law. {Copied and pasted directly from immortalmountain[dot]wordpress[dot]com’s glossary}
[2] 魑魅魍魉: chī mèi wǎng liǎng:[idiom] demons and monsters. Specifically monsters from mountains and rivers. It appears to be a lump term for all those wicked little things lurking in the dark.
鬼域: guǐyù: lit. Ghost Domain/Realm/Area. But it could be used to refer to a place were bad things happened.
[3] 龙鞭子： Dragon whip. It’s just a whip, like a bullwhip, I guess.
[4] 运功: yùngōng: to practice qigong(气功) and focus your qi(chi) on one specific body part. Qìgōng, put simply, meditation. It’s more complex than that though.
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See you next week~
