Chapter 81: Land of the Tender; Body of Gold Hard-Pressed Against Desire (Part 2)
Hearing him, that young soldier's back flinched and froze. He turned around hesitantly but didn't dare go over. The situation at hand didn't allow for any time wasted, and seeing his hesitation, temper flared in Xie Lian's chest but he forced it down, "Don't be scared, I won't do anything to you. Get over here, quick!"
At last, that boy moved. He rushed close to Xie Lian's side but came to an abrupt stop two feet away. Xie Lian sucked in a breath silently and extended a hand towards him, "...Help me up, take me away."
That young soldier very carefully took that hand and grasped it. It was like a man on the brink of death had finally found someone to rely on, and in an instant, Xie Lian's entire body slackened, and collapsed onto that boy.
Sunken deep in the Tender Fragrance, his body temperature was high, his body burning. Yet, somehow that boy's hands were equally as hot, and there was even slight trembling.
Xie Lian leaned on him for a bit, saved some energy, then inhaled and pushed himself to stand. He didn't want to have someone smaller than him support his person entirely, but with his help, they walked agonizingly for a few steps. Those flower demons called out to him when they saw them move away, "No, Your Highness, don't leave us! 'He' is waiting for you on the road, so if you leave here, you'll bump into 'him'."
'He'?
"Who's 'he'?" Xie Lian demanded.
Speaking of that person, even the Land of the Tenders were slightly terrified and after some hesitation, they mumbled, "'He' is 'him'."
The flowers all nodded to each other: "'He' is 'him'. The one who brought us here."
Even if they didn't dare to speak of that person's name or identity, that half-crying half-smiling mask immediately appeared in Xie Lian's mind. "So what you're saying is if I go back now, then the one who planted you all will hunt me down halfway on the road, but if I stay here, he won't come, correct?"
The flower demons were pleased and noisily nodded their heads. Fury burst into flames in Xie Lian's chest.
To trap him without killing him in this hateful situation, were they playing with him? Why not simply just battle to the death?
He collected himself and forced down his irritation. It seemed the other party had no intention of facing him head on, and only wanted to damage his spiritual power, make him fall from grace, and lose followers.
Those flower demons may not be speaking the truth, and even if they told lies, if he thought about it, even though this boy could support him or carry him on his back, they still might not be able to return safely. Should the other party purposely throw some women at them halfway down the road, the situation might get even worse or more awkward.
After some consideration, Xie Lian exhaled a feverish breath and closed his eyes. "Take me to the cave over there."
That young soldier followed his instructions and helped him cross through that ground piled with corpses. When they came before the cave, Xie Lian gasped in a low voice, "Stop."
That little soldier halted. Even just raising a hand Xie Lian shook uncontrollably, "Where's your sword?"
That boy supported him with his left arm and freed the right to take out his sword. Xie Lian extended his hand, rolled up the sleeves and revealed a small part of his arm. Under the white moonlight, it was smooth and pale like the softest white jade. That boy suddenly held his breath but Xie Lian didn't notice and ordered, still in a low voice, "Stab me."
The hand that held up the worn sword immediately dropped. Xie Lian prompted, "Don't worry, just stab, and stab deeply. I need to draw an array. There's no other spiritual devices on hand, so there needs to be blood."
However, that young soldier protested, "Your Highness, please use my blood!" And he raised his own arm and carved without holding back. Xie Lian hurriedly said, "No need! Your blood..." But his words didn't make it in time. A deep gash had already appeared on that boy's arm, fresh blood flowing from it. Xie Lian sighed, "Sigh... you... nevermind."
Xie Lian's blood was an invaluable holy treasure, so how could a mortal's blood compare? But seeing how sincere this little soldier was, he couldn't bear to tell him that what he'd done was pointless. Instead, he said, "Thanks. But, we still need some of my blood as a catalyst." Thus, Xie Lian took that sword, and with trembling hands, it took him a few tries before successfully stabbing into the centre of his arm. Crimson holy blood streamed down his white arm and dripped into two curved lines before the cave, drawing two barriers. Xie Lian also took care to mix in some of that boy's blood, and after completing the array, the dizziness grew stronger. "...Let's go in."
It was dark inside the cave and that boy took out a small flare torch from inside his robes, ignited it, and the firelight brightened their surroundings with intense light.
That young soldier's face was hidden behind the bandages, covering him completely, yet Xie Lian's discomposure was open for all to see. His cold sweat sticky, his hair disheveled, his lips red and swollen. It was the cut created when he bit his lips to sanctify his own sword earlier. The firelight stabbed at Xie Lian's eyes, hurting them, and the waves of heat were also torturing him, so Xie Lian demanded immediately, "Don't light the fire, kill it."
That boy immediately threw the small flare torch on the ground and stepped to extinguish it, and they sank into darkness once more. After being helped into the cave, Xie Lian sat himself down and seated into a meditative position. A moment later, he spoke laboriously, "I have a mission for you, can you do it?"
"..." That boy dropped to the ground kneeling, "I'm willing to risk my life to do my duty!"
Xie Lian painfully restrained his heavy breathing and said with a forced calm, "I drew two sets of barriers in front of the cave. The outer barrier to to ensure nothing outside gets in; the inner barrier is to prevent anyone inside from getting out."
He gasped harshly for air silently and continued, "There's enough space between the two barriers for one person. Stay there and watch over the cave entrance. No matter what you hear outside, don't go out. Same logic; don't come in no matter what sounds you hear from me."
That boy was slightly perplexed, "Your Highness, you're staying here by yourself?"
"Yes." Xie Lian said, "I don't know what I'll do... In any case, you can't come in no matter what."
Under the circumstances, Xie Lian couldn't leave. But waiting for reinforcements, Qi Rong was probably still stumbling down the road, and just the trip back to the royal capital would take a long while. Who knows when reinforcements would come. He could only seal off this small area temporarily, set off wards, and figure out a way to treat that Tender Fragrance. He rasped, "Fruits born of flower demons are powerful temptresses. They're most likely going to ripen soon..."
Just then, the fragrance in the air suddenly surged, cutting off his words. That gentle affectious scent filled the air from the ground to the sky, and the flower demons let out ecstatic, delicate cackling, trumpeting, "MY ROOT! MY ROOT IS HARD!"
"The fruits have ripened!"
Smelling that exceedingly sweet fragrance, Xie Lian could feel his heart beating faster, and blood rushed to his brain. He gritted his teeth, "Hurry and go! Don't breathe in that scent, and if they get close, don't be scared. Nothing can cross that blood line, but as long as your feet remain inside the barrier you can strike them with your sword."
That boy glanced outside, nodded with conviction and rushed out with the sword in hand, stationing himself between the two blood lines by the entrance of the cave. Outside the cave, in that field of corpses, bushes of flower shrubberies grew vividly in colour. That briar field were all quivering as if something beneath was about to rupture the ground. Soon, there was indeed something that broke out – it was the head of a woman!
That 'woman's' head sprouted from beneath the soil, breathed in the fresh air above ground, and looked to be drunk with joy, her eyes squeezing shut into crescent lines. Following immediately after was a round and smooth shoulder, and then an entire arm crawled out.
The fruits of the Land of the Tender were formed under the whiskers of their roots. When their fruits ripen, they shape into various forms of women.
The time of ripening had come, and countless naked women broke out from the earth. They raised their arms to pluck those bright red blossoms from their heads and bathed under the moonlight, stretching their limbs to their heart's content. It was those little flowers that emitted that fragrant scent, but now the ones secreting that sweet odour were those enchanting women. They patted off the remaining mud on their bodies, fixed their hair, and walked towards the cave, giggling seductively, "Your Highness, we're coming!"
That sweet fragrance also suffocatingly filled the interior of the cave, and Xie Lian sat in the lotus position with his eyes closed, chanting the ethics sutra mentally. Yet, it had little use; those flower demons called to him without shame, chirping familiar language like baby, sweetheart, gege, didi*, all sorts of monikers, disturbing his mind, so Xie Lian changed to reciting out loud: "Five sights cause blindness five sounds cause deafness galloping hunts cause madness rare goods cause obstructions... calm over impatience coldness over heat silence is the ultimate virtue... those who are kind will receive kindness those who are unkind will receive unkindness..."* Xie Lian had not noticed at all that the sutra he memorized without fault was recited all over the place.
Outside the cave, the flower demons clapped and laughed tauntingly, "My dear Crown Prince, my sweetheart, my good Highness, you're not a monk, why are you reciting sutras – aiyoh!"
Suddenly there was shrieking all over, and it sounded like that young soldier wordlessly became violently aggressive, chopping and slashing madly, chasing those flower demons away as they cried, "Murder!"
Some yelled from far away: "YOU CURSED LITTLE BRAT, LITTLE DESTROYER OF BEAUTY! NO TENDERNESS IN YOUR HEART AT ALL!"
"Scary, scary! Vicious at such an age! Imagine him full grown!"
Those flower demons were trying to squish themselves into the cave like starving beasts, but they just couldn't squeeze in. They didn't notice the blood array on the ground and had thought the blockage was all caused by that boy. After some discussion, they gathered not too far away and called to him, "Little gege, why must you block us from going in? It's not like we're going to do anything bad, we just want to have a good time with His Highness!"
"Be good, little soldier, and don't hinder us from doing His Highness some good."
"That little didi is so mean. A shame that he's so young, too tender. He probably doesn't even know what 'doing good' means!"
The flower demons fell over themselves over another round of mocking giggles, and Xie Lian blinked open his eyes slightly only to see at the entrance of the cave stood that black shadow, one of that boy who, with a sword in hand, was determined to never move even in death. Suddenly, one of the flower demons said, "I say, little gege, don't stick yourself in there like a hard shaft, what are you planning? Why not come with me over there to have some fun? What sorts do you fancy? Do you like my type?"
That young soldier still didn't respond, and those flower demons thought in order to enter the cave they must pass by him, so they all brought forth their tricks, coddling, "What about me?"
"How about this? Do you fancy my sort?"
"Look at me, do you like this?"
Yet, from flirts at the beginning changing to complaints then to curses at the end, that boy still only ignored them if they were far away, and struck at them if they were close. Xie Lian knew that before Land of the Tenders emerged from the ground, they could change their own shapes at will. He had wanted to warn the boy but due to his current distressing predicament he didn't dare open his mouth. Finally at last when those pressing waves of heat passed did he gasp, "Don't look at them..."
Just fighting against the hot blood rushing to his head already exhausted him, so Xie Lian's voice was terribly soft and low, but that young soldier instantly heard him and cried in response, "YES SIR! Your Highness, how... how are you?"
"I'm fine." Xie Lian said, "If things get too hard, shut your eyes, seal your nose and your mouth..."
That young soldier hadn't had a chance to answer when another flower demon suddenly burst out laughing, "I KNOW! Little guy, I bet your favourite type must look like this!?"
It sounded as if another new Land of the Tender had emerged. There was a sudden dead silence that blanketed outside the cave. That young soldier also seemed to have stopped breathing.
The next second, the crashing waves of laughter of those flower demons surged against Xie Lian, drowning him.
They clapped and screeched, "AIYOOHH!! WHAT A HAND! WHAT A HAAANNNDDD!!"
"My GOD! How did you come up with this? IT'S THE BEST HAHAHAHAHAHAH... LOOK! THAT BRAT IS COMPLETELY STUNNED! I BET IT'S LIKE THIS!"
"IT MUST BE LIKE THIS! AND HERE I THOUGHT THAT SHITTY BRAT IS A ROCK. WHO KNEW WE WERE WRONG! SUCH BALLS AT SUCH AN AGE!"
"You win, we are nothing! How about it, little guy? Come quick and enjoy this sweet delicious sight!"
"There won't be another shop that serves this dish if you leave this land. If you don't seize your chance now, even if you dream for eight hundred years you still won't be able to have a taste! Or, do you want us to give you a hand? That state... heeheeheehee..."
That young soldier was thoroughly incensed, and his tone of voice was filled with frost, "... YOU, ARE, SEEKING, DEATH!!"
At the same time, inside the cave Xie Lian was about to reach his limit.
His sight blurred and his ears drummed, he could no longer sit up straight. He collapsed forward and barely held himself from the ground with his hands. But, this tumble loosened his gritted teeth, and in that moment of delirium, a painful, wretched moan escaped his lips.
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●Didi is the familiar address for little brother.
●Those are verses from the Ethics Sutra (Tao Te Ching, The Book of the Way of Virtue) by Laozi. It's a Chinese literary classic alongside Iching and also one of the philosophical foundation text for Taoism.