CH 9.1

> > Torture

Richly ornamented buildings and light screen windows.

It turned out that the base of the unorthodox sect was not always heavily gloomy.

Bai Shaoqing was under the tree, he had his hand leaning against the trunk and had been standing there for two shichen.

When he was quiet, his eyebrows would always exhibit a faintly visible worry, as well as looking as if his thoughts had floated up into Ninth Heaven. The breeze swept up his sleeves, giving anyone who saw the impression that he might just be swept up by the wind at any moment.

His eyebrows were like distant mountains1, and his eyes as dark as ink. 

The unending chirp of cicadas, abruptly quietened into nothingness.

His lustrous pitch black hair was suddenly picked up in the hands of another.

He didn’t need to turn around, he already knew who it was. After Feng Long began to behead all of his capable subordinates in the sect, who was left at Zhengyi Sect, who would dare to touch him?

“Da-ge.” He had now got used to it, now he no longer felt any embarrassment or frustration addressing him this way.

Feng Long continued to play with the silky strands of black hair in his hand in silence and then he asked seriously: “Did you memorise last night’s book?”

“Yes I have.” Bai Shaoqing turned around, “Is da-ge trying to check my homework?” 

“Are you trying to ask me again when I’m going to teach you the real Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique?”

There was a hint of disregard that floated up from those deep and immeasurable eyes, Bai Shaoqing turned around again and fixed his gaze upon the willow branch, and said unhurriedly: “You’ll have to teach me some day so why should I be in any hurry?”

“How do you know?” Feng Long had a smile on his face and stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “Aren’t you afraid that I’m purposefully wasting time by using the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique to force you to stay here?”

Bai Shaoqing didn’t answer and instead asked back: “The roots of these willow trees are a little strange as if they’ve been recently replanted here.

“That’s correct.” Feng Long calmly said: “I know that you like willow trees.”

“I understand your feelings.” Bai Shaoqing turned his head and looked deeply into Feng Long’s eyes: “You want me.”

An almost undetectable smile revealed itself from the corner of Feng Long’s lips.

“You want me, you want to make me accept you wholeheartedly. Since you’d even make the arduous effort of bringing the old willow trees from Jiangnan to here, why would you break your promise and not teach me Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun right? If you want something from someone, you need to first offer up some benefits.” Bai Shaoqing said quietly: “When I wanted to learn something from others, I always paid up.” 

“Shaoqing, I’ve already said before, don’t talk about the past.”

“Are you going to use the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew on me again?” Bai Shaoqing frowned, “I’ve only recovered for one day and you would have the heart to do this to me again?” Yesterday, it was completely useless to bump into the Leader of the Luoyang branch, one move from Feng Long was enough to smash his heart. And under the fury of Feng Long, he was obliged to suffer that torture once more.

Bai Shaoqing didn’t turn his head. The side profile of his face resembled a bronze statue, with that kind of unspeakable and unswerving determination as well as that hidden story behind it all that could stir up emotions in others.

Feng Long placed him lightly on the bed, Bai Shaoqing suddenly opened his eyes, “I know, you are deliberately tormenting me, because you already love me. Haha, the great Sect Leader Feng would actually fall in love with an unchaste man!” He laughed as loudly as possible and then ruthlessly stared at Feng Long.

Feng Long laughed lightly then shook his head and sighed, “If you are so afraid of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, why must you incessantly try to seduce men who are completely useless to you? Unless they have a rarer manual than the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique in their possession?” He sighed as he flipped his hand and a familiar agate bottle appeared in the palm of his hand.

The blood red bottle was almost like thorns sticking into his eyes, Bai Shaoqing abruptly turned away.

“I said before that if you dare to try and seduce anyone else, all of the remaining times of punishment will be carried out.” Feng Long said quietly: “But because you are currently practising martial arts, it’s not good to get injured. I won’t successively use the medicine, every time I will let you have one day off and then continue.”

“Da-ge……” Bai Shaoqing was lying face up on the bed, watching quietly as Feng Long approached with the bottle, “Are you afraid that I will run away so you purposefully want to injure me?”

“Shaoqing, what the hell are you thinking?” Feng Long frowned but he did not halt his actions, he sat down beside the bed, and calmly took off Bai Shaoqing’s clothes, “Are you afraid that I am not aware of your abilities and want to try and seduce all my subordinates?”

The ice-cold neck of the bottle disappeared into the nude coloured entrance. Even if he had been prepared and was already biting his tongue, Bai Shaoqing still couldn’t resist groaning out loud. Even if it had been ten times, even if it had been from birth, if one had to endure this type of torture everyday, one would still never get used to it.

Bai Shaoqing shook violently, his forehead soaked with sweat, running into his jet-black hair.

“Da-ge……” He suddenly quietly pleaded. “I’m in a lot of pain.” If he could move, he would have tugged on Feng Long’s robes long ago.

Feng Long looked at him silently, there was a flicker of light in his eyes but it was not clear what he was thinking about.

“Da-ge, hold me.” Bai Shaoqing was trembling so much that his lips had already lost all colour, with a mournful voice he said: “Can you really be that cruel?”

Feng Long’s eyelids fluttered and he leaned in closer, he flicked his hand and undid the acupoint on Bai Shaoqing’s body and then lightly pulled him into his arms.

“Shaoqing, Shaoqing,” he stuck himself close to Bai Shaoqing’s ice-cold face, “Could the unruly and rash bat ever feel sincerity towards one person for life?”

Bai Shaoqing did not respond and only closed his eyes, enduring the torture of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew.

He didn’t answer but Feng Long already knew the answer.

Ninth Heaven Bat, if he couldn’t fly up to Ninth Heaven; his heart was still pointing to Ninth Heaven. He liked Liu Mulian of Jiangnan, liked Zhang Qingyi of Emei Mountain, he’d once loved Rong Wei-da of the Rong family of Hebei. When he liked them, he would play the zither for them, recite poetry, paint…..

After that night had passed, this flimsy love would be nothing more than the dewdrops at sunset, disappearing without a trace.

He always left unfettered without a worry.

Bai Shaoqing, being too affectionate, is in fact the most heartless.

Feng Long grabbed the person in his arms and asked: “If I had kept on being your stupid Feng da-ge, would you have stayed with me forever?”

The person in his arms did not speak, but his unyielding personality had already silently revealed itself from his bones.

“So it’s like that.” Feng Long’s tone was cold, “Even with the virtuous Wulin Alliance Leader, it would still have been one night of charity and then you’d suddenly leave.”

“Pfff, why does everyone think that they can make me stay? I don’t need anyone to look after me or protect me, what’s so wrong with being alone?” Bai Shaoqing was shivering from the pain, the corners of his mouth curved stubbornly. “I’ll kill all those who wrong me, those that I want something from, I’ll lie and cheat, what can anyone do to me?”

Speaking up to here, it seemed like he couldn’t take the pain anymore, he stopped talking and breathed more deeply, staying silent for a moment, and then he opened his eyes and said: “Da-ge, you and I are not the same, you…….” 　　

Feng Long’s heart beat slightly faster. “What about me?” He couldn’t help drawing closer.

There was a tiny laugh, Feng Long felt the danger but it was too late.

The powerless slim fingers which ordinarily did not have any energy, at this moment were filled with energy jumping onto Feng Long. The distance was so close and the change was so abrupt that Feng Long, who had Bai Shaoqing in his arms, did not have the time to react. In a blink of an eye, he felt his chest go numb.

His attack went smoothly, Bai Shaoqing did not dare to dilly-dally, he flew up, fingers moving as quick as lightning to seal all of Feng Long’s acupoints.

In a split second, the situation had reversed.　

Having turned the tide, Bai Shaoqing smiled slightly at Feng Long, and frowned as he pulled out the agate bottle from himself. 　　

Blood mixed with the medicine began to leak from the bottom half of his body. He was in so much pain that he was trembling all over, and then he looked at Feng Long who could no longer move and he laughed. “I’m going to keep this bottle. I will carry the agate bottle on my person and dress nicely.

He turned around, and then used the previous method to seal the acupoints over Feng Long’s entire body.

“Your martial arts is good so I obviously need to be more prudent.”

Feng Long sighed very lightly: “I should have known, Zhuo Quan of Luoyang has the best acupoint technique.”

“Although other men do not have anything such as the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique, there are some other techniques that are also useful. Bai Shaoqing laughed again, “Just like this sect’s acupoint technique, even the great Sect Leader Feng can be sealed, isn’t that interesting?

“Shaoqing is an innate talent to master a technique in one day and then put it to use at the appropriate time.” Feng Long did not exhibit the slightest worry on his face. “But to be able to have this kind of deep internal energy, did you use the Disintegration Celestial Skill?”

“According to my abilities, I have still not mastered the Disintegration Celestial Skill. I just forced myself to retrieve some internal force to use.” Bai Shaoqing’s eyes were glowing. “You don’t need to frighten me. I know that the Disintegration Celestial Skill harms vital energy. After pushing through today, I will slowly recover.”

“Are you leaving, so you don’t want to learn the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique?”

“I have the pills so I should go.” Although Bai Shaoqing was still in a lot of pain, he was still brimming with smiles and said: “It’s getting dark, I’m afraid of getting lost.”

Feng Long calmly shot a glance over at him and sighed: “Naturally the map of place is on me.”

His slender fingers began to explore the inside of the other’s robes. Bai Shaoqing had a smile on his face, and even deliberately caressed that sturdy chest.

“Is it this one?” He pulled out the map and then opened it in front of Feng Long. “Da-ge wouldn’t possibly carry around a fake map on him right?” Bai Shaoqing rapidly looked over the map, and memorised the escape route in his mind, before turning his gaze upon Feng Long’s lower body.

“Didn’t you want to leave?” Feng Long was sitting rigidly by the bed, with a calm smile on his face: “If you want to leave, leave quickly, otherwise, if you wait for me to unseal my acupoints, it’ll be too late.”

“That’s true, my Disintegration method won’t last much longer.” Bai Shaoqing nodded: “But before leaving I need to settle something.”

Feng Long was not particularly surprised: “Oh, you want to keep your word and kill me?”

“Why would I let you die so easily? But I cannot repay Sect Leader Feng’s benevolence towards me.” Bai Shaoqing lowered his head to Feng Long’s ear and laughed, and then reached out to the front lapel of Feng Long’s robes, and took out another agate bottle: “Sect Leader Feng sure has a lot of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, this one was probably prepared to use at impromptu moment on me?”

“If you were disobedient, I would have used another bottle.”

“This bottle is better left to be used on Sect Leader Feng.” Bai Shaoqing popped open the bottle, and the scent of the countenance of the flower, face like the moon dew dispersed out, “There is probably no one who dared to touch you there, so I think you don’t need to be washed there. You forced me to call you da-ge, so let’s wash your mouth.” After he finished speaking, he smiled coldly, and then opened up Feng Long’s and poured the whole bottle of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew inside.

As soon as the medicine entered his mouth, it began to roll down, nibbling at his throat and creating blood bubbles. Feng Long’s entire body shook, and frowning very deeply but just as before, even his face had been pulled in tightly, he still didn’t make a sound, and just watched Bai Shaoqing without moving.

The depth in that gaze made Bai Shaoqing’s heart shake.

He retracted his proud smile, and then humphed once: “I said that I won’t kill you but I can’t let such a hateful person live well.” He silently gathered his energy and then hit his palm on Feng Long’s ren meridian.

Feng Long finally groaned and fell onto the bed.

“You’re removing my martial arts abilities?”

“If I don’t remove your martial arts, should I leave the number one martial arts practitioner to come and seek revenge on me?” Bai Shaoqing’s eyes rolled: “In reality, I don’t need to be afraid of you, I already have the two Heaven and Earth shattering pills. Even if your internal energy was strong, it wouldn’t be stronger than mine. But seeing you suffer makes me feel great pleasure.

Feng Long suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. The fragrance of the countenance of a flower, face of the moon dew filled the room temporarily.　　

Feng Long sneered and said: “I’ve suffered and I no longer have any martial arts abilities, so why don’t you kill me?”

“I won’t kill you. Wait until my martial arts is the best in the world and then I will come back and slowly torture you.” Bai Shaoqing gazed at Feng Long silently for a while, and then took the Bilu Sword from Feng Long’s waist, looked at Feng Long whilst he trembled and he proudly turned to leave.

The sound of the footsteps became further and further away, and then the tall figure disappeared behind the door.

In the room, all that was left was Feng Long who was unable to move a single step. This room had been classified as forbidden, so naturally without his orders, no one dared to enter.　

The day came to a close, whilst the birds flew back to the nest.

Feng Long, who had been lying on the bed, finally slowly sat up. He grabbed the silk white bedsheet and wiped his mouth with it, a muffled laugh could be heard from the middle of the room.

“What are you afraid of, you’d actually not want to learn the number one martial art technique in Wulin and instead run off.” He laughed, the blood came up and he spat it out.

Because of the erosion from the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, it was almost impossible to discern what he was saying, but the smile on his face was radiant: “Although you were ruthless with me, you said that you would come back. Not bad, not bad……”