The Red Scorpion

Chapter 2. The Curse

On the surface of a small lake of Bihan, not far away from Xia Palace, there was a small gazebo; a man dressed all black with a hood covering his head was standing inside gazebo. His eyes were fixed to the beautiful scenery in front of him, the starry sky moonlight which reflected on lake water. He remembered a poem that once was written by famous poet,

Before my bed, there is a pool of light

I wonder if it is the frost on the ground

Looking up, i find the moon bright

Then bowing my head, i drown in homesickness (Moonlight, Li Bai)

He tilted down his head, looking at the palm of his hand with enigmatic expression, saying, "Although, it was no more, the warmth of home would remain in the heart." He turned his body to the west side, he could see greyish smokes soared high from a far. He closed his eyes and smiled in relief.

No long after, a man with red sokkat jumped to gazebo with his qigong, charging the man in black hood with qigong fist. He quickly fended off it with his right arm. The qi was so enormous to create water waves on lake surface, blowing the red sokkat to the water and revealing the black hood. The man in black robe swiftly snatched the crimson mask exposing the one behind it.

"Qiu Ye, you blew up my sokkat." The man was slightly annoyed. Qiu Ye chuckled, "It's not my fault. You attacked me first, Mao Shan." He embraced Mao Shan's back shoulders with his right arm while his left arm hit Mao Shan's chest lightly. Mao Shan did not react to him. He let down his hands and rubbed his head, "You are really petty, being mad for a sokkat. Alright, I will get it for you."

As he tried to jump into the water, Mao Shan held his wrist, halting his movement. He tilted his head meeting Mao Shan's eyes, he sensed something not right. He got closer to Mao Shan, caressed his round lumpy face gently, "What is it? You can tell me."

When Mao Shan was going to open his mouth, Qiu Ye embraced him in a sudden, immersed Mao Shan's head into his chest. He moved his forefinger into a rotation and pointed it to the trees near gazebo. A sword flew according to his finger movement. Again with the same trick, he called his sword back to him, and instantly the sword was in his hand. "You are being tailed." A strand of string coiled around the sword along with a stain of blood.

"Damn it. It's Wang Qing's henchman." Qiu Ye scoffed. Mao Shan leant on his chest, "Let me for a moment..." He patted Mao Shan's head to calm him down, he felt the heat permeated his palm. He reversed Mao Shan's body, his yellowish lumpy face which full of red acnes turned to a beautiful fairly white skin with a small mole on his right cheek. His face was red and his breath was short.

Qiu Ye helped him seat on the floor. He gripped Mao Shan's head, channeling his own qi to Mao Shan's upper dantian. Soon as he felt a slight cold to his palm, he sat behind Mao Shan, thrusting both of his palm on his back and transfering his qi to Mao Shan's middle dantian. Then with his left forefinger and middle finger, he pointed the seven qi points on Mao Shan's back. Last, he thrusted his fingers to his ming men point (lower dantian on the back).

As he finished, Mao Shan spatted black blood from his mouth. His body was drenched of sweat. He could finally breath with relief. His chest pain was reduced over time. "Why didn't you take the elixir? How long have you skipped it?" Qiu Ye reached out Mao Shan's shoulder, grasping it hard and forcing Mao Shan to look at him.

Mao Shan wiped the blood trace on his lips. He fixed his robe and kept his mouth shut. "Mao'er...!" Qiu Ye yelled his pet name. Mao Shan shuddered; he closed his eyes and held Qiu Ye's hand which resided on his shoulder. "Not long after master died."

Hearing that, Qiu Ye became furious. He grabbed Mao Shan's robe collar angrily, "How dare you?! You just let him sacrifice himself for nothing. What a disgrace!"

"What the point of living? Tell me right now..!" Mao Shan yelled back and shook Qiu Ye's hands off his robe. "Qiu Ye, as long as I remembered, I could only feel pain and misery. I survived the hongxie toxin, harsh training, killing schemes, and gruesome wars. My hands were stained by bloods of hundreds or thousands people, that I couldn't count anymore. What is it for? For living as a killing tool. What the difference of living and death? At least, with the curse on me, I can choose how the way I die."

"Even if you do not have a reason to keep your life, at least do it for me. I have made promise to you. I will not betray it. Can't I be the reason?" his last sentence seemed weak but he meant it wholeheartedly. He wished he became someone who would fill the emptiness in Mao Shan's heart. He worked so hard to raise his rank inside the sect, only to keep his promise.

Mao Shan frowned in silence. Mao Shan had been amnesiac since he was kid. He was found by Yuan Chi, and forced to become a hongxie assassin. Once, a person decided to become hongxie, his life was bound to the lord. They did not have any desire, except the lord's desire and command. Mao Shan was different. Deep inside his heart, he longed for a place where he could roam freely without him staining his hands with bloods and dead people. He tried to bury it because that longing could take not only his life, but also Qiu Ye's.

"I shouldn't have let you complete the mission alone. Something must have happened that change your mind. Mao'er say something. "Qiu Ye demanded. He held Mao Shan's head to face him. He saw hesitation in Mao Shan's charcoal eyes. He took a step to embrace him with both of his hands, "Don't see me like that. Tell me, do you get any information regarding the Jade Dragon Seal?" Qiu Ye fondled his hair and kissed his head temple.

"Nothing." He answered abruptly, he looked down to the floor, avoiding Qiu Ye's gaze. He reluctantly spoke. Qiu Ye knew that Mao Shan indeedly hid something from him but he did not pursue it. He released Mao Shan, patted on his head and smiled, "That's fine. You should go home and take a rest. Your episode might be relieved, but you will encounter tremendous pain past midnight. Listen to me, take this elixir. It can save you more years to live." He slipped a small bottle to Mao Shan's hand.

"Mao'er, I will not forgive you if you skip your medication again. You are lucky enough to survive five years without the elixir, normal person will never make through three years. I do not want to experience the pain of losing someone dear to me again." He glanced at Mao Shan with threatening aura. "Make sure to cover your face before you go." Qiu Ye flew out from the gazebo heading to the north, jumping from tree to tree leaving Mao Shan alone.

Mao Shan stared at the Bihan Lake blankly, "Qiu Ye, you have been by my side for fifteen years, a very dear person to me, yet you do not understand me." He threw the elixir bottle into the lake, then covered his face with his sleeve, turning his face into someone different. Then with the burdened heart, he flew with his qigong to the south, the bamboo forest.

"Master, is that you? you are home." Cheerful voice welcomed Mao Shan as soon as he stepped down to his hut. A fifteen years old boy jumped down from his horse. "Chan Yi, why are you so late?" The boy, name Chan Yi frowned, "Spare me, Master. Those boys are heavy. My pitiful Ma Yi has to carry three boys on his back. I am afraid that it will become thinner. How if we feed it a piece of big meat tomorrow?" The horse behind Chan Yi neighed as if it agreed to his words. Mao Shan smiled faintly, "I think it's you who carve for a meat, not your horse."

Chan Yi looking at Mao Shan heedfully, he squinted his eyes with a sullen face, "Master, can you teach me that trick? The trick of changing face swiftly?"

"It's impossible with your poor cultivating. Although it looks simple but it require the steady qi flow within the body, and it need a special training for it. My master said not everyone could pull out that trick, not even Qiu Ye..." Mao Shan's expression was mellow. He did not know why his master teach him that technique and tell him to use it anytime. He thought so he could do his job better as a scout, yet his master forbid him to show his true face to other hongxie, except Qiu Ye. He might have his reason.

Seeing his master's sad face, Chan Yi realized he had poked the wrong topic, he tried to distract Mao Shan, "Master, do you want to eat something? We have mantou (bread without filling) and some bamboo shoots sauteed." Mao Shan shook his head, "I am not hungry. I want to rest in my room. Do not bother me tonight." Chan Yi did not say any word, he only stared at Mao Shan as his master went to his room. It seemed his master was not in a good mood. Lately, his master acted strange, he barely ate and drank. He determined to go to city and buy his master some meat. His master might be bored to eat bamboo shoots.

Inside his bedroom, Mao Shan sat on the floor. He crossed his legs, focus on meditating to widened his dantian points and let the qi flowed to his upper meridians. He collected his surrounding qing qi and zong qi. He was preparing his body for the toxin attack episode, if not, he would suffer the terrific pain or even died from it.

Red scorpion toxin or hongxie toxin was a very potent toxin. It was made through a cruel method by putting hundreds of poisonous scorpions together with blood of the lord in the jar. The jar would be sealed for 100 days, after that, there would be one big scorpion remained, colored in red crimson since it absorbed and devoured the other scorpions. That scorpion would produce toxin that could kill anyone with a single drop. The survived would be the slave to the lord of hongxie. It was painful, dreadful, and deadening, yet addictive.

The toxin was also the trial to be hongxie assassins. Anyone who wanted to join the sect had to take it. The toxin was a neurotoxin that blocked the three points of dantian, halted the qi flow from 7 qi canals, thus it destroyed upper yin meridian system (cardiovascular and respiratory system). If all the dantian points were blocked, the person would certainly dead. In order to survive, one had to maintain the yin yang balance along with the strong yuan qi to keep middle dantian open. Not many cultivators could do it, specially when it came with tremendous pain.

Mao Shan was only seven years old when he took the toxin. He remembered clearly it was the most painful experience. His face and body turned purple. He couldn't move, scream, or even breath; he felt like his internal organs exploded at once; no words could describe the pain.

He had that experience for nearly one year. Seeing his perseverance, Yuan Chi, later to be his master, gave him yuan elixir, that contain the qi which could relieve him from the pain. Yuan Chi even gave him name, Mao Shan, which meant feather and mountain. Sadly, once the person survived from the toxin, even just one drop, he would crave for more.

The toxin stayed inside the body for long period. It would fuse with the person's qi, flowing circling from the dantians throughout qi canals to meridians. Each time the toxin reached the meridians, they would have episode of pain, and each time they would need elixir to relieve their pain. The elixir which controlled the desire of hongxie, contained the lord's blood and a drop of toxin. This made them crave for more, hence it bound hongxie to their lord. They would do anything the lord demanded, even if the lord wanted their life, they would give it to him.

It was the curse of hongxie, whether they took the elixir or not, they would surely die of the toxin. Elixir only prolonged their lifespan for years to live. It was nearly five years for Mao Shan not taking his elixir. He had no desire of living, he sensed his life as useless one, only to fulfill the greediness of the lord that he did not even know who it was. Each time he had an episode, he would meditate gathering qi to counter it, it worked despite the extremely pain. But lately, for the past few months, the episode came more often, from once in two-three months, into once in a month. He felt he was getting weaker after each attack.

If his life was limited, he wished to ride the fastest horse toward the green prairie, climbed to the Mt. Hua, the highest peak of Qingya Mountain, and sailed to Wang Chuan River, where the souls gathered and parted. He wished for ordinary life where he did not have to kill and waited to be killed, a carefree life as a wanderer. But now, after today's mission, he had one more purpose before he died, to find out his identity and his relation to Jade Dragon Seal.