Warning: Mentions of gore, blood, and needles.
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"A-Ah…that," Tao Hua hunched, curling his fingers around the fabric between his thighs. "I misunderstood Uncle Mie's question. Sorry."
"Oh, Rabbit's Foot…but now it's I who's curious," Wan Mie pouted, his eyes shifted up for just a moment before they cheerily returned to Tao Hua. "But it suggests I failed at garnering the little rabbit's trust—it's fine; if not lettuce, then let's indulge in opium."
At Tao Hua's stiffening, Wan Mie laughed. "There's no need for discomfort around me—I merely uphold Shan Si's standards while he's away. If I let you get away with creeping around, then imagine just how chaotic this palace would be. It's already a mess."
"That's true…" Tao Hua's shoulders eased slightly at the reassurance. Though, he was still overcome with a sinking feeling he couldn't quite place his finger on. Perhaps guilt? Nothing a simple apology couldn't fix. "I'm sorry."
"Shan Si wasn't lying when he said you were pitifully self-sacrificing," He turned back to the ding, slowly pouring into the it. "There's no need; you've already addressed me as uncle. We're good as relatives by now, especially with how much this little rabbit has been cozying up to the dragon. So brave, so very brave."
Does he mean Shan Si? Tao Hua watched him pace between the ding and bench, slicing up a few more ingredients. Twisting his head curiously, he thought. Cozying…?
"Buuuuuuut…" Wan Mie hmm'd. "I've also heard from Sister Jue that you've been hungry for answers; starving! Is that true?"
Who was Tao Hua kidding? This was Shan Si's uncle, so there really wasn't any hiding details from him. But the very idea somehow made his stomach churn, spiked with an unnamed, confusing urgency.
But regardless, an unknown possibility still presented as an opportunity. Tao Hua was finally offered an opening, and the potential to finally attain even the smallest amount of answers.
Thus, caught between a chance and his fear, Tao Hua swallowed down the fear and gripped the chance. His hold was slippery and not well maintained, but he still tried his best, regardless.
"Shan Si has me doing research, and I think I might...no...I've gotten too over my head about it all…wanting to help him." Swaying his feet a bit, gently smacking them against the chair, Tao Hua apologetically smiled toward Wan Mie with a shy tilt to his head. "I…I'm sorry if this is me overstepping. Is Uncle Mie saying all of this because he wants me to confide in him?"
Wan Mie laughed, clearly amused by Tao Hua's use of "uncle."
Setting down the stuff in his hand, he turned around to face Tao hua fully, placing his hands against the bench and leaning his back against it.
Eyes on Tao Hua, Tao Hua couldn't help but note just how similar he was to Shan Si; from his looks to his mannerisms. It was far too disorienting for him to continue, and it almost felt like he was duping Shan Si instead of his uncle.
"I walk the paths of Chuhen Palace every day and every night...but I'm certain Rabbit's Foot has already figured out that daily occurrence has happened for centuries too long." Wan Mie teased, "This old man's grown sick of it, yet he weeps blood-red tears as soon as he's not Rabbit's Foot first choice. What would that make of me as an uncle? Disgraceful."
"Ah…" Rubbing his sweaty knuckles, Tao Hua's breathing hitched slightly. "I really didn't mean it to be like that."
"The fault is mine to bear," he reassured Tao Hua, ushering in that familiar calm once present before—the paternal one. "Rabbit's Foot can make it up this evening, mn? Entertain this old man with as many woes trifling that weary mind of yours. It must be bursting with curiosity."
"Ah—really…?" Tao Hua was surprised, but he quickly tried to reach into his sleeves and drag out the old paper of questions, however it wasn't anywhere to be found. Which meant he and Shan Si left it in the old bed chambers. Way to go, Tao Hua! Opportunity squandered!
He glanced up at Wan Mie, whose smile was still ever-beaming as before. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother--"
"Of course! How could I say no to Shan Si's favourite toy? Go on, speak. You'll find I'm quite the patient old man."
Toy…? Tao Hua just shook his head—there was no time to focus on that when the opportunity offered itself on a silver platter.
"I guess I've been struggling to figure things out about a few things, and it's been making my research kinda difficult," Tao Hua began, just as Wan Mie's head titled his head toward his shoulder, his expression lulling. "And…I really don't want to let Shan Si down."
"Is that so? What kind of things?"
"I'm supposed to look up things about this one place called Shendi, a curse, and…I just wanted to figure out why I've been confused for this Daoist Master," Tao Hua awkwardly babbled, running in many different directions. He was certainly a man not often given a chance to speak, so when offered, he wasn't actually sure how to plant his feet on the floor. "I mean—it's just—it seems everyone knows her but me."
Raising his brows, Wan Mie's lips parted a crack. "Zhuan, huh? Your mother's surname resembles hers, that's for certain. But only so much can be assumed—surnames and titles are two completely separate beasts, you know. Mm, though I can't say it's not impossible, it's still rare. What makes it all the more odd is the Daoist Bastard's premonition."
"Mm…that's what I was kinda hoping you could help me with," Tao Hua nodded. "Daoist Weng mentioned she was from Shendi, so I maybe thought she was—"
"Let me stop you there and offer a correction Rabbit's Foot. All those who adore that scum woman...their accounts are baseless." Wan Mie held up his hand, his smile fallen, and a slight glint in his eyes pierced the now frigid air. "Zhuan is from Shendi, but she's been disgraced and it would be a dishonour to remember her by such; for the sake of the fallen citizens of Shendi.
But..." He let out an exasterpated sigh, followed by his shoulders slumping. "Many people in Chuhen Palace are merely mesmerized fools and refuse to see the bigger picture. But I do, and have. I've always seen it. Zhuan isn't the saint they all claim her to be; that's just how she wanted to be viewed."
Tao Hua paused, glancing up at him. Though he tried to disguise it, there was no hiding Wan Mie's clear distaste for Zhaun, and it oozed out of the way he seethed when saying her name.
"Oh…it's just Shan Si said—"
"Young, so young. Shan Si bears a lot of shame for what he's done. Haven't you noticed?" Wan Mie pushed himself away from the bench. Tao Hua's eyes followed him as he made his way toward the shelf of elixirs. "Had she not infiltrated his mind, perhaps Jianlai wouldn't of fallen, nor his mother. Now he can't let her go, and that's transpired onto you, Rabbit's Foot. Such fabricated obsessions fix no ill situation."
Tao Hua's brows pinched at Wan Mie's complete indifference. "What are you trying to say?"
Shuffling through the jars, Wan Mie plainly went on another rant, completely disregarding Tao Hua.
"Zhuan is a woman who disgraced the very god she prayed to. She ran from her responsibilities, thinking there was more out there than her God. Anyone willing to do such a thing—devote their life, learn their art, only to betray and run off—would you trust them? Would you trust those who trust her?"
Tao Hua stuttered, but could barely get even a single syllable out that wasn't hitched breathing. He still couldn't understand any of Wan Mie's claims, but it was as if something entirely switched in the man.
"Yes, Zhuan watched her own god's legacy crash and burn in a war. To attain this, she likely worsened the relations between Zhonglai and Shendi, just so her own hands could remain clean. Smart woman…unfortunately. She knew exactly how influential young Shan Si was."
He tutted a few times, lightly shaking his head. "To manipulate a young man into exacting revenge. How little she thought of the lives around her."
"I…I…" Tao Hua kept his eyes locked, but it was as if he felt suffocated by an eerie notion. He'd never been one to look up to gods, nor was it a common practice in the Tao Estate, so Tao Hua wasn't sure if he could share the same sentiments.
But that dark energy, it surrounded Wan Mie, and it became increasingly clear to Tao Hua that he was well over his head with this topic.
"Then…was she the one who cast the curse on him—everyone?"
"Naturally, she used the Blessing of Jingyi and transformed it into a curse; Curse of Shendi…give me a break." Wan Mie bitterly laughed, picking out a jar. "A pitiful way to treat the very god who blessed her with talent. Zhuan was a disgraceful woman through and through and deserved her death."
Blessing of Jingyi? Tao Hua's eyes narrowed on Wan Mie, watching him hum as he read the name on the jar. Jingyi…Jingyi…wasn't that on the paper Daoist Weng gave me? What does this have to do with anything?
Something was extremely wrong with everything, and it was as if horns were blaring in Tao Hua's head, screaming at him to leave.
Yet he couldn't seem to move—fear had locked him stupid. This heightened the more he cursed Zhuan's name.
Turning, Wan Mie popped the jar open and slowly made his way toward Tao Hua. He first placed that jar a small table next to the chair, with an additional, smaller, empty tin. The clacking sounds echoed ominously, one after the other.
Leaning back until the chair rest creaked, Tao Hua couldn't speak a single word, and it was as if Wan Mie was capable of towering over him two times as tall.
Wan Mie grabbed Tao Hua's arm, flipped it over, and rolled up his sleeve. That's when the hyperventilating began, and then the aggressive trembling. Regardless of how much Wan Mie kept it in place, even squeezing it to the point of cutting off some of the circulation, it still shook the chair and even the loose strands of Wan Mie's bone straight hair.
Tao Hua's breath became ragged, enough to mimic the hastening of his thudding heartbeat. He watched, frightfully, as Wan Mie slipped out what appeared to be an acupuncture needle from his sleeve, cleanly into the palm of his hand.
Upon closer inspection of the needle, Tao Hua's eyes sharpened horrifically.
It was a lot thicker, differing from the typical, thinned-out needles used for everyday acupuncture. This one was often used for practices such as bloodletting, and the moment the cold metal met Tao Hua's skin, he tried to rip his arm from Wan Mie's grasp.
He tried and tried and kept trying, but there was no helping the stark difference in strength. Wan Mie kept it locked in place, squeezing his skin just as it slipped under the flesh, and drew out blood.
Then he removed it.
"Let me teach you something valuable, Tao Hua," Wan Mie directed his eyes on Tao Hua's arm, reaching over for the empty tin, and scraping the blood into it. The sound of metal on metal grated into a horrifically awful sound.
Tao Hua stared down at the gash, his stomach twisting into oblivion, watching as his entire arm dripped red. How something so precise could draw out so much, Tao Hua didn't know, and he felt sicker by the minute just looking at it.
Then, Wan Mie leaned over Tao Hua once more, the bigger jar in his hand, tilting it by a small degree over Tao Hua's arm.
"Think twice about who you should trust and think once about who you should fear. Otherwise, you wouldn't have found yourself in this predicament had you not sat here."
The liquid began to trickle gradually out of the clay jar. It was ashen-like, dark, with the consistency of honey. And that stench…it was horrendous—one akin to how a person would assume death to smell like. Tao Hua watched as it made its way closer to his skin, and when it finally occurred to him, he tried desperately to pull back.
He thrashed in the chair, even lifting his foot up in an attempt to push Wan Mie back and pleading for him to stop.
All of his efforts ended in failure.
"See…" Wan Mie's eyes followed the oozing liquid. "You and Shan Si are more alike than you realize, Tao Hua. He also made the mistake of trusting the wrong person, and that person ended up having him kill thousands of innocent people."
As soon as the liquid lathered Tao Hua's skin, he thrashed his back into the chair, clenching his eyes shut and biting his lip. It was the most excruciatingly burning pain he'd ever felt in his life.
Drowning in lava would have been better.
Unable to handle it any longer, Tao Hua finally withdrew his teeth, his bottom lip swollen from the pressure of his bite. In an act of complete surrender and the inability to handle anymore trauma, he let out a piercing scream.
It was a scream capable of cracking any window and worrying the heart of any mother nearby.
Chapter end.