Facts also proved Tang San correct. In a while, the cold poison within Zhu Zhuqing was already expelled, and she weakly opened her eyes.
Tang San held his hand by her mouth, and Zhu Zhuqing spit out the burning pearl, weakly calling out,
“Third brother……”
Tang San put a Dragon Zoysia Leaf into Zhu Zhuqing’s mouth,
“Chew it slowly and swallow. Don’t say anything, it’s important to rest properly first.”
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly. With Tang San here, she naturally wouldn’t worry about anything. Sitting crosslegged with Tang San’s assistance, she slowly chewed the Dragon Zoysia Leaf in her mouth and entered a cultivation state.
Tang San naturally had reason to detoxify Zhu Zhuqing’s poison first. Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai were seriously injured that day, and after so long, their physical conditions were definitely the worst. And Zhu Zhuqing was also a girl, her physical qualities naturally couldn’t compare to Dai Mubai. Therefore, she was the first to be rescued.
Next was Dai Mubai, Bai Chenxiang, Ning Rongrong, Oscar and Ma Hongjun. After each time using the Ten Headed Ardent Yang Serpent neidan, Tang San washed it and again infused it with spirit power to expedite its effect, then placed it in his comrades mouths one by one, helping them expel the cold poison.
When all this was finished, Tang San heaved a sigh of relief, and at the same time a layer of cold sweat rose on his back. His comrades’ condition was even worse than he expected, the torment they had suffered in these more than ten days wasn’t a bit less than his. If they were really allowed to detoxify the poison under the sun, another three days of bitterness, perhaps their vitality would have been permanently injured. Even if they were saved, the progress of their strength in the future might have been substantially hindered.
Having dealt with his friends, Tang San drew Xiao Wu in front of Purple Pearl.
After Purple Pearls muting acupoint was sealed by Tang San, she couldn’t curse no matter how she wished to, and her hate for Tang San could be said to have reached an extreme. Seeing him walking over, her eyes immediately shot flames, exerting herself to stand up in the Blue Silver Prison, forcefully grabbing the Blue Silver Emperor bars, glowering at Tang San.
That elderly pirate said in the distance:
“Lord Spirit Emperor, your comrades have already been cured, can’t you release our captain? We never held any bad intentions towards your comrades, this is just a misunderstanding!”
Tang San calmly said:
“Release her? Can you guarantee we won’t be torn to shreds by the pirates here? I’ve just insulted your captain.”
The elderly pirate was just about to promise, but seeing Tang San’s crystal clear and dignified gaze, his half-hearted words immediately came to a stop. For a moment he stood there in a daze.
Tang San said:
“Seeing as you really don’t have much hostility, I won’t kill your captain. However, the reason we ended up in this state was also because of your Purple Pearl pirate group. You should know Haider, it was because we rode his Seadevil that we were harmed, and ended up like this. I’m not worried about telling you that it was Haider who brought us to the Demon Whale territory, rousing the Demon Whale to attack us. We could still survive in front of that hundred thousand year level Deep Sea Demon Whale, let alone your place here. Even though I won’t kill your captain, I still won’t easily release her. As guarantee for me and my companions’ safety, I will prevail upon your captain for these few days. Have your people make a large pot of gruel, and deliver some other food. Don’t think of using poison, I have Ji Xiang here. As long as you do as I say, once my friends have recovered, we will leave, and I will naturally release your captain.”
The old pirate was just about to speak up, but Tang San added:
“Don’t try to haggle with me, you aren’t qualified. Unless you don’t care about her life.”
A strand of Blue Silver Emperor swing out, winding around Purple Pearl. Tearing away the Blue Silver Prison, Tang San relied on the Blue Silver Emperor to pull Purple Pearl up next to him.
The pirates looked at each other, for the moment there really was no way. They could only do as Tang San said. The old pirate said:
“We’ll do as you say, but please follow your promise, don’t harm our captain.”
Tang San said calmly:
“At least at present I don’t have a reason to kill her, I hope you don’t give me one.”
The Blue Silver Emperor shifted, and strand after strand snaked underneath everyone sitting. Under Tang San’s careful control, he brought everyone back to Purple Pearl’s house.
Even though one wall of this rather large house was broken, there was enough space for everyone to rest inside.
Tang San poked another few of Purple Pearl’s acupoints, then put her in a corner. Holding Xiao Wu, he softly caressed her long soft hair, comforting her panicked mood. He secretly heaved a sigh of relief, at least half the crisis had passed.
Ji Xian quietly watched from Tang San’s side from start to finish. Seeing Tang San use his own strength to awe the entire Purple Pearl pirate fleet singlehandedly, in his heart, this master’s abilities rose to unprecedented heights.
“Ji Xiang.”
Hearing Tang San calling for him, Ji Xiang hastily walked up to Tang San, deferentially saying: “Master.”
There was a gentleness in Tang San’s eyes. His gracefulness had reappeared, nothing like the one who had just terrified the group of pirates,
“I hope you understand my methods. This is the Purple Pearl pirate fleet’s place, and I didn’t have any choice just now. I know you’re very attached to this place. I promise you not to hurt anyone as long as I can help it.”
Hearing Tang San say so, Ji Xiang clearly felt as if relieved of a burden, forcefully nodding,
“Master, thank you. Actually, even though captain Purple Pearl is ill mannered, she’s excellent to people. She frequently brings everyone on the Purple Pearl to help poor fishing villages. I know the Haider you mentioned, he relied on bringing a lot of Spirit Masters to join the pirate gang back then, and his position in the group wasn’t low, so he was always very arrogant. Offending you this time was his bad luck.”
Tang San smiled slightly, saying:
“It’s good as long as you understand. As for this captain Purple Pearl, I’ll let her keep quiet for a few days. I’ll see if I want to hear her curse then.”
Ji Xiang glanced at the indignant but unable to vent Purple Pearl in the corner, and couldn’t help showing a smile,
“Captain Purple Pearl might not have ever suffered a loss like this. Everyone among the pirates have had a taste of her temper, I didn’t expect she’d be taught a lesson by master. The method you used to keep her from speaking, isn’t it one of those acupoint sealing methods you mentioned?”
Tang San nodded, saying:
“That’s right. The human body has a lot of acupoints, there are large ones, small ones, numbing ones, killing ones. Striking different acupoints with different strength will cause special effects. Later I’ll draw you a diagram, but keep these in mind first. Even though you can’t increase your internal strength due to lacking a spirit ring, you still have to persist in cultivation. Familiarise yourself with the circulation path of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.”
“Yes.”
Before long, the food Tang San asked for had arrived. Even though he knew they wouldn’t dare play any tricks, Tang San still used silver needles to test each of the dishes for poison, then gave it to everyone to eat.
* * *
[1] “So”, you ask, “shouldn’t Tang San have realized from previous conversations?” The author’s intent was possibly to make the reader assume she was a man (though that’s doubtful, since he used “she” often enough in the text), but at least it should have been plausible for it to escape Tang San’s notice. It’s really difficult to get that to work out in translation. “She” and “he” are pronounced the same in Chinese, meaning Ta
ng San wouldn’t have any way of knowing just from conversation. Tried reflecting that here, though it required some contortionist translations.
Chapter 214: Master, Don’t Want Sexual Services?
Ji Xiang was currently shouldering an important mission. He took the initiative to ask to help Tang San feed all the Shrek Seven Devils. Tang San held them up, he fed them, letting everyone eat a bowl of gruel. Just like when he brought back Tang San before, everyone still weren’t suited to eating too much.
After everyone finished eating, Tang San also ate a bit. Xiao Wu slept in the only bed in the room. Tang San walked over to Purple Pearl.
“Want to eat something? I’ll release you temporarily, but please keep your mouth in order. I’m Tang San, you can call me by my name. If you agree, blink once.”
Hearing Tang San’s words, Purple Pearl blinked once as expected.
Tang San didn’t touch Purple Pearl, she was after all a woman. Blue Silver Emperor stretched out, opening Purple Pearl’s numbing and muting acupoints.
Acupoints unblocked, Purple Pearl’s body softened, almost falling to the ground. Pushing herself up, she glared hatefully at Tang San,
“Do you know sorcery?”
Tang San smiled faintly, saying:
“You should understand that this is a kind of skill.”
Purple Pearl snorted coldly, and didn’t keep speaking, instead walking over to the remaining food with large steps. Heedless of the food already being cold, she ate with large gulps. Her table manners were unsightly, comparable to Ma Hongjun before. She didn’t even seem like a woman. Tang San frowned as he watched.
In just a short while, Purple Pearl finished the food like wind scattering clouds. Without even glancing at Tang San, she stalked back to sit in her corner, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
The corners of Tang San’s mouth revealed a trace of a smile. He could tell that this captain really was very depressed. He didn’t say anything either, his gaze slightly sweeping outside, and a few pirates sticking their heads out quickly hid. He seemed like he didn’t see anything, sitting cross legged in the center of the room with his eyes closed to cultivate.
The seabreeze brushed the trees on the island, generating rustling sounds. Winter was already approaching, and there were few leaves in the forest. Only, the temperature at sea was a bit higher than inland, and the ocean climate meant it wasn’t too cold here.
The night gradually deepened. Tang San quietly cultivated, and the Shrek Six Devils were all deep asleep. This room lacking a wall on one side seemed very quiet.
Just at this moment, leaning in the corner, Purple Pearl quietly opened her eyes. Looking at Tang San, her eyes expressed ferocity, and she pulled a grimace in his direction. Looking all around, she quietly shifted her body. She didn’t move far, only one meter or so, where there was a table. Purple Pearl directly crawled under the table, stretching her hand to softly push under the table. The floor beneath the table immediately flipped over, and she instantly disappeared. The whole process unexpectedly didn’t cause any noise.
“No need to watch. Keep cultivating.”
A few seconds after Purple Pearl disappeared, Tang San’s faint voice echoed.
Ji Xiang opened his eyes, looking puzzled at Tang San,
“Master, you let her leave on purpose?”
Tang San smiled calmly, saying:
“Do you believe she could leave otherwise? Very soon she will be able to feel her strength recover. In half an hour, she will definitely bring a large number of pirates to storm this place. Do you believe it?”
Ji Xiang looked at Tang San, his eyes filled with doubt.
Tang San smiled:
“I only want to tell her that, no matter what she does, there’s basically no way for her to constitute a threat to me. I let her go for this reason. It will take at least five days for my comrades to heal. I don’t want to be on guard against these pirates all day long, so it would be better to convince them once.”
Ji Xiang seemed to understand somewhat, blinking, he asked Tang San:
“Master, your sixth spirit ring really is of the hundred thousand year level?”
Tang San’s brows wrinkled, but he still nodded softly,
“Later master will let you see another type of our sect’s secret skills. Your spirit is a Needle, it’s quite suited to this kind of skill.”
Just as Tang San said, in less than half an hour, the outside was already growing noisy. Purple Pearl’s arrogant voice resounded,
“Surround it, don’t let even a housefly get out. Fucker, that bastard, if I don’t make him drink two basins of foot bath water, he won’t know how fearsome Purple Pearl is!”
Hearing Purple Pearl’s voice, Tang San couldn’t help smiling, but he remained as motionless as a mountain. Ji Xiang always sat to the side watching Tang San. Tang San’s calm gave people a sense of relief, as if he didn’t need to have the slightest concern about whatever was happening outside. Tang San seemed like a solid rampart that could protect them all.
“Tang San, you son of a bitch, get out her. Fuck, in all my years I’ve never been so humiliated. I want to see how you alone will face thousands of us. I won’t push you, just drink two basins of my foot washing water and I’ll let you go. Of course, that little girl has to stay to be my wife.”
By now, Purple Pearl’s house was already surrounded by densely packed pirates, torches held high for illumination, leaving the village brightly lit. Practically all the spirit masters were concentrated in the inner circle, each and every one cautiously watching the wooden house.
That old pirate who talked to Tang San in daytime now stood next to Purple Pearl, talking to her in a low voice:
“Captain, that person isn’t easy to deal with. I think we should let it be. Anyway, they’ll just rest here and then leave. Since you’ve already escaped, as long as they don’t do anything to jeopardize us Purple Pearl pirates, it’s best not to antagonize them.”
“Bullshit.”
Because of Purple Pearl’s anger, her extremely ample chest heaved forcefully,
“When have I ever been this angry, I said I’d have him drink two basins of foot washing water, so I’ll definitely have him drink it. Tang San, you son of a bitch, get the fuck out here.”
Just at this moment, a graceful voice disseminated from the house,
“Purple Pearl, have you heard that expression? The sins of Heaven can be forgiven, the sins of oneself, cannot.”
Purple Pearl stared blankly a moment,
“At a fucking time like this, and you’re still playing with words. Kid, you listen to me. I won’t bother your companions, but I’ll have you account for what you did today. There’s thousands of us here, if each of us spits once, we could drown you.”
Distantly, she could see the circumstances in the room through the broken wall. Tang San all along sat in the same place, without a bit of alarm over her presence outside, to the extent that he even sat there with his eyes closed. Even though she wouldn’t admit it herself, Tang San’s manner secretly made even her enchanted.
The pirates closed in step by step, pushing in towards the wooden house. But Tang San’s display during the day still had a tremendous awing effect, and even though they constantly pushed forward, they didn’t dare rush. The stronger the spirit master, the better they understood the strength Tang San displayed when he contained Purple Pearl. Especially that hundred thousand year spirit ring had an enormous force of impact to these pirate spirit masters. Who knew how frightful the abilities of that sixth spirit ability was?
Slowly getting up, Tang San patted Ji Xiang’s shoulder,
“Do your best to experience my skills. No need to try to see it clearly, for this consummate skill you first of all need to view the general situation. As for everything else, it can all be cultivated after hand.”
Faint light flickered, and Tang San’s face displayed a faint smile. His comrades were all well, and moreover gathered together again, so by now his mood had alre
ady completely recovered to normal, he naturally didn’t have any killing intent towards the pirates outside.
The moment Tang San appeared in the doorway, all the pirates subconsciously halted, each and everyone nervously watching at Tang San. The spirit master pirates all released their spirits without a moment of hesitation, but they were still showing signs of trembling with fear.
As captain, Purple Pearl immediately discovered the issue with her subordinates, and angrily said:
“You cowards, we have more than two hundred spirit masters, he’s alone. If we each throw out one spirit ability, we can still dismember that kid’s corpse in ten thousand pieces. What are you afraid of?”
Tang San smiled calmly, saying:
“Captain Purple Pearl. How about we make a bet?”
Purple Pearl looked distracted a moment,
“Bet? Kid, you like betting too?”
Hearing this word, Purple Pearl’s eyes were radiant. Ordinarily, gambling could be called the greatest pleasure of pirates. Even though both sides were currently hostile, Tang San’s mention of betting was still attractive enough.
Tang San hadn’t thought Purple Pearl would react like this, but this was even better for his plans,
“Presumably you aren’t quite convinced of my capturing you today.”
Purple Pearl furiously said:
“What dogfart capturing? That was a sneak attack, if not for that, could you have caught me?”
Tang San didn’t pay any attention to her fury,
“Since it’s like that, if we fight one on one, are you sure of beating me?”
Purple Pearl was immediately at a loss, but argued strenuously:
“Why would I fight you one on one? This is my domain. As long as I give the order, you will be torn to pieces alive.”
Tang San said:
“Then we’ll bet. For the time of one stick of incense, I won’t use any spirit abilities, and you can have any comrades help you. In this time, I will capture you again, and moreover return to the house. If I succeed, it’s my win. If I can’t catch you, it’s my loss.”
Douluo Dalu - Volume 01-48 Page 374