Chapter 10. Reaching the Heart Qi and the Appearance of the Lunatic Lao Lao (18+)

    Bai Zhe arrived at his home. Glancing at the clock, he noted that he had about 3 hours before his parents came back home. The boy unwrapped the package of herbs. He lit the stove, placing a steamer on it. Then, he measured out the herbs into different portions and put them into the steamer, turning it into a medicine fabrication furnace. The boy put his qi into the gas stove, then turned it off, using his qi as the fuel source. He controlled the temperature of each part of the steamer, in order to distill various herbs at various temperatures.

    “That’s it. Now, I have to dispose of the filthiness,” said Bai Zhe. Sweat now bathed his face. It took a lot of qi energy to fabricate medicine. The power was used for not only the fuel but also for controlling the medicine which was distilled into liquid form and getting rid of the filthiness.

    “It’s clean. The next thing to do is form the medicine into balls before the appropriate time has passed.” The boy put more of his qi into the medicine to condense it. A fragrant aroma wafted out of the steamer afterward.

    “It’s done.” Bai Zhe used his qi to open the steamer’s lid before using his qi to place the balls of the medicine into a ceramic jar that had been prepared. His qi power was used again to clean the kitchen and put the steamer in its place. After he finished cleaning, Bai Zhe tipped out one ball of qi medicine and put it into his mouth, using his qi to digest it.

    His parents came back to find the boy meditating. They did not greet him or interrupt him in any way, They went through their normal routine before they went to sleep. The boy continued putting the medicine balls into his mouth. From what he had witnessed today—the martial artists that had heart qi, and the Divine Sects—it seemed like the old man was just a mid-level artist. The people that he had to worry about were those who had more power than the old man. He used to think that there was no martial artist living in this world. Luckily, he had met those mid-level artists. If he let other martial artists know that he was one of them, they might cause him some trouble.

    Bai Zhe opened his eyes around midnight with qi power spreading out from his body. Black stains covered his skin. He had finally reached the heart qi.

    “I shall take a shower. I haven’t done my homework yet. Tomorrow, I have to go sign the book copyright contract as well.” The boy got up to take a shower. He did his homework after that and went to sleep.

    In the meantime, in the basement of a building located in the capital city, which was about 300 kilometres away from Bai Zhe’s town, a man was walking with another middle-aged man who was dressed as a woman. In the basement was a long hallway, with iron doors lining along the hallway’s entire length.

    “Lao Lao, how is my son, Yi Han?” the man asked the middle-aged man.

    “Han Han is in the innermost room. Follow me, Mr. Yi San. I called you today to see your son be reborn,” said the man who was dressed as a woman. He led Yi Han to the innermost room.

    When the door opened, Yi San saw his son completely naked and had his arms and legs chained up. He felt hurt, seeing his son like that. Yi San tried to walk toward the boy, but Lao Lao blocked him with his arm.

    “Let me talk to him,” said Yi San.

    “No!” shouted Lao Lao, snapping his fingers.

    Two men of about 25 years appeared, seizing Yi San and taking him to a nearby room from which one could see what happened in the room where Yi Han was chained through a special mirror.

    After Yi San was taken to another room. Lao Lao sauntered toward Yi Han, who was still unconscious. Lao Lao’s thumb and long, beautiful index finger lifted the boy’s chin.

    “Wake up, little boy.” Lao Lao caressed Yi Han's cheek with his other hand, making the boy awaken. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a man dressed as a woman lifting up his chin.

    His eyes opened wide before struggling. He was even angrier and more embarrassed when he found himself naked in front of Lao Lao.

    He tried to recall what had happened before he fainted. He wanted to take revenge on Bai Zhe who embarrassed him, so he asked his dad to help him. Yi San called one of his connections to ask for an assassin‘s number.

    They asked Yi San and Yi Han to meet at a restaurant. They met a good-looking young man. He had bright skin and was so handsome, like an actor. The man was the opposite of an assassin’s image Yi Han had in his mind. The boy thought an assassin had to be bald with a cruel face with a large scar on it. They had to be tall and large, and very muscular.

    “From what you are saying, you want me to kill a person named Bai Zhe, right?” the man asked.

    “Yes. This is his picture.” Yi Han showed Bai Zhe’s picture to the young male assassin.

    “Don’t you want to take revenge by yourself? It’s much more fun than hiring me to kill him. Imagine it. You can torture him to death slowly. Cut off finger by finger. Slowly cut off his arms and legs. Listen to him begging for his life in torment. It will be much more satisfying to you,” the man said like he was having fun. Yi Han, feeling impetuous, was persuaded by his words.

    “I want to, but I’m not as good as you,” answered the boy.

    “It’s not that hard. You can come with me if you are interested. I will take you to my teacher. He could make you stronger. Not only you could take revenge on Bai Zhe, but money, fame, and women will also belong to you if you train until you are skilled,” said the man. Yi Han agreed to go with him that instant.

    “Can you take me there now?” The boy sprang up from his seat.

    “Of course, you can follow me now.” The assassin stood up and exited the restaurant, followed by Yi Han.

    Yi San got up from his seat, intending to follow them, but he was stopped by the young man. He handed Yi San a piece of paper with a telephone number on it.

    “I will contact you in 2 days. I can guarantee your son’s safety. You don’t need to be worried. You pay my wage as we have agreed. Think of it as a referral fee,” said the man before leaving with Yi Han in a taxi. Yi San could only watch the young killer leave with his only son.

    At an abandoned building

    The man took Yi Han to a building that looked deserted from the outside. The inside was empty, but it looked surprisingly clean.

    He led Yi Han to the farthest wall and touched a spot on it. The wall opened, revealing a secret stairway to a basement. Yi Han could not help but feel excited because he was a fan of secret bases.

    “Yi Han, you wait here on the sofa. I will go to tell my teacher about you. Let’s see if he will take you on as his student.” The assassin took a picture of Yi Han and went to a room that had a sign that read Lao Lao on its door.

    It was not long before he came out of the room. He took Yi Han to a long, narrow hallway, which had a large door at its end.

    The young man opened that door. Yi Han stepped back two to three steps. He saw boys around 15 to 20 years old bind to crosses. They were flogged and tortured. Some were tortured by having hot metal pressed to different parts of their body. Some had knives slashed across their bodies. There was something strange, though. After the tormentors hurt the boys, they hovered their hands over the wounds they had created. After a faint green light appeared from their hands, the wounds were healed. They completely disappeared as if nothing had ever happened.

    “Wh…what is this?” Yi Han asked the assassin who brought him to this room.

    The young man smiled before Yi Han realised that both of his arms were locked by two men, making the boy frightened.

    “You! What are you doing? Let me go! You bastards!” the boy cursed.

    “Mr. Yi Han, we create martial artists here. The martial artists do not only practice their body and their qi, but they need to have the will to achieve their goals. What you are witnessing is a test of their willingness. If they are not strong enough, they will fail the test. If you want the strength, the power, the money, and the women, you have to take the test as well, with no exceptions. Our teacher doesn’t want lazy, fickle losers. That’s why we need to have this test. Look at that.” He pointed his finger at a boy who was tortured and untied from the cross. He was taken to a cradle, and a white cloth was used to cover him from head to toe.

    “That one was mentally and physically weak,” said the man.

    “Look at the other one over there. Though he’s unconscious, he’s still alive. He has passed the test.” He pointed at another boy who was tortured and untied from the cross as well; the only difference was that he was still breathing.

    “Where will they be taken?” asked Yi Han.

    “They will be taken to a room called the ‘rebirth’ room. The teacher will give them a new life. Do not waste any more of your time.” He ordered the people who were holding onto the boy’s arms to tie the boy to a cross before leaving the room.

    After he was tied to the cross, Yi Han’s time in hell began. He could not remember how much he was tortured before he passed out. When he opened his eyes, he found a middle-aged man dressed as a woman tipping up his chin.

    Back to the present

    “Are you… Are you the teacher?” Yi Han questioned.

    “That’s right, Han Han. You’ve passed my mental and physical tests. You are strong enough to be my student and to receive my power.” Lao Lao picked something up. It was a small purple ball, the size of a bolus.

    “What is it?” asked the boy. Judging by its colour, what the cross-dressing man was holding looked more like poison.

    “This is called medicine for producing qi power. You must swallow it,” Lao Lao briefly explained.

    “Feed it to me, then. I…I want to be strong.” The boy opened his mouth so Lao Lao could easily feed him.

    The thing that shocked both Yi Han and Yi San was that Lao Lao put the medicine into his mouth, followed by a violet liquid from a glass tube.

    Yi Han did not have a chance to swear. His lips were taken by Lao Lao’s. His eyes opened wide when he felt the man’s tongue sweep around exploring his mouth, forcing the medicine and the violet liquid down his throat.

    “Good job, Han Han. Swallow it, just like that, so we can go onto the next step,” said Lao Lao, releasing the boy's lips.

    “Stop talking nonsense. I feel disgusted enough already. You could have just put it into my mouth. You didn’t have to do that.” He was furious. Yi Han would already have punched this transvestite codger if he was not chained.

    “Shhh, Han Han, don’t be mad. I had to stimulate the power of that medicine with my qi,” explained Lao Lao. His mischievous eyes looked like he had just thought of something fun.

    “So…so hurry, do it.” Yi Han tried to conceal his displeasure at Lao Lao stealing a kiss from him earlier.

    “But before we go to the next step, I want something in exchange.” Lao Lao grinned, causing the boy to get goosebumps.

    “W…what do you want in exchange?” the boy asked. He had a bad feeling about this.

    “Your first seed. I want it in return for my power.” Lao Lao beamed, his eyes smiling as well.

    “You queer psycho! Dream on! I would never agree to sleep with you… Ahhh,” he yelled at the man when he realised what Lao Lao wanted. He stopped in the middle of his sentence because he felt his body heat up and his manhood was expanding.

    “It’s about time. Boys, chain him to the bed. Keep him still. Don’t let him disturb the power birthing ceremony,” Lao Lao ordered.

    In a short while, Yi Han’s chains were bound to the bedposts so he could not move. Lao Lao took off his pants and straddled the boy's stomach.

    “Damn you! If I get free of this, I’ll kill you!” Yi Han used all the energy he had left to shout at the man.

    “Hmm, too skinny. No muscles. Also looks like you used to do drugs. But that’s all right. From now on, I will make you stronger, so you can take your revenge.” Lao Lao caressed the boy's body. Yi Han started to feel dizzy, guessing that the violet liquid was surely some aphrodisiac.

    “I don’t really want to do this. I am a man who practices yin power. However, my body suffers torment from yin power every midnight. One night, I found the cure. My favourite pupil knew that I suffered, so he held me all night long. I discovered that his yang power passed into my body. It helped balance the powers, but it only eased my torment a little.” Lao Lao traced his finger from Yi Han’s face down to his chest.

    “My favourite pupil got sick in the morning because he took too much yin power into his body. Still, he continued to hold me in his arms night after night. I didn’t know when I started to fall for him. I asked him to have intimate relations with me, and he agreed. The moment he released himself into me, his yang power was unstoppable and was sucked up into my body. With only yin power in his body, he couldn’t survive. I was heartbroken. But I realised that it helped me to conquer the suffering that I had to go through every night.” Lao Lao clenched his fists, tears streaming down his cheeks. They dripped onto Yi Han’s face.

    ‘What happened? Why does my heart ache? Do I feel sorry for him? What’s that bitter taste in my throat?’ Yi Han did not understand the odd feeling that was forming inside him at all. His body started to react in a strange way.

    “It’s… It’s all right.” Words he had never thought he would say slipped past his lips, causing Lao Lao to stop crying and look at him with an unreadable gaze.

    “Han Qing.” It was as if Lao Lao was under a spell. He rested his head on the boy’s chest, then closed his eyes. He could perceive a familiar feeling.

    Yi Han felt an odd warmth when their bodies touched. The boy thought it was because of the aphrodisiac. He did not have much time for further thought before Lao Lao took Yi Han’s member into his body.

    “Ahh..., d-don’t…please.” Yi Han’s voice grew louder, followed by the sounds of their lovemaking echoing around the room. Yi San fainted instantly after he witnessed the scene before him.

    The young man who had Yi San in detainment stared blankly at the sexual intercourse occurring in front of them. He had had this experience and witnessed it innumerable times.

    ‘Fight it, Senior. You have to do it anyway. Let’s do it the best you can.’ The young man encouraged him.

    Later, Yi Han woke up, he was lying on a bed in another room. He now felt something swirling inside his lower abdomen.

    Yi Han sat up. He felt that his member was stinging all over. He could not remember how many rounds he and Lao Lao had done it. But he felt oddly sad and happy about it.

    “Hmm.” The boy saw a note on the nightstand, so he picked it up to read.

    [Han Han, you were delectable last night. Your moves weren’t bad. If your dad didn’t tell me that it was your first time, I would probably think you have a lot of experience in this field. No, no, no, don’t tear up this paper yet. The feeling of something circling in your lower abdomen when you wake up—that is the qi power. That spot is where your Dantian is. You have a full rest today. Tomorrow, I will send your senior to teach you how to control your qi. Thank you so much for your seed. It was delicious and rich with yang power. From Master Lao Lao.]

    Yi Han crumpled the note and then threw it away. He tried to think about how he had gotten to this point. But forget it. He would use the pain and the anger he had received from this and release it onto Bai Zhe.

    ‘Just you wait, Bai Zhe. Every bit of suffering I have to face, you will suffer too. And as for that transvestite codger, Lao Lao, I swear when I get stronger, I will brutally kill him,’ thought Yi Han.