Thirty minutes after Tok Silihan's demand.
Boss Alan was lying down with only a piece of cloth covering his private parts. His accusing eyes never left Arash's face, as if silently blaming him for his current predicament. When his boss was forced to remove his final garment, Arash graciously turned around to give his boss some privacy. He couldn't leave as he was not only an interpreter to both parties, but he was also an important third-party eyewitness to the whole procedure.
"Oi, Boy! Turn and look."
"Ah, it's okay, Tok. Pity my boss. Please don't treat him this way. I might be sunk in the bottom of the ocean later if I peek."
"Just look!"
Arash shrunk a little at Tok Silihan's reprimand. He turned to have a look after giving an apologetic nod to the observing butler, who was also showing a disturbed look. Boss Alan was side-lying this time. There was a tiny inconspicuous mark at Boss Arash's otherwise flawless muscly back. The mark was on the left shoulder blade. It could be passed as a mole and it looked absolutely normal to Arash's eyes.
"The strongest smell of rotting death came from here."
"...Rotting death, Tok?" Arash could feel goosebumps raising over his limbs. His fingers immediately turned cold. Both Boss Alan and Miles noticed a change in Arash's expression; from being apologetic and filled with embarrassment, to extreme seriousness.
"Is it serious?"
"Of course it is! You don't know half of it! I can smell him from three miles away!" Tok Silihan made a disgusted look as he cringed his nose.
"Tok said it's the strongest smell? Is there any more from other sources?"
"Humphhh! There are tonnes of places, they practically covered his whole body. However, the most troublesome one besides that part is here." Tok Silihan touched the back of Boss Alan's neck. Arash observed the spot, but couldn't see anything. The skin area had no blemishes at all. He decided to use a ballpen to make a mark at the exact area Tok Silihan pointed. He could feel his boss' body tensed up upon Tok Silihan's and the ballpen's touch.
"Here." This time, it was above Boss Alan's belly button. He can't see anything but ripped abs. Feeling at a loss, he could only make a mark while feeling sorry for Alan. It was practically some sort of s3xual harassment.
"Here." He then showed Boss Alan's covered mid-section without lifting it. Arash's hand stopped midway as he sweated, hesitance clouding him.
Arash turned to look at his boss for permission, only to find a trapped raging beast's gaze full of murderous warning.
Nahh, he'd rather not.
"And here." Tok Silihan pointed at the bottom of Boss Alan's right foot.
"These are all important points on a practitioner's body, Boy. Each one had a strong curse placed upon them, different from the others. Normally, all points are connected to achieve harmony with the Heavens and Earth. In this runt's case, the curses are so intricate, as they work together to form a Complex Curse with the function of cutting off his Spiritual Root, and subsequently, his life.
A curse goes through a couple of stages. From being dormant in its embryonic form, to slowly maturing into its final stages which ultimately led to death. Two out of five main curses are approaching their final forms. He had been a walking corpse for years. This old one is amazed someone could still live comfortably with such conditions. He must be feeling pain all the time. He is strong. At body and at heart. What a pity."
Genuine respect shone through Tok Silihan's gaze. Somehow, Boss Alan earned Tok Silihan's approval from this session. One must have extreme willpower to withstand such a heavy burden and pain. The stank of death didn't bother him as much anymore.
Arash understood the gist of it somewhat, but he couldn't comprehend how dangerous it was or how hard to remove them all. With his lack of knowledge about curses, he could only rely on the expert. Looking at how oblivious Alan and his butler were, they might not know about this too.
"Tok, you need to help Boss Alan. Please~ He is so young, so skilled; his future is so bright ahead of him."
"Stop talking about the future. This boy will definitely die in a few years' time once he couldn't cope. He should've died long ago. His Spiritual Root must've been phenomenal to withstand the amalgamation of all the curses. Although it crippled him, it at least preserved his life. For now. Sigh, this old one can't help. The curses had progressed too much."
"Please, Tok. At least try to take a good look and see." Arash tried to persuade Tok Silihan wholeheartedly.
Arash was naturally a compassionate person and easily empathize with others. That was why he was so generous when it came to donating his hard-earned income to people in need. He was also the type of person who would buy unfinished random things from people at the roadside so that the seller could go home early and rest. Sometimes, he knew he was scammed by old peddlers selling their wares, but he didn't lose heart and kept giving. If the items were too many, he would donate them all and bring back one or two.
Besides that, he saw goodness in people first without prejudice. Although to other people, Boss Alan was a ruthless and cold-hearted person; a human who was devoid of emotions, as he laid off hundreds of employees without batting an eyelid. Arash only saw him as highly intelligent and decisive in making tough decisions. Hence, he naturally felt sympathy and sadness for his young boss.
"You don't understand, Boy. A curse is like a disheveled barbed twine tied to a part of a person's body. To remove it, one needs to find and cut it during its dormant period. However, when there are so many twines tangled up together like this, it becomes infinitely problematic. The energy, time, and resources needed! Almost impossible!"
Arash started to visibly turn stressed. Tok Silihan clearly said he couldn't do it. However, it didn't sound definitive, which meant, there must be a small room for negotiation. He needed to find out what Tok Silihan wanted as a bargaining chip. It seemed that cultivation resources weren't enough for the old man. He must have other requests that might be at similar priority with cultivation resources.
Arash massaged his temples in helplessness. He needed to make Tok Silihan at least try. Since he couldn't control the Soul Energy Particles orbiting around him, he had to have body contact with Tok Silihan. He inched closer and started shamelessly flattering the old man, as usual, while letting the tiny pulses do their job. Even Boss Alan and Butler Miles were speechlessly blinking their eyes at the duos' interaction. The grown man was making a childish coaxing look while lightly tapping the cranky Spiritual Healer's back, while the old man was visibly enjoying it! It seemed that Arash is very close with the Tok Batin! This level is considered the golden grandchild(1) level!
Arash whispered conspiratorially while tapping Tok Silihan's back, "Isn't there anything you can do, Tok? You're so powerful, so awesome. Come on, these people are moneybags, you know? Cultivation resources, Tok. Imagine, premium cultivation resources delivered to your doorstep without you needing to break a sweat. You need to try! At least maybe lighten my boss' suffering? Or maybe, remove one or two first. Please? I owe you big, Tok! You can ask me to get you anything from town, I will do my very best to get you whatever you desire! Additionally, I definitely won't make you lose out!"
Tok Silihan sighed deeply while shaking his head until he heard Arash's counteroffer.
"...Anything?"
"Yeah, yeah. Anything! Oh, err, in my power, that is. If you ask for the moon or stars, I won't be able to, of course." Arash quickly added a disclaimer while sweating. If Tok asked for something too expensive, he could always ask Alan to fund it.
"...Can you patch me up with my descendants?"
Arash took a deep breath after he noticed Tok Silihan's gaze. It was a deep gaze filled with hidden sorrow and longing. For once, Arash only saw a lonely old man who longed for his family. Tok Silihan looked vulnerable and yet, expectant. What made Arash feel so nervous was Tok Silihan's trust. To open up and show this side of him to Arash meant that he somehow believed Arash could achieve the feat.
Or was it the work of the naughty little pulses?
"I will do my best. I promise."
Arash answered solemnly to show his seriousness. Whether it was the work of the willful little pulses or not, he was determined to help Tok Silihan. The old man deserved to be happy and to be surrounded by his descendants.
"Alright, this old one believes you, Boy. Tell that ugly, stinky boy to come again with you two weeks later, when you bring your kids over. I will make a list of what they should prepare and bring over. This is just an examination, and they still need to pay! Hmph!"
Tok Silihan walked out of the haya as he glanced at Butler Miles who was observing in real-time over the propped-up smartphone. The gaze was full of animosity and warning.
However, he paused halfway.
"I want the ring on the Boy's left finger for the examination fee."
"Excuse me?" Arash looked at Arash's left finger, but there was no ring.
"That one, in your smartphone."
Arash blanked out for a while. He forgot that Tok Silihan did call Uncle Miles a 'boy' despite his age. "Ohhh, alright, I will inform Butler Miles."
...
"...hence, please pass me your ring, if you don't mind, Uncle Miles." Arash blushed at Tok Silihan's bluntness. The ring in question was somewhat crude but seemed to be made of faded silver. However, it had a large sapphire-like gem as a centerpiece, except that it was more dark-colored and had something like moving sparkles shining within. In short, the gem looked extraordinary and must have cost a lot.
"Sigh..the Tok Batin has good sight." Uncle Miles smiled helplessly as he removed the Mana-gathering ring from his finger and passed it to the oblivious Arash. It was the most expensive, while also the most important article on his person at the moment.
Boss Alan, now fully dressed, was quiet the whole time after he listened to Arash's explanation. He might still be digesting the information. Arash made sure he repeated what Tok Silihan said word by word so that the ring would be worth it.
"I'm so sorry, Uncle Miles. Tok Silihan is actually a nice person, just a little cranky. We should fulfill his request for payment to gain his trust. He already said he would try something for the next treatment session. Please let him try!"
Arash held Uncle Miles' gloved hands firmly to convey his sincere intention to help (while sending over some Soul Energy Particles). He needed to help both Alan and Tok Silihan. It will only happen when both parties gain mutual trust. Hence, the key to gelling both parties was actually Butler Miles.
"Sigh, alright. Rest assured, the information provided by the Tok Batin is indeed, very valuable. It connected some of the missing dots on our side. I will find a Curse Expert on our side too."
"Uncle Miles?"
"Yes, Mr. Arash. How can I help you?"
"Are curses real? Do you believe in Tok Silihan's explanation?"
Butler Miles was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Of course they are real. If you believed in the Tok Batin's power, why couldn't you believe in curses? There are an infinite number of strange techniques, powers, and styles in this world. You just didn't see them with your own eyes. But, rest assured, every one of them existed in some form or another."
Butler Miles answered patiently as he smiled.
Feeling relieved, Arash sighed, "I'm afraid that you guys wouldn't believe him and will accuse him of being a liar. I'm glad. Just to let you know, the treatment sessions will be many and costly. You really have to bear all the costs and materials needed."
"Naturally."
Arash placed his hand over Alan's shoulder, "Are you ok, Alan?"
"Yes, I am. Thank you for your concern, Arash. As the Tok Batin said, I did have lots of enemies. You can't back off." Alan chuckled as he swiped his hair to the back languidly. After the initial silence, Arash couldn't see even a hint of fear in his expression. Only a burning determination. His respect for his young boss increased by a level.
Alan added, "You're already on my boat. I will protect what is precious to you and fulfill my promises as long as you do your part of the deal."
"But of course." Arash grinned back.
"Ting!"
"Good timing! This is Tok Silihan's list of ingredients or items needed for the next treatment. I asked him to list it out, but he gave a voice message through Elder Jaya's smartphone."
They started playing the 1:33 min voice message.
...
...
...
It was a mixture of BM and Bateqs. Tok Silihan raved on about twenty items and neither of them understood what they were. Even Arash didn't recognize a single item. He had never tried to remember the specific names of vegetation or trees. To him, everything is 'trees'. However, he was positively sure he never heard any of the vegetation listed. It sounded so alien!
"Err... I will confirm the list with Elder Jaya and come back to you soon."
...
mrs.mooncat:
- golden grandchild - there's an idiom in malay known as (anak emas) or direct translation, golden child. It means the most doted/favored child in the family, and usually will get the best
