"Wait, wait! If that Elder really has Mr. Arash with him, why won't he allowed us to go and check Mr. Arash's condition?" Rob was still very unsatisfied with Tanahan's order to pull back. To him, who could be better than the resident doctor in the village issued by the government? At least the doctor would be a better candidate to check on Mr. Arash rather than the old man.

 

Tanahan kept on walking in silence at a rapid pace. After leaving the small hill, did he only dared to open his mouth and whispered lightly.

 

"That is the most mysterious Elder of our tribe, Tok Batin Silihan¹‘Tok Batin’ is a title which means ‘village head’, while ‘Silihan’ is the gramp’s name. Silihan stems from ‘Silih’, which means ‘change’ or ‘change after change’ or ‘alternate’ as in alternate between this and that.. We rarely saw him as he only appeared a couple of times within 30 years. Mr. Robbie, be more mindful when speaking with him. He is the oldest and strongest shaman in our tribe, even older than the current managing Elder. As long as I lived, I've never seen a person disrespected him, even among the older generation that seemed to be similar in age with him. I heard that he knew our Way²yes, this is the Way from the Daoist cannon, the Dao. the best, and is very moody and capricious by nature. He especially disliked outsiders. I've personally seen him killed a mature tiger with his bare hands. I don't know what he could do if we pissed him off the wrong way."

 

"Seriously?! A tiger?!"

 

"Seriously." Tanahan nodded solemnly. He truly needed to warn his benefactor from crossing the mysterious elder.

 

"Then, who's Pak Jaya? I thought he's the village head?" Dread intermingled with confusion clouded Rob's mind.

 

"Tok Batin Silihan is actually the de-facto leader chosen by the people, but he rejected since he hated mundane things. At the very beginning, our tribe didn't encourage the appointment of a leader as we used to discuss everything together in our small community. But the government insisted so that they could find a liaison to channel some efforts into the community. We had no choice but to delegate the tasks to our representatives. Pak Jaya is one of the Elders in charge of managing foreign affairs since he had seen more of the world than the rest of us."

 

"Anyway, it is a boon for you and Mr. Arash. The Esteemed Elder has said that he will treat Mr. Arash; hence, you don't need to worry anymore. We took pride in our promises, especially someone as exalted as the Esteemed Elder. He is our best spiritual healer. Usually, it was tough to ask help from him as he was the kind that won't be moved by material gains and was truly affected by his whims. Sometimes, he won't treat others just because he had a runny nose in the morning and felt annoyed with everything. Sometimes, it was because he slept the wrong way and hurt his neck. Sometimes he just didn’t feel like seeing your face that morning T.T " Tanahan explained further with an aggrieved look.

 

That is so unreliable!! Rob's eyes became as big as two boiled eggs.

 

Random expletives threatened to spill from Rob's mouth as he remained unconvinced by the elusive Elder's medical prowess. However, with great difficulty, he collected himself and gave a weak nod. Rob reluctantly followed Tanahan with heavy steps while looking back a few times. Rob sighed and can only hope for the best for Mr. Arash as they returned to the village.

 

Tanahan could clearly see his benefactor's unconcealed unwillingness, but he too, had no other choice. He was indeed concerned for both outsiders, the injured Arash and his benefactor, Mr. Robbie, but did not want to enrage the mysterious elder. He had seen someone somersaulted 360-degrees for three rounds after being lightly slapped and was hanged upside down on a tree for two whole days for being insolent with this particular Elder when he was small. Even the other Elders couldn't reason with him for the offending person's behalf. That incident had nearly become a mental demon for him, as his legs automatically felt soft every time he saw the Elder in question. He had not told the whole truth to Rob as he was afraid that it would produce an opposite effect, where Rob would force his way to save Arash with a do-or-die attitude.

 

"Should I report the grandpa... How dare he killed an endangered species... The tiger population had dwindled to less than 300.." Tanahan sweated as he heard Rob muttered under his breath. This guy was really seeking death!

 

...

 

"Mysterious Elder, you're so handsome and strong with a benevolent heart. I can't thank you enough for saving me. Can you tell me how long it will take for me to be able to go to the nearby village?"

 

Yes, spending more than ten years with Hana had made Arash's practiced tongue oh so sweet; it was practically oozing honey. He found that his childish, yet stubborn wife could be easily persuaded with a few flatteries interlaced with comforting sweet words. And now, Arash had no choice but to use his arsenal to conquer this tsundere-like grandpa. He knew, although this grandpa seemed to act tough, he must be warm inside. If not, he wouldn't have wasted his time helping Arash from his predicament.

 

After he found that the elder's face had turned dark from his previous question, Arash immediately knew he had said something wrong, although, for the love of God, he didn't know which part ticked the elder off so bad. The elder had walked to him with a menacing look and stared at him a moment too long.

 

Arash was given a fright and was sweating hard inside!

 

The elder than suddenly shot out his hand and grabbed the walking stick. He pulled it off the ground and turned back while muttering something unhappily under his breath.

 

Once the walking stick was pulled from the ground, Arash felt his whole body was bombarded with cold chilly air! He was practically half-naked and the cold air with faint water drizzle quickly made him drenched all over.

 

Arash was speechless.

 

He couldn't understand what happened, but he knew he might have offended the elder, and the elder did something to stop protecting the space from the elements. This grandpa was truly mysterious! He must be an elusive expert of some sort like in the web novels!

 

Hence, he quickly followed up with the next set of questions, interlaced with a few flatteries in between to appease the elder. His body temperature started to drop again and he felt like his consciousness had begun to flicker. He needed to coax the grumpy elder fast!

 

...

 

Currently, Tok Batin Silihan was sulking inside.

 

The expected thanks and praises due weren't given by this disrespectful wretch. But at least, his tongue was not that bad.

 

Let the boy shiver a moment longer! Ungrateful! He had spent his precious spiritual energy to protect the boy from the harsh environment and predators, and this was how this poor old man had been treated?! Not even a proper thanks?! (Mr. Mooncat: Gramps, he already said a few times..pity him laa..)

 

Tok Batin Silihan had filtered out Arash's previous words of gratitude and only focused on the term 'mobile reception.' Hearing anything about technology ticked him badly as it was the source of rampant negligence in the younger generation in his tribe. Granted, technology had helped them in a lot of ways, but at the same time, it made these young ones lost their precious ‘Way’ and indulged into outside entertainment of the world even when they were within this forest! And these outsiders were the source of evil who brings in all the technological goods! As such, he disliked all outsiders to the bone as he believed that these city-dwellers were not just the source of trouble; they were also the source of 'distraction' for his people.

 

He had not seen another achieving the required level of resonance with the spirit of the forest even after waiting for more than eighty years! Additionally, not even one appeared to have a spirit root within. These two were the most fundamental prerequisites to learn about spiritual healing! Tok Batin Silihan had gotten very restless, as he knew he needed to train the next generation of spirit healers to replace him so that the Way was not lost, but at this rate, he might be the last of the spiritual healer of his own Bateq tribe! This had made him erratic and in a foul mood all the time, especially when he saw all the gadgets in the younger generations’ grasp.

 

The last time he flew up in a rage was when he asked a young man who was listening to a hand-held battery-powered radio with a set of earphones to shut it down and practice, but was squarely ignored. He deserved the two-day upside down hanging, humph!!

 

"Mysterious Elder, I apologize for offending you in some way. It was truly unintentional." Arash's shaky voice made Tok Batin Silihan returned to his senses after going down memory lane. Looking at the pitiful chap, he sighed and throw the walking stick again a few meters away.

 

The walking cane stayed erect on the wet forest floor, and after a few moments, to Arash's astonishment, he finally noticed that a concave of something transparent slowly appeared and seemed to block the incoming air and the slight drizzle. The old man walked away while huffing and puffing unhappily.

 

"Two hours. I'll check you back after two hours. We'll proceed to the next round of treatment, and you can happily waltz back to the village on your own by tonight." He finally answered begrudgingly.

 

Arash nodded gratefully. "Thank you so much, Mysterious Elder. Do you need anything in return? I'll definitely compensate you well later."

 

"Stop the nonsense and shut your trap! I don’t need anything from outsiders like you. I'm going out to find something to eat!"

 

Arash quickly zipped his mouth so that he won't continue pissing off this capricious elder. He still didn't understand why this gramps was so angry with every little thing like his wife while having PMS. However, he still needed to thicken his face to ask the old man to send him to the village as he didn't want to get lost yet again. It was a truly nightmarish experience for him. Once bitten, twice shy.

 

...

 

As the old man was long gone, Arash was staring absentmindedly at the surrounding area while waiting. Strangely, the hospital-scented poultices spread everywhere on his injured body parts seemed to be working. The pain had lessened a lot. Arash could finally move his body and both of his legs slightly after some time. He knew it hadn't been long at all. But the effect of the poultice was really fast! Even better than the standard medication.

 

What a miraculous herbal remedy!

 

He tried to sit up as gently as he could to properly checked the surrounding. Pain coursed through his injured knee like a blunt knife repeatedly jabbing at the same spot. The thick wet poultice smeared on the injured knee area fell down to the ground with a plop, revealing a much better-looking bruise.

 

"Oh, no!" Arash slapped his own head. Ops.. will the old gramps gets angry after this?

 

Arash tried to salvage the situation by bending down and scooping the herbal mash with his two hands and plopped it back on his knee. However, this time, the paste was mixed with rotten leaves and soil. ಠ , ಥ

 

How-lahhh, how.. Aiyooo..Will I get scolded yet again? Has I gotten the clumsy sickness from Hana T__T

 

Most importantly, will Arash be able to appease the elder so that he won't be hanged upside down from a tree?

 

See you next time in the next episode of Drag… Opss, I mean in next episode of ASTHW :P

 

…

Authors’ Note:

1. Tok Batin Silihan = ‘Tok Batin’ is a title which means ‘village head’, while ‘Silihan’ is the gramp’s name. Silihan stems from ‘Silih’, which means ‘change’ or ‘change after change’ or ‘alternate’ as in alternate between this and that.
2. The Way = yes, this is the Way from the Daoist cannon, the Dao.