Sha

The thought of interacting with more Pandaren made Nathanos hesitant. He would become the center of attention. He disliked it, both in life and in death.

As soon as he stepped into Old Wu's house, the enthusiastic Pandaren said he would immediately inform the manager of the place—another Pandaren named Yunpu.

Nathanos looked around at Old Wu's house. The kitchen, wine cellar, and bedroom were connected together, a truly strange way of building.

The teacups and teapot on the table felt neither like wood nor glass, but rather like some kind of stone-like substance. The Witherer began to wonder how long it would take him to truly understand the Pandaren.

"He's inside, Elder."

Hearing the sounds outside the door, Nathanos stopped his curiosity and prepared to welcome the people Old Wu brought.

Yunpu pushed open the door and was immediately struck by the pair of red eyes, much to his surprise. He bowed to Nathanos, his attitude far more welcoming than the Witherer had expected. "Welcome, friend from afar."

"No offense intended, Elder." Nathanos heard Old Wu Yunpu that way. "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"No, not only did you not cause us any trouble, you also saved Old Wu. For that alone, the entire Temple of the Jade Serpent should thank you." Yunpu said with a smile. Old Wu was no exception. Compared to Old Wu, Yunpu looked much younger; he didn't have the Old Wu thick beard. That's how Nathanos judged their ages.

"It was nothing, but I didn't expect Old Wu to return to Red Candle Forest again before his injuries had even healed. It was really quite dangerous."

Yunpu gave Old Wu a reproachful look, and the latter smiled awkwardly, choosing to accept the criticism. "Indeed, if it weren't for your help, I really can't imagine how terrible it would have been if there hadn't been wine brewed by Old Wu at the new apprentices' welcome banquet."

It was clearly a joke, and Yunpu and Old Wu both laughed. Nathanos shook his head helplessly, completely unable to comprehend the Pandaren's thought process. They seemed even more easygoing than the Dwarf.

"In short, you are Old Wu's benefactor. May I ask what your purpose is in coming here? Are you here to learn?"

Nathanos instinctively wanted to refuse, because he knew what the apprentices at the Temple of the Jade Serpent did every day; he had taken those martial arts training courses when he was a child. But Yunpu seemed to see through his thoughts, and the Pandaren spoke first, "Perhaps you are not yet familiar with the Temple of the Jade Serpent. Why don't you stay and observe before making a decision? The new apprentice welcome banquet is in a few days, and you can attend with us."

For the Forsaken, food and water are no longer necessities, but the pleasure of eating remains unchanged. They still retain their sense of taste.

"I'm worried that my staying will spoil your party."

"There's no need to worry. On the contrary, many people want to see you." Yunpu carefully examined Nathanos's armor. "But you do look somewhat warlike. Would you like a cleaner, simpler set of clothes? That would help you feel more at ease here."

Removing his armor? Nathanos had never considered it. Not wearing his familiar Ranger gear made him feel unsafe. But this was Pandaria —he reminded himself—and there were no enemies here. Why not give it a try?

"Perhaps I need a basin of hot water."

"No problem." Old Wu nodded. "I'll go prepare right away."

Clean, smooth clothes were quickly presented to him. Steam rose from the comfort of the bathwater. Nathanos felt a pang of annoyance at what he was doing. He was a corpse, every part of his body decaying. If he washed himself with hot water, who knew how much more skin and flesh would peel away? He used to use Nathos's special potions to keep himself clean, but now the Grand Apothecary wasn't around. And yet, he was trying another foolish method.

No Forsaken is willing to face their true self, take off all their clothes, and see how ugly their body is... But sometimes, they have to open their eyes and see, and the longer they hide, the less they understand themselves.

Nathanos was relieved that there was no mirror in Old Wu's room. All his clothes were on the clothesline. His gauntlets and leg warmers lay on the ground. The sensation of skin peeling off as the wind blew against his body made him shiver.

I placed my hand on the bathtub to check the temperature; it felt just right.

Hesitantly, the Witherer slowly dipped his hand into the hot water. A tingling, stinging sensation instantly swept over his entire palm, causing his mouth to tremble. Then, as Nathanos's body sank deeper and deeper into the hot water until his entire body was submerged, he realized he had overestimated his body's tolerance. The pain of being bitten by ants spread throughout every inch of his skin.

He didn't cry out, but endured the pain; the reward of the bath was worth the suffering. For the useless dry skin and the germs festering on his wounds would be gone. Nathanos grimaced as he endured the agony.

Old Wu was tending to the flowers and plants outside his house. A gust of wind blew by, and when he turned around, the Undead, having finished bathing and changed his clothes, was standing in front of him.

"Looks alright, right?" Nathanos asked.

"Of course, this is the Order of the Cloud Serpent's clothing. Temple of the Jade Serpent only has one set."

The Witherer looked at the tiger mark on the belt and nodded. "I like what you call the 'The Order of the Cloud Serpent' style, because this outfit fits me perfectly. The only odd thing is that it's a women's outfit. When I was putting it on just now, I discovered that there were women's underwear underneath."

Old Wu's eyes widened, and he said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, but we Pandaren... especially the men, are just too different in size from you. I think Elder Yunpu had no other choice but to do this, since only the Order of the Cloud Serpent's clothing on Pandaria is gender-neutral."

"It's alright." Nathanos shook his head. "I already said I like it very much. Especially this red scarf, which can cover the scar on my face."

He smiled at Old Wu; he really didn't care.

Over the course of a few days, Old Wu gradually showed Nathanos around the Temple of the Jade Serpent. The Witherer was initially somewhat reserved in the face of others' gazes, but he soon grew used to it. He preferred the Pandaren's Abomination stares. After all, they wouldn't throw rotten eggs and vegetables in his face.

The longer Nathanos stayed, the more he felt he couldn't be idle. Sometimes he would help Old Wu with the daily work in Temple of the Jade Serpent. When the two worked together, the Pandaren would always chatter to him about the past of their race.

Old Wu told him the story of Liu Lang, Pandaren, and his legendary sea turtle. It was said that the turtle grew into an island. At first, Nathanos didn't believe it, but Old Wu said that many people in Pandaria had seen the turtle. Some Pandaren had even climbed onto its back and lived there.

Nathanos could only describe his astonishment upon hearing this.

"Old Wu, can I ask you something?" Nathanos and the Pandaren worked together to pour a bucket of water into the water tank. They had been at Temple of the Jade Serpent for several days, and there was one question he hadn't forgotten.

"Tell me. I will tell you anything I know."

"Thank you. So, what I want to ask is, is there some kind of evil magic hidden within your body?"

"Magic?" Old Wu's ears twitched. "What is magic? I've never heard of it."

"I can't explain it clearly in a short time..." The Witherer shook his head. "Perhaps I should rephrase my question. What I mean is, is there some evil power within you that can interfere with other people's perception?"

Old Wu stared at Nathanos in disbelief. "August Celestials above, why are you suddenly saying this? What did I do wrong?"

"No." The Witherer sighed, carefully recalling his experience in the Red Candle Forest that day. He was about to recount the specific details. "When you were injured and unconscious, I treated your wounds, but an accident occurred during the process. For some reason, a blackish-white substance, like a light liquid, began to emanate from your body. When I touched it, I immediately began to hallucinate, and a negative emotion also arose within me..."

The bucket fell to the ground as if it had lost its balance. Old Wu gasped, his eyes widening like saucers. "Are you serious?"

Nathanos nodded firmly. "I absolutely did not lie."

"So are you alright? No wonder when I returned to Red Candle Forest that day, I found a patch of land that had lost its life. That was... my fault."

"What exactly happened?" Nathanos pressed.

"First, answer me a question: what were the negative emotions you were feeling at that time?"

"It's despair."

Old Wu nodded vigorously after hearing this. "Then that's it. Because my life was threatened, and I couldn't see any hope of escape, I was very anxious and scared. Despair overwhelmed me. The black and white you see is actually the physical manifestation of despair. We Pandaren call it 'Sha'."