SHIZUN, AM I NOT HANDSOME?

Having spent years watching Mo Ran grow from a coreless beginner to a mighty cultivator who dubbed himself as Taxian-Jun, the first Emperor of the cultivation world, Chu Wanning knew Mo Ran very well.

Not to mention that Taxian-Jun kept him captive for eight years long until he died.

Chu Wanning knew what Taxian-Jun looked like and sounded like. The Mo Ran who stood behind Xue Zhengyong and greeted him solemnly with a deep, husky voice was definitely not the Taxian-Jun he knew. It was a completely different person.

And he was tall.

Too tall.

Chu Wanning stared at Mo Ran for a long time. Mo Ran felt more and more uneasy with every passing second. He stole a glance at Xue Meng, who was no longer hugging Chu Wanning but held his hand between his two palms.

Did Chu Wanning find out?

Was Chu Wanning going to punish him on the first day of his revival?

Xue Zhengyong looked at Chu Wanning and Mo Ran back and forth. The atmosphere felt rather tense for a reunion between a shizun and disciple. It was almost as if sparks flew between them. Not the good kind.

And then the lovable Sect Leader Xue came up with an explanation. Of course, he thought.

"Aiyah, Yuheng. Are you surprised to see what Mo Ran grew up to be? Honestly, I know that good looks run in my family but I never thought that one day my nephew would be so handsome, HAHAHAHA!"

Xue Meng scoffed. "More handsome than me, Dad?"

Xue Zhengyong clicked with his tongue and smacked Xue Meng with his fan lightly. "Aiyah. Who is more handsome than our Meng-er? You two are equally handsome. Equally handsome! Right, Yuheng???"

Chu Wanning lowered his eyelashes and replied with a soft "En".

Mo Ran felt his face growing hot. Thankfully his tanned complexion prevented the blush from showing on his cheeks. The man gathered all his courage to take a good look at his Shizun.

Chu Wanning was still as thin as he remembered, but he was now shorter. Correction, it was Mo Ran who had grown taller than Chu Wanning. He once had to tilt his head up to look at his shizun. Now it was the other way around.

"Alright. You two should not bother your shizun today. He just woke up. He must be tired. Go, go away and don't disturb him," Xue Zhengyong said while shooing the two disciples out.

"But... But Dad..."

"No buts."

Mo Ran opened his mouth to ask for some more time with his shizun, but nothing came out. He longed for some time alone with Chu Wanning, but at the same time, he was terrified about the prospect.

"Meng-er, let your shizun rest. If you have so much time on your hands, why don't you go pick up some history books from Wuchang town for your shizun to read? Yuheng would love to catch up on the latest updates."

"Ran-er, don't you have to attend to your guests? Ye Wangxi and Elder Xu Shuanglin, if I am not mistaken?"

"Yes, Uncle," Mo Ran answered.

Xue Meng on the other side was baffled. "Ye Wangxi??? You brought a Ye Wangxi back home? I thought you were taking care of the demon at Yellow River!"

"I did," Mo Ran said. "Ye Wangxi and Xu Shuanglin just happened to be there to help. They got injured because of helping me."

Xue Meng narrowed his eyes at Mo Ran suspiciously.

"Mo Ran, I need to talk to you." Chu Wanning's icy voice rang out. Mo Ran's blood almost froze in his veins.

"Oh well, if Yuheng wants to talk to you then you can stay but not for long, hm?" Xue Zhengyong patted Mo Ran's shoulder gently before leaving with a reluctant Xue Meng.

The door closed with a thud, leaving Mo Ran and Chu Wanning alone in the Red Lotus Pavilion. The dread in Mo Ran's heart grew like thorny vines, stabbing into his organs and drawing blood incessantly.

"So," Chu Wanning said coolly. "Five years have passed."

"Yes, Shizun."

"Have you kept your promises to me?"

Mo Ran swallowed.

"This disciple is still maintaining a good relationship with Shi Mei."

Chu Wanning closed his eyes momentarily and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Now that you have Shi Mingjing in your life, I hope you will no longer pursue the crooked path of cultivation."

Mo Ran shook his head fervently. "No, of course not."

"Good," Chu Wanning said. He knew it. Shi Mei was the key to prevent Mo Ran from going wayward. At least that was a done deal. He could relax a little more...

"But Shizun is wrong. My relationship with Shi Mei is not that of a romantic kind."

Chu Wanning was so shocked that he did not know what to say. He merely glared at Mo Ran.

"This... This disciple is in love with someone else."

That sentence made Chu Wanning snap.

"Mo Ran, you...!!!"

Mo Ran flinched as Chu Wanning swept a bunch of folded clothes and caused them to fall from a nearby counter. A distinct clinking sound made them both look at the items that were scattered on the floor. Nestled among the white clothes was a single necklace with an exquisite red stone pendant.

Chu Wanning bent down wordlessly and picked the necklace from the floor. Mo Ran's lips trembled when he saw it. It was that necklace!

Chu Wanning frowned while looking at the necklace. He did not wear any kind of accessories other than maybe hair ornaments. Where did the necklace come from?

Chu Wanning held it in his hand and looked at Mo Ran. He wanted to ask Mo Ran about this newfound love of his, but Xue Meng chose that moment to burst into the room again with a huge bag in his hand.

"SHIZUN!"

"..."

"..."

Xue Meng looked at the scattered clothes between Chu Wanning and Mo Ran. He then pointed at Mo Ran and exclaimed triumphantly. "I knew it! You are bothering Shizun!"

Mo Ran, "..."

Xue Meng pushed Mo Ran aside and showed Chu Wanning the bag that he dragged behind him. It contained around fifty books that he had bought from Wuchang Town in a haste to go back as soon as possible.

"Shizun, look, I bought you all the history books that they published within these five years. You will catch up in a day!"

Chu Wanning's mood softened. He wanted to pat Xue Meng's head but the latter was no longer a fifteen-year-old boy, so he ended up patting his shoulder instead.

"Silly boy, I cannot finish all these books in one night."

"Of course! Shizun can finish one book every twenty minutes!"

"..."

Xue Meng's trust in Chu Wanning's ability had no limit.

Chu Wanning took a book and started casually flipping through it.

Xue Meng was more than happy to comment on the book. He excitedly explained, "Shizun, this book tells about the latest news in the Upper Cultivation World..."

Mo Ran rubbed at his forehead. He pulled at Xue Meng's collar to stop him before the latter proceeded to give Chu Wanning a lecture.

"Mengmeng, Shizun is tired. Let's go."

"You dog! Let go of me!"

Chu Wanning closed the book and the necklace in his hand gave a beautiful clinking sound. Xue Meng was instantly drawn to the exquisite necklace.

"Shizun, what is that?"

"I don't know," Chu Wanning answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Can I take a look? Oh, it is so pretty..." Xue Meng took the necklace from Chu Wanning's hand and looked at the red stone adoringly. The red stone glowed brighter when Xue Meng rubbed at it.

Unconsciously, Mo Ran reached out, wanting to take the necklace out of Xue Meng's hand and return it to Chu Wanning. His hand froze in the air when he heard what Chu Wanning said next.

"Do you like it? Take it."

"Really?? Thank you, Shizun!!!" Xue Meng was beyond ecstatic.

"NO!" Mo Ran shouted, causing the two other people to look at him in confusion.

"Why are you so loud?" Xue Meng asked. "Oh, I know, you also want the necklace. Too bad, Shizun already gave it to me."

Xue Meng stuck his tongue out at his dark-faced cousin.

Mo Ran clenched his fists. He was burning with rage.

The necklace was his present for Chu Wanning! How could Chu Wanning just... How could Xue Meng shamelessly ask for it???

Chu Wanning felt a wave of headache coming.

"Leave, both of you," he said. " I need to rest for a while."

After both Mo Ran and Xue Meng left, Chu Wanning lay on his bed and fell asleep almost instantly.