THIS MASTER'S DISCIPLES COULD BE SO DUMB SOMETIMES

Because Xue Meng and Shi Mei were there when the ancient barrier broke, naturally it made sense to question them.

Chu Wanning was not dumb enough to assume that those two disciples of his were at the right place and at the right time to prevent disaster from befalling the lower cultivation realm.

And so after the two disciples were treated for their shallow wounds, they were summoned to the Platform of Sin and Virtue, where their shizun already waited for them. With his white robe billowing in the wind, Tianwen in his hand, and the stern mask upon his otherwise attractive features, Chu Wanning looked as scary as the King of the Underworld.

"Are you going to speak the truth or must I make you?" he asked them with raised eyebrows as soon as they arrived in front of him.

Xue Meng swallowed hard.

Without further ado, he dropped to his knees and confessed right away.

"Shizun, I am sorry! It was me! I was the one who cracked open a rift in the ancient barrier!"

Chu Wanning sucked in a deep breath. He guessed as much. Shi Mei did not have any weapon he could use to split the barrier. Longcheng's mark on the ancient barrier was quite evident.

Although Xue Meng readily confessed to the deed, it did not make Chu Wanning any happier. Instead, the willow vine in his hand started to glow dangerously.

Xue Meng blubbered, "I just wanted to catch a ghost or two for practice purposes! I only wanted to crack a little hole! I didn't expect the crack to be so big that so many ghosts could go through at once!"

Chu Wanning sucked in a deep breath a second time.

Gods in heaven.

Xue Meng was his very first disciple and he doted on Xue Meng the most. Having known Xue Meng for many years, he knew that Xue Meng was not a bad person. On top of that, Xue Meng was also very dedicated to him. On the other side, Chu Wanning also knew that Xue Meng was arrogant and vain. After five years had passed, it looked that Xue Meng had failed to grow up to his expectations!

"You are one of the people who survived the Heavenly Rift," Chu Wanning said through gritted teeth. "You know better than anyone how many of your shixiongs and shidis died five years ago."

It even claimed the life of his own shizun.

"You should know better than playing with it," Chu Wanning pointed at Xue Meng's face with Tianwen in his hand.

Chu Wanning's tone was dripping with disappointment. Xue Meng was close to tears.

"I... I just want to prove that I am capable... Shizun, I am so sorry..."

Chu Wanning scoffed.

"Sorry because you failed, or sorry because you were arrogant enough to risk the lives of all those in Sisheng Peak for your own foolish, selfish reasons???"

Xue Meng started to wail. Next to him, Shi Mei too dropped to his knees.

"I am sorry, Shizun! I was unable to persuade Young Master Xue. I went with him to mitigate the damage, but I failed. Shizun, please punish me as well."

Chu Wanning's gaze slowly drifted to Shi Mei, his second disciple. Shi Mei swallowed hard when he was at the receiving end of Chu Wanning's burning glare.

"Correct," Chu Wanning said. "You need to be punished as well."

Upon hearing Chu Wanning's words, Xue Meng felt even more guilty. He crawled to Chu Wanning and hugged the latter's legs.

"Shizun, please. Shi Mei did nothing wrong! He did try to persuade me not to do it, but I was too arrogant. I was stupid, I was reckless. Shizun, please don't punish Shi Mei. Just punish me!"

Chu Wanning was so angry that the veins on his temple started popping up. It was already a miracle that he did not suffer from qi deviation when he looked at these two disciples of him.

"Wonderful," he said through gritted teeth. "Great display of brotherhood! If I don't punish the both of you today, you no longer need to call me your Shizun!"

Chu Wanning raised Tianwen above his head, intent on whipping both Xue Meng and Shi Mei with the golden willow vine. Both of the men shrank in fear. They shut their eyes tightly in anticipation of the beating, but the whip never landed on them.

When they opened their eyes, they saw that the golden willow vine was entangled with a similar willow vine that shone in bright, red light.

"Shizun, wait," Mo Ran's voice rang out from behind Chu Wanning.

Mo Ran's appearance did not improve Chu Wanning's mood at all. On contrary, the shizun became even angrier.

"Very good," he said coldly while giving Mo Ran a menacing glare. "Are you also here to plead for them???"

If Mo Ran had faked it somehow, he was nonetheless very convincing. A startled expression appeared on his face as he lifted both hands in a resigned gesture.

"Me? No, I am here to help Shizun."

"..."

"..."

Xue Meng's face turned red, then purple. He looked as if he was close to beating Mo Ran up with Longcheng.

Shi Mei's usually gentle and demure expression changed drastically into a mix of disbelief and rage. He curled his fingers into fists that rested at his sides.

With a placating smile on his lips, Mo Ran came up the stairs of the Platform of Sin and Virtue. When he arrived in front of Chu Wanning, he grabbed his shizun's wrist. The younger man's gentle and yet scalding touch gave Chu Wanning goosebumps for no reason at all.

"Shizun, you need to save up your spiritual power to help Nangong Si. Why are you wasting it to punish these unrepentant disciples?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Chu Wanning was not sure what to think.

If Mo Ran had come to save his shixiongs, Chu Wanning would be upset.

But now that Mo Ran came to "help" him punish his shixiongs, Chu Wanning also felt that that was not the right thing to do. After all, the three of them were his disciples. Should they not have some kind of brotherhood bond that prompted them to protect each other? It was disappointing to see that Mo Ran did not bother to help his shixiongs at all.

But did it also mean that Mo Ran was supposed to defend Xue Meng the way Shi Mei did?

No, of course not...

So did Mo Ran do the right thing, then?

No, of course not...

Chu Wanning was so confused that he did not know what to do.

Besides, this was Mo Ran. This was the shameless disciple who dared to lay hands on him inappropriately so many times. Even now when Mo Ran looked up at Chu Wanning, Chu Wanning could see the beastly desire in his purplish eyes. This beast of a disciple was just waiting for the right time to extend its claws at Chu Wanning and wrap them around him.

And then squeeze the air out of Chu Wanning, suffocating him until he could no longer resist the younger man's wanton intentions.

Chu Wanning could not take it anymore.

"Hmph!!!"

The shizun flicked his sleeves, freeing his hand from Mo Ran's grip. Tianwen disappeared from his hand, he descended the stair, and left the platform in long strides.

"Shi-Shizun?"

Chu Wanning gave no answer. He kept on walking, leaving his three disciples behind. Xue Meng and Shi Mei were still kneeling on the platform, unsure of what to do.

After the tail of Chu Wanning's robe disappeared from sight, Xue Meng rose to his feet. He quickly pounced at his so-called cousin and shidi.

"You dog!" he shouted. "What a backstabbing cousin you are! If you don't intend to help, must you come here to deliver us toward our doom???"

Shi Mei too rose to his feet. He pressed his lips together wordlessly. In front of everyone, he had always maintained the perfect mask of fragile, compassionate beauty. Naturally, despite his grievances, he could not just take off his mask and vent his anger at Mo Ran. Thankfully, Xue Meng was there to voice his displeasure as well.

Mo Ran broke into laughter.

"Hey, if I had come here to defend you two as well, by now Shizun would have whipped us to pulp. Is that what you want?"

"..."

"Well, no, but..."

Xue Meng was confused. When did the dog become smart? Did someone feed him some brain recently?

Seeing that his words made sense to Xue Meng, Mo Ran smirked. He freed his collar from Xue Meng's grip.

"Then, shouldn't you kowtow before me and thank me for my kindness?"

Xue Meng spat on the ground.

"Pfui! Kowtow??? Me??? Thank you??? What if Shizun really ended up whipping me and Shi Mei? Should I thank you for that as well?"

Mo Ran laughed.

"I don't mind," he said casually.

"YOU!!!"

Mo Ran was pretty sure that Chu Wanning would never do that.

Two lifetimes, who knew Chu Wanning better than him? His shizun was fierce as a cat who clawed at his opponents the moment his tail was stepped on, but this big cat was also the one who used his body to shield his little disciples from harm again and again.

It was just that he was also prideful and a righteous cultivator through and through. He did not condone wrongdoings, and he also did not allow anyone to see his soft sides.

Mo Ran smacked Xue Meng's back hard.

"OUCH!"

"Go and punish yourself as you see fit. Bye, now."

Xue Meng's jaw dropped open in disbelief.

"HEY! DOG! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I AM SUPPOSED TO PUNISH MYSELF??? HEY! DOG! DON'T GO! HEYYYY!!!"

But Mo Ran left without looking back.

Now that he was done saving Xue Meng and Shi Mei as a good shidi was supposed to do, he still had to chase after his shizun.