THIS MASTER'S PRIDE WAS WOUNDED

When Mo Ran arrived at the Bamboo Pavilion, Chu Wanning was standing in front of a lotus pond with a bowl of steaming medicine in his hands.

"Did Shizun call for me?" Mo Ran asked, his eyes locked on the curious brown liquid.

"Yes."

Chu Wanning held the bowl under Mo Ran's nose.

"This is a rare brew from Guyue'ye. The recipe for the Five Element Core Strengthening Medicine is kept strictly within the sect's private records. You won't get another chance to drink it."

Mo Ran hummed.

Truthfully, when he raided Guyue'ye Sect in his previous life, he managed to get his hands on all kinds of secret recipes. He drank this medicine every day, and even forced Chu Fei to drink some to improve his cultivation.

Unfortunately, it was unable to heal Chu Wanning's broken spiritual core.

That being said, he was pretty sure that the Five Element Core Strengthening Medicine did not have rose-colored wisps of smoke hanging on the surface.

Mo Ran's face darkened within an instant.

Guyue'ye Sect.

Jiang Xi! The wretched man!

Just what kind of potion did he pour into the medicine???

Chu Wanning did not notice the glowering look in Mo Ran's purplish eyes at all. He continued praising the good attributes of the medicine and ending with, "You and I had to deal with a small rift recently. We still need to help Nangong Si recover, so this medicine comes at the right time. Let's split it, you go first."

Chu Wanning pushed the bowl in Mo Ran's direction.

Mo Ran pushed it back.

"..."

"Thank you for Shizun's kindness, but I am not that weak. Shizun should drink it."

"..."

Chu Wanning gaped at his disciple in disbelief.

Refusing his kindness was one thing, but calling him weak on top of it?

Screw Mo Ran! Chu Wanning was not going to care about him anymore!

"Fine!" Chu Wanning said angrily. He grabbed the bowl of medicine to drink it whole, but then he caught something at the tail of his eye.

Mo Ran was pressing against his stomach wound, the one he got after fighting the Yellow River demon. He winced from the pain, his face was even somewhat pale.

Chu Wanning lowered the bowl and set it back on the table.

Mo Ran, this arrogant fool. He clearly needed the medicine the most, but he refused it just because it came from Guyue'ye Sect.

Chu Wanning heaved a sigh. Jiang Xi was a man with his own unique temperament. He might be very interested in making profits, but he was not a bad person. Mo Ran could draw a lot of benefits by tolerating Jiang Xi's presence.

"Don't be stubborn," Chu Wanning said. "Drink the medicine."

"No."

"I said, drink it!"

"I don't want to!"

Chu Wanning was slowly running out of patience. He was not good with words, and he was also reluctant to tell Mo Ran that he was not as robust as he thought.

On the other side, he was very good with his hands.

Tianwen appeared in his palm in a flash of golden light.

"Let's have a duel," he said to his disciple. "The one who loses must drink the medicine. Do we have a deal?"

A shameless grin appeared across Mo Ran's face. Wanning manifested itself in his own palm, burning with bright red fire.

"Deal."

Soon, the pair of shizun and disciple pounced at each other, both holding a willow vine in their hands. The two weapons clashed in the air, sending golden and red sparks around.

Chu Wanning was confident in his skills.

He had been wielding Tianwen for two lives. There was nothing he could not do with Tianwen. The willow vine was an extension of himself.

Mo Ran on the other side had only used his willow vine for five years or so. His movement was awkward and not synchronized with his weapon. Other than "Wind" and "Ten Thousand Coffins", what else could he do with his willow vine???

Clearly nothing.

Chu Wanning scoffed. And yet this arrogant disciple dared to look down at him.

The two men carried their fight to the lotus pond. They stepped off the edge of the pond and then fought each other mid-air, relying solely on their qinggong.

Chu Wanning contemplated pushing Mo Ran to the lotus pond, but then he retracted the idea. He did not want to scare the small animals that inhabited his lotus ponds after all. What if Mo Ran squeezed a frog to death?

Besides, Mo Ran was obviously struggling.

He parried every hit that Chu Wanning dished him, but he had not launched any attacks on his own.

Chu Wanning could do this rally for hours, but could Mo Ran's body even take it? It was time to end this little duel.

He directed Mo Ran to the edge of the pond.

A flick of his hand caused Tianwen to charge at Mo Ran like a vengeful snake. When it hit the target, it would bind itself around the target and subdue it.

A mischievous glint flashed in Mo Ran's eyes when Chu Wanning made the move.

Quick as the light, Mo Ran smacked Tianwen hard at the side and used the same move on Chu Wanning.

Chu Wanning was so shocked.

He managed to change Tianwen's course mid-air and use it to counter the other willow vine's attack, but then he was entirely vulnerable to another attack.

His wretched disciple, Mo Ran, of course, did not let such a golden opportunity slip by. He held his willow vine at an arm's length, forcing Chu Wanning's arm in the same direction.

Then he placed himself behind Chu Wanning and grabbed his other, free arm.

Chu Wanning involuntarily bumped against Mo Ran's body when he struggled, and he regretted it deeply.

The younger man's body was warm, his chest was no different from a plate of steel. The smell of male pheromones invaded Chu Wanning's nose and made his brain go numb.

What was he doing there again?

Why was Mo Ran there?

And why was he pressed against Mo Ran's body?

The disciple's warm breath tickled against Chu Wanning's ear when he spoke in a deep, manly voice, "Give up?"

The two words pulled Chu Wanning back to reality.

You wish!

Tianwen disappeared.

Mo Ran blinked at his own willow vine in stupefaction. It fell limp because there was suddenly nothing else to hold on to.

And because he was confused, he was unprepared for what came next.

Chu Wanning elbowed his insolent disciple using his now free hand. A few moves later, he landed a kick on Mo Ran's chest and sent him to the ground.

The kick was so hard that it drove all the air out of Mo Ran's lungs.

Coughing and wheezing, the man curled up on the ground and gave Chu Wanning a pitiful look.

He wanted to lose anyway, but the way Chu Wanning won the duel was a little dirty. Not that Mo Ran dared to hurl the words at Chu Wanning's face. He didn't want to die yet.

When Chu Wanning saw Mo Ran on the ground, heaving and snapping for air, he felt a pang of guilt.

Between the two of them, he was still the shizun and Mo Ran the disciple. How could he bully Mo Ran so?

"You lost," Chu Wanning said curtly. "You have to drink the entire bowl."

Mo Ran gritted his teeth.

"Alright, Shizun."

Chu Wanning decided to save Mo Ran the little bit of dignity by not pushing the bowl of medicine into his face.

At any rate, Mo Ran should keep his promise and drink the brew. It was for his own good after all.

Mo Ran sat on the ground, pressing a hand against his chest. His beloved was so heartless sometimes. That kick just now probably broke one or two of his ribs. No matter how good Jiang Xi's medicine was, it could not work wonders.

Speaking about the medicine, he should get rid of it quickly before Chu Wanning decided to check up on him.

Mo Ran made sure that Chu Wanning was not around before he seized the bowl of suspicious medicine. He lifted the bowl to his lips, pretending to drink it.

And then, with his back facing the Red Lotus Pavilion, he poured the entire content of the bowl into the lotus pond.

"So sorry, Jiang Xi," Mo Ran sneered as he watched the brown liquor slowly disperse into the water. "You can have all the frogs and fishes in the Red Lotus Pavilion, but the master of this place is mine."

In high spirits, Mo Ran left the place with light, happy steps.