Chapter 162: Shizun, I’ll Stand with You

About that, Shizun—actually, I've known since Peach Blossom Springs."

 The truth was that he'd known this since his previous lifetime, but

 there was no way he could tell Chu Wanning that. "When I was out on a

 walk, I overheard Mei Hanxue talking about her with someone from Taxue

 Palace." Mo Ran grinned. "Even back then, I trusted the accuracy of Mei

 Hanxue's judgment. And once I was watching her carefully, I became

 certain that Ye Wangxi couldn't be a man."

 "Why?"

 "Hasn't Shizun noticed that her collars are always pulled up very

 high? They cover her whole neck—it's a very unusual style. Most people

 might have one or two robes like that, but I've never seen her without one."

 After some consideration, Chu Wanning said, "I never noticed."

 Mo Ran used his free hand to demonstrate on Chu Wanning: "They

 come up to here, more or less." As he spoke, his fingertips inadvertently

 skimmed Chu Wanning's throat. The slight jut there was fascinatingly

 delicate; he couldn't help but quickly brush over it again. How fierce and

 untamable his shizun was, Mo Ran thought, yet he bared such a vulnerable

 spot to Mo Ran's fingers, let him touch—it was a thrilling feeling.

 Thus diverted, Mo Ran forgot to look where he was headed. The

 sword flew so swiftly that by the time he registered Chu Wanning's "Watch

out!" it was too late. With a loud crash, the sturdy sword sailed straight into

 an enormous tree.

 The only coherent thought in Mo Ran's head was that he must keep a

 tight grip on Chu Wanning's hand. In his anxiety, a quiet "Wanning"

 escaped his lips, but he blurted it so quickly, and the tree split so

 thunderously, that Chu Wanning didn't hear.

 Chu Wanning's head was spinning with rage. Mo Ran called this

 sword-riding? What was wrong with running along rooftops and planting

 his feet on solid ground? But no, Mo Ran had to show off!

 The two of them tumbled heavily to the ground. Mo Ran was first to

 land, his back thudding against the rocky, uneven forest floor. He wasn't

 really injured, though of course it hurt. Yet as he lay there, looking up

 through the branches at a sky full of twinkling stars, he suddenly felt rather

 pleased. Ha—thankfully it had been Chu Wanning who landed on him and

 not the other way around. He couldn't help but grin. Chu Wanning had

 struck his chest hard enough to set his ribs aching, but Mo Ran couldn't

 stop himself. His eyes crinkled, the corners of his lips curled, and his

 cheeks dimpled with deep pools of infatuation.

 Chu Wanning, raising his head to find Mo Ran smiling like a fool,

 was incensed. "What are you laughing for? Did the fall knock your brains

 out?"

 Mo Ran seized the chance to embrace him, holding him tight in his

 arms. It wasn't the right time or place, yet he had an irresistible urge to

 reach up and stroke Chu Wanning's hair. The thought had hardly occurred

 to him before he acted on it.

Chu Wanning was right. The fall had probably knocked his brains

 out. "Shizun…"

 His fingers were light over Chu Wanning's hair. The darkness of the

 night seemed to have handed him a key, opening the box in which his secret

 desires were locked. Mo Ran could no longer contain the intimacy in his

 tone—it flooded through his words like a tidal wave.

 So honey-sweet was Mo Ran's voice that Chu Wanning instantly

 froze, panicking. He scrambled to collect the pieces of his stern dignity.

 "What are you calling me for? Can't even ride a sword without falling—

 very skilled indeed."

 Mo Ran sighed softly. He ran his fingers over those inky locks a final

 time and forced a quiet laugh. "Shizun is right to reprimand me. Could

 I please ask Shizun to get off of me now?" Internally, he was thinking,

 Could you please lie in my arms a little longer? But he obviously couldn't

 say that.

 Face grim, Chu Wanning jumped nimbly to his feet and pulled

 Mo Ran up after him. "Are you all right?" he asked stiffly. "Were you

 hurt?"

 "I'm fine." Mo Ran smiled. "I'm tough as nails—falling's no big

 deal."

 Chu Wanning was about to say more when he noticed a wilted flower

 on Mo Ran's head, probably knocked off a tree in the fall. Chu Wanning

 narrowed his phoenix eyes. "Your head…"

 "Am I hurt?" Mo Ran reached up and felt his own head, but

 everything seemed fine.

"No—you're blooming." Chu Wanning plucked the flower from

 Mo Ran's hair and handed it over expressionlessly. Self-conscious, Mo Ran

 rubbed the back of his head, the gesture full of bashful reticence. His smile

 grew only more brilliant.

 Chu Wanning turned aside and cleared his throat. "If you're fine, let's

 get going."

 "On the sw—"

 "No sword." Chu Wanning turned to nail him with an angry glare.

 "Qinggong!"

 "Qinggong it is then," Mo Ran said with reluctance, and waved his

 hand to return the sword to his qiankun pouch.

 The brush grew increasingly dense deeper into the forest; traveling by

 sword wouldn't have been much faster anyway. Chu Wanning's footwork

 was impeccable—he soared like the wind, skimming the ground as if it

 were water. As the cool breeze bathed Mo Ran's face, the irrepressible

 excitement in his heart calmed some.

 Suddenly, Chu Wanning's voice sounded from up ahead. In a tone

 that implied that he couldn't care less, he asked, "How did you know about

 the mole on Song Qiutong's leg?"

 Mo Ran stared blankly, caught off guard. With a thump, the mighty

 Mo-zongshi once again crashed face-first into a pine tree.

 Giving him a long look, Chu Wanning said, "Do you have night

 blindness?"

 "Nope," Mo Ran groaned. "Sorry, just a little absent-minded today."

Chu Wanning frowned slightly. Then, with a sudden realization, he

 flew into a rage. "Are thoughts of the mole on Song Qiutong's leg so

 distracting? A cultivator must keep his heart pure and free from desire! If

 you're so flustered after one glimpse of a beauty, what's the point of

 cultivating at all?"

 Mo Ran didn't reply. He felt that Chu Wanning was quite correct,

 except he'd identified the wrong subject. The beauty he coveted wasn't

 Song Qiutong, but the fiery-tempered man before him who was roaring like

 an angry snow leopard.

 He sighed and looked tenderly at Chu Wanning. "Shizun, Song

 Qiutong isn't my type. You're overthinking it. I heard about the birthmark

 on her leg from someone at the Xuanyuan Pavilion auction; I've never seen

 it myself. Don't be mad."

 "Why would I be mad?" Chu Wanning paused. "Forget it. Let me ask

 you—if Ye Wangxi is a woman, then why did Song Qiutong's cinnabar

 mark disappear? It can't be a coincidence."

 "You're right about that. Does Shizun remember the bracelet I gave

 Song Qiutong?"

 "Mn."

 "I designed a spell and placed it on that bracelet." Mo Ran hesitated.

 "It took me four days. I didn't do a great job, but as long as Song Qiutong

 wore the bracelet, it would temporarily mask the dot of cinnabar Hanlin the

 Sage left on her wrist."

 Chu Wanning didn't reply, but he looked unhappy. He felt that

 Mo Ran was still hiding something from him.

Mo Ran had changed a great deal during these past five years. And

 somehow, he'd picked up Chu Wanning's own bad habit of meddling in

 others' affairs. But Chu Wanning tended to intervene only when he

 stumbled across injustice, helping people where he could. For Mo Ran to

 pour so much effort into influencing this situation—even inventing a little

 spell to unmask someone's true nature and prevent her from marrying into

 Rufeng Sect—was rather excessive. It made no sense for Mo Ran to have

 gone to such lengths unless there was some deep animosity between him

 and Song Qiutong, or an important connection between him and

 Ye Wangxi.

 Mo Ran sensed Chu Wanning's thoughts from his silence. Trailing

 close behind as they leapt through the air, he said, "Shizun."

 "What?" Chu Wanning replied coolly.

 Mo Ran couldn't talk about the events of his past life, but he also

 didn't want Chu Wanning to worry. After some thought, he decided to share

 half his true feelings with Chu Wanning. "Shizun, Ye Wangxi is a really

 good person. At Xuanyuan Pavilion, she staked everything to save a woman

 she'd never seen until that moment. You know this too."

 "Mn."

 "But Ye Wangxi likes Nangong Si—could you tell?"

 Chu Wanning hesitated, then said, "More or less. I saw that tonight."

 "That's good. I learned of Miss Ye's identity some time ago, so I'd

 long guessed her feelings. Until now, Song Qiutong wasn't aware that

 Ye Wangxi is a woman, so she respected Ye Wangxi and harbored no

 malice. But if Song Qiutong married Nangong Si, Rufeng Sect might no

 longer keep this secret from her. Knowing Song Qiutong's personality, she

would definitely see another woman with feelings for Nangong Si as a

 thorn in her side."

 Mo Ran paused. In his past life, Song Qiutong had sensed what

 passed between himself and Chu Wanning. Overcome with jealousy, she

 had taken advantage of Mo Ran's absence from the palace to extract all ten

 of Chu Wanning's fingernails. What would happen if Ye Wangxi fell into

 the hands of a woman like this? It needn't be said.

 Such acts of cruelty were the kinds of evil deeds Song Qiutong

 committed. Never so heinous as to be noteworthy in themselves—rather,

 they were minor brutalities that allowed her to hide behind someone even

 crueler, waiting until they had finished to prolong her victim's suffering.

 Kindness and evil were similar this way. If the sky fell, the tallest

 person would always take the brunt of the blow. The most benevolent

 person would be crushed to death first—like Chu Xun, cast out by the

 vulnerable citizens he sought to protect. Likewise, the most malevolent

 person would also be the first destroyed—like Taxian-jun, wanted dead by

 all under heaven.

 But if not for these small acts of evil that piled up across the torrents

 of time, if not for countless minor malefactors who cut one scar after

 another into Mo Ran's body, would Taxian-jun—Mo Weiyu—have come to

 be?

 "Aren't you worried that you're asking for trouble, sticking your nose

 in like this?" asked Chu Wanning.

 Mo Ran knew he had shown too much of his hand. But in his past

 life, he had dragged Ye Wangxi into a sea of blood. Even if, in this life, the

 fate of Rufeng Sect had nothing to do with him, he owed Ye Wangxi a debt.

So he had acted without hesitation, even at the cost of crossing boundaries

 and attracting suspicion. He wanted those he had wronged in the previous

 lifetime to live better this time around—not just Chu Wanning, but the

 others as well. He still hoped to atone for his crimes.

 "Of course I'm worried," said Mo Ran. "But since I knew the truth,

 I wanted my conscience to be clear."

 Chu Wanning still felt that Mo Ran had acted too rashly, but he didn't

 pursue the matter further after hearing his answer.

 At that moment, a sickly-sweet smell drifted on the wind, and a

 strong flow of spiritual power materialized in front of them. Before Chu

 Wanning could react, Mo Ran had paled. "This is bad," he said in a low

 voice. "It's the Zhenlong Chess Formation!"

 "It's coming from over there."

 The putrid smell pervaded the night air. Up above, ghosts had started

 to crawl out of the rift in the sky. Ahead, five pillars of light abruptly burst

 from the ground—metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Just like Butterfly Town.

 Gaze locked on those lights, Chu Wanning said, "It's him."

 Mo Ran of course knew whom he meant. Jincheng Lake, Peach

 Blossom Springs, Butterfly Town… Five years had passed since he'd last

 appeared—the mysterious figure pulling the strings, the fake Gouchen!

 Mo Ran was immediately uneasy. This Zhenlong Chess Formation

 was completely different from last time. It wasn't concealed or disguised at

 all…as though the one deploying it saw success within reach, all but

 certain.

 The forest birds startled into flight and scattered in every direction.

 Chu Wanning sped toward the Heavenly Rift, Mo Ran right on his heels. As

they drew near, they could see a stream of assorted fiends pouring from the

 crack in the sky. "The Infinite Hells…" muttered Mo Ran.

 This rift was identical to the one in Butterfly Town five years ago—it

 also went to the Infinite Hells! In a panic, Mo Ran looked over and grabbed

 Chu Wanning's wrist. "Shizun, don't go over there!"

 "Don't be ridiculous."

 Mo Ran knew it was a silly thing to say. But in the course of two

 lifetimes, he had witnessed two Heavenly Rifts to the Infinite Hells, and

 their aftermaths were like a lingering nightmare. How could he not worry,

 now that he was faced with a third?

 But words like don't go over there were less than useless. A person's

 character was a difficult thing to change. A man like Chu Wanning would

 never turn and run from a calamity; even if he were given a thousand

 chances to do so, he would refuse each and every time. Mo Ran looked at

 Chu Wanning and found himself at a loss for words.

 Chu Wanning glanced at him. "Don't worry, I'll be careful." He

 raised his hand and summoned Tianwen. Its golden brilliance lit his slender

 figure as sparks scattered in all directions.

 Mo Ran stared into Chu Wanning's eyes and finally heaved a sigh.

 With a matching flash of dazzling light, Jiangui materialized in his palm. Its

 scarlet glow met Tianwen's warm halo in an interplay of red and gold,

 twinned weapons that had crossed generations to meet, equal in might,

 matchless in power. "Okay, I won't try to dissuade you. Whatever you want

 to do, Shizun, I'll be right beside you."

 The spiritual light of their weapons shone in their eyes, resplendent.

 Fiery red blazed with molten gold, and molten gold was dyed fiery red.

"I'll go with you."

 Chu Wanning studied Mo Ran's dopey expression as he made his

 promise so sincerely. He felt both warm and helpless. Mo Ran's eyes held

 too many emotions, no few of which had long overstepped the affection a

 disciple should feel for his master. Chu Wanning didn't dare ascertain what

 exactly those emotions might be.

 He reached up to prod Mo Ran on the forehead. "There's no reward."

 Mo Ran stared for a moment, then reached up and pulled Chu

 Wanning's hand away. It took everything in him to resist the urge to bring

 that hand to his lips and kiss it. "Mn, so there isn't," he grinned. "Let's go."

 Lit by the red-gold glow of the holy weapons, the pair were like

 immortals passing through the gloom of night. They came quickly to the

 heart of the hunting grounds' dense forest—Ganquan Lake. Chu Wanning

 and Mo Ran stilled their breathing and hid in the tangerine grove to study

 the rift. The spiritual power that nourished the lake had been cut off, and the

 water's surface had frozen over in the bitterly cold night. On each of the

 four shores of the lake an array had been drawn, a shining weapon stuck in

 the middle of each.

 "Four holy weapons of different elements?" Chu Wanning asked

 softly.

 Mo Ran was taken aback by the sight. "So the holy weapon thefts

 over these past five years were related to him…"

 "But he was using human hearts at Butterfly Town. Why switch

 arrays?"

 Mo Ran was about to answer when Chu Wanning touched a finger to

 his lips. "Quiet—look over there."

Mo Ran followed his line of sight. A group of Rufeng Sect's guards

 walked slowly along the lake in the distance, mixed with all the young

 cultivators who had been chosen for the hunt. Spiritual power flowed from

 their chests, merging into a single stream that poured into the holy weapons

 of different attributes. The weapons, fed on these strong, pure energies,

 glowed brighter and brighter, the rays of their light stretching toward the

 heavens. As they watched, the seam in the sky split apart into a massive

 chasm. The portal leading to the Infinite Hells had been ripped wide open.

 Mo Ran's eyes widened. "What are they doing?"

 "These guards are all unconscious and being controlled by the

 Zhenlong Chess Formation." An anxious crease appeared between Chu

 Wanning's brows. His eyes swept over the group on the shore and suddenly

 stopped. The color drained from his face, and he gripped Mo Ran's

 shoulder with trembling fingers, not at all like his usual self.

 "What is it?" Mo Ran turned. After searching a moment, he saw a

 familiar figure walking among the crowd. "Xue Meng?!" he exclaimed in fright.