Chapter 16: This Venerable One Is Stunned

>>corpse orgy this chapter and next

Mo Ran really couldn't be blamed for being so beastlike; trapped in a tight space with someone you'd gone to bed with countless times regardless of whether it was heartfelt or feigned, out of revenge or fondness, smelling their familiar scent, anyone else's thoughts would waver too, in a situation like this.

Besides, Mo Ran was a reprobate to start with.

Shi Mei was his moonlight, he didn't have the heart to touch him, couldn't risk ruining him.

But he had no qualms about wrecking Chu Wanning. Toward Chu Wanning, he could vent all of his immoralities, bestial desires, and bone-deep savagery without restraint.

Grind this person into dust, pin him down, tear him apart, run him through, subject him to everything that he would never even think of doing to Shi Mei.

In the past life, every time he'd seen Chu Wanning with his head thrown back, neck bared and the jut at his throat moving, he'd felt like he might lose himself and turn into a bloodthirsty beast, consumed by the desire to rip open his throat, guzzle his blood, crush his bones.

He didn't care for Chu Wanning, and so he held nothing back.

Even his body developed a habit from all the profaning; just the smell of Chu Wanning's scent would light a fire in his abdomen and make his heart itch, make him want to tie this person to the bed and fuck him.

Mo Ran's frenzied heartbeats could be heard in the silence of the coffin.

He knew that Chu Wanning's face was somewhere close, because he could feel his breaths. If he were to lunge forward with a bite now, Chu Wanning wouldn't be able to get away, but…

Nevermind.

Mo Ran shuffled backwards away from Chu Wanning, not without much difficulty because the coffin really was cramped.

"Sorry about that, Shizun." Mo Ran laughed awkwardly. "Didn't expect the coffin to sha——ke!"

As he was speaking, the coffin tilted again. Mo Ran rolled into Chu Wanning's arms once again.

Chu Wanning: "..."

Mo Ran scuffled backwards again, and the coffin lurched again. This repeated over and over.

"Did I get cursed or what." Mo Ran scurried back once more.

The golden boy and jade girl were probably going up a slope. It was too slippery inside the coffin, and Mo Ran rolled helplessly back into Chu Wanning again before long.

"Shizun…" Mo Ran bit his lip, putting on a pitiful air.

This guy was born with endearing looks, he could hide his wolf tail and pull a convincing puppy dog act if he put his mind to it.

Chu Wanning said nothing.

Mo Ran really did not want to get rolled around any more, so he simply gave up on fighting it altogether. "I'm really not doing it on purpose."

Chu Wanning: "..."

Mo Ran continued in a small voice, "The wounds on my back hurt from hitting the wall…"

In the darkness, Chu Wanning seemed to sigh softly. The gongs and drums outside were too loud, and Mo Ran couldn't be sure if he heard right.

But in the next moment, the smell of haitang flowers grew stronger as Chu Wanning placed his hand behind Mo Ran's back to block off the gap so that Mo Ran wouldn't bump into it again.

It wasn't quite a hug—Chu Wanning held his arm at a distance and made sure not to make any contact with Mo Ran's body, other than his clothes draping on Mo Ran—but this position was still a little intimate.

"Be careful, don't hit it again." His voice was deep, like porcelain submerged in a creek, steady and dignified. It would have been a striking voice to listen to, if one listened without a shroud of hatred.

"…Mn."

No one spoke after that.

Mo Ran was still a growing teenager at this moment, not as tall as he would be as an adult. Right now, in Chu Wanning's arms, his forehead only reached Chu Wanning's chin.

This kind of feeling was very familiar, yet also very unfamiliar.

The familiar part was the person lying beside him.

The unfamiliar part was the position they were in.

In the previous lifetime, not so long ago, it had always been him lying in Sisheng Peak's Wushan Palace, a lonesome Taxian-jun with no one left to turn to, in a darkness so endless that he could hardly breathe, clutching Chu Wanning tightly in his arms.

He was already taller than Chu Wanning then, and stronger than his Shizun. His arms were like clamps, like shackles, latching onto the remaining bit of warmth in his arms, as if holding on to the very last ember of fire in this world.

He lowered his head to kiss Chu Wanning's inky black hair, then leaned in close, insatiable, and burrowed his face into the crook of Chu Wanning's neck, ruthlessly biting, gnawing.

"I hate you, Chu Wanning. I really hate you so much."

His voice was a little hoarse.

"But you're all I have left."

Mo Ran was none too gently jolted out of his memories by a series of crashes and bumps. The sound of gongs and drums stopped abruptly, and a deathly silence settled over everything.

"Shizun…"

Chu Wanning reached out and pressed a finger to his lips, cautioning in a low voice, "Don't talk. We're here."

Sure enough, there were no more footsteps outside, only silence.

Chu Wanning's fingertip lit up with a faint golden light. A quick slash on the coffin wall, and a narrow gap was cut open, just enough for them to peek outside.

They had indeed been brought to the outskirts of Butterfly Town. The front of the temple was already densely cluttered with coffins, and the heavy scent of Hundred Butterfly Fragrance in the air grew heavier still, drifting through the opening into the coffin.

Mo Ran suddenly realized that something was off. "Shizun, does it seem like this scent, and the one in the illusory realm too, aren't quite the same as the scent in Chen-gongzi's coffin?"

"…How so?"

Mo Ran had a keen sense of smell. "At the northern mountain before, when the coffin first split open, the scent that drifted out then was pleasant smelling and didn't cause me any discomfort, that one was almost certainly the Hundred Butterfly Fragrance. But ever since we entered the illusory realm, I kept feeling like the smell, although similar, was somewhat different, but couldn't quite put my finger on it, but now… I think I know what it is."

Chu Wanning turned to look at him. "You dislike this smell?"

Mo Ran was still pressed against the opening, peering outside. "Mn. I've hated the smell of incense ever since I was little. The scent here and in the illusory realm aren't Hundred Butterfly Fragrance at all, but the scent of the special incense that the people of Butterfly Town burn for the ghost mistress of ceremonies. Look over there——"

Chu Wanning followed his gaze, and saw three arm-thick incense sticks in the incense burner in front of the temple, their scent diffusing leisurely into the airflow.

The people of Butterfly Town made all kinds of scented products using flowers, and even their incense was locally produced. Since everything was made from the flowers grown around town, the resulting scents were quite similar to people who were unfamiliar with the art.

Chu Wanning pondered. "Could it be that the scent in Chen-gongzi's coffin actually has nothing to do with the one in the illusion?"

Before he could finish mulling over this new detail, his thoughts were interrupted by a piercing red light from within the temple. They both looked in that direction to see the light shining resplendent, illuminating the whole area. A row of red lotus lamps, used for making wishes, sat on a stand by the side of the temple; one by one, they all lit up.

The ghost children escorting the coffins all knelt at once, chanting, "Mistress of Ceremonies descending, pray guide these lonely souls to escape suffering and find mates, joined in burial, partnered in afterlife."

The statue of the ghost mistress of ceremonies inside the temple emitted a holy golden light amidst the thundering chant, then its eyelids lowered, the corners of its lips moved slowly, and it leapt gracefully from the altar.

Graceful movement, poised bearing.

Unfortunately the body, made of clay, was much too heavy, and the young maiden landed with a thud, smashing a huge crater into the ground.

Mo Ran: "Pfft."

Chu Wanning: "..."

The ghost mistress seemed to be aware of it as well. It stared at the crater for quite a while before stepping out with slow, deliberate steps, rearranging its clothing.

Its appearance was that of a maiden draped in rich reds, face painted with makeup and a strand of cypress in its hair, looking quite festive. In the darkness of night, it turned its neck one way then the other, and came to a stop in front of the hundred coffins. The breeze was suffused with the stench of corpse rot; its mood seemed to improve, and it slowly spread out its arms, letting out a "ge, ge" sound of laughter.

"All who believe in me and worship me shall be granted a partner in marriage, fulfilling that which they were denied in life." The delicate voice drifted in the night, and the ghosts and monsters all began to prostrate in gratitude.

"Mistress of Ceremonies bless——"

"Mistress of Ceremonies pray bestow the marriage——"

Such pleas came wave after wave; the ghost mistress seemed delighted as it weaved slowly between the rows of coffins, dragging its long, scarlet-painted nails along them, the shrill sound ear-piercing.

Mo Ran wondered, "Shizun, I remember you mentioning before that monsters, deities, ghosts, gods, demons, and humans each occupied their own realms. Why's this deity hanging out with the ghosts down here instead of living it up in the Ninth Heaven upstairs?"

"Because it is in charge of ghost marriages, and is sustained by the worship of ghosts," Chu Wanning responded. "The ghosts provide it with immense merits, else it would not have cultivated into a deity in a mere few hundred years. With such an advantageous arrangement, it is naturally glad to keep the company of these Underworld 'friends'."

The ghost mistress circled around the cluster of coffins and returned to the front, and the delicate voice rang out once again. "Each coffin to be opened shall be bestowed a marriage. Starting from the left."

Following its command, the first coffin on the left side slowly opened, a pair of golden boy and jade girl bowing respectfully by its side. The corpses inside climbed out unsteadily, their faces looking even more deathly pale against the vibrant red of their wedding garments.

The couple slowly made their way before the ghost mistress and knelt.

The ghost mistress put its hand between them and spoke. "As the Mistress of Ceremonies, I hereby confer thee with a posthumous marriage. Henceforth you are husband and wife, male and female joyous in the joining."

Mo Ran rolled his eyes and muttered, "Don't wax poetic if you don't know how to. These wedding vows sound obscene."

Chu Wanning commented coldly, "You have quite the indecent imagination."

Mo Ran shut up.

But, before long, the ghost mistress promptly demonstrated that, in fact, the indecent one here was not Mo Ran, but this deity in charge of ghost marriages.

It was as if the pair of newlywed corpses had consumed aphrodisiacs; they were clearly already dead, yet they tore at each other's clothing, kissing and hugging in a frenzied tangle right then and there, shamelessly out in the open in front of everyone.

Chu Wanning: "......"

Mo Ran: "......"

"As the Mistress of Ceremonies, I hereby grant thee the joys of the natural order. Yin and Yang may mate, life or death no matter!"

The ghost mistress's shrieking grew increasingly shrill and haughty.

The corpses' movements also grew increasingly exaggerated. The male corpse divested himself of clothing and was ridiculously vigorous, no different from a live person.

Mo Ran was totally stunned. "…You can't just…fucking…do that???"