Chapter 118: Shizun Sometimes Falls For Tricks Too

Mo Ran had a shadow.

He… wasn't dead?

A medley of details flashed through Rong Jiu's mind. The shock would've sent a chill through him followed by a rush of hot blood to his head to scramble his thoughts into utter disarray, if he wasn't already dead.

Rong Jiu stood there frozen in place for a while. How a person reacted to major happenings often had to do with their usual circumstances—for instance,

some people were habitually jumpy from past experiences, and would get scared stiff at the first sign of something unexpected, and then there were people like the darling of the heavens Xue Meng, self-possessed and unruffled,

unfazed by just about everything.

As for someone like Rong Jiu, who had lived in the mud all his life and suffered all kinds of hardships, his first thought in the face of an unexpected turn of events was——does it pose a threat to him, and if not, then how to benefit from it.

He quickly realized that Mo Ran was a living person who had snuck into the Underworld, and that he himself stood to gain much from this knowledge.

All he had to do was expose Mo Ran, and he would've done the Underworld a great service. That would surely land him in some kind of official position, and then he'd be able to strut about with his chest puffed out. So what if he had sold his body in life? If he could just seize this opportunity, he could go up in the world in death, as men ought to.

It was practically handed to him on a silver platter.

Why bother with reincarnation then? This would offer him a comfortable life right away, a complete turn-around, allowing him to erase all past disgrace and start over anew.

Peach blossom eyes narrowed subtly, something flickering within. Rong Jiu could already see himself being bestowed positions of import and titles of nobility, could see himself sitting behind draping silks on a bamboo sedan chair like those officials of the Underworld, a picture of composure as he was carried through a gathering of ghosts..

Rong Jiu felt more relieved the more he thought about it, but there was a problem—he was weak and delicate, there was no way he was going to be able to sneak off from right under Mo Ran's nose to go tell on him. He had to figure out some way to keep Mo Ran occupied...

As the gears in his head turned, his gaze landed on the red-robed Chu Wanning.

"Chu-xianjun." Rong Jiu greeted as he took a seat next to Chu Wanning with his cheek propped in hand.

But Chu Wanning only continued probing at the barrier without so much as a sound of acknowledgement, so cold there was practically a layer of frost on his closed eyelashes.

"Still nothing?" Rong Jiu tried.

A few moments passed. Chu Wanning still did not reply, but also did not chase him away, so Rong Jiu sat there and chattered absently about this and that, as if to himself, and then muttered in a soft voice, "Chu-xianjun, to tell you the truth, I wasn't completely honest with you earlier. There's something… I was afraid that you'd look down on me if you knew, that you wouldn't pity me and take me with you anymore."   Chu Wanning's pitch black brows were tightly furrowed, and though he had yet to speak, there was a flame of anger there, burning between his brows—it was just that he was still holding it down, restraining himself from letting it out.

But how could Rong Jiu possibly miss its flickering light?

Rong Jiu said in his soft, delicate voice, "I was thinking about it just now,

while I was outside, and I feel really terrible about lying to xianjun, so I wanted to come say sorry…" As luck would have it, his opener just so happened to match Mo Ran's, both of them wanting to say "sorry".

Chu Wanning wasn't even that repulsed at first, but when those words left Rong Jiu's lips, he finally, slowly opened his eyes, and, without looking at Rong Jiu, asked in a frosty tone, "Which brothel did you work at when you were alive." Rong Jiu was caught off guard, "Xianjun… already knew?" He unconsciously stole a glance toward Mo Ran and swore to himself; that guy actually came clean on his own instead of trying to keep it from Chu Wanning… would it be enough for him to fan the flames like this?

"Mo-xianjun and I…" Chu Wanning cut him off before he could even finish. "I said, which brothel did you work at when you were alive."   Rong Jiu bit his lip. "The Immortal Peach Pavilion in Black Bamboo Town."   "Hm, Immortal Peach Pavilion," Chu Wanning repeated it back with a wry tug of his lips before falling silent again, a terrifying expression on his face.

Rong Jiu snuck several glances at him, pursed his lips, and tried tentatively,

"Chu-xianjun, you wouldn't look down on me, would you?"

Chu Wanning: "..."

"I lived a hard life and had a feeble body, and got sold to the brothel at a young age. If only I had a choice, of course I would've wanted to be a demonslaying hero like xianjun too," Rong Jiu said with a sigh, muttering wistfully. "It'd be wonderful if, in my next life, I could become someone outstanding like xianjun too."   "Reincarnation won't change the nature of a soul," Chu Wanning said impassively. "Condolences, but you and I belong to different walks of life."   Having been shut down like this, Rong Jiu's smile didn't even falter as he said, "I know I could never compare with xianjun, it was only a wishful thought.

For people like us, if we don't give ourselves something to hope for, a dream to cling to, we wouldn't last a year in the brothels before thinking about how to end it all."   When Chu Wanning didn't respond, Rong Jiu glanced toward Mo Ran out of the corner of his eye, checking to make sure that he couldn't hear their little chat before continuing with a soft sigh, "After all, the guests at the brothel were usually cruel and callous, and hardly even saw us as human. In that place, being visited by a kindly guest like Mo-xianjun was something to be envied." Chu Wanning remained silent, but the veins stood out on the back of his hand that was pressed against the wall. If he had his powers right now, there would probably be five holes in that wall already.

A moment passed during which he tried and failed to hold it back. Finally, he uttered in a dark, low voice, "What is there to be envious of." A thread of affection appeared on Rong Jiu's gentle, lovely face—not too much and not too little, just the right amount.

"Because Mo-xianjun is a good person, of course. Although he acted up and stole from me in the end, it was probably because I didn't serve him well enough in the past. He always used to be such a reasonable, charming person before."   Chu Wanning's face was cold and impassive as he listened without a word.

"Everyone who's ever served him at my place talked about how good and kind he was, and lots of us were always hoping for him to come back." "...Did he go often?" Rong Jiu feigned a dry laugh, "How often is often? I'm not quite sure how to answer xianjun's question." "Then tell me how regularly he went, whom he asked for, and when his last visit was." Those thin lips were like a pair of knives, and each question glinted with a cold, dangerous light like they were out for Mo Ran's life.

Rong Jiu pretended not to notice the frosty light in Chu Wanning's eyes,

embellishing and exacerbating as he answered, "I didn't really keep track of how regularly he went, but I always saw him around for at least ten of the thirty days each month, if not more. As for whom he asked for… it varied. Sigh, Chuxianjun, it's all in the past already, so don't blame him anymore…" "I asked when his last visit was." Chu Wanning's face was practically a thick layer of ice. "Answer the question."   In actuality, Mo Ran had never gone back to see Rong Jiu again after that day he'd been reborn, nor had he gone to any other brothel after that.

But, looking at Chu Wanning's expression, Rong Jiu knew he couldn't speak the truth, so he feigned uncertainty and fanned the flames some more. "I'm… not sure about that, but I do remember seeing Mo-xianjun in the brothel now and again, up to when I died… so probably around then?" He had barely finished speaking when Chu Wanning stood up abruptly, hand pulling back from the wall, wide sleeve falling over slender fingers.

In the hazy darkness, sparks blazed in his eyes as his entire body trembled minutely.

Rong Jiu was secretly delighted, thinking this guileless xianjun really was easy to fool. He was a prostitute, a veteran in the arena of love affairs, an expert at reading other people's feelings. Baiting someone all virtuous and upright like Chu Wanning was a piece of cake for him, hook, line, and sinker.

Rong Jiu pulled out the nervous expression he already had prepared as he said in a hurry, "Chu-xianjun, what is it, did I say something wrong? I-it's all misdeeds of a previous lifetime now, so please don't blame Mo-xianjun anymore… he… he's not a bad person…" "Like I need you to tell me if he's a bad person or not!" Chu Wanning snapped, so angry he was shaking. "And what business of yours is it if I want to teach my own disciple a lesson?!" "Chu-xianjun…"   Chu Wanning completely ignored him. There was a chill coming off his gaze,

even as sparks flew off the rage blazing in his eyes. He shoved Rong Jiu aside from where he was trying to block his way and strode over to the door of the storehouse, grabbed Mo Ran by the back of his collar, and yanked him to his feet.

Mo Ran looked back, startled. "Shizun?"   Chu Wanning pulled his hand back, as if even the collar of his robes was too filthy to touch. He stared Mo Ran down like a cheetah on the hunt, growling lowly and just about to pounce, but he was much too angry to speak, even after a long moment had passed.

What even was there to say anymore?

If Mo Ran hadn't realized his wrongs even after being reprimanded on the Platform of Sin and Virtue, if he had already apologized and had been acting like a decent human being in front of himself all this time…

But was actually still sneaking around to this Peach-Parting Pavilion and that Cutsleeve Lodge to fool around with prostitutes?!

Mo Ran had no idea he had been slandered; all he saw was the darkness on Chu Wanning's face, his expression a mixture of anger and revulsion, and—he wasn't sure if he was seeing things—a layer of stifled sadness.

"Mo Weiyu, just how much of your words in the past were true, and how many were lies?" Chu Wanning's voice was hoarse and his eyelashes quivered. A while passed, then he said in a low voice.

"...You...really are deficient by nature, beyond remedy…!"   Those words were like a boulder crashing into the ocean, sweeping up a massive wave in its wake.

Mo Ran jolted violently. He took two steps back, shaking his head as he stared at him at a loss.

It couldn't be…

It couldn't be…

Those were the words that Chu Wanning had only spoken to him in the past life when he'd lost all hope in him.

Why would he say it now? Wasn't everything going fine?

Mo Ran flew into a panic, not knowing what had happened. He was about to speak when Chu Wanning cut him off, the rims of his eyes reddening as anger blazed in his gaze like a wildfire.

He said, voice raw, "Just how much longer are you going to lie to me?!" Mo Ran's mind was utter chaos.

What lie? What had Chu Wanning found out?

He had too many dirty, unspeakable secrets. Thus, faced with Chu Wanning's terrifying glare, he didn't even think to suspect that it was because Rong Jiu had done something. Chu Wanning stepped closer, Mo Weiyu backed off. Kept backing off until his back hit the wall.

Chu Wanning came to a stop. A few moments passed in silence as he stared at Mo Ran's face. Mo Ran heard a tightness in his Shizun's voice, like he was choking back a sob.

"What do you even want me to go back for? For you to keep lying to me,

angering me, leading me around by the nose? ...I thought you had turned over a new leaf, Mo Ran——I thought you were worth teaching, that you had changed for the better! I thought I could teach you to be good…"   He closed his eyes slowly, and a moment later, spoke in a quiet voice.

"Incorrigible."   "Shizun——" "Get lost." "..." "Which part of get lost do you not understand?!" Chu Wanning's eyes flew open, his gaze frosty. "Mo Weiyu, you disappoint me. How do you expect me to pretend like I don't know anything, to go back to the world of the living with you?" Mo Ran's entire heart clenched. Heedless of his anger, he grabbed Chu Wanning's wrist within his billowing sleeve and shook his head, begging with teary, reddening eyes, "Shizun, please don't be angry, tell me what happened,

okay? Whatever I did wrong again, I'll change, okay? Just please don't chase me off…" Change… that's what he had said back then, too, and did he? If not for meeting Rong Jiu here, would Chu Wanning have ever found out about these unseemly things?!

It is said that concern makes a person rash; Chu Wanning was usually calm and collected, but he had a fiery disposition and acted on emotion in matters of the heart. And on top of that, the past relationship between Rong Jiu and Mo Ran had indeed been improper, and Rong Jiu had put on such a convincing performance, so Chu Wanning fell for it completely.

Unable to pull free from Mo Ran's grip, Chu Wanning lifted his other hand to summon Tianwen in a fit of anger, but of course nothing appeared.

He was mad enough to keel over; probably would've spit blood by now if he wasn't already dead.

And then there was suddenly a brilliant scarlet radiance as Mo Ran summoned Jiangui. He put Jiangui into Chu Wanning's hand and then knelt down before his shizun, keeping his other hand wrapped firmly around Chu Wanning's wrist the whole time, deathly scared that he might leave. Mo Ran said, "Shizun, I know I… I've done lots of things that made you angry and upset in the past… but since coming down to the Underworld, everything I've said to you has been true." He lifted his head, eyes brimming with tears as he looked up at him. "All of it was true, I didn't lie to you…" Clenching Jiangui in his hand, Chu Wanning's heart burned with rage, but also felt pained at the same time. Mo Ran's hand was wrapped so tightly around his own, trembling uncontrollably, despairingly, but refusing to let go, his agony so palpable that it nearly seemed to pierce into the depth of Chu Wanning's very soul; how could he possibly not feel it?

Mo Ran continued, "If Shizun is upset, if Shizun doesn't want to forgive me,

then please just hit me, yell at me, anything is fine. And if you really don't want to see me again… if you think I… if you think I'm… deficient by nature, beyond remedy…" His voice broke on that phrase.

Mo Ran lowered his head where he knelt before Chu Wanning.

"If Shizun really… doesn't want me anymore…"   He didn't want Chu Wanning to see him cry, but he couldn't stop the shaking in his shoulders as silent tears soaked a dark patch into the ground.

"Then I'll… I'll leave Sisheng Peak… and never… never show myself in front of Shizun again… but please… please I'm begging you…" His forehead was nearly touching the muddy ground where he was kneeling,

but his hand around Chu Wanning's wrist was still hanging on so tightly, so stubbornly, as if he'd sooner die than let go.

"Please, don't leave." "..." "Shizun…" Chu Wanning closed his eyes.

"You promised me you'd go back with me, so please don't leave…" There was an aching in his chest; he was only a fragment of a soul, so how could it still feel like his heart was being stabbed by knives, burnt by flames?

Chu Wanning's eyes snapped open in anger and resentment. "I promised you? Then what about what you promised me? Back at the Platform of Sin and Virtue you said you'd realized your wrongs, and then kneeling at Clearsky Hall you said you'd never do it again——so why didn't you keep your word! Mo Weiyu, did you really think I'd never find out, that I wouldn't discipline you again?!" "...!!" Mo Ran startled, lost and confused like he was stuck in a foggy haze.

He raised his head and looked up through teary eyes. "What?"   The word barely had time to leave his lips when Jiangui flashed bright scarlet and lashed out viciously toward the side of his face. Instantly, there was an eruption of crackling sparks, and blood splattered onto the ground and wall in an arc.

Chu Wanning really was furious.

He hadn't held back at all in that strike.

A bloody gash appeared on the side of Mo Ran's face, bleeding profusely.

But he paid it no mind as he clutched at Chu Wanning's hand, asking with wide eyes, "What do you mean Platform of Sin and Virtue? What Clearsky Hall?

...I… what am I keeping from you? What am I lying to you about?"   His string of questions only made Chu Wanning even more incensed. He tried to shake him off again, but couldn't.

Mo Ran suddenly realized that something was off. He whipped his head around to look back toward the inside of the storehouse——   While the two of them were fighting and far too distracted to notice anything else, that Rong Jiu had snuck away and ran off!!!

Mo Ran's expression changed as he immediately realized what was happening. "...Shizun, we fell for his trap! Come on, we have to leave! It's not safe here anymore, hurry!" He ran for the door, pulling Chu Wanning along, but they barely made it two steps out when Rong Jiu appeared in the distance with a group of ghost soldiers,

still tattling, "They're right this way, that living person and the soul that's with him… the two of them…" Mo Ran roared furiously, "I should've killed you!" There was no time to explain; Mo Ran led the way, holding tightly onto Chu Wanning's hand as they ran through streets and alleys. There were more and more pursuers behind them, and the sounds of sentry whistles and clappers rang throughout the palace grounds. Chu Wanning glanced back to see four,

maybe five separate groups of lanterns stream out from the main alleys to gather into one, like a hissing snake formed of fire coming after them.

Rong Jiu's face was practically glowing with glee as he chased after Mo Ran and Chu Wanning with all that he had in that frail body of his, weak from all the hardships and abuse he had suffered in the past, running like a famished jackal chasing after its prey. Thinking that finding them out first and turning them in had earned him a great credit, and drunk on the feeling of accomplishment, he unexpectedly mustered a commanding aura.

"Catch them——catch that intruding live person——!"   His arm was suddenly grabbed as he was running. Rong Jiu whipped around angrily, faltering when he saw that it was the captain of the soldiers who had caught him before, but still snapped indignantly, "What're you grabbing me for?

Hurry and go catch that person up ahead!"   "Sure they're escapees, but aren't you one as well?" The captain narrowed his eyes, looking at him maliciously.

Alarmed, Rong Jiu shot back, "I-I only ran because I wanted to help the Fourth Lord catch them, I was the one who found the live person… I was the one who found out that Mo Weiyu isn't a ghost, don't you even think about capturing me just to steal my credit in front of the Fourth Lord!" The captain was a little taken aback at first, before he put two and two together and burst out laughing instead. "You found him out first? Credit?

Hahaha me stealing your credit?" The laughter stopped abruptly.

"Are you so desperate for distinction that you've gone mad trying?! The Fourth Lord himself was the one who discovered that live person! Did you think he'd seal the entire away palace off with a barrier just to catch some random little ghost? Hah, stealing credit indeed. You must be blind, trying to steal the Fourth Lord's credit!"   Rong Jiu stumbled in shock and fell to the ground.

He watched as the army of ghost soldiers stomped past him in pursuit of Mo Ran and Chu Wanning. Rong Jiu trembled, lips quivering as he muttered,

"Already discovered? The ghost king already… saw through them himself? I…

I'm not the first? N-no credit? I…"   Those visions of riches and fame, of being revered and admired by people lining the streets, came crashing down to the ground and was crushed underfoot by the army stampeding past all around him.

Rong Jiu stared blankly for a while before suddenly flying into a crazed frenzy, trying with every fiber of his being to struggle free. His frail body was like that of a mayfly, lowly yet unwilling to bend to fate, a moth flying into a flame.

His life had never been easy. All he ever knew was a bed, men, wealthy madams, guests that came and went.

A windowless little room filled with scented haze from a brass incense burner, where it was impossible to tell day from night. That was his whole life.

It was a dark, never-ending night. He wanted to see daybreak. For the sake of that daybreak, that chance at living, that tiny bit of hope, he was willing to give up his dignity, his body, his honor, his kindness, his conscience… these were all that he had.

Flying into the flame for that tiny bit of light.

"WAIT! WAIT FOR ME! CHU-XIANJUN, SAVE ME——!!" "Seize this escapee! Once this is squared away, have him sent to the Fourth Lord himself for interrogation!" "No——NO!!" Rong Jiu's pale, bloodless fingers clawed at the ground, his hair coming loose into a disheveled mess in the struggle and that charming,

lovely face looking eerily terrifying in the cold light of the moon. His eyes bulged outward as he screamed incoherently, "No! Chu-xianjun, save me!" And after a while, began shrieking hysterically, "I was the one who found him first! I found the live person! Me! You can't treat me like this! You never would've found them if not for me! You all just want to steal my reward, my credit!"   He was dragged away, and his crazed shrieks were soon drowned out by the rumble of footsteps...

Author's Notes:

They'll escape the ghost realm tomorrow~ As for Rong Jiu, I won't be writing him an ending. He didn't have anyone to be his guiding light on his path of desperation, and he lacked the opportunities to do good. So he ended up here; those who feel for him, you can come up with interactions between him and the Fourth Ghost King after he's been dragged away233333 Why don't I add a crack mini-theatre today?

Ghost prison Guard A: My king! We caught one trying to run away on his own!!! We've brought him here for you!!!

Fourth Ghost King: Omnomnomnomnom (in the middle of eating, lard and soy sauce rice may be simple but it's really tasty!) Ghost prison Guard A: My king, stop eating, you'll be a half moon[12]...

Fourth Ghost King: Burp!! (Angrily smashes bowl) Fat!? This king is sturdy!

Mighty! Do you understand!

Rong Jiu: (I don't want my soul to be scattered, I want to be promoted and prosper QAQ) ...The way I see it, my king isn't sturdy or mighty enough. How light is my king? If you want to be sturdy and mighty, it's only right if your arm is as thick as a thigh, and your leg as thick as a waist, why not my king eat a little more?

System notification: Player Rong Jiu [has acquired the correct way of licking orange tabby[13] Fourth Ghost King's boots].

[12] 月半[half moon] --> 胖 [fat] [13] Orange tabbies are notorious for being very fat.