Chapter 147: Shizun, We Can Talk This Out

Inside the envelope was only a thin sheet of paper with a few very short lines written on it.

Mo Ran took a brief look and felt his lurched heart settle. He almost heaved a long sigh of relief inwardly before he realized that cold sweat had already drenched his heavy layered shirt.

Xue Meng moved closer for a look too.

"What the heck?" After seeing what it was, his brows furrowed deeply, "Why is it about something like this?" "...What else could it be about? Didn't I say I don't know her that well?" After relaxing, Mo Ran let out a real chuckle, and put the letter on the table. "You made it sound so fishy, I actually fell for it." Turns out, in the years that Mo Ran had roamed the land, he slayed plenty of evils of grave renown, and one of them was a carp spirit that had caused disasters at Lake Yunmeng for many years. Because it possessed strong spiritual powers and the place was remote, the many cultivators who went to fight it all ended up becoming bones it used to decorate its cave.

While it was said Lake Yunmeng was a place where the essence of evil permeated and it was extremely easy for monsters to cultivate into a spirit, a carp wasn't a creature known for its aggression after all, so on that basis, the spirit born from this cultivation shouldn't be that strong in its murderous nature.

Mo Ran battled with it in over eighty rounds, and finally killed it with Jiangui. He sliced open its stomach and finally discovered the truth.

"That carp spirit had an invigoration crystal in its stomach." Mo Ran said with a smile, "This crystal was formed by the brilliant essence of the moon of a thousand years, a spiritual stone of the highest grade. It's considered the best of choice for forging weapons or cultivating the spiritual core." "What does a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast like her want this for?" Chu Wanning asked.

"Said she wanted to ask it for her husband. Her husband has got a spiritual core with an attribute of fire, and he's been training too impatiently in these past years that he can be in the danger of qi deviation, which is why she wants to buy the invigoration crystal from me to bring it to him as part of her dowry, and help her husband suppress the essence of evil." Xue Meng nodded, hearing this, "Spending a thousand gold if only for the peace of her husband, that's one in a million."

Mo Ran laughed at this, "Where'd you think she'd get the money? Doesn't she still have to ask it from the Rufeng Sect in the end? She's so beautiful looking, if she says a few words using her soft voice, her soft speech, how many of those shixiong shidi can reject her? Will you be able to do it if it was you?" Xue Meng instantly glared, "Don't say it like I'm so perverted." "Don't get mad, I was only giving an example," Mo Ran said as he returned this letter to Xue Meng. At Sisheng Peak, if letters weren't responded to, they were usually kept in the sealed chests at the library. Mo Ran said, "File it." Xue Meng blinked, "File it?" "Don't file it? You can burn it too if you want?" "...No, but," Xue Meng was a little anxious now, "It's her grand wedding,

she's asking you for a spiritual stone and not for nothing. She already said she'll pay any price, and she sounded fairly sincere, so why won't you sell it?" "It's not that I don't want to sell, I have no use for it anyway, but I already gave it to you." "Gave, gave it to me?" "Yea." Mo Ran laughed, and pointed at the Longcheng sword hanging off of Xue Meng's waist, "Didn't I pass you a crystal a few years ago, and told uncle to forge you Longcheng? The Longcheng today is very different from the past, you wield it well, almost no different than you did the shenwu, and you've got that carp spirit to thank." Xue Meng's mouth was hanging open, and he couldn't speak for the longest time.

"..." He only knew that Mo Ran had obtained a gem while roaming the world, but he had never cared where that gem came from. There was always that bit of resentment he'd choked back towards Mo Ran, and it didn't matter whether the man was bad or turned good, he had always retained that sliver of indignance,

that sliver of contempt.

So, when papa said the gem Mo Ran gave him could upgrade Longcheng,

despite the gratitude, he also felt quite aggrieved, thinking that he'd received something good from his rival for no apparent reason, so he didn't want to ask about it at all, letting his dad take Longcheng to Taxue Palace for refinement directly.

Yet what he didn't expect was what Mo Ran gave him was actually a priceless "invigoration crystal". All of a sudden Xue Meng felt even more complicated, and couldn't quite say what it was he was feeling.

It took a long while before he squeezed out an insipid "thanks".

"You're welcome, it's fine," Mo Ran waved with a smile, "I just happened to have it at the time." Xue Meng's face scrunched up even more at that, and he rebutted stubbornly, "I wasn't thanking you, I was thanking that dead carp spirit." "Hahahahaha, then don't eat carp anymore to accumulate some merits for your saviour, yea?"

"Hmph!"

They laughed around for a bit, then something suddenly hit Mo Ran, and his dimples deepened, "Oh yea, I was so bamboozled by you earlier that I forgot to ask, who is Song Qiutong marrying again? Such a huge fanfare, she's only a little shimei but she managed to get the Rufeng Sect to send invites? Amazing.

Is she joining a marriage alliance with the Bitan Sect?" "No?" "It's not the Bitan Sect?" I thought that since that old fart of a sect leader looked so pervy, the Rufeng Sect gave Song Qiutong to him, being such good friends." Mo Ran laughed, "Which clan is it then? To be able to associate with the Rufeng Sect and cause such a huge fanfare... It can't be Taxue Palace, can it?" "What are you thinking!" Xue Meng gave him a glare, "Why did it have to be a marriage alliance?" Mo Ran blinked, and his smile froze. "Who else can she marry then?" "Nangong Si, duh! Did you forget? This wild horse of a gongzi of the Rufeng Sect has also reached a marriageable age. Song Qiutong is so beautiful, it's not a losing match for him…" He wasn't done grumbling before Mo Ran abruptly stood up, and exclaimed in astonishment, "NANGONG SI?!" Xue Meng was startled by his reaction, "What?" "Why… Why is she marrying Nangong Si? How…" It was too shocking,

turbulent waves were surging in Mo Ran's mind, unable to calm for the longest time, and he mumbled under his breath, "Nangong Si…" It was no wonder he had such a reaction.

It had to be known that during this time in the previous life, Nangong Si had already died from grave illness!

In the past five years, he had focused his mind on the chaos of war and the refugees, he didn't pay any attention at all to the affairs of the prominent sects.

The Rufeng Sect didn't interact with him very much, so naturally he cared for them even less. It wasn't until up to this moment when Xue Meng suddenly announced the imminent wedding of Song Qiutong and Nangong Si that he realized with a start—— This was wrong.

Everything was wrong. The fate of this world was changing, and it wasn't just happening to him, but even the seemingly irrelevant Rufeng Sect was changing.

The one who should've entered the coffin long ago didn't, and instead a funeral turned into a wedding, and the man was instead going to take his empress from the previous life as his wife…

This news was a little shocking, he couldn't swallow it and almost choked.

And, was Nangong Si blind?! To set his eyes on this woman??

But congratulations were still in order, and a gift still had to be presented.

Since Nangong Si had extended an invitation to them, then what reason did they have not to go? The wedding was set for the fifteenth of this month; Xue Zhengyong had allocated all sect affairs and placed everything in proper order, passing on all matters to the two elders Tan Lang and Xuan Ji, then prepared to set off for Linyi.

Besides him, out of proper etiquette of the cultivation world, Madam Wang,

Xue Meng, and Mo Ran must all attend the celebration. Other than them, Nangong Si also invited Chu Wanning especially, mentioning him by name, and said he had received guidance from Yuheng Elder when he was young, so pray the elder grant him face and come. Thus, Chu Wanning had to go too.

"The Rufeng Sect is currently the number one great sect. It's the grand wedding of their young master, so every reputable figure in the world will probably come to give their congratulations." Xue Zhengyong said, "We don't usually mind the small manners at Sisheng Peak, but at an occasion such as this one, we'll still have to behave properly, lest we become a joke to the others." "What proper behaviour?" Xue Meng asked, "I think I behave quite properly already." Xue Zhengyong tugged at this hair and said, "For example, this crown of yours isn't right. You're wearing a golden crown." "What's wrong with a golden crown?" Madam Wang gave a gentle chuckle, "Meng-er, this is your first time attending a wedding, so there's much you don't understand. Mom will teach you,

so listen carefully: at a wedding in the Upper Cultivation World, only the groom alone can wear gold hair accessories. If you go wearing a golden crown, then you're there to steal the bride, it'll be a huge joke." Xue Meng flushed immediately, and he stammered, "Steal the bride? No no no, I'm not stealing any brides." Mo Ran teased him, "When the time comes, are you gonna freak if we throw you and Miss Song into a small cabin?" "You're the one that's gonna be thrown into a small cabin!" Xue Meng was both embarrassed and furious, "I won't wear the thing anymore, alright!" "I don't think you guys are very clear on what is expected of wedding guest attires," Xue Zhengyong said, "How about this, I'll go have something made for each of you, and all you have to do when the time comes is to just put it on." He paused, then made a point to look at Chu Wanning. He ventured,

"Yuheng, is that alright?" Xue Zhengyong wasn't fazed by the others, at most they'd cause some ridicule, but someone like Chu Wanning, the man was used to wearing white, so if he wasn't reminded, he just might show up at the wedding all in white.

Nangong Si might spit blood from the outrage, and that'd start a feud between Sisheng Peak and the Rufeng Sect.

"Acceptable." Chu Wanning replied.

On the night before their departure, the evening wear Xue Zhengyong had ordered for everyone had arrived, and those clothes were all finished by dressmakers of Linyi he especially engaged for a rush order. The make was exact and proper, densely woven, and very pretty in design. Even someone picky like Xue Meng nodded in satisfaction when he received the clothes.

Holding a pile of cleaned garments, Mo Ran climbed up to the southern peak of Sisheng Peak, and came to the Red Lotus Pavilion, He called out in a sonorous voice, "Shizun, uncle had asked me to deliver you the clothes." He came by the lotus pond and saw that Chu Wanning was practicing the sword.

He recalled Chu Wanning's second weapon was a sword, but that sword carried a thick killing aura, the impetus to destroy the world, so Chu Wanning rarely touched it. However, a blade unsharpened wasn't sharp, and a skill unpracticed was unpracticed, so even if this sharp weapon didn't have much chance of being unsheathed, Chu Wanning would still take it out for a swing every so often.

The moon was biting cold, but perhaps he was warm from the sword practice, so the outer robe was removed, leaving only the white, inner-robe, the material of which gently flicked along with the night breeze, looking agile and elegant.

He didn't have his usual high ponytail, but had instead tied all of his hair into a stern and clean high hairdo, making his face appear particularly spirited, but also leaner. The longsword cried liberally and the blade was like snow; in his sword dance, there was softness in the strength, in his leap, there was grace.

When flakes of frost were flicked up, they were as light as the lotus reflecting upon water, and when a move was flashed out like cold lightning, it was as if a dragon had broken through air; a swing a slackening, a withdraw a release,

every point was on point; Mo Ran stood there watching from afar, but couldn't pick out a flaw at all.

Suddenly, Chu Wanning's brows stiffen; the longsword was pointed towards the centre of the lotus pond, the move was swift and fierce, and the waters of the pond was split into two by the aura of the sword, and from the sharpness of that blade, it couldn't close the gap for a long time——Drawing the sword to split the waters! The tips of his toes lightly dotted the waters as he sprung, airily and elegantly as he flew past the ripples he caused, his arms widespread, the white sleeves fluttering, and he landed gracefully in the gazebo of the opposite shore like a divine being.

"Shizun!" Mo Ran was afraid Chu Wanning would take another leap and go off again,

so he quickly ran to the gazebo and called after him. The bright moon is hung high in the sky and the night is slightly cool. White petals as gentle as snow were fluttering down from the large haitang tree next to the gazebo; Chu Wanning was stepping on the tip of the gazebo roof, his sleeves draping out, letting the moonlight as white as jade leak in. When he heard the call, he looked down, his eyes black and bright. He was gasping lightly, his lips red from the sword dance,

a rare, ravishing sight.

"Why have you come?" The night breeze was blowing at the loose strands of hair at his forehead,

and he squinted his eyes.

"To deliver your clothes. Try them on to see if they fit?"

Chu Wanning humphed lightly, then all of a sudden he remembered that Mo Ran was also titled a zongshi by the world now. Ever since he had awakened, he had never sparred with the man. Something unconsciously stirred in him, and in the split second the thought had hit him, his person was already landing elegantly upon the ground. He let out a low cry, "Why don't you try and see if you can take my attack first!"