The picture scroll lit up again. It was a rainy morning. Huaizui sat in the meditation room, holding the Star and Moon Bodhi Beads in his hand and muttering Buddhist scriptures. Suddenly, there was a flash of light at the door. He didn't look back. He just put down a wooden fish and sighed. "You're awake?"
Mo Ran looked back and saw Chu Wanning standing outside the door. His handsome figure seemed to blend into the thin sky.
"Master, why did you save me?"
"Wubei Temple can't see blood."
"…"
"Since you've proven yourself, I understand what you mean. You can go down the mountain by yourself. From now on, don't come back."
Chu Wanning didn't take any luggage. He looked at the familiar figure in the Buddhist chanting and said after a while, "Master."
Master.
Then what did he say? Farewell just like that? Thank you for your kindness?
The gauze on his chest was still bleeding. The knife was pulled out, but his heart was still throbbing in pain.
After nearly fifteen years of trust, all he got was Huaizui's "I want your spiritual nucleus." For fifteen years, he had always thought that Huaizui was benevolent and kind, caring for plants and ants. He always thought that the world was as peaceful and stable as Lin 'an and the Upper Cultivation World.
But it was all fake. Huaizui lied to him.
This was a tribulation thousands of times more painful than the spiritual nucleus breaking.
Chu Wanning closed his eyes. In the end, he said to him, "Farewell … Master."
He had left his gentleness, trust, and innocence behind in this solemn temple. These were the things that Huai Xin had once given him. Later on, they had all been taken away along with the broken spirit core and the gushing blood.
He turned and walked away.
"I knew he would hate me. Even if I went down the mountain with him, he would never be able to get over this hurdle in his heart." Huaizui said softly, "I let him go. From then on, I left an unjust, selfish, and heartless image in his mind. He didn't recognize me, and I didn't have the face to call myself his master."
"At that time, not long after his birthday, he was fifteen years old. Fifteen years of drifting duckweed fate, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy. From that day on, I never looked back. "
Huaizui swept the steps in the courtyard. The leaves turned from green to yellow, and in the end, there was no longer a trace of life on the branches. Another year of winter snow fell.
The monk was wrapped in a thick monk robe and stood under the eaves. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the snow on the ground.
His face was still young, but his eyes revealed a sense of age. He was like all the ordinary people who were old, and he liked to stare blankly. As long as he sat there for a while, he would unconsciously fall into a light sleep.
"I'm already very old, two hundred years old. The things of my youth have slowly faded from my mind, but I remember more and more clearly the years when Chu Wanning was by my side. Sometimes I wonder if this is how an elder feels when they are worried about their children … But what kind of elder am I? I'm just a butcher without courage. "
Huaizui said, "The Yin Qi in my body is getting thinner and thinner. There's probably no hope of atonement in this life. I don't want to go anywhere else. I always practice in Wubei Temple and don't come out. Only when the begonia flowers bloom, I pick the most beautiful one and bring it to the ghost world. As usual, I ask someone to pass it to Chu Xun. "
"I've never been a broad-minded person, so the things I can do are only a few. If I do too much, I won't be able to do it well. When I encounter a choice, I don't know right or wrong. I planned to live like this for the rest of my life. Until one day, a person suddenly came to my courtyard. "
It was late at night, and there was a hurried knock on the door.
Huaizui got up to open the door, and was stunned.
"… It's you?!"
Mo Ran followed behind and immediately saw the person's face.
It was Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning looked very anxious and his face was pale. The strangest thing was that he was only wearing a thin summer shirt in the middle of winter.
Mo Ran's first reaction was that Chu Wanning gave his jacket to some refugee who was about to freeze to death. But then he realized that was not the case. Chu Wanning was dressed properly. He entered the bedroom with Huaizui's permission. His expression was like a cornered beast. Without saying anything, he handed a spell incense burner to Huaizui.
Huaizui's words were stuck in his throat. In the end, he only asked, "You … What's wrong?"
"My mana can't last long. I can't explain to you one by one." Chu Wanning spoke very quickly, "This incense burner is very important. I really don't know who to give it to. There are too many unknowns in this world. I don't know what 'he' will become next, and I don't know who will be lucky enough to protect this secret. So I can only come and disturb you."
"… What are you talking about? Are you sick? "
Huaizui did not react, but Mo Ran, who was standing next to him, felt his head buzzing. His vision suddenly turned black! He suddenly realized that there was something wrong with "Chu Wanning".
Ear hole!!
This Chu Wanning had an ear hole in his left ear. He was wearing a small scarlet earring, like a small cinnabar.
It was a very small detail, but it made Mo Ran feel like he was struck by lightning. He could no longer speak.
This was not Chu Wanning at all … Or it could be said that this was not the Chu Wanning of this world at all!
He … He came from his previous life, from the time of the Emperor Ta. Otherwise, he would not have this mark. Mo Ran clearly remembered that this earring was made from his own blood. It had an emotion curse attached to it, which made Chu Wanning more sensitive to his touch and invasion.
There was no mistake!!
He could even clearly remember how he had been filled with indecent thoughts when he had made this needle. Then, when he had made Chu Wan-ning absent-minded, he had fiercely licked his left ear. While he felt the person beneath him tremble and release, he had taken advantage of Chu Wan-ning's convulsions to pierce his earlobe without any explanation.
Chu Wanning was groaning. He frowned and grabbed the bedding, but he could not get rid of the man lying on top of him.
"Does it hurt?"
He licked the thin blood dripping from the tip of his ear. His eyes flashed with light.
"Is it painful or exciting?"
The piercing of the earring needle, breaking through the soft flesh, was like another kind of conquest. It was always painful when a foreign object pierced the flesh, no matter what it was.
Seeing Chu Wanning sobbing and shivering in pain, Mo Ran felt more and more excited. He rubbed Chu Wanning's chin, turned it over, and kissed him passionately while panting.
"It's just an earring, why are you shivering?"
He asked while knowing the answer. He used force in his hand and violently pierced the earlobe with the needle. He showed no mercy, fierce and rough.
"Look, it pierced through you." He stroked Chu Wanning's new earring and said hoarsely, "It pierced in."
"… …"
"It's in your flesh. From now on, you're mine."
— — The Chu Wanning of his previous life had come to this world.
This knowledge made Mo Ran's heart jump. His scalp was numb, his eyes were blurred, and he felt that he could not breathe. He looked at everything in front of him numbly. What was going on?
He tried to concentrate and listen to the conversation between Chu Wanning and Huaizui, but this stimulation was too great. He could not immediately return to his senses. He only vaguely knew what Chu Wanning said to Huaizui, and from time to time, words like "Door of Life and Death", "Destructive Forbidden Technique", and "Can't be stopped" floated into his ears.
He saw Huaizui suddenly sit down on the chair, his face was sallow, and his eyes narrowed.
"How can you prove that what you said is true?"
"… … I can't prove it." In the end, Mo Ran heard Chu Wanning say, "I can only ask the master to believe me."
"… … This is ridiculous. You said that you came from another world through the Door of Life and Death. In that world, there is a person called Ta … Ta … "
"Emperor Ta."
"There is an Emperor Ta, who is destroying the world and almost overturning the whole world of cultivation. You found out his secret, so you tried to open the Door of Life and Death to come to this world? To rewrite everything? "
"It's not rewriting, it's stopping. If this continues, they will sooner or later grasp the spell of the Door of Life and Death. When that time comes, it won't just be our world that ends. "Chu Wanning paused, his eyes reflecting the hazy candlelight." No one will be able to escape. "
"That's ridiculous." Huaizui murmured, "How is that possible … this is simply … nonsense …"
Chu Wanning looked at the water hourglass in front of Huaizui's door from time to time. He was counting the time, and his eyes gradually gathered anxiety. "Even if the master doesn't believe it now, he will understand later. Before that, please only seal this incense burner in the cave of Dragonblood Mountain. I have set up the most crucial spell in the incense burner, and let it slowly evaporate inside. The master doesn't need to care about it. The only thing to do is … "
Huaizui raised his head. He looked at Chu Wanning with an expression like he was looking at a madman.
"The only thing to do is to not let anyone near the cave of Dragonblood Mountain. Until the master believes what I say, then think of a way to bring the 'me' of this world and that person called Mo Ran to Dragonblood Mountain together. The spell in the incense burner has already been set up, so there's no need to worry about the rest. "
Huaizui weakly moved his mouth, as if he wanted to say something. But at this time, a mournful whistle suddenly came from outside the window.
This kind of whistle was exactly the same as the sound of the Emperor Ta's disappearance.
Chu Wanning heard this sound, and his face grew paler. He stared into Huaizui's eyes, almost impatiently. "I beg you, other than you, no one in this world can help me. There's no one else I can entrust this to."
Hearing the word 'entrust', Huaizui suddenly froze.
In his eyes, there seemed to be the turbidity and vicissitudes of an old man.
In the end, he took the incense burner and slightly nodded his head.
The whistle became even sharper. Chu Wanning turned his head to look at the night outside the window, and then said to Huaizui, "Master, please guard the cave of Dragonblood Mountain well. Also, if the Emperor Ta appears in this world, or … as I said, if the Great Sky Fissure appears in the World of Ghosts, then the situation is bound to change. At that time, the master should be sure that what I said today is not false."
The whistle was mournful, almost tearing the eardrums.
Chu Wanning turned and ran into the night. In the end, he only had time to look deeply at Huaizui. He originally wanted to perform a master-disciple ceremony, but his hand stopped halfway. He closed his eyes, bowed deeply, and bid farewell.
In that instant, Huaizui suddenly stood up with courage from who knows where. He shouted at Chu Wanning, "You … do you know what I did? Didn't the other me do the same thing to you? … You won't believe me again! "
Chu Wanning only shook his head. His face was blurred in the night.
"Master …" His figure was getting farther and farther away. "I don't have time … I beg you, think of a way …"
"No matter what method you use, this matter is too important. Please persuade me to listen to you and let me come to Dragonblood Mountain with him."
He finally disappeared.
The curtain of night was dim, and the stars were shining through the water.
Huaizui chased out of the courtyard, only to see a flash of light far away that was heavier than the night. Chu Wanning had disappeared without a trace. Only the incense burner in his hand was still there, full of spiritual energy. It was firmly held in his palm, proving that all this was not a dream.
The scene in front of Mo Ran shook violently. Everything he saw before fell down like an avalanche. Broken bricks and tiles were everywhere.
"He said no matter what method you use, but what method do you have?" Huaizui sighed. "He already doesn't trust me anymore, and avoids me like the plague. What's more, I still have some reservations in my heart. I don't dare to confirm whether or not all this is a conspiracy. "
"Only when the Rainbow Butterfly split the sky and Wanning passed away did I finally decide to write a letter to him after reviving him."
"I deliberated over that letter several times. Because I didn't know how powerful the person behind the scenes was, I didn't dare to state the truth in the letter. I also really didn't have any other excuse to find him. What's more, his magic power is strong, and he also holds the important position of Elder Yu Heng, the pinnacle of life and death. I couldn't force him to leave. In the end, I thought that it would be very inconvenient for him since his spirit core hadn't been completely restored these past few years. So I used this as a reason to invite him to Dragonblood Mountain. "
"But I lied to him for fourteen years. So no matter how sincere my words were, he was still unwilling to believe me in the end … "
A long sigh, his voice almost frustrated.
"I've always been waiting. Just like nearly twenty years ago, when I imprisoned him on the mountain, I came to find him every day, hoping that he would change. After that, I also went to Dragonblood Mountain every day to find him, hoping that he would come back. "
"If only he could give me another chance, that would be great."
The old monk's old voice was like a kite with a broken string, drifting far away. "My days are really running out. I know that I can't wait for too long. So in the end, I made this scroll. In it, I thought in every possible way, changed it several times, and put in bits and pieces of memories that I didn't want to put in. But in the end, I'm a coward. I actually didn't want him to see this scroll while I was still alive … I couldn't stand his sad eyes. When he was fourteen years old, I've seen enough of that kind of gaze. "
"So, Wanning …" He sighed softly, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. "By the time you read this, I … should have already passed away."
"I'm still a very selfish person. In order to not see you hate me, I only dared to tell you the whole truth before I left, to that child you called Mo Ran. I'm sorry. That year, it was Master's fault. You're a living person. You've always been. "
Huaizui paused for a long time. Suddenly, his voice became hoarse. He said the last words he left in the world.
"Master Chu, can you forgive me?"
It was unknown whether the words "Master Chu" were meant for Chu Wanning a hundred years later or for Chu Xun a hundred years ago.
After the voice, the wind suddenly blew. Countless memory fragments were like snow, like floating cotton, brushing past one's face. The two hundred years of crime and punishment, the fourteen years of joy and sorrow, all intersected at this moment.
The child was laughing. "You're one, I'm one. What flowers in the water? Lotus flowers in the water. "
The youth was arguing. "If you don't know how to judge others, how to judge yourself? This immortal, it's fine if you don't cultivate. "
In the end, his phoenix-like eyes fell. "Farewell … Master."
All of this alternated with each other like a lantern. When the light was at its brightest, Huaizui's hunched back appeared in front of Mo Ran's eyes again. He leaned in front of the table and carved the last stroke for the sacred wood.
The evening bell rang.
"I'll call you Chu Wanning."
At the end of the voice, the flood surged. Mo Ran floated in this crazy flow of memories. Then, he was suddenly pushed out of the memory scroll and fell on the sandstone ground in front of the Dragon Blood Mountain cave.
The passage of time inside and outside the scroll was different. At this moment, it was dusk in the human world. The world was a magnificent red glow, and the setting sun was peaceful. Mo Ran lay down. It was as if he had returned to that night many years ago, when Huaizui dripped blood on the wood. From then on, there was a child named Chu Wanning in the human world.
He lay on the ground, his eyes out of focus.
"Master … Wanning …"
He finally understood why such a strong person like Chu Wanning would cry in his arms. He finally understood why she was crying so bitterly. He finally understood.
He only knew that the price was too high. It was like being cut into a thousand pieces.
Was it all his fault?
It was the fault of the Emperor Ta in his previous life. Chu Wanning had tried his best to prevent him from causing chaos in the world.
Chu Wanning's spiritual core had been dug out.
His benefactor brother who saved his life in front of Wubei Temple.
Not a person … but the spirit of the sacred wood …
Every blow was like a falling brick. Just one truth was enough to shatter a person's bones and make him a bloody mess, not to mention so many of them piled together.
For a moment, Mo Ran felt as if he was lying on the ground. All the bones in his body seemed to be shattered, and he couldn't do anything anymore.
Everything was in chaos.
He looked around and saw Chu Wanning sitting on the side with his eyes closed. Suddenly, regret gathered into bones, love gathered into flesh, and pain turned into blood. The desire to protect this person made him struggle out of the extreme drowsiness and confusion, and escape from the quagmire.
He slowly stood up and walked in front of Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning opened his eyes and looked at him.
The two of them, neither of them spoke first.
In the end, Mo Ran leaned over and hugged him. "Master, whether it's the sacred wood or the person, as long as you're still willing to have me …" He held back, but still choked up. "I've always …"
Always what?
Standing by his side?
He didn't deserve it.
So in the end, he said with low self-esteem and pain, "I'll always stand in front of you."
I can't accompany you, I'm not worthy of you. I'm so lowly and dirty, destroying heaven and earth, but you're pure.
I can't stand by your side, Wanning.
Let me stand in front of you, and block the blood and sharp knives for you.
Until the day of death.