Chapter 273: [Tianyin Pavilion] Different Path

In the main hall of Jiao Mountain, a single lamp was lit.

Nangong Liu was curled up beside the throne, snoring. Beside him were two unfinished oranges.

Suddenly, a slender figure appeared around the corner. The figure cast a shadow on Nangong Liu and slowly approached him. That person's footsteps were extremely slow. He tapped on a cane, and a white silk cloth hung on the bridge of his nose, completely covering his eyes.

"Oh …" Perhaps the sound of the bamboo cane hitting the ground disturbed Nangong Li. He woke up from his light sleep, rubbed his eyes, and said blankly, "Ah, it's my dear brother … What happened to your eyes?"

The person who appeared in the hall was Blind Shi Mei, who had been appearing and disappearing mysteriously, trying not to appear in front of others.

Nangong Liu was startled, "Didn't you go to Tianyin Pavilion?"

Shi Mei shook his head, "It's a long story, I won't tell you in detail." After a slight pause, he said, "Liu, I think I left a precious military manual on the table. Can you help me look for it?"

"What's wrong with that?" Nangong Liu immediately flipped through the table and quickly found the military manual made of silk. "Here."

"Thank you."

Shi Mo's slender fingers moved slowly on the silk. He was blind and couldn't see the words on the silk. However, this kind of military manual wasn't just recorded using runes. Just in case, he could read it using his spiritual energy. He stood in the empty hall, slowly deciphering the contents. It was written that Hua Bi 'nan had used all the troops in the precious chess game to force Mo Ran to destroy his spiritual nucleus.

Used, 46,000 people of Lin Ling Yu in his previous life.

There were thirteen thousand people in Wubei Temple.

… …

So many things.

All the disciples of the Life and Death Summit in his previous life.

Shi Mi pinched the soft and delicate silk. At first, he felt numb, but in his mind he thought dully, "So the sacrifice that I mentioned in my previous life was this kind of mountain of corpses and sea of blood?"

All the disciples of the Life and Death Summit.

All of them were made into precious chess pieces to be used by the Emperor Ta. Except for Xue Meng, no one was spared.

But he clearly remembered that Hua Bi'nan had once said to him gently, "You know, I am also a person who is used to seeing life and death. There is a lot of suffering in the world, the only thing I wish to do is not do evil. I hope that fewer people will die on this path. Otherwise, my conscience will not be at ease. "

Those were the words that Hua Bi'nan had said to him when he had just arrived in front of him through the space-time rift.

— — The world is full of bitterness, do not commit any evil. If you have no other choice, you can only wish for fewer deaths.

This was not much different from his own thoughts. He was vicious and merciless, but it was not what he wanted. He had no other choice.

"My conscience cannot be at ease …" At that time, the Hua Bi'nan who had sincerely said those words to him had already killed everyone in the world in another world.

But he only knew about it now.

"My dear brother, you, what happened to you?" His brain was buzzing and filled with blood. Nangong Liu's anxious voice sounded in his ears, "You look terrible. Why are you trembling? You … are you sick? Are you cold? "

She was babbling like a child. Suddenly, he felt a burst of warmth wrap around him. It was Nangong Liu who had taken off her outer robe and put it on him in a hurry.

"Come, I am not cold. I will give you my clothes."

The criminal who used to hide needles in silk floss, who used to be full of schemes, had become so simple after losing his divine sense.

Perhaps everyone had a time when they were young and sincere, when they were anxious and worried about others, right? But under the carving of time, their hearts and faces had also grown wrinkles.

They no longer looked like themselves.

Shi Mei was wrapped in Nangong Liu's clothes. He was cold, cold to the bone.

He felt dizzy, and tears of blood seeped out from under the white cloth … He fell on the seat and curled up his body.

"He is not me …" Shi Mei kept murmuring, "He is not me …"

Nangong Liu was confused when she heard this. "What?"

Shi Mei curled up his face in the crook of his arm. That small shiver spread from his fingers to his whole body. He was even unwilling to touch that piece of silk again.

"I want to save people. I also know that sacrifices are inevitable. I know that there will be a lot of calculations, and I will let down a lot of people. I have long been prepared to be consigned to eternal damnation. When he discussed with me that I might have to donate my eyes, I did not hesitate. But I … "

"My dear brother …"

Nangong Liu put her hand on his hair and comforted him clumsily like a child comforting a child.

Shi Mei suddenly choked, "But I really did not expect that he would kill so many people …"

The silk floated down to the ground. Written on it were the records of all the cultivators and commoners in the other world of mortals.

They were all bones.

After a long time, so long that Nangong Liu squatted on the side and did not know what to do, Shi Mei slowly supported himself on the cold table and stood up.

Nangong Liu hurriedly asked, "Where are you going?"

Shi Mei was silent for a while. He seemed to be really confused about where he should go. When Nangong Liu asked for the third time, he finally came to his senses. He bit his lip and said, "The secret room."

He could not continue to make mistakes. He had to save his master.

When he came to the door of the secret room, he touched it and found that Hua Bi'nan had actually cast an extremely profound forbidden spell on the stone door.

"…" Shi Mei was slightly startled, and then the corners of his mouth seemed to show a bitter smile.

From the War Manual to the stone door's forbidden spell. He suddenly felt that he was so ridiculous.

He was wary of him, so he cast a forbidden spell. It was a spell that Shi Mei had never practiced before. In the end, Hua Bi'nan did not trust him at all.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Shi Mei said softly. His hand lit up with a faint blue light, and he touched the center of the formation.

"Perhaps you didn't learn this incantation when you were my age. But I know it. It's just that you don't know. "

The stone door of the secret room opened with a bang.

Who would live the same life after being reborn?

Even if it was the same person, perhaps because they took shelter from the rain in spring and had a good sleep in the shade of a tree in summer, their life would change.

Shi Mei hesitated in front of the door of the secret room. Finally, he quietly walked in.

In the secret room, a nine-dragon candle was burning. It was emitting a pure light, but this light was of no use to the two people in the room.

One of them was unconscious, the other blind.

Shi Mei, covered in bandages, sat on Chu Wanning's bed. He reached out and stroked Chu Wanning's face with his slender white fingers.

He murmured softly, "Shizun …"

Chu Wanning did not wake up, so he did not respond. His cheeks were still burning.

His soul split and merged into one.

He endured the fragmented memories of Mo Ran, tormented in his dreams.

Shi Mei's fingertips glowed with light. He touched the side of his neck. Spiritual power as gentle as water flowed through his body.

"Are you feeling better?"

Still, no one answered him.

Shi Mei lowered his eyelashes. In fact, he also knew that Chu Wanning was still asleep. Otherwise, he would not have been able to muster the courage to enter the stone room and sit beside Chu Wanning.

He was in a daze for a while. He seemed to be thinking about many things, but also seemed to be thinking about nothing.

In fact, before he entered the sect, when he was still very young, he had a long-cherished wish in his heart. For this long-cherished wish, any sacrifice was worth it.

He was very clear about what his destiny was, so he never felt that he had made a mistake.

But one day, time and space were reversed. Another him in the mortal world suddenly appeared in front of him.

He saw himself more than ten years later.

Putting aside the shock and fear, when he saw Hua Bi'nan for the first time as a teenager, the biggest feeling he had was — he did not know what had caused him to become like this. He was cold, cunning, frustrated, and staked everything on a single throw.

But, for the common wish of the two of them, he finally agreed to Hua Bi'nan's request. Step by step, he finally got to where he was today.

In these years, the two Shi Mei in the mortal world each had their own duties. The one who stayed by Mo Ran's side was always him, and the one behind the scenes was the other Shi Mingjing who had transmigrated back.

Just like the Emperor Ta and Grandmaster Mo were two different people, he and that Shi Mingjing were not so similar. Because of their different experiences, that Shi Mingjing was more like the Cold Scale Divine Hand who was good at scheming, while he, in the torrent of time, became a secret chess piece on the Divine Hand's chessboard.

Now that he thought about it, before Hua Bi'nan broke through time and space and appeared the Life and Death Door, he could be considered a ruthless young man. But after he cooperated with Hua Bi'nan, Hua Bi'nan kept telling him: You have to restrain yourself and learn to disguise yourself.

When he was a teenager, he once quarreled with Hua Bi'nan because of this. "I've had enough. How long do you want me to pretend? You are gentle and kind, and you swallow your anger. I made up so many lies and cooperated with you from the inside. Who can remember? "

When he returned from the Jincheng Lake with Mo Ran and the others, Hua Bi'nan was not satisfied with his performance in front of the Heart-Picking Willow, so he scolded him. But he did not expect Shi Mei to have such a big reaction. He could not help but be startled. "I'm just reminding you to be careful. Don't expose yourself."

"You make it sound so easy." He bit his lip. "You asked me several times to confirm Mo Ran's feelings. When did I not do it? Do you know how disgusting it is to flatter someone you don't like? "

Hua Bi'nan seemed to not know how to answer for a moment. After a while, he said, "I've experienced all the things you've experienced. What right do you have to say that I don't know?"

"But I haven't experienced all the things you've experienced!"

"… …"

"Since you came to this world, you've been telling me that what I do is wrong and what I do is right. Okay, you're experienced. For that purpose, I'm willing to listen to you and give up everything for it. But, Hua Bi'nan. " Shi Mei became more and more agitated as he spoke. He gasped for breath and his eyes were red. "You better know that you have no right to criticize me."

This was the first time he had such a big conflict with his younger self since he transmigrated. Hua Bi'nan's face was ashen. He pursed his lips and did not say anything.

Shi Mei said, "You failed in your world, so you came here through the crack in the Gate of Life and Death left by Chu Wanning. You want to start all over again. But you have to be clear that I'm not your chess piece. "

"… …"

"I'm conspiring with you for our common purpose."

Hua Bi'nan closed his eyes. "You're thinking too much. No one treats you as a chess piece."

Shi Mei was still very agitated. "Forget it. Ever since you sensed that Mo Ran was reborn, I've been following your orders. I'm the one who's been keeping an eye on the dormant Eight Bitter Everlasting Regret Flower in his body for you! It's me! "

"… …"

"Ever since he first appeared in Wuchang Town, you were in a hurry to have me 'meet' him by chance. Later on, you asked me to bring some side dishes to test his intentions. Don't even mention those things where you asked me to deliberately drive a wedge between him and Chu Wanning." Shi Mei's peach blossom eyes stared at Hua Bi'nan's increasingly ugly expression. "I'm about to throw up from all the acting!"

"Even if I wasn't there, you would have done those things anyway." Hua Bi'nan gritted his teeth. "Don't think that I'm forcing you. In my previous life, I did those things too. Mo Ran is the host of the Eight Bitter Everlasting Regret Flower. Only by repeatedly checking his emotions can I find out the situation of the Flower Gu in his body. Do you think that I haven't suffered the same grievances that you've suffered? "

Seeing that Shi Mei did not immediately refute, Hua Bi'nan continued, "In my previous life, I did almost the same thing as you. I've always been in disguise until the Ghost World fell apart. I used my own death to stimulate the hatred in his heart. After that, I started my life anew as Hua Bi'nan. "

"… …"

"I've endured for so long. Why can't you bear it after just a short one and a half years?"

Shi Mei suddenly raised his head. "Do you still need to ask? You're fighting for yourself. What about me? "

Hua Bi'nan: "… … What's the difference between you and me?"

"There is a difference. If possible, I don't want to be controlled. "Shi Mei stared at him for a while before spitting out the second half of the sentence." Even if it's the other me. "

However, it was difficult to do as one wished. Even if he was very dissatisfied, after the dispute that day, Shi Mei had no choice but to bow down to fate.

After all, he was too young and had not experienced many unforeseen events. He knew clearly what he wanted in the end, so he would eventually compromise with his previous self.

All these years, he listened to the other him in the mortal world. He lived more like a puppet than a precious chess piece. It would be a lie if he said that he was not tired of it. But every time the frustration in his heart accumulated to the extreme, he would constantly remind himself: For the sake of the big picture, this pain is nothing.

"When will this show end?" This was the question he asked Hua Bi'nan most often. "When will the Heavens fall apart."

And Hua Bi'nan's answer was like catching a carrot in front of a donkey, "Soon. It will be sooner than in my previous life."

Just like that, day after day, he waited impatiently.

When the Gate to the World of Spirits and Souls finally opened, he thought that he could fake his death like he did in his previous life. But he did not expect that Chu Wanning would die in this battle.

That night, the conflict between him and Hua Bi'nan broke out to an unprecedented level. In the disciple's room, Shi Mei smashed all the celadon bowls in front of him. His chest heaved violently.

"How do you expect me to pretend to be calm? Shizun is dead. You calculated and calculated, but did you see this coming? "

Hua Bi'nan's expression was extremely ugly. "How can you blame me for this? If you want to blame someone, you should blame Mo Ran. He acted rashly. " His fingers on the table clenched into fists, almost sinking into his palms. His voice suddenly became fierce. "He killed Chu Wanning."

"… Yes, it's him." Shi Mei's eyes were red, but he tried his best not to cry. His mother had warned him since he was young that no matter what happened, he must not cry.

Hua Bi'nan was the same.

"He killed Shizun. Then don't stop me. I'm going to kill him now!"

Hua Bi'nan suddenly looked up. "Are you crazy?!"

"Oh?" Shi Mei breathed heavily and nodded. His eyes were full of provocation. "You know the word 'crazy'?"

Hua Bi'nan gritted his teeth. "… Protect Mo Ran, train him, and control him. This is the key to our work. As for the rest, it's not something you should think about. "

"See, that's it." Shi Mei sneered and held his forehead. His eyes flashed with excitement. "You're the Cold Scale Divine Hand. You can worship Grandmaster Chu with the other cultivators on the night of the Lone Moon. You can even curse Mo Ran as you wish. But what about me? What kind of nonsense are you talking to me about? "

"…"

Shi Mei sat down on the chair. His expression was almost contemptuous. "The first thing you told me when you came here today was to confirm as soon as possible whether the Eight Bitter Everlasting Regret Flower in Mo Ran's body has completely lost its effect and whether it can still be saved."

He slowly raised his gaze and looked at Hua Bi'nan's pale face.

He said sarcastically, "You actually want me to confess to Mo Ran at this time? You're telling me that I can't let Chu Wanning replace my position in his heart? "

His words were as sharp as thorns, stabbing Hua Bi'nan and himself.

He sneered. "Between the two of us, who's the crazy one?"

Hua Bi'nan suddenly closed his eyes. His pupils rolled under his thin eyelids. Then he said, "There's nothing I can do. Because of Chu Wanning's sacrifice in his past life, the Eight Bitter Everlasting Regret Flower in Mo Ran's body is already in danger. If it's completely destroyed, it'll be even more difficult to control Mo Ran when the time comes. "

"So you're pushing all the tasks that shouldn't be done by humans to me, right?!" Shi Mei couldn't stand it anymore. He suddenly slapped the table and stood up. "Shizun just left … Have you considered my feelings?"

"…"

"You like him. Do you think I don't like him?"

After Shi Mei said this, his voice couldn't help but tremble.

The room was deathly silent.

Finally, he sat down and put his hand on his forehead. His long eyelashes kept trembling under his palm. For a moment, no one said anything. Outside the window, the torrential rain poured down. Heaven and earth seemed to crack under the lightning and thunder.

After a long time, Hua Bi'nan sighed softly. "… Ah Nan, I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Shi Mei's reaction to this was only a stiff and cold sentence. "Don't call me Ah Nan."

"…"

"I'm different from you. Call me Shi Mei or Shi Mingjing."