Chapter 275: [Tianyin Pavilion] Broken Heart

He saw the child Mo Ran smiling brightly at his mother. He saw Duan Yihan stroking Mo Ran's head and saying, "You have to repay kindness, don't hold grudges."

He saw Mo Ran holding the box of pastries that Xue Meng had given him. He ate them carefully, not wanting to waste a single crumb.

He saw Mo Ran standing in front of the wine shop in Wuchang Town, wearing the robes of a new disciple. He handed the crumbs of silver in his pocket to the owner with both hands. Then he smiled shyly and expectantly. "I want a pot of good Pear Blossom White. Can you give me a better looking wine pot? I want to give it to my Shizun to try. "

All the memories appeared one after another.

The warmest and most beautiful memories that had once been in Mo Ran's heart flashed through his mind like a lantern on a merry-go-round.

In the images, Mo Ran was smiling all the time. From his childhood when he was hungry and cold to his youth before the Eight Bitter Everlasting Regret Flower flared up. But these memories were not many. Mo Ran had too little pure time in his life. The days when he could laugh to his heart's content could be counted on one hand.

Chu Wanning looked at the objects that were flashing past one by one.

Then, everything settled down.

Because their souls had been entangled for too long, at this moment, he could clearly feel that before the Everlasting Regret Flower was planted, Mo Ran actually liked him so much, respected him, attached to him, and loved him. Even though he did not like to smile and was even a little harsh when teaching magic, he still liked him.

But he just liked it. He felt familiar and warm.

He felt that this ice-cold Master was actually a very, very good person deep down.

Mo Ran actually liked him … at such a young age, he had liked him passionately and innocently.

The memories in front of him continued to flow. Chu Wanning followed Mo Ran's memories and fell into a clear, moonlit night. That night, a lone lamp was lit in the disciple's room at the Peak of Life and Death. Mo Ran sat at the table, facing an open scroll and carefully sewing a white handkerchief in his hand.

After sewing a few lines, he clumsily poked his fingertip. Blood dripped and stained the cloth.

Mo Ran opened his eyes wide and then looked very depressed. He sighed. "It's so hard."

The white handkerchief was rolled up and thrown to the side.

He took a new one and sewed it again.

The candle was lit all night. After throwing away countless handkerchiefs, his hands and feet became more nimble. Slowly, the light red petals bloomed. One petal, two … five.

Every petal was meticulously embroidered, every petal was embroidered with sincerity.

The young man clumsily sewed a piece of white handkerchief. With every stitch and thread, a begonia flower bloomed all year round.

There was light in his eyes as he looked at the handkerchief.

After the embroidery was done, it was actually very ugly. There were a lot of uneven places. It was obvious at a glance that this was the work of a novice. But Mo Ran was unable to contain his joy. He looked left and right excitedly and then threw the handkerchief up. The soft handkerchief floated in the air and landed on his face.

It covered his face.

He laughed under the handkerchief and blew on it. The corner of the begonia handkerchief was lifted, revealing his gentle eyes underneath. He looked at the flowing light.

"I'll give this to Shizun. He'll definitely like it."

His heart was heavy with warmth. It was a warmth that the Gu Flower that was planted later could not tolerate and had to swallow.

"In the future, every time you use the handkerchief, you'll think of me."

Mo Ran put the handkerchief in his chest. He imagined countless times that Chu Wanning would praise him and be happy. He only felt that the grass was long and the orioles were flying. He could not suppress his happiness. That night, he excitedly ran to Chu Wanning's room and found the man standing by the pond looking at the fish.

"Shizun!"

He excitedly ran over. His face was full of radiance.

Chu Wanning turned around and was a little surprised. "Why are you here?"

"I, achoo — —"

It was cold. He came out in a hurry and did not wear a cloak. Before the youth could speak, he sneezed first.

Chu Wanning said, "… What's the rush? You forgot to put on a coat?"

Mo Ran rubbed his nose and grinned. "I can't wait. I have something. If I don't give it to Shizun, I won't be able to sleep."

"What is it?"

"A gift for Shizun." As he spoke, he carefully took out the folded handkerchief from his chest. When he was about to give it to Shizun, he suddenly became timid and his face turned red. "Actually … actually it's not worth much. It's not, it's not very good. "

After thinking about it, he simply hid the handkerchief behind him. The tips of his feet uneasily stepped on the ground.

Chu Wanning, "…"

"What did you buy?"

The youth's ears were completely red. He blushed and said, "I didn't buy it. I don't have money …"

Chu Wanning was stunned. "You made it yourself?"

Mo Ran lowered his head. His eyelashes were like clouds. He quietly said, "Yes."

Without waiting for Chu Wanning to answer, he hurriedly said, "Forget it. It's actually very, very, very ugly!" After saying it again and again, he still felt that it was not enough. When he gathered his courage and looked at Chu Wanning again, he forcefully added, "Very, very ugly."

Chu Wanning still remembered how he felt at that time. In fact, he was surprised and pleasantly surprised.

He had never received a gift personally made by someone else.

But he was too embarrassed to show it. He was also too embarrassed to smile. He could only tighten his face, afraid that this new disciple would see the sweetness in his heart.

He lightly coughed and deliberated before saying, "Then, since it's already made, no matter how ugly it is, you should at least let me see it?"

In the end, Mo Ran still took out the handkerchief. He wanted to present it with both hands, but he felt that the handkerchief was already wrinkled from all that fuss. He hurriedly tried to smooth it out.

Just as his face was burning red, a slender hand reached over and took the handkerchief that had embarrassed him to death.

All the turmoil and chaos of war thus ceased.

Mo Ran was dumbfounded. He couldn't help but say, "Shizun, it's really ugly …"

At that time, Chu Wanning had not yet developed feelings for Mo Ran. He only remembered that pair of shiny black eyes. Dripping wet, like rain on a flower. It was very beautiful.

Sometimes, it was as fast as lightning. Sometimes, it was as slow as dripping water.

Chu Wanning was the latter. His heart was penetrated by the youth's tenderness. At that time, he didn't know how intense it was, but it was enough to last him.

When he suddenly woke up, this tenderness had become a quagmire. He was deeply trapped in it. From then on, it was hard to extricate himself.

"Is it a handkerchief?"

"Mm … mm mm mm."

A white handkerchief made of natural silk. The side was embroidered with begonia flowers. The needlework was delicate and firm. It was somewhat cute.

Chu Wanning's empty heart was suddenly touched. There was a spring in the valley. Falling flowers floated on the spring. He looked at the handkerchief. For a long time, he didn't know what to say.

This was the first time he had received such a gift.

The person who gave the gift saw that he didn't say anything and thought that he didn't like it. He stuttered as he explained, "I, I embroidered it according to the drawing in the book. Actually … uh, actually this kind of handkerchief is sold in town. It's not expensive. The embroidery … it's much better than mine. "

In the end, he was a bit anxious and wanted to ask for the handkerchief back. However, Chu Wanning was a step faster than him. She had already put it back into her robe.

"Outrageous. How can you give a gift for apprenticeship and ask for it back? "

The wrinkled handkerchief and Mo Ran's temperature were indeed ugly. In Wuchang Town, one could buy eight pieces of the same design for ten copper coins.

But he felt that it was precious and didn't want to return it.

So it became the first gift that Mo Ran gave to Chu Wanning in his life. After being hit by the Gu Curse, whether it was this memory or this handkerchief, Mo Weiyu had forgotten everything.

Chu Wanning was shy and not good with words. He didn't specifically mention it. But when he saw that Mo Ran was more and more attentive to Shi Mei, following him everywhere and giving him at least eighty if not a hundred things, he became more and more silent. He didn't want to let Mo Ran see this handkerchief so easily.

That was something that Mo Ran casually gave to him, and he treasured it.

He remembered …

The fusion of the earth soul brought back the past. Things like this, one by one, Chu Wanning slowly remembered.

He got up, more angry, more anxious, more sad, more painful than ever —

His hands were trembling. He finally knew the truth. He knew the whole story.

In fact, it wasn't just his wronged childhood.

It wasn't just Shi Mei's bewitchment.

It was far more than that.

But these most important memories were suppressed by Shi Mei's curse. Twenty years, two lifetimes, no one knew what this was like in the beginning.

Until today.

The truth, the truth …

These were the final truths!

There was no one to stop him on Jiao Mountain. Chu Wanning couldn't care about anything else. He ran like crazy from the foot of the mountain. He went to the nearest village and asked about Mo Ran's whereabouts.

"That Grandmaster Mo?" The villagers didn't know Chu Wanning's identity. They said in a rough voice, "What Grandmaster, he's just a beast with two faces."

Two faces, beast …

Sinner …

Tyrant.

His vision was dizzy, and he felt as if he had been drowned in two lifetimes. In his previous life, the Celestial Treading Monarch was grinning at him ferociously, and in this life, Mo Weiyu was smiling at him.

That's not true.

The truth was not like this.

Chu Wanning asked with a pale face, "Where is he?"

"Tianyin Pavilion." The villager said, "Everyone in the Upper Cultivation World and Lower Cultivation World knows that this person has committed a heinous crime. Today, he will be stripped of his spirit nucleus and receive the punishment he deserves!"

It was as if a mountain rock had cracked, shaking his head.

"When is the execution?!" Chu Wanning asked too anxiously. His phoenix eyes flashed with light, scaring the villager.

"I, I can't remember clearly. I think it's … noon?"

Noon … noon … He looked at the sundial beside the sunscreen, and his expression suddenly changed!

The Rising Dragon Talisman broke through the air, setting off strong winds and waves. Chu Wanning ordered the paper dragon to take him to Qi Land. At first, the paper dragon wanted to argue with its master, but it was shocked to find that Chu Wanning's eyes were watery.

The little paper dragon was stunned, "… What happened to you?"

"Help me."

It had never seen Chu Wanning like this before. It didn't know what to do, and only said, "I've never not helped you — Oh, don't cry."

Chu Wanning gritted his teeth. He was ruthless, but he was an empty shell.

The truth was that the worm had bitten his spine.

"I'm not crying. Take me to Tianyin Pavilion, it'll be too late!"

"What are you going to do there?"

"Save someone." He couldn't stop trembling. He didn't want to cry, he didn't want to cry, but tears still fell. Chu Wanning wiped his red eyes.

"Save a person who was wrongly judged."

"…"

"If there's someone in this world who deserves to have his spirit core dug out and be cursed by thousands of people, it shouldn't be him." Chu Wanning said hoarsely, "I want to clear his name."

The paper dragon didn't ask any more questions. It carried him and turned into a giant dragon with towering horns. It roared and soared into the sky. The wind shook the mountains, and for a moment, its beard fluttered. The cold fog shattered, and it soared in the moist sea of clouds.

Chu Wanning sat beside its dragon horns.

A strong airflow brushed past his face. It was so cold above the Ninth Heaven that the blood on his fingertips seemed to be frozen solid. He looked in front of him, looking at the layers of clouds, the layers of mountains, and the rivers that flowed endlessly. Everything in the world seemed like yesterday as it flashed past below him.

In fact, from the moment he woke up, he was crazy, numb, and fragmented.

Now that he had calmed down, he was completely immersed in the sorrow of the past. He curled up on the dragon and slowly buried his face in his palms.

The wind was very strong, and it blew past his ears.

They wanted to interrogate Mo Ran. They wanted to cut open his heart and break his spirit core …

Heinous and unpardonable, deserving of ten thousand deaths.

It wasn't.

The wind was so loud that it was enough to cover all the happiness, anger, and sadness of all mortals.

The sky was high and the clouds were broad. Chu Wanning finally cried in the wind. These two lives … be it the Emperor Ta or Master Mo …

It shouldn't have been like this.

Mo Ran was right about one thing.

The bow under the Tower of Babel was wrong from the beginning.

The sun was rising, and the copper pot outside the Heavenly Music Parlor had reached a certain mark. The female official struck the bell and shouted, "It's noon —"

Ya Que was startled.

"Execute!"

She climbed onto the torture rack and was bound with the celestial rope. She took off her outer robe and opened her lapel.

Mu Yanli's expression was cold. Holding her divine dagger, she walked forward and stood in front of Mo Ran.

"Today, I will punish you. I hope you will repent."

Her lips opened and closed as she recited the ancient chant of the Heavenly Music Parlor.

"The Heavenly Music is vast and mighty.

The son of the Heavenly Music must not have emotions.

The Heavenly Music is faint and cannot be blasphemed.

The Heavenly Music is compassionate and respects all living beings. "

She lowered her eyes and bowed to Mo Ran — it was to send him off.

Then, she unsheathed the dagger. Sparks flew, the divine weapon buzzed, and golden feathers scattered. The light of the dagger reflected in her eyes, but there was no emotion in them.

Some people below covered their eyes, some stretched their necks, some closed their eyes and sighed, and some clapped and cheered.

There were all kinds of people, but that was it.

"Alright, the Heavenly Punishment of Spirit Core Dissection."

She raised the dagger and blood splattered everywhere.

Dead silence.

Then, someone on the stage shouted, "Brother —!!!"

Red, bright red blood flowed out, and the Divine Martial entered his chest. Mo Ran opened his eyes. At first, he didn't feel anything. Then, he stiffly lowered his head and looked at the hideous flesh of his heart.

His lips opened and closed, and the pain began to explode like fireworks. In front of him, light and shadow were boiling intensely.

"Cough, cough!!"

Blood gushed out from his mouth, dripping with the smell of iron.

Heaven and earth were vast and mighty, turning into a sea of red.

But it was wrong, it was all wrong.

Chu Wanning flew on the dragon, getting closer and closer to the Qi Ground.

He used to think that Mo Ran was indifferent to him and played the world, but that was because of resentment, because of resentment.

He used to think that Mo Ran had gradually forgotten the initial gentleness between them after being punished and reprimanded again and again.

Actually, that was not the case. Those memories were trapped in Mo Ran's soul.

He saw it.

Chu Wanning saw Mo Ran's deepest heart. Under the suppression of the Eight Bitter Everlasting Hatred Flower, it was the deep friendship of the past.

That year, Mo Ran was still so young and pure. He still had a warm and healthy heart, beating under his chest. That year, he saw his new master standing by the window of the Painted Wood Pavilion. He turned his face to him and said, "Mo Ran, come here."

In front of him was a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

"I heard from the Lord that you still don't know how to write your own name. Pick up the brush, I'll teach you. "

He taught him. His voice was light, like the apricot flowers outside the window, blooming out of the world.

"The Lord gave you the name Weiyu, which is the opposite of your name. I'll write it once, look carefully."

So, the master wrote horizontally, vertically, and curved, while the little disciple stood at the side and learned.

"I wrote one more dot."

"I wrote one less dot this time."

He taught the two words five times before he could barely write them correctly, but it was as ugly as a ghost's handwriting. Chu Wanning had never seen such a stupid disciple. He could not help but feel a little depressed. "… Is it very difficult?"

It was not difficult.

But at that time, Mo Ran did not dare to tell him that it was because he looked too good when he looked down. He was insatiable and wanted more, so he deliberately wrote one more stroke and one less stroke.

He wanted to teach him again.

"It's so difficult."

Chu Wanning stared at him. "Look carefully, don't laugh."

Mo Ran pursed his lips and smiled. He was genuinely distressed. "Then, Shizun, write it again and teach me again."

He really liked the moment when he lowered his head, his phoenix eyes slanted.

As long as Chu Wanning held his hand and taught him, he could hear the sound of begonia blooming outside the window.

The enchantment of the execution platform was high, and no one could stop the judgment of heaven.

The Divine Martial Dagger was sharp enough to cut through metal, and it could understand the master's thoughts. Mu Yanli looked indifferent, as if she could not hear Mo Ran's heavy breathing, see that person's face was as pale as a corpse, and see the veins on Mo Ran's forehead bulging and the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

She only carried out the judgment of the Divine Martial Scale.

She dug out the spiritual nucleus.

The dagger pierced into the heart and quickly moved through the flesh. When she found the fragments of the spiritual nucleus, she gathered strength and pulled them out. The dagger was sharp, and it was inevitable that it would cut into the flesh.

She did not care at all. She threw the flesh and the shimmering fragments into the silver plate held by the attendant beside her.

The healing female cultivator immediately came forward and stopped the surging blood. She pressed against the convulsing heart, so that he would not die.

The scale's judgment was to dig out the spiritual nucleus, so the Heavenly Sound Pavilion would protect him. At least he would not die on the platform or during the execution process.

They kept him awake, in case he could not tell whether he was unconscious or dying from the pain. Mo Ran watched as his heart was cut open again and again, and the fragments were found. Then, it was temporarily suppressed and healed.

Again and again.

Xue Meng had already broken down. He was howling, buried his face in his palms, and tears fell like rain.

"Brother …"

He was in so much pain that his soul was blurred, and his veins were bulging.

But he actually felt liberated.

Every time Mu Yanli's dagger fell, piercing his heart and digging out the fragments, he felt that the sins of his previous life, and the blood on his hands, had faded a little.

Would he be forgiven after the pain was over?

Would he be able to return to the past after cutting out the remnants?

But where was the past?

If he returned to the Tong Tian Tower and became a disciple, he would still be a fake master at the peak of life and death, and his mother would have starved to death. That happiness would still be an illusion.

If he were to return to the woodshed of his childhood, when it was just him and Duan Yihan relying on each other, he was afraid that due to a combination of circumstances, he wouldn't be able to meet Chu Wanning again. This happiness would also turn into regret.

He looked back on the past. At this moment, he could not find a point in his two lives where he could truly start anew with a clear conscience. He could not find a period of truly carefree days, with clothes, food, and warmth, even if it was just one day.

His two lives, for more than forty years, did not have a single night of peace.

Mu Yanli's dagger was still buried deep in his flesh, enforcing justice on behalf of the heavens.

He knew that his soul was filthy, and his sins were unforgivable. The heavens would come and go, and judgment would always come.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt a little sour.

He wanted a mother, a master, a younger brother, an uncle and an aunt. He wanted a family.

However, he was probably too greedy to want so much.

So in the end, he had nothing.

The happiness he knew, the warmth he had, in the end, were all fake. He could not fight against water in a basket, sand in a palm.

He used everything to make up for it, but he could not get anything.

He stood beside the long river of life, hugging his small, wet basket. He squatted down, but the basket was empty. He stared blankly at the surging river, and the passing of time.

In fact, from the beginning, he only had this small basket, and he held it.

In the net, a dream that was bound to shatter.