Chapter 69:
This Venerable One Will Learn From You, Heh Heh
WAS IT A COINCIDENCE? Or…
Presently, Mo Ran couldn’t just look at his shizun’s chest whenever he wanted, so he could only rely on his memory of that scar’s appearance. That faint, crescent-moon shape would have been left by the simple slash of a blade—not like Chu Xun’s wound, which had been made by five fingers piercing flesh with force and left behind savage, bloody holes.
It wasn’t the same after all.
Mo Ran let out a quiet sigh of relief as he thought it over. While Chu Xun and Chu Wanning were wholly different people in terms of personality, they shared too many points of resemblance to dismiss. From their appearances to their mutual principle of “As a cultivator, the life of the many is our priority, and the self comes last,” to that long scar on their chests. So many coincidences piled on top of one another made one suspicious.
Mo Ran wasn’t exactly sure why—perhaps it was because Chu Xun was so gentle, so different from Chu Wanning’s ruthlessness, or perhaps it was because Chu Xun had a wife and a son—but if Chu Xun had reincarnated into Chu Wanning, or if he was Chu Wanning, Mo Ran was sure that he wouldn’t be able to take it. That he would have a breakdown.
Good thing that wasn’t the case.
There is no need to expand on what manner of disaster the city of Lin’an faced without Chu Xun’s protection.
Of course the ghost king didn’t keep his word. Once night fell, the air was thick with blood, and heaven and earth mourned in kind. The moat ran red with gore, and the howling of those still living, who had long lost their senses, echoed through the night. Zombies wandered throughout the city, picking at and devouring fresh, tender entrails, chomping down on brains.
Mo Ran took Chu Wanning to hide in a broken down little house whose master had died some time ago. Everything within it lay under a heavy layer of dust.
Mo Ran tightly shut the door and secured the surroundings. He left only a small kitchen window through which they could observe the situation in the city. From outside there came intermittent sharp wails and screams, and the ominous sounds of chewing and swallowing.
Mo Ran carried Chu Wanning to a small pile of firewood in the corner and patted his head. “According to Miss Eighteen, once we defeat the ghost king, we can leave. So stay here and be good. Don’t run off anywhere.”
Chu Wanning’s head jerked up at this. “You’re going out?”
“Not right now. I’ll leave once the ghost king shows himself.”
“But it’s so dangerous outside. The illusion has been manifested—how will you manage on your own?”
“Well, I can’t bring a kid with me to fight, can I?”
Chu Wanning shook his head. “I’m coming with you.”
“Ha ha ha, Shidi is so cute! But you’re still young. If you come with me, you’ll drag me down. Wait till you’re older, and when we run into these things again, I won’t hold you back. For now, you have to listen to Shixiong.”
“I won’t drag you down.”
“That’s what they all say. Just be good and don’t fuss, okay?”
Chu Wanning fell silent.
When Chu Wanning finally stopped talking, Mo Ran quietly let out a sigh of relief. He turned his gaze to the wooden window to peer outside, his expression growing serious.
Just why had the illusion meant for their training suddenly become real? His little shidi was right; someone wanted to harm him. In his previous life, there had no doubt been countless people who wanted him dead, but in this life, he had yet to cross any powerful sorts. After giving it due consideration, he could think of only one person who might want to take his life: that fake Gouchen from Jincheng Lake.
What was the real identity of that false Gouchen? If he could use the Zhenlong Chess Formation with such mastery, how come he’d never demonstrated his talents in their previous lifetime?
Could it be that Mo Ran wasn’t the only person in this world who’d been reborn?
The thought gave him chills, and his eyes glinted menacingly. After rebirth, he’d wanted nothing more than to bury his past, but if someone else had been reborn, that might become quite difficult.
His brows were furrowed, but he suddenly heard Chu Wanning speak up again. “Mo Ran, I…”
“What is it?”
Chu Wanning gritted his teeth silently. After considering the pros and cons, he steeled his heart and decided he might as well be straight and tell the truth. “Listen to me: In fact, I really can help you. I’m—”
However, when Mo Ran heard, “I really can help you,” he assumed his little shidi wanted to argue with him again, so he cut him off. “All right, all right, I already said I won’t let you go, so I’m not letting you go. Stop trying to play tough. Listen to me.”
“No, you listen to me—”
“I’m not listening,” Mo Ran replied, feeling vexed. “I’m not listening, la la la.”
Chu Wanning gave him a dark look.
The expression gave Mo Ran pause—maybe the attitude he was taking wasn’t very nice. So he poked a finger between Chu Wanning’s brows and laughed. “You’re a kid! What’s with all this deep, tormented suffering and refusing to listen to your seniors? Here, let me tell you something: since you call me Shixiong and we come from the same sect, when we run into peril like this, I have to protect you. At all costs. Do you understand?”
Chu Wanning shut his eyes and answered in a low voice, “I understand.”
“Good to see you do. Then why don’t you—”
“But I’m worried about you.”
Mo Ran was taken aback, and for a second the finger that hung before Chu Wanning’s forehead quivered. For another second, he couldn’t utter a single word. He had lived for two lifetimes, but never had anyone said the words, “I’m worried about you,” to him. Even in Shi Mei’s moment of tenderness toward him, he had never so straightforwardly expressed his care for Mo Ran.
Mo Ran gazed with amazement at the tiny child sitting atop the pile of firewood before him, and hundreds of emotions filled his heart. After a long while, his eyes gradually softened. The finger he had used to poke Chu Wanning lifted and instead moved to ruffle his shidi’s soft hair. “Don’t worry. Shixiong promises you that he’ll come back alive and well.”
“Mo Ran, can you let me finish…”
Mo Ran grinned. “All right, what did you want to say?”
“I’m actually—”
The door crashed open with a bang.
A man with disheveled hair charged in, screaming and covered in gore, one thigh mauled to shreds. Behind him was a band of zombies, lured by the stench of blood.
The man tumbled into the room, dragging his ripped leg, and grabbed at anything he could get his hands on. He hurled the objects at the growling zombies, and as he threw, he yelled, “Fuck off! Get the hell away from me! Go away! Go the fuck away!”
Mo Ran cursed under his breath and shielded Chu Wanning with his body. A red light flashed from his hand as he summoned Jiangui. “Shidi, hide yourself,” he said over his shoulder. “Don’t get any closer, not under any circumstances!”