Chapter 73:
This Venerable One Is Confused
HAVING RUN INTO MO RAN so suddenly, Xue Meng blinked. This was the first time the two had come face-to-face since Mo Ran’s detention.
When Mo Ran recalled how Xue Meng had defended him in front of the crowd, he smiled at his cousin despite himself.
Xue Meng, however, was thoroughly shocked by this grin. “What?” he said contemptuously, face full of disgust. “What are you looking at?! What are you smiling about?! What’s there to smile about?!”
“I’m greeting you?”
“Disgusting!”
Mo Ran blinked, stupefied.
This comeback had thoroughly killed Mo Ran’s conversation starter. Shi Mei hummed pensively for a moment but didn’t push for further answers either, instead turning to Xue Meng with a smile. “Young master, who’s annoyed you now?”
“Who else could it be? Who else could it be?! Depraved! Despicable! Disgusting! Obscene!”
Mo Ran sighed. “That doesn’t alliterate.”
“Who cares?! You do it, then, if you’re so great!”
“I’m not great, I’m uncultured,” Mo Ran chuckled. “Come on, tell us. Who pissed you off?”
“I bet it was Da-shixiong again,” Shi Mei said with a smile.
“Goddamn Da-shixiong! Beast! Pervert! If he sleeps around so much, how come he doesn’t have an STD?! I’d happily give up ten fucking years of my life to curse him with sores on his head and pus oozing from his feet—may his nose and eyes rot off! Let’s see who’s still gonna think he’s so hot then! That despicable, shameless, obscene—”
Mo Ran blinked, stupefied once again.
Knowing that Xue Meng was about to sink into an endless cycle, Shi Mei hastily stopped him and pointed back down the road. “Shh, look, those lady cultivators who like Da-shixiong are here.”
Xue Meng jumped with a squawk, a trace of trepidation flashing across his perpetually prideful face. “Filthy degenerates,” he swore under his breath. Even so, he did indeed turn and bolt, tail between his legs like a stray dog. In a last-ditch attempt to save his dignity, he snapped before leaving, “I suddenly remembered I’ve got something to do, so I’m heading off now!”
Mo Ran watched him scamper out of sight. “Wow,” he said, amazed. “This Da-shixiong is really something, if he can scare Xue Meng that badly!”
Shi Mei held back a laugh. “It’s been like this ever since Xue Meng ran into him at a restaurant the other day and got into a scuffle. I guess he’s met his match.”
“Amazing, amazing. I’ve gotta see him for myself sometime.” Those were the words that left Mo Ran’s lips, but inwardly he already knew more or less what was going on. If this “Da-shixiong” could make Xue Meng hide like this, he was definitely the person Mo Ran was thinking of.
Now wasn’t the time to enjoy the spectacle of Xue Meng, however. Xue Zhengyong and the Xuanji Elder had arrived at the Dewsip Pavilion and were softly discussing Eighteen’s murder with the master of Peach Blossom Springs, the Elder Immortal of the feathered tribe.
The Elder Immortal was practically divine. A glow of spiritual light encircled and enveloped her body, and while she looked to be a young woman of a fair, tender age, heavens knew how old she actually was.
She was explaining the case calmly to Xue Zhengyong when a personal attendant walked in and reported in a low voice, “Elder Immortal, we’ve brought them.”
“Send them in.”
Mo Ran followed Shi Mei into the warm pavilion and scanned the area. The second he saw Xue Zhengyong fanning that infamous fan while speaking to the others, he called out, “Uncle!”
“My child, my child.” Xue Zhengyong looked over at the sound of Mo Ran’s voice. His eyes lit, and he hastened to beckon them over. “Come, sit next to your uncle,” he said, patting Mo Ran’s shoulder.
“I didn’t kill her…”
“Of course you didn’t, of course not.” Xue Zhengyong sighed again and again. “I can’t imagine how this misunderstanding came about. The Elder Immortal told me everything, and I’ve come to help prove your innocence.” He sighed yet again. “Heavens have mercy, look how downtrodden you are.”
He pulled Mo Ran over, and the Elder Immortal of the feathered tribe didn’t stop him, only watching them with impassive eyes.
Mo Ran also greeted the Xuanji Elder and swiftly sat down next to Xue Zhengyong. However, it struck Mo Ran as odd that Xuanji didn’t immediately notice the absence of his own disciple, Xia Sini. Instead, he nodded absently at Mo Ran.
It was ultimately the Elder Immortal of the feathered tribe who said, “Eh? Where’s the other child? The one named Xia.”
“Ah, that’s right.” Only then did Xuanji seem to realize. “Where’s…my disciple?”
To Mo Ran’s eyes, this was an obvious lack of care for Xia Sini, and he was somewhat upset. “My shidi is still locked up. He asked me to greet you on his behalf.”
“Is that so.” Xuanji nodded. “Why didn’t he come?”
“He’s cooking,” Mo Ran replied curtly.
His answer was met with stunned silence.
Once Xue Zhengyong recovered from his bewilderment, he laughed. “Is cooking more important than clearing his name?”
“What a headstrong child,” Xuanji said, smiling. “I’ll go check on him once the meeting is over.”
“No need. We’re having dinner together after this,” Mo Ran said. “Interrogate me however you will, but let’s get this over and done with.”
Thus, Xue Zhengyong spoke, “Elder Immortal, let’s continue our earlier discussion. How about this: We have an elder in our sect who is skilled in the art of refining pills.17 Before I came, I asked him to create a number of purity pills.”
“Purity pills?” The Elder Immortal was slightly taken aback, and she lightly tapped the corner of her lips with a dainty, crimson finger. “Are those the sort that can make mortals speak absolute truth?”
“That’s correct.”
The Elder Immortal was rather surprised. “The materials required to make these things are complex and difficult to refine, and even here in Peach Blossom Springs, it would take at least half a month to produce such a pill. I’m amazed to hear that Xianjun’s sect has such a master of medicines. Why didn’t you bring him along?”
“He’s antisocial and doesn’t like traveling with others,” Xue Zhengyong replied. “The pills are currently being refined, and they can be sent to Peach Blossom Springs by pigeon within ten days. When that time comes, I invite the Elder Immortal to verify the effectiveness of the pills, then have the young disciples take them. The truth will be revealed at that time.”
The Elder Immortal contemplated this in silence for a moment, then inclined her head. “This is acceptable.”
Xue Zhengyong sighed a breath of relief and smiled. “Then if that’s the case, let me go bring my other disciple out of the prison cave right away.”
“Hold it.”
“What is it?”
“Until this affair is sorted out, both Mo Ran and Xia Sini remain under suspicion,” the Elder Immortal said. “Even with the sect leader’s insurance, this venerable one cannot let those two walk free.”
At this, Xue Zhengyong snapped his fan shut with a smack. While a smile lingered on his face, his gaze had grown colder. “Now that’s a little disingenuous, Elder Immortal.”
The Elder Immortal of the feathered tribe raised her gaze and stared at him with a pair of scarlet eyes. “Is Xue-zunzhu dissatisfied with this venerable one’s decision?”
“But of course. A guilty verdict has yet to be delivered to my sect’s disciples. Since the Elder Immortal has the guarantee of both myself and the Xuanji Elder that we’ll keep watch over them, what reason is there to keep them detained?”
“It isn’t truly detention,” the Elder Immortal said coolly. “They aren’t mistreated, and their daily meals go uninterrupted. I’ve only restricted their movements. That isn’t unreasonable.”