Mo Ran spent three days lying in bed like a dead fish. Just as his wounds began to heal, he received a summons to Red Lotus Pavilion for hard labor.

     This was also part of his punishment. During his confinement, Mo Ran was not allowed to go down the mountain but couldn't be idle either. He would have to help around the sect and complete a number of the more arduous odd jobs.

     Typically, these jobs were things like helping the aunties at Mengpo Hall wash dishes, scrubbing the three hundred and sixty-five stone lion guardians on the pillars of Naihe Bridge, transcribing copies of the especially tedious files of the archive, and so on.

     But just what kind of place was Red Lotus Pavilion? It was the residence of that bastard Chu Wanning—the cursed place of cruelty known as Red Lotus Hell.

     Very few people of Sisheng Peak had ever been there, and those who had would leave either severely injured or punished. Chu Wanning’s residence, therefore, besides being called Red Lotus Hell, also had a more mundane nickname, Pavilion of Broken Legs.

     One particular saying circulated and became a running joke throughout the sect: “The pavilion hides a beauty, and the beauty calls Tianwen. To enter through the gate of broken legs is to understand the suffering of having one’s legs broken. If you seek the unrivaled choice of person to help sever your own meridians, you need not look further than Yuheng Elder.”

     There was once a female disciple unafraid of death and so bold in her lustful thoughts that she even dared to covet Yuheng Elder’s beauty. Under cover of darkness, she secretly slipped away to the southern peak and clung to the eaves, hoping for a chance to peek at the elder as he bathed and changed.

     The result could be well imagined: the fearless woman was met with Tianwen and beaten within an inch of her life, crying and begging for her mother and father, and remained bedridden for no less than a hundred days.

     Chu Wanning, moreover, decisively declared that perpetrators of any further offenses would directly have their eyes carved out.

     See? Such a crude remark! Such tactless behavior! Such a deeply abhorrent man!

     There were originally some naïve and foolish girls in the sect who thought that because they were women Yuheng Elder would have tender and affectionate feelings towards them and would always laugh and joke around him in a futile attempt to get the elder’s attention. But ever since this elder personally maimed that scoundrel woman, no one dared to chase after him anymore. Yuheng Elder was indiscriminate between men and women and utterly lacked the disposition of an honorable gentleman. The disciples of the sect appraised Chu Wanning as nothing but a striking face.

     The junior disciple who delivered the summons looked at Mo Ran with sympathy. Although he tried to hold back, he couldn’t help but say, “Mo-shixiong…”

     “Hm?”

     “…Yuheng Elder has such a bad temper. You’re aware no one who enters Red Lotus Pavilion leaves on their own two feet. Maybe you can say your wounds haven’t healed yet and ask Yuheng Elder to send you to wash dishes instead?”

     Mo Ran was sincerely grateful for his shidi’s compassionate heart but still declined. Ask Chu Wanning? Forget it. He absolutely didn’t want to receive another round of beatings from Tianwen. So, he laboriously put on his clothes and reluctantly dragged himself to the southern peak with heavy steps.

     Chu Wanning’s residence, Red Lotus Pavilion, Red Lotus Hell, stood without a single other person in sight for several li. No one wanted to stray close to where he lived. Chu Wanning’s terrible taste and unpredictable temperament caused everyone in the sect to keep their distance from him and only regard him with respect from afar.

     Mo Ran was a bit uneasy, unsure of what punishment Chu Wanning had in store for him. His thoughts ran wild the whole trip to the southern peak. Once he passed through the dense bamboo grove, a wide expanse of beautiful red lotuses came into view. It was early morning, with the sun rising in the east, casting a brilliant glow in a tapestry across the horizon. The red lotus stalks extended from the pond towards the fiery vermillion clouds of twilight, their radiance reflecting each other and creating a magnificent and gleaming sight.

     Upon the pond, a winding zigzag bridge led to a serene pavilion at the water’s far edge. A ways behind the pavilion was a roaring waterfall cascading down the mountainside. The lustrous droplets of water pattered against the rocks below and brought forth a shrouding mist within the ethereal red glow, giving the scene a touch of allure amidst its tranquility.

     Mo Ran’s only feeling about this was, Bleh.

     Anywhere Chu Wanning lived, no matter how gorgeous, could only make him feel disgusted!

     Just look at how wonderful it was, how lavish and wasteful—the embodiment of someone living in haughty extravagance and decadent indolence. Meanwhile, the disciples’ quarters were closely packed together, and their rooms had little space. Yuheng Elder was really something, occupying an entire mountaintop all by himself and even digging up three large ponds filled with lotus flowers. Yes, these lotuses were a rare variety capable of being refined into spiritual remedies, but—

     In any case, it was an eyesore. He wished he could just grab a torch and burn this Pavilion of Broken Legs to the ground! But all he could do was silently curse and grumble to himself. Given that he was only sixteen this year, he was no match for Chu-zongshi in strength. Mo Ran appeared at Chu Wanning’s abode nonetheless. He stood at the door, curving his eyes into a smile, and called in a sickeningly sweet voice, putting on an act of the perfect disciple.

     “Disciple Mo Ran greets Shizun.”

     “Mm, come inside.”

     The place was in total disarray and disorder. The cold-blooded demon Chu Wanning was dressed in a white robe, his lapels tightly folded up high, giving him a rather ascetic air. Today, he had his hair tied up in a high ponytail and wore black metal gauntlets. He sat on the ground fiddling with a heap of mechanical parts, a writing brush bitten between his teeth.

     His face was impassive as he glanced at Mo Ran, still biting the brush in his mouth as he said in a muffled voice, “Come here.”

     Mo Ran went over to him.

     This was not a simple task. There was hardly any space left for a person to walk; blueprints and broken pieces of metal and wood were scattered all over the place.

     Mo Ran’s brow twitched. He’d never entered Chu Wanning’s room in his previous life and never imagined that this immaculately dressed beautiful man would live in such a mess… He only felt that his feelings were difficult to describe.

     “Shizun, what are you making?”

     “Holy Night Guardian.”

     “What?”

     Chu Wanning was a little impatient, probably because it was inconvenient to speak with the brush in his mouth. “Holy Night Guardian.”

     Mo Ran glanced quietly at the chaotic mess of components on the ground. His shizun was revered as “Chu-zongshi,” and this reputation was not undeserved. Admittedly, Chu Wanning was an extraordinarily powerful man. Whether it was his three holy weapons, his barrier techniques, or his mechanical skills, he proved himself worthy of the four words “highest peak of excellence.” This was also why, in spite of his dreadful temper and high expectations, all the major sects of the cultivation world still fought tooth and nail to recruit him.

     As for the Holy Night Guardian, this was something the reborn Mo Ran was very familiar with. It was a type of mechanical device invented by Chu Wanning, sold at an inexpensive price but with strong combat ability. It could protect the common people of the lower cultivation world from suffering disturbances from ordinary ghosts and spirits in the night.

     In the previous life, the completed Holy Night Guardian became a mech practically essential in every household, the price of each one equivalent to that of a small broom and far more effective and user-friendly than some scowling Door Guardian.

     Even after Chu Wanning’s death, those Holy Night Guardians continued to defend the impoverished families who couldn’t afford to call for aid from a Daoist cultivator. This compassion for the fate of the people paired with Chu Wanning’s coldhearted indifference towards his disciples… Haha, this truly made Mo Ran despise him to the bone.

     Mo Ran sat down and looked at the Holy Night Guardian that was still just an assortment of parts, and the events of the past drifted from his thoughts and quickly vanished. He couldn’t help but pick up one of the Holy Night Guardian’s finger joints and grasp it in his hand to examine it more closely.

     Chu Wanning fastened the components and finally freed his hands. He removed the brush he’d been biting and shot a quick glare at Mo Ran. “That one was just coated with tung oil. Don’t touch it.”

     “Oh…” Mo Ran put down the joint and composed himself to keep up his harmless and adorable appearance. He was all smiles as he asked, “Did Shizun ask me to come over to help out?”

     Chu Wanning said, “Mm.”

     “What should I do?”

     “Clean up the house.”

     Mo Ran’s smile froze on his face as he stared at the room that looked like the aftermath of an earthquake. “……”

     Chu Wanning was a genius in cultivation techniques and a fool when it came to daily life.

     After picking up the fifth shattered cup that was never swept up, Mo Ran finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “Shizun, when was the last time you cleaned up? Gosh, it’s such a mess!”

     Chu Wanning was looking at blueprints and didn’t raise his head when he heard this. “Almost a year.”

     “…” Mo Ran asked, “…Where do you usually sleep?”

     “What?” There must have been a problem with the blueprints. Chu Wanning appeared to be even more peeved than usual at being interrupted. He ran a hand through his hair in irritation and replied, “On the bed, of course.”

     Mo Ran took a quick glance at the bed. It was piled with various types of nearly completed mechs, in addition to an assortment of tools such as saws, axes, and crafting rasps, each of them unequivocally sharp and gleaming alarmingly.

     Outstanding, how did this person manage to sleep without cutting his own head off?

     After toiling for over half the day, the sawdust on the floor had filled three dustpans, and the white cloths he’d used to wipe down the bookcases were blackened ten times over. By the time noon arrived, he’d only finished about half of the cleaning.

     Chu Wanning, fuck your mother. This person is truly more malicious than a poisonous woman.

     Cleaning up the place didn’t seem like a serious punishment and sounded even less like hard labor, but who could have known that it was such a ghastly place that hadn’t been cleaned in nearly three hundred and sixty-five days? Not to mention that his body was covered with injuries all over; even if he was in perfect health, such grueling work could still leave him half dead.

     “Shizun…”

     “Hm?”

“Your pile of clothes…” They must have accumulated into a heap for about three months.

     Chu Wanning was finally finished attaching one of the Holy Night Guardian’s arms. He rubbed his aching shoulder and looked at the mountain of clothing piled on the basket, then said indifferently, “I’ll wash them myself.”

     Mo Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Thank the heavens. But he was then a little curious, “Eh? Shizun knows how to wash clothes?”

     Chu Wanning glanced at him and, after a while, said stiffly, “What’s so difficult about it? Just throw it in the water to soak a little, then take it out and dry it in the sun.”

     “…” Mo Ran wondered what those women infatuated with Chu-zongshi would think if they heard this sentence. He felt deeply that this man, pleasing to the eye but ultimately hopeless, was only worthy of disdain. If word of this got out, how many young women’s hearts would be broken?

     “It’s getting late. Come with me to the dining hall and finish the rest when you get back.”

     Mengpo Hall was lively with people coming and going as the disciples of Sisheng Peak gathered in small groups to eat inside. Chu Wanning placed a few vegetable dishes on his lacquered wooden tray and sat silently at a spot in the corner. The area gradually cleared out until not a soul remained within a twenty-foot radius of him.

     No one dared to sit too close to Yuheng Elder, for fear that if he was unhappy, he would summon Tianwen and give them a harsh lashing. Chu Wanning himself was actually well aware of this, but he didn’t mind. This aloof, ice-cold beauty only sat there and ate his meal in a refined manner.

     But today was clearly different. Mo Ran was brought here with him, so he naturally had to sit with him too.

     Others feared him, and Mo Ran was no exception, but since he was a person who had already died once, his fear of Chu Wanning wasn’t nearly as severe. This was especially so because after the initial fear of first meeting him again eventually faded, the resentment he’d felt for Chu Wanning in the previous life slowly resurfaced. So what if Chu Wanning possessed overbearing strength? In the previous life, he still died by his hands.

     Mo Ran sat down across from him with equanimity as he chewed the sweet and sour pork ribs in his bowl. He munched away and soon produced a small pile of spit-out bones.

     Chu Wanning suddenly slammed down his chopsticks.

     Mo Ran was startled.

     Chu Wanning: “…Can you eat without smacking your lips?”

     “I’m eating ribs. How can I eat without smacking my lips?”

     “Then don’t eat ribs.”

     “But I like eating ribs.”

     “Get lost and eat somewhere else.”

     The two quarreling voices grew louder and louder, and some disciples were already slyly looking over at them.

     Mo Ran resisted the urge to dump the rice bowl over Chu Wanning’s head. His lips, shiny with grease, pressed into a line, and after a moment, his eyes curved into crescents, and a sweet smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Shizun, don’t shout so loudly. If others hear it, won’t they laugh at us?”

     Chu Wanning had always been thin-skinned, and sure enough, his voice really softened to a whisper. “Get lost.”

     Mo Ran laughed so hard he almost fell over.

     Chu Wanning: “…”

     “Ai, Shizun, don’t glare at me. Let’s eat, okay? Let’s eat. I’ll try to eat quietly.”

     Mo Ran felt he’d laughed enough and started acting adorable again, the sound of him chewing ribs actually becoming much softer. Chu Wanning was more responsive to gentle influence and would resist force. Seeing that Mo Ran was obedient, his expression softened a bit, and he no longer looked like he was encompassed in the deepest bitterness and hatred. He lowered his head and continued eating his cabbage and tofu with decorum.

     Before the peace lasted too long, Mo Ran started acting up again. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but in short, every time he saw Chu Wanning in this lifetime, he wanted to get into trouble and provoke him.

     Chu Wanning hereby noticed that although Mo Ran didn’t eat loudly anymore, he had begun using his hands to pick up the pork ribs, getting grease on his hands and fingers covered in sauce. The veins at Chu Wanning’s temples protruded. Endure.

     He lowered his lashes and refused to look at Mo Ran, only continuing to eat his own meal.

     Perhaps it was because of Mo Ran’s excessive delight and carelessness as he ate, but he happened to toss the rib he had finished chewing into Chu Wanning’s rice bowl.

     Chu Wanning stared at the sloppy, menacing pork rib, and the air around them seemed to condense and freeze at a speed visible to the naked eye.

     “Mo Ran…!!”

     “Shizun…” Mo Ran was quite anxious, unsure of how much of it was true and how much was faked. “That… uh, I didn’t mean to.”

     As if!

     “…”

     “Don’t be mad. I’ll take it out for you right away.”

     As he spoke, he really reached out with his chopsticks and quickly picked the rib out of Chu Wanning’s bowl. Chu Wanning’s face was ashen, as if he would soon faint from disgust. Mo Ran batted his dark eyelashes, and there was a trace of pitiful gloom on his lovely face, as if he’d been wronged. “Does Shizun despise me?”

     “…”

     “Shizun, I’m sorry.”

     It doesn’t matter, Chu Wanning thought to himself, Why bother arguing with a junior disciple?

     He dismissed the urge to summon Tianwen and give Mo Ran a beating, but his appetite had already vanished into thin air. He stood up and said, “I’m full.”

     “Huh? Even though you only ate this little bit? Shizun, you hardly touched your bowl.”

     Chu Wanning said indifferently, “I’m not hungry.”

     Mo Ran felt like his heart was blooming with happiness, but he still said sweetly, “Then I’m also done eating. We can return to Red Lotus H—ahem, Red Lotus Pavilion.”

     Chu Wanning’s eyes narrowed. “We?” His gaze held a certain ridicule as he said, “Who is the other person of this ‘we’? Elders and juniors must abide by the order of seniority. Address me properly.”

     Mo Ran answered amenably on the surface, his eyes curving with a smile, appearing well-behaved, sensible, and adorable. But internally, he thought, Order of seniority? Proper address?

     Haha, if Chu Wanning only knew the things that happened in his previous life, he would understand—ultimately, Mo Weiyu was the only one in the whole world worthy of the highest esteem. It didn’t matter how noble and aloof Chu Wanning was and how he considered himself to be unparalleled in the world. In the end, he was still nothing but a clump of mud beneath his boot. Wasn’t he only barely able to cling to his useless life by depending on Mo Ran’s grace?

     Mo Ran walked quickly to catch up to his shizun’s pace, still wearing a bright smile. If Shi Mei was the white moonlight in his heart, Chu Wanning was a piece of broken fishbone stuck in his throat. He would have to either pull the bone out and crush it or swallow it and let it dissolve in his stomach.

     Simply put, in this reborn lifetime, he could let anyone off. But he would absolutely never spare Chu Wanning.

     However, it seemed Chu Wanning didn’t intend to spare him lightly either.

     Mo Ran stood in front of Red Lotus Hell’s collection of books, looking at fifty rows of bookcases ten layers high, thinking that he must have misheard. “Shizun, what did… you say?”

     Chu Wanning said flatly, “Dust every book in here.”

     “…”

     “Once you’re done dusting, make a catalog.”

     “…”

     “I will return to check it first thing tomorrow morning.”

     “!!!”

     What?!! Was he supposed to spend the night in Red Lotus Hell??? But he’d already made plans to meet Shi Mei this evening so he could reapply the medicine and change his bandages!!!

     He opened his mouth, wanting to negotiate with him, but Chu Wanning wasn’t willing to pay attention to him. He waved his wide sleeves and turned to leave for the machinery room, incidentally closing the door behind him in a haughty manner.

     With his date plans ruined, Mo Ran steeped in how deeply he spurned Chu Wanning—he was going to burn all of his books!!

     No! After thinking it over, he suddenly thought of an even more wicked idea…