He felt like he was holding a hot potato. At a loss for what to do, his ears flushed red with embarrassment as more and more people looked in their direction.

     At this moment, a pair of hands reached over and took the child from him. Chu Wanning breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, “Mo Ran?”

     “It’s me.” Mo Ran held the child in one of his arms, and ruffled Chu Wanning’s hair with the other. His expression was calm, only leaving a faint trace of melancholy between his brows.

     After seeing the miserable destruction in Linyi, he felt terrible. But when he looked at Chu Wanning, he wanted to smile to prevent his expression from looking too ugly. This smile wasn’t as bright as other times, but it somehow made others feel very warm.

     “You’ve already spoken to the people on the island?”

     “Yes, everything is settled,” Mo Ran replied.

     Chu Wanning frowned, “I’m afraid the fire in Linyi won’t be extinguished for at least four or five days. Until then, we’ll have to stay on Feihua Island. There aren’t many houses on the island, and we brought so many people with us…”

     “I asked the village chief, and he said we can still squeeze in," Mo Ran said.

     It’s good that Mo Ran was able to handle this sort of question. He knew how to communicate with others better than he did, and with his looks and all, he appeared much more approachable when people looked at him. Thinking back to when they helped harvest the rice, and the way all the village girls looked at him, he was definitely much more likable than himself.

     Chu Wanning thought in silence for a while, not knowing what to feel. After a while, he nodded and said, “Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”

     “It’s nothing.” Mo Ran glanced at the candy in Chu Wanning’s hand and immediately understood. He turned to the child in his arms and smiled, “And you? Why are you crying?”

     “I want Mommy, I want Daddy…”

     Seeing that the child was still so young that his steps must still be unsteady, Mo Ran couldn’t help but feel sad that his parents had lost their lives in the fire and could never return.

     He touched his forehead to the child’s face and comforted him in a low voice, “It will be some time before Mommy and Daddy can come accompany you. You have to be good, so they’ll be happy to see you…”

      After he hugged and comforted him for a while, the child gradually calmed down. Although he was still crying , he didn’t shout and sob anymore.

     Mo Ran lowered his head to look down at the child with tears in his eyes while Chu Wanning stood quietly at the side, watching him quietly with the candy still in his hand. Mo Ran’s side profile was very good-looking. His features were strong and defined, and if placed in ink, his face would be like a willow leaf, his form powerful and vigorous, easily revealing his peerlessly handsome face. His edges were sharp, but his eyelashes and eyes were soft, like a bed of spring leaves.

     Chu Wanning was lost in thought.

     So when Mo Ran poked his head over and bit the candy in Chu Wanning’s hand, Chu Wanning abruptly retracted his hand. His eyes widened in surprise as he asked, “What are you doing?”

     The glutinous rice candy was so small that when Mo Ran’s head came close and quickly took it, his lips accidentally touched the tip of Chu Wanning’s finger.

     Chu Wanning felt his whole body go numb. That quick and small intimate touch was enough to send a tingle up his spine, like a fresh sprout breaking out of a seed, pushing through the soil and stifling earth to reveal softness…

     Mo Ran smiled at him with the candy in his mouth, then turned his head to wink at the boy. He raised his head and rolled the candy in his mouth, his adam’s apple bobbing, and said to the child, “Look, it’s not a scary pill. It’s candy.”

     Chu Wanning: “...”

     His mind had wandered just now, so he hadn’t been paying attention to what the child and Mo Ran were talking about. Only then did his gaze fall back on the child, who stared timidly, yet earnestly, at Mo Ran for a moment before whispering in surprise, “Ah, it’s really candy…”

     “Yeah.” Mo Ran said with a smile, “This xianjun-gege is so good. Why would he take you to make pills?”

     Chu Wanning was speechless.

     —

     Because the events of the previous night were too devastating, Mo Ran didn’t feel sleepy at all. After settling down the men, women, and children he had rescued, the sky was already bright. He walked to the edge of the beach on Feihua Island alone, where the morning coastline receded far in the distance and revealed a beach that couldn’t be seen at high tide.

     When he was alone, many things would come to mind, forming a lingering haze in his eyes that he couldn’t get rid of.

     He took off his shoes and walked slowly along the wet shoreline, his footprints leaving two lines of skewed tracks on the wet sand behind him.

     In fact, there were still many things about Xu Shuanglin that he didn’t understand, such as why he didn’t like to wear shoes in the cold, always wanting to walk around barefoot.

     Mo Ran was a person who hid a lot of his past, and was always treated badly by others. Perhaps because of this, he could clearly understand why Xu Shuanglin wanted to destroy Rufeng Sect, Jiangdong Hall, and even disrupt the entire upper cultivation world at all costs.

     But he also knew that being suppressed and excluded wasn't the most painful thing.

     The most painful thing was being betrayed by someone close to you. The most painful thing was to have done nothing wrong, to have tried with all your heart and soul to become a great master, only to be accused by thousands of people at the Spiritual Mountain Competition, the most important event in the cultivation world, saying that the unique spell he had created with all his effort was stolen from his elder brother…

     He would never be able to recover from the ridicule. He would be cursed and looked upon with disdain for all eternity.

     Mo Ran knew that after this calamity passed, the cultivation world was bound to face a reshuffle, and for those who had suffered, both in face or in body, they would all think, Xu Shuanglin is truly a madman.

     Perhaps only Mo Weiyu, who had once killed people like flies, would be unable to stop himself from pondering as he walked along this long and quiet shoreline.

     Just what kind of person was Xu Shuanglin?

     Had this madman, in his youth, arduously practiced his swordsmanship in the orange grove, only to return after nightfall, tired and content, with a fresh orange hidden in his sleeve to give to his elder brother, who had always been lazy?

     At that time, he didn’t know that although his elder brother didn’t accomplish anything, he would be able to use his cunning tongue to make him lose his foothold in the cultivation world.

     Had this madman once buried himself in spell scrolls and meditation? Did he earnestly dip his brush into the ink, write down a passage of somewhat inexperienced ideas, then become dissatisfied, biting the end of the brush as he fell into deep thought once more?

     At that time, he also didn’t know that no matter how hard he tried, his reputation would be tarnished, without any hope to return.

     Mo Ran closed his eyes, letting the sea breeze blow against his face and sunlight fall on his eyelashes, coating them with a layer of gold. He thought of the Farewell to Three Lifetimes courtyard. Xu Shuanglin had given this name to his place of residence. Was it just a casual choice?

     There was also the previous lifetime. When Xu Shuanglin hid in Rufeng Sect, it should have been for the same purpose as in this life. But in that life, he died fighting to save Ye Wangxi…

     Ye Wangxi.

     This name was also given to her by Xu Shuanglin.

     Forget the past…

     Had he ever tried to forget the years of injustice in the past? To forget the hatred and glory? To forget those ugly faces?

     There was also Xu Shuanglin’s painstaking efforts to drag Luo Fenghua’s corpse out of the infinite hells.

     What did he want with the corpse?

     In the illusion, Xu Shuanglin told Nangong Liu that only by obtaining the spiritual core of the person who cast the curse could the curse on the ring be completely broken. But the end result suggested that Xu Shuanglin’s true purpose was never to help Nangong Liu break the curse in the first place.

     The Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death, the Zhenlong Chess Formation, the Rebirth technique…

     And then there was the hand that came out of the rift.

     Mo Ran had a vague feeling that something was very wrong somewhere, and his brow furrowed in thought.

     Suddenly, his eyes widened.

     He thought of one thing—

     That year, at the edge of Jincheng Lake, when the old dragon Wangyue had died, he had said, “Since taking control of Jincheng Lake, that mysterious man spent all his time at the bottom of the lake, using the Heart Pluck Willow’s power to practice the forbidden techniques of Rebirth and the Zhenlong Chess Formation.”

     He didn’t mention the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death.

     In other words, Xu Shuanglin only cared about two of the forbidden techniques—Rebirth and the Zhenlong Chess Formation.

     Needless to say, the Zhenlong Chess Formation was used for the convenience of manipulating pawns.

     What about Rebirth?

     Who did he want reborn?

     Mo Ran thought about it and felt that there could only be two possibilities—one was Rong Yan, and the other was Luo Fenghua.

     Xu Shuanglin’s words suggested that the person Rong Yan had once loved was actually him. Later, because of some unknown reason, she finally broke it off with Xu Shuanglin, and married his brother instead.

     However, after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it shouldn’t be her after all.

     If Xu Shuanglin really did love Rong Yan to the point of thinking of a way to revive her, how could he have killed her only son in his previous life?

     More importantly, he had long since been hiding by Nangong Liu’s side as “Elder Shuanglin.” If he was trying to use the Rebirth technique to revive Rong Yan, why didn’t he just directly stop her from being sacrificed at Jincheng Lake in the first place?

     It couldn’t be Rong Yan.

     Mo Ran turned his head and looked at the sea that was painted red by the rising run. The swift, billowing waves continued to expand and surge, and as the sun rose in the east, the tide was rising at a speed visible to the naked eye, reflecting the earth and sky in all its golden brilliance.

     It had to be Luo Fenghua.

     Mo Ran was almost certain that the person Nangong Xu wanted to resurrect was Luo Fenghua.

     The matter of Rufeng Sect was not as simple as it appeared to be on the surface. Just like the rise and fall of the tide, those broken shells and dangerously colored starfish were all covered by the rolling waves at dawn.

     The sea was rising quickly, and the small pieces of sand and rocks were being washed away by the waves, which were extending to the beach where he was walking. Suddenly, he felt a cold chill beneath his feet. Mo Ran lowered his head and noticed that the waves had already surged up and were lapping at the backs of his feet.

     Whoosh! He quickly moved away, his toes feeling a little cold, and turned around to walk back to the beach and put on his shoes.

     But when he turned around, he saw Chu Wanning walking towards him out of the red haze of clouds filling the sky. In one hand, Chu Wanning was carrying his socks and shoes, which he had casually thrown in the sand, and handed them to him, “Why are you barefoot? It’s so cold.”

     Mo Ran followed him to the top of the sandy slope and sat down on the shore. He shook off the mud on his feet and put on his shoes again.

     He suddenly felt a sense of relief. Even though he was never destined to obtain the love he wanted from Chu Wanning in this lifetime, Chu Wanning was still the best Shizun in the world. He would always care for him and look after him. Seeing him walking about barefoot, he would worry that he would catch a cold.

     “What do you think about the matter of Rufeng Sect?” Chu Wanning asked.

     “It’s not that simple,” Mo Ran replied.

     “I agree.” Chu Wanning’s eyebrows hadn’t relaxed since last night. Even now, despite the short period of peace and tranquility, there was still a tinge of worry between his brows as he watched Mo Ran put on his socks and shoes. Then, his gaze returned to the vast ocean.

     The rising sun blazed with a dazzling golden-red, interweaving with the unextinguished flames of Linyi in the distance and making it difficult to distinguish between the two.

     “It’s truly too hard to find out where Xu Shuanglin was pulled to by the space rift,” Chu Wanning said. “If he doesn’t want to be found, I’m afraid no one will be able to find him for around eight to ten years.”

     Mo Ran shook his head and said, “He can’t hold out for eight to ten years. After he recovers his energy, he should make a move.”

     “What do you mean?”

     Mo Ran told Chu Wanning about his suspicions, then said, “Luo Fenghua’s corpse isn’t his real body, but a fake form rebuilt in the infernal hells. Once it leaves the ghost realm, without the support of yin energy, it will wither and decay very quickly. So I guess at most one year; even if he’s not fully prepared, he will still make a move.”

     Chu Wanning didn’t say a word.

     He was always cautious when analyzing a situation. Regarding this matter, he wouldn't be as bold as Mo Ran in making assumptions about such uncertainties. But there was no harm in listening to Mo Ran’s ideas.

     “What about that hand?” Chu Wanning asked. “What are your guesses about the hand that took Nangong Xu away?”

     “...” Mo Ran shook his head, “I know too little about the first forbidden technique, so it’s hard to say. I don’t know.”

     This sentence wasn't true. Although Mo Ran didn't want to lie to Chu Wanning anymore, there were still some things he couldn't say openly to him.

     He was too afraid to say.

     Truly, ever since he could remember, the number of peaceful days he’d had were pitifully few. Even if he added up his two lifetimes, it wouldn’t exceed a year.

     If a person who had been wandering, displaced for decades, was suddenly asked to sit down, and given a pot of hot tea and a campfire, how could he afford to get up and leave again? How could he afford to shatter this wonderful dream with his own hands?

     So, he could only say that he didn’t know.

     However, his heart was restless and uneasy. He was almost certain that the owner of that hand couldn’t be that simple. Otherwise, why didn’t the Xu Shuanglin of the previous lifetime just collect five elite spiritual essence bodies and slaughter them to open the rift? If it wasn’t for the fact that he had been coaxed and bewitched in this lifetime by someone who had come back to life through Rebirth, then according to the normal course of events, Xu Shuanglin shouldn’t have thought of how to revive Luo Fenghua at this time…

     Moreover, back when Xu Shuanglin controlled the white chess piece at Jincheng Lake, he had said to Chu Wanning, “If you think that I’m the only one in this world who knows the three forbidden techniques, then I’m afraid you won’t have much longer to live.”

     Mo Ran felt that Xu Shuanglin must have known that some people who shouldn’t have existed in this world had already come to this world. But at the same time, he also felt that although Xu Shuanglin knew that there were people who had been reborn, he didn’t know that Mo Ran was one of them.

     Otherwise, when he exposed the cultivation world’s secrets in Rufeng Sect, why didn’t he just directly reveal his background? As long as he obtained some of Mo Ran’s memories and put them in the tribulation fire, no matter how good Chu Wanning treated him, he probably wouldn’t want him as a disciple anymore. Then, everything would be over, and he, Mo Weiyu, would never be able to turn back.

     Why didn’t Xu Shuanglin do this?

     There were only two possibilities:

     One—for some reason, he could not do so.

     Two—he didn’t know.

     However, no matter what the situation was, Mo Ran was at a disadvantage. He didn’t have many clues, and if the other party was careful and didn’t expose any more clues, he would only be able to stand in the open and wait for the cold, glowing blade to stab him in the back at any moment. 

     Mo Ran pursed his lips, his thick eyelashes trembling lightly.

     In his previous life, he had lived in hatred and acted in self-interest, doing all sorts of crazy things in his madness. In this life, no matter what the outcome was, he wanted to do his best to live every day well and make up for those he’d wronged. He wanted to do his best to protect his Shizun, Shi Mei, Xue Meng, and Sisheng Peak.

     He wanted to retain the warmth he had once desired.

     Just as he was lost in thought, a fisherman suddenly rushed over and shouted to Mo Ran and Chu Wanning, “This is bad! Xianjun, something has happened!”

     Startled, Mo Ran propped himself up from the ground and immediately leapt up as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

     “The head of the island went out to sea a few days ago, and just came back this morning. She… she heard what happened from the village chief and was very dissatisfied with what he had done. She’s already kicked everyone out. The people you brought are all standing outside.” The fisherman was kind-hearted, and his eyes were a little moist as he spoke, “What a pity. It’s so cold, but she wasn’t even willing to give them clothes and blankets. She also said…”

     As he trailed off, Chu Wanning also stood up, his face gloomy, “What else did she say?”

     “She also said that… that the people of Linyi had eaten the food and drank the water from Feihua Island… She said they would have to settle the debt, and if they didn’t pay up, they would… be arrested and kept on the island as slaves…”

     Before he could say any more, Chu Wanning was already furious. His moonlight-white robe fluttered as he quickly rushed towards the center of the village, the gold embroidery glittering in the sunlight.