Mo Ran opened the door.

     It wasn’t fully open, only a narrow gap. He saw Xue Meng bathed in sunlight, and beside him was Shi Mei, dressed in green robes.

     “We brought you some medicine for your injuries,” Xue Meng said. “...What are you doing? Open the door and let us in.”

     Mo Ran was silent for a moment before he let go of the doorframe and the two of them entered the room.

     Xue Meng walked to the window and poked his head out to look at the sunset outside. He then pulled his head back and said, “The scenery from your room is very good. There are several large camphor trees outside of mine. They’re blocking the view, so I can’t see anything.”

     Mo Ran said absentmindedly, “If you like it, I can trade with you.”

     “There’s no need, I’ve already put everything down. I was just saying it casually.” Xue Meng waved his hand and walked over to the table, “Let Shi Mei apply the medicine for you. The wound on your shoulder from the vines will fester if you don’t treat it.”

     Mo Ran’s dark eyes stared at Xue Meng. If Xue Meng knew about his previous life, what kind of evil soul was hidden in his cousin’s body, would he still smile at him and give him medicine?

     Xue Meng was somewhat frightened by this stare, and he asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

     Mo Ran shook his head and sat down at the table, lowering his eyes.

     Shi Mei stood to the side and said to him, “Take off your shirt. I’ll take a look at your wound.”

     Mo Ran felt depressed, so he didn’t think too much about it, and just lifted his hand to take off his shirt as he said, “Sorry to trouble you.”

     Shi Mei shook his head and sighed, “You… ah, you need to pay more attention. When you follow Shizun, you don’t learn the good, and only learn the bad. Whenever there’s danger, you always run to the front. In the end, you always end up with injuries all over your body. It’s hard to watch.”

     As he spoke, he took out the contents of the medicine box and carefully cleaned the wounds, applied the medicine, and wrapped them with gauze.

     After doing all of this, Shi Mei said, “Don’t go into the water, and don’t move too much either. The vines are poisonous, and the wounds won’t heal easily. Give me your hand, so I can check your pulse.”

     Mo Ran stretched out his arm.

     Shi Mei’s fingers were as white as soft jade. After feeling his pulse for a moment, a trace of worry flashed through his eyes. The reaction disappeared in a flash, but Mo Ran caught it, and he asked, “What’s wrong?”

     Shi Mei came back to his senses and he said, “Nothing.”

     “Is the poison very serious?”

     Shi Mei shook his head. After hesitating for a little while, he smiled at him, “Just a little. Remember to rest up a bit, or it will cause trouble.”

     As he spoke, he lowered his head and packed up his medicine box. He then said, “I still have some medicine to sort out, so I’ll be leaving first. You two can continue chatting.”

     The door closed behind him.

     Xue Meng looked to the place where he had disappeared and frowned slightly, “Why do I feel that his mood hasn’t been very good lately? It’s strange, as if there’s something on his mind.”

     Mo Ran wasn’t in a good mood either. He said, “Maybe when he checked my pulse, he discovered that my time is up. Do you feel sad for me?”

     “Pah, pah, pah, don’t jinx it.” Xue Meng glared at him, “How can you curse yourself like that? Besides, I’m telling you seriously, Shi Mei is always down these days.”

     Mo Ran, now a little more concerned, stopped what he was doing and asked, “He is?”

     “Yes,” Xue Meng said with certainty. “Let me tell you, he was in a daze quite a few times. I even called him two or three times before he reacted. Do you think he’s…”

     “He’s what?”

     “Fallen in love with someone?”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     Shi Mei fell in love with someone? If Xue Meng had told him this eight years ago, he probably would have jumped up and cursed out of jealousy. But now, he only felt a little surprised. He tried to find some clues, but he found that he had paid so little attention to Shi Mei over the years that he couldn’t think of any.

     “Don’t ask me, I’m not the one he likes.” As he spoke, he pulled up his clothes and put them back on, “Besides, why do you care about someone else’s relationship?”

     Xue Meng was a little embarrassed. With a red face, he coughed and said, “I don’t care! I’m just saying it casually!”

     He glared furiously at Mo Ran, at the well-built guy getting dressed, and as he did so, he suddenly felt that something wasn’t right. After looking carefully once more, his gaze landed on his tightly muscled chest and stopped—

     Mo Ran didn’t care, and joked, “Why are you staring at me? Do you like me?”

     “...” Xue Meng didn’t say a word.

     Mo Ran said in a half-dead tone, “Don’t look. It’s impossible between us.”

     Xue Meng turned his head away with a pale face. He pretended to be calm as he said, “Pft, you think too much.”

     But his heart was beating like a drum. He saw a crimson crystal pendant hanging from Mo Ran’s neck, close to his body. It looked very familiar. He seemed to have seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember. Even though he didn’t remember, goosebumps rose all over his body, and his mind buzzed.

     Where have I seen it before?

     After Mo Ran put on his clothes, he suddenly noticed that there were a few drops of medicine on the table. He asked Xue Meng, “Do you have a handkerchief?”

     “Hmm? …Oh, yes.” Xue Meng came back to his senses. He fished out his handkerchief and handed it to him, “You still never remember to bring one yourself.”

     “I’m not used to it.”

     Xue Meng rolled his eyes, “Last time, you said Shizun was going to make you one. You shouldn’t brag like that.”

     Only then did Mo Ran remember that he had once asked Chu Wanning to make him a haitang handkerchief, but Chu Wanning had either forgotten, or was too busy to give it to him. He couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. He cleared his throat a few times and said, “It’s because it’s been really busy recently. Shizun has no time…”

     “Even if he had time, Shizun wouldn’t only make one for you,” Xue Meng said. “I would definitely have a share. Maybe that person… Nangong Si also has a share.”

     When he mentioned Nangong Si, Mo Ran’s mood turned even more gloomy.

     “Did you go see him?” Mo Ran asked.

     “No, why would I go see him?” Xue Meng tilted his head, “He and Ye Wangxi are staying next to that old devil, Jiang Xi. I wish I could be thousands of miles away from that place. I don’t want to go there.”

     Mo Ran nodded, “It’s good that they’re there. Although Jiang Xi has a bad temper, and has a lot of problems, he’s still a reasonable person. He shouldn't make things difficult for them.”

     Xue Meng grumbled angrily, “Him? If that dog of a person is reasonable, I’ll take his surname. I won’t need to be Xue Meng, I’ll just be Jiang Meng.”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     Xue Meng had always had this kind of ability to be noisy and cynical, always full of sarcasm. But perhaps it was also because of this noise that Mo Ran felt there was more warmth in the room. Only then did the terrifying nightmares of his past life slowly fade away.

     Xue Meng suddenly frowned, “Speaking of which, it can’t be that Shizun really wants to accept Nangong Si as his disciple, right?”

     “In the past, Shizun definitely wasn’t willing,” Mo Ran said. “But now, neither you, nor I can stop him.”

     Xue Meng was stunned, “Why?”

     Mo Ran sighed, “Let me ask you. In the past, Li Wuxin revered Nangong Si. He was clearly the elder, but he never dared to talk back to Nangong Si. Why is that?”

     “Because his father was the Sect Leader of the number one cultivation sect in the cultivation world. Does this even need to be said?” Xue Meng asked.

     “Well then, let me ask you again,” Mo Ran said. “Why do people like Huang Xiaoyue and the others dare to bully him?”

     Xue Meng thought for a moment, “...Because of enmity?”

     Mo Ran was speechless. He thought to himself, Xue Meng is truly the only one who can say such words.

     He suddenly felt very envious. He felt that even though Xue Meng was already in his twenties, he still sometimes thought like a child. But “being like a child” was a very subtle description—because the most obvious characteristic of a child was innocence, simplicity, and bluntness.

     But at the same time, it also meant that they hadn’t grown up—they were immature and reckless. But for Mo Ran, he felt that it was a miracle that after twenty years of living, his eyes were still extremely pure and clean when looking at the world of mortals.

     He looked at the miracle in front of him and said with a bitter smile, “Where did all this enmity come from?”

     “Rufeng Sect revealed so many scandals in the upper cultivation world…” Xue Meng started.

     “It was Xu Shuanglin who revealed them. How much could it have to do with Nangong Si?” Mo Ran asked. “What’s more, wasn’t Nangong Si one of the people who was hurt the most by these secrets? He found out that his mother was killed by his father. He wasn’t the instigator at all, but a sacrifice, a victim.”

     Xue Meng opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Mo Ran didn’t continue, waiting for him to speak. But in the end, Xue Meng just opened his mouth wide for a long time before bitterly closing it again. He didn’t know how to respond.

     After a long time, he asked reluctantly, “Then what do you think it’s about?”

     “First, it’s because they want to watch the show,” Mo Ran said. “Rufeng Sect’s matter is so exciting for everyone to watch. It’s far more enjoyable for them to bully a young master in distress than to bully a little beggar.”

     This was the same as Xue Meng in his previous life.

     Back then, when the little phoenix met with disaster, what kind of ostracization did he suffer?

     Xue Meng didn’t know, but Mo Ran did.

     In order not to offend Emperor Taxian-Jun, no sect was willing to take him in, and no sect was willing to work with him. He had gone through many hardships, and traveled bitterly all over the world, begging the leaders of various sects, big or small, to join forces with him and overthrow Mo Ran before he did something even crazier.

     This was the first year of Mo Ran’s reign.

     Xue Meng had been running for nine years, trying to get someone to help him for nine years, but no one listened to him. In the end, only Taxue Palace of Mount Kunlun was willing to give him a place to stay. And the only person willing to help him was Mei Hanxue.

     Mo Ran was grateful that the Xue Meng of this life no longer had to suffer such humiliation.

     Xue Meng, oblivious to Mo Ran’s thoughts, only asked, “What’s the second reason?”

     “The second reason is because they think they’re acting on behalf of the heavens.”

     “What do you mean?” Xue Meng was puzzled.

     “Do you know what our Tianyin Pavilion, the descendant of the gods, does when it deals with criminals of the cultivation world?”

     “Publicly hang them for three days and three nights.” Xue Meng muttered, “Why are you asking me this? It’s not like you haven’t seen it before. When you first came to Sisheng Peak, there was already a criminal who was sentenced to death. Father had to go for the public trial, so you and I both went along and watched the execution. You also saw the execution, but at that time you were so timid. After you saw it, you were so scared that you had a high fever that lasted four or five days…”

     Mo Ran smiled and said half-heartedly, “I really couldn’t help it. It was the first time I saw someone dig out another person’s spiritual core.”

     “What are you afraid of?” Xue Meng scoffed, “It’s not like someone is gonna dig out your spiritual core.”

     Mo Ran only said, “The world is unpredictable.”

     Xue Meng was a little taken aback. He lifted his hand to Mo Ran’s forehead, “There’s no fever. Why are you talking nonsense?”

     “I just had a dream about it. I dreamt that someone’s sword pierced my chest. If it had been a few inches more, my heart and spiritual core would have been destroyed.”

     Xue Meng was speechless. He waved his hand and said, “Forget it. Although you’re quite annoying, you’re still my cousin. If anyone wants to dig out your spiritual core, I’ll be the first to show them no mercy.”

     Mo Ran smiled, his dark eyes bottomless as they glimmered with light and shadow. As the light and shadow clashed, there were thousands of thoughts in his mind.

     Why did he mention Xue Meng’s past at Tianyin Pavilion?

     Maybe Xue Meng hadn’t noticed at all, but those faces left a deep and colorful reaction in Mo Ran’s heart back then.

     He still remembered that the case had been about a woman in her twenties. She was very young.

     Several people gathered in front of Tianyin Pavilion to watch the show; there were men, women, elderly, children, cultivators, commoners, all kinds of people. They all looked at the woman on the platform who was bound by three magical artifacts—immortal binding rope, soul locking lock, and the demon subduing chain.

     “Isn’t that Madam Lin?”

     “She’s only just married into a prestigious family. What crime did she commit to actually alarm Tianyin Pavilion?”

     “Don’t you know? She was the one who set the fire in the Zhao house! She killed her own husband!”

     When the surrounding people heard this, they all drew in a gasp of cold air. Someone asked, “Why did she do something like this? I heard that her husband was very good to her.”

     Amidst the whispers, Tianyin Pavilion’s master slowly walked up to the execution platform. Holding the case scroll, he first greeted the people below the platform, then unhurriedly opened the scroll and began to read out the crimes of this woman surnamed Lin.

     The list of crimes was very long. He read it for almost an hour. The root of the matter was that this woman surnamed Lin was not the young lady that the Zhao family was originally supposed to marry.

     She was just a substitute, a puppet wearing a human mask. Her real purpose for approaching Young Master Zhao was to murder him over a personal grudge. The young lady who was supposed to marry into the Zhao family had long since become a ghost under Miss Lin’s knife.

     “What a good show of exchanging a leopard for a crown prince.” The Tianyin Pavilion’s master commented righteously, “However, heaven’s net is wide open. Miss Lin, it’s time for you to tear off your mask and let everyone see your true appearance.”

     The human skin mask was torn off in front of everyone and thrown to the ground like a snake shedding its skin.

     Beneath her loose, messy hair, another pale and coquettish face was revealed. A disciple of Tianyin Pavilion held her chin and lifted it to show everyone.

     There was an uproar below the platform. Someone shouted, “What a vicious woman!”

     “She killed an innocent young lady and ruined the Rong family just because of a personal grudge?!”

     “Beat her to death!”

     “Cut out her eyes!”

     “Lingchi! Cut off her skin inch by inch!”

     The crowd was made up of individual people, but in the end, they morphed into one. They were like a giant sluggish beast with a large tail, salivating, snarling, and growling.

     This ugly thing probably thought of itself as an auspicious beast that could represent the blue sky, the sun and moon above, as well as the heavens and the earth. Standing in this world, it was righteous and fair.

     The screams below the platform became louder and louder, scratching the young Mo Ran’s eardrums.

     He was shocked by the anger of these people.

     It seemed as if the woman who had died under her knife and Young Master Zhao had become their family, friend, son, and mistress. They wished that they could personally seek justice with their own hands, and hated that they couldn’t tear that sinner Lin apart themselves.

     Mo Ran’s eyes had widened in bewilderment, and he asked in a daze, “Isn’t Tianyin Pavilion supposed to decide the punishment?”

     Xue Zhengyong had comforted him, “Don’t be afraid Ran-er, it’s decided by Tianyin Pavilion. Everyone just can’t stand watching it, so they’re just speaking nonsense. Of course, Tianyin Pavilion will judge them according to the instructions of the divine martial realm. It will be fair, don’t worry.”

     But things didn’t go as Xue Zhengyong had said. The crowd’s chants became more and more frantic and exaggerated.

     “This bitch! She killed the innocent! How can we let her die so easily?! Pavilion Master Mu! You are the justice division of the cultivation world, so you must judge her properly and give her ten, or a hundred times the pain! Let her have the punishment she truly deserves!”

     “Tear her mouth apart first, pull out her teeth one by one and cut her tongue into a million pieces!”

     “Spread mud on her body! Tear it off after it’s dry, with a layer of skin! Then, pour chili water all over her and let her die from the pain! Kill her!”

     There was even a brothel madam who came to watch the show. She cracked some melon seeds and smiled sweetly, “Aiya, tear off her clothes. Shouldn’t this kind of person be naked? Stuff snakes and loaches into her bottom, then find a hundred men to take turns with her. That’s what she deserves.”

     Were these people really angry because of their own righteousness?

     Mo Ran was sitting beside Xue Meng at the time, trembling slightly. Even Xue Zhengyong noticed his unease. Just as he was about to take him away, there was a loud bang from the spectator stand. Someone from the crowd had thrown an explosive talisman at the woman’s feet.

     This was against the rules, however Tianyin Pavilion didn’t have time to stop it, or maybe they didn’t want to stop it at all. In the end, the explosive talisman exploded, and the woman’s feet were instantly blown into a bloody mess.

     “Uncle!”

     Mo Ran clutched to Xue Zhengyong’s robes tightly. He was shaking too much, he was shaking too much…

     “Good!” A roar of approval erupted from below, as the heroes clapped their hands in delight.

     “Well done! Punish the evil to promote the good! Again!”

     “Who threw it?! Don’t throw things!” The disciples of Tianyin Pavilion shouted from the spectator stand. Below, the people threw all kinds of things—vegetables, stones, eggs, knives, and more. The disciples cast a barrier around themselves and stood to the side; as long as they didn’t immediately take her life, they wouldn’t stop them.

     Tianyin Pavilion had always been valiant, and wouldn’t go against the righteous crowd.

     As Mo Ran recalled this, he felt suffocated, and didn’t want to think about it anymore. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

     “You’ll see, Xue Meng. If Nangong Si persists in his unwillingness to admit that he is Shizun’s disciple, he will completely lose his barrier in the cultivation world forever. After the trip to Mount Jiao, if they really bring Nangong Si to Tianyin Pavilion, you’ll see the exact same scene as back then.”

     Xue Meng argued, “But that year, everyone at Tianyin Pavilion was only so angry because that woman killed people…”

     “So with the knife in their hands, they can stab whoever they want, right?” Mo Ran’s mood became heavier and heavier. He didn’t say the rest of his thoughts out loud.

     How many people in this world did evil things in the name of “upholding justice”? They committed malicious acts, venting the unhappiness in their lives, the madness and shocking murderous intent in their chests, in this place.

     After finishing the tea and chatting for a while, Xue Meng left as the sun was getting low.

     Mo Ran walked to the window and took out the Zhenlong chess piece that he had stored in his sleeve. He stared at it for a moment, then poured spiritual energy in his fingers, fiercely crushing it to ashes.

     The wind had picked up, and the leaves shook just like the man standing by the window. He slowly raised his hand to cover his face. He was almost entirely exhausted. He leaned on the window frame for a long time before he turned around and walked back into the room, swallowed up by the darkness.

     He sat in the dark room for a long time, thinking and thinking until his whole person was broken and collapsed.

     He really didn't know what to do. He felt there were some things that he should say, but saying them might also make things more chaotic and out of control.

     What should he do?

     He didn’t know.

     The more he thought about it, the more upset and confused he became. He was anxious. He was in pain.

     He thought about the mastermind behind the scenes standing behind him.

     He thought about the god-like worship and superstition the cultivation world held for Tianyin Pavilion.

     He thought of the woman they had interrogated, her legs bloody.

     Mo Ran paced back and forth like a trapped beast. The shadows of Emperor Taxian-Jun and Mo-zongshi crossed his handsome face, one after the other.

     In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore, and stood up.

     He pushed the door open and walked out.

     It was late at night.

     Chu Wanning was just about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard a knock at the door outside. He opened the door and was stunned to see Mo Ran standing outside.

     “Why are you here?”

     Mo Ran felt like he was going crazy, driven mad by the catastrophe that could befall them at any time. He summoned up his courage and wanted to open his mouth to explain everything. But when he saw Chu Wanning’s face, his courage was shattered to pieces, turned to ashes, turned into selfishness and weakness.

     “...Shizun…” Mo Ran paused, his voice hoarse, “I can’t sleep. Can I come and sit for a while?”

     Chu Wanning stepped aside, and Mo Ran entered the room and closed the door. His unease was too strong, so strong that even without him saying a word, Chu Wanning could feel the anxiety in his heart. He asked, “Did something happen?”

     Mo Ran didn’t say anything. He silently looked at him for a while, then suddenly walked to the window and closed it tightly.

     “I…” The moment Mo Ran opened his mouth, his voice was shaky. Suddenly, his emotions surged, encouraging him to continue, “I have something to tell you.”

     “About Xu Shuanglin?”

     Mo Ran shook his head, hesitated for a moment, then shook his head again.

     The light of the candle reflected in his eyes, like a viper with its bright red tongue twisting and coiling. The expression on his face was too chaotic, and the light in his eyes was also very scattered. Chu Wanning was startled for a moment, then he raised his hand, wanting to touch his face.

     But as soon as his fingertips touched his face, Mo Ran’s eyes snapped shut, his lashes trembling and his adam’s apple rolling, as if he had been stung by a scorpion. He turned away and said vaguely, “I’m sorry.”

     “...”

     “Can I put out the light?” Mo Ran said quietly, “...I can’t say it when I see you.”

     Chu Wanning didn’t know what had happened, but he had never seen Mo Ran like this before. It made his hair stand on end, as if something that could destroy the world was about to fall and crush everyone standing below.

     Chu Wanning didn’t say anything else. He stood in place for a while, then nodded. Mo Ran walked to the candlestick and stared at it for a moment, then raised his hand to extinguish the last bit of light.

     The room was suddenly plunged into darkness.

     However, Mo Ran just stared for a long time. The shadow of the candle flame still flickered in front of his eyes. It changed from orange to multicolored, from concrete to blurry.

     He stood in place, his back facing Chu Wanning.

     Chu Wanning didn’t rush him, and waited for him to speak.