—Guyue’ye—

     The cultivators who escaped from Mount Jiao all had the heart-drilling bugs removed and wounds bandaged under the treatment of the medical sect’s disciples, but the depressing atmosphere was difficult to control, and the air was filled with the smell of death.

     Xue Meng sat on the beach of Rainbell Isle. He put the Longcheng scimitar on his lap and watched the tide rise and fall.

     Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, his eyes wide and full of hope. However, when he saw who it was, he was immediately disappointed and cast his gaze back to the vast sea.

     Mei Hanxue sat down beside him.

     “Your father received a summons and had to return to Sisheng Peak. He left in a hurry and asked me to come over and tell you.”

     “...”

     “You and your father don’t seem to be in a good mood.”

     “If you know, then scram.”

     Mei Hanxue didn’t scram but threw him a flask. “Do you want to drink?”

     Xue Meng turned around angrily, like a hedgehog with its needles standing on end. “Drink my ass! I’m not that depraved!”

     Mei Hanxue smiled, and his soft golden hair looked especially gentle in the sea breeze. His eyes were like pale jasper but also like two pools of water full of fallen flowers.

     “It’s just drinking. How is that depraved?” Mei Hanxue raised his hand and smoothed his hair, revealing a silver bell tied around his wrist. “I heard that Sisheng Peak doesn’t allow people to go to brothels, but it’s okay to get drunk, right?”

     “...”

     “I heard that Chu-xianjun loves Pear Blossom White. You’re his disciple, so how come you can’t learn half of his skills?”

     Xue Meng glared at him fiercely and opened his mouth as if he wanted to curse, but in the end, he didn’t. He grabbed the wine bottle and took a big gulp.

     “So heroic. This is wine from Taxue Palace. It tastes the most—”

     “Pah!” The proud Young Master Xue spat more than half of his mouthful at once, his face turning blue. “Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!”

     “...” Mei Hanxue pursed his lips. He seemed a little surprised. “You can’t drink?”

     Xue Meng didn’t want to lose face, so he pushed the hand trying to take back the wineskin away. He raised his head and took another big gulp. This time, it was even bigger. After swallowing, he turned his head and spat it out with a “pah!”

     Mei Hanxue was at a loss for the rare occasion. “I didn’t know you… Forget it. Let’s not drink anymore.”

     “Get lost!”

     “Give me the wineskin.”

     “Scram!” Xue Meng was so anxious that he glared angrily at Mei Hanxue and said, “If you tell me to drink, I’ll drink. If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop. Where’s my face? Do I have any shame?”

     As he spoke, he forcefully slapped his own cheeks, already feeling a little drunk.

     There was a rumor at Sisheng Peak—Chu-zongshi would not get drunk even after a thousand cups of wine, but Young Master Xue would get drunk after one cup.

     Mei Hanxue wasn’t from Sisheng Peak, so naturally he didn’t know of this sentence. If he knew, he wouldn’t have poured him such strong wine.

     After throwing up, Xue Meng held onto the wineskin and drank again. This time around, he gulped down four or five mouthfuls before gasping for breath. Then his expression became even more unsightly.

     Mei Hanxue immediately took the wineskin and said with a frown, “Stop drinking and go back to rest. You’ve been blowing in the sea breeze alone for a long time.”

     But Xue Meng said stubbornly, “I want to wait for someone to come back.”

     “...”

     “I… I…” Xue Meng stared straight at him for a while, then suddenly burst into tears. “You don’t understand, you don’t understand. I’m waiting for my brother, I’m waiting for my Shizun, I’m waiting for Shi Mei… Do you know? There’s four people; it’s not right if one of us is missing. We wouldn’t be the same as before…”

     Mei Hanxue knew how to comfort women. It would take nothing more than saying a few words of sincerity and swearing an oath to each other before the flowers and under the moonlight. With the right method, their hearts would be comforted.

    But he had never comforted a man.

    Xue Meng also didn’t need to be comforted; he had just held it in for a long time, so when he got drunk, it finally burst the dam.

    He just wanted to vent.

    “Out of the four of us, I’m the only one left. Now, I’m the only one left—I feel terrible. Damn it, do you understand?!”

     Mei Hanxue sighed and said, “I understand.”

     “You’re a liar, what do you know?” As he cried, Xue Meng suddenly lowered his head and wailed. He hugged Longcheng tightly, as if he were hugging the last piece of driftwood or floating grass.

     The liar didn’t know how to persuade him, so he said, “Alright then, I don’t understand.”

     “Heartless dog, why don’t you understand?” There was no point in arguing with a drunk. Xue Meng lifted his head and glared at him fiercely. His eyes were full of tears, but his anger was overflowing. “What don’t you understand? Isn’t it easy to understand?”

     He stretched out his fingers. “Four!”

     He put down one finger, then another. When he put down a third finger, he broke down again. It was as if the third finger was his tear gland. Xue Meng said, “There’s one left. I’m the only one left. Do you understand?”

     Mei Hanxue: “...”

     He didn’t want to be a liar, nor did he want to be a heartless dog, so whether he understood or not, he could not answer. He simply didn’t speak.

     Xue Meng stared at him for a long time, then turned his head. “Blrg—!”

     He was the most charming Young Master Mei. In the past, others would stare at his face and become infatuated. This was the first time a person stared at him for a while and actually threw up.

    Mei Hanxue had a slight headache. “What’s wrong with you? When I was young, I gave you houttuynia cordata to eat, and you threw up. When you grew up, I gave you Kunlun wine, and you threw up again. You’re really harder to please than a girl.”

     He looked at the person who vomited until he couldn’t breathe, his pale green eyes filled with helplessness. “Alright, now that you’re done scolding and vomiting, go back and rest. Neither your brother, Shizun, nor friend would like to see you like this.”

     As he spoke, he stood up to support Xue Meng.

     Xue Meng felt a little weak after vomiting. His footsteps were wobbly, and he no longer tried to break free from the arms supporting him.

     Mei Hanxue brought him across the long coast, then through Guyue’ye’s back door, preparing to send him into the house to rest.

     But before he could enter Flower Hall, Mei Hanxue suddenly felt a strong killing intent spreading in the air.

     He suddenly restrained Xue Meng, and the two immediately hid behind the corridor. Xue Meng was caught off-guard and let out an “ah!” but Mei Hanxue covered his mouth tightly.

     “Don’t say a word.”

     “Hand… Move your hand away… I… I’m going to throw up…” He could barely hear a humming sound.

     Mei Hanxue said, “Swallow it.”

     Xue Meng: “...”

     Afraid that the drunkard would cause trouble, Mei Hanxue raised his hand to Xue Meng’s lips and cast a silencing spell. Then he turned his head, looking towards Flower Hall.

     The scene in front of him shocked him immediately.

     Mo Ran?!

     At this time, most of the sect leaders and elders had already returned to their respective sects. Mount Jiao had suddenly caused a shocking change, and they urgently needed to strengthen the boundaries of their territories.

     However, there were still many injured cultivators left in Guyue’ye. Right now, they were all gathered in Flower Hall, staring at the man standing in the center of the hall with horror.

     “Tsk, tsk.” Mo Ran was wearing a floor-length black and gold robe. He narrowed his eyes and looked around. “Look at all these familiar faces. I didn’t expect to see all of you standing here alive and well after so many years.”

     Someone mustered up the courage to shout at him, “Mo, Mo Weiyu! Why have you suddenly gone mad?! Have you been possessed by the Nightmare?!”

     “Mad?” Mo Ran’s thin lips opened slightly, and he sneered, “Speaking to This Venerable One like this, you are the one who has gone mad.”

     As soon as he finished his sentence, everyone saw a flash of black light. That person stood frozen in place before blood gushed out of his chest, spurting straight to the ceiling.

     “Kill, kill!”

     “Mo Ran, what did you do?!”

     There was even someone who shouted at the top of their lungs, “Quick, go find Sect Leader Jiang! Go find Sect Leader Jiang!”

     “Oh?” Mo Ran slowly lifted his eyes. “Sect Leader Jiang. Is it Jiang Xi?”

     “...”

     “This person’s skills aren’t bad. Among the people I’ve killed, he will always rank in the top ten.”

     “What the hell are you talking about?!”

     Mei Hanxue also felt that something was amiss. This wasn’t the Mo-zongshi he had seen before. This man was filled with resentment, and his entire body exuded a murderous aura.

     But no matter how he looked at it, he looked exactly like Mo Ran, and his voice was also exactly the same. Who could completely replicate another person’s appearance and voice in such a short time?

     In Flower Hall, one of Guyue’ye’s elders said, “Mo-zongshi, I’m afraid you have been cursed by the evil dragon of Mount Jiao. Please sit down first and wait for this old man to check your pulse—”

     He was interrupted before he could finish.

     “What do you mean?” Mo Ran narrowed his eyes. “Old man, are you beating around the bush and calling This Venerable One sick?”

     Elder: “...”

     “Since you want to treat this illness so much, This Venerable One will help you. If there are no patients in the world, the doctor will starve to death. This Venerable One understands this principle.” As he spoke, the black shadow plundered Flower Hall, and in an instant, the hall was filled with screams, blood splattering in all directions.

     Mo Ran brushed his black robe and calmly returned to the center of the hall, standing on the dark red carpet. The entire hall was full of people missing arms and legs. Some people were even more miserable, having their hearts, livers, and stomachs pulled out before dying abruptly.

      Mo Ran looked at the elder who had fallen to the ground and said, “How is it? I sent so many patients to you for treatment. Are you happy?”

     “Mo… Mo Weiyu…”

     “Congratulations on the opening of your business, and may you make a fortune.” Mo Ran smiled, then walked out of the mess of corpses that were either rolling on the ground or dying violently. “Oh, right.”

     When he was in the front hall, he turned his face and said to those people, “I almost forgot to say, the upper cultivation world has been waiting for death for hundreds of years. Remember to tell your sect leaders—sooner or later, This Venerable One will raze all the sects in the upper cultivation world to the ground.”

     That man with a strong temper said hoarsely, “Mo Ran, you don’t have the guts! You only dare to come to Flower Hall, where the severely injured cultivators are being treated. You are simply afraid of meeting the other sect leaders!”

     “Afraid of them?” Mo Ran narrowed his eyes. “Even if you join forces again and put pressure on the border with an army, as long as This Venerable One doesn’t want to die, who amongst you can hurt This Venerable One?”

     “Mo Ran, are you insane?! Are you working with Hua Binan?! What exactly do you want to do?!”

     Mo Ran’s dimples were deep, and his eyes shone with a ghostly light. After a while, he said, “...You’re asking what This Venerable One wants?”

     A strange light seemed to flash across his handsome face, and then he closed his eyes.

     “Even This Venerable One doesn't know what he wants. In short, no one can give it to me, and no one can make This Venerable One happy anymore.” He said indifferently, “This Venerable One has been a walking corpse for so many years. I no longer have any desires. But if you must ask for one—”

     He smiled abruptly.

     Opening his eyes, his black pupils seemed to flash with a scarlet luster.

     “I want to watch you die.”

     Everyone was stunned. Mo Ran’s eyes swept across those pale faces, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “I haven’t seen such an interesting scene in a long time. It’s quite lively.”

     “Mo Ran… you’re truly mad…”

     “This is the second time you’ve said that.” Suddenly, his smile tightened, and there was the sound of an explosion! In the blink of an eye, Mo Ran swept behind the man like lightning. He slammed his hand down, and in an instant, brain matter splattered everywhere!

     “AHHHHH”

     Among the screams, Mo Ran finally raised his handsome face splattered with blood, revealing a pair of strange and beastly eyes, He swept through the crowd like a sparrow.

     “If This Venerable One doesn’t go mad, I’m afraid I’d ruin Your Excellency's good intentions.”

     The man he called “Your Excellency” had his skull shattered, and blood flowed all over his head and face. Mo Ran didn’t even bother to look at him, as if he’d only just eaten an ordinary meal. He looked at the crowd calmly and coldly.

     “Alright, I’ve killed enough fools today.” The corners of his mouth slowly curled up into a smile as he casually kicked the corpse away. “It’s always too boring to kill everyone at once. If I kill too many people, This Venerable One will feel lonely again. I’ll let you live for a few days.” After a pause, he continued, “When my hands get restless again, I’ll crush your heads for some fun.”

     Amidst the bloodstains, he leisurely strolled out of the hall. When he reached the door, he cast them a sidelong glance. “Until then, remember to save your heads.”

     After saying this, he laughed loudly, wrapped himself in his cloak, and suddenly swept over the eaves from the ground. His figure quickly disappeared behind the arch.

     —

     Three days later, in the cave of Longxue Mountain, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning were still unconscious due to the effects of the spell. But the incense burner suddenly crackled, and black smoke suddenly poured from within. Immediately after, an ear-piercing scream rang out, echoing in the cave.

     Mo Ran suddenly opened his eyes and woke up with a start.

     His heart no longer hurt, and there were no longer any injuries. The mysterious thin smoke that connected him and Chu Wanning had also dissipated.

     “Shizun!”

     He stood up immediately but suddenly saw that a third person had entered the cave at some point.

     That person stood in front of the stone table with his back to him, carefully examining the incense burner that emitted a burning smell. His figure was slender and handsome—indescribably good-looking. He lifted the lid of the incense burner and, with one slender, pale hand, took out a heavily-petaled exotic flower, holding it in his palm to examine it.

     “It’s really completely destroyed,” he said softly. Then he crushed the black flower into powder with two fingers.

     Immediately, a ray of bright light rose from the ashes. The person looked at the white light with his hands held behind his back, feeling somewhat relieved. “Well, fortunately, when I refined this flower, I also fused a piece of my own soul into it. If it wasn’t for that piece guiding me, it really wouldn’t have been easy to find this cave in this vast world.”

     The white light seemed to understand his words and slowly coiled around the man. Its color became fainter and fainter, then finally disappeared completely.

     Mo Ran said hoarsely, “You are…”

     Hearing the noise, the man put down the incense burner and sighed. “You’re awake?”

     The person said lightly, “Who else do you think I can be?”

     The voice sounded familiar, but Mo Ran had just woken up, and his consciousness was still a little groggy, as if he’d had a thousand-year dream. He actually didn’t react for a while.

     Who could this person be?

     Hearing what he said just now, it seemed to be related to that mysterious black flower. Refining flowers and poisonous insects was Guyue’ye’s greatest specialty… Was it… Hua Binan?

     When he thought of Hua Binan, he immediately thought of Shi Mei. Mo Ran felt a sudden surge of hatred, but before he could speak, that person turned around.

     The light in the cave was dim, but as that person turned around, the entire area was filled with light. He was truly beautiful.

     The man’s long hair, which he was used to letting down, was tied up high at this moment. A cloth embroidered with fine patterns was placed neatly over his eyes. His entire person was completely different; there was no longer the slightest trace of the delicate temperament or the pair of peach blossom eyes full of emotion, bright and clear.

     It was such a beauty, but Mo Ran’s shock was as fierce as a thunderstorm. Two words left his lips, like a sharp arrow piercing through the dead silence:

     “Shi Mei?!”

     The person who came was none other than Shi Mei… The one who came was actually Shi Mei!

     This peerless beauty smoothed the stray hair at his temples and said lightly, “A-Ran, are you surprised to see me?”

     The blood rushed to his skull as his brain buzzed. Mo Ran’s head was still spinning, unable to process what had happened at all. He had no idea why Shi Mei had suddenly appeared here and why he had such a strange expression.

     His whole body was frozen, and all kinds of words were stuck in his throat. In the end, he hesitated and said, “...Your eyes…”

     “I’m not injured.” Shi Mei smiled and walked towards Mo Ran. “I’ve come to see the person I admire. If I’m blind and ugly, who would like me?”

     “...”

     Mo Ran slowly recovered his senses from his joking demeanor, and he was unable to speak for a while. His shock was like a black cloud pressing down on a city, and his mind went blank for a moment.

     “You… How could it be you…? Where is Cold Scale Sacred Hand?”

     Anger suddenly surged in his heart like a flood.

     At this moment, Mo Ran finally understood how Xue Meng felt in his previous life. There was nothing more painful than being betrayed and schemed against by an old friend who had been with him day and night.

     “Where is Cold Scale Sacred Hand?!”

     “Oh, him.” Shi Mei smiled. “There’s still a long way to go, so there’s no rush to explain.”

     As he said this, he walked forward step by step until he was right next to Mo Ran.

     Shi Mei smiled and said, “Rather than talking about Cold Scale Sacred Hand, after going through so many twists and turns, I still want to talk about my heart with the person I admire first.”

     Mo Ran was enraged, and his heart was cold. His face became more and more ashen. “There’s nothing else to talk about between you and me."

     The handsome and refined man laughed lightly. “Hm?” The ends of his eyes were as soft as clouds as he stared at Mo Ran’s face. “...Our temperaments are at odds with each other, so there’s really nothing to talk about.”

     As he said this, he walked past Mo Ran until he was in front of Chu Wanning. Before Mo Ran could react, Shi Mei had already gently extended a slender hand and lowered his head to touch Chu Wanning’s cheek.

     “...” Mo Ran’s mind was blank, and he still didn’t understand the meaning of this action.

     Shi Mei gazed at Chu Wanning and spoke softly, as if there were no one else present, “Shizun, that reckless man hurt you, right? How pitiful… But then again, aren’t you going to recover your memories?”

     His pale fingertips tapped the sleeping person’s lower lip. Shi Mei narrowed his eyes. His beauty was still the same, but it was like poison.

     “It’s good that you recovered your memories. Even now, I still can’t figure out some of the tamperings you made at the beginning. Now that you’re awake, we can still learn from each other.”

     He paused for a moment, then smiled. “In the past life, you did all sorts of things to conceal the truth and bully this disciple so miserably. If it were anyone else tormenting me like this, it wouldn’t be enough even if they died a hundred times. But if you go against me, I’ll still tolerate it. I still love you.”

     As he spoke, he glanced at Mo Ran, then leaned over to kiss Chu Wanning’s cheek. He lowered his eyes and sighed. “Who told me to like you, my good Shizun?”