“......”

He froze in place, as if struck by lightning.

     Unbelievable… unbelievable… What was Shi Mei talking about? What was Shi Mei doing?! This—what was going on?

Mo Ran couldn’t swallow his surprise for a while. He didn’t even feel that Shi Mei had kissed Chu Wanning just now. The scene was so shocking that he thought he was hallucinating when he saw it with his own eyes.

He covered his forehead with his hand, his temples throbbing. In his mind, he could only see Shi Mei’s warm smile from when he was a teenager as he softly called out, “A-Ran.”

     But the person in front of him... He actually… actually…

It was so chilling that his hair stood on end.

     Shi Mei likes… Shizun?

How is this possible?!

Shi Mei had never shown any affection for Shizun. To say Xue Meng liked Chu Wanning was more convincing than saying Shi Mei liked Chu Wanning. How could Shi Mei like him? He had always been cautious and respectful, spoke very little, and didn’t even stick to Shizun.

     After his lessons and work were done, he would leave politely…

How could it be?

Shi Mei straightened up and narrowed his eyes, looking at Mo Ran. He chuckled. “It seems like someone here has been frightened by me.”

“You… are… ridiculous.”

     “Ridiculous?” Shi Mei was calm and unperturbed. “My little Shidi, who is the ridiculous one? Am I the one who bullied Shizun into such a miserable state?”

     Mo Ran’s face suddenly turned red. His eyes were angry and confused.

     If anyone else had appeared here, he would have rebuked them fiercely. But the one standing here was not someone else but Shi Mei, whom he’d mistakenly believed he loved for two lifetimes.

     He was choked and unable to speak for a moment.

     On the other hand, Shi Mei was much more thick-skinned than before. He said calmly, “But it’s not as if I haven’t done ridiculous things. For example, I pretended to like you, treated you well for so many years, and under Jiangui’s interrogation, I even endured the pain of lying to you and saying, I like you.”

     He paused for a moment, and a trace of ridicule appeared in his eyes. “Stop fooling around. If I were to fall in love with someone like you, who has nothing better than your face, I would really stab myself in the eyes and die.”

     Mo Ran: “...”

     “Why aren’t you saying anything? Are you not convinced?” Shi Mei’s charming face was beautiful, even as he sneered. He glanced at Mo Ran and touched Chu Wanning’s chin.

     Mo Ran burned with fury, about to summon Jiangui.

     However, there was only a flash of scarlet in his palm before the spiritual flow immediately disappeared.

     Shi Mei didn’t even bother to raise his eyes as he said, “Don’t waste your energy. In the previous life, Wanning set up this trap and used half of his earth soul to finally pull out the poisonous flower for you. Now, you will never be controlled again, but your body will need more than ten days to recover its spiritual power. If you want to fight with me now, it will be like hitting an egg against stone.”

     “Who are you calling Wanning?!”

     “You’re so unreasonable. You're allowed to bully your Shizun and ancestors, yet I'm not allowed to love my Shizun?"

     “You—!”

     “You’ve already fucked him and tasted it countless times.” Shi Mei chuckled. “It’s my turn, right? I’m actually feeling a bit wronged for fucking someone you’ve fucked. But seeing that it’s him, I’ll bear with it.”

     Mo Ran was furious. He didn’t have any spiritual power, but he was able to engage in close combat.

     “Sigh… That’s why I said what I hate the most is people like you who don’t even know how to be civilized.” Shi Mei suddenly let go of Chu Wanning and began to fight with Mo Ran in the stone cave.

     The cave was dark and gloomy, and the two tall men’s figures were projected on the wall as they fought. They were like two dragons clashing in the clouds, with flames and lightning surging.

     Shi Mei was not good at offensive attacks, so he was no match for Mo Ran in close combat. Seeing that the situation was bad, he waved his sleeve, and a rolling spiritual snake appeared and locked onto Mo Ran. He took the opportunity to dash to the side and pick up Chu Wanning before flying out of the cave.

     “Shizun!!”

     Mo Ran barely managed to shake off the cold, sticky snakes and chased after him. However, he saw Shi Mei standing on top of a tree branch, the bright moon shining behind him.

     Shi Mei laughed and said, “Stop chasing. You’ve just recovered. Even if you throw away your life, you won’t be able to catch up to me.”

     “Shi Mingjing, why… why are you like this?!”

     “A-Ran.” Shi Mei smiled and said, “Did I ever tell you that I hate the names Shi Mei and Shi Mingjing?”

     “...”

     “So if you don’t mind, you can call me by my real name from now on.”

     “...What?”

     “My surname is Hua, and my given name is Binan.”

     Hua Binan?!

     Seeing Mo Ran’s eyes widen, Shi Mei smiled even more brightly. “Oh right, on account of the fact that we’re martial brothers, I will give you a very important message—don’t go to Guyue’ye. If you go there now, Jiang Xi will tear you to pieces. Don’t try to follow me anymore. Be good and return to Sisheng Peak as soon as possible.”

     Mo Ran was stunned for a moment before his face turned pale. “What do you want to do with Sisheng Peak?!”

     “You’re not stupid in this life.” Shi Mei smiled and said, “Shige has given you a little surprise. You’ll know when you get there.”

     Mo Ran’s throat felt choked, and his eyes were burning with fire. He wasn’t even sure if he was more sad or angry at this moment. He shouted sternly, “Shi Mei, what are you scheming?! Didn’t you tell me that Sisheng Peak is your home? Didn’t you tell me… that Uncle saved you from exile… Didn’t you tell me that we are the most important people to you?!”

     His voice was trembling by the end, and he clenched his fingers into fists.

     “...Were you lying to me about all of this? Could it be that for so many years, for two lifetimes—” Mo Ran stopped abruptly.

     He felt a bone-piercing chill.

     “Are you saying that for two lifetimes… you’ve been scheming against me?”

     Shi Mei didn’t say anything. He stood on the treetops, wearing a loose robe with wide sleeves, and looked at him with a smile. His peach blossom eyes were curved, and his jaw was sharp. In the dense fog of the mountain, he looked like a fox in the night.

     “You…” Every word quivered between his teeth.

     Mo Ran’s mind was in a mess, and his eyes were filled with madness.

     “Shi Mei, say something…”

     From the year he gently coaxed him by the candlelight to their companionship later, they were inseparable.

     “Say something!”

     From the elegant youth who was as peerless as jade to the moment he lay in his arms in the snow during the Heavenly Rift, telling him not to hold grudges and not to blame his Shizun.

     Mo Ran was about to break into pieces. “You clearly died… I saw it with my own eyes… I brought your body back to Sisheng Peak… You can’t be Shi Mei… You… How is this possible…?”

     “Because you’re stupid.”

     A clear and elegant voice sounded. Shi Mei finally opened his mouth, but it wasn’t without sarcasm.

     “You bunch of boorish people only know how to cultivate spiritual cores. You look down on the medical sect. Be it you, the sect leader, or even our wise Shizun.” He laughed. “There was a mistake in my previous statement. Shizun is not a boorish man. However, people like you all look down on medicinal poisons.”

     Mo Ran murmured, “Medicinal poisons…”

     “It’s difficult to keep a dead person alive,” Shi Mei said slowly. “But I have many ways to fake the death of a living person.”

     If Mo Ran’s mind was clear, he would have heard the flaw in Shi Mei’s words.

     Even if medicine could fake a person’s death, in his previous life, he had guarded Frost Sky Hall for seven days and later watched Shi Mei’s burial with his own eyes. At that time, the coffin had three layers, each sealed with a longevity nail, and the soil was even thicker. Who could crawl out of such a grave alive on their own without alerting the mausoleum keepers?

     Thus, there were only two possibilities. First, Shi Mei was lying. Second, in his previous life, there was someone who infiltrated Sisheng Peak, uncovered the soil and opened the coffin from the outside, and freed the fake corpse inside…

     However, Mo Ran's entire person was in chaos.  It was as if an invisible hand had moved his internal organs, heart, liver, spleen, and stomach into the wrong positions. He did not have the heart to think carefully. When he heard Shi Mei’s words, an image from his memory immediately appeared in front of his eyes, a pale and bloodless face—

     In the heavy snowfall, Shi Mingjing died. From then on, Mo Ran hated himself for being powerless, hated Chu Wanning for standing by and watching. From then on, he stepped into the abyss and fell into darkness…

     But who knew!

     It was fake… It was all fake!!

     He had actually gone crazy for half a lifetime over a person who had faked his death. He had been obsessed with him for half his life, killing anyone in the world and ultimately causing the death of the man who loved him most in the world.

     Absurd.

     Absurd!

     Anger and pain made his scalp go numb. His pupils shrank, and he spoke, his voice almost tyrannical, “You… How can you actually feel at ease?!”

     “I feel very at ease.” Shi Mei smiled. “But you, Emperor Taxian-Jun—”

     “...”

     As soon as those words left his mouth, they hit Mo Ran right where it hurt.

     “No matter the reason for holding the butcher’s knife, whether because of resentment or unwillingness, your hands are now stained with blood.”

     As he spoke, he deliberately held the unconscious Chu Wanning even tighter in his arms. It was almost as if he was showing off his trophies of war.

     “How can Emperor Taxian-Jun, whose hands are covered in blood, be together with the flawless Beidou Immortal?”

     The last trace of color on Mo Ran’s face disappeared.

     Shi Mei was very clear about his weakness. He brandished his scorpion pincers and continuously pierced poison into his opponent’s body. He narrowed his eyes and pressed forward step by step.

     “Are you worthy?”

     “Don’t you feel dirty?”

     “You’re stealing.”

     The wind blew, and the mist dispersed. A bright moon peeked out from behind the clouds.

     Shi Mei smiled, but every word was sharper than a knife. “Emperor Taxian-Jun, all your days with him were stolen. You know best what kind of thing you are. There’s no need for me to mention it.”

     Mo Ran’s lips were pale. He felt angry, sorrowful, guilty, regretful, and heartbroken. No one would be able to accept so many emotions at once without going insane.

     “I…”

     “Don’t bother.” Shi Mei sighed. “What about you? Do you really think that after half a lifetime as Mo-zongshi, only saving a few lives, that it’s enough to write off your sins?”

     He looked at Mo Ran’s face and smiled. “You think so beautifully.”

     Mo Ran was at a loss for words.

     “Now, Shizun already has the memories of his previous life. All of the absurd things you have done, the people you killed, the cities you massacred, the master you bullied and destroyed—he will remember all the hurt you have done to his heart. He will remember it all.” He paused and seemed to be looking at the expression on Mo Ran’s face with great interest. Then he smiled with satisfaction. “Mo-zongshi, it’s time to bow your head. Admit your guilt.”

     Just bow your head.

     Just plead guilty…

     His life of absurdity—of extreme evil—was all wrong.

     Mo Ran’s throat bobbed. His eyes were red as he stared closely at the person on the treetop, but when his eyes saw Chu Wanning in his arms, he couldn’t help but feel pain. His vision distorted and withered like cattails.

     He jerked his head away sharply.

     “Think about it. When he wakes up and finds out that you have lied to him for so long, how angry will he be?” Shi Mei gently stroked Chu Wanning’s cheek. His slender fingers slid across his lips. “Shizun has a strong temper; you know this. Do you think he will forgive you?”

     The one speaking pierced his vital point, and the one listening felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

     Forgive…

     He had never asked for it, but he had never wanted the trial to come. He never dared to imagine that this day would come.

     Mo Ran suddenly closed his eyes. His eyelashes trembled slightly.

     Shi Mei’s voice sounded ethereal and serene in the mist, like a divine Buddha advising people to turn back from the sea of suffering. “Stop chasing. Go back to Sisheng Peak. When you get there, you will know what surprise I’m talking about.”

     His voice echoed.

     “Just accept the surprise and don’t resist.” After a pause, he seemed to have thought of something. His eyes shifted, and he stared at the person under the tree with his peach blossom eyes.

     “Besides, A-Ran, the two of us are completely different people after all. You can’t understand what I want.” He said warmly as if he was in the disciple room in the past, asking if the meat was delicious and if he had added enough chili oil, “I am not as crazy as you. I won’t easily want to frame my close friends and family. But…”

     He changed the subject but didn’t say much.

     Mo Ran turned his head back suddenly. “What do you want?!”

     Seeing his gaze sweep over Chu Wanning, Shi Mei couldn’t help but smile. “You don’t have to worry. Shizun is here with me. I will only love him. I won’t hurt him. He is as pure as jade, so naturally, I know how to take care of him better than you.”

     Every accent was soaked between his lips until it was tender before he spat it out lightly.

     Mo Ran was so angry that his whole body was trembling. If he still had his spiritual power at this moment, Shi Mei would have been torn to pieces long ago.

     However, he didn’t have any spiritual power, and Shi Mei had also calculated that he didn’t have any spiritual at the moment, so he did whatever he wanted.

     Shi Mei chuckled. “But the fellow disciples at Sisheng Peak, even your uncle and aunt… and the young master...” His eyes shifted, and he slowly finished his words. “If you don’t handle the surprise well, you will kill them a second time. You see, if Shizun wakes up and finds out that you have hurt everyone again, that you’re selfish, and that you’re living an ignoble life, will he even look at you one last time?”