The two of them were chatting about something interesting, and both of them had carefree smiles on their faces. Xue Meng even raised his hand and placed a small yellow and white petaled flower in Shi Mei’s hair. Shi Mei didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he plucked it off. Xue Meng laughed out loud.

     “Ah? Shizun?”

     It was too late to escape. When Xue Meng turned his head, he saw him from the corner of his eyes. At first, he was stunned, but then he said happily, “It’s rare to see Shizun so late.” As he said this, he stepped forward to greet him.

     Shi Mei also followed with a smile, then said gently and politely, “Greetings to Shizun.”

     Chu Wanning didn’t know what to say for a moment. He wanted to reply, but before he could open his mouth, his eyes turned red. Fortunately, it was very late at night, and there was enough darkness to cover his face.

     Xue Meng was rather curious, like a cat. “Where is Shizun going?”

     “I’m going…” As soon as he spoke, his voice was incredibly hoarse. He quickly shut his mouth and coughed. After a while, he said, “I’m going for a walk.”

     After a moment, he couldn’t help but ask.

     “What about you?”

     “Shi Mei and I just came back from Wuchang Town. We bought a lot of delicious food.” As soon as he mentioned this, Xue Meng seemed very happy. “There’s a temple fair today, so it’s very lively.”

     If it were the Chu Wanning of this world, the conversation would have ended there. Chu Wanning wouldn’t have much interest in understanding what these youths gathered for, what they bought, and why they were so happy.

     At that time, he was distant, keeping everyone at arm’s length. He didn’t like to look at other people’s personal affairs.

     However, the current Chu Wanning felt that whether it was Xue Meng or Shi Mei, every word, every expression, and every ray of light in their eyes was very precious.

     He wanted to take a few more glances and hear a few more words. This was something he would never again be able to obtain in his own world.

     So he asked, “What did you buy?”

     “Does Shizun want to see it?” Xue Meng happily rummaged through his qiankun pouch as if he was presenting a treasure. “Dried fruit skin, pine seed sesame, osmanthus candy…”

     After listing nonchalantly for a while, he suddenly took out a handful of osmanthus candy and handed it all to Chu Wanning.

     “I bought too much. I’ll give these to Shizun.”

     Shi Mei was also looking in his bag, but he didn’t seem to have bought much. After looking for a while, he couldn’t find anything to show off, and his ears turned a little red.

     “...”

     Chu Wanning said, “No need to give me any more.” He picked three candies and returned the rest to Xue Meng. Under the moonlight, his eyes were almost moist and gentle.

     “It’s enough.”

     He knew that the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death could close at any time. He had already overdrawn Jiu’ge’s power, so it wouldn’t be easy for him to open it again. Furthermore, this night was his only chance, and he didn’t want to return too late for fear of being noticed by Taxian-Jun.

     Holding back his emotions, he asked, “Where is Mo Ran? He’s not with you?”

     The two of them looked at each other, and Xue Meng said, “I haven’t seen him since lunch.”

     Shi Mei also said, “He hasn’t been with us much these past few days. He probably has something to do.”

     Chu Wanning then went to the disciple rooms, but no one was there. He went to the temple fair to look for him, but he still couldn’t find him. Seeing that time was running out, he became even more anxious.

     After frowning for a long time, he suddenly recalled something.

     It occurred to him.

     Mo Ran couldn’t have gone to…

     After thinking about it for a moment, he stopped thinking about it. This burning idea made him uncomfortable. His face slowly darkened, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists.

     —

     He remembered a place Mo Ran often went to when he first went astray.

     After half an hour, Chu Wanning stood outside a wooden building decorated with red and purple engravings. There was a plaque hanging on the building with the words “Pear Garden Immortal Peach House” written on it.

     This was the famous Pear Garden Immortal Peach House. It was already late at night, but the brothel was just beginning to brighten up. People were coming in left and right. Most of them were greasy-looking men and young girls with makeup. Chu Wanning, on the other hand, had a cold face and a straight back. He looked out of place in the crowd.

     “Guest, please come inside.”

     “Let’s take a look. There’s a famous actress from Xiangtan performing today, whose singing isn’t inferior to Xun Fengruo’s and dancing isn’t inferior to Duan Yihan’s. Eighty coins for a scene, and ten more for the front row…”

     At the door, the man was shouting at the top of his lungs. A young master who was waving a scholar’s fan happened to pass by and said mockingly, “What a shameless boast. What famous actress? To actually dare to challenge Duan and Xun, the two musical immortals of the past?”

     “That’s right. Eighty coins for a scene and still has the face to be on the same level as Xun Fengruo’s. Even eight hundred gold for one scene isn’t enough for Xun Fengruo.”

     “This lousy theater is cheating money again!” A night watchman passed by, scratching his armpit and laughing.

     Chu Wanning didn’t understand and had a headache listening to it. He simply raised his hand to lift the curtain and enter the building. These were silk lanterns hanging high in the air, and it was noisy. Some people were listening to the show, some were drinking, and some were drifting in and out of the charm and glamor of rouge and paint.

     The performer’s golden voice reverberated in the air, and her jade-like skin gave birth to spring.

     On the stage on the first floor, the imperial concubine was drunk and surrounded by flowers. The performer’s movements were full of tenderness and sorrow, and even the audience below lowered their heads and offered endless sighs of emotion.

     “Good! Good!”

     “One more scene!”

     The overwhelming smell of rogue and powder made Chu Wanning frown, his face gloomy. He swept his phoenix eyes across the area but couldn’t find the boy anywhere.

     He thought, could it be that he guessed the wrong place again?

     At this time, the busy Madam noticed him. Like a colorful butterfly, she gracefully walked towards him. She opened her mouth, which was layered with vermillion red paint, and invited him in, saying, “Gongzi, please take a seat and enjoy the show.”

     Chu Wanning looked at her. “I’m looking for someone.”

     “Looking…” The Madam’s smile fell, and her eyes were cold. “Go on and look for someone, then.”

     Chu Wanning sighed and removed the jade pendant from his waist. It was a beautiful piece of jade given to him by Emperor Taxian-Jun. It was warm to the touch. He handed the jade to the Madam and repeated, “I’m looking for someone.”

     The Madam accepted it and took a closer look. It was full of colorful lights, which made her eyes brighten. She put the jade away with a silent cough, then smiled again, even richer than before. “Who are you looking for, gongzi?”

     “A young man about fifteen or sixteen years old,” Chu Wanning said. “His surname is Mo.”

     On the third floor of the Pear Garden Immortal Peach House, there were gorgeous carpets and graceful carvings. It was no wonder that many people were willing to drink here all night. As long as enough money was spent, the actresses and beauties would make up a poppy-like dream that many heroes would fall in love with. If the long nights could be passed gently like this, who would be willing to face the devastation of life and the pain of reality?

     “This is it.” The Madam lifted a long and narrow finger stained with color and turned the wooden board with the words “Rong Jiu” carved on the door.

     She raised her eyes and looked at Chu Wanning thoughtfully. “Gongzi, please wait a moment. I will call Jiu-er out, then invite you to talk to your friend in the room.”

     “...”

     Even the Madam could see how much he cared about him.

     Chu Wanning closed his eyes and said, “Sorry for troubling you.”

     She went in, and there seemed to be people talking in the room, but it was unclear.

     After a while, she came out again, followed by a young man. Chu Wanning glanced at the attendant named Rong Jiu, whose cheeks were still flushed red. He looked familiar from the side and seemed to resemble someone.

     Rong Jiu bowed to him and left with the Madam.

     Chu Wanning pushed the door open and entered. Inside, he was met with a red and purple hue that made his skin tingle. There was no incense in the room, but there was the smell of wine.

     Mo Ran lay on the side of the bed with his cheek propped up. His slender fingers were still playing with the red tassels tied to the small clay pot. The bed was also red and very messy. It was best not to think about what had happened here.

     He walked over, like frost and snow, and stood in this bright, lustful scene that was completely out of place for him.

     “Oh… Shizun is here?”

     “...”

     “Would you like to sit down and have a glass of wine? Pear blossom white, good wine. I’m sure you’ve never tried it.”

     Chu Wanning said, “You’re drunk.”

     Mo Ran smiled and saw the man in white walk to his bed. He was indeed drunk. He suddenly reached out his hand and boldly grabbed Chu Wanning’s waist.

     “It’s good to be drunk. When you’re drunk, you’re not afraid of anything. Come, come, come, the night is long. Why not have some fun?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t say anything else; he simply lifted the young Mo Ran up from the bed that was as red as a sea of desire, the veins on his hands protruding slightly. He was a man with the demeanor of a zongshi. At this time, he was still solemn. Only the trembling of his fingertips betrayed his heart.

     He closed his eyes and said softly, “Mo Ran.”

     The drunken boy made a “hm” sound, still confused, and even smiled heartlessly.

     Chu Wanning said hoarsely, “I’m late.”

     He pressed his forehead and moved his fingers slightly. In that instant, the pain was excruciating.

     In this pain of tearing flesh, a holy weapon appeared. It was a haitang branch, its tail curled up as its seven strings flowed with light. It was a mighty divine wood guqin.

     Chu Wanning gritted his teeth and allowed the holy weapon to transfer his abundant spiritual energy to his body. This kind of spiritual power was a joke against Emperor Taxian-Jun, but it was enough for him to cast many spells.

     He pressed Mo Ran’s forehead against his own and closed his eyes.

     Then he felt… Mo Ran’s body did indeed have the aura of the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower. He seemed to see a heavily-petalled black flower in front of his eyes, which was taking root in his heart. Its roots were deeply buried along his blood vessels.

     This was the Long Hatred Flower.

     It was the source of his evil.

     Chu Wanning took a deep breath and recited the incantation according to the ancient book. Then, he shouted with all his strength.

     “Soul break!”

     Chu Wanning suddenly opened his eyes, and a cold light suddenly appeared from the depths of his pupils.

     The Long Hatred Flower could only be suppressed by the power of the soul. He did as the book said—cut off half of his soul and passed it through their two foreheads to Mo Ran’s body.

     A fierce wind suddenly blew around him, and Jiu’ge actually unleashed a phoenix cry.

     The spiritual energy was blazing.

     Mo Ran… Mo Ran…

     It was Shizun who failed to protect you in the past.

     Now, I’m here to save you.

     I’ll save you.

     The broken soul fragments turned into wisps of white smoke that kept flowing continuously.

     Mo Ran was absent-minded, and Chu Wanning was in extreme pain. There was no end to it.

     I’ll save you…

     When the last ray of light disappeared, the two of them suddenly lost their strength. Chu Wanning let go of his hand, and Mo Ran fell heavily back onto the bed.

     Jiu’ge had also disappeared, hiding in Chu Wanning’s blood and bones. Having just lost half of his earth soul, it was very difficult for him to maintain the stability of his holy weapon.

     Chu Wanning sat beside the bed and slowly closed his eyes. His face was very pale—even his lips were drained of blood. However, his heart was relieved and relaxed.

     He had finally completed the first step of changing his fate.

     He used the power of his soul to interfere with the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower, which had yet to be deeply rooted. He didn’t want Mo Ran to lose his mind again.

     Turning back time. He had finally protected him.

     Chu Wanning couldn’t stay for long. The first thing he had to do was prevent Mo Ran from being devoured by the Long Hatred Flower. This had already been done, so next, he had to do a second thing.

     He didn’t know how powerful the person behind the scenes was. Although that person couldn’t tear open a space-time crack, it was always best to be cautious.

     He had to make sure that if disaster occurred again, he could recover the memories of his previous life and fight back in time the moment disaster struck again.

     Therefore, the second thing he had to do was find himself from back then.

     All of the forbidden spells in the Red Lotus Pavilion were useless against him, and he easily made his way inside. He stood in front of the half-open window and looked at the man in white, who was fast asleep on the table.

     There was a half-completed Holy Night Guardian that was still being painted.

     …If only earthly troubles were only dealing with these little ghosts and demons.

     Chu Wanning transferred the other half of the earth soul he had already broken into the body of himself in this mortal world.

     Originally, this soul belonged to him, so the sleeping person wouldn’t feel any discomfort at all.

     He watched as the pure white light floated over, enveloping “himself” in a gentle radiance. Slowly, the glow was extinguished, and the wind blew, moving the blueprints “Chu Wanning” was holding to the ground.

     “If there is another calamity, Mo Ran should not be your enemy,” he said softly to the person as he leaned against the window. “Now, my spiritual core has been shattered, and my soul is separated. I can only do this much. I can’t change our time, but you can.”

     The person inside the room didn’t wake up.

     “I divided the weakest of the three souls, the earth soul, into two halves, giving half to you and the other half to Mo Ran. If life goes well, these two halves of the soul won’t have much impact on you. But if the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred curse continues to invade or if there is chaos in the mortal world, then I will find a way to merge these two halves of the soul back together.”

     If his prediction wasn’t wrong, the moment the two halves of the soul were reunited, the Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower in Mo Ran’s body would be completely destroyed and removed. And after the two souls became one again, he would regain the memories of his previous life.

     Chu Wanning said, “Don’t blame me for sharing these things with you. If possible, I also hope you won’t remember them again. But…”

     He didn’t say anything else and only sighed softly.

     Then he did a third thing.

     This matter was the final guarantee—he went to find Huaizui. He gave Huaizui an incense burner that he had already begun refining a long time ago.

     In that incense burner, he used the Soul-Unity Technique. This secret technique would draw from the deepest memories in his subconscious and stimulate the two halves of his torn soul to merge back together.

     Chu Wanning wasn’t sure what his deepest memories were. He felt that there were too many. Perhaps it was the decisive battle between master and disciple; perhaps it was the experience of being made into a blood hourglass after being defeated by Mo Ran; perhaps it was the pain of being humiliated under Mo Ran for the first time.

     It was too much.

     Sometimes people may not even be able to see themselves clearly.

     He repeatedly told Huaizui to seal the incense burner in the cave of Longxue Mountain. If there was anything different in the mortal world, he must bring him and Mo Ran together to this place.

     After doing all of this, Chu Wanning’s time was up. Time and space had the ability to heal itself. Unless there was a destructive tear, the gap would close.

     He actually really wanted to stay here, in this clean and peaceful mortal world where nothing had happened yet.

     But Chu Wanning knew he didn’t belong here. He would never do anything that went against the principles of the forbidden technique just for his own selfishness and warmth.

     He left.

     He left the good dreams of the world behind and didn’t look back.

     “Chu-zongshi.”

     Returning to his own time, Chu Wanning had just come out of the crack at the back mountain and concealed the traces of his spiritual energy when he saw a man in red walking along the bluestone path. It was the old servant who personally attended to Mo Ran, Liu-gong.

     “Where did zongshi go? His Majesty’s master isn’t easy to find.”

     Chu Wanning asked, “Where is he?”

     “In the Red Lotus Pavilion.”

     When he went to find him, Mo Ran was sitting with his eyes closed under the wisteria. Seeing him push the door open, he slowly lifted his face and waved him over.

     “Come here.”

     Chu Wanning pursed his lips, his expression as indifferent as usual. “You didn’t like the music? It ended so early.”

     “There’s nothing to like,” Mo Ran said. “There were a few tunes. I’m tired.”

     He opened his sleeves and pulled Chu Wanning into his arms. Mo Ran didn’t ask where he’d gone—after all, Chu Wanning had never been docile. It would be strange if he stayed in the pavilion all the time and didn’t move.

     He forced Chu Wanning to sit on his lap and kissed the man in his arms on the cheek before burying his face in the man’s neck.

     “This Venerable One had a dream just now.”

     “Hm?”

     “...In the dream, you were teaching me how to write.”

     Chu Wanning was startled, and his heartbeat suddenly became abnormal. But at the moment, Taxian-Jun was immersed in his own memories and couldn’t withdraw himself from them, so he didn’t notice anything strange about him. He only continued to speak in a light and sorrowful tone that even he himself wasn’t aware of.

     “I couldn’t write a character well after four or five times. You were angry, but you didn’t give up on me either,” Mo Ran said. “Then you held my hand, and flowers floated in from the window. I saw…”

     He was so immersed in the dream that he didn’t even call himself “This Venerable One” anymore.

     Mo Ran paused for a moment, and his expression was briefly childish and innocent.

     “I saw it written on the paper: seeing the letter is like meeting in person and seeing your comforting face.”

     When he said this, he suddenly smiled. It was a smile that couldn’t be considered happy or ferocious.

     “This kind of thing can only be seen in dreams.”

     He raised his head and met Chu Wanning’s eyes, which were full of worries. Gradually, he recovered Taxian-Jun’s coldness. “Do you know why I suddenly wanted to see you?”

     “...”

     He reached out his hand and touched Chu Wanning’s slightly cold cheek.

     “In that dream, you were very good-looking.” Taxian-Jun said lightly, “You looked so beautiful that This Venerable One couldn’t forget it. So This Venerable One wanted to see the real you.”

     Chu Wanning lowered his eyes.

     “I’m afraid I don’t hate you. I want to hate you.” Mo Ran said, “Otherwise, I…”

     Suddenly he was speechless. Otherwise, what?

     Otherwise, I will never be able to forgive myself anymore. Otherwise, I won’t know how to move forward. Otherwise, I won’t know how to continue this broken life.

     I have to hate you. I haven’t changed, and I’m not wrong to hate.

     “Wanning.” He finally closed his eyes and sighed. “After all, you and I are the only ones left in this world.”

     For a moment, his heart felt like it was being stabbed by a knife. Chu Wanning was about to speak when he suddenly felt as if he’d missed a step on the edge of a cliff and fell down. He suddenly woke up from his dream!

     Chu Wanning suddenly opened his eyes. What entered his vision was darkness. He could hear his drumming heartbeat, and cold sweat trickled down his back as if Taxian-Jun’s gloomy and cold face was still in front of him.

     His entire body trembled as he panted slightly. The influx of memories from his past life made his hair stand on end as he trembled. However, the memories didn’t stop there and continued to pounce on him madly.

     His adam’s apple bobbed. Where…?

     Where is he…?

     Why can’t I see anything? Why is everything in front of me black?

     His consciousness was in a mess. After a while, Chu Wanning finally vaguely remembered what happened at Longxue Mountain.

     He slowly came back to his senses and murmured, “Mo Ran…”

     At this moment, his cheek was suddenly touched by a warm and soft hand.

     The hand took his chin and rubbed a thumb against his lips. Chu Wanning heard a voice that had obviously been subjected to the voice-changing spell, gently smiling at him.

     “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. You’re finally awake.”