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

     In the quiet room, the voice was strange and distorted. If Chu Wanning could open his eyes, he would find Shi Mei sitting by the bed, staring at him with a smile, like a spider looking at a creature caught in its web.

     “How was it? Did you sleep well?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he moved a little and found that his spiritual power was only less than twenty percent recovered. Furthermore, his hands were tied with immortal binding rope, and his eyes were covered by a black ribbon.

     “...”

      There was no use in panicking now. Chu Wanning had always been fearless. He knew exactly what result he wanted, so he also knew how to handle it calmly. In his two lifetimes, he had only ever been at a loss in front of one person.

     Other than that person, no one would make him panic.

     So, Chu Wanning remained silent, slowly recalling his fragmented memories of the situation before he fainted. Before his consciousness drifted, he had intermittently heard some parts of what happened around him. Now, he was trying his best to piece together the fragmented words he had just heard.

     Right at this moment, the door to the secret chamber opened with a rumble, and Nangong Liu returned. He was holding a pile of fresh and juicy oranges and shouted as soon as he entered the room, “Dear Friend-gege, I’ve picked the oranges. I picked out the ones with small circles at the bottom. These are especially sweet…”

     Before he could finish his words, he saw Chu Wanning on the bed. “Ah? Noble Consort-gege woke up?”

     Hearing this form of address, Chu Wanning’s originally pale face became even more gloomy.

     Noble Consort… Chu Fei?

     Then the so-called Dear Friend-gege is…

     Shi Mei took the oranges from Nangong Liu, smiled, patted his head, and said, “You did well. But I have something to say to this Noble Consort Chu. You go out first and play by yourself for a while.”

     “Can’t I stay here and play? I can peel the oranges for you.”

     “It’s not good for you to stay,” Shi Mei said. “There are some words adults can listen to but children can’t.”

     Nangong Liu muttered in confusion, then turned around and went out.

     The room was very quiet for a moment. Only the sound of breathing and the occasional crackling of candlelight could be heard.

     Shi Mei picked up an orange and peeled it skillfully, removing the white strands. While he was doing this, he chatted with Chu Wanning as if it was a common occurrence. “Do you know who that person was just now?”

     “...”

     “His voice shouldn’t be unfamiliar to you.”

     After peeling the orange, he brought it to Chu Wanning’s lips. “Taste it. The oranges on Mount Jiao were personally planted by Xu Shuanglin. He is very proficient in this field, so they should be sweet.”

     Chu Wanning turned his face away.

     Shi Mei said slowly, “Look at you, losing your temper as soon as you wake up.”

     Chu Wanning was silent for a moment, then said coldly, “Where is he?”

     “Who?”

     “You know who I’m talking about.”

     Shi Mei raised his eyebrows slightly. “You want to see Mo Ran?”

     “...”

     Seeing that he was silent, Shi Mei smiled gently. “You really care about him. The first thing you say when you wake up is to look for him. You don’t even ask who I am. It’s not worth it to do this for someone who has despised you for half of your life.”

     The blindfolded and bound man pursed his lips, and the lines of his jaw became even more bleak.

     Shi Mei stared at him for a while, feeling that the evil fire in his chest was gradually growing stronger. But he prided himself on being calm and would never do anything in a hurry.

     People should eat elegantly, without showing their teeth and without leaving any mess. Eating like Emperor Taxian-Jun, who devoured meat and bones together, was too rushed, leaving only an empty bowl before he could even chew the delicious food.

     It was the reincarnation of a hungry dog, and Shi Mingjing looked down upon it.

     So, even though his lower body burned like fire, he still slowly sprinkled his vegetables with fresh juice and rubbed the texture of the meat. He waited until it was cooked crispy and flavorful, then took small bites to put it in his stomach.

     “Also, let me ask you a question. Don’t you want to eat the oranges that are brought to your mouth?” Shi Mei chuckled. “You’re so stubborn. How did you serve Emperor Taxian-Jun in the past?”

     “Take it away.”

     “I think it’s better if you eat. You haven’t had a drop of water these days, and your lips are cracked.”

     Chu Wanning only gritted his teeth and said, “Where’s Mo Ran?”

     Shi Mei stared at him for a while and slowly stopped smiling.

     “Whether it’s this life or the previous one, whether you have memory or no memory, you only have Mo Ran in your eyes. Shi—” Before the word “zun” came out, he knew his tongue had slipped and stopped immediately.

     But he missed Chu Wanning’s slight tremble.

     Shi Mei narrowed his eyes. “Tell me, what’s so good about Mo Ran?”

     He looked down at Chu Wanning and saw that the last bit of color on his lips was slowly fading.

     “That person is impulsive and brainless, and his thoughts are naïve and ridiculous. His character isn’t good either. What do you see in him?”

     “...”

     “His face? Spiritual power? Sweet-talking?”

     But in the end, he had suppressed his bestial desire for so long. The more he spoke, the more obvious the longing in his voice became.

     Especially when he saw Chu Wanning begin to bite his lips as if trying to suppress some kind of emotion, Shi Mei felt his mouth dry up.

     His words began to run in a more intimate direction.

     “Or his ability in bed?”

     Anger rose on Chu Wanning’s pale face, and his cheeks turned red with rage. “Shut up.”

     Shi Mei had no intention of shutting up. He had finally gotten his hands on this man, and if he didn’t play with him thoroughly, how could he stop? He said with a smile, “Consort Chu, you still don’t know that after you died in the previous life, Mo Ran gave you the title of Qingzhen.”

     He captured every subtle expression on Chu Wanning’s face with great interest, and his eyebrows curved more and more.

     “It sounds a bit funny, but it’s also quite appropriate. After all, in this life and the previous life, you were indeed clean, and he is the only one who tainted you. But this way, there’s actually no comparison.” Shi Mei said slowly, “Since you’ve never tried anyone else, naturally you’ll only think of him as the best.”

     The tips of his fingers slid down, inch by inch.

     The tip of his nose, lips, chin, and adam’s apple.

     Chu Wanning trembled slightly, and the veins on his wrists bulged. He wanted to break free from the immortal binding ropes, but in the end, he couldn’t move.

     “Don’t waste your energy. Whether Noble Consort Chu wants to be untied or if you want to know Mo Ran’s whereabouts, I can satisfy you.” He changed the topic. “However, you are my trophy, so you should at least play a round with me first, right?”

     “...What do you want to do?”

     Shi Mei smiled. “I want to take your mind off of that person for a little bit. Don’t keep thinking about him, think about me, okay?”

     “You are the one who planted the curse in the previous life. What else is there to think about?”

     If one listened carefully, they would be able to hear the stifling pain in Chu Wanning’s voice.

     Chu Wanning seemed to be trying his best to suppress some of his emotions, but they couldn’t be suppressed and were on the verge of bursting out.

     Shi Mei smiled, “That’s right, it’s me. But why doesn’t Consort Chu guess what my real identity is?”

     “If you want to say it, then say it. If you don’t want to say it, then forget it.”

     “Sigh, when will you stop being fierce?” Shi Mei sighed and said, “How about this; Noble Consort Chu once said that minor gambles add to the cheer, and major gambles cause injuries. Why don’t we make a bet?”

     “...”

     “However,” Shi Mei paused, “before we begin, I have to take a slight offense and take a look at how many pieces of clothing you’re wearing.”

     Seeing that Chu Wanning remained silent but the lower half of his face involuntarily tensed up, Shi Mei’s expression softened. He counted them one by one, and in the end, he counted a total of five robes and waistbands…

     “In that case, I’ll give you five chances. If you answer correctly within five tries, I’ll tell you where Mo Ran is.”

     After a pause, he continued, “However, every time you answer wrong, I’ll remove one piece of your clothing. If Consort Chu still hasn’t answered correctly after all five pieces of clothing have been removed, then…”

     He didn’t say any more, and only smiled, subconsciously licking his lips with the tip of his pale pink tongue. Then he just sat there quietly, waiting for Chu Wanning to guess. Chu Wanning didn’t speak, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He continued to wait calmly.

     At this moment, he was very free and had plenty of time.

     However, as time passed bit by bit, Chu Wanning still didn’t respond. Shi Mei raised his eyebrows—he had plenty of time, but he might not have the patience.

     “You have to guess.”

     Chu Wanning finally said, “Get lost.”

     Shi Mei’s expression darkened. “...Now that you are in my hands, you should know what can and can’t be done.”

     “...”

     “Chu Wanning, you have no bargaining chip with me. Emperor Taxian-Jun has no brains, so he may be unable to argue with you and let you go at times to let you do as you please, but I am different.”

     Shi Mei said coldly, “You are in my hands, so it’s better for you to be obedient.”

     He waited for a while longer, but seeing that Chu Wanning still didn’t speak, his tone became harsher and harsher. “We can do it the easy way or the hard way. Don’t think that if you don’t speak, I can’t do anything to you.”

     As he spoke, his slender, pale fingers moved up and touched Chu Wanning’s waist belt. He slowly stroked the seal, his fingertips sliding over it like a knife cutting a fish.

     “Listen, I will count to three. If you don’t speak, you will bear the consequences yourself,” Shi Mei said, his eyes shining.

     He actually didn’t know whether he wanted Chu Wanning to guess it or not. But at this time, it no longer mattered whether he did or didn’t. There was no turning back, and all he could think about was how to reveal his true identity.

     It must be exciting enough, bloody enough. After all, the man in front of him had fought against him for two lifetimes. Now that he had won, he must lick the fruits of his victory carefully.

     “One.”

     There seemed to be a glimmer of victory in front of his eyes.

     “Two.”

     Would Chu Wanning be angry? Mournful? Frightened?

     He waited and waited, his mouth slightly parted.

     “Three… Alright, Consort Chu is truly loyal. It’s no wonder Taxian-Jun is addicted to you.” Shi Mei was half-joking and half-serious as he said, “Since you don’t want to guess, then we’ll do something rough. You—”

     “Hua Binan.”

     His voice was cold.

     Shi Mei’s fingers paused slightly, and the hand about to untie Chu Wanning’s waist belt froze. Then he smiled. “You guessed half of it right. Continue?”

     He revealed a foxlike slyness, which may appear vulgar to others, but Shi Mei was so elegant, like a lotus flower shining in the water at all times.

     He firmly believed that Chu Wanning wouldn’t be able to guess the last layer of truth. He was very proud of himself. He—

     “I’d rather you were really dead.”

     The smile on Shi Mei’s face froze. After a while, he asked, “What did you say?”

     The voice of the man on the bed was very cold, without a trace of warmth.

     “In the previous life, the sky cracked and a heavy snow fell. I would rather you were really dead.”

     Shi Mei stared at him. The words he had prepared suddenly had nowhere to pour out, and he suddenly became speechless.

     His half-raised hand was suspended in the air, not knowing where to go. He suddenly didn’t know what to do.

     “Shi Mingjing.” The soft sigh was like a bee sting to the man in a trance. “Is it you?”

     “...”

     Although it was a question, there was not the slightest raised tone.

     Shi Mei lowered his eyelashes, and for a moment, no one could see his expression clearly. After a while, he laughed. “I’m not dead, to your disappointment.”

     He didn’t want to admit defeat, but there was already a certain lack of interest in his tone.

     Shi Mei said, “I am indeed the Shi Mingjing from your previous life. I came from your previous life, the world of Taxian-Jun. I’m not the same person who has always been by your side in this life.” He paused for a moment. “One must keep their word. I’ll untie you.”

     As he spoke, he untied the immortal binding rope and put his hand on the black silk ribbon that covered Chu Wanning’s eyes. With a little force, he took it off.

     Peach blossom eyes met phoenix eyes, and the two looked at each other.

     “Greetings to Shizun.”

     Chu Wanning had already prepared himself in his heart, but his sorrow only grew deeper. He looked at him and said, “You still know that I am your Shizun.”

     Hearing him say this, Shi Mei smiled gently, but only now did Chu Wanning realize what kind of sharp dagger was hidden under his gentleness.

     “Yes, of course I know. You held the umbrella for me. I’ve never forgotten.”

     Chu Wanning looked very weak, but this didn’t change the innate stubbornness between his brows. He stared at Shi Mei for a long time, then his lips parted as he said coldly, “You bastard.”

     Shi Mei smiled. “I won.” He paused, then asked again, “But when did Shizun guess my identity? In the previous life?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t answer, and only looked at him coldly.

     There was anger in those eyes, but disappointment was the most abundant.

     Shi Mei pondered, “No, it can’t be in your previous life. If you already knew I was Hua Binan in your last life, you would have told Huaizui when you tore open the space-time gate.”

     He raised his eyelashes. “It was in this life. Or should I say, not too long ago? …When you were at Longxue Mountain, did you hear some of the conversation between Mo Ran and I?”

     “...”

     “Forget it. It’s not important.” Shi Mei smiled. “In any case, you’re in my hands now, and you can’t escape.”

     Chu Wanning was silent.

     In fact, among his three disciples, Shi Mei was the one he couldn’t see through the most. At that time, he was willing to accept this disciple because Shi Mei was respectful, gentle, able to worry about other people’s worries, and treated people kindly. These were qualities that Chu Wanning admired greatly. He couldn’t do it himself, so he appreciated it even more and accepted this disciple.

     However, there were times when he felt that something was wrong. For example, Xue Zhengyong said that Shi Mei was an orphan he picked up in the chaos of war, but when Shi Mei spoke of his life experience, he would sometimes say something that didn’t make sense. That kind of attitude was very much like someone who had lied and then forgotten the details.

     There were also times when Shi Mei’s attitude towards things would suddenly become a little strange, like a well-tamed ferocious dog; it looked obedient, but once it smelled blood, it couldn’t help but reveal a merciless look.

     But after observing for several years, he had never seen Shi Mei do anything unrighteous, so Chu Wanning felt that he was the one who was seeing things and that he mistook a flower for fangs.

     He was like a hedgehog—his entire body was very sharp, and only his abdomen was soft. He hid his disciples and all those who treated him well under his soft belly.

     When it came to Shi Mei, he once wavered between trust and distrust. He had reservations and tested him, but he eventually chose to trust him. As a result, the knife stabbed into the hedgehog’s abdomen, causing blood to flow everywhere.

     Shi Mei asked, “How much of the past do you remember?”

     “...”

     He asked again, “Why didn’t you just stand by and watch? Why did you have to stop me?”

     “...”

     In the previous life, he had been filled with too much resentment, and he was finally able to ask in this life. Shi Mei was unwilling to stop at this point and asked endlessly, “Why didn’t you kill Emperor Taxian-Jun in the end and even help him reincarnate?”

     Hearing the last words, Chu Wanning finally raised his eyes. “He is different from you.”

     Shi Mei paused for a moment. “What’s the difference? If you say that I have a vicious mind, aren’t his hands covered in blood?”

     Chu Wanning stared at him. “You know the poison you cast.”

     “So what? Even if it’s my curse, isn’t he the one who killed them?” Shi Mei said, “You saw it all with your own eyes in the previous life. Half of the rivers and mountains—Xue Zhengyong, Wang Chuqing, Jiang Xi, Ye Wangxi… Who killed them?”

     Slowly, he raised his hand and looked at his slender fingers and round nails. What a pair of delicate and clean hands, soft and delicate, meticulous.

     Shi Mei narrowed his eyes and smiled. “Could it be me?”

     “...” He was so angry that he was speechless for a moment.

     “I didn’t want to massacre the people of Rufeng Sect, nor did I want to kill Xue Zhengyong. You shouldn’t look to me to collect debts.” Shi Mei said, “What did I do? I just planted a poisonous flower on him. In all my life, I’ve never killed anyone with my own hands.”

     Shi Mei continued with a smile, “So in the end, he was the one who held the blade and stabbed the people. It has nothing to do with me. The Eight Sufferings Long Hatred Flower will not bring him any new hatred. All his desires belong to himself, and the curse can only amplify them. If this debt is to be held against me, I will feel wronged.”

     With every word he said, the disgust in Chu Wanning’s heart heightened. In the end, when he heard that he actually felt wronged, Chu Wanning suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze as cold as ice. “What can you feel wronged about?”

     “He was the one who did it. What right does Shizun have to blame me?”

     “Don’t you know what kind of person he is?”

     Shi Mei said, “Of course I know what kind of person he is. The one who doesn’t know is probably you, Shizun.”

     A white strand from the orange stuck to his fingers. Shi Mei found it dirty, so he took out a clean white handkerchief and wiped it. Then he raised his fingers one by one as he said, “Why did Mo Ran slaughter the people of Rufeng Sect? Because he has hatred in his heart. Why did Mo Ran kill Xue Zhengyong? Because he has fear in his heart. Why did Mo Ran humiliate you? Because he has desires in his heart.”

     As Shi Mei spoke, he glanced at Chu Wanning. “If someone stabs him, he can’t forgive. When someone benefits him, he can’t refuse. In front of a beauty, he can’t control his desires—this is his nature.”

     Chu Wanning gritted his teeth and said, “Shi Mingjing. You erase his pure kindness, magnify the hatred in his heart ten thousand times, then say everything he did was because of his own desires. Don’t you think you’re ridiculous? Who doesn’t destroy the world when their hatred is amplified to the extreme? You?”

     “Then who caused him to have hatred? Who caused him to have ambition in his bones? Who caused him to have desires in his heart?” Shi Mei smiled and said, “If he had the ability, and his heart was as pure as a child’s, without any evil intentions, the Long Hatred Flower wouldn’t have been able to make any waves. So, it’s still his fault for not having a wicked mind. He’s just a common man.”

     Hearing this, Chu Wanning’s expression became very unsightly. He was about to speak again, but then Shi Mei added another sentence.

     “People are responsible for their own desires. There’s nothing to argue about.”

     “...”

     If Chu Wanning had wanted to talk to him earlier, after hearing this sentence, he suddenly felt that there was no need to say anything and it was not worth saying anything. Chu Wanning turned his face away.

     Seeing his expression, Shi Mei shook his head. “Shizun, you’re too biased towards him.”

     “...”

     "In your eyes, everything he does has a reason and is admissible.”

     “Then tell me, who should I understand?” Chu Wanning was ice-cold. “You?”

     “...” Shi Mei was silent for a moment, then smiled. “So Shizun still likes him?”

     Chu Wanning’s gaze was like the reflection of the moon on an icy lake.

     “So, in my previous life and this life, I have competed with Shizun for two lifetimes. Even if I win, I still can’t compare to him.”

     Chu Wanning said coldly, “How can you compare to him?”

     Shi Mei narrowed his eyes. “Do you really only have these few words to say about me? Nothing else?”

     Chu Wanning didn’t reply immediately. Looking at his expression, he seemed to be thinking seriously for a moment. Then he raised his curtain of eyelashes, extremely cold and calm.

     “There is.”

     Shi Mei smiled. “What is it?”

     Chu Wanning said expressionlessly, “You don’t have to compare yourself to Mo Ran. You can’t even compare to Xu Shuanglin. At the very least, he still had feelings and dared to admit it. He’s not like you, Hua Binan.”

     In the end, he didn’t even call him Shi Mingjing anymore.

     Chu Wanning said, “You are just a bastard.”