The Xiangtan prison was old and crude. Early the next morning, Mo Ran took advantage of the fact that the other prison inmates were being interrogated and snuck out. After regaining his freedom, the first thing he did was return to the House of Drunken Jade.

     As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw A-Nian wearing a black Taoist robe, standing proudly in the center of the sunbathing yard.

     The disaster he caused was the same as any time before. The orphan named Mo Ran would take the blame for him, so he firmly believed he was fine.

     —

     “Anyway, you’re a child without a father or mother. Although you are pitiful, no one will be sad if you die.

     “I have raised you for so many years. It’s about time you repay my kindness.”

     This was their reason for sending an innocent person to the gallows.

     It was grand and just.

     Mo Ran stood in the shadows, stood in the dark, looking at the carefree and relaxed Young Master Nian.

     Oh, so it turns out this is what it’s like to have someone to dote on you, someone to love you, and a mother to protect you?

     Even if the sky falls, someone will hold it up.

     Only I alone would regret my own death.

     Mo Ran looked at him for a long time.

     Young Master Nian had already bought a Taoist robe and dressed as a cultivator. Once his mother sold the House of Drunken Jade, he would set off to the lower cultivation world to be a young master.

     At this time, he was in the courtyard, pretending to wield a sword, surrounded by a group of teenagers. They were the same group of accomplices who had framed Mo Ran.

     “A-Nian, good swordsmanship!”

     “You’re so brave. If you go to the lower cultivation world, you’ll definitely be a great swordsman in the future!”

     “Your uncle’s Sisheng Peak seems to have grown very powerful in these past two years. You were blessed. Don’t forget about your brothers when you go!”

     “Yes, yes.” Someone echoed, “A-Nian, don’t forget about us. We grew up together. We shouldered all the good and bad together for you. Even the death of that little bitch from the tofu shop—”

     At this time, A-Nian had already regarded his status as very high and wouldn’t allow anyone to mention the fact that he had raped a young girl. When he heard that person say this, he immediately pointed the tip of his sword at the person’s throat and said angrily, “The death of that girl from the tofu shop was caused by Mo Ran. That day, we saw with our own eyes that he was possessed by a devil, devoid of all conscience, and raped her. How many times do I have to say this before you remember?”

     The youth trembled as the sword pointed at him and said quickly, “Yes, yes… it’s my poor memory! I was wrong!”

     The others quickly rushed to calm A-Nian down. “It’s all that Mo Ran’s fault. He’s a man with a beast’s heart, worse than a dog!”

     “That’s right, that’s right. He raped and disgraced a common girl, then killed her. We all saw it. We will never forget his demonic face for the rest of our lives.”

     Several of them tried to deepen their lies. Some people were like this, and after telling a lie a thousand times, they would even start to believe it themselves. The more they said it, the more they felt that they were innocent and the more righteous they felt.

     A-Nian laughed and waved his sword around a few times. He chopped at the straw dummy a few times and cut it to the ground, pointing his sword at it as he spoke with great enthusiasm.

     “Watch me become a swordsman to slay demons and punish evil… punishing that evil one…”

     He didn’t like reading and always skipped classes in the past, so halfway through his speech, he got stuck.

     A youth beside him immediately continued, “Punish evil and promote good! Upholding justice! Helping the world! Sweeping the world!!”

     A-Nian snorted and said disdainfully, “You’re the best at talking.”

     The youth didn’t expect to irritate A-Nian. He couldn’t help but feel awkward. “...”

     A-Nian waved his sword a few more times and said, “It’s strength that sweeps the world in all directions, not that stupid tongue of yours. From now on, if I encounter a lecher like Mo Ran again, I can cut off his head with one strike of my sword. What can you do, huh? Poetry? Hahahaha—”

     Before he could finish laughing, a leisurely voice suddenly came from the wood door in the backyard. Someone clapped twice crisply, then said:

     “Nian-gongzi, you’re truly worthy of being the Young Master of Sisheng Peak… how impressive.”

     “!!!” A-Nian suddenly swept his sword in front of him. His expression changed instantly, and he said sternly, “Mo Ran?!!”

     A huge cloud passed by in the sky, gradually covering the scorching sun and casting a huge shadow on the sunbathing yard.

     The shabbily dressed youth appeared like a hawk atop the pile of firewood in the sunbathing yard and slowly raised his head.

     Although his face was thin, if one looked carefully, his features were very handsome and clear. At this time, his eyes were fierce, and there were still hideous whip marks on his brow bone. He had just come from the prison and hadn’t yet wiped off the blood stains. Looking at his face, A-Nian only felt that it was both familiar and unfamiliar.

     The person in front of him was indeed Mo Ran, but there seemed to be something wrong.

     Mo Ran’s eyes curved, and he stroked the machete in his hand with a smile. His two pools of dimples were frightening, like cold blue water, unspeakably intimate and meek but creepy.

     “...Upholding justice and sweeping the world in all directions? Mo Nian-gongzi, the future great sword immortal, Young Master of Sisheng Peak. When did you get this kind of ambition? I’m really going to laugh to death, hahahaha—”

     The more he spoke, the more brilliant his smile became and the more twisted his face.

     Ever since he was little, this child in charge of burning the firewood had always been obedient and quiet, accepting everything and not talking much. But after not seeing him for a night, he was like a moth emerging from its cocoon with the fervor of fire, his laughter reckless and wild.

     Normally, he rarely ever smiled, and when he did smile, he would purse his lips timidly.

     But now he was driven to madness.

     The group of youths were frightened and all retreated in terror. A-Nian’s hand trembled slightly, and his adam’s apple bobbed up and down, but he still braced himself and shouted, “Mo Ran, have you eaten the courage of an ambitious leopard or something? How dare you escape from prison? I’ll get rid of this evil and take your dog life on behalf of the officials!”

     “Okay.” Mo Ran wore a heartless smile, with a flash of a blade in his eyes, and rushed forward. “I don’t want to live like this anymore. If you have the ability to take my life, then take it. But if you don’t, then—”

     Before he even finished his words, the person had already flashed by. Just as his shadow disappeared, the machete fell, and the sword in A-Nian’s hands fell to the ground, along with his head, which rolled to the ground with his eyes wide open.

     Blood spurted out, spraying out several feet!

     A-Nian’s headless body swayed unsteadily for a moment before crashing to the ground.

     For a moment, there was complete silence.

     Mo Ran’s face was splattered with blood. His tattered clothes hung on his body, fluttering in the wind like seaweed floating in the sea.

     When he raised his head again, the smile on his face was even wider, and his eyes were bloodshot. He licked the blood that splashed on his lips and then finished his words in a warm voice, “Then let me take your head.”

     The youths were so scared that they couldn’t say a word.

     Mo Ran raised his eyes, his gaze cold. “Aren’t you all very powerful? Aren’t you all good at framing others? Aren’t you good at beating?! Punishing evil and upholding justice, punishing evil and promoting the good… Okay! Come at me together!”

     None of them dared to move. Their legs trembled, and they were scared witless. None of them could believe it. This was Mo Ran? That obedient and submissive Mo Ran, who remained silent no matter how much he was wronged?

     Mo Ran raised his head and sighed. Then, he dragged his machete and walked forward step by step, the tip of the blade drawing a line of blood on the ground.

     “Why are you so humble all of a sudden?” He smiled slightly and raised the machete, the corners of his mouth curving upward. “Since you are unwilling to make a move, then I can only go first.”

     In an instant, there was a blood rain.

     A slaughter.

     At the moment, it was closing time, and most of the people in the House of Drunken Jade were resting. After Mo Ran killed the people in the backyard, he went to the side room and killed the remaining people one by one. Some people had their throats slit in their sleep; others only woke to see a flash of a blade before their world turned upside down.

     By the time everyone reacted, it was already too late. Mo Ran set fire everywhere, turning the House of Drunken Jade into a sea of flames. The singers and servants screamed and cried, but no one dared to rush into the sea of flames to save them.

     After killing the last few people, Mo Ran was no longer satisfied with taking human lives. Amidst the flames, he sat down in the middle of the hall. He smiled and looked at the people whose legs he’d cut, unable to move. Among them was his godmother, Madam Mo. Mo Ran looked at them writhing and twitching like maggots, and his face became blurred in the thick smoke and fire.

     The machete was lying across his knees. He picked up the handle, but instead of killing them, he used the tip of the blade to pick up a bunch of fresh grapes on the table. He held them in his hands and slowly peeled them, removing the stalks. Then, one by one, he slowly put them in his mouth and ate them.

     Suddenly, he smiled and said, “Oh? This is really delicious. Growing up, I’ve never eaten grapes from the western regions. So it turns out that what you eat every day is such good food.”

     He lowered his head and stared blankly for a while. Then he laughed and said, “I’m really envious.”

     A section of the roof beam was burned and fell with a loud crash. Sparks flew everywhere, burning and falling beside them. Everyone sobbed more bitterly. Only Mo Ran was still alone, crossing his legs and holding a machete as he ate this bunch of grapes—as if the sky falling down had nothing to do with him.

     “The fire is so big that none of us can get out.” After eating the grapes, Mo Ran picked up a peach. While eating, he smiled and said, “Why don’t we just sit here and chat?”

     Madam Mo shouted, “Who wants to chat with you?! You beast! You’re worse than a pig or dog! You’re worse than a beast!”

     “You don’t want to chat?” Mo Ran spat out the grape seeds and smiled. “If you don’t want to chat, then forget it. Then let’s get down to business. Last night, godmother said that I am indebted to you for taking good care of me over the last ten years. Now, I should be filial. So, let me send you all on your way.”

     He stood up and walked around those people, then bowed in a decent manner and said brilliantly, “But don’t go too far on the road to the yellow springs. Wait for me.”

     Everyone else cried, but Madam Mo yelled, “Mo Ran!! You son of a bitch! When that Xun girl pitied you and kindly took you in, I shouldn’t have been kind-hearted and agreed to her! You’re a scourge, an evil star! You—you perverted beast!”

     “You think you’re worthy of mentioning Xun-jiejie?”

     Mo Ran said indifferently, “I came all the way from Wubei Temple to fulfill my mother’s last wish and repay her kindness. She knew that I lost my mother, so she gave you all the money she earned in a year, hoping you would let me stay and have shelter. She is my benefactor, but what about you? You’re nothing.”

     “I shouldn’t have allowed her! I shouldn’t have—what’s a year’s worth of money? Later, you secretly let her go! She’s the head of the House of Drunken Jade building! Do you know how much money she earns from one song?! But you actually… you…”

     Mo Ran interrupted her, “She is my mother’s benefactor, but also my benefactor. She sold her art in the House of Drunken Jade, not her body. But you took money from a rich merchant, you sold her. You forced her to accept a guest—tell me, why shouldn’t I let her go?!

     “You’ve hated me and tortured me all these years, but I didn’t say a word or resist because my mother told me that anyone who can give me a bite of food must not be too bad to you.” Mo Ran closed his eyes. “So, I’ve been enduring. I just kept enduring it…”

     “Pah! You still have the face to say that?! You ungrateful thing! It’s me! It’s me who gave you a place to stay, who let a little beggar like you have food to eat and a bed to sleep in! You beast! You bastard son of a bitch!”

     “...Mm, what a coincidence. Bastard son of a bitch?” Mo Ran laughed in the firelight. “If you scold me like this, would your son think that you were calling him if he heard it?”

     As Mo Ran spoke, he walked over and pinched the madam’s powdered face.

     “But, godmother, you reminded me that you have given me food and a bed to sleep in over the years, so I really have to thank you. Since that’s the case, I’ll send you off first.”

     “You—!”

     “But to add to the fun, why don’t we play a game first?” Mo Ran said enthusiastically, “What do you think of blind people guessing pictures?”

     As he spoke, he picked up a small piece of broken wood on the ground and lit it on fire. Then he put it in the madam’s eyes and slowly, slowly drew the shape of a sun. Where the wood tip passed, the madam’s skin was scorched, and the flesh was charred. The madam screamed miserably, but Mo Ran smiled and said to her:

     “Godmother, guess what I drew? If you can’t guess it, you lose, and I’ll draw the next thing.”

     That day, the remaining few people were slowly tortured by him one by one, bit by bit, until death.

     He returned all the viciousness and hardship that had accumulated for ten years. In the House of Drunken Jade, corpses and bones were strewn across the scorched earth.

     In the end, he finally lay in the fire with those twisted corpses. Looking at the crumbling pavilion, he smiled, putting pastries and fruits into his mouth.

     “Delicious.”

     He paused and suddenly smiled bitterly. His eyelashes fluttered and tears rolled down, flowing down to his smiling face. He reached out and covered his eyes, crying and laughing.

     “It’s a pity that I won’t be able to eat it anymore…”

     The ebony red plaque of the House of Drunken Jade fell and smashed in the front hall, breaking into pieces. Smoke billowed, and the beautifully decorated building finally collapsed with a loud crash.

     In this building, people were used to seeing pipas, singing, and dancing, robes stained with wine. It was once a place of great beauty, full of song and dance.

     Now, the glamor of yesterday was gone, and the extravagance of the past had turned to ashes. The love between men and women, the entanglements of love and hatred, all burned and fell to pieces one beam after another. The raging fire burned, and the celestial sound of two fairies competing seemed to float out from the cracks in the wood and the cracks of the tiles.

     Duan Yihan sang, “Such a beautiful family of flowers—”

     Xun Fengruo sang, “It’s all worth the ruins…”

     This famous building in Xiangtan was buried in this faint and illusory song. The curtain fell, and the music finally stopped. Those sorrowful and gorgeous excerpts came to a glorious and solemn end in this blazing fire.