Fortunately for Mo Ran, Chu Wanning had not heard much of his play-pretend "Zuixing", and he managed to scrape by with some made-up nonsense, but only just.
It was already very late by the time Mo Ran got back to his room. He took a nap and attended morning classes as usual the next day. After morning classes came his favorite morning activity: breakfast.
As morning classes ended, Mengpo Hall gradually filled with people.
Mo Ran sat across from Shi Mei; Xue Meng had come late and the spot next to Shi Mei had already been taken by someone else, so he could only sit reluctantly next to Mo Ran with a gloomy face.
If Mo Ran were asked what the best aspect of Sisheng Peak's teachings was to him, he would definitely say: that this sect's cultivation doesn't require fasting.
Unlike the lofty, ethereal sects of the upper cultivation world, Sisheng Peak's cultivation method didn't require abstinence from meat or any other foods, so the food here had always been sumptuous.
Mo Ran drank from a bowl of savory spicy soup, slurping up the peanut crumbs and crunchy soybean inside. A plate of crisply yellowed pan-fried buns he'd ordered just for Shi Mei sat in front.
Xue Meng glanced sideways at Mo Ran and said mockingly, "Mo Ran, it's really quite incredible that you went to Red Lotus Hell and actually managed to walk back out on your own two legs. Truly inspirational."
Mo Ran responded without even bothering to lift his head, "Of course, who do you think I am."
"Who do I think you are?" Xue Meng sneered. "Just because Shizun didn't break your legs, you've already forgotten which stick of onion you are?"
"Oh, so I'm a stick of onion, what are you then."
Xue Meng scoffed. "I am Shizun's top disciple."
"Self-proclaimed? Hey why don't you go ask Shizun for his seal of approval so you can frame it and hang it on the wall? You owe at least that much to your title of top disciple."
Xue Meng snapped his chopsticks with a crack.
Shi Mei hastened to play mediator. "Please don't fight, hurry and eat."
Xue Meng: "…Hmph."
Mo Ran mimicked him with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face: "Hmph."
Xue Meng bristled, smacking the table. "How dare you!"
Seeing the situation rapidly deteriorating, Shi Mei hurriedly held Xue Meng back. "Young master, everyone's watching; eat, eat, don't fight."
These two's birth characters were truly incompatible; they were cousins but ended up fighting every time they met. Shi Mei tried without success to talk Xue Meng down, and had to resort to physically wedging himself between the two to ease the tension, placating left and right.
Now asking Xue Meng: "Young master, do you know when the Madam's cat is going to give birth?"
Xue Meng answered, "Oh, you mean A-Li? Mom was mistaken, it's not pregnant, just had a big belly from eating too much."
Shi Mei: "......"
Then asking Mo Ran: "A-Ran, do you still have to go to Shizun's place to do chores today?"
"Shouldn't have to anymore, everything that needed to be tidied up has been tidied. I'll help you with copying the sect rules today."
Shi Mei laughed. "Do you even have time to help me? Don't you have to copy them a hundred times yourself?"
Xue Meng raised an eyebrow, looking with some astonishment at Shi Mei, who usually didn't even put a single toe out of line. "How did you end up having to copy the rules too?"
Shi Mei looked embarrassed. All of a sudden, before he could speak, the sounds of conversation in the dining hall died down abruptly. All three of them turned around to see Chu Wanning enter Mengpo Hall, white robes billowing behind him. He walked to the food counters without any expression and started selecting pastries.
There were more than a thousand people here eating in the hall, but with the addition of just one Chu Wanning, it suddenly became quiet as a graveyard. All the disciples lowered their heads to munch on their food; if anyone talked, it was in the quietest of tones.
Watching Chu Wanning carry his tray to the corner he usually sat at, quietly eating congee by himself, Shi Mei let out a soft sigh and couldn't help but say, "Actually, I feel kind of sorry for Shizun sometimes."
Mo Ran glanced up. "How so?"
"Just look, no one dares to go near where he's sitting, no one even dares to talk loudly with him around. It was still ok when the Peak Lord was here, but without him around, he doesn't even have anyone to talk to, isn't that so lonely?"
Mo Ran humph'd. "He brought it on himself."
Xue Meng got angry again. "You dare to mock Shizun?"
"How am I mocking him? I'm just speaking the truth." Mo Ran put another bun in Shi Mei's plate. "With a temper like that, who would want to hang out with him?"
"You——!"
The shit-eating grin was back on Mo Ran's face as he peered at Xue Meng, speaking lazily, "You got a problem with it? Feel free to go sit with Shizun for your meals then, don't sit with us."
That shut Xue Meng right up.
He felt great respect for Chu Wanning, but he felt even greater fear, no different from anyone else. Angry and humiliated, but having nothing to say in retaliation, he gave the table leg two sound kicks, and sulked by himself.
Mo Ran was the picture of languid smugness, tauntingly directing a glance at the little phoenix. Then his gaze, across the crowd, landed on Chu Wanning.
He didn't know why, but looking at the only white-colored figure in the hall full of people dressed in deep blue with silver armor, he suddenly thought of that person sleeping curled up amongst the pile of cold metal last night
Shi Mei wasn't wrong, Chu Wanning really was quite pitiful.
But what of it? The more pitiful he was, the happier Mo Ran would be. Thinking about it, he couldn't help the quirk at the corner of his lips growing more apparent.
The days flew by.
Chu Wanning didn't call him to the Red Lotus Pavilion again; Mo Ran's daily chores became idle things like washing the dishes, feeding the chicks and ducklings Madam Wang kept, and weeding the medicinal herb garden.
The month of confinement was over in the blink of an eye.
Today, Madam Wang called Mo Ran to Loyalty Hall. She asked while patting his head, "A-Ran, how are your injuries?"
Mo Ran responded with a smile, "Thanks for worrying about me aunt, I'm all healed now."
"That's good. Be more mindful in the future, don't make such big mistakes and anger your Shizun again, understand?"
Mo Ran was an expert at acting pitiful. "Aunt, I understand~"
"And one more thing." Madam Wang retrieved a letter from the yellow rosewood small table. "It's been a full year since you entered the sect, that means it's time for you to take on exorcism duties. This letter from your uncle came by messenger pigeon yesterday; his instructions are for you to go down the mountain and complete this assignment once your confinement period ends."
Sisheng Peak's customs dictated that disciples had to go see the world and gain practical hands-on experience as exorcists after one full year in the sect.
On the first mission, the shizun would accompany the disciple and provide assistance as necessary; in addition, the disciple also needed to invite a fellow disciple along. This was to encourage camaraderie between the disciples, so that they understand the meaning of "loyalty of the heart evident, life or death unchanging".
Mo Ran, bright-eyed, accepted the assignment letter, tore it open, read in a hurry and immediately started grinning in glee.
Madam Wang said, worried, "A-Ran, your uncle entrusted you with a heavy responsibility for your mission in the hopes that you will be able to make a name for yourself. Yuheng Elder is a powerful cultivator, but swords are indiscriminate in battle, and he may not necessarily be able to protect you. Don't fool around too much, and make sure you don't take the enemy lightly."
"I won't, I won't!" Mo Ran waved his hands, grinning. "Don't worry, aunt, I'll take care of myself, no problem!" And he immediately ran off to pack.
"This child…" Madam Wang watched his retreating back, her gentle and graceful face lined with worry. "How is he so happy over just receiving a mission?"
How could Mo Ran not be happy?
The mission from his uncle was to look into an incident at Butterfly Town at the request of a certain Landlord Chen.
Who cared what kind of ghost or ghoul it was, what was important was that, in the last lifetime, this was where he had fallen under the influence of a demonic poison and, in an addled state, forcibly kissed Shi Mei within the illusory realm. It had also been one of the very few times Mo Ran had gotten to be so intimate with Shi Mei. He was so ecstatic he was practically on cloud nine.
On top of that, because he had been under the influence of the demonic poison, Shi Mei couldn't even have complained. Free kiss! No consequences attached!
Mo Ran was so happy his eyes curved into crescents. He didn't even mind the fact that Chu Wanning also had to come along on the mission.
He could just leave the exorcising to the master while he flirted with Shi Mei, who would say no to this kind of easy work?
After inviting Shi Mei and reporting to Shizun, the three made their way to the troubled Butterfly Town on galloping horses.
This town's specialty produce was flowers. Fields of flowers stretched for many kilometers outside the residential area, and butterflies of all colors always fluttered about inside the town, thus the name.
It was already night by the time the three arrived, but the village entrance was bustling with activity. The beating of drums could be heard loud and clear as a procession of performers all dressed in red and playing the shawm turned out of an alleyway.
Shi Mei was puzzled. "Is this a marriage procession? Why is it at night?"
Chu Wanning said, "It's a ghost marriage."
Ghost marriage, also known as Yin marriage, was a tradition among the common people to match unmarried men and women who had died young in posthumous matrimony. This kind of tradition was rare in poorer areas, but Butterfly Town was quite prosperous, so the practice was common here.
The showy procession was divided into two lines, one carrying real satins and silks, the other carrying paper money and mock ingots, escorting a sedan decorated in red and white. The procession, lit with golden lanterns, made its way out of the village.
Mo Ran's group reined in their horses and stood to the side to let the ghost marriage procession pass. The sedan came near; inside was not a live person, but a ghost bride made of paper. The ghost bride's lips were painted a bright scarlet, two lines of red on her cheeks framing a deathly pale face, the smiling appearance extremely frightening.
"What kind of lousy tradition is this, is money burning a hole in this town's pocket or what," Mo Ran muttered under his breath.
Chu Wanning said, "The people of Butterfly Town are extremely superstitious, it is their belief that solitary graves will attract lone souls and stray spirits, bringing misfortune to the family."
"…That's not actually a thing right?"
"It is real as long as the townsfolk believe it to be."
Mo Ran sighed. "I guess. Butterfly Town's been around for hundreds of years already, if one were to now tell them that their superstitions don't actually exist, they probably wouldn't be able to accept it."
Shi Mei asked in a quiet voice, "Where is the ghost marriage procession going?"
Chu Wanning said, "We passed a temple earlier. The one enshrined inside was not a god, and there was a Xi[2] character posted on the door. The altar was piled with red satin written with 'match made in heaven', 'harmony in the afterlife' and the like. I believe that's probably their destination."
"I also noticed that temple." Shi Mei looked pensive. "Shizun, is the one enshrined within a ghost mistress of ceremonies?"
"That is correct."
The ghost mistress of ceremonies was a ghost personage born of the imagination of the common people. They believed that marriage between the souls of the departed also needed to go through the proper customs and be witnessed by a mistress of ceremonies, to certify that the pair of deceased had become husband and wife. Since ghost marriage was a common tradition at Butterfly Town, it followed that they would make a golden body for the ghost mistress of ceremonies to be enshrined before the cemetery outside town. The families holding ghost marriages would stop by with the ghost bride to worship at the temple before the burial.
Mo Ran had rarely seen such ridiculous happenings before, and watched with great interest. But Chu Wanning only gave a brief, detached glance before turning his horse around. "Let's go, we must check on the family that's being haunted."
"Three honored Daozhang, I've suffered so much! You've finally come! If someone hadn't come to take care of this soon, I-I wouldn't even want to live anymore!"
The client who had requested Sisheng Peak to come and perform the exorcism was the richest merchant in the town, Landlord Chen.
The Chen family dealt in perfumed powder and had four sons and a daughter. After the eldest son's marriage, he and his wife had sought to move out, as his wife disliked the noise in the family. The Chen family had riches and reputation to spare, so they'd purchased a large plot of land at a secluded area by the northern mountain; it even had a natural hot spring pond, quite a nice spot.
But the day they began building there, they had only gotten a couple shovels into it before hitting something hard. The wife had moved over to take a look only to immediately swoon from fright—they had somehow dug up a brand-new, red-painted coffin at the northern mountain!
Butterfly Town had a designated burial grounds, all the deceased were buried there, but this solitary coffin had inexplicably shown up at the northern mountain. Not only that, there was no grave or marker, and the entire coffin had been painted blood red.
Of course they didn't dare proceed any further, and hurriedly covered it back up. But it was already too late. Ever since that day, strange things kept happening to the Chens.
"First it was that daughter-in-law of mine," Landlord Chen lamented. "The fright affected her baby and she miscarried. Then it was my eldest son; he went into the mountain to collect medicinal herbs to help his wife recover, but slipped and fell, and by the time we found him, he was already dead…Hai!" He let out a long sigh and waved his hand, too choked up to continue.
Madam Chen dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief. "My husband is right, in the months after that, our sons met with mishaps, one after another. If not disappearance, then death——of our four sons, three are already gone!"
Chu Wanning's brows were furrowed as he glanced past the Chen couple, gaze landing on the pale-faced youngest son. He looked to be about the same age as Mo Ran, fifteen or sixteen, and had delicate features, but they were now twisted with fear.
Shi Mei said, "Would you mind telling us how the other sons…how they died?"
Madam Chen sighed. "Our second son went to look for his brother and was bitten by a snake on the way. It was just a regular grass snake, not poisonous, so no one paid it any mind at the time, but a couple days later he just fell over while eating, and then..." She let out a sob. "My son…..."
Shi Mei exhaled, feeling terrible for having to push. "Then, were there signs of poisoning on the body?"
"Ha, what poison, our family's definitely been cursed! The older sons are all dead, the youngest is next! The youngest son is next!"
Chu Wanning frowned, gaze moving to Madam Chen with lightning speed. "How do you know that the youngest son is next, and not yourself? Does this malicious spirit only kill men?"
The youngest son of the Chen family cowered to the side, legs shaking and eyes swollen like peaches. Even his voice squeaked and contorted as he said, "It's me! It's going to be me! I know it! The person in the red coffin is coming! He's coming! Daozhang, Daozhang save me! Daozhang save me!"
He began to lose it as he spoke, scrambling over to try and hug Chu Wanning's thigh.
Chu Wanning had always been averse to physical contact with strangers and immediately sidestepped it. He lifted his head to stare at the Chen couple. "What exactly is this all about?"
The couple exchanged a glance and spoke with a trembling voice: "There's a place in this house, we, we're afraid to go near it again——Daozhang will understand when he sees, it's truly evil, truly…"
Chu Wanning interrupted them, "What place?"
They hesitated for a moment, then pointed toward the ancestral shrine room with trembling hands. "There…"
Chu Wanning led the way, followed closely by Mo Ran and Shi Mei. The Chen family trailed after at a distance.
Pushing open the door, the inside looked no different from the ancestral shrines of other big families, with rows of memorial tablets flanked on both sides by pale candle fire.
All the tablets in the room were painted yellow, with the names and positions of the departed engraved thereon.
The writing was neat and careful: Esteemed Spirit of So-and-So Ancestor, Esteemed Spirit of So-and-So Ancestor.
Except for a tablet right in the middle; the lettering on that one wasn't carved and painted, but written in a vivid red:
Spirit of Chen Yanji.
Erected by Living Person of the Chen-Sun Clan.
The Chen family, who had been hiding behind the Daozhang, peeked into the shrine room that was draped in fluttering white silks, perhaps hoping for a fluke. But the letters on the tablet were still there, as if written in blood, and they broke down immediately.
Madam Chen wailed loudly, and the youngest son's face was so pale he hardly even looked alive.
First, the lettering on this tablet did not conform to the traditional system of rites. Second, the writing was extremely messy, as if the person had been about to fall asleep and struggling to write, so much so that it was nearly illegible.
Shi Mei turned his head and asked, "Who is Chen Yanji?"
The youngest son, voice shaking with sobs, answered from behind him, "I-it's me."
Landlord Chen wept as he spoke. "Daozhang, it's like this. Ever since our second son passed, we noticed that… that a new tablet had been added to the ancestral shrine, but that the names written on it were those of living people from our family. Once a name appears, that person will definitely meet with disaster within seven days! When our third son's name appeared on the tablet, I shut him in his room and sprinkled incense dust by the door, and even got someone to come perform thaumaturgy. We tried everything, but— on the seventh day! He still died…no cause whatsoever, just died!"
He became more emotional and more afraid the more he spoke, even dropping to his knees as well. "I've never committed any wrongdoings in my life, why must the Heavens treat me so! Why!"
Shi Mei's heart ached for him, and he hurriedly went to comfort the old man who was crying to the heavens. He looked up and called softly, "Shizun, this…..."
Chu Wanning hadn't even turned around. He was still staring at that tablet with great interest, as if flowers were about to bloom from it.
Suddenly, Chu Wanning asked, "Living person, Chen-Sun clan, is that referring to you, Madam Chen?"