Why did Xia-shidi say those words?
Mo Ran could not figure it out. He eventually fell asleep while snuggling with his little shidi.
Jiang Xi's fever medication was laced with a sleeping drug. It effectively knocked Chu Wanning out until the next day. When he opened his eyes again, what he saw was Mo Ran, who was sitting on the bed next to him with a forlorn face. He almost looked like a widow who recently lost a husband.
"..."
Sensing someone's eyes directed at him, Mo Ran glanced in Chu Wanning's direction. His face lit up when he saw the little shidi with his eyes open.
"Xia-shidi! You are awake! How are you feeling???"
Mo Ran hurried to help Chu Wanning up. The latter rubbed at his eyes and sat in a daze.
He lowered his eyelashes and his gaze fell upon his bandaged arm. The first time Jiang Xi extracted some ancient poison from Chu Wanning's body, he had only managed to make five prototype pills. These pills were able to suppress the ancient poison temporarily.
After using the first one, they found out that its effect was limited. Chu Wanning could only do two moves a day before the poison kicked in again to transform him back to a child.
After using the second one, Chu Wanning used Tianwen once and did nothing else but the pill still lost against the poison within hours. Only three pills were left. Chu Wanning needed one to go back to Sisheng Peak with, and the other two were to be saved for emergencies.
Since Chu Wanning wanted to go back to Sisheng Peak soon to prepare for the feathered tribe's arrival, he asked Jiang Xi to draw even more ancient poison from his body to make a few more pills for him, preferably ones that would allow him to stay an adult for days.
The ancient poison was able to replicate itself inside the victim's body. It was most potent inside his child body. Although the body of a small child was not built to endure such torture, Chu Wanning was willing to undergo the painful poison extraction. Jiang Xi was his last hope.
And then there was Mo Ran.
Jiang Xi asked both Chu Wanning and Mo Ran to come back to see him in the afternoon. It was only an excuse to check for the Hatred Flower in Mo Ran's heart, of course.
In the afternoon, little Chu Wanning sat on a fluffy chair comfortably while sucking from a soymilk jar. Meanwhile, Jiang Xi made Mo Ran go through a few select examinations to check for any sign of the Hatred Flower inside Mo Ran's heart.
Mo Ran was in hell.
He was not wrong to think of Jiang Xi as a sadistic mad doctor after seeing what he did to the little shidi.
He regretted his request to ask for Jiang Xi's treatment bitterly but he did not want to beg for mercy.
Mo Ran did not even get to vent.
He could only hold back his tears and curse Jiang Xi to death in his heart for every stab and every pierce. The treatment gave him a lot of agony and yet it was all to no avail. Jiang Xi could sense nothing sinister growing inside Mo Ran's heart.
It was disappointing, but it was worth a shot.
The next day after transforming back to an adult, Chu Wanning went to find Mo Ran. The teenager was looking for the little shidi but found his Shizun instead. It was like looking for a tiny pearl and finding a block of gold instead.
"S-Shizun!"
Chu Wanning looked haughtily at him. It felt good to not have to crane his neck to look at Mo Ran.
"What are you looking so surprised for? Let's go back to Sisheng Peak."
"Eh?? Now? Are we not going back with Xia-shidi?"
"No, he is still sick. Come."
After saying his last word, Chu Wanning turned to leave.
"S-Shizun, wait!!!" Mo Ran shouted and started to chase him. They were already halfway down the stairs when another authoritative voice sounded behind them and made Chu Wanning stop in his track.
"Chu-zongshi, wait."
It was Jiang Xi.
Mo Ran instinctively put himself between the adult Chu Wanning and Jiang Xi. A hostile look could be seen from the purplish eyes.
After mulling it through for a whole night, Mo Ran decided that Jiang Xi could not possibly be Shiniang. That did not mean that there was nothing between him and Chu Wanning! There were undoubtedly some sparks flying between them, and it made Mo Ran sick. Jiang Xi, this perverted mad doctor. He should stay away as far as possible from Chu Wanning and Xia-shidi!
Jiang Xi was not alone. Next to him was a man who was dressed in a green-colored robe similar to Jiang Xi's, only that the lower half of his face was covered under a veil and he wore a scarf with a silver snake emblem embroidered on it.
Hua Binan, the Cold Scale Sacred Hand. The number one Medicine Master in the whole cultivation realm. The greatest Grandmaster in Guyue'ye Sect, second only to Jiang Xi.
A pair of brilliant eyes shone above the veil. They seemed to be laughing at the way Mo Ran was glaring at Jiang Xi. Mo Ran was in a daze for a moment. He had never met Hua Binan personally before, so why did he seem so familiar? Those eyes... When did he see those eyes once?
Chu Wanning gently pushed Mo Ran aside.
Hua Binan approached them and slightly bowed at Chu Wanning.
"Chu-zongshi, what an honor to be able to meet you. I have heard about the great things you have done."
He spoke in such a sincerely humble manner as if his own name were not famous. Chu Wanning bowed in return.
"I have also heard about you."
Jiang Xi also stepped down the stairs.
"Hua Binan is well versed in a lot of things."
When he said the word 'things', he slightly raised an eyebrow at Chu Wanning.
"He is interested to take a look at your disciple."
Mo Ran widened his eyes in disbelief. He turned to look at Chu Wanning, whose face betrayed nothing.
"Alright," he said.
Mo Ran was beyond terrified.
"But Shizun! I..."
I am not really sick! Goddamnit, Chu Wanningggg!!!
Mo Ran was scared of another round of torture, but Hua Binan was surprisingly very gentle. While he performed physical examinations on Mo Ran, he casually chatted with both Mo Ran and Chu Wanning.
It was a little annoying when he treated Mo Ran like a child, asking him how old he was, what he liked to eat, whether he liked Rainbell Isle, etc.
And then the questions turned in a darker direction when he asked Mo Ran about his familial background and saddest experiences in life.
Mo Ran lied through his teeth, but his face grew darker and darker when he recalled the darkest episodes of his early life. His body became tense and he unconsciously clenched his fists.
Eventually, the questioning became too much for him and the youth snapped in irritation, "What does it have anything to do with you??"
Hua Binan observed the murderous glint in Mo Ran's eyes while pressing his palm against Mo Ran's chest.
"Hands off!" Mo Ran shouted and backed off.
"Ok, done!" The Grandmaster announced with eyes full of smile.
"... That's it?" Mo Ran asked warily.
"Yes."
Hua Binan exchanged a meaningful look with Chu Wanning.
Chu Wanning took out a heavy pouch full of gold leaves and stuffed it into Mo Ran's hands.
"Mo Ran, go get two rooms at the Peach Garden inn. Come back after you are done."
"..."
They could have just gone together. It was such a lousy excuse to send him away. Mo Ran turned to leave.
After the teenager was out of sight, Chu Wanning turned to Hua Binan.
"Grandmaster, please speak."
Hua Binan's tone turned serious.
"Certainly, I sensed the presence of the Eight Sufferings and Everlasting Hatred Flower inside your disciple's heart at an early stage of development."
Jiang Xi was surprised but Chu Wanning was not. He knew it from his past life. The question was merely how to deal with the flower properly and then find out who it was who put the flower in him in the first place.
Jiang Xi's list of priorities was the exact opposite.
"Chu-zongshi, this is a demonic flower of a very special kind. Who would pick your disciple? Your disciple is not a cultivator of an outstanding caliber. He is a mere seedling."
Chu Wanning did not bother to explain. Sisheng Peak elders knew that Mo Ran harbored great potential, but only Chu Wanning knew what this mere seedling could grow up to be.
And yet if someone had told him previously that this disciple of his would one day commit atrocious murder across the cultivation realm and then proclaim himself to be an emperor, Chu Wanning would have performed an exorcism on that someone.
It was natural that Jiang Xi did not think that Mo Ran was anyone special. He was not worth the amount of effort that was put to cultivate the demonic flower.
Chu Wanning felt that the culprit truly hit a jackpot with Mo Ran. Speaking about the culprit... This flower supposedly could only be nurtured by demons... Which pure-blooded demons still walked on this land?
"Is there a way to prematurely put the flower into a dormant state?"
Hua Binan, "Once the Hatred Flower takes root, its development depends entirely on its host. If the host continues living without feeding it with hatred and malicious desire, then the flower will naturally lose its control over his heart."
"Is there any way to affect the host's mood through external factors?"
Hua Binan thought for a while.
"There is a spell called 'Soul-Shattering Spell'. This spell can be used to derail the host whenever his mood becomes erratic. Chu-zongshi, would you like to learn it?"
"Yes."
"In that case, let me demonstrate it for Chu-zongshi once."
When Mo Ran came back soon after, he was again frightened when the three elders told him that there was something else that they would like to try.
"What is it?" He asked, almost defensively.
Hua Binan approached Mo Ran and put two fingers between his brows.
"Relax, Mo Ran."
Hua Binan murmured a few words in a whisper and tapped a few times at Mo Ran's forehead. After he was done, the purplish light in Mo Ran's eyes dulled to some degree. After a while, it really did seem as if his mood had become much better.
"Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang and Grandmaster Hua. We will take our leave now.
Mo Ran, let's go."
Chu Wanning bowed one last time and left.
Jiang Xi and Hua Binan sent them out of the gate.
Hua Binan casually asked, "Is Chu-zongshi's illness cured?"
Jiang Xi had promised not to reveal Chu Wanning's predicament, so he merely replied with an "Almost."
Hua Binan's eyes smiled.
"That's great to hear."
Under the veil, Cold Scale Sacred Hand sneered at Mo Ran's retreating back.
The Peach Garden Inn was one of the better inns in Rainbell Isle. When Mo Ran went to reserve two rooms, the inn attendant almost did not take him seriously. It was not until he put that heavy pouch of gold on the counter that a broad smile appeared on the attendant face and he immediately booked Mo Ran two of their best, very private and exclusive rooms in the inn.
When Chu Wanning entered his, the whole room was decorated with fragrant flowers. It was clearly a room reserved for a couple on a romantic retreat, and not a single man.
The first thing Chu Wanning did was ask the attendant to get rid of all the pesky flowers in his room.
After his room had been properly emptied, he chose to take a bath and then applied ointment on his arm. The leeches left ugly marks on his arm, but these wounds would heal within two days thanks to the ointment.
Only two pills left. Chu Wanning weighed them in his hand. Two pills were not enough to last in Zhuque. If he wanted to go, then he had to go as Xia Sini.
Three knocks sounded at the door.
"Who is it?"
"..."
Chu Wanning narrowed his eyes at the door.
"Shizun, it's me."
Chu Wanning opened the door and came face-to-face with Mo Ran. His eyes were reddened as if he had just finished crying and his expression was not too good.
"Mo Ran, what happened?"
Mo Ran said nothing. He lowered his head and stood there like a lost soul.
Did something happen to him in his room?
"Come in first."
Chu Wanning closed the door.
It was good that he decided to spend one more night in Rainbell Isle. If Mo Ran was not feeling well, then they could still go back and...
Chu Wanning had not finished his train of thought when he was yanked violently off his feet and thrown into the bed.
"!!!"
The grown man opened his eyes in shock. Before Chu Wanning had the chance to get up, his disciple already restrained his wrists and pinned him down on the bed.
"Mo Ran!!! Mmmmphh..."
Mo Ran proceeded to hungrily bite into Chu Wanning's lips.