Mo Ran blinked at the ceiling in a daze. He seemed to be lying on his bed in the disciple dormitory at Sisheng Peak, but it couldn't be, could it? After all he died. He died in Shi Mei's place. He tried to help Chu Wanning and was struck down by a vicious demon instead. Chu Wanning left him to die just like he did Shi Mei in his past life.
Mo Ran sat up with a lot of effort. His torso was wrapped in thick bandages. A little blood seeped out and caused the bandage to carry some blotchy, red spots. Pain quickly shot through his body when he moved too much. It was not his imagination. He was still alive.
"Heh."
"Hahaha…"
"Hahahahahaha…!!!"
Mo Ran started laughing frantically. It turned out that he did not need Chu Wanning's help at all. He should have done it in his first life. Instead of depending on Chu Wanning to protect Shi Mei, he should have protected Shi Mei. His plans worked out in the end. He was alive. He was still alive! There was only one important question on Mo Ran's mind. Where was Shi Mei and was he hurt?
A disciple entered just at the moment and was startled to see him. He put down the water basin and wet cloth on the table and approached Mo Ran.
"Senior Mo, you are awake!"
Mo Ran grabbed him when he was close enough and asked in all seriousness, "Where is Shi Mei? Is he doing fine?"
The disciple's lips trembled slightly when he heard Mo Ran's question. He did not immediately answer, and that almost drove Mo Ran crazy.
-Oh God. Don't tell me that Shi Mei still died from some other cause during the Heavenly Rift!
"Well???"
The disciple nodded vigorously. "Senior Shi is fine. Um…"
The disciple wanted to tell Mo Ran something else, but Mo Ran released him with a smile. He looked so relieved. The disciple did not want to cause him unnecessary grief. It might be best to leave him in the dark until he recovered. There was no rush to find out.
"So, where is Shi Mei?"
"Um… Does Senior Mo want to see him…?"
Mo Ran was irritated by the stupid question. Obviously he wanted to see Shi Mei. They all just survived a once-in-a-lifetime heavenly calamity! It was normal to want to meet each other and celebrate a little!
"Of course I want to. Where is he? Why is he not here?"
The disciple swallowed hard. Why? Because their Shizun just passed away. Naturally Shi Mingjing would be in Loyalty Hall to mourn for Chu Wanning. Calling him over at the moment would be very disrespectful to the deceased elder.
The disciple was in a real pinch. He forever thanked the heavens when Madam Wang entered the room and thus saved him from his dilemma.
"Ran-er, you are awake."
The poor disciple quickly excused himself and fleed from Mo Ran's room.
"Aunt, is something wrong with Shi Mei? That Shidi just now, he said weird things."
Madame Wang shook her head gently. She reached out to check Mo Ran's bandages. Mo Ran noticed that her hands trembled and her eyes were red. She must have cried for a long time. But what would make her cry like that?
-Oh no.
"Is Xue Meng alright? Is Uncle alright?"
Madame Wang nodded.
"Yes, they are fine."
Her answer was firm, but her hands trembled even more. Mo Ran already asked about Shi Mei, then about Xue Meng and Xue Zhengyong. He had only failed to ask about a certain person, who was no longer among them. Mo Ran was heavily injured. Chu Wanning had given his life to bring Mo Ran back. At the moment, it was most important to make sure that Mo Ran recovered properly.
Mo Ran frowned. He did not understand Madame Wang's and the Shidi's abnormal reaction. Then again the Heavenly Rift was such a heavy blow to Sisheng Peak. A lot of disciples died. This sort of thing would invite tears to anyone's eyes, especially for someone as tender-hearted as his aunt.
Shi Mei eventually showed up after Madam Wang left. When he did, Mo Ran saw that Shi Mei's eyes were also red from crying. Mo Ran thought that there was a layer of golden light pooling in his eyes, but it might all be his imagination.
"Shi Mei."
Mo Ran extended his arms after Shi Mei. As soon as the latter came close enough, Mo Ran wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Shi Mei's stomach.
"A-Ran, are you in pain?" he asked while patting Mo Ran's head.
"No. Not anymore. I am so glad to see you. I am so glad that we are both alive."
Shi Mei's body tensed when hearing Mo Ran's words. Mo Ran frowned and loosened his embrace.
"Shi Mei, what is it? Why are you all so weird?"
Shi Mei stared at Mo Ran and gave him an inexplicable look. He seemed to want to say something, but someone had robbed his voice so he could not.
"A-Ran, I…"
A banging sound outside of Mo Ran's room startled both of them. It was followed by quick footsteps. Panicked, a disciple burst into the room to talk to Shi Mei.
"Senior Shi, Young Master Xue, he… Please help!"
Shi Mei rose to his feet immediately.
"Oh no. A-Ran, please stay here. I have to…"
Shi Mei did not bother finishing his words before he rushed out. Mo Ran's face darkened. Ignoring the pleas of the disciple who asked him to lie back down on the bed, he followed after Shi Mei. It sounded a lot like a problem. Of course Mo Ran could not let Shi Mei go alone.
He arrived at the Loyalty Hall and saw that a makeshift bed was installed in the middle of the hall. Xue Meng was sitting at the edge, cradling a tiny body that was wrapped in bloody clothes to his chest with one hand. The other hand was clasped around Longcheng's hilt. There was a huge crack in the floor. An aggressive aura engulfed Longcheng's blade in form of a wisp of smoke. It was clear that the crack was caused by Xue Meng.
"What the…"
Mo Ran ignored the shocked expression on everyone else's face and stared at Xue Meng. Xue Meng kept his head lowered and did not seem to realize that Mo Ran had come. Mo Ran approached the bed slowly. His eyes moved from Xue Meng's bent figure to the tiny body in his arms. He seemed to recognize the little child from somewhere, but he was not sure. A very bad feeling spread in Mo Ran's heart. The closer he came, the more familiar the child became. A name popped up in his mind, but he was too afraid to acknowledge it.
It could not be.
He refused to think, let alone say the name out loud.
"Stay away," Xue Meng growled in a low voice. "Don't touch him. No one is allowed to touch him."
Xue Meng sounded as if he had lost his mind. He looked as if he had lost his mind.
The disciples in Loyalty Hall were all scared witless when they saw Xue Meng's current appearance. One of them quivered, "Young Master, please let go… Let the deceased rest in peace… Please take control of your sorrow…"
Xue Meng did not answer. In his grief, he refused to hear things that he did not want to hear. Things like grief, death, all of those had nothing to do with him and the person in his arms. Chu Wanning's body gradually cooled down, but he was still warm due to the high fever he had when he died. Xue Meng refused to accept the truth. Not as long as there was still some warmth left. Chu Wanning was not dead. He was just sleeping. Xue Meng was there to guard him in his sleep. No one should disturb Chu Wanning's sleep.
No one.
When Mo Ran got too close, Xue Meng attacked with Longcheng. Mo Ran did not bring Mingjing with him. He barely managed to avoid Xue Meng's attack. Xue Meng's blow caused another crack on the floor. When he moved, his grip around the body in his arms slackened and the little boy's head tilted backward, revealing Xia Sini's pale face. A tiny river of blood streamed down the corner of his mouth continuously, even in his death.
Mo Ran widened his face in terror.
No, that was a mistake.
His eyes were playing tricks on him.
It could not be Xia Sini.
It could not be Chu Wanning!
How could Chu Wanning even die???
Mo Ran charged forward, ignoring the fact that Xue Meng still had Longcheng in his hand. Seeing Mo Ran dash ahead, Shi Mei followed behind him and cast a water screen in front of Mo Ran. At the same time, the other disciples rushed forward and held Xue Meng back.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!!! I SAID DON'T TOUCH HIM WITH YOUR FILTHY HANDS!!! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO, I SAID!"
Chu Wanning's body fell onto the bed. Mo Ran's heart almost stopped when he saw the bloody mess on Chu Wanning's front side.
"Shi…zun?"
Something was blocking his respiratory tract. It went down to press on his lungs, his heart, and the other organs in his body. He could not rip his eyes from the tiny corpse in front of him.
-"His name is Xia Sini."
Xia Sini drank from the bottle of soymilk with a sullen expression. He ate three pieces of spicy fish and got a stomachache.
Xia Sini cried when leeches sucked out the poison from his arm.
Xia Sini gave him a death glare when he overheard Mo Ran dissing him with other disciples.
A bowl of wonton on the cold winter night.
-"Our shidi feels sorry for you, so he went to cook something for you to eat."
Xia Sini's empty eyes when he went back with the empty bowl of wonton soup.
A white fur cloak draped around him on New Year's Eve.
-"I am going to the Defense," the child declared.
A piece of oily pancake was shoved against Mo Ran's lips.
-"Please eat, Shixiong."
-"Shidi, it looks really bad."
-"White does not suit you."
-"You look like Shizun."
-"Shidi, ah… You are so good. Why don't you give me some pointers?"
The little boy turned to him and asked, "Which part do you not understand?"
Xia Sini stomped away from him in anger.
-"You work so hard to harvest golden feathers every morning. Where do they go?"
-"One thousand feathers."
-"Give me my dagger back!"
Mo Ran put an arm around Xia Sini's waist and held the dagger up with the other hand.
-"Mo Ran!"
The little boy looked up at him, his gaze was somewhat forlorn.
-"You… Why do you like Shi Mei?"
Xia Sini vomited a mouthful of blood.
"MO RAN!" Xue Meng shouted. Mo Ran snapped back to reality. He stared at Xue Meng in confusion.
"Don't touch him," Xue Meng said with gritted teeth. Something wild and dangerous flickered in his eyes. "You have hurt him enough. Don't hurt him anymore."
Mo Ran's face darkened. He clenched his hands into fists.
"What are you talking about?"
"Heh."
Xue Meng chuckled. Tears fell across his cheeks.
"Do you really need to ask? To think that Shizun dies in your place."
Mo Ran did not know what overcame him. His heart was hurting so much and he needed to vent the pain before his heart burst due to the immense pressure. If Xue Meng wanted to fight, Mo Ran would love to do him the favor.
"What do you mean, Shizun dies in my place? Just so you know, Xue Ziming, I owe my life to none other than myself. I had fought alongside Shizun and I survived. What are you blaming me for? I have done my part!"
Xue Meng arched his back in a fit of maniacal laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
The other disciples merely stared at Mo Ran in a mix of disbelief and fear. They did not dare to slacken their grip on Xue Meng.
"The dog thought that he survived on his own! HAHAHAHAHA! This is the funniest joke I have ever heard in my whole life!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Mo Ran glared at Xue Meng, who was laughing like a madman.
"Just so you know, I was struck by a demon when I was fighting to kill the ghosts that surrounded Shizun! I fell from the coiled dragon platform, and Shizun did nothing to save me! He was busy sealing the rift and saving humanity. He did not have the slightest intention to save his own disciple…!"
Mo Ran knew he went too far but he could not stop talking. The words poured out like water that burst through a dam. It was almost as if he spoke from his experiences in his past life, when Shi Mei died and Chu Wanning stayed alive to enjoy the reputation as the Great Grandmaster who saved the cultivation realm.
"Don't you dare pin Shizun's death on me. I have done everything I could for him."
Xue Meng was not impressed by what Mo Ran had to say. There was a mocking grin on his face with pity in his eyes.
"Mo Weiyu, you are so fucking great. You are more powerful than Shizun. You lived and Shizun died. Bravo. Very good, Mo Weiyu. Do you want a medal for that???"
No, he did not want a medal. He simply did not want to get blamed.
"Then, great hero Mo Weiyu, how do you think you came back to Sisheng Peak?"
Mo Ran scrunched up his brows. How did he get back? What kind of question was that? Surely some disciples took him back. Or maybe Xue Zhengyong did?
Xue Meng raised an eyebrow. His lips were pulled into a cruel smile.
"You don't know, do you? Let me tell you, Mo Weiyu. Listen carefully.
Shizun dug you out of a mountain of corpses. He personally dragged your sorry self up the stairs to bring you back to Sisheng Peak. To save your life.
He took the antidote pills from Jiang Xi to return to his adult self just to carry you on his back. Tanlang Elder verified that the pills cost him his life.
Sealing the rift took all he had. He broke his spiritual core. No spiritual core, no cultivation. He only had that one life left. And he gave it up to save you. So that you can stand here now in front of his corpse to spout some bullshit.
Mo Weiyu, do you still think that you are that great?"
"…"
Mo Ran shook his head in denial.
"No."
"No, it can't be."
Xue Meng laughed while tears streamed down his face incessantly.
"A blood trail runs from the base of the stairs to the top. Go take a look, Mo Ran. Go take a look. All 3799 steps. Ask everyone. See if I lied to you."
Mo Ran shook his head while retreating slowly. Xue Meng's words were like potent poison. Mo Ran did not want to hear more. He did not want to believe. Chu Wanning did not sacrifice himself to save him!
"It can't be!" he shouted indignantly. "He… he hates me! Shizun always looks down on me! He would never do something like saving me!"
But was it true? Mo Ran doubted his own words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Because if it was so, then why would Chu Wanning bother to drag him back to Sisheng Peak? Why not just leave him to die, buried under a mountain of corpses? Who would know? Who would blame him? If Chu Wanning was really that kind of a ruthless person, then… Then why?
Xue Meng straightened his back and snickered at Mo Ran.
"Oh no, Mo Weiyu, you are wrong. I am the one who looks down on you."
"…"
"Tanlang Elder looks down on you. Xuanji Elder looks down on you. Everyone looks down on you. Who the fuck do you think you are?"
Mo Ran's whole body shook from fury.
"Shizun was the person who thought the most highly of you, and this is how you repay him."
"..."
"Scram. You do not deserve to be in the same room as him. You fucking piece of trash."