Given Chu Wanning's harsh attitude, Chu Xun thought that it was a huge mistake to send Mo Ran to coax Chu Wanning. He wanted to say something to placate the agitated soul, but it turned out that Mo Ran managed to achieve the goal. Chu Xun stared at Chu Wanning in disbelief for some time before agreeing, "Oh. Great! Whenever you are ready. I have the permission with me."
Chu Wanning looked up at him with an empty expression on his face.
"Now is a good time."
"… I am glad you changed your mind, but we still need to wait for your Human Soul and your Cognizant Soul to return to the Underworld."
"I see. Then I apologize in advance for troubling Sir Chu."
From behind the curtain, Mo Ran's voice rang out along with sounds of physical struggles.
"SHIZUN, NO! NO, DON'T DO THIS!!!"
Chu Wanning looked away with an expressionless face. Chu Xun wordlessly left the man and forcefully dragged Mo Ran out with him. The young man screamed and kicked around furiously all the way until they left the Sick Soul Hospital.
"Sir Chu, why did you agree to that??" Mo Ran snapped at Chu Xun finally when they were outside.
Chu Xun squinted at the young man, not understanding the question.
"Reincarnation is the path that all souls must take unless they are condemned to eternal torment in Hell. Little Gongzi, you have successfully convinced your shizun to move on to the next step. I am sure that he will appreciate it in due time."
Mo Ran was close to losing his mind.
"That's not it! That's not what I come here for!!!"
Chu Xun sighed.
"Little Gongzi, what do you come here for?"
"I…"
Mo Ran opened his mouth a few times to talk, but nothing came out. He looked around in bewilderment, speechless about the current situation. He did not dare to say that there was a Soul-Guiding Lantern in his qiankun pouch, and that he only needed Chu Wanning's Earth Soul to get into the lantern so they could both return to the living world.
Chu Xun took a deep breath. After spending two hundred years in Underworld, he had seen all kinds of souls. Most of them, just like the young man in front of him, had not yet come to terms with their deaths. They kept thinking that Underworld was just another part of the mortal realm and that they could still go back to their previous life. Unfortunately, death ended life. The only way to return to the living world was by re-entering the reincarnation cycle.
At least Mo Ran, this young man, was not looking to disappear forever. After spending some months in Underworld, he too would understand and wait patiently for his time to reincarnate.
Chu Xun patted Mo Ran on the shoulder.
"Little Gongzi, your shizun is doing fine now, don't worry about him. What you need to do now is think about yourself. If you need help, come to Shunfeng Building and find me anytime."
Mo Ran clenched his teeth.
"Sir Chu, my shizun is not supposed to die yet."
Chu Xun nodded in apprehension.
"We always say that the good ones die quickly. It is quite unfortunate indeed."
"I want to go back to talk to my Shizun," Mo Ran insisted.
"No," Chu Xun answered without skipping a beat. "Little Gongzi, I am not at liberty to divulge your shizun's personal matter, but I can tell you that I have never seen a soul in a worse state than he is. Just six days ago he told me that he wanted to stop existing altogether. My only wish is for him to agree to reincarnate. Now that we have arrived at that point, please do not disturb him further."
Mo Ran stared at Chu Xun in disbelief.
"Sir Chu, there is a misunderstanding. My shizun would never say things like that. He is…"
Mo Ran could not bring his sentence to an end. He focused on his breathing and thought about Chu Wanning's icy, haughty look just now. Yes, Chu Wanning would never even think about things like that. His shizun was strong. He never once showed his weakness to others. Not to those who were close to him, and even less to strangers.
"There is no misunderstanding," Chu Xun clarified. "Little Gongzi, I don't know how close your relationship to your shizun is, but he gave up his life to save you. You must know to some extent that he has been suffering a lot. Possibly for a lifetime."
"That is not true," Mo Ran argued. "He got wounded a lot recently, but this kind of thing is normal for cultivators."
Chu Xun shook his head and sighed at the stubborn young man in front of him. He almost pitied Mo Ran for his ignorance.
"Little Gongzi, I am not talking about physical wounds. I am talking about emotional wounds."
Mo Ran buried his fingers in his hair and closed his eyes in defiance.
"Just. Let me talk to him, alright Sir Chu?"
Chu Xun shook his head again.
"No. Sorry, Little Gongzi, I cannot do that."
Chu Xun returned to Shunfeng Building, and Mo Ran was left alone outside of the Sick Soul Hospital. The latter waited until Chu Xun was out of sight before he marched back into the Sick Soul Hospital. In his haste to go into Chu Wanning's compartment, he failed to notice two ghosts that were guarding at the front. They grabbed Mo Ran by the arms and dragged him away before he even opened the door.
"Let me go!" Mo Ran shouted angrily.
"Sir Chu has ordered that no one is allowed to meet with Chu Wanning. If you have a problem with that, please submit your complaint at Shunfeng Building."
"Release me!!!" Mo Ran growled. "Wanning..!!" he shouted.
The ghosts thought that he was calling for Chu Wanning, but they were wrong. A bright red, burning willow vine emerged in Mo Ran's hand and shocked them. Before they had time to release Mo Ran, the willow vine already rose like a poisonous snake and whipped the ghosts left and right. They screamed in pain and released Mo Ran.
Mo Ran took the chance to barge into the compartment and ran toward Chu Wanning's bed. His bed was the farthest at the left corner at the end of the compartment.
Unaware of the ruckus outside of the compartment, Chu Wanning was sound asleep. When Mo Ran pulled the curtain aside hastily and grabbed his wrist, Chu Wanning opened his eyes instantly. Mo Ran did not care to explain. He pulled Chu Wanning out of the bed, grabbed him by his waist, and ran outside with his shizun pressed against his side. Chu Wanning's mouth was open in shock. Not only at Mo Ran's crazy actions, but also at the weapon in his hand.
Tianwen…?
Impossible.
Did Huaizui take Tianwen from him and give it to Mo Ran?
The two ghosts had already gotten back to their feet by the time Mo Ran and Chu Wanning arrived to the door. Before they could say or do anything, they were again sent to the floor by Wanning's force. After seeing what happened, the hospital staff did not dare to interfere. They quickly scattered and let Mo Ran and Chu Wanning pass.
"Mo Ran, what are you doing?" Chu Wanning finally found his voice again. "Let me go!"
"Soon, Shizun. Please bear with me."
Mo Ran did not know how long he ran with Chu Wanning and how far. He only stopped once he was out of breath and could not run anymore. Even then, he refused to let Chu Wanning go. Chu Wanning coldly shoved his panting disciple to the ground.
"What do you want, Mo Ran?"
Mo Ran crawled on his knees and grabbed at the hem of Chu Wanning's bloodstained robe.
"Fine. Chu Wanning, I admit that I have treated you badly. I admit that I was out of line. I am SORRY. Is this enough reason to throw away your life like this? Aren't you being too unreasonable??" he snapped.
Out of line? That was it?
Eight years of humiliation and emotional abuse was merely "out of line"?
Chu Wanning shot Mo Ran a glare. If he still had his spiritual power, he would summon Tianwen and whip the life out of the insolent disciple at his feet. As he thought about Tianwen, his eyes inadvertently moved to the burning willow vine in Mo Ran's hand. Mo Ran flinched when Chu Wanning stared at his spiritual weapon.
Chu Wanning took a deep breath and swallowed his anger. He stared into the distance and slowly spoke.
"Mo Ran, what I do with my life is my business. If I want to stay, I stay. If I want to die, I die. Don't overstep your boundaries."
Mo Ran gritted his teeth.
"Yeah, typical!" Mo Ran shouted angrily. "Yuheng Elder is never wrong. Whatever he does must be right. I am the fool here, trying to bring you back to life!"
Chu Wanning lowered his head and narrowed his eyes at Mo Ran.
"Mo Ran, why are you here?"
"I already said that I wanted to bring you back to life."
"That's not what I meant," Chu Wanning said while raising an eyebrow. "Why are you really here? What's in it for you?"
Mo Ran stared at Chu Wanning, unable to answer.
Chu Wanning got to his knees so he was at the same eye level as Mo Ran.
"Why are you here? Why are you not up there with Shi Mei and others?"
"…"
"Is it because you feel guilty? Did you force yourself to come here because you felt guilty about my death?"
Mo Ran shook his head many times.
"No. Yes, of course, I feel guilty, but that's not the only reason."
"What other reason is there?"
"…"
Chu Wanning waited a long time for Mo Ran to answer, but the youth merely stared at him. Panic and dread grew in his eyes gradually, robbing all the excuses that Mo Ran had in store. Chu Wanning knew that Mo Ran had no other reason. It was all guilt. How foolish.
Chu Wanning closed his eyes and sighed before he straightened himself. In the end, he was truly not worth much in Mo Ran's eyes. That's good. If Mo Ran merely wanted to relieve himself from the guilt, Chu Wanning knew just what to say to him.
"Mo Ran, there is no need to feel guilty. Consider it my repayment for your anguish in the past life. You were right. I did not protect you. I did not protect Shi Mei. Thankfully, Heaven showed mercy and allowed me to go back and rectify my errors. The debts between us have been settled and fully paid. From this point on, we are no longer shizun and disciple. You can go back to the living realm with a clear conscience."
Hurt flashed through Mo Ran's glassy eyes. He looked as if he was about to cry again. Chu Wanning was not sure what those tears meant, and he also did not care. He had exhausted his capacity to care for Mo Ran.
"Goodbye, Mo Ran."
Chu Wanning turned to leave, but Mo Ran still clutched at the hem of his robe and refused to let go.
"Let go."
"Shizun, wait."
Mo Ran's voice was trembling when he spoke. "You are severing our relations just like that? After so many years?"
After all, they had gone through life and death together. They had been married. They had been intimate with each other countless times. Although the love was not there, the passion between two people during intense entanglements was not fake. It had to mean something for Chu Wanning, right?
Chu Wanning said nothing. He also did not bother to look at Mo Ran anymore.
"Shizun, look at me."
"…"
He was not even willing to look at him anymore. Mo Ran gritted his teeth as hot tears came running down his face. Did Chu Wanning hate him so much???
"Chu Wanning, LOOK AT ME!"
Chu Wanning slowly turned his head and looked down at Mo Ran once again. His eyes were calm and unwavering without the slightest ripple at the sight of his crying disciple. There was neither hatred nor malice in his face, but his words were like blades that cut into Mo Ran's heart and drained his blood.
"Mo Ran, when I come before Yanluo for my judgment, I only have one request. I am willing to be born with a weak body and die at a young age as many times as necessary, just so that our paths never again cross.
I wish to sever our karmic relations for good. We will never see each other again."