Ghosts were not supposed to bleed.
The Ghost soldiers ripped their eyes wide open in bewilderment when the realization dawned on them.
"A living person!" They cried one after another.
"A living person has smuggled himself into the Underworld!"
Mo Ran gritted his teeth. Living people were not supposed to wander in the Underworld. Master Huaizui had warned him to maintain a low profile once he arrived, but he was still found out. The whip hurt like hell, but it effectively cut through the rope that bound him. When Mo Ran got to his feet, the rope slid down his frame smoothly.
"AH! HE IS GETTING AWAY!"
One ghost soldier threw the Deity-Binding rope at Mo Ran again, intent on capturing him one more time.
"Wanning!" Mo Ran shouted, and his spiritual weapon manifested in his hand again.
The rope did not even manage to get close to Mo Ran before it was tossed aside ruthlessly by a flash of blinding, red light. The rope burned with red fire on the ground, leaving the ghost soldiers in a momentary daze. At the same time, the tip slashed open the rope that was wrapped around Chu Wanning and released him.
"What is it?" Chu Wanning scowled at Mo Ran when he heard Mo Ran calling him. This insolent disciple was getting more and more brazen with the way to address his shizun.
Mo Ran was bleeding a lot from his backside. The blood loss initially made him turn pale, but now for some reason, his face turned a shade redder. Instead of answering Chu Wanning, he busied himself with the ghost soldiers, whipping at them diligently like a master whipping at his slaves.
The leader stared at Mo Ran with a grim expression. He stepped aside and blew into a horn.
"A LIVING HUMAN BEING HAS BEEN FOUND TO INFILTRATE THE UNDERWORLD!
I REPEAT, A LIVING HUMAN BEING IS INFILTRATING THE UNDERWORLD!
PLEASE SEND REINFORCEMENT TO CAPTURE HIM!"
As soon as the announcement was made, more and more ghost soldiers gathered from all directions. They were all rushing toward Mo Ran and Chu Wanning. Mo Ran grabbed Chu Wanning's arm and dragged him to flee together. They arrived at a busy street full of ghost vendors and souls that were acting as the citizens of the Underworld. Mo Ran and Chu Wanning quickly mingled among the souls and slipped unnoticed into alleys.
While running from one alley to another, Chu Wanning scowled at Mo Ran.
"You know what, Mo Ran? Tianwen is not a livestock whip. The way you handle the spiritual weapon is a real disgrace for all cultivators."
The corners of Mo Ran's lips tugged up in a smile.
"Shizun has yet to teach me how to use Tianwen."
"... Hmph."
Chu Wanning eyed Mo Ran's willow vine with great interest.
"Did Master Huaizui hand over my Tianwen to you?"
Mo Ran shook his head quickly.
"No, of course not."
"Then this willow vine is..."
"I... I got it from the Ever-yearning box."
Chu Wanning raised an eyebrow at his disciple. His neutral expression immediately turned grim when he heard Mo Ran's words.
It turned out that Mo Ran was only able to not disappoint him in one aspect, which is everything related to Shi Mei. In fact, Mo Ran was so excited that he could not even wait for Chu Wanning's body to go underground before he went and confessed his love to Shi Mei a second time. Chu Wanning's face darkened in an instant. He pulled his wrist free from Mo Ran's grip angrily.
"How much longer do you want to drag me around???"
Mo Ran stopped running. He supported himself on his knees and struggled to maintain even breathing. He looked around them warily. They had left the crowded area and arrived at a rather desolate area full of sorrowful souls who kept wondering why they were there. It looked like they managed to escape their captors.
Chu Wanning clicked with his tongue indignantly. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Mo Ran a deathly glare.
Mo Ran looked up at him with great fear in his heart. He prayed with every cell in his body for Chu Wanning to please not ask him how the box sprang open or what he named his spiritual weapon. He would not survive the two questions. Lucky for him, Chu Wanning did not pose further questions. For some unfathomable reason, he looked rather upset.
Mo Ran thought that maybe his shizun did not believe him, thinking that the willow vine in his hand was Tianwen after all.
"Shizun, it is really not Tianwen..." He said, trying to convince his shizun but he got a snappy retort instead.
"I get it already! How many times do you want to repeat it???"
Chu Wanning was infuriated. It was as if Mo Ran came to the Underworld just to brag to Chu Wanning, to tell him that all his dreams finally came true. He got a spiritual weapon, and at the same time he confirmed the mutual affection between him and his beloved person. If his spiritual core were still intact, he would love to beat up this unfilial disciple of his!
"Hmph...!!!" Chu Wanning flicked his sleeves and stomped off.
Mo Ran was puzzled. What did he do wrong? Was his shizun that attached to his spiritual weapons? He gave Huaisha to Xue Meng... Or did he think that Mo Ran was greedy?
"Shizun, don't misunderstand, I..."
"No need to speak further," Chu Wanning cut him mid-sentence. "I am grateful that after my death, the cultivation realm can rely on your spiritual weapon. It will be able to perform great service in the future."
"..."
Mo Ran said nothing. The words "after my death" caused his chest to feel stuffy. He hung his head in sadness. Chu Wanning turned to look at him in irritation.
"Tianwen's ability to interrogate should be familiar to you. In order to interrogate someone, you wrap the willow vine around the person..."
Mo Ran gaped at Chu Wanning as the latter gave him a crash course about how to handle his willow vine. He told him how to exact his signature moves such as Wind and Ten Thousand Coffins. Seeing that Mo Ran did not react, Chu Wanning furrowed his brows and scowled at him.
"Are you listening???"
Mo Ran answered with a hollow voice, "Yes, Shizun."
"Hmph!"
Chu Wanning turned away from Mo Ran and walked away again. He had taught Mo Ran how to use his new spiritual weapon. Mo Ran no longer had the excuse to say that he did not know how. Besides, he saw Chu Wanning wielding Tianwen for years. He even fought against Tianwen many times in their past life. Surely he would learn in no time.
They both stopped in their tracks when they heard something. It came from Mo Ran's qiankun pouch. Mo Ran took out the Soul-Guiding Lantern. From inside the lantern, the singsong of Master Huaizui's voice was heard.
"Time to return... Time to return..."
Mo Ran swallowed hard and looked at Chu Wanning, who looked up from the Soul-Guiding Lantern at the same time Mo Ran did.
"Shizun..."
Mo Ran's grip around the lantern tightened.
"Shizun, do you truly wish to reincarnate?"
Chu Wanning answered without skipping a beat.
"Yes."
Mo Ran's lips trembled from grief.
"Even if that means that you will never see us again?"
-Even if the two of us will never again meet? Chu Wanning? How can you be that ruthless? Is there no way to get you to go back with me...?
Light flickered in Chu Wanning's eyes. His lowered eyelashes fluttered slightly as if he was hesitating about his decision to reincarnate. Encouraged by the subtle gesture, Mo Ran stepped closer to Chu Wanning and reached out to grab his arm, but Chu Wanning avoided his touch by stepping aside. The shizun lifted his gaze and gave Mo Ran his answer.
"When I get to Naihe Bridge, I will ask Granny Meng Po to give me as many bowls of soup as necessary. I will drink one bowl after another to completely forget everything that happened in these two lives."
Tears started to flow from Mo Ran's eyes again. Chu Wanning did not say it openly, but Mo Ran knew what Chu Wanning wanted to say by the look on Chu Wanning's face.
Chu Wanning wanted to forget Mo Ran. He wanted to forget everything that ever transpired between them.
It was over.