A few months after Mo Ran left to cultivate in faraway mountains, a problem occurred in Butterfly Town once again. Following the event of Heavenly Rift where Luo Xianxian murdered every single person in the town, the town was left empty ever since. According to rumors, the ghosts of the dead townspeople still could not accept their sudden passing and thus linger far longer than they ought to.
The accumulating Yin energy eventually became too much and started to erode the barrier that Chu Wanning sealed by sacrificing his spiritual core. This was a serious problem because Chu Wanning was still locked in seclusion at Red Lotus Pavilion and there was no other person who had the ability to seal the crack that was growing bigger and bigger with the passing days.
Xue Meng led the disciples of Sisheng Peak to suppress the demons and ghosts that threatened to roam the realm. Meanwhile, Xue Zhengyong sought help from the Upper Cultivation Realm, but most sects opted to build a wall to protect themselves from the menace. Only the Guyue'ye Sect and Kunlun Taxue Palace sent disciples over to help with the chaos at the Shu region.
Guyue'ye Sect specialized in healing, so they could only help with treating the wounded ones. Only very few disciples had strong enough cultivation to join the Sisheng Peak disciples to vanquish the evil. Xue Meng learned to appreciate Mei Hanxue a lot more after he proved to be a useful ally in a dire situation. Mei Hanxue arranged half of the disciples to help with the attack while the other half focused on building barriers to evacuate and protect innocent folks.
Despite the combined effort, the root cause of the problem remained. The gaping crack in the barrier was not going to close itself. Just as everyone was slowly losing hope, a white-robed cultivator appeared out of nowhere and started to work on the crack.
Xue Meng only saw the person from behind, with his hair pulled up in a ponytail. He even wore a similar hair accessory as Chu Wanning. Xue Meng failed to get more details because tears started to well up in his eyes when he realized who it was.
"SHIZUN! SHIZUN!!!" Xue Meng cried in distress.
As always, his shizun was there to protect the living realm. Chu Wanning was supposed to be in seclusion for two more years to fully recover from the death, but here he was. He neglected himself again. He came to help mend the crack, intending to sacrifice himself again to save everyone. But Xue Meng could not take it anymore. He refused to let Chu Wanning die a second time.
Xue Meng thus leaped to the sky and hugged the man from behind, trying to pull him away from the crack that he was mending.
"Shizun, please don't," he sobbed into the man's shoulder uncontrollably. "If you really want to help please just guide me. I will do it, let me do it…"
The man in his arms cleared his throat. Xue Meng stopped crying right away. He did not dare to question his shizun, but when did Chu Wanning's voice start to become so deep? And when did his shoulders become so broad? Xue Meng fumbled a little more. And did his shizun work out a lot during the seclusion? Master Huaizui was a man of wonders.
"Ahem… Xue Meng, have you touched enough? Will you let go?"
Xue Meng's tear-streaked face was heated in an instant. He released the cultivator right away. The thought of having embraced a stranger gave him goosebumps. But then… this stranger called him "Xue Meng" as if they knew each other. As if…
Mo Ran turned to look at Xue Meng.
"Good to see that you are still alive," he said with a grin.
Xue Meng almost fell from Longcheng.
"Mo… Mo… Mo…"
"MO RAN!!!"
Xue Meng wanted to follow up with the usual "you dog" but Mo Ran was dressed up like Chu Wanning at the moment. Calling him a dog would be tantamount to calling his own shizun a dog. Xue Meng could impossibly be that unfilial. Chu Wanning would literally rise from his coffin to beat him up. Xue Meng thus merely mumbled a "N… nice to meet you too, be careful" before he went back to take care of the wandering ghosts.
Mo Ran had been working hard to return to the cultivation level that he once achieved in his past life. After months of secluded cultivation, he decided to take a break and go down the mountain. When he arrived at the inn, the innkeeper gave him a stack of letters from Xue Zhengyong. It was unexpected because Xue Zhengyong knew that Mo Ran was away in seclusion. He was not able to read the letters in time. Sure enough, the letters were speaking about a recent breach in the barrier over the Butterfly Town. Mo Ran departed for Sisheng Peak that very day.
Chu Wanning was to date the greatest cultivator who mastered a lot of skills. Taxian-Jun's past hatred for Chu Wanning caused him to pick a different cultivation path than his shizun's. In this life, the strong hatred from past life was replaced with immense guilt. Not only toward Chu Wanning, but toward the cultivation realm in general. Taxian-Jun not only destroyed the cultivation realm. He also robbed the cultivation realm of its most powerful cultivator.
Unconsciously, in his attempt to make amends, Mo Ran's cultivation path in this life greatly resembled Chu Wanning's. Unfortunately, he was not able to reach the heights without Chu Wanning's guidance. The Night Guardians that he made according to Chu Wanning's blueprints were very basic. The talismans that he drew were half as effective as Chu Wanning's. Even his barrier-mending skills were half-assed. Thankfully, Mo Ran's strong cultivation was able to complement his lacking skills.
As Mo Ran worked on the crack, he prevented the ghosts from crossing over to the mortal realm. The disciples who were working hard to suppress evil were finally able to relax a little. Shi Mei who came with the Guyue'ye Sect disciples overheard that Mo Ran had come back. He gazed at his figure up at the sky, his back ramrod straight as he stood firmly on his saber.
Shi Mei lightly jumped on his own sword and glided toward Mo Ran.
"A-Ran," he called softly.
Mo Ran turned around when he heard his name being called and came face-to-face with an adult Shi Mei. If the seventeen-year-old Shi Mei was like a shy lotus flower that was just starting to bloom, then the twenty-year-old Shi Mei was like a magnificent lotus flower at full bloom. He had grown so incomparably beautiful. Mo Ran's heart softened at his sight.
Shi Mei tucked a strand of loose hair behind his ear and smiled at Mo Ran.
"A-Ran, let me help with the barrier. Two people work better than one."
Mo Ran threw a glance at the crack that he was mending. It was not as severe as the rift that Chu Wanning mended, but Mo Ran was taking too much time to repair the crack. Shi Mei was right. He could use some help.
"Alright, let's set the Discernment Barrier."
Shi Mei gladly acceded and did what Mo Ran told him to do.
With two people working on the crack, they were able to repair the crack from both ends. Mo Ran was quite happy with the progress until he saw that something was wrong with the crack. Shi Mei's cultivation was low, and his barrier-mending skill was also a few levels below Mo Ran's. As a result, the end that he was mending became a weak spot.
Before Mo Ran managed to warn Shi Mei in time, the ghosts already detected the weak point and concentrated their effort to break through the crack at Shi Mei's end.
"SHI MEI!!!" Mo Ran shouted in anguish as the nightmare from his past life repeated itself. The ghosts pierced through Shi Mei's chest and he fell down like a fallen petal. Instinctively, Mo Ran wanted to go down to catch Shi Mei, but he suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his own chest. The metallic taste of blood rose inside his throat and filled his mouth with a warm liquid. Mo Ran vomited a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, Xue Meng caught Shi Mei before the latter hit the ground.
"Mo Ran, are you alright???" Xue Meng asked.
Mo Ran wiped the blood off his lips before answering.
"Yes. Uh. Is Shi Mei alright?"
"He's unconscious but he's fine! I will take care of him, you take care of yourself!"
Mo Ran heaved a sigh of relief. He directed his focus back on the crack that he was mending, but he was utterly confused. The ghosts clearly attacked Shi Mei and not him. So why was he also hurt in the process? He kept thinking of what happened in his past life. In his past life, Chu Wanning set a Discernment Barrier with Shi Mei. Shi Mei was pierced by the ghosts. His wounds were so heavy that he ended up losing his life. What about Chu Wanning?
Large beads of sweat formed on Mo Ran's forehead and ran down his strained face. He was not sure if it was because of the crack that he was mending or the haunting memories from his past.
No.
Impossible.
Mo Ran could barely remember what Chu Wanning looked like back then. He merely remembered that his shizun left without looking back. Was Chu Wanning also hurt? Did he sustain the same injuries that Shi Mei did?
Shi Mei died because of his injuries.
Chu Wanning not only did not have time to take care of his injuries, he even went on to seal the Heavenly Rift without a moment of rest.
Mo Ran's lips trembled in distress.
After struggling for almost an hour, Mo Ran finally managed to seal the crack on his own. After he came down, he was quickly treated by a bunch of Guyue'ye disciples. Mo Ran sat on the ground in a daze. He barely registered the pitiful cries and groans from wounded disciples around him.
-Chu Wanning…
-What really happened in our past life during the Heavenly Rift?
-Can you tell me?
"Young Master Mo, are you alright?"
Mo Ran's head snapped up toward Mei Hanxue, who was getting treated next to him.
"Oh. Young Master Mei, hello. I am doing fine. Are you okay?"
"Yes," Mei Hanxue replied solemnly. "Young Master Mo has grown a lot stronger in the past years. You are now able to mend a heavenly barrier crack on your own."
Mo Ran's face grew hot when he heard the undeserved praise.
"Young Master Mei is praising too much. I am not half as good as my Shizun."
Mei Hanxue nodded in apprehension.
"Indeed, Chu-zongshi's capabilities were remarkable. The cultivation realm is awaiting his comeback impatiently."
Mo Ran swallowed hard. One of Kunlun Taxue Palace's specialties was barrier-making and mending. Mei Hanxue would know the answer to his question.
"Young Master Mei, are you well acquainted with the Discernment Barrier technique?"
"Yes, I am."
Mo Ran felt a huge lump in his throat. He wanted to ask, but he was also afraid to hear the truth. If the truth was really what he thought, then…
"Is there anything that Young Master Mo would like to know?" Mei Hanxue asked, raising an eyebrow at Mo Ran. In the end, Mo Ran decided to ask.
"Yes, uh… I set a Discernment Barrier with my shixiong just now. He was injured by the ghosts, and I… I also got injured. I don't know why that happens. Can Young Master Mei enlighten me?"
Mei Hanxue did not look surprised at all.
"That is normal. The Discernment Barrier is twinned. When a person suffers from damage, the other person will also suffer from equally heavy damage."
Mo Ran's heart almost stopped at that instant.
"Equally… heavy… damage…?" he repeated with a hollow voice.
Mei Hanxue nodded.
"Yes."
Mo Ran's head was buzzing. The scenes from his past life flew past his eyes at a high speed. Shi Mei falling from the height, blood spurting everywhere. Mo Ran holding onto his bloody body that slowly grew cold in his arms. Mo Ran begging for Chu Wanning to stay. Chu Wanning leaving without looking back.
Mo Ran's hatred toward Chu Wanning that grew exponentially with passing time. Mo Ran practicing the Zhenlong Chess Formation. Mo Ran going down the evil path in life. Mo Ran laying waste on the sects at the Upper Cultivation Realm one by one. Mo Ran fighting against Chu Wanning. Mo Ran destroying Chu Wanning's cultivation and taking away his freedom…
Everything started from that one misunderstanding.
A year of misunderstanding was a misunderstanding.
Ten years of misunderstanding was an injustice.
A lifetime of misunderstanding was fate.
The cruel fate allowed Chu Wanning to suffer one grievance after another in Mo Ran's hand. When Mo Ran looked down at his hands, all he could see was the crimson color of blood. Chu Wanning's blood of two lifetimes.
When Mo Ran closed his eyes, all he could see was Chu Wanning's face.
Chu Wanning's face when he cried and asked him to stop torturing him.
Chu Wanning's pale face as he lay motionlessly in Red Lotus Pond.
Chu Wanning's desperate look when he told him to leave again and again.
Xia Sini's little body lying in a coffin at Yanluo Hall, a peaceful smile lacing his cold lips.
-Mo Ran, what the hell have you done…?
-What the hell have you done...!!!!
-How could you do all that???
-What did Chu Wanning do to deserve your ruthlessness???
-Mo Ran, you are the worst.
-You don't deserve Chu Wanning at all.
-This is why he doesn't want to exist anymore.
-You have hurt him beyond his limits.
Chu Xun's words rang in his ears one more time.
-"'You' want it, but 'he' does not want it. Little Gongzi, if you care even the least for your shizun, you will let him reincarnate in peace. He saved your life and this is how you repay him???"
-...
"Young Master Mo…?"
Mei Hanxue frowned.
"Are you alright? You suddenly turn pale. Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
Mei Hanxue's left arm was bandaged so he could only reach out with his right hand. Before he even took hold of Mo Ran's shoulder, the latter closed his empty eyes and toppled backward, falling like a puppet with broken strings.