Through the heavy lotus leaves, Mo Ran reacted like he had been struck by lightning. He was frozen in shock, all the conflicting feelings in his heart going wild, his expression unable to hide his emotions.
Shock, anger, bitter jealousy, irritation; all burst in him like fireworks. He moved his lips but was so angry, he couldn't even get a word out. He didn't even know what he was angry about. There was only one thought going through his head –
This Venerable One has slept with this guy. You think you're worthy enough to touch him?
Chu Wanning, you arrogant, egotistical, lewd slut! You, I can't believe you …
He didn't react at all. In this life, Chu Wanning didn't have the slightest passion or desire to engage with him. In an instant, something in his mind snapped.
All in all, it had been more than ten years, a lifetime, from birth until death.
When he was in his right mind, he was able to play it off easily, pretending to be calm.
But under the circumstances, his thoughts were chaotic and the truth was revealed. He still subconsciously believed that Chu Wanning belonged to him. Even now, he realized that he could even remember the taste of Chu Wanning's lips when they kissed … not to mention their desire-fueled, lustful interaction and passionate sex.
It was something that he didn't dare think about after he was reborn.
Until he saw Chu Wanning's naked back, saw that familiar figure, - broad shoulders and long legs, tight muscles, thin and powerful waist - immersed in the clear water.
These things that he had deliberately avoided, the lingering feeling he tried to forget, burst through his mind and swept away any resolve.
Mo Ran's mind went blank.
… This body made him react.
And it was a strong reaction that couldn't be contained at all. Just looking at it, a fire burned in his belly.
When he came back to his senses, he angrily shouted: "Chu Wanning!"
Chu Wanning actually ignored him.
The two people on either side of him held his shoulders. Steam rose from the lotus pond making it hard to discern the specific identity of the two people. But they are very close together, the distance between them dubiously close.
Mo Ran cursed. He plopped into the lotus pond and waded towards Chu Wanning—when he got closer, he realized —
I-It was actually two mecha men made of metal and redwood!
Even worse, they seemed to be taking advantage of the spiritual energy of the lotus pond water, channelling that energy into Chu Waning. Mo Ran, foolishly jumping into the water, had completely broken the spiritual energy flow …
He didn't know what kind of array Chu Wanning was using. He was unconscious, supported by the golden light coming from the metal palms of the two mechs. Those rays kept surging upward and converged on the wound on his shoulder, clearly healing it.
Mo Ran's intrusion caused the golden light to quickly dissipate. What was even more unexpected was that the array actually started to undo!
As the golden light dissipated, Chu Wanning's wounds began to rapidly spread. He frowned, stifling a grunt, and coughed out a mouthful of blood. Immediately, all the scars on his body began to tear open. The blood spilled out like smoke, seeping across the flower pool in an instant.
Mo Ran froze.
This was Chu Wanning's "Flower Spirit Sacrifice Technique"!
He realized that he might … be in trouble …
Chu Wanning's spiritual flow is a dual system of metal and wood. The metal energy was like "Tianwen", focusing on attack and defence. The redwood energy was used for healing.
Flower Spirit Sacrifice was one of those healing techniques. Chu Wanning could gather the spirits of hundreds of flowers to heal wounds. However, during the process, no other people should enter the array, otherwise, the spirits would scatter. Instead of healing, it would exacerbate the injury. In serious cases, Chu Wanning's spiritual core would most likely be snatched up by the spirits of the flowers.
Fortunately, Mo Ran had dabbled with the Flower Spirit Sacrifice Technique in his previous life and immediately severed the energy flow from the spirits. Chu Wanning, who had lost the support of the array, fell down and was steadily held by Mo Ran.
The unconscious shizun's face was pale, his lips blue, and his body was as cold as ice.
Mo Ran dragged him onto the shore. It was too dark out to see anything else. He half-held, half-dragged Chu Wanning back to his bedroom and lay him on the bed.
"Shizun? Shizun!"
After calling for him several times, there wasn't even the slightest tremble in Chu Wanning's eyelashes. Other than the slight rise in his chest, he looked dead.
Seeing Chu Wanning in this state reminded Mo Ran of his past life.
Inexplicably, his throat constricted and his heart raced.
In the last life, there were two people who died in Mo Ran's arms.
Shi Mei and Chu Wanning.
The two of them, one the love he had endlessly longed for, the other an enemy he had been entangled with all his life.
After Shi Mei was gone, Mo Weiyu ceased to exist in the world.
After Chu Wanning?
Mo Ran didn't know. He only remembered that, on that day, he guarded the person in his arms as he grew cold. He didn't cry, he didn't laugh; joy and sadness became out of reach.
After Chu Wanning was gone, Mo Weiyu no longer knew what the world was.
The lights were bright, illuminating Chu Wanning's exposed upper body.
Yuheng of the Evening Sky typically wore tight clothing. His overlapping collar was folded tight and high, and his waistband was wrapped around his waist three times, proper and simple.
Therefore, no one had seen how injured his body was after two hundred strikes …
That day, while he was being punished in the Court of Discipline, Mo Ran saw the beating wounds on Chu Wanning's back with his own eyes. At that time, he only knew that it was bloody and extremely grotesque. But then he saw that Chu Wanning walking around like normal and thought that he probably hadn't been hurt that badly.
Only at this moment did he realize that Chu Wanning's injuries were far more serious than he had imagined.
The five holes left by the Master of Ceremonies Ghost had fully reopened, the deepest of the holes even exposing some bone.
Chu Wanning probably didn't let anyone help reapply the medicine. He did it all by himself. The ointment was unevenly applied, and some places that he couldn't reach were inflamed and ulcerated.
Not to mention the bruises from the cane. They covered his entire back, almost no skin left unmarred. Plus, with the backlash from the array, now Chu Wanning's wounds were all torn open, blood flowing, staining the sheets underneath him.
If he didn't witness it with his own eyes, Mo Ran wouldn't have believed that the person who insisted on wiping the bridge pillars and opening a huge rain-blocking barrier for the disciples was the person in front of him - this kind of serious injury could be classified as "debilitating".
If Chu Wanning hadn't lost consciousness, Mo Ran really wanted to grab him by the collar and ask him——
Chu Wanning, are you really that prideful?
If you bow your head and give in, who will stop you? Why do you have to be so stubborn? You're an adult. Why don't you know how to take care of yourself and treat yourself better?
Why are you so reluctant to ask others to help treat your wounds?
Why would you rather have two mechs help you with a healing array rather than ask for help?
Chu Wanning, you're delusional!!
Are you that stubborn?
He cursed to himself while he quickly tapped some acupuncture points to stop the bleeding. Then he fetched some hot water and wiped away the bloodstains on Chu Wanning's back …
The sharp knife was quenched and cut off the flesh that had completely festered.
For the first time, Chu Wanning groaned in pain, and his body jerking subconsciously. Mo Ran held him down, irritated: "What are you moaning for? Haven't been fucked recently? If you make any more noise, I'll stab you straight in the chest. If you die, it won't hurt anymore! It'll all be over!"
It was only at a time like this that Mo Ran could reveal his violent nature and scream at him like he did in his previous life.
But there were too many places where the wound was white and rotting. He gradually cleaned it while Chu Wanning was muttering and panting.
Even if he was unconscious, he worked hard to suppress his discomfort. He didn't shout or cry out in pain, simply covered in a layer of cold sweat. His body, which had just been wiped clean, was soaked in sweat again.
After working for almost an hour, he had finally applied the medicine and bandaged the wound.
Mo Ran helped Chu Wanning into some clothes and grabbed a thick blanket to cover the fevered shizun. He breathed a sigh of relief. Remembering that Madam Wang mixed medicine was still sealed in the paper bag, he took some boiling water and brewed a bowl of medicine, bringing it to Chu Wanning's bedside.
"Come on, take the medicine."
He picked up the sleeping person with one hand, letting him lean on his shoulder, and spooned the tonic with the other hand. He blew it and tried a sip first.
Mo Ran immediately frowned, his face screwed up: "Damn it, it's that bitter?" But he still let it cool and feed it to Chu Wanning.
Inevitably, after just half a spoonful, Chu Wanning couldn't stand it. He choked and coughed, spitting out the concoction, most of which splashed on Mo Ran's clothes.
Mo Ran: "…"
He knew that Chu Wanning didn't like anything bitter. He was almost afraid of it.
But if he was in his normal state of mind, the stubborn Elder Yuheng would definitely push through his disgust, swallowing the medicine in one swig. At most his face might pucker afterwards and he'd secretly eat a piece of candy.
Unfortunately, Chu Wanning was currently unconscious.
Mo Ran couldn't help it. It's not good to lose your temper with someone who's unconscious so you have to be patient and feed him small sips. From time to time, you have to use a handkerchief to wipe the tonic from the corner of his mouth.
This wasn't a difficult chance for Mo Ran. After all, in his previous life, for a while, he regularly had to feed Chu Wanning. At that time, Chu Wanning resisted, and Mo Ran slapped him in the face. Then he'd grab his chin and roughly kiss him, his tongue rushing in, blood flowing …
He didn't dare think too deeply about it. The last few spoonfuls Mo Ran fed him were a bit sloppy, almost half of them coughed up by Chu Wanning. Then he put the man to bed, Chu Wanning harshly twisted the covers.
"I'm so kind. Don't kick the blankets off, you'll get a fever. If you're not careful, you'll catch a cold again …"
Halfway through his rant, he suddenly lost his temper and kicked the leg of the bed.
"Forget it. What do I care if you catch a cold? I hope you get sicker and sicker and die.""
After speaking, he turned and left.
When he reached the door, he felt a tug in his heart and couldn't ignore it. So he turned back, thought about it, and put out the candle for him. Then he left again.
This time he walked to the edge of Red Lotus Pond. Looking at the increasingly beautiful water lilies that had been dyed with Chu Wanning's blood, the annoyance in his chest only grew.
He was annoyed but still returned to the bedroom.
He stiffly walked around the room like a rusty and ageing mecha before he finally reluctantly stood next to Chu Wanning's bed.
The moonlight peaked in from the half-open bamboo window, the silver glow fanning across Chu Wanning's handsome face.
His lips were pale, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed.
Mo Ran hesitated and closed the window for him. It was very humid overnight. Sleeping with the windows open at night was always bad for a person. After doing this, Mo Ran inwardly cursed:
Just walked through the door and leave, you damned dog!
So, just as he walked to the door, with a bang, Chu Wanning actually kicked the blanket off.
Mo Ran: "…"
How could this person's habit of kicking the covers off the bed be changed?
In order not to be a dog, the sixteen-year-old Emperor TaXian had the backbone to ignore it and walk away.
He was true to his word and would never walk through that door!
A few moments later.
– The wise and powerful emperor opened the window and tumbled in.
He picked the blanket up off the floor and covered Chu Wanning again. Mo Ran listened to Chu Wanning's soft painful groan. He twitched. Watching him curl up in the corner of the bed, no longer looking even half as fierce as he normally did.
His lips were cursing that he "deserved it", but, out of his compassion, he still started moving.
He sat by Chu Wanning's bedside and stood guard. He wouldn't let him kick the blanket off again.
It was late at night. After an exhausting day, Mo Ran couldn't keep his eyes open. His head slowly nodded down and he fell asleep.
It wasn't a good sleep. Chu Wanning kept tossing and turning. In his sleepy state, Mo Ran seemed to have heard him humming lowly.
Through his drowsiness and restful sleep, Mo Ran could barely distinguish between what was day or night. Somehow it had become natural to lie next to Chu Wanning and hold his twitching and trembling figure. He squinted his sleepy eyes, subconsciously stroking his back. He held the person in his arms and muttered softly in his sleep: "It's alright, it's alright. It doesn't hurt … It doesn't hurt …"
Mo Ran fell asleep, murmuring, as if he had returned to the Life-Death Peak of his previous life, back to the desolate and empty Wushan Hall.
Since Chu Wanning died, no one had slept beside him.
Even if their intimacy was bred out of hatred, those days after days spent in the cold made him think of nothing but his heartache, like ten thousand ants were devouring his heart.
But when he thought about it again, Chu Wanning couldn't come back.
He lost the last flame in his life.
On this night, Mo Ran embraced Chu Wanning, half-asleep and half-dreaming. One moment it was clear that he was living a new life, and in another, it was like it had been way back then.
He suddenly couldn't bear to open his eyes for fear that he would wake up tomorrow to an empty pillow and cold sheets. He was the only one left in a long life in this uncertain world.
He undoubtedly hated Chu Wanning.
However, when he held this person in his arms, the corners of his eyes grew a little moist.
He was the thirty-two-year-old Emperor TaXian, holding the warmth that he thought he would never find again.
"Wanning, it doesn't hurt anymore …"
His mind was hazy. Like before he had been reborn, Mo Ran stroked the hair of the person in his arms, muttering softly, unconsciously blurting out such a tender line.
He was so sleepy that he didn't even realize what he had said or what he had called the other. He spoke the words without any thought. They had just slipped out naturally. Mo Ran's breathing evened out and he plunged into an even deeper sleep.
Early the next morning, Chu Wanning's eyelashes fluttered and he leisurely awoke.
He had a strong cultivation base and the high fever that he had gotten overnight was already gone.
Chu Wanning drowsily opened his eyes, his mind still a bit fuzzy. He was about to get up but suddenly realized that someone was lying in the same bed as him.
… Mo-Mo Weiyu???
His shock wasn't something trivial. The colour drained from Chu Wanning's face. He couldn't remember what happened last night. What's worse, his movements had woken up Mo Ran.
The young man yawned. With a smooth and delicate face with a healthy blush that was typical of a sound sleep, he raised his confused eyes. He glanced at Chu Wanning lightly, and languidly said: "Ah … let me sleep a while longer … Since you're awake, go and cook me a bowl of preserved egg and pork congee …"
Chu Wanning: "…"
What was all this nonsense? Was he talking in his sleep?
Mo Ran was still out of it. Seeing that Chu Wanning didn't move, nor did he urge others to get up to cook the congee, he lazily smiled. He stretched out his hand and lowered Chu Wanning's face, giving him a familiar kiss on the lips.
"It's okay, you don't have to get up. I just had a nightmare. In my dream … ah … nevermind." He sighed and embraced the man who had become completely lifeless and stiff. His chin rubbed against the hair of the person in his arms. He muttered, "Chu Wanning, let me hold you again."