Before Mo Ran could speak, he suddenly heard a sharp, piercing voice behind him shout: "Make way, make way! Let me go first!"
It was that fuban?!
The fuban heaved the heavy stone and crawled forward diligently. Like before, he came to the pharmacy and shouted: "I can't take it anymore! Come and save my life!"
A white-haired jiao swims out - but his jiao tail was completely different from the other jiao. It was covered in gold, shimmering with gorgeous luster. His full head hair was tied with simple hairpins, hanging down on his shoulders. Although his face was full of wrinkles, his face was well-proportioned. His nose was straight, his lips were well curved, and his golden eyes were smoky. You can imagine this gentleman must have been extremely handsome when he was young.
Mo Ran was flabbergasted.
It wasn't like this before. What about the blue dragon?
The elderly jiao glanced at them from a distance, but didn't speak. Instead, he came to the threshold, bent over, and took off the stones hauled by the fuban, one by one.
As the last stone was moved away, the illusion was shattered. The fuban suddenly exploded, blood and pus splashing everywhere. Almost at the same time, all the ghosts and demons in the market froze, then their bodies went limp and drained pus, turning into a foul-smelling blood that permeated the lake.
The lake water was dyed red in an instant. As the color of the blood grew darker and darker, Mo Ran and Chu Wanning soon had difficulty seeing things in the distance, then they couldn't see clearly in the near distance. Finally, everything was scarlet. It was hard to see their hands in front of their faces.
Chu Wanning spoke: "Mo Ran."
Mo Ran understood him so well that Chu Wanning didn't even need to say anything more. He said: "Shizun, don't worry, I'm here."
Chu Wanning didn't say anything, or maybe he was at a loss for words. He was silent for a while and only said: "Be careful."
The blood made the water blurry. Mo Ran couldn't see the face that remained unmoved even if the sky was falling, but it is easier to pick up on the concern in his shizun's voice. He could rarely feel Chu Wanning's warmth on a normal day but, right now, he suddenly felt a heat in his chest. He tightened his grip on the other's hand and responded: "Okay."
The two stood closely back to back. Although they couldn't see each other, they could feel each other's heartbeat and breathes. The situation was treacherous. Chu Wanning summoned Tianwen. Mo Ran's spiritual energy had returned at this point, so he followed and summoned Jiangui.
Shortly after the two had summoned their respective divine weapons, Mo Ran suddenly exclaimed: "Shizun, look over there!"
Chu Wanning turned to the side. At the entrance of the pharmacy where the old jiao was picking up stones, dozens of white spots of different sizes suddenly appeared on the ground. The two went hand in hand, and when they got closer, they found that those light spots were indeed the stones the fuban had left before.
The dozens of stones, neatly arranged in three rows by the old jiao, each emitted a soft glow.
Slowly, in front of the stones, a figure gradually took shape. Actually, it looked like the same white-haired jiao man from before.
Mo Ran tried to ask: "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer. He looked at Chu Wanning and then at Mo Ran, then raised his hand wordlessly and pointed to the stones on the ground.
Mo Ran asked: "You want us to pick a stone?"
The white-haired jiao nodded, then stretched out a finger.
"Do you want us to pick one up?"
The white-haired jiao nodded. He shook his head again. He pointed to Mo Ran, then pointed to Chu Wanning.
Mo Ran understood: "Can we each only touch one?"
This time, the white-haired jiao nodded vigorously. He stopped moving then stared at the two people with wide eyes.
Mo Ran asked: "Shizun, should we listen to him?"
"Just do as he says. There's nothing else we can do right now."
So the two of them chose a stone to pick up. Who would have guessed that as soon as their fingertips touched a stone, the world spun and a bizarre light flashed in front of them. When everything came to a standstill, the endless blood red suddenly disappeared.
When their eyes adjusted, they had actually teleported to the Divine Weapon Treasury!
"Shizun!!"
"Shizun, A-Ran!!"
Xue Meng and Shi Mei were actually here. When they saw Chu Wanning, both of them were surprised and delighted, and they welcomed them over. Neither expected that the glowing stones were actually attached with a teleportation spell. Chu Wanning was still slightly nauseous because of the rapid spinning that had just happened. He held his forehead with one hand, but still held Mo Ran tightly with the other.
In the bloody lake, his and Mo Ran's hands had been interlocked and they never separated.
Chu Wanning's status meant that there was rarely an excuse for him to hold Mo Ran like this. Most of the time, he can only stand at a distance and watch his disciples' intimate interactions.
Therefore, the rare warmth in the palm of his hand caused him to cautiously cherish the feeling…
"Shi Mei!"
However, for him, it was a precious warmth. In the eyes of someone else, maybe it was just a passing sensation, maybe it was something not even worth mentioning, and, most likely, it wasn't even noticed.
The second he saw Shi Mei, Mo Ran naturally let go of his hand.
Chu Wanning's fingertips moved slightly. For a moment, it seemed like he wanted to pull him back.
But what's the reason?
He no longer had the courage to like others.
He didn't want to lose even a little bit of his meagre pride.
Looking at Mo Ran smiling so happily when he saw Shi Mei, and so naturally embracing Shi Mei and patting his hair.
Chu Wanning's fingers hung down.
Blushing slightly, with some embarrassment.
Fortunately.
His face was always indifferent, and the feelings of joy, anger and sadness were not so obvious.
It was probably because he was getting old and stiff. They had spun in the teleportation formation for a while, and his heart was a little cold.
But fortunately, his fingers still held a little heat.
With that residual warmth that would soon dissipate, he slowly stood up, fixed his expression, and cleaned up his appearance.
"Master, are you okay? Why is your face so pale…"
Chu Wanning nodded towards Xue Meng and said, "It's nothing."
After a pause, he asked again: "You were also sent by that merman*?"
*(T/N: Merman (鲛人) and jiao person (蛟人) are both pronounced "jiāo rén")
Before Xue Meng could speak, he heard a gurgling sound of bubbles. Chu Wanning turned back and suddenly saw half of a bloody face, followed by a clatter in the boiling sword-casting pool. Surprisingly, a man with a twisted body emerged!
This was by no means a mortal, or even a living person. No mortal could be dunked in scalding molten iron and survive. On the other hand, although this person's skin was scorched and his flesh was rotten, he was obviously still out of breath. Four chains were locked around his limbs, immobilizing him in the furnace and forcing him to suffer.
He slowly opened his eyes. He repeatedly bowed to the crowd, his eyes pleading, urging them to gather by the sword-casting pool.
He couldn't speak, but that didn't mean there was no way for him to communicate. They saw him waving his arms that were white from the exposed bones and draped in flesh and blood. The molten iron rolling in the pool suddenly made a small wave, and the wave slowly twisted into several lines of ancient text in the air.
Xue Meng was shocked: "What kind of words are these? How come I can't read any of them?"
Chu Wanning: "It's the Cangjie Ancient Script, which you haven't been taught yet."
Mo Ran said: "Then - what does it say?"
Chu Wanning stepped forward to carefully examine it and said: "… It's… a cry for help."
The Cangjie Ancient Script is said to be a heavenly script, which had been scattered across the earth. Only a few people know it. Even a master of this generation like Chu Wanning couldn't recognize all the words. But its general content was still discernable.
Chu Wanning looked at it carefully and slowly translated: "He said that he was the incarnated spirit of this willow tree. He's known as Zhaixin Liu*. When he was still a seedling, he was brought from the Seventh Heaven of the Heavenly Realm to earth by Gouchen the Exalted. After that, Gouchen abandoned the world for unknown reasons, and Zhaixin Liu never saw him again. He didn't know whether he was dead or alive."
*(T/N: 摘心柳 quite literally Heart Pluck Willow)
"But regardless of whether Gouchen is present or not, Zhaixin Liu has always followed his instructions for hundreds of thousands of years, guarding Jincheng Lake and taking care of the Divine Weapon Arsenal. Gradually, nourished by spiritual energy, he transformed into the illusion of a human form. And after that, everything was as usual, until one day, there was a -" Chu Wanning suddenly stopped and did not read further.
Mo Ran wondered: "What's wrong?"
"…I don't know these three words. It seems to be a person's name." Chu Wanning said, raising his hand and pointing at the complicated text. "In short, this person came to Jincheng Lake. He was powerful and ruthless. He killed all the creatures in the lake and controlled them with the Zhenlong Chess Formation. Zhaixin Liu was no exception."
Mo Ran immediately piped up: "80% chance this person is the fake Gouchen!"
When Zhaixin Liu heard what he said, his eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded his head.
"… I guess I was right." Mo Ran smiled a little embarrassedly and scratched his head. "Haha, I didn't think I was that smart."
Chu Wanning glanced at him lightly and continued:
"For all these years, the willow has been in a lost state of unconsciousness, never able to awaken even for half a day. Fortunately, the other two sections of the willow that were once linked to it - Tianwen and Jiangui - have both awakened. With their power, they allowed Zhaixin Liu to temporarily regain his divine consciousness. Otherwise, he's afraid that he would have been out of control and killed and injured all of you present at this time."
"Everyone present" heard it, or they didn't believe it, or had lingering fears. The three teenagers raised their heads and stared at the spirit body in the sword-casting pool, not knowing what to think of its self-report.
Mo Ran said: "Senior Liu——"
Xue Meng: "Senior Liu?"
"What else should I call him? Senior Zhaixin?" Mo Ran gave Xue Meng a quick glance and continued. "I'll say something you may not like to hear. It's really hard to trust what you're saying."
Although Zhaixin Liu couldn't speak, he could understand what Mo Ran had said. He twisted his face around.
Mo Ran said: "First, you said that you were under fake Gouchen's illusion, and then you said that you regained your sanity because you were influenced by the aura of the awakened Tianwen and Jiangui. But Jiangui was given to me by the fake Gouchen. Wouldn't he know what the consequences of doing this would be?"
Zhaixin Liu shook his head and the words in front of Chu Wanning changed.
"I am a tree species from the Heavenly Realm. He doesn't know me well, and he doesn't know that divine weapons can affect my mind. He needed to use my strength to study the three forbidden techniques. In recent years, because I am running out of life, he is anxious and has been seeking a way to keep me alive. But I really don't want to live anymore. I'd rather die than help a tiger, but unfortunately I'm controlled by others, and I can't help myself…"
Chu Wanning read this and pondered slightly: "So he let Mo Ran come to the bottom of the lake. Mo Ran is the wood spirit essence. The calculation played by the fake Gouchen must be to combine the spiritual power of Mo Ran and Jiangui into one and sacrifice it to you."
Zhaixin Liu nodded.
Mo Ran still didn't understand: "But fake Gouchen said that there are two wood spirit essences, and Shizun is one of them, so why did he lock me up alone?"
Zhaixin Liu wrote: "Since ancient times, the best kind of sacrifices are the young ones, even more so for the tree spirit. In addition, the sacrifices need to be full of food and drink, the seven emotions and six desires have been satisfied, and then the life is taken away in the illusion of ignorant bliss. If not, the sacrificial heart has regrets, and if the resentment is great, it will hasten my withering."
When he said this, Mo Ran instantly thought of the fox demon in the secret room that turned into Chu Wanning.
It turned out that it was to satisfy his lust, just like fattening up a pig before slaughtering it so that it tasted delicious.
In this way, it made sense why he saw Chu Wanning, not Shi Mei. He cherishes and sympathized with Shi Mei, so he didn't dare play with him. In his lustful state, his desire for Chu Wanning was indeed much stronger than that for Shi Mei…
Chu Wanning saw Mo Ran look different and thought he was having anxiety and wanted to help him, so he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"N-Nothing."
Seeing Mo Ran blush, Chu Wanning stared blankly for a moment. He suddenly understood, and abruptly stopped talking. After a while, he turned his head, somewhat annoyed.
Where does this kid have anxiety coming from? It turned out that he recalled the so-called "seven emotions and six desires", and he began to fantasize about it.
Chu Wanning flung his sleeves in anger. With a cold face, he muttered a reprimand: "Shameless."
Mo Ran: "…"
Fortunately, Chu Wanning didn't know who was satisfying his lust in the illusion. If he did, would he be so angry that he would flay him alive?
As he was thinking, suddenly, the ground of the Divine Weapons Arsenal trembled violently. Xue Meng said: "What's going on?"