Mo Ran's face was pale. He summoned the weapon that he had just put away in disbelief. He watched as a cluster of flames lit up in his palm. The ghost answered the summons and lay in his palm.
Comparing the two weapons, the weapon that killed Eighteen, except for the lack of a handle, was exactly the same as the ghost. It was as if a section of the ghost had been cut off. Could there be a second ghost in this world?
Before he could think about it, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from afar at an extremely fast speed.
Chu Wanning was calmer than Mo Ran. He pondered for a moment, and then his eyes suddenly turned cold. "Mo Ran, put away the ghost first!"
"What?"
It was too late.
A group of people had already rushed to the entrance of the cave. There were feathermen and cultivators from various sects who were cultivating in the Peach Blossom Spring. There were even figures of Xue Meng, Ye Xijun, and Shi Mei in the crowd … It seemed that someone had noticed the abnormality in the cave and gathered almost everyone to come here.
Therefore, when the crowd arrived one after another, they saw that Eighteen had died tragically outside the cave. Her neck was strangled by a willow vine that squeezed into her flesh.
Mo Ran and a half-grown child were in a mess. Obviously, they had gone through a fierce battle. Mo Ran was covered in blood, and the weapon in his hand was the ghost that was leaping with dangerous flames …
It was silent.
Someone suddenly yelled, "M-murderer!"
The crowd slowly became noisy. Panic, anger, and whispers converged into a stream, buzzing and vibrating the bones.
"Murder", "Murderer", "What's his intention", "crazy", "lunatic", and broken words kept repeating. The crowd was like the corpse tide in the illusion just now, which gave Mo Ran an illusion that the illusion was not over and the nightmare was still going on.
The blood from 200 years ago in Lin 'an City seemed to still be flowing.
"No …" His throat was dry, and he took a step back. "It's not me …"
His footsteps paused, and someone pulled on his clothes.
Mo Ran lowered his head in the chaos and saw Chu Wanning's pair of clear eyes.
He muttered unconsciously, "It's not me …"
Chu Wanning nodded and wanted to protect him behind him.
But he was just a little child at the moment, what could he do?
While he was anxious, he suddenly felt that Mo Ran took another step forward.
More and more people shouted, "Catch him!
And that child!
Catch him!
Murderer! "
"Don't let them escape, it's too dangerous!
Catch them! "
Mo Ran pulled Chu Wanning behind him, and then lowered his head for a while, gradually calming himself..
"I didn't kill Eighteen.
Listen to my explanation. "
The faces in the crowd were so blurry that they overlapped with a certain time in his previous life that he couldn't bear to recall.
He barely saw Xue Meng among those figures. Xue Meng's face was full of disbelief, and then he saw Shi Mei. Shi Mei's eyes were wide open, his face was frighteningly pale, and he kept shaking his head.
Mo Ran closed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I didn't kill her, but I don't plan to escape.
Before you catch me, you should at least listen to my explanation, right? "
However, even if Mo Ran said so, no one would listen to him.
Uneasiness and anger pervaded the crowd. A female Taoist priest screamed, "You, you were caught red-handed. What's there to explain?"
"Yes!"
"No matter what, catch both of them!
If they are really wronged, it's not too late to release them then! "
"Catch them!
Catch them! "
Xue Meng recovered from the initial shock. He walked out of the crowd, facing the angry and distorted faces, and with his back to Mo Ran, he said loudly, "Please be quiet and listen to me."
"Who do you think you are!"
"Why should we listen to you!"
"Wait, this seems to be Little Phoenix?"
"Little Phoenix?
God's favored one?
That Xue Meng? "
"It's him …"
Xue Meng's face was very ugly, almost pale. He took a deep breath and said slowly, "Please listen to me.
These two are my disciples at the Peak of Life and Death. I believe that they will not kill innocent people.
Everyone, please calm down and listen to their explanation. "
"… …"
After a moment of silence, someone suddenly shouted, "Why should we believe you?
So what if they are the disciples at the Peak of Life and Death? Do you know them like the back of your hand? "
"That's right. It's hard to know what's in a person's heart. Even if they are from the same sect, how much can we know?"
Xue Meng's face became worse and worse. His lips were tightly pursed, and his fingers unconsciously clenched into fists.
Behind him, Mo Ran held Chu Wanning's hand and stood there. In fact, he was a little surprised when Xue Meng came out. In his previous life, he did not have a deep friendship with this cousin of his, and they always looked down on each other. Later on, when he became the Supreme Emperor of the Human Realm, he burned, killed, and plundered everything. Naturally, he and "Little Phoenix" entered into a camp that was incompatible with each other.
Therefore, he did not expect that in such a situation, Xue Meng would turn his back to him and face others.
Mo Ran suddenly felt warm and said, "Xue Meng, you … believe me?"
"Bah!
Dog, who would believe you? "Xue Meng half turned his face and said unhappily," Look at what you've gotten yourself into!
You are obviously one year older than me, but you want me to clean up your mess! "
"…"
After scolding, he turned his head and shouted at those people in an even fiercer voice, "What?
Why don't I understand them?
One of them is my Junior Brother, and the other is my cousin!
Do you understand, or do I understand? "
"Xue Meng …"
"Will you die if you listen to a few words of explanation?
There are so many people watching. Do you think they can grow wings and fly away after a while? "
At this time, Shi Mei also walked out, but he did not seem to have a lot of momentum. He said weakly, "Immortals, I can also vouch for the two of them. They are definitely not the ones who hurt Miss Eighteen. Please listen to my explanation. Thank you …"
Ye Wangxi also stepped forward. Although he did not vouch for the two of them, he was much calmer than those people who were in a foul mood.
Ye Wangxi said, "Even if we have to detain them temporarily, we should give them a chance to explain.
Otherwise, wouldn't we be letting the real culprit off easy? What if that person is hiding among us? What should we do? "
When he said this, the others immediately looked at each other with a trace of vigilance in their eyes.
"… Okay!
Then we will allow you to explain first! "
"But we still have to catch them!
It is better to be cautious! "
"We would rather catch the wrong person than let them go!"
Mo Ran sighed and put his hand to his forehead. After a while, he actually laughed.
"I didn't expect that there would be people who are willing to believe me when I am surrounded by enemies.
Okay, okay, even if I am caught, I won't be angry with the three of you. "
He simply told them about the materialization of the Virtual Realm, what happened in the Realm, and how he saw Miss Eighteen being killed when he came out.
It was a pity that once the Shura Realm was broken, it would be a completely new illusion for the others to enter. Therefore, it was impossible to verify whether what Mo Ran said was true or false. However, if Mo Ran made it up, it would be difficult for him to piece together such a story in such a short time.
Therefore, after he finished speaking, more than half of the people in the crowd seemed to be shaken.
A more noble featherman whispered a few words to his subordinate, then said, "Mo Ran, Xia Si Ni, although the two of you have words, you don't have evidence.
Before everything is investigated, for the safety of the Peach Blossom Spring, I will have to inconvenience you to be imprisoned for a period of time. "
Mo Ran smiled bitterly and helplessly, "Okay, okay, okay, I knew it would be like this.
Give me food and drinks, and I won't say anything. "
"Of course."
The featherman paused and said, "From today onwards, the cultivators in the Peach Blossom Spring need to be on high alert to avoid any accidents.
For the cultivators who did not arrive in time, I will send people to check and question them one by one to eliminate suspicion.
Also, I will inform the leaders of the various sects about this matter, especially the Peak of Life and Death, which is the most involved. If possible, I would like to invite the masters of the two of you here for a chat. "
"Master?!" When Mo Ran heard this, his expression changed.
Chu Wanning was silent and did not say anything.
"I don't want to invite my master here!
Can it be my uncle instead? "
"If a disciple is unwell, he should report it to his master.
This is the rule of the cultivation world since ancient times. Could it be that your Peak of Life and Death is different? "
"No, I …"
Mo Ran scratched his head anxiously and sighed. He did not know what to say.
If a disciple was unwell, it was naturally not wrong to report this matter to his master.
However, when he thought of Chu Wanning's indifferent expression and ice-cold gaze.
Mo Ran felt that even if he came, he would definitely not distinguish between right and wrong and would first teach him a lesson. It was better not to meet him.
However, no matter what he said, it was difficult to change the situation.
He and his junior brother were imprisoned together.
The Peach Blossom Spring's imprisonment was a medium-sized cave. At the entrance of the cave, there were ancient thorns that only obeyed the orders of the feathermen. It was dark inside all day long. Fortunately, there was a fire pit, which burned with a spell that would not be extinguished.
Everything in the cave was simple. There was only a wide and rough stone bed with a golden-red cushion made of feathers. There was also a stone table, four stone stools, a bronze mirror, and a few sets of bowls, plates, and tea sets.
Mo Ran and Chu Wanning were imprisoned here together.
Although the matter was not settled, the featherman in charge of supervising the two seemed to be on good terms with Eighteen. When she died for no reason, the featherman took his anger out on Mo Ran and his junior brother. As a result, he made many obstacles in their daily lives.
On the first night, the featherman even knew to send some food. The food was not sumptuous, but it was enough to eat.
However, on the second day, he only casually threw some raw meat, vegetables, rice, flour, and salt into the cave. He said that he did not have the time to take care of their meals and told them to take care of what they wanted to eat themselves.
"Take care of it yourself. It's just cooking, who doesn't know how?"
As Mo Ran spoke, he angrily squatted on the ground and picked out the good ingredients.
"What do you want to eat, junior brother?"
"… Anything is fine."
"Sigh, the most difficult dish to cook in this world is called 'anything is fine.'
Let me see, there are streaky pork, cabbage … Tsk tsk, this birdman is so stingy, the cabbage he gave is all clams.
He gave some flour and rice, quite a lot, but I don't know how many days it is. "He counted and raised his head to ask Chu Wanning," Do you want to eat rice or noodles? "
Chu Wanning was resting on the stone bed. Hearing this, he thought for a while, then said, "Noodles."
After a pause, he added, "Pork ribs noodles."
"… Ahaha, you're making things difficult for me, where are the pork ribs from?"
"Then anything is fine, anything is fine."
Mo Ran sat cross-legged on the ground with his hands on his knees. He thought for a while and said, "There aren't many ingredients here, I'll make a bowl of minced pork noodles for you."
"Minced pork noodles?"
"Do you like it?"
"It's alright, is it spicy?"
Mo Ran smiled, "Look, in the food that the birdman gave, there isn't even a hint of chili."
Since they had already discussed what to eat, Mo Ran began to knead the noodles.
Chu Wanning was short and did not have enough strength, so he was too lazy to pretend to help. He just lay on the bed and watched Mo Ran knead the white and soft dough lazily. Gradually, his gaze became gentle.
Suddenly, he felt that this was very good. Mo Ran did not know who he was, so he could always stay by Mo Ran's side. When he was cooking, he would ask him what he wanted to eat, which was really good.
He even felt a little uneasy, as if he had stolen too much from a child called "Xia Si Ni".
After Mo Ran finished cooking the noodles, he put on the stir-fried meat.
The seasonings given by the feathermen were pitifully little, so he really could not make a dish that looked, smelled, and tasted good, but the noodles were chewy, and the texture was just right.
He cut off a layer of fat from the streaky pork and stir-fried the pork. With a sizzling sound, he poured it over the noodles while it was boiling hot. After mixing it well, it was also very fragrant.
"Shidi, eat …" He looked up and saw that Chu Wanning had already fallen asleep. He was still lying on the bed with his head in the crook of his arm and his face turned sideways. His eyelashes were very long, and his expression was peaceful.
"It's time to eat …" He murmured the second half of his sentence, then walked to the bed and touched Chu Wanning's jade-like black hair.
"It seems that you really do look like Shizun.
I don't know what relationship you and Shizun have with the Chu family in Lin 'an, and I don't know who wants to harm us. Sigh … I don't even know what Shizun is doing right now. If he knows what happened here, will he not distinguish right from wrong and blame me again? "
Speaking of this, Mo Ran's eyes darkened. His fingertips curled around a strand of Chu Wanning's black hair, and he faintly sighed.
"You don't know him. Whenever something happens, he always scolds me … He especially doesn't like me."
It was a pity that Chu Wanning was asleep. These words were like the misunderstandings that had been entangled with them for decades in their previous lives. They drifted lightly in the silent night, and no one answered.
Mo Ran waited for the noodles to cool down a bit. When they weren't too hot, he woke Chu Wanning up.
"Shidi, it's time to eat."
Chu Wanning covered his mouth and yawned. His eyes were hazy as he stared blankly for a while.
"Oh, eat …"
Mo Ran brought the noodles over. He loved to cook, but he didn't like to wash dishes. In order to save one utensil from washing, he simply put all the noodles into the pot that had just fried the meat.
Chu Wanning was a little surprised at such a bold and unrestrained way of eating. His eyes widened slightly, and he looked at the large pot of noodles in disbelief. "This … how do we eat this?"
"Eat together."
Mo Ran passed a pair of chopsticks to him. He put his palms together and smiled. "The competition to see who can eat faster is about to begin!
Who can eat more noodles?
Let's wait and see. "
"…"
After Mo Ran finished muttering, his eyes narrowed and his smile became even more joyful.
Chu Wanning stared at him for a while and said, "You seem to be special as long as you have food to eat …"
"Very happy, right?"
"Yes."
"Haha, food is the most important thing to people."
As Mo Ran spoke, he didn't hold back. He first scooped up a large amount of noodles with his chopsticks and slurped them until his cheeks were bulging. "It's a little ugly, but the vegetarian taste is good."
"…" Chu Wanning's expression didn't look good. "Eat, don't slurp."
"Hahaha!" Mo Ran slapped his thigh and laughed. "This child, you're a little too similar to my shizun.
He also told me not to slurp, but guess what?
Once when I was eating with him, I deliberately threw a bone into his bowl. He was so angry, hahahahaha — "
Chu Wanning gritted his teeth and said, "You're really impudent!"
"Yes, yes, yes!
That's the reaction, how did you know?
Aiyo, you're quite similar. Aiyo, Shidi, I think you two might be distant relatives. Seriously, when Shizun comes here, why don't you ask him properly?
Aiyo — don't fight with me for that half of the fried egg — "