Chu Wanning was silent for a long while, face full of doom and gloom, the words "get the hell out" stuck in his throat the whole time before they reluctantly came out as "get the hell in" in the end.
"Eh? Your door isn't locked?" Mo Ran was trying to make up with him after an entire day of playing cold war, so he pushed the door open and walked in acting like nothing was wrong. Chu Wanning glanced at him without any expression from where he sat by the table.
Speaking from the heart, Mo Ran really was good-looking, brightening up the whole room with his presence alone. The youth's firm skin almost seemed to glow, and the corners of his lips held a natural curve, such that he looked like he was smiling even with a neutral expression.
Chu Wanning kept his composure firmly under control as he moved his gaze away from Mo Ran and lowered his long lashes, raising a hand to extinguish the stick of incense on the table before asking impassively:
"What are you doing here?" "I came to…check on your injury." Mo Ran cleared his throat, then his gaze landed on Chu Wanning's shoulder and he paused. "You've already taken care of it?" Chu Wanning said mildly, "Mn." Mo Ran was speechless: "..." It was true that he held grudges against Chu Wanning, and that he was also mad at him for hurting Shi Mei. But once he'd calmed down, it wasn't like Mo Ran didn't have any conscience at all; hate was one thing, but he hadn't forgotten how Chu Wanning's shoulder had been injured.
Inside that stifling coffin, Chu Wanning had held him tightly in his arms,
using his own body to block the ghost mistress's claws, refusing to let go even as his whole body shook from the pain…
Mo Ran definitely loathed Chu Wanning.
But apart from the loathing, for some reason, there were always some other complicated feelings mixed in as well.
He was a crude person who had not received an education in his youth.
Even though he studied and somewhat made up for it later on, he still had a hard time wrapping his head around many of the more delicate matters, especially those relating to emotions.
For example, when it came to Chu Wanning, Mo Ran had scratched his head and mulled it over for a long time, but he just could not figure out what this emotion was.
He only recognized simple emotions: like, dislike, hate, happy, unhappy.
But several emotions mixed together gave the brilliant and powerful Emperor Taxian-jun vertigo, made him see stars.
Don't get it, makes no sense, what is this, save me, ow my head.
So Mo Ran simply didn't bother to think about it any longer; he didn't care to waste that kind of energy on anyone besides Shi Mei.
Inwardly, he put the earlier incident on Chu Wanning's tab and secretly plotted to pay him back double, whenever he got the chance to settle the score.
But at the same time, he also felt guilty. He'd warred with himself internally before finally knocking on Chu Wanning's door in the end.
He didn't want to owe him.
But Chu Wanning was even more headstrong than he had thought.
Mo Ran stared at the pile of blood stained bandages on the table, the crimson-colored water in the washing bowl, and the knife that had been casually tossed aside, bits of bloody flesh still clinging to its tip. He felt a headache coming on.
Just how had he managed to treat his own injury?
Had he really just cut unblinkingly into the dead flesh around his wound with his own hand, just like that? Mo Ran's scalp felt numb just thinking about it. Was this guy even human?
Shi Mei had whimpered softly from the pain with tears in his eyes when Mo Ran had cleaned his wound just now; regardless of how much he disliked Chu Wanning, he couldn't help mentally bowing to him—— Yuheng Elder was indeed boss as fuck, impressive, truly impressive.
Mo Ran stood there for a bit, then broke the silence first. He lightly coughed twice, toeing the floor, and mumbled awkwardly, "Earlier, at the Chen Manor…
sorry, Shizun." Chu Wanning said nothing.
Mo Ran stole a glance at him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." Chu Wanning continued to ignore him, a face of indifference as always.
He'd never say it, but deep inside, he did feel wronged.
Mo Ran walked over. Only up close did he see that Chu Wanning had made a mess of the bandaging, the gauze wrapped around his shoulder like he was tying a crab.
"..." Then again, what did he expect from someone who didn't even know how to do the laundry?
Sighing, Mo Ran said, "Shizun, don't be mad anymore." "Which of your eyeballs saw me being mad?" Chu Wanning shot back angrily.
Mo Ran: "..." A while passed.
"Shizun, that's not how you bandage…" Another tart retort. "You think you know better than me?" Mo Ran: "..."
He lifted his hand, wanting to redo the bandages for Chu Wanning, then looked at his expression and hesitated, gauging that the probability of getting slapped in the face for daring to touch him was quite high.
The hand lowered, then it raised. This repeated several times. Chu Wanning grew irritated and shot him a sideways glare. "What, you wanna hit me or something?" "..." He did indeed want to hit him, but not right now.
Mo Ran grinned in exasperation and suddenly reached out to press his hand against Chu Wanning's shoulder, consequences be damned. Dimples appeared in his cheeks. "Shizun, here, I'll help you redo the bandages." Chu Wanning originally wanted to refuse, but Mo Ran's warm fingers were already on him and his mouth was suddenly dry. His lips moved slightly but he said nothing in the end and just let Mo Ran do as he wanted.
The gauze unwrapped layer by layer, already soaked through with blood,
until the five spine-chilling holes were revealed.
Just the sight of it made him shudder; the damage was much worse than the cut on Shi Mei's face.
Mo Ran stared for a bit, and then, for some reason even he himself did not understand, asked softly, "Does it hurt?" Chu Wanning, long lashes downcast, only said mildly, "Not too much." Mo Ran said, "I'll be gentle." Chu Wanning didn't know what he was thinking of, but his earlobes turned a little red and he got mad at himself again, thinking he must be losing his mind to be having such absurd thoughts. So his expression grew even stiffer, mood even worse, and he muttered dryly, "Do as you will." The candle flame crackled. By its dim yellow light, Mo Ran could see that the medicinal salve hadn't even been applied to some places. He was truly speechless; it must be by some kind of miracle that Chu Wanning had managed to live to this day.
"Shizun." "Hm?" "What happened at the Chen Manor today? Why did you beat them up?" He asked while applying the salve.
Chu Wanning was silent for a moment before answering, "I was angry, is all." Mo Ran asked, "What made you so angry?" Chu Wanning didn't feel like bothering with his junior right now, so he briefly told Mo Ran about Luo Xianxian. Mo Ran shook his head when the account was done. "That was silly of you. Something like this, no matter how mad it makes you, you still shouldn't have confronted them like that. If it was me, I'd just make some stuff up, fake the exorcism, then dust my hands and leave, let things run their course. You gotta adjust for the situation sometimes, you know. Look at you, made such a big mess over some worthless wretch, and even accidentally hit Shi Mei——" Mo Ran caught himself halfway through the rant. He shut up and watched Chu Wanning.
He had been too focused on doing the bandages and had forgotten himself for a moment there, had unwittingly spoken to Chu Wanning in the impudent tone of his thirty two year old self.
Chu Wanning had clearly noticed it too. He was glaring coldly at Mo Ran from the corners of his eyes, the gaze alone conveying that familiar line——"I'm going to whip you to death".
"Erm…" He was still scrambling to think of an excuse when Chu Wanning spoke first.
He said impassively, "Do you think I wanted to hit Shi Mingjing?" As soon as Shi Mei was mentioned, reason left Mo Ran's brain and willfulness took over, and even his tone grew prickly. "Did you not hit him?" Chu Wanning regretted the strike too, but his face was thin and he was mortified about it, so he scowled and said nothing.
Chu Wanning was headstrong, Mo Ran was lovestruck, and sparks flew where their glares collided in mid air. The atmosphere that had only just eased up a little bit once again became a hopeless impasse.
Mo Ran said, "It's not like Shi Mei did anything wrong. Shizun, can't you at least apologize for accidentally hurting him?" Chu Wanning's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you interrogating me?" "…No." Mo Ran paused. "I'm just upset that he was wrongfully injured, but didn't even get a 'sorry' from Shizun." Under the candlelight, the handsome youth finished dressing Chu Wanning's wounds and carefully tied a knot. The scene still seemed somewhat tender as it had a moment ago, but both their moods were already vastly different. Especially for Chu Wanning, it was as if an entire jar of vinegar had toppled over inside his chest, the sour taste of jealousy swelling without stopping, getting under his skin.
Sorry?
How do you write sorry? Someone more apologetic please teach him.
Mo Ran continued, "It's gonna take at least half a year for that cut on his face to fade, but earlier when I was helping him apply medicine, he still said not to blame you. Shizun, it's true that he doesn't blame you, but even so, do you really think you're in the right?" His words only added fuel to the fire.
Chu Wanning tried and failed to bear with it. He growled in a low voice, "Get the hell out." Mo Ran: "..." Chu Wanning snapped, "Out!" Mo Ran got thrown out, the door slammed in his face and nearly on his fingers. Mo Ran's hackles rose too. Look at this, just look! What was his problem? It was just an apology! That face of his sure was precious, how hard was it to just say sorry? Even this venerable Emperor Taxian-jun knew to apologize, but the mere Beidou Immortal had to throw a hissy fit for no goddamn reason!
No wonder no one wanted him despite his handsome face!
A fucking waste, was what it was. He was gonna be single for life, and it served him right!
Since Chu Wanning had closed the door in his face and paid him no heed,
the high and mighty Taxian-jun, Emperor of the human realm, obviously wouldn't just roll around outside the door like some shameless mutt. He was extremely persistent, clinging like sticky candy and impossible to peel off, but the one he clung to was Shi Mei, not Shizun.
He couldn't care less, and immediately left to go keep Shi Mei company.
"Back already?" Beauty Shi Mei[13] was lying down resting when Mo Ran came in. He paused before sitting up, long black hair draping down his body.
"How is Shizun?" "He's just fine, and so is his temper." Shi Mei: "..." Mo Ran pulled up a chair and straddled it backwards, hands propped on its back, a lazy smile playing on his lips as he took in the sight of Shi Mei with his long, soft hair loose.
Shi Mei said, "Maybe I should go check on him after all…" "Wah, don't do that to yourself." Mo Ran rolled his eyes. "He's throwing a fit right now." "Did you make him mad again?" "Does he even need someone to make him mad? He can even get mad at himself. The guy's probably made of wood, catches on fire at the slightest spark." Shi Mei shook his head, caught between laughing and crying.
Mo Ran said, "Go back to rest, I'm gonna go downstairs and borrow the kitchen to cook something for you guys." Shi Mei asked, "Going to so much trouble? You were up all night too,
shouldn't you sleep?" "Haha, I'm plenty awake." Mo Ran laughed. "But if you don't want me to leave yet, I can keep you company till you fall asleep?" Shi Mei hurriedly waved a hand and said gently, "No need, I won't be able to sleep with you here watching. You should try to get some rest too, don't push yourself." Mo Ran was a little dejected, and the smile on his lips went a little stiff.
Shi Mei was kind to him, yet always seemed to maintain a certain indiscernible distance. He was right in front of him, but he was also like the illusion of the moon in the mirror, the flower reflected in the water, in sight but unattainable.
"…Okay." He did his best to cheer up, forcing the smile back on his face. Mo Ran had a radiant smile, and he was silly to the point of being cute when he wasn't being mischievous. "Just call if you need anything, I'll be right next door,
or else downstairs." "Mn."
Mo Ran lifted a hand, wanting to pat Shi Mei's hair, but he managed to restrain himself and turned his hand back around to scratch his own head instead.
"I'm off then." Once outside, Mo Ran couldn't resist a sneeze.
He sniffled.
Butterfly Town specialized in producing fragrances, and incense of all kinds were quite cheap, so the inn wasn't stingy about it. A long stick of specialty incense burned in every room, one to keep out evil spirits, another to remove moisture, and a third to make the rooms smell nice.
The smell of incense made Mo Ran uncomfortable, but Shi Mei liked it, so he endured it.
Downstairs, Mo Ran swaggered over to the innkeeper and slid a silver ingot over, eyes squinted in a smile. "Hey innkeep, do me a favor." Seeing the silver ingot, the innkeeper's smile was even more courteous.
"What does the good sir need?" Mo Ran said, "I don't see many people here for breakfast anyway, can I trouble you to turn away the other guests and lend me the kitchen for the morning?" How many coppers was breakfast worth? Even half a month's worth of breakfast wouldn't earn a single silver ingot. The innkeeper agreed eagerly, all smiles as he led Mo Weiyu, still swaggering, to the inn's kitchen.
"Is the sir going to cook himself? Why not have our chef do it, he's really good." "No need." Mo Ran grinned. "Have you heard of the House of Drunken Jade[14] in Xiangtan[15]?" "Ah…the famed entertainment house that burned down a little over a year ago?" Mo Ran: "Mhm." The innkeeper peeked outside to make sure his wife was busy with work and not listening in before giving a sneaky grin. "Who hasn't heard of that place?
It was the most famous theater by the River Xiang, and even produced a star songstress, known far and wide. Too bad it's so far, or I'd go listen to her play too." Mo Ran laughed, "Well, thanks for the compliment, on her behalf." "On her behalf? On her behalf?" The innkeeper was puzzled. "You know her or something?" Mo Ran replied, "More than just know her." "Wow…wouldn't have known that just looking at you, eh? But can you cultivators even…uh…" Mo Ran cut him off with a laugh. "Besides the star songstress, do you know anything else?" "Um…I heard the food there was also unparalleled."
Mo Ran's lips curved into a cheery grin as he picked up the kitchen knife with an air of familiarity. "Before I was a cultivator, I worked as an assistant in the kitchens at the House of Drunken Jade for many years. Who do you think cooks better, your chef or me?" The innkeeper was even more amazed, stumbling over his words. "The good sir is truly… truly…" He kept mumbling "truly" but couldn't find the word.
Mo Ran glanced at him sidelong, with a smug smile on his face and an air of self-assured laziness. "Alright, out you go then, this venerable chef is gonna get to work." The innkeeper had no idea he was currently speaking to the ex-lord of darkness, and shamelessly implored, "I've long heard about the delicacies at the House of Drunken Jade, perhaps when the good sir is done, might this lowly one ask to try some?" He thought it was a small request, and that Mo Ran would definitely agree.
Who knew that Mo Ran's eyes would squint in an impish smile. "You wanna try?" "Yeah!" "Keep dreaming!" Mo Ran hmph'd with an air of arrogance, muttering, "Did you think this venerable one's gonna cook for just anyone? This is for Shi Mei, if not for him, this Venerable One wouldn't even step into the kitchen…" He picked out a radish and started cutting it as he muttered to himself.
"..." Shot down, the innkeeper could only stand awkwardly to the side,
rubbing his hands and simpering for a while before quietly slipping away.
He also muttered to himself on the inside.
What was all that with 'this Venerable One'? The boy was so young, he probably hadn't even formed a spiritual foundation yet. Listening to him rambling on it was shimei this shimei that, but there wasn't even a single girl in his group today.
The innkeeper rolled his eyes.
Must be crazy, and not just a little.
Mo Ran busied himself in the kitchen for four whole hours; it was nearly noon before he finished. He ran upstairs expectantly to wake Shi Mei up.
His footsteps slowed down as he passed Chu Wanning's room.
Should he call him to eat too…
Thinking of Chu Wanning's nasty temper, Mo Ran frowned in distaste.
Nope, he only made a little bit anyway, none for him!
[13] 师美人 Shi meiren (beauty), a play on Shi Mei's name
[14] Note that the House of Drunken Jade is a high-class "entertainment house" *cough* brothel
[15] 湘潭 city in Hunan