Chapter 84: This Venerable One Stole a Kiss and You Don’t Even Know

When Chu Wanning woke up, it was to the sight of Mo Ran staring

into the middle distance at the table with his cheek propped up in his hand.

The reflection of the candle flame flickered in his pitch-black eyes, bright in

his vacant gaze.

Chu Wanning thought about getting up, but there was no strength in his

limbs, and he had to surrender. The patterned lilac curtains wafted. He turned

onto his side, watching Mo Ran without a sound. The silly boy remained lost

in thought, ignorant to the fact that his shizun was awake.

Who could blame him? Anyone who found out that their lover already

had a son with some other woman would be equally shocked.

Was Xia Sini really Chu Wanning's child? How could that be…? Chu

Wanning was so aloof and particular. What woman could hope to catch his

eye?

Besides, if this whole thing was for real, then he must have had a kid

in their past life too. But in all the years he had spent with Mo Ran in that

life, Chu Wanning couldn't have been further from what one would expect of

a married man, both in his daily conduct and between the sheets.

But how else was he to explain this golden butterfly hair clasp?! Mo

Ran banged his head against the table in anguish, about to lose his mind from

sheer confusion.

He wasn't that smart to begin with, and he had never been able to

wrap his head around twisty-turny things. The more he thought, the more his

head hurt, until he finally grabbed his skull and flopped onto the table with a

despairing, "Ngah!" and stayed there, unmoving.

"Mo Ran, what are you doing?" asked an even, soothing voice,

pleasant like the chime of scattering jade, though the undertone was slightly

hoarse.

Mo Ran instantly bounced up in surprise. "Shizun, you're awake?"

"Mn." Chu Wanning coughed lightly before looking up at him. "Is

this…Rainbell Isle's inn?"

"Y-yeah." Mo Ran stood and moved toward the bed, where he noticed

a small tear in Chu Wanning's lower lip. His face swiftly turned red as he

remembered how he had lost control in his lust-induced haze and had very

nearly made a serious mistake.

"What is it?" Chu Wanning asked upon noticing his perturbation.

"Nothing, nothing." Mo Ran waved his hands and hastily changed the

subject. "Anyway, Shizun suddenly fainted at Xuanyuan Pavilion, so I carri—

ahem, brought you here to rest. Then I got a physician to take a look at you

and prescribe some medicine, and then…"

…I heard you sleep talking, was reminded of some past affairs,

couldn't stop myself, and kissed you.

Of course he couldn't say such things. Mo Ran trailed off, his gaze

uncharacteristically frantic, even flustered.

When Chu Wanning heard that he had been examined by a doctor and

saw the strange expression on Mo Ran's face, his heart dropped. Had Mo

Ran learned of the poison that turned him into a child? His hands

subconsciously tightened on the quilt as he rasped, "What did the physician

say?"

"He said Shizun was affected by that holy weapon, and that's what

made you faint." Mo Ran hesitated. "Shizun, your spiritual core…"

"Don't worry about it. It's just a bit weaker than average."

Mo Ran blinked. He was thinking about the scars that lay over both

Chu Xun and Chu Wanning's hearts and considering the possibility of some

kind of connection. However, the way Chu Wanning spoke of it, that didn't

seem to be the case. He couldn't help asking, "But how? Shizun is so

powerful. There's no way your spiritual core could have always been so

frail. When did it happen?"

"A long time ago. I was injured once, many years in the past, and it's

been that way ever since." Chu Wanning waved his hand indifferently. That

wasn't what concerned him. "Did he say anything else?"

Mo Ran shook his head. "Nope."

Chu Wanning considered him in the dim haze of the candlelight. "Then

why were you banging your head on the table?"

For a long moment, Mo Ran was mute. He tried and failed to hold it in,

so he threw caution to the wind and produced the golden butterfly hair clasp

from his sleeve. He set it in Chu Wanning's palm. "I found this."

Chu Wanning did not reply.

"On you."

The hair clasp glinted in the light as Chu Wanning's heart sank lower

and lower. So he had been found out after all. He sighed quietly.

A few moments passed in silence, neither of them speaking. Finally,

Chu Wanning closed his eyes, and was about to come clean when he heard

Mo Ran mumble in a small voice, "Shizun, is Xia-shidi…truly your son?"

Chu Wanning was struck utterly speechless. He opened his eyes, and

the blood that had been frozen in his veins began to circulate again. For a

while, he didn't know what to say as he stared silently at Mo Weiyu, who

stood by the bed with a complicated expression. Then, slowly, a clear

verdict formed in Chu Wanning's gaze: Moron.

"That's right." Chu Wanning lifted a hand and calmly took back the

hair clasp before Mo Ran could react. "Didn't I tell you before? Why are you

asking again?"

Mo Ran buried his face in his hands. "I'm just…making sure…"

Yet despite Chu Wanning's repeated confirmations that Xia Sini was

indeed his flesh and blood, Mo Ran didn't quite buy it. Shoving down his

intense feelings of dismay, he decided to grill Xia Sini about it the next time

he saw his little shidi. Until those two actually acknowledged their blood ties

to one another, he would sooner die than believe it!

After a bit of rest, Chu Wanning recovered some strength in his limbs

and moved to sit up in the bed. "My clothes…" He ran his hand over his

collars and paused, frowning. "Why are they so disheveled?"

"Ahem." Mo Ran hurriedly steered the topic away, fearful that Chu

Wanning might remember some fragments of his earlier behavior. "Shizun,

you must be hungry, right? I heard the food at this inn's pretty good,

especially the wensi tofu. Let's go down and get a bite. My treat."

Chu Wanning shot him a cold look. "What, with the money I gave

you?"

He still shook out his voluminous sleeves and opened the door to go

downstairs.

Rainbell Isle's cuisine was similar to Yangzhou's—light and

refreshing, with a tendency toward sweetness, and very agreeable to Chu

Wanning's taste.

By now, the auction was over and many of the attendees had already

left. Mo Ran and Chu Wanning had also requested a private booth, so there

was no longer much need to wear cloaks to conceal their identities. After

they took their seats inside, a waiter came and poured them each a cup of

biluochun green tea, then handed them a menu before retreating.

"Shizun can look through the menu first."

"You can order. I'm pretty content with all Jiangnan-style dishes," Chu

Wanning said as he lifted the cup and took a small sip of tea. His brows

furrowed as soon as the tea touched his lips, and he paused.

"What is it? Too hot?"

"It's nothing. Maybe the weather is dry; my lip is a bit cracked." Chu

Wanning touched the corner of his mouth uncertainly. Weird. When had that

happened?

Mo Ran lowered his head in guilty silence.

It would be a while before the food was ready, so Chu Wanning took

the time to discuss the events at Xuanyuan Pavilion with Mo Ran. They had

left early, so they didn't know who'd won the holy weapon in the end, but

that wouldn't be too hard to ascertain if they asked around.

As they conferred, an assortment of Yangzhou dishes began to cover

the table. Chu Wanning felt like they had reviewed all that they could of what

they knew, so he stopped asking questions to look over the food lining the

table. He paused for a moment before lifting his eyelids slightly to glance at

the person across from him, whose smile was a tad nervous.

"Have you been to Jiangnan before?" Chu Wanning asked.

Mo Ran had, of course, gone to see the apricot blossoms and misty

rains of Jiangnan in his previous life. However, he hadn't forgotten that he

was only seventeen at present, and that he had only joined Sisheng Peak

about two years ago, so he immediately shook his head. "Nope."

Chu Wanning's eyelashes lowered back down, his expression neutral

as he said in a clear voice, "But you ordered all the best dishes."

Mo Ran started. Only then did he realize that he had ordered every

single dish in accordance with Chu Wanning's preferences. His only thought

had been to make sure Chu Wanning ate well so that he could recover his

strength. He had entirely forgotten that he shouldn't be so familiar with the

local cuisine.

"I worked in the kitchens of a pleasure house when I was young," he

said. "So I've heard of these dishes, even if I haven't tried them."

Luckily, Chu Wanning didn't press the issue. "Let's eat."

Freshwater fare was a big part of Jiangnan cuisine, especially on

Rainbell Isle, where there were baskets of crab and shrimp and strings of

fish as far as the eye could see. The square beech table was naturally laden

with seafood. Crispy fried eel with sauce poured over it; sweet-and-sour

squirrel fish, crunchy without and tender within; steamed mantis shrimp;

chrysanthemum-sauteed sea snail; and braised silver carp. It smelled

heavenly.

Aside from those, the meat and vegetable dishes were just as

exquisitely made and elegantly plated, as were the desserts. There were

stewed crab meatballs; savory pork trotter jelly; shredded tofu simmered in

chicken broth; soup dumplings; wensi tofu;

23

 and more.

With his cheek in one hand, Mo Ran watched the waiter set down the

last dish—osmanthus cake—and snuck a glance at Chu Wanning, wondering

which dish he would go for first. He pondered for a minute and secretly

placed his bet: definitely the meatballs. These were Chu Wanning's favorite

Yangzhou dish, after all.

Sure enough, as soon as the dishes were all out, Chu Wanning's

chopsticks reached unhesitatingly in that direction.

Mo Ran sighed to himself. This guy is always so predictable, be it in

how he eats or what he does, it's always the—

Plop. An adorably plump meatball landed in Mo Ran's bowl.

—same?

Mo Ran's head snapped up, surprise at this show of favor slowly

crossing his face. "Sh-Shizun."

"Thanks for taking care of me these past few days."

Wait, had he heard that right? Mo Ran was astonished. Had Chu

Wanning just thanked him for taking care of him?! Never once in the entirety

of their last lifetime had he ever said any such thing.

Chu Wanning watched as the young man across from him slowly turned

red, his eyebrows lifting higher and higher and his eyes getting rounder and

rounder. A tuft of hair even curled up from his head to sway happily back and

forth. Chu-zongshi didn't quite know how to react, but he had to preserve his

dignity, so he took another lofty sip of tea. Ow, my lips…

Truth be told, during the days he'd spent by Mo Ran's side as Xia Sini,

Chu Wanning had begun to feel a little guilty. When he thought about it late at

night, he had to admit that his personality really was too harsh, and he had

been overly stern with Mo Ran. So he told himself that, when he returned to

normal, he would no longer carry on in that way—that he would do better.

When Chu Wanning had met with the Xuanji Elder at Peach Blossom

Springs, he had hemmed and hawed for a good long while before finally

forcing the words past his lips and asking how to be less intimidating to

disciples.

Xuanji had understandably been taken aback before answering. "First,

you have to actually show them that you care."

Show them that you care… Chu Wanning assumed that Mo Ran had

never had these meatballs before, so he parted his lips to explain. "Stewed

crab meatballs are made with finely minced, high-quality streaky pork that

has been mixed with shrimp roe, crab meat, and crab roe and rolled into

balls. They are then simmered in clear broth with bok choy, and finally

arranged in a red clay pot for a colorful presentation."

Mo Ran was thoroughly dumbfounded. What was Chu Wanning

reciting the menu for?

However, to Chu Wanning, patiently introducing new dishes to his

disciple was a form of showing care, and so throughout the course of the

meal, Mo Ran tried every dish in turn and got an earful of descriptions that

sounded like they had come straight out of Jiangnan Recipes. If not for Chu

Wanning's low, soothing voice, Mo Ran probably would've flipped the table

and left.

"Hey, hey, did you hear yet? Linyi Rufeng Sect won the last item at the

Xuanyuan Pavilion auction!"

The private booths were divided by bamboo screens, and the people

in the next booth over were a bit loud. Their conversation drifted easily over

to Mo Ran and Chu Wanning.

Chu Wanning abruptly stopped introducing "savory pork trotter jelly"

to exchange a look with Mo Ran. They listened with rapt attention.

A rough-sounding masculine voice was speaking. "Of course I have. A

holy weapon, right? Three hundred million gold, paid on the spot. Aiyo, that

price—it was more gold than I've ever seen in my entire life."

"Sheesh, is that all you care about? Don't you know that Rufeng Sect

also spent fifty million on a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast?"

"Heavens, aren't you supposed to eat those? Or dual cultivate with

them? Can't believe the biggest sect in the world would use such a

reprehensible method of cultivation. And right out in the open too. How

scandalous!"

"Actually, Su-xiong, cultivating through use of Beauty Feasts is

perfectly reasonable. It's not in the least bit prohibited. They may look like

us, but ultimately, they're not human. It's no different from eating fairy fruits

to advance yourself. When you get down to it, there's nothing wrong with the

practice."

"Hmph. We'll just have to agree to disagree…"

Someone else laughed lightly. "The one who bought the Beauty Feast

is apparently some young disciple of Rufeng Sect who rarely shows his face

—a Ye-Something-Xi. I heard he looks decent enough. Wouldn't have

expected some guy like that to rely on screwing women to cultivate. If you

ask me, Rufeng Sect is on its last legs."

Still another person chuckled. "What's wrong with that? Who doesn't

love a beauty?"

Then their conversation turned to roundabout debates on ethics and

morality—nothing worth paying attention to.

"So Rufeng Sect bought the holy weapon?" Chu Wanning repeated

quietly.

"Sounds like it."

Chu Wanning seemed troubled. "That makes things more difficult.

We'll have to go to Rufeng Sect to investigate further…"

Mo Ran let out an, "ah," as he remembered something and muttered,

"Shizun used to be in Rufeng Sect."

"Mn."

"Don't wanna go back?"

Chu Wanning looked irritated at the mere mention of returning to them.

"They may be a famed sect in the upper cultivation world," he said, brows

furrowed, "but I once…"

Before he could finish, there was a sudden commotion in the main hall.

Someone was yelling loudly.

"Innkeep, we'll give you five hundred gold if you get rid of these

people and clear them out this instant. Our young master is reserving the

whole place today."