Chapter 154: Shizun, I'm Gonna Go Look For Ye Wangxi

Well, now it was awkward. Everyone else in the room, from Madam Wang to Xue Meng and Xue Zhengyong, had politely stood up in greeting when Nangong Liu entered earlier.

Chu Wanning hadn't cared to do so, and had remained standing where he was by the window.

But as for Mo Ran, Rufeng Sect was nothing more to him than some worthless garbage sect he had trodden underfoot in his previous life. He knew well that the place was a disjointed mess beneath all that glamor, hardly worthy of any respect. But he really didn't mean to make things difficult for Nangong Liu just now, he was just so used to it that it didn't even occur to him to stand.

It was quite the strange scene indeed.

Nangong Liu, the host and the elder, standing there with an amicable smile,

not at all angry, expression full of warm familiarity still.

Mo Ran, the guest and the junior, reclining languidly in the taishi chair with his legs crossed and a piping hot cup of tea in his hand.

Xue Zhengyong hadn't been paying attention to what Mo Ran had been doing earlier, but turning around to look now, he couldn't help feeling mortified.

This Mo Ran really had no manners!

"And you must be… the famed Mo-zongshi that everyone's been talking about these last few years?" Putting the lid back on his cup of tea, Mo Ran lifted his eyes and replied,

"That's me." "Such gallant y——" Mo Ran cut him off with a smile. "Nangong-xianjun, you've already used 'gallant youth' on my cousin, so mayhaps not on me as well?" He spoke courteously, with an easy tone and a warm smile, but the words themselves were anything but courteous. Nor did he bother to stand; in fact,

after tossing out those words, he lifted his teacup once again, scraped the celadon lid against the rim of the cup, and blew at the gently rising steam.

And then, dropping his gaze along with those dense, long eyelashes, went back to leisurely sipping his tea.

He was young, handsome, tall, and poised. His attitude and mannerisms made it seem like he was the real master of Rufeng Sect, the one who stood at the top of the entire cultivation realm, while Nangong Liu was just a dog perched by his seat.

"Haha, Mo-zongshi is quite right, I just couldn't think of a better phrase due to my own lack of learning, so——" "That can't be right." Mo Ran put his teacup down and looked up with a smile. "Nangong-xianjun has had no end of praises to give out ever since entering this room, so if you aren't a smooth talker, then who out there is?" "Aiya, Mo-zongshi flatters me too much." "Who said I was flattering you," Mo Ran said with a smile, bright eyes fixed on him. "Being a smooth talker isn't always a good thing." Xue Zhengyong finally couldn't take it anymore. Lowering his voice, he muttered, "Ran-er——!" From his point of view, it was understandable for Chu Wanning to be unfriendly toward Nangong Liu; at least there was history between them, and Chu Wanning had the social status for it, but Mo Ran…

But Mo Ran paid Xue Zhengyong no mind, speaking instead to Nangong Liu,

"Nangong-xianjun should save the honeyed words for the other juniors. I'm a crude person, I won't understand it, nor do I want to hear it."

Xue Zhengyong: "..."

Mo Ran was well aware that his uncle would be displeased with his behavior, but he didn't regret it in the least.

There were far too many disgusting things in the world. Chu Wanning had a fierce temper and was always sticking his neck out, like back then with the exorcism at Luo Xianxian's place, when Chu Wanning had beaten up Landlord Chen, the paying client, regardless of any repercussions to his reputation,

because the Chens had mistreated a helpless girl.

Chu Wanning had done nothing wrong, yet he was always being badmouthed by others, people who would call him "coldblooded", "out of control",

and "unfeeling".

He didn't want to let other people call his shizun "ill-mannered" ever again.

And so he would act even more egregious than Chu Wanning, even more over the top. Dumb though it was, it was the only way he knew of to shelter Chu Wanning behind himself. Thus, the other three in this room accepted Nangong Liu's flattery and favor out of politeness and decorum, but Mo Ran did not.

It wasn't a spur of the moment thing. Ever since he found out that it had been Chu Wanning who had carried him home on his back from that mountain of corpses, crawling when he had to, ever since he'd seen, in Mengpo Hall, that Human Soul, and that bowl of wontons, ever since he'd gone to the depths of the Underworld to bring back Chu Wanning, he'd vowed—— That he would stand with Chu Wanning from now on, for as long as Chu Wanning would have him.

Nangong Liu had already run into two walls in a row. Were it the head of any other sect, they would've long since flown into a table-flipping rage and kicked all of them out.

But Nangong Liu didn't do any of that. He acted like nothing whatsoever had happened, cheerfully chatting with Xue Zhengyong for a while longer until Xue Zhengyong couldn't take the embarrassment anymore and pulled him aside to quietly apologize that he had been too lax with his nephew.

Only for Nangong Liu to laugh it off. "Aiya, it's perfectly normal for a youngster to be bold. I actually think it's a great thing that Mo-zongshi is so passionate." After the meeting with Nangong Liu, Rufeng disciples led the group to the courtyard where they will be staying.

Mo Ran sneezed the whole way there. Xue Meng turned to look at him.

"Maybe the Nangong Sect Leader put a curse on you for all that smart-mouthing just now…" "Shut it, more like you got cursed." Mo Ran's eyes were all teary. "I… achoo,

I can't handle such a strong incense smell, that room back there——achoo! The incense was really too… achoo! Too…" "Too unpleasant." "Ah, Shi——achoo——zun." Chu Wanning furrowed his brows and handed his handkerchief over with a disdainful, "How unsightly, wipe yourself up."   Teary-eyed still, Mo Ran accepted the haitang-embroidered handkerchief with a grin. "Shizun is so nice to me, thank you Shizun." Chu Wanning was a little flustered. "Who's nice to you." "That's right!" Xue Meng piped up, unwilling to be second. "Who's nice to you, I'm clearly the one that Shizun is nicest to!"

Mo Ran retorted tauntingly, "Aren't you a little too old to be making a contest of that?" Before turning all serious and holding up the handkerchief in his hand.

"See this? Shizun said he'll sew me one just like it. Do you have one?" "..." Chu Wanning snatched the handkerchief back with lightning speed,

snapping, "Mo Weiyu!" Xue Meng was frozen in shock for a second before flying into a rage. "Yeah right, as if anyone's gonna believe that Shizun would sew you a handkerchief!

Keep dreaming! Shameless." While chatting, they arrived at the courtyard that Nangong Liu had prepared for them. The courtyard had four sections, one for Xue Zhengyong and Madam Wang and one for each of the rest of them. Flowers danced gently between winding paths to quiet retreats, and the soothing sound of running water babbled serenely in the background, truly a scene of singular elegance.

Mo Ran, who had been in good spirits, faltered when he saw that it was this courtyard they would be staying in, his eyes glazing over for a moment despite himself. Following everyone else into the courtyard, his mood only sank ever lower as he took in the details of the surroundings.

This was the one place in Rufeng Sect that had left a deep impression on him in the previous lifetime.

To now come across this place once more, he couldn't help thinking about how, if Chu Wanning hadn't called him back at the cost of his own life in this lifetime, perhaps he would've walked the same path as before and become Emperor Taxian-jun, and it would've been around this time that he'd be leading millions of Zhenlong chess pieces and burning this renowned sect to the ground.

The thought sent cold sweat streaming down his back and a thousand thoughts rushing through his mind.

Mo Ran closed his eyes. He could keep his emotions in check now, was no longer the youth who wore his heart on his sleeve that he'd used to be, so no one noticed the haze clouding his heart.

They each retired to their own rooms to rest. Mo Ran stood in front of his unit for a while, hands folded behind his back, but did not go inside.

Feeling a little uneasy, one of the maids in the courtyard asked carefully,

"Does xianjun find the room unsatisfactory?" "Oh, no no." Breaking out of his daze, Mo Ran smiled. "The courtyard just reminded me of somewhere I used to live, is all." "What a coincidence. I was worried that xianjun didn't like the place. If xianjun needs anything, please feel free to let me know and I will do my best to fulfill it." Mo Ran said with a smile, "I'm good, thank you." He looked up at the hundred year old osmanthus tree in the yard, its trunk so thick he would strain to wrap his arms around it, the dancing shade of its foliage sweeping across his eyes like ghosts from his past.

Eyelashes quivering minutely, a melancholic feeling filled his chest.

He turned abruptly and called out to the maid who was just leaving. "Wait!" "What does xianjun need?"

"…I wanted to ask about someone." Mo Ran paused, and when he lifted his eyes, his gaze was torch-bright. "Do you know of a…" "A…?" "Actually, nevermind, let me ask about someone else instead," Mo Ran said.

"Do you know where Ye Wangxi is?" The maid answered, "Ye-gongzi is Elder Xu's personal disciple and lives with him in the same courtyard. Xianjun can find him there." Hearing that, Mo Ran secretly let out the breath he'd been holding. The last time he'd seen Ye Wangxi had been at that restaurant, where he'd begged Nangong Si to go back with him and Nangong Si had refused, and Ye Wangxi had said, "If it's because of me that you don't want to go back to Rufeng Sect, I'll leave." To be honest, he was a little worried about Ye Wangxi. Ye Wangxi had already suffered enough in the previous lifetime, and he felt like Ye Wangxi was actually quite similar to Chu Wanning, both of them people of morals and conviction, just that one was more reserved while the other was more fiery, but neither had a good ending.

Repentant over what he'd done in the past, Mo Ran hoped that the Ye Wangxi could be better-off in this lifetime. He couldn't help being relieved that Nangong Si hadn't been so heartless as to really chase Ye Wangxi off.

Elder Xu's courtyard was called "Farewell to Three Lifetimes", the name supposedly taken from the verse "One sip of Mengpo's soup to bid farewell to three lifetimes' memories", to express the fleetingness of life, that it would be best to forget that which should be forgotten rather than dwelling on them incessantly, since all would be forgotten in death by the time one got to the Naihe Bridge anyway.

Sure sounded like a pessimistic guy. No wonder Ye Wangxi had turned out so repressed that you wouldn't even be able to beat a fart out of him.

"What a clever parrot, how interesting. Now recite this: One bowl of rice, one scoop of water, in a humble alley[6]…" The guard had already gone to pass on word of his visit and what he was here for, and Mo Ran had yet to step around the partition wall[7] when he heard the languid, teasing voice of a man drift out from within the courtyard.

Mo Ran took a couple more steps inside before he saw the man standing in the sun-bathed courtyard. He looked to be in his early thirties, and was dressed in a robe so plain that it even had a few patches in the corners of its sleeves. He also wasn't wearing any shoes despite how cold it was, standing bare-footed on the ice-cold stone pavement with a handful of sunflower seeds, teasing a snow white parrot with blue eyes and a long tail.

The parrot flapped its wings as it rocked side to side on its perch, seemingly quite pleased with itself as it sang loudly back, "Ah~ one bowl of rice~ one scoop of water~ in a humble alley~" "Mm, not bad, not bad. You're smarter than Xiao Ye-zi[8], you know, he wasn't nearly this clever when he was young, couldn't memorize this bit at all no matter what he did." The man fed the parrot some seeds. "Here, treats from daddy." "..." Calling himself a bird's daddy…

Did that make him a cuckoo[9] then?

When the man turned and saw Mo Ran standing by the partition wall, he first cracked a sunflower seed between his teeth and spit out the shell before suddenly beaming a bright smile with a hint of something darker beneath. Under the radiant sunlight, he gave off an air of breezy nonchalance.

"Mo-zongshi, Mo Ran, yes?" He smiled. "Pleased to meet you." Mo Ran returned the smile, and replied, "Same here." After the exchange of pleasantries, Mo Ran took a closer look at the other person's face. He looked vaguely familiar, as if he'd seen him before during his slaughter of Rufeng Sect in the past life. Was he…

"Yifu[10], you're running around without shoes again." A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Such an unimportant remark, but one that was thunderous to Mo Ran's ears.

Mo Ran whipped his head around just in time to see Ye Wangxi come in through the moon gate[11], tall and slender as ever, gentleness in his expression.

He walked over to the man, holding a pair of yellow satin shoes which he set down in front of him.

Yifu?

Ye Wangxi's Yifu…

Through the thrumming of blood in his ears, he could practically hear the cries and screams from a lifetime past, the clang of sword against sword, the maelstrom of battle drums.

"YIFU!!!!!" A face marred with bloodstains burst forth through his memories.

It was Ye Wangxi, crying and screaming, voice splitting the heavens themselves…When he'd razed Rufeng Sect back then, Nangong Liu had fled to save his own hide, leaving the seventy two cities headless and floundering.

Later, Rufeng Sect's foremost guardian Elder Xu had stepped up and taken the reins, marshalling the panicked masses in resistance together with Ye Wangxi,

masses that Mo Ran would've otherwise wiped out in an instant .

He wasn't even a Nangong, yet he took on the responsibility that should've belonged to a sect leader with that surname, using his position as elder of Rufeng Sect to defend its seventy two cities to the last.

He wasn't even Ye Wangxi's father by blood, yet he'd moved to block the sharp blade filled with spiritual power piercing toward Ye Wangxi's back, using his own body to protect the child he had raised.

Mo Ran had been watching from atop the city walls then. Seeing this scene,

the corner of his lips had twisted into a sneer——heavens only knew how jealous he'd been in that moment.

To think that there was someone out there who would willingly die for another with no blood relation!

His narrow-minded self had felt shocked, pained, and he was so jealous he'd almost gone mad, so jealous that even his eyes had gone bloodshot.

He'd thought, great, that's just great, look how lucky Ye Wangxi was. As for himself...if there had been even just a single person in this whole wide world other than his mother who'd be willing to die for him, would he have ended up like this?!

The heavens were kind to everyone else; only to him were they so grudging,

so cruel!

He'd wanted to destroy everyone that he was jealous of. All these people huddled together for warmth, he was going to send every last one of them to hell. How was it any fair that only he never got even a single day of contentment or a single moment of warmth, that the only person who had ever been kind to him had died so long ago.

It was the only bit of warmth he'd ever had, why did it have to be taken away from him?!!!

He hated!

"..." Looking back now, Mo Ran's only thought was how stupid he had been back then. There was someone in this world who would willingly die for him, but he was the one who had missed it, had let that person down, had not realized.

Mo Ran closed his eyes and took a moment to calm his turbulent emotions before opening them again to look up.

He knew who this man was now: He was Ye Wangxi's shizun, as well as his yifu——Xu Shuanglin.

The person who, on the second day of the slaughter of Rufeng Sect, had died in battle to save Ye Wangxi.

Mo Ran turned away, a bitter aching in his heart; he couldn't bear to look at that smiling, carefree person bathed in sunlight any longer.

He went to say hi to Ye Wangxi instead.

"Ye-gongzi." Ye Wangxi paused, only just noticing Mo Ran standing a little ways off. Then he smiled and said, "Ah, Mo-xiong is here too. Long time no see." "Long time no see." The Ye Wangxi of this lifetime had only met Mo Ran a handful of times, and wasn't very familiar with him, so he continued to smile politely while asking, "Are you here looking for my Yifu?" "...…" Mo Ran glanced over at Xu Shuanglin before shaking his head,

feeling a little awkward. "No, I'm here for you." "Well, look at that, Xiao Ye-zi, when was the last time someone came here looking for you?" Smiling lazily, Xu Shuanglin popped another sunflower seed into his mouth. "Where did you meet Mo-zongshi, anyway?" "At the Peach Blossom Springs." "That's nice, that's nice," Xu Shuanglin said with a smile while putting the rest of the sunflower seeds into the bird's food bowl. "You youngins keep chatting, I'm going to go take a walk around." Ye Wangxi tugged at him. "Yifu, you aren't wearing your shoes again." "Oh, I forgot." Smiling, Xu Shuanglin put the shoes on. "There, better?" But, out of the corner of his eye, Mo Ran saw the man stroll leisurely around the corner, bend down, take the shoes off again, and tuck them into the front of his robe before leisurely continuing on his merry way.

"...…" This father-son pair, in terms of both appearance and personality, really were strange. Xu Shuanglin looked very young due to his cultivation method, aging not a day past thirty, and seemed more like Ye Wangxi's brother than anything else.

And then, taking into account his willful, mischievous temperament, he didn't even seem like the older brother, but the younger instead.

So what was with that plaque outside solemnly inscribed "Farewell to Three Lifetimes" then, was he just messing around or what?

Side by side, Ye Wangxi and Mo Ran walked slowly along a shaded path.

The courtyard was full of both flowering trees and fruit trees, but it was the middle of winter, so everything was withered, leaving only a couple of dry, yellow leaves dangling from the branches, quivering in the wake of the passing wind.

"Sorry about the last time, at the restaurant, it was quite embarrassing." "Not at all," Mo Ran said. "How have you been lately?" He regretted it as soon as he said it, because Ye Wangxi was the kind of person who wouldn't say anything even if he was miserable. Sure enough, Ye Wangxi smiled a little and said, "I'm alright, and you?" "Pretty good." The two of them weren't close. Mo Ran only came looking for him because he remembered the wrongs he had done in the past life, felt remorseful, and wanted to come see how this still-living Ye Wangxi was doing. But now that he was alone with him, he didn't really know what to say.

Mo Ran knew many of Ye Wangxi's secrets, none of which he could bring up,

so he found himself with nothing to talk about. The two of them strolled in silence for a while, then Ye Wangxi asked, "How's Xia Sini been?" Mo Ran was caught by surprise for a moment, then he chuckled. "You still remember that name? Impressive." "His name is rather memorable." "Haha, I suppose. Xia Sini is here too, you can see him later." Ye Wangxi seemed surprised. "He's here too? ...But I don't think the sect leader would've invited…" "You still don't know who Xia Sini really is, do you?" Mo Ran said with a laugh. "Let me tell you then, it's a long story though." And so he recounted the chain of events that led to Chu Wanning becoming Xia Sini. Ye Wangxi looked pensive for a while afterwards, then said with a sigh,

"Mo-gongzi is very fortunate to have him as your master." To which Mo Ran said, "And Rufeng Sect is very fortunate to count Yegongzi among its disciples." Ye Wangxi, a little embarrassed, replied with a small smile, "Mo-gongzi is too kind." They arrived at a small, red-painted pontoon bridge. The whole way here had been nothing but dry branches and shriveled leaves, but this place was verdant and vibrant, with tall stalks of bamboo that stood proud and unyielding come wind or snow. The waters at Rufeng Sect had all been infused with spiritual power to prevent freezing, and so the ambience at the foot of the bridge was the sweet tinkling of running water embraced by twin groves of lush green.

When Mo Ran turned around, he saw Ye Wangxi with his eyes downcast, gaze fixed on the sparkling stream, reflected light dancing across dark eyes. He was still the same person, but the weariness on his face was hard to miss.

Nangong Si's marriage was really much too cruel to him.

He suddenly found it hard to bear, as if he was looking at Chu Wanning, who gave so much yet couldn't even get so much as a backwards glance. Mo Ran asked, "Ye-gongzi, why don't you come to Sisheng Peak instead?" "What?" "...…"" The words felt impetuous as soon as they'd left his lips, and he well knew what Ye Wangxi's answer would be anyway. Mo Ran sighed, "Just an offhand remark, don't mind me." Ye Wangxi smiled in response. He used to have a very handsome and goodlooking smile, with seven parts gallantry and three parts elegance. It was still the same person and the same smile, but his cheeks were a bit sunken in now, and though the seven parts gallantry were still there, the three parts elegance had withered away, leaving behind only twin pools of sorrow.

He tried to hide it, but the sorrow was too deep to be covered despite his best efforts.

He joked with a smile, "Is Mo-xiong here to poach people for Sisheng Peak?" "Haha, sure am. Though, Ye-gongzi probably wouldn't bite, so just take it as a joke." "Mn, my Yifu is still here, so I'm not leaving." "What do you plan to do, then?" "...…"" There was a flash of pain across Ye Wangxi's expression, and for once he didn't have an answer at the ready. What did he plan to do? He didn't know, either. He felt like he was a moth to Nangong Si's flame, couldn't help being drawn to that flame even if it would only lead to his own ruin.

But Nangong Si didn't want him.

"I'll just, stay here at Rufeng Sect doing the things I'm supposed to do," Ye Wangxi said with a small smile. "Serve the sect leader, serve Yifu, and later,

serve the young master." He paused, hands tightening into fists, the joints turning pale as jade.

Mo Ran was perturbed that Ye Wangxi could actually manage to say the rest of that sentence so calmly, that he could actually say those words at all…

"Serve the young mistress." Having said that, he dropped his gaze, as if finally unable to bear it any longer. But it was only for a brief moment, and then he lifted his head back up,

looking at Mo Ran in that gentle, polite way of his, even managing to keep smiling as he stood there in the bitter cold of winter, resilient as the bamboo around them.

A sudden gust picked up, sending the fresh-fallen snow scattering amongst the bamboo groves.

In that moment, Mo Ran decided: No, Nangong Si was not going to marry Song Qiutong.

[6] From The Analects of Confucius, "One bowl of rice, one scoop of water, in a humble alley; others would not have been able to endure such a hard life, but Hui is happy all the same. Praise be to Hui!" (Hui is one of Confucius' disciples) which extols the virtues of living a simple life and being content with it.

[7] Partition wall: a wall inside the courtyard, facing the gate, kind of like a privacy screen [8] 小叶子 Xiao Ye-zi: Ye Wangxi's Ye means leaf; the pet name literally means "little leaflet"

[9] 鸟人 lit. "bird person" is a general insult, doesn't really have the same scatterbrained/crazy implications but english doesn't have many bird based insults

[10] Yifu=foster father

[11] Moon gate