Chapter 147: Shizun, Let’s Use Our Words, Not Our Fists

Inside the envelope was a thin sheet of paper inscribed with a few

short lines. A brief look, and the heart that had leapt up into Mo Ran's throat

settled back into his chest. He let out a discreet sigh and realized he'd

nearly sweated through every layer of his clothing.

Xue Meng craned over to look. "What the—" His brow furrowed

deeply. "That's it?"

Mo Ran eyed him. "Well, what were you expecting? Didn't I tell you

I don't know her well?" Relaxed now, Mo Ran smiled and put the letter on

the table. "You made it sound so fishy; I actually fell for it."

During the years Mo Ran had roamed the land, he'd slain plenty of

evil spirits of great renown. One such was a carp spirit that had plagued

Yunmeng Marsh for many years. Because it possessed strong spiritual

powers and its lair was rather remote, more than a few cultivators who'd

stepped forward to challenge it were reduced to bones that the carp spirit

used to decorate its cave.

Yunmeng Marsh was a place heavy with the essence of evil, fertile

ground for monsters to cultivate into spirits. But a carp wasn't that strong a

creature; even when cultivated into a spirit, it had no business being so

formidable. Mo Ran had exchanged over eighty blows with the creature

before finally using Jiangui to strangle it dead. When he'd sliced it open, he

solved the mystery.

"That carp spirit had a lunar crystal9

 in its stomach," Mo Ran said

with a smile. "It was formed from the essence of a thousand years of

condensed moonlight, and makes for a really high-quality spiritual stone—

top-notch for forging weapons or to cultivate the spiritual core."

"What does a Butterfly-Boned Beauty Feast like her want it for?"

Chu Wanning asked.

"She says it's for her husband. He's got a fire elemental spiritual core,

and has been training so recklessly these past few years that there's a risk of

qi deviation. She will spare no expense to buy the lunar crystal from me to

add to her dowry in order to help her husband suppress the malignant

spiritual energy."

Xue Meng nodded. "She's willing to spend so much for her husband's

safety? You don't come across a girl like that every day."

Mo Ran laughed. "Isn't it all from Rufeng Sect's coffers in the end?

With those looks of hers, all she has to do is bat her eyelashes. Which

shixiong or shidi would say no to her? Would you?"

Xue Meng shot him an indignant glare. "Don't make me sound like a

freaking pervert."

"Don't get upset, I was just giving an example," Mo Ran said. He

returned the letter to Xue Meng. "File it."

At Sisheng Peak, unanswered letters were kept in a box at the library.

Xue Meng blinked. "File it?"

"No? Then burn it, if you want."

"No, I mean—" Xue Meng was a little flustered now. "It's her

wedding, and all she's requesting is a spiritual stone. It's not like she's

asking you to give it up for free. She seems sincere, and she said she'd pay

any price, so why won't you sell it to her?"

"It's not that I don't want to; I have no use for it myself. But I already

gave it to you."

"To—to me?"

"Yep." Mo Ran grinned and pointed at Longcheng hanging at

Xue Meng's waist. "Didn't I send back a crystal for you a few years ago,

and tell Uncle to refine Longcheng with it? Longcheng is now much

improved, you wield it well, and it's on par with a holy weapon. Guess you

should be thanking that carp spirit, huh?"

Xue Meng's mouth hung open, and he couldn't speak for the longest

time. He'd only known Mo Ran had obtained the crystal while wandering

the world; he'd never cared to learn the details of its origins.

When it came to Mo Ran, Xue Meng had always choked back his

resentment. Whether or not Mo Ran was a bad person, whether he had

changed for the better, Xue Meng would always harbor a sliver of

indignation toward him, a whiff of contempt. When his dad told him the

gem Mo Ran sent could be used to upgrade Longcheng, Xue Meng had been

grateful, but he'd also been aggrieved. He felt like he'd received a favor

from a rival that he'd never asked for. So he'd put it out of his mind and let

his dad take Longcheng to Taxue Palace to be refined. He really hadn't

expected the crystal to be a priceless lunar crystal. He was filled with

sudden, complicated emotions that he couldn't pin down. It was several

seconds before he squeezed out an insipid, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Mo Ran waved his thanks away with a smile. "I

just happened to have it at the time."

Xue Meng's face scrunched up even more as he retorted, "I wasn't

thanking you; I was thanking that dead carp."

"Ha ha ha, then don't eat carp anymore as a gesture of piety to your

benefactor, yeah?"

"Hmph!"

In the middle of their banter, a realization hit Mo Ran. He asked with

a dimpled smile, "Speaking of which—I was so bamboozled earlier I forgot

to ask. Who is Song Qiutong marrying? She's only a little shimei, but

there's all this fanfare and Rufeng Sect is sending out invites? Amazing. Is

she making a marriage alliance with Bitan Manor?"

"Nah."

"No? I thought maybe Rufeng Sect gave Song Qiutong to that

perverted old fart of a sect leader to butter him up," he said, laughing.

"Which clan is it then? To be able to talk marriage with Rufeng Sect and

make such huge deal out of it… Surely not Taxue Palace?"

"What are you thinking!" Xue Meng shot him a glare. "Why do you

think it's a marriage alliance?"

Mo Ran blinked, and his smile froze. "Well, who else would she

marry?"

"Nangong Si, duh! Did you forget? That wild horse gongzi of the

Rufeng Sect has also reached a marriageable age. And Song Qiutong is so

beautiful, it's a pretty good match…"

He was still mumbling when Mo Ran shot to his feet and exclaimed in

astonishment, "Nangong Si?!"

Xue Meng startled at his reaction. "What?"

"Why…why is she marrying Nangong Si? How…" Turbulent waves

of shock surged through Mo Ran's mind, leaving him struggling to rescue

his calm. He muttered under his breath, "Nangong Si…"

His reaction was not unwarranted. After all, by this time in his

previous life, Nangong Si had already died of an illness. Mo Ran had spent

the last five years focused on the chaos of war and the refugees, paying no

attention to the affairs of the prominent sects. And he cared almost nothing

about Rufeng Sect, with which he had little interaction. It wasn't until this

very moment, when Xue Meng announced the imminent marriage of Song

Qiutong and Nangong Si, that Mo Ran realized with a start—

This was wrong.

Everything was wrong. The fate of this world was changing, and

these changes weren't just happening to him but even to the seemingly

irrelevant Rufeng Sect. A person who should have been dead and buried

wasn't; there was a wedding instead of a funeral, with that living man

marrying the empress Mo Ran had taken as his wife in the previous life…

He almost choked on the shock of this news. And! Was Nangong Si blind?!

To set his sights on this woman?

Nevertheless, congratulations were in order, and a gift had to be sent.

Nangong Si had extended an invitation to Sisheng Peak, and they had no

reason to decline. The wedding was set for the fifteenth of the month. Xue

Zhengyong delegated his sect duties and got everything in order. He passed

on all business to the Tanlang and Xuanji Elders, then prepared to set off for

Linyi.

He didn't go alone. As per the etiquette of the cultivation world,

Madam Wang, Xue Meng, and Mo Ran were also required to attend.

Nangong Si had also extended a personal invitation to Chu Wanning,

mentioning him by name and expressing that since he'd received guidance

from the Yuheng Elder in his youth, he hoped the elder would grant him the

honor of his attendance. So he was in the party too.

"Rufeng Sect currently ranks number one among the great sects. It's

their young master's wedding, so every figure of repute in the world will

likely attend to give their well-wishes," Xue Zhengyong said. "Sisheng

Peak usually doesn't bother with formalities, but for an occasion like this,

we have to behave with utmost propriety or we'll become a laughingstock."

"What do you mean, propriety?" Xue Meng asked. "I think I'm plenty

proper."

Xue Zhengyong reached out to wiggle his topknot. "For example, this

crown of yours isn't right. You're wearing a golden crown."

"What's wrong with that?"

Madam Wang smiled gently. "Meng-er, this is your first time

attending a wedding, so there's much you don't know. Mom will explain, so

listen carefully: at a wedding in the upper cultivation realm, only the groom

wears gold hair accessories. If you go wearing a golden crown, it means

you're there to steal the bride. It'll be a huge scandal."

Xue Meng immediately flushed. "S-steal the bride?" he stammered.

"No, no no no, I'm not stealing any brides."

Mo Ran teased, "What if they toss you into a tiny room with Miss

Song, you gonna freak out?"

"I'll toss you into a tiny room!" Xue Meng was embarrassed and

furious. "I'll just not wear it, all right?!"

"Seems you guys don't know much about dressing for weddings,"

Xue Zhengyong said. "How about this? I'll have something made for each

of you, so all you have to do is put it on when the time comes." He paused,

then made a point to look at Chu Wanning. He asked tentatively, "Yuheng,

is that okay with you?"

Xue Zhengyong wasn't worried about the others; at worst, they'd

make fools of themselves. But Chu Wanning was so accustomed to wearing

white that he really might show up to the wedding dressed in it if Xue

Zhengyong didn't remind him. Perhaps Nangong Liu would spit blood in

outrage and start a feud between Sisheng Peak and Rufeng Sect.

"Sure," Chu Wanning replied.

The clothes Xue Zhengyong ordered arrived the night before their

departure. They were a rush order he'd placed at a tailor in Linyi,

formalwear of high quality and impeccable style. Even a picky peacock like

Xue Meng nodded in satisfaction when he received his outfit.

Holding a neatly folded pile, Mo Ran climbed to the southern summit

of Sisheng Peak and came to the Red Lotus Pavilion. He called out,

"Shizun, Uncle asked me to bring your clothes over."

When he came to the lotus pond, he found Chu Wanning practicing

the sword. He recalled that Chu Wanning's second weapon was a sword, but

that sword bore a thick killing aura and an impulse to destroy the world.

Chu Wanning rarely used it. However, for a blade to stay sharp it must be

whetted; skills had to be practiced to maintain proficiency. So even if his

own blade rarely saw the light of day, Chu Wanning still trained with

ordinary swords every so often.

There under the chilly moonlight, Chu Wanning wore only his white

inner robe; perhaps his exertions had left him too warm, and he'd removed

the outer one. The silken material floated in the night breeze, making for a

nimble, graceful sight. Chu Wanning had discarded his customary high

ponytail and instead coiled his hair into a bun, a stern style that accentuated

the lean lines of his face so that he looked even sharper than usual. The

longsword hummed through the air, its blade cold as snow. Softness hid

beneath the strength in his sword dance; his steps were placed with delicate

precision, stirring the frost on the ground into drifts gentle as the reflection

of the lotus blossoms in the pond. Each strike was lightning quick, like a

dragon tearing through the air. Every movement, each advance and each

retreat, fell with pinpoint precision. Mo Ran watched him from afar and

couldn't find a single flaw in his technique.

Suddenly, Chu Wanning's brow stiffened; with one swift, fierce

movement, he pointed the longsword at the lotus pond, and the waters of

the pond were split in two by the sword's aura. They stood parted in its

wake, as if the very waters had been sliced in twain. He lithely pushed off

the tips of his toes, and his graceful form soared between the sundered

waters, arms wide and white sleeves fluttering behind him as he landed atop

the pavilion on the other side of the pond with all the elegance of an

immortal.

"Shizun!"

Afraid Chu Wanning might take off into the distance in the next leap,

Mo Ran sped over to the pavilion and called out to him. In the cold, bright

moonlight, white petals drifted softly from the massive haitang tree beside

the pavilion like fluttering snowflakes. Chu Wanning stood at a pointed

corner of the pavilion's roof, the lapels of his robe slightly askew, allowing

in a sliver of jade-like moonlight. At Mo Ran's call, he looked down, black

eyes bright. He'd yet to catch his breath, which left his lips

uncharacteristically flushed, creating quite an enticing picture.

He squinted at Mo Ran, the night breeze tugging at the loose strands

of his hair. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to deliver your clothes. Try them on to see if they fit."

Chu Wanning let out a soft huff. At that moment, he remembered that

people also hailed Mo Ran as a zongshi now, and that he'd yet to spar with

him since awakening. Gripped by sudden impulse, he elegantly leapt to the

ground and issued a challenge: "First, spar with me!"