Chapter 139: Shizun, Sweet Dreams

Mo Ran froze. He could smell the familiar fragrance of haitang,

and though Chu Wanning wore a straight face, the sleeve on his eyelid was

gentle and careful as it wiped.

But more importantly, this white-robed person was standing so close

that Mo Ran could see the fine lines in the texture of his lips, so close that

all he had to do was dip his head down to kiss those lips, to take those

tender petals between his own.

"You may have won, but you didn't wake me up, so it wasn't a fair

match." Chu Wanning said as he finished wiping.

Mo Ran blinked, then smiled, "But I didn't win. Shizun won."

"You didn't harvest anything more all afternoon?"

"Nope, and there's not much left either. I went to the market, bought

some things for the winter, and made a round through the village. That took

up some time," Mo Ran said. "So Shizun reaped more than I did."

Chu Wanning let out a cool hmph but seemed satisfied. After a

moment, he asked, "What did you buy at the market? Mattresses?"

Before Mo Ran could reply, Ling-er—not wishing to be left out—cut

in with a smile, "Xianjun bought so much stuff, I felt bad for the poor horse

that had to drag it all back."

"It wasn't that much. Just coal and such, some meat, and some

sweets."

"Not only that," Ling-er said, "Xianjun also went and bought a

mattress for every family in the village! It was so many that the grandma

who fluffs the cotton just up and came back to the village with him with her

whole cartful."

Chu Wanning was a bit astonished. "Where did you get the money?"

"I have some savings," Mo Ran said with a smile, "and the mattresses

were pretty reasonable, too. Much cheaper than the ones they sell in the

upper cultivation realm."

"What's the meat for?"

"Impulse purchase. I gave it to the village chief to roast and share

with everyone tomorrow."

Chu Wanning's face remained carefully neutral as he asked, "And the

sweets?"

Ling-er clapped her hands with a giggle. "For the kids in the village,

of course. Mo-xianjun gave out the sweets first thing when he got back.

There was malt-sugar candy and osmanthus cake. The kids were over the

moon; not many of them have had treats like that before." She paused, then

said happily, "I got one too."

The girl was sociable and acted familiar with everyone. Chu Wanning

hadn't minded the other times she interjected, but this time he shot her a

cold glare. "Was it good?"

Ling-er answered freely, "Super good, very sweet."

A sardonic smile tugged at Chu Wanning's lips. "Then help yourself

to more," he said indifferently before walking away with a sweep of his

sleeves.

Mo Ran didn't know what he'd done to upset him this time. He was

about to give chase when something black blotted out his entire field of

vision. Chu Wanning had tossed the robe he'd draped across his shoulders

at Mo Ran's face. Mo Ran pulled it off and looked anxiously back at him.

"Shizun?"

"What are you doing naked like that! I'm freezing just looking at

you!" Chu Wanning snapped. "Put on your clothes!"

Mo Ran was rendered speechless. He truly was quite warm, but he

quickly and silently pulled the robe on anyway since Chu Wanning had said

so. The fabric was instantly soaked with sweat and stuck uncomfortably to

his skin. At a loss, he gazed at his shizun through downcast lashes.

Chu Wanning lowered his sharp brows. "Fix your collar! Don't just

leave it open for the world to see! Indecent!"

Mutely, Mo Ran pulled his lapels closed, folding them tight and high

so that not a sliver of skin was left exposed. Yet all that did was impart him

with a kind of untouchable allure instead. For some reason the sight of it

made Chu Wanning even angrier; he cursed under his breath and walked

away with a flick of his sleeves, leaving Mo Ran to stare blankly after him

like a dumb dog.

The village chief, his wife, and Ling-er were all flummoxed as they

watched this exchange. Ling-er said, somewhat disconcerted, "This xianjun

sure is scary… I've never seen such a strange-tempered person before…"

She spoke quietly in sympathetic, fawning tones, turning her head as she

muttered, "Your master is so mean to you… You're really patient, putting

up with all th—"

The words died on her lips as her eyes met Mo Ran's. That usually

smiling and easygoing Mo-xianjun wore a dark expression, and there was a

terrifying, wolf-like ferociousness in his eyes. Her mouth snapped shut, and

Mo Ran turned his face away, somewhat obscuring his features. Ling-er

could feel her heart race. She was unsure if it was merely her imagination,

or if this person who was usually so calm and serene, like a sturdy

mountain, really had revealed a starkly different face of savagery for an

instant.

"Sorry," Mo Ran mumbled, "you guys go ahead first. I'm going to go

check on him." He set off with broad strides.

Mo Ran found Chu Wanning by the bank of the river, where reeds

danced along the shore and the setting sun sank into rippling waters.

Mo Ran came to a stop behind him, a little short of breath from how fast he

had run. "Shizun."

No reply.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Then why are you so displeased?"

"I'm plenty pleased."

Mo Ran blinked. "Huh?"

Turning to look over his shoulder, Chu Wanning said grouchily, "I'll

be as displeased as I please."

Mo Ran didn't want to play word games with Chu Wanning. He

studied his expression instead, then smiled as realization dawned. "I know

why Shizun is upset."

Chu Wanning's hands balled into fists within his billowing sleeves,

and though he maintained a calm expression, his shoulders tightened almost

imperceptibly. "I already said I'm not—"

But Mo Ran had walked over to stand under the tree with him,

grinning with a hand behind his back. The old banyan tree at the riverbank

had thick roots protruding aboveground, like hardy veins that burrowed

deep into the earth. Standing on one of these roots, Mo Ran looked even

taller than he already was.

Alarmed and a touch annoyed, Chu Wanning said, "Get down here."

"All righty."

Mo Ran hopped lightly down and landed in front of Chu Wanning.

The tree was so massive and sprawling that there was very little space not

occupied by its roots. Chu Wanning stood in one such spot, and Mo Ran had

little other ground to stand on besides the patch right next to him. As he

waited with his head lowered, Mo Ran's breaths were practically caressing

Chu Wanning's lashes. Chu Wanning was so uncomfortable he ended up

demanding with a gloomy expression, "Go stand up there again."

Mo Ran couldn't help but grin. "Up and down and up and down; is

Shizun toying with me?"

Chu Wanning knew he was being unreasonable in his irritation. Thus

exposed, he simply refused to reply, remaining grimly silent.

Mo Ran revealed the hand he'd hidden behind his back. It held a

surprise cargo of candy: a colorful little pile of rice-paper-wrapped

sweetness cupped in his palm. "Don't be mad; I saved some for you."

Chu Wanning only grew more silently furious. He was so mad he

could spit blood, flames of rage burning high into the heavens. Swordlike

brows drawn low in anger, he eventually bellowed, "Mo Weiyu!"

Mo Ran hurriedly snapped to attention. "Present!"

"Who wants your stupid candy? What am I, a three-year-old? Some

village maiden? I don't wan—mmf!"

A piece of candy had been stuffed into his mouth.

Chu Wanning froze in shock. His face flushed bright red all the way

to the tips of his ears—whether in anger or embarrassment was anyone's

guess—and his phoenix eyes were as wide as they could go as he glared at

the grinning man before him with a mixture of shock and fury.

"It's milk-flavored," Mo Ran said. "Your favorite."

Chu Wanning found himself a little speechless and a little powerless

—like a cat with its claws clipped, hissing and bristling yet completely

harmless.

He savored the milk candy. A small strand of hair by his temple,

loosened when he'd stomped off earlier, fluttered softly like a tender leaf in

the breeze. Staring at it, Mo Ran had the irresistible urge to reach out and

tuck it back in.

Mo Ran was a man of action. He thought, so he did.

Chu Wanning's speechlessness intensified.

"I got some candies and pastries for everyone in the village," Mo Ran

said with a smile, "but I tucked the best candies in my sleeve for Shizun,

and I left the best pastries in your room. I got you lotus crisps, really pretty

ones—eat them in secret when you get back; don't let the little ones see or

they'll want some too."

Chu Wanning said nothing, standing in the field of reeds beneath that

banyan tree. A long moment passed before he rolled the melting milk candy

on his tongue and gazed up at the person standing before him. Finally, he

tossed out the words, "Honey-glazed lotus root."

Mo Ran grinned. "Yup."

"Stewed crab meatballs."

"A-yup."

Chu Wanning silently turned his head away. He felt like he had

discarded a little too much of his dignity today, and he should pick it back

up and dust it off. So he pointedly straightened his spine and lifted his chin

slightly as he said, "Too bad there isn't any pear blossom white wine."

He must have thought he looked very stern and imposing that way.

And it might have had such an effect in the past, when Mo Ran had been

younger and shorter than him. Little did he know that this posture now

served only to give Mo Ran a better view of his gently sloping jawline, his

exposed throat, and his porcelain-fair neck. He was like an arrogant cat

flaunting its softest spot in front of a wolf's fangs, conceited and oblivious,

thinking it was intimidating the wolf when in truth the wolf wanted nothing

more than to take the cat's throat between his jaws, to lick and to kiss, to eat

him whole.

What a dummy.

It took an enormous amount of willpower for Mo Ran to tear his gaze

from the underside of Chu Wanning's jaw. But his eyes were a little darker

and his voice a bit deeper as he looked at the person in front of him. He

forced himself to smile, conducted himself the way a man of integrity

would, and said, "I got that too."

Chu Wanning didn't quite follow at first and asked with furrowed

brow, "What?"

"Pear blossom white." Keeping his expression carefully steady,

Mo Ran exhaled quietly as he squashed that burning desire inside of

himself. His voice came out a little rough. "I got pear blossom white, too."

Chu Wanning stared in silence.

"It occurred to me on the way back that Shizun might want it,"

Mo Ran explained. "Good thing I picked some up."

Chu Wanning glared at this disciple who had pulled out all the stops

to please him and found himself at a loss for words. Perhaps, he suddenly

thought, there was really no point to being so difficult, no point to this

veneer of coldness. He finally relaxed by degrees, leaning against the old

banyan tree as he studied the young man before him. "Mo Ran."

"Hm?"

"You've changed."

For a split second, he thought he caught a hint of unease in the depths

of Mo Ran's eyes. But then Mo Ran's thick eyelashes fluttered, and he

asked, "Does Shizun like it?"

Chu Wanning eyed him for a long moment. "I don't dislike it." Then,

as if remembering something, he straightened up and raised a hand that

hesitated midair for a beat before coming to rest on Mo Ran's side.

Mo Ran flinched, looking down at Chu Wanning in apprehensive

confusion.

"I read about your battle with the Drought Demon of Yellow River,"

Chu Wanning said. "Is this where you were injured?"

A long pause, then: "Mn."

Chu Wanning sighed softly and clapped Mo Ran on the shoulder.

"You've done well. The title of Mo-zongshi is well deserved."

"This disciple wouldn't presume."

A small smile tugged at Chu Wanning's lips, and he poked Mo Ran

between the brows with that same hand. "Then again, running around halfnaked all day is indeed no way for a zongshi to behave. It's getting late.

Let's head back and turn in for the night. What's the plan for tomorrow?"

Mo Ran thought for a second before saying, "I think there was

something about cooking the rice to make rice cakes."

Chu Wanning nodded. He suddenly said, "Don't just randomly take

off your clothes anymore."

Mo Ran's face went red. "Got it."

"Take a break if you're hot from working."

"Okay."

Chu Wanning mulled it over for a bit, then added, "Remember to

bring your own handkerchief, and don't dally around with unmarried girls.

Do you have a handkerchief?"

Feeling a little self-conscious, Mo Ran replied, "Nope."

"Then…what do you use to wipe your face…"

Feeling even more abashed over his own crudeness, Mo Ran hesitated

before eventually saying, "My sleeves…"

Chu Wanning stared at him for a moment. "I'll make you one

sometime."

Mo Ran's eyes brightened. "For me?"

"Mn."

Mo Ran was ecstatic. "I can't wait! When is Shizun going to make

it?"

Chu Wanning's brows drew together slightly. "After we're done here,

at the very least."

"Then…I want one with haitang flowers too. Is that okay?"

Chu Wanning eyed him, then said, "I'll see what I can do."

Overcome with joy over the promised handkerchief he'd earned in

exchange for a handful of candy, Mo Ran floated on cloud nine all night,

rolling around in his new-bought quilt, too happy to sleep. He had spent

these last five years in a fog of agonizing misery—this was the first time he

couldn't sleep because of joy instead. His heart kept racing and wouldn't

calm down.

In the end, he gave in and sat up. His window was right across from

Chu Wanning's. He opened it a crack and leaned on the sill, taking in the

refreshing scent of night in the countryside as he gazed into the small

courtyard and at the candlelight across the way.

Chu Wanning was still up. What was he doing? Was he considering

designs for the handkerchief, or was he eating the lotus crisp?

Mo Ran watched that warm yellow light in the room across from his

for a long, long time—all the way until the light was snuffed out and Chu

Wanning went to bed, before wistfully murmuring: "Shizun, sweet dreams."

And something else kept tucked away deep inside, something he

dared not speak aloud even if no one would hear:

Wanning. Sweet dreams.