Chapter 340: Xue Meng's Blind Date: Wanning Is Super Great!

Chu Wanning. Mo Ran. Peach Bud Manor.

As these three names surfaced in Xue Meng's mind, they stirred up an unforgettable, regrettable memory. Back then, Heaven-Stepping Lord had told him that Chu Wanning and Mo Ran had shared a bed at Peach Bud Manor, right before his very eyes, separated only by a curtain.

The emotional trauma it had inflicted upon him was immense.

If time could turn back, he would have roared to interrupt Heaven-Stepping Lord the moment he opened his mouth to speak the first word—

"Stop right there! I already have a mental image now!!!"

But the past couldn't be undone, and life had to go on.

To subdue the scroll demon, Xue Meng reluctantly allowed Elder Chen Xuyuan to write a letter to his master and cousin, respectfully requesting Master Chu's assistance in overcoming this crisis.

Then they waited.

Nanping Mountain stood by the side of West Lake, the closest location to Peach Bud Manor. Even without flying on a sword, it would only take a leisurely stroll from the boundary in the clouds down to the manor in just one or two hours.

For some reason, though, despite sending the letter, Chu Wanning and company still hadn't responded by dawn.

Mei Hanxue was an intelligent person and could easily infer the reason behind it. He glanced at the sun and got up to address everyone, "You should all go rest. There probably won't be any news for the whole morning."

The Peach Bud Villa disciples had also been on guard all night. Hearing this, they didn't probe further into his words and nodded, yawning as they dispersed, planning to catch up on some sleep.

Only Xue Meng frowned at him, "Why aren't we waiting? My Master will be here soon; he never oversleeps."

Mei Hanxue smiled, "You still don't know your Master well enough."

"You're talking nonsense! Could I not know him better than you? Don't believe me? Let's make a bet!"

"Oh?" Mei Hanxue, seeing his indignant expression, perked up, teasing him like he would a bird, "What would you bet on? I remember you didn't bring much silver with you. What would you use as stakes?"

"Who says I didn't bring any? Just wait..." Xue Meng gritted his teeth and started digging in his money pouch.

Of course, he wasn't broke; he had just recently succeeded as the Sect Leader. Although he put up a decent front in public, he was still inexperienced. Elder Xuan Ji worried that he might spend recklessly or be deceived by cunning women like Hua Ruowei, so the financial accounts were carefully managed by the elders. Despite being the Sect Leader, Xue Meng could only receive a modest allowance from Xuan Ji each month.

And this month, to his embarrassment, he had spent most of his savings on the matchmaking session with Jiang Xi.

Moreover, Jiang Xi looked down on him! The way Jiang Xi, disguised as "Ruo Ying," looked at him clearly showed disdain for his poverty!

Not to mention his subsequent blind dates with Heaven-Stepping Lord and those bizarre men and women... The once brilliant prodigy Xue Ziming had been drained by these flashy and insincere people to the point where he needed to count toilet paper squares before using the restroom.

But for Chu Wanning's reputation, no matter how poor or tired Sect Master Xue was, he would still take the gamble!

At worst, he could halve the toilet paper usage!

So Mei Hanxue watched as Xue Meng rummaged through every nook and cranny of his body, producing a pile of scattered copper coins that probably didn't even amount to fifty wen. With a flourish worthy of trillionaires, Xue Meng slammed them onto the table, with two small copper coins rolling onto the floor.

Mei Hanxue: "...."

"I bet my Master will come after his breakfast!" Xue Meng declared resolutely.

"...And if he doesn't?"

"I'll give you all of this!"

Mei Hanxue glanced at the meager pile of coins, turned back to face him, and smiled. "I've heard Grandmaster Chu say that when betting, one should go big. Let's forget about these; how about something else?"

"What else?"

"Running naked through the streets and performing in brothels."

Xue Meng: "??!!"

Mei Hanxue frowns. "What nonsense are you up to?"

Mei Hanxue covers her mouth with a hand, giggling despite herself. "Don't take it seriously, I was just teasing him."

"Hmm... let me think..." Mei Hanxue folds her arms, her eyes crinkling in amusement. "How about this... the loser has to dress up as a woman according to the winner's choice?"

"..." Xue Meng wrinkles his nose in displeasure. "Hold on, Mei Hanxue, did I ever force you to wear women's clothes in the past? Why can't you get over this?"

This time, both Mei Hanxue and Mei Hanxue look at him with enigmatic expressions, making Xue Meng feel uneasy. He stammers, "What? I was just joking. I've never done anything like that. I'm an upright person, I never bully... the weak..."

"Yes," Mei Hanxue says with a sunny smile. "You're the best."

Xue Meng: "..."

Why does he have a foreboding feeling about all this...

.

As it turned out, Xue Meng's intuition could be quite accurate at times.

Xue Meng waited with hope, then despair, until he finally slumped in defeat. It was only in the afternoon when he heard a disciple outside the manor announcing, "Grandmaster Chu, Grandmaster Mo have arrived!"

Chu Wanning's hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and his white robes billowed. He still had that elegant, aloof demeanor of a divine being, but there was a hint of reddened eyes, an unhappy expression, and even a trace of anger in his gaze. By his side, Mo Ran followed at a respectful distance, looking both helpless and amused.

It turned out that Chu Wanning had heard the spirit birds from Peach Bud Manor chirping outside the previous night, worrying about an urgent matter. He wanted to investigate, but last night was when the Heaven-Stepping Lord took over. The Heaven-Stepping Lord was naturally indifferent to others' affairs, especially when engrossed in his passions. Chu Wanning tried to interrupt a few times, and the Heaven-Stepping Lord initially placated him, saying, "Almost done." "I'll look into it after."

But Mo Ran's mouth was full of lies. What "almost done" or "after"? It went on and on! Ma Yun's bird had already cried itself to death outside, yet the Heaven-Stepping Lord's bird showed no signs of tiring.

In the end, when Chu Wanning insisted on checking the situation, the Heaven-Stepping Lord, in a fit of anger, bound him to a pillar. To further discourage Chu Wanning, he fed him some unsavory concoctions. Amidst this commotion, the night was filled with passion, and even when the personality switched back to Grandmaster Mo in the later hours, he couldn't resist Chu Wanning's state.

So, it wasn't until the next afternoon when Chu Wanning woke up from his stupor that he received the message from Peach Bud Manor, learning about the scroll monster's havoc in Lin'an.

The delay was clearly caused by the Heaven-Stepping Lord, but there was no distinction between Grandmaster Mo and the Heaven-Stepping Lord. Ultimately, the blame lay with Mo Ran himself. As a result, Chu Wanning refused to speak to him during their descent down the mountain, treating him as if he were a wooden sculpture or clay figurine.

"Grandmaster Chu, Grandmaster Mo!"

"Hail Grandmaster Chu, Grandmaster Mo!"

Chu Wanning was already aware of the entire incident involving the mischievous scroll, so when he entered the hall and saw Xue Meng, he intended to scold him for his recklessness. However, Xue Meng's status had changed, and Chu Wanning needed to consider his reputation.

Thus, Chu Wanning merely furrowed his sword-like brows and said, "How could you cause such a calamity?"

Xue Meng, who had been harboring grievances, lost all his discontent the moment he saw Chu Wanning. He quickly explained, "Master, it was the scroll that mimicked me; I didn't do it on purpose..."

Mo Ran's eyes widened. "Xue Meng, after our parting in Impermanence Town, you... You continued playing with the Distress Relieving Scroll for that long?"

"Isn't that allowed?"

Mo Ran was on the verge of rolling his eyes, but considering it was a "secret" between the two brothers, he mouthed behind Chu Wanning to Xue Meng, "You fool! How can you flirt around like this when you have Sect Leader Jiang?!"

Xue Meng was confused. "Why are you whispering? Did you lose your voice?"

Mo Ran: "…."

Just forget about him being stupid already!!

Despite their complaints, if Xue Meng landed himself in trouble, they would still come to his aid without hesitation. However, –

"What?!! You want Master to dress up as a woman?! ??"

Xue Meng said awkwardly, "I don't really want to either, or... or maybe let Solitary Moon Night write a prescription stating that this person is... is... is..."

He glanced furtively at Chu Wanning's stern profile; he couldn't bring himself to say the words "this person is female" even if his life depended on it.

Mo Ran looked as if the sky was about to collapse. How could he possibly allow Chu Wanning to appear in such attire before others? That was utterly insane!

But there seemed to be no other choice. Seeing Xue Meng struggling to express himself clearly, he fell silent for a moment before reluctantly suggesting, "Let me do it instead."

Xue Meng looked up, bewildered.

Mo Ran continued, "I'll take his place and guard that scroll monster."

"You? You're going to dress up as a woman?"

"Why not?"

Xue Meng: "....Big Brother, do you have some misunderstanding about yourself?"

Mo Ran was taken aback and felt somewhat hurt. He turned to Chu Wanning and asked, "Shifu, Xue Meng said I'm not good-looking."

There was a hint of inferiority in his words.

Chu Wanning knew that he was intentionally seeking conversation and acting coquettishly. He didn't bother with him at all. He leisurely drank the prepared cup of green tea before lifting his gaze. "Why do you need to dress up when there's already a solution?"

Everyone was confused.

Chu Wanning slightly tilted his face and said to Mo Ran with a faint tone, "Bring me your Qiankun Pouch."

This was the first time Chu Wanning had spoken to him since they came down the mountain, and Mo Ran couldn't help but feel happy. But Chu Wanning's displeased expression and harsh words made him disappointed. At that moment, his emotions were like a rich master who was being scolded by his beautiful concubine while taking out his wallet, unsure whether to be happy or sad.

A Qiankun Pouch was equivalent to a treasury for cultivators. Chu Wanning was asking for Mo Weiyu's treasury, and he wasn't even saying anything nice. However, Mo Weiyu could only hand it over despite his heartache, knowing that he had acted shamefully the night before.

Everyone watched eagerly as Chu Wanning rummaged through Mo Ran's Qiankun Pouch, curious to see what this so-called "ready-made solution" was.

They thought that these grandmasters had unconventional minds. Jiang Xi cross-dressed as a woman to prescribe medicine, so who knew what shocking move Chu Wanning would make—would he perhaps find ten Night Roaming Gods to hold up a banner with "Evening Night Jade Heng, Northern Dipper Immortal Fairy Chu Wanning Reporting For Duty" written on it?

Lost in thought, Chu Wanning furrowed his sword-like brows and said impatiently, "What on earth have you been stuffing into your Universe Sack?"

"..."

Mo Ran rubbed his nose uneasily. He used to be quite tidy, carefully arranging each item in his sack. But ever since his soul had fully returned to his body, his personality changed every three days, and the rivalry between his two personas also played out in his Universe Sack. For instance, when he was Heaven-Stepping Lord, he would secretly slip in some chili seeds, fantasizing about cultivating peppers on Nanshan. However, when he became Grandmaster Mo, those seeds would be emptied out.

When Heaven-Stepping Lord reemerged, he was naturally furious. Thinking that if he couldn't live happily, neither could the other him, he would wreak havoc in the Universe Sack, smashing all the trinkets Grandmaster Mo had collected or selling them off at pawnshops to buy himself fine clothes.

So how could the Universe Sack not be a mess?

With various items cluttered together, it was difficult to find what he needed. Chu Wanning casually tossed a few unnecessary objects onto the table. Curious, Xue Meng peered over.

"It's the 'Chronicles of Deities and Demons'," Mo Ran explained. "My book. I want to learn more about the ancient tales of divine beings and monsters."

"Oh... not bad." Xue Meng continued scanning the titles. "The 'Nightside Collection'."

"These pages chronicle the past of many Immortal Lords," Mo Ran elaborated. "Their reputations vary, with both praise and criticism, but each has their own spirit and obsession. The array of figures is like a myriad of stars illuminating the night, each with their unique radiance, making for an intriguing read."

"…I didn't expect you've improved so much," Xue Meng said with some surprise. "You've got quite the repertoire."

Mo Ran smiled and replied, "Master taught me well."

Xue Meng flipped to the next book.

"The Care of Sows After Childbirth."

Mo Ran's smile froze on his face.

In the end, he made a bold decision and declared firmly, "…This was bought by Heaven-Stepping Lord. It has nothing to do with me."

Xue Meng: "......"

Chu Wanning hadn't been paying attention at first, but upon hearing this, he lifted his gaze and asked, "Why did he buy this? We don't raise such animals at home."

Mo Ran said, "I… he… it's like this. Once, he disguised himself and went down the mountain. He saw a livestock breeding competition in the village and, for some reason, felt very confident, so he joined in. But he lost to the village's veterinarian, Wang, and got so angry that he… bought this book, vowing to study hard and win the championship next year to avenge his defeat…"

The more he spoke, the more embarrassed he felt. Hearing the giggles from the young cultivators of Peach Bud Manor, Mo Ran awkwardly fell silent and looked at Chu Wanning with a slight unease.

In disbelief, Chu Wanning asked, "Why would you participate in... the Livestock Breeding Competition?"

"There are... prizes to be won," Mo Ran replied, his face slightly flushed as he lowered his head and mumbled, "I thought... if I win... I could buy you the finest clothes from Feiyun Pavilion."

Chu Wanning was speechless. "Feiyun Pavilion is near Jiangdong Sect. That Hua Ruowei had someone send eight trunks full of clothing accessories before, and you burned them all without hesitation. Now, you want to go and buy them yourself?"

"That's different," Mo Ran said immediately, displeased. "That girl was looking at you with the wrong intentions. Don't think I didn't notice what she was planning. Just look at what she sent—outer robes, hair accessories, undergarments..." His expression darkened as he continued, "She can forget about getting Master to wear her clothes!"

"..."

Listening to him, Chu Wanning's eyes betrayed a mix of helplessness or embarrassment, but his stern gaze softened. He pressed his lips together, then suddenly asked, "Mo Ran, are you the you from your past life or this life today?"

"Of course, it's me from this life," Mo Ran replied, taken aback. "Why do you ask, Master?"

"You're acting like this now," Chu Wanning's eyes finally held a faint smile. "There's no difference from your previous life."

He usually had an icy demeanor and a detached expression, so others wouldn't have noticed this change. But for Mo Ran, even the slightest hint of emotion in Chu Wanning's eyes felt like a distinct shift in the weather. Seeing that he wasn't angry anymore, Mo Ran couldn't help but lower his long eyelashes, looking down and smiling with deep dimples on his cheeks.

Wanting to say more, Chu Wanning found it too awkward to continue talking in front of others, so he turned away, not wanting to acknowledge him anymore.

But this kind of silence was different from the one he had shown upon arrival. Mo Ran chuckled and obediently stood by without speaking.

Finally, Chu Wanning rummaged through his Qiankun Pouch and found what he was looking for—

"A Transfiguring Scent Pouch."

With slender fingers holding the tassel of the pouch, Chu Wanning said, "It's sold together with the Worry-Free Scroll. It allows the user to transform into their original appearance before others without any actual disguise or disguise techniques."

Everyone at Peach Bud Manor: "…"

Chu Wanning paused, almost in disbelief. "…No one thought of it?"

The creators of the Worry-Free Scroll and the Transfiguring Scent Pouch all shook their heads in unison. They might not know who coined the phrase "riding a donkey while searching for a horse," but these cultivators from Peach Bud Manor were certainly the embodiment of "riding a donkey and looking for a donkey."

With this solution, the issue of disguises was finally resolved, and everyone sighed in relief. It was already time for dinner, so they decided to hurry to the dining hall first and fill their stomachs before waiting for the scroll monster to appear again tonight.

As they were leaving, Mei Hanxue suddenly leaned close to Xue Meng's ear and whispered, "Xue Ziming."

Xue Meng was highly alert around this guy. "What?!"

Mei Hanxue still chuckled softly. "I'll tell you a secret."

Instinctively, Xue Meng knew that it was generally better not to hear Mei Hanxue's secrets. Yet, curiosity got the better of him as he asked, "W-What secret?"

Mei Hanxue spoke gently, "It's... that method Master Chu mentioned... I actually thought of it a long time ago too."

Xue Meng was astonished and turned to glare at him. "Then why didn't you say anything earlier?!"

"Because before, wasn't it Jiang Yechen who had to dress up as a woman?" Mei Hanxue said with a smile. "I didn't tell him to make things difficult for him and cheer you up."

"..." Xue Meng had been ready to scold him, but when he heard this, his lips moved dryly, and he couldn't bring himself to speak.

Mei Hanxue chuckled lightly. "Aren't you going to thank me?"

"What thanks? What about after Jiang Xi left! Why didn't you say anything then?!"

"Oh, later on..." Mei Hanxue paused, his lustrous green eyes filled with affection. He tapped his lips with his fingertips and smiled. "I didn't tell you later because I wanted to make things difficult for you and cheer myself up."

Xue Meng: "???"

"Just as a reminder, you lost that bet earlier. Don't forget to fulfill your promise. I'm waiting," Ziming said casually.

"Are you dreaming?!!" Xue Meng roared, unable to hold back his anger anymore. "You wait for nothing! You want me to dress up in women's clothes?! In your next life, perhaps! Give it up already!"

His loud outburst drew the attention of those nearby, and whispers started circulating. "Oh, it seems like Sect Leader Xue has to wear women's attire?"

"It looks like he's refusing and wants to renege on the bet."

"Poor Mister Mei, winning the bet yet still getting scolded by him."

"What a dilemma..."

Xue Meng's face turned increasingly darker amidst the hushed whispers. Mei Hanxue fell silent for a moment before chuckling. "So unwilling, huh?"

"Of course!"

"You're so stubborn," Mei Hanxue said with a smile, crossing his arms and bumping into Mei Hanxue. "Brother, look at him. Isn't it amusing?"

Mei Hanxue glanced at the furious Xue Meng, who resembled a pufferfish, and replied coolly, "Not amusing at all. Don't let him do it."

"Why? He's so spicy."

Xue Meng: "You...! You...!"

"Indeed, he is," Mei Hanxue said expressionlessly. "Spicy to the eyes."

"? ? ?" Xue Meng was on the verge of exploding!

Mei Hanxue took it even further than Mei Hanxue! Mei Hanxue only said he was spicy, but Mei Hanxue dared to say he was spicy to the eyes!!

Xue Meng's anger flared, and he shouted without holding back, "Mei Hanxue! Stop right there! Come back here! Who are you saying is spicy to the eyes? Have you even seen me in drag? Do you think I'm afraid to do it?! Let's compare who looks better if you have the guts!"

Mei Hanxue chuckled. "Well, are you really going to—"

But his words were cut short by Mei Hanxue, who pulled Mei Hanxue's arm to stop his antics. Then, turning to Xue Meng, he said, "No. Judging from what you just said, you should save dressing up as a woman for your next life."

"Damn it!" Xue Meng snapped out of it. Pointing at Mei Hanxue, he raised his delicate brows and said fiercely, "When did I say I'd be willing to do it in my next life?"

Mei Hanxue lifted an eyebrow. "You just did. Besides, please focus on being a sect leader this lifetime and avoid being too alluring."

Xue Meng stumbled over his words, "Y-You dare... You actually dare... What did you just say about me...?"

"Yes, I do dare," Mei Hanxue replied coolly, his turquoise eyes flickering as if mocking and teasing at the same time, "So it's settled. You owe us a bet."

"I'll be waiting for you in the next life, Miss Xue."

Xue Meng was momentarily stunned. As Mei Hanxue turned to leave, he yelled, "Who owes you anything? What did you call me? Mei Hanxue! Don't you dare go! I'll damn well kill you! Ahh!! Stop right there!!!"