The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chap 207
Mo Ran opened the door.
The door wasn’t fully open, just a small gap. He saw Xue Meng bathing in the sunlight, and Shi Mei, dressed in a green robe, followed by him.
Xue Meng said, “We brought you some medicine … What are you doing? Open the door and let us in. ”
Mo Ran was silent for a moment, and then let go of the door frame. The two of them entered the room. Xue Meng walked to the window and poked her head out to look at the sunset outside. She then pulled her head back and said, “The scenery in your room is very good. There are just a few big camphor trees outside my room. They are all blocking the view, so I can’t see anything.”
Mo Ran absent-mindedly said, “If you like it, I’ll trade with you.”
“No need. I’ve already put the things down. I was just casually saying.” Xue Meng waved his hand and walked to the table. “Let Shi Mei apply the medicine for you. The wound on your shoulder from the vines will fester if you don’t treat it.”
Mo Ran’s dark brown eyes looked at Xue Meng. If Xue Meng knew about his past life and what kind of spirit soul was hidden under his cousin’s body, would he still smile at him and give him medicine?
Xue Meng was a bit scared by his stare. He asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something on my face? ”
Mo Ran shook his head and sat down at the table. He lowered his eyes.
Shi Mei stood to the side and said to him, “Take off your shirt. I’ll take a look at your wound.”
Mo Ran was depressed, but he didn’t think too much about it. He took off his shirt and said, “Sorry to trouble you.”
Shi Mei shook his head and sighed. “You ah, you always don’t know how to pay more attention. When you follow Shizun, you don’t learn the good and learn the bad. Whenever there’s danger, you always run to the front. In the end, you always end up with wounds all over your body. It’s hard to watch. ”
As he spoke, he took out the things in the medicine box and carefully wiped Mo Ran’s wound, applied medicine, and wrapped it with gauze.
After doing all this, Shi Mei said, “Don’t drink water for a while, and don’t move too much either. The vines are poisonous, and the wound won’t heal easily. Also, give me your hand so I can check your pulse. ”
Mo Ran extended his arm to him.
Shi Mei’s ten slender fingers were as white as jade. After feeling her pulse for a while, a trace of worry flashed through her eyes.
That expression was fleeting, but it was caught by Mo Ran, “What’s wrong?”
Shi Mei came back to his senses and said, “Nothing.”
“Is the poison very serious?”
Shi Mei shook his head, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled faintly at him. “Just a little. Remember to cultivate more, or else you’ll leave behind problems.”
As he spoke, he lowered his head and packed up his first aid kit. He then said, “I still have some medicine to pack, so I’ll be leaving first. You guys continue chatting.”
The door closed behind him.
Xue Meng looked at the place where he disappeared and frowned slightly. “Why do I feel that he’s not in a good mood recently? It’s strange, as if there’s something on his mind.”
Mo Ran was not in a good mood either. He said, “Maybe he found out that my life is coming to an end after checking my pulse, so he’s sad for me?”
“Bah bah bah, don’t jinx it.” Xue Meng stared at him. “Who curses themselves like that? Besides, I’m serious. Shi Mei has been in a bad mood these days. ”
Mo Ran was a little concerned. He stopped what he was doing and asked, “Is that so?”
“Yes.” Xue Meng said with certainty. “Let me tell you, he was in a daze several times before. He only reacted after I called him two or three times. Do you think he’s … ”
“What?”
“Fallen in love with someone?”
Mo Ran, “…”
Shi Mei fell in love with someone? If it was eight years ago and Xue Meng told him this, he would have jumped up and scolded him out of jealousy. But now, he only felt a little surprised. He wanted to find some clues, but he realized that he had paid too little attention to Shi Mei these years. He could not find any clues.
“Don’t ask me. Anyway, I’m not the one he likes.” Mo Ran said as he pulled up his clothes and put them on. “Besides, it’s other people’s relationship. Why do you always care so much?”
Xue Meng was a little embarrassed. He coughed with a red face and said, “I don’t care! I’m just saying it casually! ”
He stared fiercely at Mo Ran. He stared at the guy with a good figure as he put on his clothes. He stared and stared, and suddenly felt that something was not right.
He looked carefully again. His eyes fell on Mo Ran’s muscular chest and stopped.
Mo Ran did not care and said casually, “Why are you staring at me? Do you like me? ”
“…” Xue Meng did not say anything.
Mo Ran still said in a half-dead tone, “Don’t look. It’s impossible between us.”
Xue Meng turned his head away with a pale face. He pretended to be calm and said, “Bah, you think too much.”
But his heart was beating like a drum. He saw a crimson crystal pendant hanging on Mo Ran’s neck. It looked very familiar. He seemed to have seen it somewhere. He could not remember, but he suddenly had goosebumps. He did not know why, but he suddenly felt a buzzing sound in his head.
Where did he see it?
Mo Ran put on his clothes and suddenly found a few stains on the table. He asked Xue Meng, “Do you have a handkerchief?”
“Hmm? … Oh, I do. “Xue Meng came back to his senses. He took out a piece and handed it to him.” You always forget to bring one. ”
“I’m not used to it.”
Xue Meng said with a straight face, “Last time you said that Shizun was going to give you one. Even if you’re bragging, you shouldn’t brag like that.”
Only then did Mo Ran remember that he had once begged Chu Wanning to give him a begonia handkerchief, but Chu Wanning had never given it to him. He didn’t know whether Chu Wanning had forgotten or was too lazy to give it to him. He could not help but feel a little embarrassed. He coughed a few times and said, “I’ve been busy recently. Shizun has no time …”
“Even if he had time, Shizun would not only make one for you.” Xue Meng said with a cold smile, “I definitely have a share. Maybe that someone … that Nangong Si, he also has a share. ”
Speaking of Nangong Si, Mo Ran’s bad mood became even worse.
“Did you go see him?”
“No, I went to see what he was doing.” Xue Meng said, “He and Ye Wangxi live next to that old ghost Jiang Xi. I want to be thousands of miles away from that place. I don’t want to go there.”
Mo Ran nodded. “It’s good that they live there. Although Jiang Xi’s temper is bad and he has a lot of problems, he’s still a reasonable person. He probably won’t make things difficult for them.”
Xue Meng said angrily, “Him? If that dog of a person is reasonable, I’ll take his surname and not be called Xue Meng. I’ll just be called Jiang Meng. ”
Mo Ran: “… …”
Xue Meng always had this kind of ability. He was always noisy and cynical. When his mouth moved, there was no ambiguity when he insulted others. But perhaps it was because he was so noisy that Mo Ran felt that there was more warmth in the room.
Only then did the terrifying nightmare of his previous life fade away slightly.
Xue Meng said, “Speaking of which, Shizun doesn’t really want to take Nangong Si as his disciple, does he?”
“In the past, Shizun definitely wasn’t willing.” Mo Ran said, “But now, even you and I can’t stop him.”
Xue Meng stared blankly. “Why?”
Mo Ran sighed. “Let me ask you. In the past, Li Wuxin revered Nangong Si. He was clearly an elder, but he never dared to talk back to Nangong Si. Why?”
“Because his father is powerful. He’s the head of the number one cultivation sect in the cultivation world. Does that even need to be said?”
“Very well then. Let me ask you again. Why do people like Huang Xiaoyue and those whose names I don’t even know, dare to bully him? Why is that?”
“… … Because of enmity?”
For a moment, Mo Ran was speechless. He thought that only Xue Meng could say something like that.
He suddenly felt very envious. He felt that although Xue Meng was already in his twenties, sometimes he still thought like a child. “Like a child” was a very subtle description, because the most obvious characteristics of a child were innocence, simplicity, and straightforwardness. But at the same time, it also meant that a person hadn’t grown up, was immature, and was careless.
But for Mo Ran, he felt that even though he had lived for twenty years, his eyes were still extremely pure when looking at the world of mortals. This was a miracle.
He looked at the miracle in front of him, then said with a bitter smile:
“Where did all this enmity come from?”
“The Confucian Wind Sect revealed so many things about the upper cultivation world …”
“Those were revealed by Xu Shuanglin. How much could it have to do with Nangong Si?” Mo Ran said, “What’s more, when those secrets were revealed, wasn’t Nangong Si one of the people who was hurt the most? He found out that his father was the one who buried his mother. He wasn’t the instigator at all, but a sacrifice, a victim. ”
Xue Meng opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Mo Ran didn’t say anything, waiting for him to speak. In the end, Xue Meng just opened his mouth like that. After opening it for a long time, he resentfully closed it again.
He didn’t know how to refute.
After a long time, he reluctantly asked, “Then why do you think it’s because?”
“First, it’s because they want to watch the show,” Mo Ran said, “The Confucian Wind Sect’s matter is too exciting for everyone to watch. Bullying a young master in distress is much better than bullying a little beggar. ”
This was the same as Xue Meng in his previous life. Back then, when the phoenix fledgling met with disaster, what kind of ostracization did he suffer?
Xue Meng didn’t know, but Mo Ran knew.
In order to not offend the Emperor Ta, no sect was willing to take him in, and no sect was willing to cooperate with him. He painstakingly ran all over the world, begging the heads of various sects, big and small, hoping to take advantage of the fact that Mo Ran hadn’t done something even crazier and join hands to overthrow his tyranny.
That was the first year after Mo Ran succeeded the throne.
Xue Meng ran around for nine years, lobbying for nine years, but no one listened to him. In the end, only the Kunlun Treading in Snow Palace was willing to give him a place to stay. The only one who was willing to help him was Mei Hanxue.
Mo Ran rejoiced that in this life, Xue Meng didn’t have to suffer such humiliation again.
Xue Meng didn’t notice, and asked, “Then what’s the second reason?”
“The second reason is that you think you’re doing justice for the heavens.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know what our Heavenly Music Pavilion, the descendant of the gods, does when it deals with criminals in the cultivation world?”
“Publicly show them to the public, hanging them for three days and three nights.” Xue Meng muttered, “Why are you asking me this? It’s not like you haven’t seen it before. When you first came to the Peak of Life and Death, there was a serious criminal who was about to be executed. Father also went there for a public trial. Didn’t you and I go there? You also saw the execution, but at that time you were really timid. After you saw it, you were so scared that you had a high fever. It took four or five days for it to subside … ”
Mo Ran smiled, and said after a while, “I can’t help it. That was the first time I saw a raw spiritual nucleus.”
“What are you afraid of? No one will come and take your spiritual nucleus.”
Mo Ran said, “Life is unpredictable.”
Xue Meng was a little surprised. He raised his hand to touch Mo Ran’s forehead, “You don’t have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?”
“I just dreamed about it. In the dream, someone’s sword pierced his heart. If it had been a few inches more, his heart and spiritual nucleus would have been destroyed.”
“…” Xue Meng was speechless. He waved his hand and said, “Forget it. Although you’re quite annoying, you’re still my cousin. If anyone wants to take your spiritual nucleus, I’ll be the first to show them no mercy.”
Mo Ran smiled. His dark eyes were bottomless, and there were lights and shadows in them. The lights and shadows swayed, and there were thousands of thoughts in his mind.
Why did he mention Xue Meng’s past in the Temple of Heavenly Music?
Maybe Xue Meng didn’t notice at all, but those faces left a deep and colorful reflection in Mo Ran’s heart.
He still remembered that the case was about a woman in her twenties. She was very young.
A large group of people gathered in front of the Temple of Heavenly Music to watch the show. There were men, women, old people, children, cultivators, commoners, and all kinds of people. They were all looking up at the woman who was bound by the Immortal Binding Rope, the Soul Stabilizing Lock, and the Demon Subduing Chain. They whispered to each other.
“Isn’t that Madam Lin?”
“She just married into a prestigious family. What crime did she commit to alarm the Temple of Heavenly Music …”
“Don’t you know? She was the one who set the fire in the Zhao family! She killed her own husband! ”
“Ah …” When the surrounding people heard this, they all gasped. Someone asked, “Why did she take things so hard? I heard that her husband was very good to her. ”
Amidst the whispers, the owner of the Heavenly Music Pavilion slowly walked up to the execution platform. Holding the case file, she first greeted the people below the platform. Then, she unhurriedly opened the case file and began to read out the crimes of the woman surnamed Lin.
The crimes were very long. She read for almost an hour.
Basically, this woman surnamed Lin was not the young lady from the aristocratic family that the Zhao family was supposed to marry. She was just a substitute, a puppet wearing a human skin mask. Her real purpose of getting close to Young Master Zhao was to murder him because of a personal grudge. The young lady who was supposed to marry into the Zhao family had long become a resentful ghost under this Miss Lin’s knife.
“What a good show of exchanging a leopard cat for a crown prince.” The Temple of Heavenly Music finally commented righteously, “However, justice grinds slowly but surely. Miss Lin, it’s time for you to tear off your mask and let everyone see your original appearance.”
The human skin mask was taken off in front of everyone and thrown to the ground like a snake shedding its skin.
Under the messy hair of the woman on the platform, another pale and coquettish face was revealed. A disciple of the Temple of Heavenly Music held her chin and lifted her up to show everyone.
There was an uproar below the platform. Someone shouted, “What a vicious woman!”
“She killed an innocent young lady and ruined the Rong family just because of a personal grudge?”
“Beat her to death!”
“Gouge out her eyes!”
“Dismember her! Cut off her skin inch by inch! ”
The crowd was made up of individual people, but they all had the same head in the end. They were like a sluggish giant beast with a big tail that couldn’t be shaken off. They were salivating, roaring, and roaring.
This ugly thing probably thought that she was an auspicious beast that could represent the sky, the sun, and the moon, as well as the heavens and the earth. Standing in the world, she was righteous and fair.
The screams below the platform became louder and louder, scraping the young Mo Ran’s eardrums. He was shocked by the anger of these people. It seemed that the woman who died under the knife and Young Master Zhao had become their family, friends, sons, and mistresses. They hated that they couldn’t personally seek justice for their family, friends, sons, and mistresses. They hated that they couldn’t tear that sinner Lin apart with their own hands.
Mo Ran opened his eyes wide in a daze. “Shouldn’t the Temple of Heavenly Music decide the punishment?”
Xue Zhengyong comforted him, “Ran ‘er, don’t be afraid. It’s decided by the Temple of Heavenly Music. Everyone just doesn’t like it. They’re just saying it. Of course, the Temple of Heavenly Music will decide the punishment according to Shenwu’s instructions. It will be fair and just, don’t worry. ”
However, things didn’t develop as Xue Zhengyong said. The crowd’s screams became crazier and more exaggerated.
“This bitch! She killed the innocent! How can we let her die so easily? Pavilion Leader Mu! You are the Division of Justice of the Cultivation World. You must judge her properly and give her ten or a hundred times the pain! Let her have a good time! Get the punishment she deserves! ”
“Tear her mouth apart first, pull out her teeth one by one, and cut her tongue into countless pieces!”
“Smear mud on her body! Tear it off after it’s dry and leave a layer of skin! Pour chili water all over her body and let her die from the pain! Let her die from the pain! ”
There was even a brothel madam who came to watch the show. She cracked melon seeds and then smiled sweetly, “Ah, tear off her clothes. Shouldn’t this kind of person be naked? Stuff snakes and loaches in her lower body. Find a hundred men to take turns with her. That’s what she deserves. ”
Actually, did these people’s anger come from their own righteousness?
Mo Ran was sitting beside Xue Meng at that time. He was more agitated and trembled slightly. In the end, even Xue Zhengyong noticed his uneasiness. Just as he was about to take him away from the spectator stand, there was a sudden “bang” from the spectator stand. Someone from the crowd threw an explosive talisman at the woman’s feet. This was against the rules. However, the Temple of Heavenly Music’s people didn’t have time to stop it, or they didn’t even want to. In the end, the explosive talisman exploded, and the woman’s feet were instantly blown into a bloody mess.
“Uncle —!”
Mo Ran clutched Xue Zhengyong’s clothes tightly. He was shaking so hard. He was shaking so hard ….
“Good!”
There was an earth-shattering cheer from below. The heroes were clapping their hands, overjoyed.
“Good hit! Punish evil and promote good! One more time! ”
“Who threw it? Don’t throw it. ” The Temple of Heavenly Music’s disciples shouted twice from the spectator stand and followed the crowd. Below, they threw all kinds of things: vegetables, stones, eggs, knives. Those people cast a barrier and stood at the side to watch. As long as they didn’t immediately take her life, they wouldn’t stop them.
The Temple of Heavenly Music’s heroic spirit had always been awe-inspiring. They wouldn’t go against the righteous crowd.
When Mo Ran recalled this, he felt suffocated and didn’t want to think about it anymore. He closed his eyes and opened them again.
“Just wait and see, Xue Meng. If Nangong Si insists on not admitting that he’s Master’s disciple, then he’ll completely lose his barrier in the Cultivation World. After the trip to Jiao Mountain, if they really bring Nangong Si to the Temple of Heavenly Music for interrogation, you’ll see the same scene as that year. ”
Xue Meng said, “But that year at the Temple of Heavenly Music’s interrogation, everyone was so angry only because that woman killed someone, so …”
“So with the knife in hand, you can stab however you want, right?” Mo Ran’s mood became heavier and heavier. There was still the second half of the sentence that he didn’t say out loud.
In this world, how many people did evil things in the name of “upholding justice”? They vented the unhappiness in their lives, the violence, madness, and shocking murderous aura in their hearts in this kind of place.
After drinking tea and chatting for a while, Xue Meng left when he saw that the sun was getting dark.
Mo Ran walked to the window and took out the Zhenlong Chess that he had just put away in his sleeve. He stared at it for a moment, then poured spirit into his fingers and crushed it fiercely, turning it into ashes.
The wind started to blow, and all the leaves were shaking. The person in front of the window was also shaking. He slowly raised his hand to cover his face. He was almost exhausted. He leaned on the window frame for a long time before he turned and left. He walked into the depths of the room and was swallowed by the darkness.
He sat in the dark room for a long time, thinking back and forth. In the end, his whole person was broken and collapsed. He really didn’t know what he should do. He felt that there were some things that he should say, but if he did, it would be even more chaotic and out of control.
What should he do?
He didn’t know …
The more he thought, the more he felt unreconciled. The more he thought, the more confused he felt. He was anxious, he was in pain.
He thought about the mastermind behind the scenes who stood behind him.
He thought about the Temple of Heavenly Music’s worship and superstition in the cultivation world.
He thought about the woman who was interrogated, her legs badly mangled.
Mo Ran paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast. He paced back and forth in the room like a madman. The shadows of the Emperor Ta and Grandmaster Mo appeared on his handsome face, one swallowing the other.
In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up.
He pushed open the door and walked out.
It was late at night.
Chu Wanning was about to go to sleep when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door outside. He opened the door and saw Mo Ran standing outside. He was slightly startled.
“Why are you here?”
Mo Ran only felt that he was going crazy, driven crazy by the catastrophe that could befall him at any time. He gathered his courage and wanted to open his mouth to explain everything that was absurd. But when he saw Chu Wanning’s face, his courage was shattered into pieces, turned into ashes, turned into selfishness and weakness.
“… Shizun …” Mo Ran paused, his voice slightly nasally. “I can’t sleep. Can I come in and sit for a while? ”
Chu Wanning stepped aside. Mo Ran entered the room and closed the door behind him. Maybe it was because his uneasiness was too strong, so strong that even if he didn’t say a word, Chu Wanning could feel the anxiety in his heart. He asked, “Did something happen?”
Mo Ran didn’t say anything. He silently looked at him for a while, then suddenly walked to the window and closed the only window.
“I …” When Mo Ran opened his mouth, his voice was very hoarse. Suddenly, his emotions surged, fueling his crazy impulse. “I have something to tell you.”
“Is it about Xu Shuanglin?”
Mo Ran shook his head, hesitated for a while, nodded, and then shook his head again.
The light from the candles was reflected in his eyes, like a poisonous snake with a bright red tongue, twisting and coiling. The expression on his face was too chaotic, and the light in his eyes was also very scattered. Chu Wanning was stunned for a while, then raised his hand, wanting to touch his face.
But when his fingertips touched his face, Mo Ran suddenly closed his eyes. His eyelashes were trembling, and his Adam’s apple was moving, as if he had been stung by a scorpion. He turned around and said vaguely, “I’m sorry.”
“…”
“Can you put out the light?” Mo Ran said, “… I can’t say it when I see you.”
Although Chu Wanning didn’t know what had happened, he had never seen Mo Ran like this before. It made his hair stand on end, as if something that could destroy the world was about to fall and crush everyone standing below.
Chu Wanning didn’t say anything else. He stood in place for a while, then nodded. Mo Ran walked in front of the candlestick. He stared at the candle for a while, then raised his hand to extinguish the last bit of light.
The room instantly fell into darkness.
But Mo Ran had stared for a long time. The shadow of the candle still swayed in front of his eyes, from orange to multicolored, from concrete to blurry.
He stood in place, his back facing Chu Wanning. Chu Wanning didn’t rush him, and waited for him to speak.
