The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Chap 260
In the Core Heart Palace, the group of cultivators didn’t know what to say. Many of them lowered their heads and remained silent.
Master Xuanjing said, “Alas … It’s all a sin.”
The master of the Heavenly Music Pavilion, Mu Yanli, said, “Every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt has its debtor. Many things in this world are caused by karma and retribution.” She suddenly changed the topic. “But Mo Ran, you have to know that suffering is not a reason for you to vent your hatred and disregard other people’s lives.”
“Yes.”
An elder of the Fire Phoenix Pavilion also sighed and said, “Mo Xianjun, you’ve been wronged and it’s pitiful. But that’s also because of your poor background and fate. Everyone has their own fate. You can’t turn around and bully others just because you’ve been bullied. ”
“You’ve done good deeds and been wronged. But as far as we know, you’ve also killed people later on … That’s a separate matter. We have to be clear about it.”
Mo Ran didn’t say anything.
Jiang Xi suddenly asked, “How?”
“This …”
“Who can be clear about it? Whose life is not a life? Who can be the fairest ruler? ” Jiang Xi was willful and reckless. She didn’t regard the Heavenly Music Pavilion as a god. “I don’t mean to be partial to Mo Ran, but I just want to ask one question. Today, we’re standing here saying that we’ll settle accounts with Mo Ran one by one and make him pay. Then — what about the humiliation Mo Ran has suffered? What about the injustice he’s suffered? ”
“…” No one expected that Jiang Xi, who had suffered the most in the murder case a few days ago, would stand up for Mo Weiyu. They were all stunned for a moment.
Mu Yanli said, “Master Jiang, the Heavenly Music Pavilion has always been fair. Our clan has guarded the Divine Weighing Instrument for generations. When the time comes, we’ll use the instrument to weigh Young Master Mo’s merits and demerits and determine his punishment. You don’t have to worry. ”
“That’s strange. What’s his relationship with me? Why should I be worried?”
Jiang Xi had been displeased with the Heavenly Music Parlor for a long time. He practiced medicine. To put it bluntly, as long as he refined medicine well, even a mortal could live a carefree life. Thus, he was the least superstitious about the descendants of the gods.
He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes and said coldly, “However, this Jiang is very curious. Dare I ask everyone in the Heavenly Music Pavilion, after you’re done interrogating Mo Ran, shouldn’t you also be interrogating these people who were implicated in the past? Should they dig three feet into the ground to see if Nangong Yan was still alive in this world? Should he go to Xiang Tan and look for the rich merchant who molested Miss Xun back then? Mo Ran killed a man and it’s only right and proper for him to pay with his life. But he was locked up in a dog cage, beaten up, with no clothes to cover his body and no food to eat. His benefactor was humiliated by a guest, and his mother starved to death — who do you find to judge? ”
Master Xuanjing asked hesitantly, “Sect Leader Jiang, why are you suddenly defending the sinner?”
“It’s not really an argument.” Jiang Xi’s thin lips opened and closed. “I’m just thinking about how we treated Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi when we were at Mount Huang. I don’t want to see the past repeat itself. ”
Someone said, “That’s a different situation. It’s not the same at all.”
“What’s the difference?” Jiang Xi said, “Now that Nangong Si is dead and Ye Wangxi is bedridden in Lonemoon’s Night, things are different. But back then, weren’t we the ones who forced them to pay the blood debt of the Confucian Wind Sect with their lives?”
He suddenly turned around, his brown eyes like a hawk’s.
“What about back then? Where is the Heavenly Music Parlor? Where is the justice? ”
Because of the sword manual, the people of Bi Tan Manor had formed a deep grudge with the Confucian Wind Sect. Li Wuxin’s disciple, Zhen Congming, said, “Sect Leader Jiang’s words are biased. Nangong Si is the successor of the Confucian Wind Sect. Every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt has its debtor. Unless the people of the Confucian Wind Sect are all dead, the old debt will still be pursued. No one wants to be a sucker. ”
Jiang Xi sneered, “That’s right. So you see, don’t you understand this principle very well? No one wants to be the last person to be slapped in the face and not be able to fight back. ”
Zhen Congming, “…”
“You think this way, Xu Shuanglin thinks this way, and Mo Ran can also think this way.” Jiang Xi waved his sleeves and said, “When something happens to someone else, it’s always easy to say these words. But when injustice and cruelty really befall you, you can only wonder why there are so many evil people in the world, but the one who suffers is you. ”
Zhen Congming said, “From what Sect Leader Jiang means, you think that we treated Ye Wangxi and Nangong Si too cruelly and unfairly. Is the matter of the Bi Tan Manor’s sword manual dropped just like that?”
Jiang Xi said, “Nangong Si is no longer here. Who do you want to pursue this matter with?”
Zhen Congming suddenly became angry. “Then my Shizun died in vain?! Nangong Si is no longer here, but isn’t there still Ye Wangxi? She’s the commander of the Dark City of the Confucian Wind Sect. Don’t tell me that she doesn’t have any information about the sword manual?! ”
The crowd fell silent.
Everyone knew that Jiang Xi had a cold temperament. Zhen Congming really didn’t match his name. He actually confronted Jiang Xi in public like this.
Jiang Xi stared at Zhen Congming for a moment and said, “At that time, on Jiao Mountain, Nangong Si fought with Nangong Zhangying and was seriously injured. … At that time, he mouthed something to me. ”
“… What did he say?”
Jiang Xi closed his eyes. It was as if the scene of Nangong Si dying in a bloody battle flashed before his eyes. Inside the barrier, under Nangong Zhangying’s sword, Nangong Si slowly said those words to him.
“I hope you can disperse all the treasures of the Confucian Wind Sect for a hundred years. Help the poor and needy and don’t leave behind any provisions.”
“This …” All the cultivators looked at each other, unable to maintain their composure. The monks of Wubei Temple even lowered their eyes, put their palms together, and chanted the name of Buddha in low voices.
Zhen Congming’s face alternated between green and red. In the end, he gritted his teeth and said, “He doesn’t even have a corpse now. The treasures of the Confucian Wind Sect are all in the secret room. Who can open it? Isn’t he just making empty promises and putting on an act? ”
Jiang Xi said, “Nangong Si didn’t expect that in the end, he wouldn’t even have a corpse left. What’s more, I’d rather believe that when others are about to die, their words are good. ”
Zhen Congming’s lips trembled, as if he wanted to refute something, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.
After a long time, he said, “Is this the reason why Sect Master Jiang is protecting Mo Weiyu today? You want to ask for forgiveness so that you don’t repeat Nangong Si’s mistake? ”
Jiang Xi said, “I just think that it’s extremely difficult to ask for fairness and justice, even impossible. I hope that when you reprimand others, you won’t hold yourself too high. Don’t think that you represent justice and the Heavenly Dao. ”
He glanced at the Heavenly Sound Pavilion behind the deities. “Even the public trial may not be completely right.”
When he said this, Xue Zhengyong also spoke.
Xue Zhengyong looked very tired, so much so that he didn’t know how to face Mo Ran. However, after a long time, he still sighed hoarsely and said, “Sect Master Jiang is right. For so many years, the cultivation world has been in turmoil. There have been many troubles, and every sect has more or less done some foolish things. Who can judge absolute fairness and justice? Alas, in fact … ”
He sighed and closed his eyes.
“In fact, does treating human life as grass mean killing with one’s own hands? Back then, the Confucian Wind Sect’s price adjustment order killed many innocent people without spilling blood. I, Xue Zhengyong, have stood in the mortal world for more than forty years. I don’t have many achievements. My actions are not for the sake of cultivating to become an immortal, nor for my name to go down in history. I just want to lessen the suffering in this chaotic world. ”
As he spoke, his eyes were somewhat blank.
As a Supremacy at the peak of life and death, no matter how calm he pretended to be, knowing that the child he had raised for many years was not his nephew, he was still at a loss.
Xue Zhengyong murmured, “I just want to lessen the suffering of the people. One less is better.”
At this time, Mu Yanli said coldly, “Sect Master Xue, you are kind, but have you ever thought that if you are lenient to sinners, you will not respect the innocent people who died in the disaster, and you will not respect the mortals who have been implicated? The Heavenly Music Pavilion did not have much power, so it was true that they did not have the means to punish everyone for their mistakes and bring everyone to justice. However, since the Heavenly Music Pavilion had decided to take care of Mo Ran’s case, they would not rush to settle it. I hope the Sect Master understands. ”
Xue Zhengyong was speechless.
After Mu Yanli finished speaking, she turned to look at Mo Ran again.
“Young Master Mo, now that you have talked about the hardships of your life, you have won enough sympathy. Why don’t we talk about something else? ”
Mo Ran looked at her indifferently. “What does the Pavilion Master want to talk about?”
“Previously, you said that the case of that girl in the tofu shop being humiliated to death was not your doing,” said Mu Yanli. “I believe you. However, there is still one person’s death that cannot be separated from your involvement. ”
Mo Ran closed his eyes. “The Pavilion Master’s investigation is very thorough.”
Mu Yanli said coldly, “Then tell me properly. Back then, how did you kill Mo Nian? That was Supremacy Xue’s true nephew.”
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by an angry voice.
Xue Meng’s eyes were filled with tears and hatred. He clenched his teeth and shouted, “Shut up! Don’t say anything else! ”
Mu Yanli glanced at him and evaluated, “… Running away and avoiding. It seems that the so-called heaven-favored child is nothing more than this.”
Dragon City’s response was a warning. The scimitar brushed past Mu Yanli’s cheek and stabbed into the pillar. Wood splinters flew everywhere.
Mu Yanli didn’t dodge. In fact, she didn’t even blink. Her beautiful eyes were as cold as ice as she stared at Xue Meng.
Xue Meng clenched his teeth, the muscles on his face trembling. “What true nephew? What turtledove seizing the magpie’s nest? Have you said enough?”
He suddenly pulled back to Dragon City, his chest heaving.
He no longer looked at Mo Ran, nor did he look at anyone else. He was like a trapped beast, driven mad and driven to the brink of collapse.
“Have you finished?! Have you caused enough trouble?! Did you enjoy watching this show?! ”
Madam Wang said, “Meng ‘er …”
Xue Meng ignored his mother’s soft words. His eyes were red as he raised Dragon City and looked around. He seemed to be mocking himself and scornful. “Seeing a grandmaster turn into a homicidal maniac, seeing brothers turn against each other at the peak of life and death, seeing family members turn into enemies — don’t you feel happy?”
His voice was as hoarse as a broken xun, and the end of his sentence was like a feather trembling.
“Did you really come here to seek justice? To seek the truth? “He paused and gritted his teeth.” Didn’t you come here to seek revenge?! ”
Jiang Xi narrowed his eyes. “Young Master Xue, you’ve lost your composure.”
Xue Meng suddenly turned around. His eyes were like flames and lightning. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
“Meng ‘er!”
Xue Zhengyong got up and grabbed Xue Meng’s shoulder. However, he was stunned when he touched him. Although Xue Meng was roaring in anger, his entire body was trembling slightly.
He was almost broken.
“I don’t want to hear it.” He paused after each word. His hatred grew. “It’s all lies. Lies. … A bunch of liars! ”
Xue Zhengyong wanted to persuade him, but Xue Meng had already pushed away the crowd and turned to leave Dan Xin Palace.
He didn’t look at Mo Ran from the beginning to the end.
In fact, Xue Meng already knew who was lying and what the truth was. However, many things in this world were easy to understand, but difficult to accept.
Xue Meng had been living a smooth life for more than twenty years. Except for Chu Wanning’s death, he had never experienced any major disasters. It was because of this smooth life that he was still like a pure child. This wasn’t a good thing. A pure child had a pure heart, but he also had the recklessness, ignorance, impulsiveness, and sharpness of a pure child.
Xue Zhengyong stared at the place where he left. He stood in a daze for a long time before slowly sitting down.
He was not young anymore. He was almost fifty years old. If one looked closely, one could see that there were strands of white hair on his temples. He didn’t know if he could stand it. He could only sit down.
This way, he could at least calm down.
Mu Yanli’s face seemed to be frozen with a thin layer of ice, without any warmth. She only dealt with the matter as it was, so she said, “Mo Weiyu, about that matter, are you going to say it yourself, or do you want me to ask for a witness?”
Mo Ran was very calm.
He was as calm as a prisoner on death row.
“There’s no need to trouble others,” Mo Ran said, “If there are any witnesses alive, I don’t want to see any of them.”
He slowly raised his head.
The faint sunlight shone on his pale face.
“I’ll say it myself.”
Mu Yanli raised her hand. Immediately, someone from the Heavenly Music Parlor brought in an empty chair. She sat down leisurely and supported her chin with one hand. She looked like she was ready to listen to a long story. “Please.”
Mo Ran closed his eyes. After a while, he finally opened his mouth.
“This matter was originally related to a businessman.”
“What businessman?”
“… Everyone should know that there’s a business in the Cultivation World called ‘Snooping Around’.”
Villa Master Ma Yun was most familiar with this. He raised his hand and said, “Yes, yes, yes. Our villa is most familiar with these people. They often wander around various alleys and ask for some old news in order to gain some benefits.”
Mo Ran said, “Yes, so when Uncle was looking for the posthumous child of his deceased brother, he also looked for a Mr. Snooping Around.”
Xue Zhengyong: “…”
Of course, Xue Zhengyong remembered this matter. Mo Ran was found by the clues provided by Mr. Snooping Around. At that time, the Drunken Jade Parlor was in a sea of fire, and it was said that this child was the only one who survived. He could even clearly remember the excited face of Mr. Snooping Around. He couldn’t help but sigh — the heavens really protected your brother’s child. He survived a great disaster and was bound to have good fortune in the future.
“That year, Mr. Snooping Around accepted the mission. After several investigations, he finally found something and went to the Drunken Jade Parlor to look for someone. He found a woman with the surname Mo. ”
Someone asked curiously, “Who is it?”
“It’s the partner of Sect Leader Xue’s elder brother. People call her Madam Mo. She used to be the daughter of a concubine of a big family. ”
Someone reacted and said in surprise, “Madam Mo? Isn’t that the name of the Auntie of the Drunken Jade Parlor? ”
“But from what she did just now, it sounds like she’s an evil woman.”
Mo Ran said indifferently, “She wasn’t born evil. According to my mother, Madam Mo’s experience is quite similar to hers. She’s also a pitiful person. When she was young, she had a lover. He was a poor individual cultivator. That individual cultivator said that he wanted to go to the lower cultivation world and found a famous sect. Madam Mo gave him all of her money and jewelry, determined to help him realize his ambitions. ”
Xue Zhengyong muttered, “It’s my big brother …”
Mo Ran continued, “Before that individual cultivator left, he swore to Madam Mo that when he succeeded in his great undertaking, he would definitely marry her and bring her home in a grand manner. For this, he even gave Madam Mo a poem — ‘On the Smoky Wave River, in the painted boat, the sound of the fairy’s lute is slow, the Langjun is silent.’ Later, it became the evidence that Mr. Bao used to identify her. ”
This kind of relationship between a man and a woman was the most eye-catching.
A female cultivator asked, “Could it be that the previous Sect Leader of the Life and Death Sect was like Nangong Yan and abandoned his wife?”
Xue Zhengyong’s leopard eyes widened and he immediately scolded, “Nonsense! My big brother is not that kind of person! My big brother, he, he never forgot Miss Mo … ”
When mentioning his deceased brother, this man couldn’t help but feel sad, and his eyes turned slightly red.
Elder Xuanji also said from the side, “Fairy Lady, please be careful with your words. Not long after the sect was founded, the previous Sect Leader unfortunately died in a fierce battle. He didn’t deliberately go back on his words. Before he died, he often talked about that woman with the Sect Leader. He always said that when the sect stabilized, he would immediately go and pick her up. He and Nangong Yan were not the same. ”
“That’s true.” Mo Ran said softly, “In the end, she was much luckier than my mother. Her husband passed away, but there was still someone who wanted to pick her up. Nangong Yan was still alive, but he never dared to recognize me and my mother. ”
“Ha! Then I know now! So it was because of this that you were jealous, so you decided to kill Madam Mo, burn down the Drunken Jade Pavilion, and impersonate her! ”
Hearing such malicious speculation, Mo Ran glanced at this “extremely smart” cultivator and said, “I never took the initiative to impersonate her.”
That cultivator wasn’t convinced and sneered, “Then what’s going on? Could it be that someone forced you to be the Young Master of the Life and Death Sect? ”
What’s going on?
Mo Ran couldn’t help but think — in fact, there were many things in this world that weren’t like this at the beginning. Only one day, the butterfly suddenly flapped its wings. Then, the wind rose and the clouds surged, and the sea turned into mulberry fields.
Just like how he never thought of replacing Xue Zhengyong’s nephew in the beginning, Mrs. Mo wasn’t the evil Grandma Yue Fang in the past.
She also had a gentle and kind youth. She also stood by the window, looking forward to her husband’s early return. When she found out that she was pregnant, she happily wrote a letter to tell her distant lover. She also received a letter from him, and the excitement of becoming a father overflowed on the paper.
She had all of these beautiful years.
So what if she was a concubine’s daughter? Others ridiculed her lover for being a nobody and mocked her for being pregnant before marriage. One day, he would fulfill his promise and take her and the child into his family. She firmly believed that.
But later, as time passed, the letters gradually changed from one every three days to one every seven days, and then from one every seven days to one every month. In the end, there was no news. Mrs. Mo was disheartened. She had a wild temperament, so she hid this relationship from her parents. After giving birth to the child, she hesitated several times before returning home with the child. As a result, her father was furious, and his wife insulted her in every possible way. Madam Mo left in a huff. Later on, after several twists and turns, the daughter of a rich family eventually became the housekeeper of the Zui Yu Lou.
Life is full of ups and downs. Fate is like a furnace. You don’t know what to do, and when you come out, you may be completely different.
Mo Ran was like this, and Mrs. Mo was also like this in the past.
By the time Mr. Bao found her, fourteen years had already passed since her innocent days in her boudoir.
The man who carried Xue Zhengyong’s letter sat down leisurely. He opened his folding fan and said with a smile, “Where is your housekeeper? Tell her to come here. ”
The housekeeper arrived. She was wearing a peach blossom jacket, with a light yellow shawl wrapped around her arm. She swayed her waist and carried a hookah. She lifted the beaded curtain and said with a charming smile, “Oh, this young master, you’re here early in the morning to listen to music? Do you like the pipa or the yangqin? My musicians here are proficient in all kinds of musical instruments. I’m open to business, so I’ll give you a discount. ”
This was life. Fourteen years ago, when her lover left, she leaned against the beaded curtain with a sad expression on her face. Her beautiful face sent him off with her eyes.
Fourteen years later, her lover’s younger brother finally found her. The beaded curtain of time separated the vast life, but it rolled up again. She brushed away the vermillion and emerald green, showing that she had experienced many vicissitudes of life. The woman who used to be as shy as a deer had long since passed away. The one who sat in the Zuiyu Building, calling the wind and calling the rain, was a middle-aged woman smoking a hookah.
Mr. Bao was not so sentimental. He only had money in his eyes. He waved his fan and said with a smile, “I don’t need to listen to music. I’m here to ask you about someone.”
The smile on the housekeeper’s face froze. Her tone became cold, “Ask about someone? Who? ”
The man said slowly, “On the Yan Bo River, in the painted boat. The fairy’s pipa is slow. Langjun, I’m listening to it silently.”
Midway through his sentence, the expression on Mama’s face changed. By the time he finished his sentence, her face was drained of color. Her lips were trembling, and her thin, sharp eyebrows were twitching. She pressed her handkerchief to her chest for a long time before asking in a trembling voice, “What?
“You, you are … who exactly are you?!”
Mr. Bao smiled, “If I’m not mistaken, then I’ve found someone for Master Xue. Mrs. Mo, have you been well these past few years? ”
Mrs. Mo swayed and lost her footing. She fell on a round stool made of paulownia wood. She gasped for breath, her face alternating between red and white. After a long time, she waved her hand and dismissed everyone, leaving only Mr. Bao in the hall. She stared at the businessman’s face. Her eyes were filled with ecstasy, sadness, and all kinds of complicated emotions.
Mr. Bao’s expression was indifferent. He picked up the teapot and poured her a cup of cold tea. He handed it to her, “Drink some tea first.”
Mrs. Mo trembled as she held the cup. She took a sip, then another. When the tea was finished, she still took a few sips. Only then did she look up.
“Did Xue … Xue Lang ask you to find me?”
Mr. Bao sighed, “To tell you the truth, Master Xue, whom you miss so much, has already passed away.”
“What?!”
“It was his younger brother. He asked me to look for his older brother’s confidante. At that time, the two brothers established their own sect in the lower cultivation world. They were no longer the lone travelers who had no one to rely on. However, Master Xue was busy building his sect and couldn’t leave for the time being. Later, when he was killing demons, he had an accident and unfortunately … ”
Before Mrs. Mo could finish listening, she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
Mr. Bao persuaded her for a long time before she finally managed to stop sobbing. Mr. Bao continued, “Before Xue Xianjun passed away, he talked to his younger brother about Mama. His younger brother has been searching for Mama’s whereabouts all these years, hoping to find you and bring you back.”
Mrs. Mo murmured in disbelief. She suddenly grabbed Mr. Bao Inquire’s hand and said, “You … you repeat that sentence again! I don’t believe it, I don’t believe he’s the one who died … ”
This was the most important sentence in this deal, so he naturally knew it by heart. He immediately repeated it, “On the Smoky Wave River, in the boat, the fairy’s pipa sounds slow, Master Xue Lang, I silently listen.”
Mrs. Mo let out a cry of alarm, tears filling her eyes. “He, he didn’t look for me all these years because … I thought … I still resented him …”
Mr. Bao sighed, “It’s been so many years. My condolences. Right, do you still have a son? ”
“Yes … yes, yes, yes!” Mrs. Mo sobbed, wiping away her tears. She then shouted towards the warm room upstairs, “Ah Nian, Ah Nian … Mo Nian! Quickly, quickly come down! ”
The door to the warm room opened, but it wasn’t Mo Nian who came out. Instead, it was a weak child.
That child was holding a pile of clothes. His small face peeked out from behind the clothes. There were still some bruises on his cheeks. He looked very timid.
Mr. Bao hesitated. “Is this … your son?”
“Ah, no, he’s not.” Mrs. Mo wiped her tears and said, “He’s the servant who keeps the fire in my building.”
Mr. Bao immediately relaxed and smiled. “Oh, so that’s how it is.”
Mrs. Mo turned to the child. “Mo Ran, where did the young master go?”
