The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 245: Rival in Love at Dragon Blood Mountain

"..."

It was as if struck by five bolts of lightning, he stood frozen in place.

Unbelievable... Unbelievable... What was Shi Mo saying? What was he doing?! What on earth was happening?

Mo Ran was still reeling from the shock and couldn't accept what had just transpired. He didn't even think that Shi Mo had just kissed Chu Wanning. The scene was so horrifying that even seeing it with his own eyes made him question if he was hallucinating.

He covered his forehead with his hand, feeling his temples pulsate. Memories of Shi Mo's warm smile from their youth flashed through his mind, as he softly called out, "Ah Ran."

But the person standing before him... he actually... actually...

It sent shivers down his spine.

Shi Mo liked... his Master?

How could that be possible?!?!

Shi Mo had never shown any affection for his Master. It was more convincing to say that Xue Meng liked Chu Wanning than to claim Shi Mo did. How could he possibly like him? He had always been cautious and respectful, speaking little and not even clinging to his Master.

After classes and duties were finished, he would leave obediently...

It couldn't be.

Straightening up, Shi Mo glanced at Mo Ran with a sideways glance, his eyes shining as he chuckled softly. "Seems like someone here was scared by me?"

"You... are... utterly... absurd..."

"Absurd?" Shi Mo seemed unperturbed. "Who's the absurd one, my little junior brother? Was it me who bullied our Master so ruthlessly?"

Mo Ran's face flushed red, his eyes filled with both anger and confusion.

If anyone else had been standing there, he would have fiercely rebuked them, but the person before him was Shi Mingjing, the man he had mistakenly thought he loved for two lifetimes.

He was momentarily struck speechless.

Shi Mo, on the other hand, had no qualms. He said coolly, "But if we're talking about absurd things I've done, there are some. Like pretending to like you, treating you well for so many years, and even enduring excruciating pain under demonic interrogation, just to deceive you into believing... that I like you."

Pausing for a moment, a hint of mockery flickered in his eyes. "Enough of this. If I were to fall for someone as worthless as you, apart from your looks, I might as well blind myself and end it all."

Mo Ran: "..."

"Why aren't you responding? Displeased?" With his peerless good looks, even Shi Mo's sneer was captivating. He tilted his head to glance at Mo Ran and then reached out to touch Chu Wanning's chin.

In a fit of rage, Mo Ran was about to summon an otherworldly apparition.

Yet, a mere flash of scarlet appeared in his palm before the spirit flow vanished instantly.

Shi Mo barely lifted an eyelid as he said, "Don't bother trying; in his previous life, Wanning set this trap and used half of his Earth Soul to finally help you remove the Gu Flower. You're no longer under control now, but it'll take about ten days for your spiritual energy to recover fully. To challenge me now would be like a fly hitting a rock."

"You dare to call him Wanning!"

"You're being unreasonable. Are you allowed to defy your master and ancestors, but I'm not allowed to cherish mine?"

"You—!"

"You've already had your turn, tasted it countless times," Shi Mo chuckled softly. "It's my turn now, isn't it? I actually feel a bit wronged for taking over someone who was with you. But for his sake, I'll endure it."

In a fit of rage, Mo Ran, devoid of divine weapons, engaged in close combat.

"Sigh... That's why I said, I despise the likes of you who only know violence and killing," Shi Mo suddenly released Chu Wanning and began to clash with Mo Ran within the stone chamber.

The dimly lit cavern echoed with the figures of two towering men exchanging blows, their silhouettes resembling dual dragons soaring through the clouds, locked in a fierce battle. Sheets of flame and electric currents surged around them.

Shi Mo was not adept at offense, and in a hand-to-hand fight, he stood no chance against Mo Ran. Sensing danger, he swiped his sleeves, unleashing a flood of spirit snakes that coiled towards Mo Ran. Seizing the opportunity, he darted to the side, scooped up Chu Wanning, and dashed out of the stone cave.

"Master —!!"

Mo Ran managed to shake off the icy, slimy snakes and pursued relentlessly. He saw Shi Mo perched atop a tree branch, with a bright moon illuminating his back.

Shi Mo smiled. "Don't chase anymore. You've just recovered. Even if you risk your life, you won't catch up to me."

"Why... Why are you doing this, Shi Mingjing?!"

"Aran," Shi Mo said with a smile, "Did Brother Shi ever tell you how much I dislike being called Shi Mo or Shi Mingjing?"

"..."

"So if you don't mind, you can call me by my birth name from now on."

"…What?"

"My family name is Hua, without a courtesy name, and my given name is Binan."

Hua Binan??

Seeing Mo Ran's eyes widen in surprise, Shi Mo's smile grew even brighter, his eyebrows curling delightfully. "Right, considering our history as master and disciple brothers, let me give you an important tip: stay away from Solitary Moon Night. If you go there now, Jiang Xi will tear you apart. And don't try to follow me. Be good and return to the Peak of Life and Death sooner."

Mo Ran froze, his face turning deathly pale. "What do you plan to do with the Peak of Life and Death?!"

"You're not entirely foolish in this life," Shi Mo chuckled. "Big Brother has a little surprise for you. You'll find out when you get there."

A bitter taste filled Mo Ran's throat, and his eyes burned with intense flames. He wasn't sure whether he was more heartbroken or enraged at this moment. He bellowed, "Shi Mo, what exactly are you planning?! What are you scheming?!! Didn't you tell me that the Peak of Life and Death is your home? Didn't you say… that it was Uncle who saved you during your exile… Didn't you tell me that the most important people to you were us?!"

His voice trembled by the end, his fingers curled into fists, pressing tightly into his palms.

"…Were all these lies? Were all these years, across two lifetimes—" Mo Ran suddenly paused.

A biting chill—

"Could it be that in both lifetimes… you were the one scheming?!"

Shi Mo remained silent, his loose robe and wide sleeves billowing on the treetop as he gazed at Mo Ran with a gentle smile. His slanted peach blossom eyes curved up, and his sharp chin made him resemble a midnight fox in this misty mountain landscape.

"You…" Each word trembled between his teeth.

Mo Ran's mind was in chaos, his gaze bordering on madness.

"Shi Mo, speak to me..."

From the gentle persuasion beside the candlestand that year, to their subsequent companionship, always together, inseparable.

"Speak to me!"

From the delicate, jade-like youth who once danced gracefully, to later lying in his arms in the midst of a snowstorm, asking him not to bear grudges or blame their master after the great rupture in the heavens.

Mo Ran was on the verge of shattering. "You clearly died... I saw it with my own eyes... I carried your corpse back to the Peak of Life and Death... It's impossible for you to be Shi Mo... You... How could it be..."

"Because you are naive."

A refined voice rang out, and Shi Mo finally spoke, though not without a hint of sarcasm.

"You brute cultivators only care about refining Spirit Cores and look down upon the Medicine Sect. You, your Lord, even our brilliant Master." Here, he chuckled. "I spoke wrongly earlier; Master is not a brute. But people like you all disdain the art of medicinal pests."

Mo Ran muttered, "Medicine... Gu..."

"It's exceedingly difficult to bring a dead man back to life," Shi Mo said leisurely. "But when it comes to making a living person appear as if they're dead, I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve."

If Mo Ran were in his right mind, he would have noticed the inconsistencies in Shi Mo's words.

Even if a drug could make a living person appear dead, during his previous life, he had guarded Shuangtian Temple for seven days and later witnessed Shi Mo's burial. The coffin was sealed with layers of Longevity Nails, and the earth piled high. Without alerting the tomb guardians, how could any living person possibly escape from such a grave?

There were only two possibilities: first, Shi Mo was lying. Second, in his previous life, someone had infiltrated the Death and Life Peak's cemetery, dug up the grave and coffin from the outside, freeing Shi Mo who had seemingly returned from the dead...

But Mo Ran was in disarray; an invisible hand seemed to have rearranged his organs, leaving him with no mind for careful thought. Upon hearing Shi Mo's words, the pale, lifeless face from his memories immediately surfaced before his eyes:

Amidst heavy snowfall, Shi Mingjing had died, and Mo Ran had come to loathe his own helplessness, and the apathy of Chu Wanning, which had led him down into the abyss, into darkness...

Yet, who would have thought...

It was all fake... It was all an illusion!

He had gone mad for half his life, obsessed for half his life, slaughtered the world, only to ultimately cause the death of the man who loved him most in this world.

How absurd.

How utterly absurd!!

Rage and grief pierced his scalp, narrowing his pupils. He practically roared, "You... You can actually live with yourself!"

"I am at peace," Shi Mo replied with a slight smile. "But you, Immortal Emperor Trampling Heaven."

"..."

With those four words, he struck a nerve.

"No matter what your reason was for wielding that butcher's knife. Be it hatred, resentment, or a sense of injustice, your hands are now stained with blood."

Saying this, he deliberately hugged the unconscious Chu Wanning even tighter, as if displaying his spoils of war.

"How can the bloody-handed Heavenly-Stepping Lord be with the spotless Northern Dipper Immortal Venerated?"

The last hint of color drained from Mo Ran's face.

But Shi Mo knew his weakness all too well. He waved his scorpion claw, injecting venom into the other man relentlessly. Narrowing his eyes, he pressed on relentlessly.

"Are you worthy?"

"Don't you feel filthy?"

"You're stealing."

The wind picked up, dispersing the mist to reveal a bright full moon peeking through the clouds.

With a smirk on his face, Shi Mo's words were like sharp knives, piercing deep into the heart: "Heaven-Stepping Lord, every moment you spent with him was stolen. You know yourself better than anyone else, so there's no need for me to elaborate."

Mo Ran's lips turned ashen, overwhelmed by a barrage of emotions—anger, sorrow, fear, regret, and self-reproach. It was enough to drive anyone mad.

"I..."

"Drop the 'I's," Shi Mo sighed softly. "What could I possibly say? Do you think that after being Grandmaster Mo for half your life and saving a few lives, your sins would be forgiven?"

He gazed at Mo Ran's face and chuckled. "How naive of you."

Mo Ran was at a loss for words.

"Now that your Master has regained his memories from his past life, he will remember everything you've done—your absurd actions, the people you killed, the cities you slaughtered, the teachers you deceived, the ancestors you betrayed—he'll remember how you hurt him. All of it will come flooding back to him." He paused, seemingly entertained by the expressions on Mo Ran's face, before smiling in satisfaction. "Grandmaster Mo, it's time to bow your head. Admit your guilt."

Bow your head then.

Admit your guilt...

A lifetime of absurdity, filled with malevolence, was all a mistake.

Mo Ran's throat convulsed, his eyes blazing red as he fixated on the figure perched on the tree branch. But when his gaze fell upon Chu Wanning in his arms, he couldn't help but feel overwhelming pain, his vision wilting like withered reeds.

He abruptly turned his head away.

"Consider this: when he wakes up and discovers you've deceived him for so long, how furious do you think he'll be?" Shi Mo tenderly caressed Chu Wanning's cheek with his slender fingers, barely grazing his lips. "You know well that your Master's temperament is fierce—do you truly believe he will forgive you?"

The words pierced like daggers, leaving the listener feeling as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.

Forgiveness...

It was something he had never dared to dream of, but he had always hoped to delay the inevitable judgment. He had never dared to imagine this day would come.

Mo Ran abruptly closed his eyes, his eyelashes quivering gently.

Shi Mo's voice echoed hauntingly in the misty, mountainous landscape, as if a divine being urging someone to turn back from the depths of suffering. "Stop chasing after him. Return to the Summit of Life and Death. When you get there, you'll naturally understand the surprise I spoke of."

His words lingered in the air.

"Accept this surprise willingly, without resistance," he paused, as if struck by an idea, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at the person beneath the tree. "Besides, Ah Ran, we are fundamentally different people. You could never fathom my desires and motivations." His tone was warm, reminiscent of their past when he would inquire about the taste of Mo Ran's handwritten copies or if the chili oil was sufficient. "I'm not as deranged as you; I wouldn't easily plot against my close friends and family. But—"

He shifted his tone, yet chose not to elaborate further.

Mo Ran spun around fiercely. "What do you want?!"

Seeing his gaze sweep over Chu Wanning, Shi Mo couldn't help but smile. "There's no need for you to worry. As long as Master is with me, I will cherish him, not harm him. A person as pure as jade like him, I know better than you how to cherish...

"Every word was steeped in tenderness before being softly uttered.

Mo Ran trembled with rage. If he still had spiritual energy, he would have torn Shi Mo to shreds by now.

But he lacked spiritual energy, and Shi Mo was well aware of that, which was why he dared act so recklessly.

Shi Mo chuckled softly. "But what about your fellow disciples and seniors at the Summit of Life and Death, even your uncle and aunt...and the young lord?" His eyes wandered as he finished his sentence unhurriedly, "If you don't deal with that surprise properly, it'll be the second time you cause their deaths. Imagine if Master wakes up and finds out that you've caused everyone more suffering again, that you're selfishly clinging to life—would he even spare you a last glance?"