The Husky and His White Cat Shizun

Chapter 277: "Heavenly Sound Pavilion," Its Ruler, Solitary and Cold

With that cry, the golden, murderous blade answered the call, its ferocity defying the heavens!

Everyone's expressions changed, and even the senior disciples of the Heavenly Sound Pavilion took a step back in fear. But they quickly mustered their courage and shouted, "No stepping back! We can't let them escape!"

"How can such a calamity be allowed to remain? It must be rooted out completely!"

Both sides were at the point of no return, tension in the air reaching its peak—

"Attack!"

The command was like a drop of water falling into a sizzling wok, instantly creating a cacophony. Spells and sharp blades slashed from all directions toward the center of the execution ground. Chu Wanning held Huai Sha aloft, its golden light piercing through the clouds as it blocked the attacks. With one person's strength, he faced the flood of cultivators surging towards him. His phoenix eyes shimmered with sword energy and blood, his face resembling that of an Asura as he stood firm.

He protected Mo Ran with a sword, with his flesh and blood, with his life, and with all his innocence from that point on.

No one listened to his explanation, no one was willing to give these two trapped beasts a path to freedom. There was no hope, no redemption, no trust, no light.

All they had left was each other.

"Mo Ran, bear with it just a little longer, I'll take you away."

Suddenly, a fierce curse struck Chu Wanning's arm, causing blood to gush out in an instant, the wound deep enough to reveal the bone. Yet, Chu Wanning merely bit his lower lip and fiercely swung his sword forward—

"Quickly move aside!" the cultivators on the execution ground cried out in alarm, "Move away!!"

Huai Sha exerted an earth-shattering force as his sword descended, accompanied by a resounding boom. Sand and stones were sent flying, while sword qi crisscrossed violently, carving out several bottomless ravines in the earth.

Mu Yanli's voice pierced through the air sharply, "Chu Wanning! Do you still have any regard for the Heavenly Dao in your eyes!"

"..."

Seeing him ignore them, Mu Yanli grew even more enraged and sternly shouted, "Do you intend to openly defy the Divine Heir and go against the will of heaven?!"

From the crowd, someone else called out, "Great Immortal BeiDou, you should stop. Do you wish to become a major criminal in the cultivation world?"

Under Huai Sha's explosive aura, no one dared to step forward immediately.

Chu Wanning finally turned half his face and glanced at the cultivators of the Heavenly Sound Pavilion. Then he said, "...I already am."

With gritted teeth, he hoisted the near-lifeless Mo Ran onto his shoulder, his voice strained as he whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's over. Let's go, let's go home... I'll take you home."

But when he looked ahead, he saw a blood-soaked path strewn with corpses. He had slaughtered cultivators from the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, and behind those mangled limbs were more frenzied, bloodthirsty soldiers surging forward.

Where was home?

They had nowhere to go but hell.

He didn't know how many lives he had taken before he finally managed to break free. As he flew Mo Ran away on his sword, high above the ninth heaven, his entire body trembled. He had never before taken so many innocent lives. His body was now stained with Mo Ran's blood, his own blood, and mostly the blood of the Heavenly Sound Pavilion's soldiers.

He was tainted.

Contaminated to his core, beyond redemption.

Clouds swirled around him, obscuring the vast expanse of the world.

Where should they go?

Dragon Mountain was out of the question, and Dragon Blood Mountain was no longer safe... The Peak of Life and Death... How could he have the audacity to burden that place again?

"Mistress..."

Upon hearing that hoarse whisper in his ear, Chu Wanning abruptly turned around to meet Mo Ran's face, as pale as gold paper. "You... take me back."

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

But Mo Ran only shook his head. "You've already come for me; you don't want to abandon me." With great effort and struggle, he managed a smile, though his eyes had begun to lose focus. "That's enough... I have a home... enough..."

"Take me back, take me back... you still have an escape route..." His voice grew softer, and his eyelashes gradually drooped, yet he clutched at Chu Wanning's sleeve, repeatedly murmuring, "You still have an escape route..."

"There isn't one," Chu Wanning's heart was torn apart. He clasped Mo Ran's icy hand and pulled him into his embrace. "I have no escape, I'm not going anywhere."

"..."

"I'll stay with you."

If this had happened before, Mo Ran would have been overjoyed, elated to hear such words from Chu Wanning. But in this moment, he was confused and at a loss. He raised his hand, but all his strength could muster was the mere act of raising it.

Large patches of blood had stained his clothing red. In the end, Mo Ran lost consciousness and slumped into Chu Wanning's arms.

In Chu Wanning's arms, the weakening body grew more feeble by the second. He could no longer endure it, uncertain if they had truly left their pursuers behind or how soon they would catch up. With Mo Ran still in his embrace, he descended to a nearby hillside. His hands trembled violently, struggling to untie Mo Ran's clothing.

—A bloody hole exposed itself on Mo Ran's chest.

His mind exploded with a buzz, and he dared not look again at Mo Ran's face.

Suddenly, he remembered that in his previous life, Mo Ran had guarded his corpse for two years.

What emotions had he felt during those countless nights and days?

"Stay with me, Mo Ran..." Laying his palms over the wound, Chu Wanning channeled an endless stream of spiritual energy into him. Drenched in blood, he watched over Mo Ran, who was equally drenched, like a wild beast skinned alive but still clinging to life.

Amidst the fading light of doomsday, blood mingled with blood, flesh clung to flesh.

"You can't leave... It wasn't your fault... It never was..."

Mo Ran, Mo is darkness, Ran is light. He sought light all his life, yet ultimately fell into the depths of night. Gathering his courage, Chu Wanning stole a glance at Mo Ran's face, and nearly crumbled at the sight.

There was no trace of vitality left on that face, pale as death and stained with blood. The brow was marked with old scars—remnants of stones once hurled at him.

He could no longer hold back and collapsed in front of Mo Ran, weeping uncontrollably with piercing pain.

Was this the youth who once brightly and energetically clung to him beneath the Tower of Heaven, asking, "Immortal Lord, Immortal Lord, pay attention to me"?

Why... was it all blood? Why... was there no life left, not even a hint of a smile in his features?

He couldn't recognize him anymore... he couldn't recognize him at all.

So what had Mo Weiyu done wrong? For his entire life to be plagued with such suffering and torment.

Perhaps because he had no family or friends, no one to rely on, even fate itself taunted him. The smile he had so painstakingly crafted amidst the harsh realities of life was ultimately seen by the world as a loathsome face.

Who would have thought that the withered mud before the steps once held vibrant splendor in the April breeze?

"....Chu Wanning."

Suddenly, a familiar voice coldly sounded from just a short distance away.

"You were willing to sacrifice your own good reputation to save him?"

Chu Wanning froze, suddenly lifting his gaze to see a towering figure approaching him against the sunlight.

The Immortal Emperor of Exaltation stood amidst the trees, squinting as he closely observed them.

"I had thought that the most important thing in this world to you was your untainted reputation," he said leisurely. "I never expected that you would soil yourself for him in the end."

Step by step, he drew near. The dark robes embroidered with hidden dragon patterns shimmered eerily in the sunlight, and his black-gold dragon-scaled shoes finally came to a halt before them.

Almost instinctively, Chu Wanning sprang to his feet, a golden glow erupting from his palm as his sword, Heavenly Inquiry, materialized at his call – he stood between Mo Ran's past and present lives.

Heaven-Stepping Lord's eyes swiveled, his gaze first lingering on the shimmering golden vines before subtly returning to Chu Wanning without any change in expression.

At this moment, the man seemed to have been fished out from a pool of blood. Not a single part of his clothing was clean, and the corners of his phoenix-like eyes were moist as he met Heaven-Stepping Lord's gaze with a complicated expression.

Heaven-Stepping Lord scoffed and said, "Is he that important to you?"

"..."

Seeing that Chu Wanning didn't respond, Heaven-Stepping Lord's voice turned icy as he ordered, "Step aside."

Chu Wanning didn't move. His mind was in chaos, but he was still aware that this "Mo Ran" before him was merely a sharp tool, an empty vessel with flesh and blood.

The mocking smile at the corner of the puppet's lips grew more sinister, "So, do you think standing there like that will stop Me? Do you think I won't be able to deal with you?"

"I... I'm taking him away."

"Where to?"

Those few words were as piercing as a dagger into an oyster shell.

Heaven-Stepping Lord's eyes flashed with ridicule, "Chu Wanning, ask yourself, in this vast world, who else besides Me would be willing to take you in? ... Taking him away? How laughable."

He stepped forward, his movements swift as lightning, suddenly grasping Chu Wanning's chin and drawing near.

"The last remaining spirit core in his body belongs to Me. You belong to Me too. You'd better understand your place."

As he finished speaking, a sudden burst of golden light erupted. Heaven-Stepping Lord retreated just in time, but his cheek still burned with pain. He casually wiped it, only to find a vicious gash on the side of his ear, blood seeping down his face in black rivulets.

Heaven-Stepping Lord fell silent for a moment, lifting his eyelids malignantly. The expression on his face was indescribable, a mix of furious rage and ecstatic delight. His nose bridge creased, his emotions and features almost distorted, "Good, very good."

He laughed softly, his sleeves swishing like dark clouds as he spoke. "I never imagined that after so long, I would be able to battle with Heaven-Questioning again." Lifting his slender fingers to wipe the blood from his cheek, Heaven-Stepping Lord's eyes darkened as he gazed intently at Chu Wanning. "I, indeed, miss those times."

Behind him, Mo Ran was hanging by a thread; any delay could mean there was no turning back. Despite his turmoil, Chu Wanning knew he couldn't afford to engage in idle talk with Heaven-Stepping Lord.

"Heaven-Question—Coffin for Ten Thousand Men!"

A curse escaped Heaven-Stepping Lord as he leaped into action. The ground cracked open in countless fissures, and thick willow vines surged forth from the depths of the earth, striking at him. Meanwhile, thinner vines coiled around the unconscious Grandmaster Mo, carrying him into the safety of the willow branches.

Looking at Chu Wanning standing at the center of the formation, Heaven-Stepping Lord almost laughed in anger. "Is this how you differentiate between us?"

"Heaven-Question, Wind."

"..."

His question only invited a fiercer assault. A storm of blade-like winds swept across the sky, and it would be a lie to say there was no resentment behind them.

Fixing his gaze on the disheveled man on the ground, Heaven-Stepping Lord felt a wave of long-lost heartache. In that moment of distraction, wind blades slashed into his side, causing him to wince in pain. Lowering his head, he saw black blood oozing from the gruesome wound.

He injured him again...

In both his past and present lives, Chu Wanning had never spared him a glance.

A sudden bitterness rose in his throat, and Heaven-Stepping Lord's composed smile twisted. He raised his hand and shouted, "Call for the Unreturning!"

The events of that green meadow and vermilion bridge from years ago... another year has passed, yet you still haven't returned. But even if you did return, what difference would it make? You'd still draw your sword against me, still kill me for those foolish reasons!

Hatred surged within him all at once.

Unreturning clashed with Tianwen, and both divine weapons roared like dragons and tigers.

Two lifetimes had passed since their last life-or-death battle. The engravings on Unreturning's hilt were worn down, much like the faded memories of Heaven-Stepping Lord and the Northern Dipper Immortal Venerated from days gone by.

Golden radiance and deep green light clashed, as if their hatred had seeped into their very bones. Amidst the flickering shadows, Heaven-Stepping Lord fixated on that face before him.

A face stained with blood, its expression complicated.

Alive.

The fury within him raged fiercely, burning with intense pain.

Clenching his teeth, he suddenly asked, filled with resentment, "Why is it that even though it's clearly me... you're willing to fight this deity again for him?"

"..."

Chu Wanning didn't know what to say. Facing an empty shell, anything he said would be meaningless.

But for some reason, perhaps the blinding radiance was causing illusions, he momentarily felt that Heaven-Stepping Lord's gaze was so tormented and solitary.

It was as if it had moistened.

"He's injured like this, and you feel distress. What about this deity?" Heaven-Stepping Lord's voice was rough, striving to sound vicious, but his resentment was overwhelming. He wished he could ignite a fire to turn all his frustration into ashes. However, as the flames burned, they only made his eyes brim with redness.

"Chu Wanning. Do you know how it felt when this deity returned to life and found not even your bones were left in the Red Lotus Water Pavilion?"

Chu Wanning was taken aback. As for Heaven-Stepping Lord, who had finally mustered the courage to voice this question, he closed his eyes, his facial muscles tense. A mix of anger, humiliation, agony, and madness pushed him to the brink of insanity. Suddenly, he poured all his spiritual energy into Unreturning.

A thunderous crash echoed through the air!

Rocks crumbled, and the earth shook violently. The surrounding plants and trees were instantly turned to dust by the fierce spiritual currents, while the willows and vines could not withstand the onslaught and disintegrated into ashes.

"Nearly a decade!"

Amidst the scattering ashes of calamity, only Heaven-Stepping Lord's frenzied eyes remained clear. His irises were bloodshot.

"Ten years, Chu Wanning. He was reborn in the past, leaving me to awaken atop the Peak of Life and Death in the Temple of Mount Wu. In these ten years, I've learned of your blissful life together and his glorious feats from the letters — but what about me? What about me?!!"

The blade suddenly descended, sending sand and rocks flying as a deep, bottomless chasm split the ground.

"I've always been alone! When he got a second chance, I didn't even have an ounce of his ashes left!"

Moro's blade slashed down, and Chu Wanning withdrew his Heavenly Question sword, meeting it with Huai Sha.

But this weapon of destruction only fueled Heaven-Stepping Lord's fury further; at that moment, he seemed like a vengeful spirit freshly returned from hell, consumed by intense resentment.

His gaze was so chilling that even Chu Wanning couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine.

...Why does this mere corpse still evoke such intense emotions?

"You have no right to treat me like this."

Amidst blazing flames that scorched the trees, leaves fell, their edges charred and glowing with embers. Heaven-Stepping Lord, dressed in black, suddenly withdrew his force, sweeping backward and standing amidst the withering leaves and the cycle of life and death in the vegetation.

Chu Wanning was unsure why he had abruptly retreated. He saw the man close his eyes, his thick eyelashes casting shadows on his overly pale face. Heaven-Stepping Lord murmured softly,

"Why do you treat me like this?"

As his words faded, a low rumble reverberated from the ground.

Chu Wanning's expression changed abruptly. He immediately turned back—

"Mo Ran!"

Intending to shield the unconscious Mo Ran, he heard five chilling words that pierced through his bones.

Heaven-Stepping Lord said, "Damn it. Ten Thousand Souls Coffin."

Startling the heavens and earth!

Chu Wanning's blood turned icy cold. The willow vines... the willow vines... Heaven-Stepping Lord and Mo Weiyu were one and the same. If Mo Weiyu could summon Unreturning, then Heaven-Stepping Lord could summon Ghost-Seeing too!

Powerful vines shot up from the ground, abruptly coiling around Chu Wanning's limbs and body. Meanwhile, another part of the willow vine split open the already damaged Heaven-Questioning sword, hooking out Mo Ran who was hidden within the depths of its leaves.

Frustrated, Chu Wanning shouted, "Stop!"

But no one paid him any heed. Heaven-Stepping Lord floated gracefully to Mo Ran's side, looking coldly at the face that was identical to his own, buried deep within the vines.

His gaze shifted downward to the bloody mess that was once Mo Ran's chest.

Chu Wanning roared, "Heaven-Questioning—!"

However, both Heaven-Questioning and Ghost-Seeing were weapons of the same grade. Heaven-Stepping Lord didn't even lift his head, simply reaching out to tap the air, causing the golden willow vine to clash with the fiery red Ghost-Seeing in a deadlock.

Chu Wanning's lips turned ashen, veins bulging on his hands as he struggled with all his might to break free from Ghost-Seeing's binds.

"...” Heaven-Stepping Lord finally looked over, his expression complicated as he cast a glance at Chu Wanning. His thin lips parted as he sighed softly, "Chu Wanning. You truly dote on him."

With that said, he abruptly raised his hand and thrust it straight into Mo Ran's chest!

As long as he obtained that last remnant of the spirit core, he could return to normal. He was the true Heaven-Stepping Imperial Lord, the genuine Mo Weiyu – the one who had endured a decade of solitude and deserved to have his wishes fulfilled.

It should be him who lived.

"Snap!"

In that fleeting moment, a golden light flashed and pierced directly through the palm of Heaven-Stepping Lord.

Black blood dripped down steadily.

Heaven-Stepping Lord stared at his hand, pierced by the Heavenly Inquiry Vine, yet for a moment, his face revealed no emotion.

Was it pain?

Disappointment?

Or wrath?

Having experienced it so many times in his life, he was likely long accustomed to it.

All he did was slowly turn his head and look at the man bound tightly by the Ghost-Seeing Rope, yet still gasping for breath with a stubborn glint in his eyes.

Heaven-Stepping Lord allowed his palm to bleed profusely as he gazed deeply and faintly at him for a while. Then, suddenly, he smiled.

"Chu Wanning."

"..."

"Why didn't you just rip out my heart?"

Chu Wanning was trembling. The Ghost-Seeing Rope seemed to have grown countless tiny thorns that pierced every inch of his flesh and bones. With furrowed brows and beneath his long eyelashes, his phoenix-like eyes were filled with pain.

Heaven-Stepping Lord looked at him and infused spiritual energy into his palm, severing the willow vine.

At this moment, he was no longer in a hurry to dig out Mo Ran's heart, flesh and all. He stepped closer to Chu Wanning.

As he approached, he used his bleeding hand to caress Chu Wanning's pale face.

"Answer me," he said, his tone casual yet filled with a deep-seated resentment. "Since you're so ruthless, why not just rip out my heart?"

Silence.

"I wonder what I mean to you..." Heaven-Stepping Lord sighed softly, lowering his eyes.

Chu Wanning, of course, didn't respond. As Heaven-Stepping Lord was about to say more, he suddenly noticed the willow vines wrapping around Chu Wanning glowing with a brilliant scarlet light. He froze, as if something had clicked in his mind. "An interrogation?"

If Seeing Ghosts was similar to Heavenly Questioning, it should possess the same ability to extract the truth.

Heaven-Stepping Lord's dark purple eyes flickered with interest. He was eager to use Seeing Ghosts to uncover the truth from Chu Wanning's lips. His mouth moved, but he seemed unsure of what to say and closed it again. After a long moment, he ventured cautiously, "Ahem... If..."

"I'm saying if hypothetically."

The question seemed too humiliating to ask, but such a rare opportunity might never come again, and he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't seize it.

After much hesitation, he spoke with a cold expression, avoiding Chu Wanning's gaze. "If, in our past lives... I had left this world earlier, before you did."

The hellish radiance grew brighter, pressing upon the captive with an urgency that demanded the truth.

Heaven-Stepping Lord lifted his gaze.

"Will... you also remember me?"

This man's eagerness for an answer was so intense that Chu Wanning felt as if a million needles were piercing his body, causing him excruciating pain that threatened to rend his heart and liver. Each needle seemed to be probing for the truth within him. He trembled, chilled to the bone, his complexion pale and wretched.

Unblinking, Heaven-Stepping Lord gazed at him, his thin lips parting with hidden emotions.

"Will you?"

"I..." The pain pierced to the marrow, tearing apart his organs. Cornered, Chu Wanning lifted his eyes, looking dazedly at Heaven-Stepping Lord through a veil of moisture.

In the humid mist, that handsome face was so familiar, filled with longing, even a hint of profound affection.

It was as if they were transported back to that moonlit night long ago, above the tides on Flower Drifting Island, when Mo Ran had flown alongside him on a flying sword, holding his hand and asking, "I like you. How about you?"

His eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Chu Wanning murmured almost lifelessly, his voice hoarse, "It's the same..."

Perhaps his reply was too soft, or perhaps there were other reasons. Heaven-Stepping Lord leaned in even closer, almost touching Chu Wanning's sweat-drenched, pale face.

"What's the same?"

"The same..." His eyelashes drooped, intertwining as they were filled with warmth and blurriness, "I still won't... let you leave before me..."

"..."

"I'm sorry." His voice was raspy and out of tune, like a broken xun flute, "I failed to protect you."

Heaven-Stepping Lord was suddenly stunned.

His already colorless face appeared even more desolate in that instant.

In his ears, it seemed as if a thunderbolt rolled by, and he couldn't help but recall the moment on Heavenly Mountain by the Heavenly Pool when that person had fallen into his arms. With a bloodstained hand, they had gently touched his forehead.

That person had said, I have wronged you; I harbor no regrets, be it life or death.

A searing pain gripped his heart, as if something within had torn apart.

"…Wanning…" He stood rigidly in place, like a wooden statue or a sculpture made of clay.

He reached out again, but this time not in aggression. He didn't know why, but he extended his hand, longing to touch that face so reminiscent of his past life.

That cold, blood-stained face.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierced through his eardrums.

Heaven-Stepping Lord's fingers, almost touching his cheek, froze in mid-air.

For the corpse, those eyes, which had held so many emotions, now appeared hollow and empty. Heaven-Stepping Lord dropped his arms. After the piercing whistle, he seemed to lose consciousness, slowly retreating backward and then waving his hand to withdraw all weapons.

Both his past life's unreturning path and this life's encounter with a ghost vanished into thin air.

Chu Wanning fell to the ground, only to look up and see a man dressed in pristine white standing afar. The man wore a mask, holding a jade flute between his fingers and a staff in his other hand.

At the edge of the forest, amidst the falling bamboo leaves, the man stood as bright as a lotus flower, silently inviting Heaven-Stepping Lord to walk towards him.

"You are...?"

"Take Grandmaster Mo away," the man sighed softly, his voice distorted by a vocal transformation spell. "I won't be able to hold on for long. He'll regain consciousness soon."

"..."

"Hurry up and leave," the man urged. "The Heavenly Sound Pavilion and Hua Binan will catch up soon. If they capture you, nothing will change."

Chu Wanning clenched his teeth, stood up, and supported Mo Ran, invoking the Ascending Dragon Talisman to summon a celestial dragon to carry them away.

Before the dragon leapt into the air, he turned back for one last look at the man standing deep in the bamboo grove. He noticed that the man needed his staff to steady himself as he shuffled along.

A vague memory tugged at the corners of his mind, but he couldn't quite piece it together.

"Thank you very much," Chu Wanning said.

The man merely shook his head and urged again, "Hurry up."

The paper dragon, sensing Chu Wanning's thoughts, spoke, "Young Brother has a kind heart. My master might have wished to ask your name, for if fate brings you together again, he could express his gratitude."

"..." The man fell silent for a moment before softly saying, "Me?"

Amidst the rustling of leaves and the myriad sounds of nature, his voice echoed with a sense of emptiness.

"I am merely someone who has finally gained freedom."

The paper dragon was about to inquire further, but Chu Wanning knew that this person would never reveal their identity. He bowed to the stranger, patted the dragon's body, and said, "Let's go."

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the paper dragon ascended into the clouds without further ado, soaring upward in a sudden gust of wind until it vanished from sight, leaving no trace behind.

The earth stirred as the masked white-robed man stood silently in place for a while. He lifted his head, waiting until the commotion subsided, and the surroundings returned to tranquility. Gazing at the sky he could no longer see and the figure he could no longer discern, he whispered softly,

"Disciple Shi Mo humbly bids farewell to Master."

Sunlight cascaded down, illuminating his pristine attire.

"The path of the martial world is long, Master. Take care on your journey."