SHI MEI FELL SILENT, his fair cheek twitching as if he'd been slapped. At last, he pursed his lips, then said, "You're determined not to leave me the slightest bit of dignity."
He reached for Chu Wanning's jaw again, but this time, Chu Wanning flinched away like he'd felt the touch of a snake.
Shi Mei's eyes narrowed. His face clouded over, yet a second later, he'd rearranged his features into a mask of serenity. "Enough," he said, his countenance gentle as ever. "You've always been hard-headed. In the past life, you intended to kill him, did you not? But in the end, you couldn't bear to. Just before you died, you even transferred your broken souls into his heart."
He was correct. During that terrible final battle in snowy Kunlun, when Chu Wanning had touched Mo Ran's forehead for the last time, he'd channeled the fractured remnants of his souls into Mo Ran's body. By the end of his previous lifetime, his souls had been splintered and separated from each other. He had left one fragment in the body of the teenaged Mo Ran, and given another to his slumbering other self. He'd taken everything that remained, along with his final, precarious hopes, and bequeathed it all to Emperor Taxian-jun.
Chu Wanning hadn't known what effect this might have on the Flower of Eightfold Sorrows in its third stage of development. But he knew the gu flower received its first nourishment from the soul of its spellcaster. If he channeled his own souls into it, perhaps something would change.
At that point, he was no more than an empty, battered shell. He'd exhausted his strength doing all that he could, all that he had to do. He had always been iron-willed and decisive; Mo Ran was his first and only weakness. Because he'd held tight to a thread of hope that Mo Ran could be saved, he hadn't killed him. He didn't mind offering up his shattered souls, whether or not it would be of any use—he just wanted to bring the old Mo Ran back to the world of the living.
Shi Mei laughed, as if he understood everything Chu Wanning hadn't said. "Your last-ditch effort couldn't pull the gu flower out of Mo Ran's chest, but you did succeed in influencing his emotions. He found himself caught between good and evil, ultimately succumbing to madness and dying by his own hand."
Chu Wanning's expression flickered as he looked up in silence.
After crossing paths on Mount Jiao with that Taxian-jun without a heartbeat, he had guessed Mo Ran had met such an end. But he still felt a dull ache in his heart upon hearing Shi Mei say so bluntly that he'd taken his own life.
Watching him closely, Shi Mei continued, "Shizun, you did it—you protected him. I don't know how, but his souls transmigrated to the past." He sighed. "I still don't understand even now. You were an invalid then; how did you manage to dash my plans? Ah you… You always manage to surprise me."
He lowered his dark lashes, downy as cattail fluff, and drew closer, as if to kiss Chu Wanning's lips.
Chu Wanning jerked back to reality. Lightning-fast, he grabbed Shi Mei by the throat, veins bulging on the back of his hands.
Shi Mei's expression didn't waver. He calmly reached up to grip Chu Wanning's wrists, as though he'd anticipated such a reaction. "Really, Shizun?" He chuckled. "Ruining me once isn't good enough for you? Unfortunately, you're too late."
With a soft hiss, a gold-and-black banded krait slithered out of Shi Mei's wide sleeves and clamped its jaws around Chu Wanning's arm. Who knew what kind of magical tempering the snake had undergone, but the single bite was unbelievably agonizing. Chu Wanning's hands immediately went limp. Maneuvering him easily by the wrists, Shi Mei bound him against the bedpost in an even more humiliating position than before.
"Don't worry, the snake isn't venomous." Shi Mei tied Chu Wanning's hands together, then sat up and stroked the banded snake with snow-white fingertips. He narrowed his peach-blossom eyes. "I raised this snake just for you. Its bite will sap you of strength. Out of respect for Shizun, I'll leave it at this."
Shi Mei raised his hand, and the snake slithered back into his sleeve. "Speaking of the past life—in truth, I never wanted to leave you with Mo Weiyu for so long." Shi Mei stood up. With unhurried movements, he removed his cloak, then his outer robe, then…
All the color drained from Chu Wanning's face. "Shi Mingjing—!" he thundered, revolted.
Shi Mei flashed an agreeable smile and paced closer. "Shizun, I'll tell you a secret. When you two were married in the past life, I came to the wedding banquet as Hua Binan."
Chu Wanning's eyes flew wide in shock.
"Emperor Taxian-jun draped you in red silks, selfishly preventing the guests from seeing your face. They only knew he'd married a Consort Chu, but I knew it was you. When the banquet ended, I didn't leave. I slipped into the Red Lotus Pavilion—and then he walked in."
Shi Mei's eyes glittered. "He was under the control of my flower, but his thoughts and emotions were still his own. I hid—I couldn't let him detect me—but I didn't leave."
Overwhelming fury and disgust sent tremors through Chu Wanning as he looked back at him.
Shi Mei took a seat on the bed, laying cool hands on Chu Wanning's chest. "Did you know?" His voice had become slightly hoarse, his eyes glimmering hungrily. His fingers trailed downward and paused at Chu Wanning's waist. He began to untie Chu Wanning's sash. "The sight of you that night, mad with lust from the aphrodisiac, as he fucked you till you screamed… Tsk." The rims of Shi Mei's eyes were reddening with desire. "It's fueled my fantasies for two lifetimes."
This humiliation was almost too much to bear. But Chu Wanning was exhausted from receiving the memories from his other lifetime, and the snake bite had left him without any strength in his limbs. "Shi Mingjing," he gritted out, "get the fuck out of here!"
Shi Mei let out a tinkling laugh. "It's just sex; no need to be so touchy. Besides, haven't you already let one of your disciples fuck you? Enough with the sanctimonious act."
"Get out!"
"What's the difference between getting on your knees to satisfy one disciple versus two?" Shi Mei asked blithely. "I don't mind. So why don't you just lie back and enjoy it? You never know, my skills might be better than his."
"Get. The. F—"
Before Chu Wanning could finish, he heard a frigid voice from the door. "Get the fuck out."
Chu Wanning jolted as if struck by lightning, whipping his head around. Without his notice, someone had opened the stone door from outside. At its threshold stood a man with his face in shadow, holding a long black-and-gold blade to his chest. He loomed imposingly with the door ajar behind him, a stern and upright silhouette lit from behind.
Shi Mei's brows knit together. "It's you…? Back already?"
The man strode into the room, frigid air gusting in his wake. The candles swayed and flickered. Their light seemed somehow cold as it landed on his slim-fitting combat robes and leather armor, illuminating him fully at last. His long legs were wrapped tightly in a pair of black military boots, and he wore a belt with a silver dragon's-head buckle around his slender waist, with a weapon compartment of pure silver hanging from it. His thorned vambraces flashed above a pair of black dragonskin gloves. Above it all was a handsome, chiseled face, his features impossibly gallant.
Emperor Taxian-jun.
He emanated a terrifying cold, and the coppery scent of blood lingered on him, as if he'd just come from the battlefield. When he looked up, his pale cheek was still marred with a few flecks of blood. His dagger-like gaze honed in on the two men upon the bed. His eyes skimmed over Chu Wanning then bored into Shi Mingjing, glinting like shards of ice. "Fuck off."
A chill settled over Shi Mei's features at the sight of him. He slowly sat upright. "Did you kill all those people at Guyueye like I told you?"
"It wasn't enough to satisfy this venerable one's appetites." As he crossed the room, he tore off his gloves with flashing white teeth, revealing fine-boned hands beneath. He tossed the bloodied dragonskin onto the table, then fixed Shi Mei with a glare. "Watch yourself. This venerable one won't hesitate to make you another vengeful ghost who's died by my hand."
Shi Mei's expression was unsightly. "Don't forget to whom you're speaking."
"This venerable one only cares whether or not I'm having a good time," Taxian-jun shot back coldly. "You're in the wrong bed. Out."
"Since when do you have the right to use that tone with me?"
"This venerable one has always had it," Taxian-jun said, voice laced with threat.
Shi Mei seemed on the verge of losing his temper. "I am your master!" he cried, eyes flashing.
"So what? Mount Jiao is this venerable one's territory, and on that bed is this venerable one's property." Taxian-jun loomed over Shi Mingjing, the corner of his mouth quirking with mockery. "Master. Kindly fuck off."
Taxian-jun and Shi Mingjing continued to fling insults back and forth, neither giving an inch. Chu Wanning watched from the sidelines in silence, rather lost.
Shi Mingjing had said Taxian-jun was dead, so what was this man before him? A pawn? A puppet? Plus, the gu flower he'd neutralized had resided in the body of the present timeline's Mo Ran. Emperor Taxian-jun's flower had been rooted too deeply; his heart could never recover. As such, he should've been hopelessly in love with Shi Mei—but judging from his tone, he didn't give a rat's ass about him.
And why did he call him his master?
Shi Mei glared at Taxian-jun, then scoffed and rose to his feet, draping a robe over his shoulders. Naturally, he was well acquainted with the answers to these questions that stumped Chu Wanning.
Mo Ran's suicide in the past lifetime had cost Shi Mei his most formidable weapon. He'd used medicine to revive Mo Ran's physical body and rouse the cognizance soul that remained within it, turning the dead man into a revenant. The result was similar to a Zhenlong pawn—Taxian-jun would obey Shi Mei's orders while retaining his original consciousness.
There were, however, several outcomes that Shi Mei had not foreseen. Perhaps he had made a mistake somewhere, or perhaps Mo Ran had suffered too much trauma while alive, or perhaps the unnatural modifications to Mo Ran's body—first in life, then death—had caused some irreversible damage. At any rate, the revenant Taxian-jun's memories of Shi Mei were hopelessly confused. He'd think Shi Mei was alive in one moment and dead in the next. Sometimes, he'd forget who Shi Mei was entirely. Even though Taxian-jun was presently staring Hua Binan in the face, he didn't recognize this person before him as the man whose memory he'd long cherished. He only saw him as his master, whose orders he often ignored.
"You're impossible to deal with." Shi Mei walked up to Taxian-jun and prodded him in the forehead. "Scatter Soul!" he commanded.
Taxian-jun stiffened. His sharp gaze went slack, his pupils losing focus.
"You're a puppet I made, but you're getting more and more defiant, always talking back to me and trying to undermine me." Shi Mei patted Taxian-jun's ice-cold cheek. "It's fine, I don't blame you. You're a mere scrap of a person, after all."
Taxian-jun stared straight ahead in uncomprehending silence.
"Try to bear with it a little longer," Shi Mei advised. "Once I get my hands on the item we talked about, I'll refine it for you. Then you'll behave."
Yet just as he said this, his control over Taxian-jun again began to fray. Shi Mei's face turned somber as he saw how quickly Taxian-jun was recovering. In no time at all, Taxian-jun's eyes were once more bright and focused. If anything, they were even colder and more determined than before.
Taxian-jun turned that oppressively cold gaze on Shi Mei. He squinted slightly and wrinkled his nose, like a panther peering at its meal. "Hm? Why haven't you fucked off yet?" His slender fingers closed around Bugui's hilt. "Do you want to become one of this venerable one's sword practice dummies?"
Shi Mei didn't bother answering. Taxian-jun was too pigheaded; even as his so-called master, Shi Mingjing knew the rope around his neck would have no effect no matter how hard he yanked it. If this lord of darkness truly gave his wildest impulses their heads, the outcome would be frightful.
In the end, Shi Mei had little choice but to leave. As the door closed behind him, Taxian-jun stared at Chu Wanning on the bed. His expression was subtly strange, as though he was trying with all his might to hold back, yet was overcome by a longing he couldn't suppress.
He sat down and reached for Chu Wanning, grabbing him by the waist.
"I…" His voice faltered. He didn't know how to continue, so he pressed his lips together and changed tack. "You…"
Chu Wanning looked back at him steadily, but even after more than a moment, Taxian-jun didn't finish that thought. He blinked several times, his eyes swimming with undisguised bitterness. "Ahem. This venerable one has something important to tell you."
"Go on."
Taxian-jun hesitated again, then backpedaled. "Actually, it's not that important. No need to say it."
Met with silence, Taxian-jun spoke up again in an even more decisive manner. "It doesn't matter whether or not it's important. If you want to hear it so badly, this venerable one will tell you."
This left Chu Wanning at a loss for words.
"This venerable one wants to say…" Taxian-jun took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "This venerable one wants to say," he repeated stiffly, "that after all these years, it's almost like…this venerable one might have missed you somewhat…" He added hastily, "Not very much though. Just a little bit."
That handsome, bone-white face instantly clouded over with regret at having voiced such a sentiment.
Chu Wanning stared at him blankly, the souls and memories from two lifetimes bleeding together in his mind. He wasn't sure how he ought to feel about this man.
But Taxian-jun didn't leave him time to ponder. Almost distraught with impatience, he unknotted the rope from around Chu Wanning's wrists and tugged Chu Wanning toward him, bringing a broad palm to the back of Chu Wanning's head. Agitated and infatuated, he pressed a fervent kiss to his lips.
Taxian-jun's lips were cold as ice, but the flames of his passion were red-hot. In the space of this impetuous, frantic kiss, a flood of memories from a bygone life seemed to merge and overlap. Their lips once again met across two lifetimes of fickle fate. These two people—two sets of fragmented, imperfect souls—kissed and intertwined their limbs once more.
When Taxian-jun clutched him to his chest and kissed him, Chu Wanning's mind seemed to be simultaneously inundated and yet utterly empty, thoughts slipping through his fingers like water. But in the end, he could tell his eyes were wet.
Right and wrong, good and evil—none of it was clearly divided; none so easy to discern. But as he kissed this man whose body would never again be warm, Chu Wanning knew one thing: Taxian-jun wasn't lying. Mo Ran wasn't lying. He really had missed him.