We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 478: You Have to Tell Me First

The day after classes resumed, Xiao Mo and Tushan Jingci went to Hanshan City and bought a spirit root testing stone then on the advice of the proprietor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, they purchased a number of cultivation manuals suitable for human cultivators.

The proprietor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion praised these manuals to high heaven, and the prices were not low either but since the Young Miss of the Tushan clan had personally come to make the purchase, they did not dare try to take the Young Miss for a fool.

In all fairness, while these cultivation manuals did have a certain markup, they were each a complete and intact set, and the quality was genuinely not poor. However, cultivating all the way to the Nascent Soul realm using these methods would be quite difficult.

After all, the Nascent Soul realm was referred to as an "Earthly Immortal," a level of cultivation sufficient to found one's own sect.

Even among cultivators, many did not know of the Upper Three Realms' existence, and believed the Nascent Soul realm to be the very pinnacle of cultivation.

So a cultivation method capable of taking one to the founding-ancestor level was essentially never found in ordinary markets.

Unless someone had utterly extraordinary fortune, and purchased what appeared to be a mundane piece of cowhide or tortoise shell, or some ordinary-looking bone, only to discover inside it a peerless cultivation method leading straight to the great Dao.

Not long after Xiao Mo and Tushan Jingci returned to their courtyard from the town, Liu Shui, who had finished drying the medicinal herbs at the pill chamber, came again.

Xiao Mo brought out the spirit root testing stone and tested her spiritual root.

As long as she cultivated diligently, reaching the Golden Core realm in the future should pose no significant problem.

Going further beyond that would require greater opportunities and cultivation methods of a higher level.

Xiao Mo gave Liu Shui the cultivation manuals he had bought.

Liu Shui's reading ability was limited, and when it came to the early stages of cultivation, she was completely lost but Tushan Jingci said Liu Shui was welcome to come by at any time.

If she had any questions about her cultivation, both Xiao Mo and Yueshi would be there to answer them.

Yueshi was actually not particularly willing to teach a human girl but since the Young Miss had given the instruction, Yueshi did not dare disobey and in Xiao Mo's view, with Yueshi's regular guidance, Liu Shui's cultivation would progress considerably faster.

Because Yueshi herself had originally been nothing more than an ordinary cat demon, with no bloodline inheritance to rely on.

She had cultivated entirely through her own effort, step by step, eventually reverting sixty percent of the Huan bloodline and reaching the Golden Core realm.

Her hard-won experience was just as valuable to a human cultivator.

Day after day, time passed.

After the incident with Wang Zhong was concluded, every book attendant who encountered Xiao Mo, no matter how much contempt they felt inwardly, did not dare show it. Not to mention that none of them would ever try to provoke him.

And Xiao Mo continued to accompany Tushan Jingci to class each day, then cultivate on his own after.

Liu Shui came by every day or two, bringing jujube cakes for Tushan Jingci, and also helping with household chores around the courtyard, sweeping and cleaning.

Whenever Liu Shui asked Yueshi about matters of cultivation, Yueshi, though she appeared reluctant on the surface, was in practice especially earnest when she actually sat down to teach.

Two months passed, and Liu Shui successfully entered the first layer of Qi Refinement.

From that point on, Liu Shui had also set foot on the path of cultivation.

As for Tushan Jingci, besides attending classes each day, she spent her time going out with her close friends from the study hall. And every time she went out, she would bring Xiao Mo along without fail.

Though in truth, Xiao Mo was not particularly enthusiastic about attending these young ladies' tea gatherings.

Because the Young Miss's close friends all had female demon book attendants of their own.

So in a crowd of young demon girls, Xiao Mo was the only male standing there, while the other young demon girls would steal glances at him from time to time. It made him feel genuinely a little awkward but over time, Xiao Mo simply got used to it.

Two years. Three years. Four years.

Before they knew it, five more years had passed since they arrived at the Hanshan Academy.

The Tushan Jingci who had once been barely as tall as the stone table in the courtyard had, by the time she reached the age of a hairpin girl, gradually grown tall and slender as a willow branch unfurling in spring.

Especially in terms of height.

Tushan Jingci had perfectly inherited her mother's long legs and the age of the hairpin was the stage at which girls grew the fastest.

So Tushan Jingci's height changed almost month by month.

The thing Tushan Jingci loved most of all was comparing her height with Xiao Mo.

At first, Tushan Jingci had been a full head shorter than Xiao Mo but later, she grew to match his height exactly.

Then gradually, Tushan Jingci grew to half a head taller than Xiao Mo. Then a full head taller.

This made Tushan Jingci extremely proud.

Every time she saw Xiao Mo, Tushan Jingci would hold her head high and look down at him from her height with a smug, smiling expression.

One day, Xiao Mo woke and sat cultivating in the courtyard as usual.

When the sun was well up in the sky, Tushan Jingci came jumping happily out of her room, ran to Xiao Mo's side, and blinked at him with big, bright eyes.

Catching the faint, familiar fragrance nearby, Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes, his lips curving upward. "Has the Young Miss thought of something again?"

As Tushan Jingci grew older, Xiao Mo had found that she came up with more and more unusual and imaginative ideas.

And whenever Jingci had an idea but found him sitting with his eyes closed in meditation, she would always look at him steadily like this.

Because she did not want to disturb his cultivation, yet also wanted to tell him the moment she had the chance. So she would sit patiently nearby and wait.

"Xiao Mo, Xiao Mo, listen to me." Tushan Jingci looked at Xiao Mo with a cheerful light in her eyes. "From now on, you do not have to call me 'Young Miss' anymore."

"Not Young Miss? Then what shall I call you?" Xiao Mo asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Elder Sister, of course." Tushan Jingci's eyes curved into warm crescents.

"???" A row of question marks formed in Xiao Mo's mind.

"Look, look." Tushan Jingci measured the top of Xiao Mo's head, then measured her own. "Tell me, am I taller than you?"

"You are." Xiao Mo gave a nod.

"You see, since I am taller, does that not mean you should call me Elder Sister?" Tushan Jingci said in a completely matter-of-fact tone.

Xiao Mo paused for a moment, then smiled. "But Young Miss, I am a full month older than you."

"So what?"

Tushan Jingci put both hands on her slender waist and puffed her cheeks.

"Elder sisters are always taller than younger brothers. Since I am taller than you, I am your elder sister. Age has nothing to do with it. Quickly, let me hear you call me Elder Sister."

Xiao Mo said nothing.

"Are you going to call me or not?" Seeing Xiao Mo's silence, Tushan Jingci became a little displeased.

"No." Xiao Mo shook his head.

"Will you call me or not!" Tushan Jingci pretended to be angry.

"No." Xiao Mo felt he had to hold his ground.

"Xiao Mo, I am going to be angry." Tushan Jingci's small lips jutted out to an impressive degree.

"Being angry will not change anything."

"Xiao Mo... just call me Elder Sister once, just once... please?"

By the end of it, Tushan Jingci was clinging to Xiao Mo's arm and coaxing him with all her charm, the corners of her eyes misting faintly with a trace of moisture, making Xiao Mo feel as though he had committed some terrible, unforgivable wrong.

All one could say was that the fox clan truly lived up to their reputation, and especially the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. Even at only the hairpin age, her every word and gesture was a soft blade that cut right to the bone.

"Fine. Just once." Xiao Mo let out a sigh, his heart softening despite himself.

"Just once is fine. Call me and let me hear it. If you end up taller than me one day, I will call you Elder Brother in return." Seeing Xiao Mo give in, Tushan Jingci's eyes immediately danced with sunlight.

"El..." Xiao Mo suppressed the embarrassment rising within him and called out softly, "Elder Sister..."

Hearing Xiao Mo's voice, Tushan Jingci first froze, then immediately pretended to say, "I did not quite hear that, Xiao Mo. Say it one more time."

"Elder Sister!" Xiao Mo said it a little louder.

"I still did not quite hear it. A little louder, Xiao Mo!" Tushan Jingci blinked her eyes with an innocent, wide-eyed expression.

"Young Miss has gone too far." Xiao Mo closed his eyes.

"Heh heh heh. Good little brother, good little brother..."

Having gotten what she wanted, Tushan Jingci's eyes curved happily as she reached out and ruffled Xiao Mo's head.

"Can the little brother call Elder Sister once every day from now on?" Tushan Jingci pressed her advantage shamelessly.

"No." Xiao Mo refused without hesitation.

"Hmm? Why not? Just once a day, only once... please?"

Tushan Jingci continued coaxing, her voice drifting sweetly through the courtyard.

The young man pointedly paid her no attention.

In the blink of an eye, two more springs and autumns had passed.

The girl was now in her early-blossom years.

The willow branch that had once been just beginning to grow had started slowly putting forth new leaves.

Tushan Jingci had also graduated from Qianxue Peak and moved up to Yunxiao Peak.

The teacher was still that same Teacher Xian Xichun.

Only Teacher Xian was no longer teaching the introductory foundational lessons of before. Now he formally and systematically taught them Confucian scholarship in the true sense.

And Xiao Mo had noticed that this Teacher Xian, when giving his lessons, would often slip in certain things of his own, subtly guiding the students toward thinking about "demon and demon," "demon and human," and "the Demon Realm and the Ten Thousand Laws Realm."

Sometimes Teacher Xian would also tell them folk stories he had heard.

Some about loyalty and righteousness, others about love.

Some from the Demon Realm, others from the Ten Thousand Laws Realm.

"Today, your teacher will tell you a story about humans and demons."

On one particular day, at the end of class, Teacher Xian looked at the students with a smile.

"The story takes place right here in our Demon Realm."

"Once upon a time, long, long ago, though for those of you with such long lifespans, it may not count as so very long at all. Let us say it was about a thousand years ago."

"A thousand years ago, there was a little demon in the Demon Realm. What shall we call this little demon? Let us call him Xiao Feng."

"This little demon had reasonably good natural gifts, a fairly good bloodline, and came from a notable and well-established family. He was well-supplied with cultivation resources. In short, from the moment he was born, people believed he would reach the Upper Three Realms."

"As time passed, this little demon grew up. He always felt himself unrivaled under heaven, and went around challenging anyone he could find to a match."

"Later he grew bored of challenging people and simply left his family to go out and make his own way in the world. He became a bounty hunter. Others paid him, he killed, but he would only take on strong opponents."

"And it has to be said, Xiao Feng never once lost."

"Until one day... Xiao Feng encountered someone."

Teacher Xian folded his sleeves and continued.

"It was a rainy night. Xiao Feng was walking at the foot of a mountain and came to a small wine shop, intending to rest a while and drink a cup of wine to warm himself."

"And just as Xiao Feng was drinking with great pleasure, a young woman walked into the wine shop."

"This human woman had short, shoulder-length hair, wore a sword-skirt, and carried a black sword in her hand."

"But when Xiao Feng looked more carefully, was this not the very person he had been hired to kill?"

"And what Xiao Feng did not know was that he himself had been put under a bounty as well. This woman had come to kill him."

"And so the two of them fought."

"But neither could gain the upper hand over the other. They were evenly matched."

"In the days that followed, the two tracked each other, and frequently came to blows."

"Eventually, Xiao Feng proposed that since neither could overcome the other, they might as well take on other bounties together first. They would travel the same road, and either could attack the other at any time along the way. Who lived or died was up to fate."

"The woman agreed."

"And so from that day on, the two traveled together, hunting demons side by side, hunting humans side by side, and also scheming against each other at every turn. But gradually, feelings for each other quietly took root in both their hearts."

"Thirty years later, Xiao Feng received a letter from his family, summoning him back to marry a woman he did not care for, with the expectation that he would one day succeed as the family head."

"But how could Xiao Feng agree to that? So he cut ties with his family and intended to fly far away with the one he loved."

"His father, who was the family head, heard that his son had fallen for a human woman, and flew into a rage. He sent people to hunt them down."

"They evaded chase after chase, but in the end, they could not escape the family's all-encompassing net."

"The woman was captured. Xiao Feng's father said that as long as Xiao Feng came home and went through with the marriage, he would let the woman go."

As he spoke, Xian Xichun's words paused for a moment, and a flash of distant memory crossed his eyes.

"Teacher, what happened next? Did Xiao Feng agree?"

"Did Xiao Feng really marry someone he did not love?"

"Of course he did. How could a demon be with a human?"

"I think so too. We demons must have our own pride."

The girls in the study hall were clamoring to hear the end of the story and quite a few of the young men felt that Xiao Feng the demon should never have pursued a human woman in the first place but just at that moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang out, echoing through the mountains.

Xian Xichun rolled up his teaching scroll, smiled faintly, and said, "The story ends there for today. Your teacher never goes overtime. Class dismissed."

"But...!"

"Teacher, please finish!"

"Teacher, how can you do this?"

Listening to the students' complaints, Teacher Xian only smiled, gave the students a bow with clasped hands, picked up his books, and walked out of the classroom.

After class, on the way back to the courtyard,

Tushan Jingci walked with her head lowered, turning over the story Teacher had told them today.

"Xiao Mo, what do you think the ending of today's story would be? Would Xiao Feng and that woman end up together? Would they have a good ending?" Tushan Jingci raised her head and asked.

"Well... they probably would not..." Xiao Mo had just started to answer, then turned his head and caught Tushan Jingci's hopeful, expectant eyes.

"Xiao Feng and his beloved would probably be all right. He likely did not agree to his family's marriage. I think Xiao Feng ended up saving his sweetheart, and they ran away together to a new life." Xiao Mo offered a happy ending.

"Right, right! That is what I think too."

Hearing Xiao Mo's answer, Tushan Jingci's slightly subdued expression lifted at once into brightness.

"People who truly love each other should be able to end up together! If I ever fall in love with someone in the future, no one who tries to stop me will succeed!"

"Then what kind of person would the Young Miss like?" Xiao Mo asked with a smile.

"What kind of person would I like... hmm." Tushan Jingci thought about it seriously, then shook her head. "I honestly do not know what kind of person I would fall for."

"But."

The young girl walking ahead suddenly turned around, both hands clasped behind her back.

The mountain wind chose that precise moment to blow past, lifting and settling her skirt hem gently, her hair brushing across her cheeks, dyed to a soft, warm gold by the light of the setting sun.

"If someday I do fall in love with someone... I will definitely tell you first."

The wind stirred the tips of her hair, and she tilted her head to one side, looking over at him.

"But you also have to promise me. If you ever fall in love with someone, you have to tell me first too."

"All right?"