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

Chapter 482: Mother, I Do Not Wish to Marry Any of Them

"Elder Brother Xiao."

"Is Elder Brother Xiao there?"

"Elder Brother Xiao."

Early the following morning, a young woman's voice rang out from outside the bamboo courtyard.

Xiao Mo stepped out of his room to find Liu Shui standing outside the courtyard gate, a basket in hand.

"Elder Sister Liu Shui, what brings you here?" Xiao Mo said with a smile, stepping forward to open the bamboo gate. "Please come in, Elder Sister Liu Shui."

"Mm."

Liu Shui walked into the courtyard and looked around with curious eyes.

"I came by the Young Miss of Mount Tu's courtyard this morning to drop off some pastries, but found that you were not there. Elder Sister Yueshi told me you had moved to the bamboo courtyard at the foot of the mountain."

"Elder Sister Yueshi gave me directions, but it still took me quite a while to find the place."

Liu Shui looked around in all directions, a pleased light flickering in her eyes.

"I never would have imagined there was a courtyard like this hidden away inside the bamboo grove."

"And it is so lovely here. Did you arrange it all yourself, sir?"

"Not at all." Xiao Mo smiled and poured a cup of tea for Liu Shui. "The courtyard was already like this when I moved in. I only swept it up a little. Please have some tea, Elder Sister Liu Shui."

"Many thanks, sir." Liu Shui gave a small bow and accepted the cup. "But with no one here to look after you, sir, living alone like this, will that not be rather difficult?"

"Ha, it is fine enough." Xiao Mo smiled. "Living here on my own, there may be no one around, but there is a certain peace and quiet to it. It suits me well for focused cultivation."

"That will not do." Liu Shui shook her head and looked at Xiao Mo earnestly. "Even if you are cultivating on your own, there ought to be someone to wash your clothes, prepare your meals, and keep the courtyard clean."

As she spoke, she lifted her head and looked directly into Xiao Mo's eyes, her manner serious. "Sir, what about this, if you do not mind, I could come here every day and clean the courtyard for you."

"That would be far too much trouble for you, Elder Sister Liu Shui." Xiao Mo shook his head. "And I have long since entered bigu. I have no need to eat."

"That will not do either." Liu Shui held firm. "Even in bigu, one still ought to eat some flesh of spirit beasts or demon beasts each day, to replenish one's spiritual energy and vitality."

"Then it is settled. I will come every day to cook and clean for you, sir." Liu Shui gave a small bow, her manner composed and gentle. "I have a few things to see to first, so I will take my leave now and come back at midday."

With that, Liu Shui immediately turned and left, as though afraid Xiao Mo might refuse.

"Elder Sister Liu Shui."

Xiao Mo called after her, but Liu Shui had already disappeared into the bamboo grove.

"Well then... so be it."

Xiao Mo shook his head.

He truly did need to eat some spirit beast or demon beast flesh to replenish his spiritual energy.

Elder Sister Liu Shui was a fine cook, and she would be a real help to him.

Of course, he would not let her work for nothing.

He would naturally provide her proper compensation, and he would cover the full cost of all the ingredients himself.

Those ingredients rich in spiritual energy, he would have Liu Shui eat alongside him as well, which would also benefit her own cultivation.

Having settled on that, Xiao Mo sat cross-legged in the courtyard and continued his cultivation.

Without quite noticing it, midday arrived.

After Liu Shui had cooked a meal for her mother, she came to the bamboo courtyard right on time to prepare Xiao Mo's as well.

With one more person around, the courtyard felt a little livelier and yet, somewhere in Xiao Mo's heart, a faint sense of emptiness persisted.

In the past, Jingci would always be dragging him out noisily to go and play.

Or else Jingci would be like a little bird at his ear, chattering away endlessly.

Now that Jingci was no longer at his side, he found himself somewhat at a loss.

After lunch, as Liu Shui had nothing pressing to attend to, she simply stayed on in Xiao Mo's courtyard.

Xiao Mo had no objection to this.

The spiritual energy in the bamboo grove was abundant, and even breathing the air there would be of considerable benefit to Liu Shui.

That afternoon in the courtyard, Xiao Mo alternated between reading through the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet and leafing through various other Daoist classics.

For he had come to realize that now that his cultivation of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet had reached the middle chapter, the other Daoist classics offered him benefit as well.

The deeper his understanding of the Daoist arts, the more smoothly his cultivation of the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet proceeded.

It was very much the feeling of one insight opening the door to another and just as Xiao Mo was absorbed in his reading, Liu Shui, tidying the courtyard nearby, would glance his way from time to time, her eyes full of a soft warmth.

"Sir, please have a cup of tea."

Liu Shui poured a cup and held it out to Xiao Mo.

"Thank you, Elder Sister Liu Shui." Xiao Mo gave a nod and reached out to take it but in the moment of passing it over, Liu Shui's fingers brushed against his.

As though touched by a spark, she quickly drew her fingers back and clasped them to her chest, her eyes shifting from side to side but Xiao Mo was deep in his reading and did not notice her reaction at all.

Toward evening, after preparing Xiao Mo's dinner, Liu Shui left the bamboo courtyard and returned to the village to cook for her mother.

"Mother, I am back." Arriving home, Liu Shui called out a greeting and made her way toward the kitchen. "Mother, I will get started on the meal."

"There is no rush." Liu Shui's mother smiled at the sight of her daughter and took her small hand, patting the back of it gently. "Little Shui, there is some happy news your mother would like to share with you."

"Mother." Liu Shui felt a familiar resignation settle in her heart. "It is not another marriage prospect, is it?"

"What do you mean, 'another' marriage prospect?"

Her mother's expression turned a little put-out.

"You are already a grown woman past twenty. The other girls in the village your age, their children are old enough to run errands. Little Shui, sit down and listen to what Mother has to say." Her mother let out a sigh. "You are still young enough, and you are pretty. Plenty of people have come to make inquiries. This time it is a Young Master Huang from Hanshan City. He is a decent sort of person. The family is not especially wealthy, but there would certainly be no worry about food or clothing going forward."

"Mother, I do not wish to marry any of those people."

"Then who do you wish to marry? Do not tell me you have taken a fancy to one of the scholars at the academy."

Her mother said it idly, without much thought but at those carelessly spoken words, Liu Shui's cheeks flushed crimson in an instant.

Seeing the look on her daughter's face, her mother understood immediately what had happened.

"Daughter, you could not truly have..."

Her mother stared at her daughter in a daze.

"Daughter, those scholars at the academy all come from great and noble families. We could never hope to reach so high."

"It is not what you are thinking, Mother. It is nothing like that."

Liu Shui bit lightly at her lip.

"I will not say any more about it, Mother. I am going to make dinner."

With that, Liu Shui hurried into the kitchen.

Past the second half of the hour of hai.

The night had grown deep.

Xiao Mo felt he had cultivated enough for the day and returned to his room, intending to rest properly.

Lying on his bed, he listened to the insects outside the window and felt the gentle evening breeze of spring against his skin.

Moonlight spilled through the window's edge, clear and still as water.

Before long, Xiao Mo drifted off to sleep and as the night deepened and all fell quiet, a figure dressed in black, sword in hand, concealing their presence with a technique, slipped silently into Xiao Mo's courtyard.