Chapter 477: Then How Come I Can’t Tell?
Listening to the Grand Elder’s words, Tushan Xinhua frowned, her lips pressed into a tight line.
“Xinhua...”
Grand Elder Tushan Meng let out a long, earnest sigh.
“I know Gui Ning cast the calculation for his granddaughter. I also know that the human child named Xiao Mo touched Jingci, and that in the future, he is very likely to become a major love tribulation in Jingci’s life.”
“But something like fate—is that really the sort of thing that can be decided entirely by a single divination? Isn’t the immortal path something each person has to walk for themselves?”
Tushan Xinhua lifted her head, wanting to speak, but Tushan Meng waved a hand and cut her off directly.
“I know what you want to say. Great Dream of Yellow Millet was passed down to our Tushan fox clan in antiquity by that benefactor. Without that benefactor, our Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan would probably have vanished long ago, just like all those other ancient beast lineages.”
“Our ancestors said back then that if any person or demon learned Great Dream of Yellow Millet, that individual would forever be an honored guest of the Tushan fox clan, and we would marry the finest girl in the clan to him.”
“But Jingci is simply too special to our Tushan fox clan. She is the hope of our Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan—indeed, the hope of the entire fox clan throughout the demon-race world.”
“If that Xiao Mo were a demon, that would be one thing. But he is human.”
“Don’t forget this: after we lost the second war against the Ten Thousand Arts world, the humans here in the demon-race world have already begun to grow restless. Our Tushan line must suppress the humans. More than that—we must seize the position of supreme ruler over the entire demon-race world in one stroke.”
“Everything Grand Elder says is true. Grand Elder has worn yourself out for the fox clan of our whole world, and I have no right to say otherwise, but—”
Tushan Xinhua lifted her head and looked straight into the other woman’s eyes.
“Xiao Mo is Jingci’s friend. Before this, he even risked his life to save Jingci once! I cannot do something so ungrateful as to repay kindness with harm, nor can I tolerate others hurting Xiao Mo!”
“Cannot tolerate it? Hahahaha...”
Tushan Meng laughed.
“Xinhua. I raised you from childhood. You are my disciple, yes, but even more than that, you are like a daughter to me. Do you think I don’t know your nature?”
“Are you truly satisfied with this human boy? Is it really that you do not wish to harm him? Or are you worried that if he is harmed, and Jingci learns of it, she will resent him for the rest of her life?”
Tushan Xinhua: “...”
“After all these years, you are still just as indecisive as ever.”
Tushan Meng turned away and waved a hand.
“That’s enough. Go on back. I will handle this matter myself.”
“Don’t worry. That Xiao Mo will not die for the time being. He still has some use left in him.”
“And when Jingci grows up—if she truly does fall for this human—”
“Then before Xiao Mo dies, I will make him the highest stepping stone beneath Jingci’s feet.”
...
After Cold Mountain Academy’s holiday ended, it was the first day of lessons again.
Tushan Jingci trudged off to the Elementary Learning Hall in low spirits.
It was the first time she had felt time pass so quickly.
She had not expected five whole days to be gone in the blink of an eye.
Happy times were just too short.
But no matter how unwilling Tushan Jingci was, she still had to attend class properly.
As usual, Xiao Mo stood outside the hall and listened from beyond the door.
Only this time, Wang Zhong and the other four book boys were gone.
After what had happened outside the pill room, all of them had been expelled from Cold Mountain Academy. In their place stood four unfamiliar new faces.
During the break between classes, Lou Huo and the others also came to apologize to Tushan Jingci.
And just as she had done before with Chen Jue, Tushan Jingci said, “If Xiao Mo accepts your apology, then I’ll forgive you.”
The three boys glanced at the human standing outside the hall and felt utterly miserable.
Like Chen Jue, they all felt that apologizing to a human was a humiliation beyond bearing.
But when they thought of the messages their elders had sent them, they had no choice. So, when there was no one around, they privately apologized to Xiao Mo.
Xiao Mo accepted their apology.
Though he did not have a good impression of these young masters from demon noble houses, as far as that earlier incident was concerned, they really had been dragged into it through no fault of their own.
They probably had never imagined their own book boys would be misled into joining the attack on Xiao Mo.
As for the gifts they had sent, Xiao Mo kept none of them.
He planned to exchange all of them for spirit stones and give the money to the girl named Liu Shui.
After all, Liu Shui was the one who had truly been innocent. Because of him, she had been put in danger.
Fortunately, it had all ended without disaster.
So Xiao Mo felt that the people who really owed an apology were not him, but Liu Shui.
But how could that possibly happen?
The reason they were apologizing to him at all was because of the power of the Tushan clan, because of Jingci’s status, because he was Jingci’s trusted attendant.
If they were asked to apologize to an ordinary human instead, forget these demon youths—even their fathers probably would not agree.
When Tushan Jingci heard that Xiao Mo intended to sell the apology gifts and give the money to Liu Shui, she had no objection.
And just near Cold Mountain Academy, there happened to be a town where all kinds of heavenly materials and earthly treasures could be sold.
The town was called Cold Mountain City, a force subordinate to Cold Mountain Academy.
Inside Cold Mountain City were inns and marketplaces for mortals, as well as many places where cultivators gathered.
For example, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion there was the largest cultivator trading house in the surrounding region.
Ordinary cultivators could buy the heavenly materials and earthly treasures they needed there.
There were also cultivators who sold treasures they had obtained through “fortuitous chance,” or magical beast cores, and the like.
But merchants were crafty. Tushan Jingci was afraid Xiao Mo might get cheated by unreasonable grown-ups, so she called Sister Yueshi to go with him.
When they arrived at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, Xiao Mo sold everything and received a total of five hundred high-grade spirit stones.
Spirit stones were divided by quality into three grades: low, medium, and high.
And the so-called “stone” was a standardized size set by the cultivation world.
That size could vary slightly within an accepted margin, but not by too much.
The exchange rate between each grade was one to one hundred.
For example, one high-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred medium-grade spirit stones, or ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.
At Cold Mountain Academy, an ordinary teacher—someone like Master Xian, for example—earned a monthly stipend of twenty high-grade spirit stones.
Of course, that was only the most basic salary.
Anything Master Xian earned by carrying out academy assignments or going out in search of opportunities was counted separately.
Even so, five hundred high-grade spirit stones was still a considerable amount of wealth.
On the way back to Cold Mountain Academy, Xiao Mo kept wondering whether he ought to hand over that enormous sum to Liu Shui.
After all, if an ordinary girl possessed that kind of wealth and anyone found out, it would absolutely bring murderous disaster upon her.
In the afternoon, Xiao Mo and Tushan Jingci returned to their courtyard.
At the little gate in the fence, they saw a young girl standing there with a basket in hand, looking anxiously toward the entrance.
The moment she saw Xiao Mo return, Liu Shui’s eyes lit up at once. She hurried forward and bowed.
“This humble girl, Liu Shui, greets Young Lady Tushan and Young Master Xiao. My thanks to Young Lady Tushan and Young Master Xiao for saving me the other day.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Sister Liu. Xiao Mo was the one who saved you. It really didn’t have much to do with me,” Tushan Jingci said with a smile.
“That may be true, but if Young Lady Tushan hadn’t arrived in time afterward, what happened that day might not have ended so well. Both you and Young Master Xiao are my lifesavers.”
Liu Shui spoke with deep gratitude.
Even now, when she thought back on what had happened a few days earlier, fear still lingered in her heart.
“It’s really nothing, Sister Liu Shui. Besides, all of it was Chen Jue and the others’ fault.” Tushan Jingci stepped forward and helped up the girl, who was five years older than herself.
Looking at the exquisitely pretty little girl before her, Liu Shui gently wiped at the tears at the corners of her eyes, then uncovered the cloth laid over the basket.
“I actually wanted to come visit Young Lady Tushan and Young Master Xiao as soon as possible, but I had to ask around for quite some time before I learned your identities and where you lived.”
“And inside here are some jujube cakes my mother and I made. They’re nothing valuable.”
“And in this little pouch is a small token of thanks from our family.”
As she spoke, Liu Shui’s cheeks flushed faintly.
She was not merely being polite. She truly felt these things were too humble to present.
Even if the little fragrance pouch contained more than half her family’s savings, it was nothing at all to a young lady from a great house like this...
But other than these things, her family had nothing else they could offer.
Tushan Jingci exchanged a glance with Xiao Mo. Xiao Mo gave a slight nod, and only then did Tushan Jingci accept the basket.
But she handed the money pouch back, saying sweetly, “Sister Liu Shui, I really like these jujube cakes, so I’ll happily accept them. But you should take back the silver in this pouch.”
“But, Young Lady Tushan—”
“All right, it’s settled then. I’m going to take my afternoon nap. Xiao Mo, you have to receive Sister Liu Shui properly for me.”
Liu Shui still wanted to say something, but Tushan Jingci had already lifted her little skirted legs and run into the courtyard.
Watching the little girl’s slender figure disappear, Liu Shui pressed her lips together and said from the bottom of her heart,
“Young Lady Tushan really is different...”
“Our young lady really is a little different.” Xiao Mo smiled, then drew a spirit-stone pouch from his robe. “This is for Sister Liu.”
“Young Master Xiao, what is this?” Liu Shui asked in confusion.
“These are the apology gifts from the masters of those book boys before. I exchanged them for five hundred high-grade spirit stones. Sister Liu is the true victim here, so these spirit stones should belong to you.”
“Huh? F-five... five hundred?”
Liu Shui froze for a moment, then nearly jumped in fright and hurried back, waving her hands over and over.
“No, Young Master Xiao, I can’t. If you hadn’t stepped in to save me, I would most likely have died. How could I possibly accept so many spirit stones? Absolutely not.”
“The reasons behind it are a little difficult to explain, but what happened that day... Sister Liu truly was innocent. All I can say is that it was because of me that Sister Liu ran into danger.”
Xiao Mo explained simply.
“But it would be best if you hid this pouch and told no one about it. If you ever truly need money, then take out one high-grade spirit stone at a time and exchange it for low-grade spirit stones at the Myriad Treasures Pavilion. That should not cause too much trouble.”
Liu Shui looked at the spirit-stone pouch in Xiao Mo’s hand and still shook her head.
“I... I may not understand the reason, and I may not understand what you mean, Young Master, but it is a fact that you saved my life. So I truly cannot take it.”
“But even so, you should still receive a share of the compensation.”
Xiao Mo smiled faintly, then deliberately made the consequences sound a little more serious.
“If Sister Liu refuses absolutely everything, then I’ll feel somewhat uneasy in my heart. My thoughts may not flow smoothly, and it could affect my cultivation.”
“This...”
Liu Shui nervously twisted her fingers together.
But very soon, it was as if she thought of something. Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Young Master Xiao... I still can’t accept the spirit stones. But what if we do this instead? Could you give me a cultivation manual?”
“A cultivation manual?” Xiao Mo blinked in surprise.
“Yes.”
Liu Shui nodded seriously.
“I don’t know whether I’m able to cultivate or not, but I want to try. If I can cultivate, then maybe in the future, when people bully me, I’ll be able to run away. And maybe I’ll be able to protect my mother too. After all, it’s not as though I’ll always be lucky enough to meet a good person like you, Young Master Xiao.”
Listening to Liu Shui’s thoughts, Xiao Mo pondered for a moment, then agreed.
“That works too. How about this—come back here tomorrow evening, Sister Liu, and I’ll test your spirit root. What do you think?”
“Mhm!” Liu Shui happily dipped into another bow. “Thank you very much, Young Master Xiao! Then I won’t disturb you any longer.”
“Take care on your way back, Sister Liu.” Xiao Mo returned the bow with a formal salute.
After watching Liu Shui leave, Xiao Mo returned to the courtyard.
Tushan Jingci happily hopped out of her room and patted Xiao Mo on the shoulder.
“Xiao Mo, Sister Liu has left?”
“Yes, she’s gone.” Xiao Mo nodded. “But she didn’t accept the spirit stones. She said she wants to cultivate instead, so tomorrow I plan to make another trip into town and buy a spirit-root testing stone and a few cultivation manuals for her.”
“Good!” Tushan Jingci said happily. “I’ll go with you. And you can also let Sister Liu come here often. Sister Yueshi can teach her how to cultivate, and then Sister Liu can play with us too.”
Looking at the light, cheerful expression on the little girl’s face, Xiao Mo smiled and nodded.
“All right. Tomorrow I’ll go tell Sister Liu.”
How could Xiao Mo not understand?
The reason Jingci wanted Liu Shui to come to the courtyard often was not just that she wanted someone else to play with, and not just so Yueshi could teach her cultivation.
It was also a way of protecting her.
At the very least, it would make other people think Liu Shui had a decent relationship with the Tushan clan.
And then others would not dare lay hands on her recklessly.
Though Jingci usually looked innocent to the point of naivety, in truth, her mind was extremely delicate.
“Jingci, thank you. You really are a very good person.”
Looking at Tushan Jingci’s bright, guileless expression, Xiao Mo could not help saying it aloud.
“Xiao Mo, I’m not a good person.” Tushan Jingci puffed out her cheeks, raised her little hands like claws, and tried to look fierce—though the result was only adorably ferocious. “I’m very scary, you know.”
“Really?” Xiao Mo smiled. “Then how come I can’t tell?”
“Xiao Mo, you dummy.”
In the light of the setting sun, Tushan Jingci rose onto her tiptoes, leaned forward, and flicked him on the forehead with one small finger, her eyes curved into crescents.
“That’s because it’s only for you.”