Chapter 504: They Were One Person to Begin With
Outside the bamboo courtyard, dusk deepened.
Gui Junmeng raised her head, looking past the low fence and into the bamboo courtyard.
An old man stood inside the courtyard, his hair white, the aura around him settled and deep as still water.
Looking at the old man, Gui Junmeng could not help tilting her head slightly. A trace of doubt rose in her clear eyes.
Was this Xiao Mo?
Clearly not.
In her imagination, Xiao Mo should have been roughly the same age as her. How could he possibly be a white-haired old man?
But why would this person appear in Xiao Mo’s courtyard?
Moreover, from this old man, Gui Junmeng could sense an extremely dense Confucian literary fortune, so profound that no one would dare take him lightly.
In the young woman’s view, this old man’s realm might even be higher than her master’s.
The old man was standing in the courtyard reading. Gui Junmeng’s gaze swept across the cover of the book by chance, and she vaguely caught sight of a few characters, confirming that it was a Daoist classic.
A moment later, the old man slowly put down the Daoist classic in his hand, turned around, and looked calmly toward Daoist Yunxi and her disciple standing outside the courtyard.
Daoist Yunxi stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Headmaster.”
Gui Junmeng was faintly startled when she heard that. So the old man before them was actually the headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy.
“Junmeng greets you, Senior.”
The young woman stood beside her master and dipped in a proper, graceful salute.
“You two have come from afar, yet this old man failed to welcome you properly. I hope you will forgive me.” Cun Caiguang, the headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy, looked at the two of them with a smile. His tone was easygoing and warm.
“Headmaster, you are too courteous.” Daoist Yunxi shook her head, her expression modest. “We were the ones who came uninvited and failed to inform you in advance. It was we who lacked courtesy. We only hope you will not take offense.”
“Heh heh heh... In that case, the two of us may count it even.” Cun Caiguang waved a hand. His laughter was bright, and there was indeed not the slightest stiff formality in his words. Instead, they carried a sense of familiarity.
“Speaking of which,” Daoist Yunxi said, looking around with some curiosity in her eyes, “why are you here, Headmaster? May I ask where Fellow Daoist Xiao Mo is now?”
“Oh, you mean that little fellow Xiao Mo.” Cun Caiguang stroked his beard and smiled. “He just escorted someone back to her courtyard. Since he was not here, I took the chance to secretly borrow his courtyard for a while, so that I could receive the two of you.”
Cun Caiguang smoothed his beard. His warm gaze fell on the young woman beside Daoist Yunxi.
“This must be Miss Gui.” He smiled faintly and raised a hand, pointing toward a winding path beside the bamboo courtyard that led upward. “If you wish to see Xiao Mo, Miss, simply follow this path up the mountain. He is only seeing someone back to her courtyard. It should not take long before he comes down from the mountain.”
When Gui Junmeng heard that, she turned her head slightly and glanced at her master.
Daoist Yunxi nodded gently, her tone warm. “Go on.”
“Yes, Master. Thank you, Senior Cun.”
Gui Junmeng saluted her master and the headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy in turn. Then she turned around and walked slowly up the quiet path. The hem of her skirt brushed lightly over the grass by the roadside, and the dusk drew her figure thin and long.
“Daoist Yunxi, please sit as well.”
After Gui Junmeng left, Cun Caiguang withdrew his gaze and made an inviting gesture with a smile.
Yunxi did not refuse. She gently pushed open the fence gate, stepped into the courtyard, brushed the faint dust from her Daoist robe, and sat gracefully on the stone stool.
“I wonder how Fellow Daoist Fuchen is doing now?” Cun Caiguang picked up the teapot, poured a cup of tea, and slowly pushed it before Yunxi. His tone was casual and warm.
Yunxi accepted the teacup with both hands and held it in her palms. “Thank you for your concern, Headmaster. My senior sister is doing very well now. She has already returned to the ancestral land of the Vermilion Bird clan.”
“I see.” When Cun Caiguang heard that, some regret appeared in his expression. “I had been thinking I might share a drink with Fellow Daoist Fuchen. From the look of it, I will not have that chance for now.”
After speaking, he lifted his head and looked at Yunxi with a smile. Then his tone shifted.
“I imagine Daoist Yunxi also took a look around Cold Mountain City before coming to our Cold Mountain Academy. I wonder what you think of this Cold Mountain City?”
Yunxi nodded, approval in her eyes. “In Cold Mountain City, humans and demons live together in harmony. In other places throughout the demon-race world, that is truly far too rare.”
“Heh heh heh. But one small Cold Mountain City alone is far from enough.” Cun Caiguang sighed softly, his gaze deep and distant. “Only if the entire world can become like this will this demon-race world truly be counted as settled.”
As he spoke, a trace of melancholy slipped quietly across the old man’s weathered brows and eyes.
“But how difficult that matter is. Now, let alone the great war between the Human Alliance and the demon race, even demons are fighting demons. Everyone wants to become the overlord of the entire demon-race world.”
Daoist Yunxi remained silent.
Silence was already agreement.
“Forget it, forget it. Let us not speak of these things.” Cun Caiguang waved a hand, lightly turning the subject. His gaze fell on Yunxi’s face. “Daoist Yunxi, did you come today to take Xiao Mo away?”
“Yes.” Daoist Yunxi nodded, her expression candid. “Senior Gui arranged a marriage for his granddaughter. Now that the children have grown up, it is time for them to become dao companions.”
“But what if Xiao Mo is unwilling to leave with you?”
Cun Caiguang asked with interest, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.
“I heard from Xian Xichun that the young lady of the Tushan family has already fallen in love with him. And Xiao Mo seems to have similar feelings for that Young Lady Tushan as well.”
“Furthermore, though I do not know much about Xiao Mo and have not even exchanged many words with him, I do know his temperament. If he does not want to leave with you, then even tying him up and carrying him away will be useless.”
“We Daoists value following the heart.” Daoist Yunxi’s tone was peaceful, yet it carried an unquestionable firmness. “If Xiao Mo is unwilling, then so be it. Only...”
She paused slightly, as though considering her words.
“If Xiao Mo continues following Tushan Jingci, I fear misfortune will outweigh fortune. And if Xiao Mo truly cares about Tushan Jingci, then he must also leave with us. Xiao Mo has no extra choice...”
“Ah...” Cun Caiguang shook his head, his tone carrying a measure of helplessness and a measure of emotion. “Why must two sisters compete for the same man...?”
“Headmaster, that is where you are mistaken. Xiao Mo leaving with us is for Junmeng’s sake, and also for Jingci’s.”
Daoist Yunxi shook her head gently. Her expression was calm, and she smiled faintly.
“They are not sisters.”
Her voice was not heavy, yet every word was clear.
“They were one person to begin with.”