Chapter 508: Fellow Daoist Xiao, Are You Willing to Come with Me?
The evening wind brushed through the bamboo grove, passed between the bamboo tips, and drifted softly through the courtyard.
Outside the fence of the bamboo courtyard, Gui Junmeng and the calico cat stared at each other for a long time.
The young woman lightly brushed her skirt aside, crouched down, took out a piece of cake from within her robes, and held it in her palm.
The calico cat seemed to understand what she meant. It walked over with light steps, its soft body swaying, and slowly came to the young woman’s feet before lowering its head to eat the piece of cake.
After it finished eating, the calico cat affectionately rubbed against her calf.
Gui Junmeng reached out and stroked its fur, from its head to its neck, then down to its fluffy tail, again and again. Her movements were gentle and meticulous.
The little stray cat narrowed its eyes, showing an expression of extreme enjoyment, and a thin purr sounded from its throat.
At the same time, inside the courtyard, Xiao Mo listened to Daoist Yunxi’s words from moments ago and sank into deep thought.
Seeing Xiao Mo frown, Daoist Yunxi continued, “If they cannot step into the Ascension Realm within a thousand years, they will not live past the age of one thousand. Fortunately, Heaven never seals off every path...”
Her gaze fell on Xiao Mo, and her tone became a little more solemn than before. “And you, Xiao Mo, are the variable between the two of them.”
“I would ask Daoist Yunxi to speak plainly.”
Xiao Mo lifted his head. His gaze was steady, and his tone carried an unprecedented seriousness.
“Your talent for dao arts is extremely high. Extremely, extremely high. And most importantly, in all these years, you are the first man able to cultivate Great Dream of Yellow Millet.”
Daoist Yunxi folded her hands together on her knees and lifted her head slightly. Her gaze pierced through the deepening night, past the stars scattered across the sky, as if she wished to see through this entire night.
“The origins of Great Dream of Yellow Millet are not as simple as you imagine. Even Senior Gui and I understand only a fraction of this cultivation method.”
“But...”
Daoist Yunxi raised her hand and lightly tucked back the strands of hair at her temple that had been stirred loose by the evening wind. Her movement was calm and elegant.
“In the later section of Great Dream of Yellow Millet, there is a recorded method of dual practice. If you can perform dual practice with Junmeng, you can complete Junmeng’s Great Dao and help her step into the Immortal Realm.”
“When that time comes, Junmeng will also truly become an independent person, no longer influenced by her ‘sister.’”
“Besides that...” Daoist Yunxi looked at Xiao Mo. “Junmeng’s innate Dao-seed constitution can also nourish you in return and assist your cultivation.”
“So if you and Junmeng become husband and wife, dao companions, it will absolutely not be a loss. From then on, the two of you will be able to ascend the Great Dao together. Whether it is the demon-race world or the Ten Thousand Arts world, you may go anywhere you wish. No one will be able to stop you.”
Xiao Mo lowered his head and fell into thought. He did not answer immediately.
A moment later, he raised his head and looked at Daoist Yunxi seriously, his gaze carrying both solemnity and inquiry. “Then may I ask Daoist Yunxi this: if I perform dual practice with Junmeng, and Junmeng’s Great Dao is completed, what will happen to Jingci?”
Hearing Xiao Mo’s question, Daoist Yunxi shook her head. A hint of desolation quietly flashed through her eyes.
But she concealed nothing, and still told the truth.
“Jingci possesses the bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, and the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan testifies to the Way through love. That word, ‘love’—how difficult it is, and how elusive.”
“For a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox to step into the Immortal Realm is not difficult. But for a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox to step into the Ascension Realm, how many in this world have ever done so?”
“If you perform dual practice with Junmeng, then Junmeng can survive.”
“But if you continue to remain by Jingci’s side, and if Jingci cannot testify to the Way through ‘love’ when the time comes...” Her voice paused slightly. “Then they... will both die.”
The night wind brushed through the bamboo tips, rustling softly, as if sighing on someone’s behalf.
“In other words, Daoist Yunxi wants me to choose Junmeng and leave Jingci to fend for herself?” Xiao Mo understood what Daoist Yunxi meant.
Daoist Yunxi closed her eyes. After a long while, she slowly opened them, turned her head, and looked at Xiao Mo. Calmly, she said, “Yes.”
“Fellow Daoist Xiao, when you were young, you saved Tushan Jingci once. Tushan Xinhua handed Great Dream of Yellow Millet to you in order to let you make a choice as well.”
“No matter what choice you make, no one will blame you.”
“But if you marry Junmeng, the two of you will certainly become an immortal couple in the future and ascend the Great Dao together.”
Daoist Yunxi quietly looked at Xiao Mo. Her gaze was gentle and calm, and there was not the slightest hint of coercion in her tone—only a frank patience as she waited.
“I have said everything I should say.”
“What do you think, Fellow Daoist Xiao? Are you willing to come with me?”
...
In the courtyard halfway up the mountain, moonlight was like water, flowing quietly over the eaves and stone steps.
Tushan Jingci lay on her bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
As she shifted restlessly, the brocade quilt was kneaded into fine wrinkles by the young woman, but her heart refused to calm.
“How is Xiao Mo doing right now...”
She murmured to herself, her voice as soft as if she were whispering a secret only to herself.
“Should I... go look for him again?”
The moment that thought appeared, she abruptly buried her face in the pillow, leaving only a pair of beautiful fox eyes rippling with emotion exposed. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
“But I only said all those things to him not long ago. It feels so humiliating...”
She rubbed her face against the pillow, hiding her burning cheeks again and again, but her heart refused to behave.
“Forget it!”
Tushan Jingci suddenly sat up and took a deep breath, as though mustering all her courage.
“I already said it anyway. If it’s embarrassing, then it’s embarrassing. I just want to see him!”
She nimbly turned over and got out of bed, draped an outer robe over herself, pushed open the door, and walked out.
However, the moment the young woman stepped into the courtyard, her footsteps abruptly stopped. Her eyes contracted sharply, and her entire body seemed to freeze in place.
“Mother... Mother...”
Looking at that familiar figure seated on the stone stool in the courtyard, Tushan Jingci cried out in surprise, recognizing at a glance who it was.
“Mm.”
Tushan Xinhua smiled and nodded. She turned slightly, and her gentle gaze fell on her daughter.
“Jingci, it has been three years...”
“Mother, why have you come?” Tushan Jingci quickly walked forward, her heart full of surprise.
As for the fact that she had not seen her mother for three years, she did not find it strange.
After all, for cultivators, three years passed like three months for mortals. It was only the blink of an eye.
But...
Every time Mother came to visit her, she would send a flying-letter message in advance to inform her.
This was the first time she had come so suddenly, without any greeting at all.
Tushan Xinhua did not answer immediately. She merely folded her hands in front of her and quietly gazed at the narrow path that wound down from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain.
Moonlight fell across the side of her face. Her expression was calm and distant, as though she were waiting for something.
“Tonight, Mother...” she said softly, her voice as gentle as the evening wind brushing over flower tips. “Mother has come to wait for a result.”