Chapter 485: His Life Had Long Since Ceased to Be His Own
When Xiao Mo woke on the bed, he found that he had already been brought back to his room.
Thinking back to how he had been affected by Great Dream of Yellow Millet last night, if nothing unexpected had happened, then Jingci was probably the one who had carried him back.
Shaking his head, Xiao Mo sat up on the bed.
He crossed his legs and turned his divine sense inward, examining his own body.
As expected, the spiritual power within him was in a state of self-nourishment.
Especially his natural foundation.
His spirit root seemed to be undergoing a kind of transformation, like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, like a snake shedding its skin.
That surprised Xiao Mo.
He had not expected that once Great Dream of Yellow Millet was cultivated far enough, it would actually have the effect of improving one’s natural foundation.
That point alone made the value of Great Dream of Yellow Millet impossible to measure.
Xiao Mo could hardly imagine what kind of astonishing genius had created such a cultivation method.
“I can’t wait any longer. It’s time to go into seclusion.”
Xiao Mo spoke softly to himself.
His cultivation of Great Dream of Yellow Millet had already reached a limit. At present, with his spiritual power, spiritual veins, and natural foundation, he could no longer continue supporting further cultivation of Great Dream of Yellow Millet.
Unless he entered seclusion and used Great Dream of Yellow Millet to nourish himself, allowing his body and spiritual veins to break through to a higher level—
otherwise, not only would his cultivation stop progressing altogether, it might even inflict damage on his body that could never be repaired.
But as for this seclusion, Xiao Mo had no idea how long it would take.
And seclusion itself was both an opportunity and a risk.
After all, not every silkworm could emerge from its cocoon as a butterfly, and not every snake could shed its skin successfully.
So before entering seclusion, Xiao Mo felt he had to make some preparations first. At the very least, he had to let Jingci and the others know.
Besides that, he still needed to find a suitable place for seclusion.
That place had to be hidden enough, at minimum.
If someone came to kill him again halfway through his seclusion, he might not even know how he died.
Once he had sorted out his thoughts, Xiao Mo went to Cold Mountain City and bought two jars of the finest Daughter’s Red, along with some drinking food to go with it—braised beef, boiled peanuts, spicy dried bean curd strips, and the like—before flying toward Moon-Caressing Peak.
He stopped in front of a courtyard.
Inside it, a scholar was playing chess against himself.
And he was so absorbed in the game that he did not notice Xiao Mo’s arrival at all.
“Xiao Mo greets Master Xian. I have come without invitation. I hope Master will forgive the intrusion.”
Standing at the courtyard gate, Xiao Mo cupped his hands in salute and called out clearly.
At the sound of Xiao Mo’s voice, Xian Xichun’s hand paused slightly in the act of placing a stone.
He turned his head and looked toward the elegant young man standing at the gate, surprise showing plainly in his expression.
“This is the first time little brother Xiao has come looking for me. Come in.”
Xian Xichun opened the wicker gate and warmly welcomed Xiao Mo inside.
“Many thanks, Master.”
Xiao Mo stepped into the courtyard and set the gifts down on the table.
“I heard that Master likes the Daughter’s Red from Immortal Cry Tower in Cold Mountain City, so I specially brought two jars. I also brought a few drinking dishes. I hope Master won’t think them too humble.”
“Hahaha, you’ve put real thought into this, boy. If you had brought some costly gift instead, I wouldn’t have accepted it.”
Xian Xichun swept out his blue robe and sat down openly and at ease, then invited Xiao Mo as well.
“Drinking alone is the dullest thing in the world. Come, drink with me.”
“Yes.”
Since the master of the courtyard had said so, Xiao Mo, as the guest, could hardly stand on ceremony. He took a seat beside Xian Xichun.
“When I teach, whether inside the hall or outside it, you’re the one who listens most seriously. And no matter what I explain, you grasp it at once. Years ago, I already thought you were excellent material for cultivating the scholarly path.”
Xian Xichun poured Xiao Mo a cup of wine.
“But you, Xiao Mo, went and cultivated dao arts instead. That truly is a pity.”
“Then again, your talent for dao arts seems even higher. Compared to that, having you cultivate the scholarly path might have been a waste.”
“You flatter me, Master Xian. How could I have any talent for the scholarly path?” Faced with Xian Xichun’s praise, Xiao Mo only smiled and shook his head.
“Hahaha, there’s no need for false modesty in front of me. If you have no talent for the scholarly path, then what does that make me? I’ve only read a few hundred more years’ worth of books than you.” Xian Xichun raised his cup and lightly clinked it against Xiao Mo’s. “And Xiao Mo, do you know what I admire most about you?”
“What would that be?” Xiao Mo asked.
“Your name.” Xian Xichun drank a cup of wine and said with amused flair, “Well? Didn’t expect that, did you?”
“I definitely didn’t.” Xiao Mo shook his head. “But is there something special about my name?”
“There’s nothing especially special about it, I suppose. It’s just that there is a certain gentleman I have always greatly admired. Though I never met him and only heard of his deeds, I have always longed for the kind of things he did. And your name is very much like his.”
“To be admired by Master Xian, that gentleman’s learning must have been very profound,” Xiao Mo said, following the thread.
“Very profound!” Xian Xichun nodded with complete seriousness. He lifted a hand and pointed toward the heavens above. “No matter how the world judged him! No matter what those fake scholars said! In my heart, that gentleman’s learning stood higher than the sky itself!”
“What a pity...” Xian Xichun poured himself another cup and drained it in one swallow, a trace of melancholy in his face. “Before that gentleman passed from the world, I never got the chance to meet him even once...”
Seeing the disappointment and regret on Xian Xichun’s face, Xiao Mo did not know what to say. He could only take the initiative and fill Xian Xichun’s cup for him.
“Enough, enough. Let’s not talk about that anymore...” Xian Xichun waved a hand, then looked at Xiao Mo with a smile. “No one comes to the temple without a reason. Go on. Now that you’ve come today, what is it you want?”
“I truly do have a request.” Xiao Mo raised a cup in salute to Xian Xichun. “Tomorrow, I will most likely be entering seclusion. This seclusion may last a very long time, and I do not know how long. Does Master know of any place that is remote and desolate, where spiritual power is still abundant and where I will not be easily discovered?”
“What’s this? Is Cold Mountain Academy not safe enough for you? Are you afraid someone might assassinate you?” Xian Xichun teased.
Faced with that teasing, Xiao Mo only smiled faintly and said nothing.
Seeing Xiao Mo’s silence, Xian Xichun understood what he meant, and his brows drew together. “Has someone truly tried to kill you?”
“To be honest with Master Xian, the night before last, a man in black came to my residence and attempted to assassinate me. His swordsmanship was fierce, every strike aimed to kill...”
Xiao Mo did not hide anything. Word by word, he told him everything that had happened that night, along with every spell art the man in black had used.
After hearing it all, Xian Xichun fell silent.
Without noticing, he drank several more cups.
Only after a long while did Xian Xichun set down his cup.
“I know about this now. Don’t worry. I may not have much ability, but I will do my best to investigate it thoroughly for you.”
“As for the place you mentioned for cultivation, the bamboo courtyard you live in is already quite good. Those bamboo stalks are no ordinary thing. They are Water-Spirit Bamboo, which can gather spiritual power. So cultivate there instead. I will personally guard the way for you.”
“That would trouble Master too much...” Xiao Mo hurriedly said, never expecting Master Xian to go this far for him.
“It’s nothing. I drank your wine today. If I guard the way for you once, what of it?” Xian Xichun said with bold ease, carrying a hint of the jianghu about him. “It’s settled. If you refuse again, then you’re refusing to give me face, and I really will be angry.”
“This...”
Looking at Master Xian’s serious expression, Xiao Mo hesitated for a moment. In the end, he rose to his feet and bowed deeply.
“I will remember today’s favor, Master. In the future, I will repay it.”
“Hahaha. Guarding someone’s way in cultivation once—what kind of great favor is that?” Xian Xichun drew in his sleeves and looked at Xiao Mo. “If you truly want to repay me, then once you come out of seclusion, invite me for another drink. But speaking of which—have you told your Young Lady about this?”
Xiao Mo shook his head. “I haven’t told the Young Lady. I do not want her to worry. And as for this matter, I keep feeling...”
Xiao Mo stopped halfway through and closed his mouth without continuing.
“I understand.” Xian Xichun nodded. He understood Xiao Mo’s meaning, and inwardly admired his caution. “At first light tomorrow, I will come to your place. Don’t worry. Just enter seclusion in peace.”
“Yes, Master...”
With Master Xian guarding the way, Xiao Mo did indeed feel a weight lift in his heart.
After that, the two spoke a while longer about cultivation. Then Xiao Mo rose and took his leave.
Back in the courtyard, Xian Xichun continued drinking the wine Xiao Mo had brought.
Only, he drank faster and faster, and his expression seemed to grow more and more vexed.
At last, Xian Xichun set down the wine cup in his hand and flew toward Cold Mountain Academy’s main peak.
“Teacher!”
When he arrived outside Headmaster Cun Caiguang’s courtyard, Xian Xichun cupped his hands in salute.
“Mm.”
The academy headmaster, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
Looking at the anger contained in his disciple’s brow, Cun Caiguang smiled faintly.
“What has made you so angry?”
“The night before last, the book boy named Xiao Mo who serves Tushan Jingci was the target of an assassination attempt. I wonder whether Teacher is aware of it.”
Xian Xichun looked straight into his teacher’s eyes.
“I am.” Cun Caiguang nodded. “A Dragon Gate Realm cultivator ‘slipping into’ Cold Mountain Academy—if I did not know about that, then I would hardly deserve to sit in this headmaster’s seat.”
“The one behind it was?” Xian Xichun asked.
“The Tushan clan. Or rather, the Tushan fox clan.” Cun Caiguang spoke slowly, without concealing anything.
“So it really was them...”
Once the suspicion in his heart was confirmed, Xian Xichun let out a quiet sigh.
Cold Mountain Academy formed a small world of its own, and the headmaster was the sage who sat in command of that world.
So long as a cultivator of the middle three realms entered Cold Mountain Academy, the headmaster would certainly sense it.
Not to mention someone killing a person inside the academy.
There were only a handful of families in all the Ten Thousand Arts world that could make the headmaster turn a blind eye.
The Heavenly Demon Kingdom did not qualify.
And Xiao Mo had neither grievance nor enmity with any other family.
They had neither reason nor nerve to make a move against him.
If that was the case—
then only one family remained.
The Tushan clan.
After all, the Tushan clan was not made up solely of Madam Tushan’s branch in Immortal Fox City. They were not necessarily willing to accept Xiao Mo.
“Once Tushan Xinhua handed Great Dream of Yellow Millet to Xiao Mo, the Tushan clan would have to marry their most outstanding young woman to him. But how could the Tushan clan possibly agree to that?”
Cun Caiguang gave a quiet sigh. He knew what his disciple was thinking.
“The life of that young man called Xiao Mo...” Cun Caiguang said slowly, “had long since ceased to be his own.”
After leaving Xian Xichun’s courtyard, Xiao Mo arrived outside the young lady’s courtyard and saw Yueshi in the yard, hanging clothes out to dry.
“Sister Yueshi,” Xiao Mo greeted her.
“Xiao Mo?” Yueshi blinked, surprise in her expression. “What brings you here?”
“I’m going into seclusion tomorrow, so I wanted to come and let the Young Lady and Sister Yueshi know.” Xiao Mo smiled. “Is the Young Lady in the courtyard?”
“The Young Lady, she...”
“Xiao Mo!”
Before Yueshi could finish, Tushan Jingci—having heard Xiao Mo’s voice—darted out of the room all at once, like a butterfly catching the scent of nectar.
“Xiao Mo, why did you come? Is something the matter? Did you miss me?”
Tushan Jingci ran up to Xiao Mo, bright and lively, as though she carried all the colors of spring with her.
“Young Lady...” Xiao Mo saluted her. “I came today because there is something I wanted to tell you.”
“What is it?” Tushan Jingci blinked her lovely eyes.
“I’m going into seclusion starting tomorrow,” Xiao Mo explained simply.
“Huh?”
At Xiao Mo’s words, Tushan Jingci blinked again and again. Very quickly, her eyes filled with disappointment.
“Seclusion? So that means I won’t get to see you for a very long time?”
“That’s right...” Xiao Mo nodded. “Starting tomorrow, I probably won’t be able to accompany the Young Lady in her studies.”
“But Xiao Mo, if you go into seclusion, then [N O V E L I G H T] who’s going to play with me...” Tushan Jingci pouted.
“The Young Lady has no shortage of friends. You won’t be missing just me.” Xiao Mo smiled.
Though the young lady was already sixteen, she still seemed like a little girl, as though she would never quite grow up and only ever wanted to play.
“How would I not be missing you... You’re not the same as them...” Tushan Jingci lowered her head and muttered softly.
Looking at Tushan Jingci’s dejected expression, Xiao Mo was just thinking about how to comfort her when—
the next moment, she seemed to have worked something out on her own. She lifted her head and looked at him seriously.
“Fine then, Xiao Mo. Y-you go into seclusion. Don’t worry. Even if you’re not here, I’ll definitely study hard. By the time you come out, maybe I’ll already be a worthy.”
“Mm...” Xiao Mo nodded, a little surprised that the Young Lady had thought it through by herself. He encouraged her, “I believe the Young Lady can definitely do it.”
When he finished speaking, Xiao Mo closed his eyes and formed a hand seal, trying to calculate when he might emerge from seclusion.
Great Dream of Yellow Millet contained the art of deduction, but of all things, the hardest thing to calculate was oneself.
“Young Lady, although I don’t know exactly when I’ll emerge from seclusion...”
After a long while, Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the young girl’s lovely face, he smiled.
“But on the day I do come out, I’ll give the Young Lady a mountain full of peach blossoms. How would that be?”