We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? Chapter 469: I’m Not a Fool Either

On the morning of the second day after Tushan Jingci’s birthday,

Xiao Mo had only just woken up when a maid came to the kitchen courtyard and led him away to a new courtyard.

“From now on, this is where you’ll be living. It is less than half a quarter hour on foot from the Young Lady’s courtyard. In a few days, the Young Lady will be going to Cold Mountain Academy, and you will accompany her there as her book boy.”

“In these next few days, you will be taught some of the etiquette and common knowledge of Cold Mountain Academy.”

“At Cold Mountain Academy, you will meet many children of noble status. You must not break the rules, and you absolutely must not make the Young Lady lose face. Understood?”

The maid gave Xiao Mo those instructions, a trace of disdain in her expression.

In truth, no matter how much she thought about it, she could not understand why Madam Tushan would let a lowly human take the position of the Young Lady’s book boy.

The Young Lady was so noble. What right did a boy like him have to follow at her side?

“Please rest assured, Sister. I understand,” Xiao Mo replied, bowing with joined hands.

“It’s good that you do.”

The maid gave Xiao Mo one last look, said nothing more, then turned and left.

Standing in the courtyard, Xiao Mo looked over the place where he would be living from now on.

The courtyard was not large, but it was not small either.

A faint fragrance still lingered inside it.

Xiao Mo guessed that this had probably once been where a maid lived, and now it had been given to him.

And for a maid to have been able to live in a place like this, her standing among the maids could not have been low.

“Is Madam Tushan really treating me a little too well?”

The more Xiao Mo looked at the courtyard, the stranger it felt to him.

“Forget it. There’s no point thinking about useless things. I just need to do what I should do. Maybe Madam Tushan truly thinks my talent is good enough and wants to win me over.”

Xiao Mo shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.

After all, he had nothing to his name. Even if she did have some motive, what could she possibly want from him?

No matter what, he had to cultivate well first and raise his realm.

In this world, only sufficient strength gave one the right to speak, and only strength allowed one to survive more easily in the demon-race world.

Putting those thoughts away, Xiao Mo took out Great Dream of Yellow Millet and continued cultivating.

After a night of rest, Xiao Mo felt that his mental state had improved quite a bit.

Compared with the speed at which he had read Great Dream of Yellow Millet on the first day, reading it now was like watching a turtle crawl forward.

But at least it was still moving.

Whenever Xiao Mo read to the point where he could no longer continue, he would start over from the first ten pages.

Each time Xiao Mo read it, he would enter a state of attunement to the Way and have an exceedingly light, peaceful dream, one close to nature itself.

And when Xiao Mo woke up, he could clearly feel that his cultivation had advanced a little further.

Without realizing it, three days passed.

During those three days, Tushan Jingci came to see Xiao Mo every day, though each visit was very short.

And every time she came to Xiao Mo’s courtyard, all she did was complain to him.

There was none of the happy expression she had worn before.

That was because Tushan Jingci had heard from her mother earlier that once her birthday was over, she would be allowed to leave the residence and go out to play.

But because Tushan Jingci was about to go to the academy, she first had to learn certain rules and etiquette, so every day she had to stay inside the residence and attend lessons.

Even her daily trips to see Xiao Mo were time she had squeezed out in the middle of everything else.

Still, although Tushan Jingci complained with her mouth, her body remained very earnest in learning those rules of etiquette.

And in the little girl’s heart, she was very much looking forward to what was coming.

She had heard that there were many children her own age at the academy.

Once she went to the academy, she and Xiao Mo would be able to make even more friends.

And her mother had said that once she went there, she would not be able to stay beside her all the time.

Without her mother there to keep watch over her, didn’t that mean she would be able to play however she wanted, free and carefree?

So compared with the happy life waiting for her later, Tushan Jingci felt that suffering a little now was not much of a problem at all.

Another two days passed.

At last, it was the day to leave for the academy.

Madam Tushan piloted a flying boat and took Tushan Jingci and Xiao Mo to Cold Mountain Academy.

Over the past few days, Xiao Mo had also learned some things about Cold Mountain Academy.

Cold Mountain Academy was the only academy in the entire demon-race world.

Up to now, it had a history of only six hundred years. It could be called very young.

And when Cold Mountain Academy had first been established, the resistance against it had been enormous.

Although the academy also taught some cultivation, what it mainly taught was Confucian learning from the Ten Thousand Arts world.

And in the eyes of most demons in the demon-race world, they had been born demons. There was simply no need for them to study that so-called Confucian learning of the Ten Thousand Arts world.

Not just Confucian learning, either. In the hearts of those demons, all such learning was sour, pedantic nonsense.

After all, the demon race and the human race were enemies by nature, yet now they were expected to study the Ten Thousand Arts world instead. Wasn’t that a joke?

Humans should have human ways, and demons should all the more have demonic nature.

But in the end, the gap between the Ten Thousand Arts world and the demon-race world kept growing wider and wider, and in the second human-demon war, the demon-race world once again suffered a crushing defeat.

Those two defeats at the hands of the Ten Thousand Arts world could not help but force the demon-race world into reflection.

Quite a few demons began to think about the reason for those defeats.

Many demons believed that it was precisely because the demon-race world was too scattered, with no civilizing instruction at all, that so many years had passed without any real progress.

And so, the calls for an academy in the demon-race world grew louder and louder.

Learn the strengths of men in order to master men.

In the end, it was an old man named Gui Ning who made the final decision, swept aside all dissent, and established this academy.

Even now, much of the etiquette and instruction among demon-kind followed the model of the Ten Thousand Arts world.

Of course, there were still demons who looked down on the learning of the Ten Thousand Arts world and continued to preserve their old systems and rules.

One side thought the other far too stubborn and rigid, unwilling to adapt.

The other side thought that by studying the learning of the Ten Thousand Arts world, the first side had become neither human nor demon, and despised them in turn.

So the two sides sometimes came into conflict.

That said, when Xiao Mo heard mention of the second human-demon war, for some reason, a faint sense of familiarity stirred in his heart.

But no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what it was.

After about half a day, the flying boat finally arrived at Cold Mountain Academy.

Xiao Mo gazed out at the academy. It sprawled across more than thirty mountain peaks, its grounds vast beyond measure, and its buildings carried both the features of the Confucian tradition and the style of the demon race.

Most importantly, compared with demonic aura, what hung above the academy in greater abundance was the air of ink and learning.

Xiao Mo withdrew his gaze and glanced at Tushan Jingci beside him.

Delight shone in the little girl’s eyes.

If nothing unexpected happened,

then this course of study for Tushan Jingci would last a full twenty years.

During those twenty years, Tushan Jingci would not be allowed to return home. She could only live within the academy.

Twenty years later, no matter how much she had learned, once the term expired, she would be asked to leave the mountain.

After entering the academy, Tushan Xinhua stated her identity, and an academy disciple led Tushan Xinhua and the others to meet the headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy.

The headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy was a great demon in the late Immortal Realm.

This headmaster was a demon cultivator with the bloodline of the Dread Beast.

Yet he had kept none of the visible features of the demon race, and there was not the slightest trace of demonic aura on him. What covered him instead was righteous qi from head to toe.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the headmaster of Cold Mountain Academy, Tushan Xinhua brought her daughter away to take care of the academy formalities.

By the time evening drew near, everything had been arranged.

Tushan Jingci had even been assigned her own little separate courtyard.

Xiao Mo, Yueshi, and two other maids would also be living in that courtyard.

“Jingci, Mother is going back now.”

As the evening sun sank lower, Tushan Xinhua smoothed down her skirt, crouched before her daughter, and gently cupped her face, looking at her with reluctant tenderness.

“From now on, you must study well at the academy and cultivate well too. If anyone bullies you, or if you suffer any grievance, you can tell Mother. Mother will absolutely stand up for you.”

“But you mustn’t be too naughty either, and you mustn’t anger your teachers. You also mustn’t bully your classmates. Otherwise Mother will be angry too. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Mother.” Tushan Jingci sniffled, tears glistening in her beautiful fox eyes. “Mother, actually... I don’t want to study anymore right now. I want to go back with you and stay together with you.”

Originally, Tushan Jingci had thought that once she came to the academy, with her mother no longer at her side to keep watch over her, she would be very happy and able to play however she wanted.

But at this moment, the little girl felt deeply unwilling to part.

“Silly child. If a girl does not read, then she will not understand reason.” Tushan Xinhua gently wiped the tears from the corners of her daughter’s eyes. “Later, when you grow up, if you meet a man, you might be deceived without even realizing it. At the academy, don’t think only about playing. You must be good, understand?”

“I-I understand... Jingci will definitely be good... Mother has to come visit Jingci often.” Tushan Jingci sniffled again.

“Mhm. Mother will come visit Jingci several times every month.”

Tushan Xinhua pinched her daughter’s little nose, then stood up and gave Yueshi and Xiao Mo a few instructions, telling them to take good care of Jingci.

In the end, Tushan Xinhua embraced her daughter for a long time before finally forcing herself to leave the academy.

Tushan Jingci stood there blankly for a long while, watching as her mother flew farther and farther away.

At dinner, Tushan Jingci, who was always the most enthusiastic when it came to eating, had no appetite at all. She only stared at her rice bowl without moving.

Yueshi coaxed her for a long time before Tushan Jingci finally ate a little.

Before long, night fell.

After Tushan Jingci and the others bathed in the bathhouse in the courtyard, they returned to their rooms to rest.

Deep in the night, when the courtyard had gone silent and no one was around,

Xiao Mo finally walked out into the yard. He drew several buckets of cool water, gave himself a simple rinse, then sat down on a stone stool. In his heart, he silently recited Great Dream of Yellow Millet while absorbing the essence of the moon.

Moonlight gathered around Xiao Mo’s body, setting a faint ring of light around him.

Half an hour later, a night breeze brushed past the tip of Xiao Mo’s nose.

Xiao Mo twitched his nose and sniffed lightly.

There was a faint familiar fragrance in the wind.

Opening his eyes, Xiao Mo saw Tushan Jingci sitting beside him.

Behind the little girl, her big fox tail swayed back and forth, and those bright, watery eyes of hers looked at Xiao Mo curiously.

“Xiao Mo, why do you glow too?”

“It’s because of the cultivation method I’m practicing,” Xiao Mo said, drawing back his spiritual power.

“A cultivation method? Then if I cultivate your method, will I glow like you too?” Tushan Jingci asked curiously.

“You probably could, but there is no need for the Young Lady to cultivate this method. The Young Lady’s own native cultivation art is already enough to lead to the Great Dao.”

Xiao Mo explained.

The bloodline of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox was as precious as that of a true dragon, a true phoenix, a soaring serpent, the Dread Beast, or the Emperor River Bird.

For divine beasts like those, their bloodlines came with innate divine abilities of their own, which they would gradually comprehend naturally as their age and realm advanced.

So there was no need for them to divide their attention and learn other spell arts.

“Oh...”

Tushan Jingci nodded, and did not continue asking about it.

Her arms wrapped around her legs, and her fair little chin rested atop her knees as her fox eyes blinked while she stared at the distant starry sky.

Looking into Tushan Jingci’s big eyes, Xiao Mo changed the subject and asked with a smile, “It’s so late. Why isn’t the Young Lady asleep yet?”

“I can’t sleep.”

Tushan Jingci puffed out her cheeks, shook her head, and wrapped her little arms even tighter around her knees.

“Before, I always thought Mother was too strict, always wanting to control everything I did. I kept thinking about how nice it would be if I could just play all I wanted.”

“But now that Mother isn’t here, I’m the one who’s not used to it instead.”

“Xiao Mo...” Tushan Jingci turned her head and looked into Xiao Mo’s eyes. “Am I strange?”

“Not strange.” Xiao Mo shook his head. “It’s only natural.”

Tushan Jingci said, “But I’m not human...”

Xiao Mo froze for a moment, then corrected himself. “Then it’s only natural for demons.”

“...”

Tushan Jingci felt that Xiao Mo was just trying to brush her off, but she did not care. After withdrawing her gaze, she rested her chin on her knees again and continued.

“Actually, I kind of don’t want to study anymore. I want to go home now...”

“Mother said girls have to read in order to understand reason, and only then will they not be deceived by men in the future. But I don’t think that makes sense.”

“Why not?” Xiao Mo asked in confusion.

“Xiao Mo, you’re so dumb.”

Behind Tushan Jingci, her fluffy snow-white tail lightly patted Xiao Mo on the back.

“I’m not a fool. How could I be so easily deceived by a man?”

“The only one who could ever deceive me would be the one I like in the future.”

“But if I already like him, then I’ll believe whatever he says anyway. So what does it matter even if I read more books?”

“Xiao Mo, do you think I’m right?”

Hearing the Young Lady’s words, Xiao Mo was slightly taken aback, then smiled.

“What the Young Lady says does indeed make some sense.”

“Right? Right?” Seeing Xiao Mo agree with her, Tushan Jingci straightened up and said happily, “So Mother is so silly—”

Xiao Mo did not respond. He only smiled faintly.

“Then, Xiao Mo, would you ever lie to me?” Tushan Jingci tilted her head and looked at Xiao Mo’s profile.

“No,” Xiao Mo answered.

“I think you wouldn’t either.” Tushan Jingci’s eyes curved in a smile. “Besides, you’re silly too, just like Mother. If you tried to lie to me, I’d see through it right away. I’m very smart.”

“Yes...”

Xiao Mo nodded. Looking at the distant river of stars and the courtyard beneath it, the shadows of the two little ones stretched longer and longer.

“The Young Lady is very smart...”