Looking at the earnest, resolute expression on Xu Chu’s face, Tushan Jingci understood as well. The man her sister had set her heart on truly was someone worthy of entrusting a lifetime to.

Relief rose in Tushan Jingci’s heart for Xu Bei’er’s sake. She felt much lighter, and a note of ease softened her eyes and brows into a gentle smile.

After all, Xu Bei’er was being asked to make such a great sacrifice. If the man were not someone good, Tushan Jingci truly would not have known what to say.

“If you ever need help in the future, no matter when, send word to me at once. As long as it’s within my power, I definitely won’t refuse.” Tushan Jingci looked at her dearest friend, her voice sincere and soft.

“Of course. I’m not going to stand on ceremony with you.”

Xu Bei’er stepped forward and lightly drew Tushan Jingci’s hand into her own, holding it in her palm as she spoke in a quiet voice.

“But Jingci, you need to work hard too. Since you already have someone in your heart, you should be a little more proactive.”

The words had scarcely left her mouth before Xu Bei’er herself started laughing. She raised a hand and lightly tapped her forehead.

“Listen to me. With looks like yours, Jingci, what kind of man wouldn’t be yours for the taking? Though really, I do wonder what sort of person it is who managed to catch our Jingci’s eye. When I come back, you must tell me all about him.”

“Bei’er... stop teasing...” Tushan Jingci lowered her eyes. Her long lashes fluttered, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks as she called out in embarrassed protest.

“Hehe, all right, all right, I’ll stop.” Xu Bei’er smiled and reached out to stroke Tushan Jingci’s long hair, her gaze warm. “Jingci, I’m going now. Take good care of yourself. Be well.”

“Mhm.” Tushan Jingci nodded, her eyes full of reluctance, yet she still curved her lips into a smile. “Travel carefully.”

Xu Bei’er stepped back and came to stand beside Xu Chu.

Together, the two of them gave Tushan Jingci a solemn bow.

After saying their farewells to her, they turned and left hand in hand.

Tushan Jingci remained where she was, quietly watching the two figures as they gradually receded into the distance. Even after they vanished into the depths of the bamboo grove, she did not withdraw her gaze for a long time.

Another three months slipped away in silence.

One day, a flying sword came skimming in from afar and dropped steadily into Tushan Jingci’s hand. It was a flying-sword message from Xu Bei’er.

Unfolding the letter, Tushan Jingci read it carefully, word by word. In it, Xu Bei’er recounted at length everything that had happened after she and Xu Chu returned to the Sea Moon Sect.

It turned out that after the two of them returned to the sect, the very first thing they did was go to pay their respects to Xu Bei’er’s father, the sect master of the Sea Moon Sect.

Truth be told, Father Xu was not the sort of man who cared overmuch about another person’s power or status.

But as a father, he had no choice but to think through every aspect of his daughter’s lifelong happiness. He did not want her to suffer in the future by following some young man who could not care for her properly.

What was more, Xu Bei’er was, after all, the daughter of the Sea Moon Sect’s sect master, and whether in looks or in talent, she was exceptionally fine. More than a few holy sons from various sects had taken a certain interest in her.

In other words, in the eyes of those elders, Xu Bei’er was an excellent marriage-alliance candidate.

Naturally, the elders of the Sea Moon Sect had no intention of letting this marriage pass so easily. One after another, they put considerable pressure on Father Xu.

As the master of an entire sect, Father Xu could not fail to consider the future of the sect as a whole.

Yet after he truly felt the unwavering firmness of his daughter’s feelings, his heart began to waver.

Besides, in Father Xu’s view, this young man called Xu Chu was indeed extraordinary the more closely he was examined.

Whether in talent and aptitude or in character and temperament, he was first-rate in every respect.

For a sect, what mattered most in the end was whether there would be worthy successors.

Otherwise, no matter how prosperous or powerful a sect might seem at present, if the one who inherited it proved unequal to the task, decline would sooner or later be inevitable.

Conversely, if a person was exceptional enough, then even a rogue cultivator could carve out a place in the world.

And so, in the end, Father Xu persuaded the sect’s elders and preserved the marriage agreement between his daughter and Xu Chu.

That said, the elders of the Sea Moon Sect had not yielded without conditions. They demanded that Xu Chu enter the Nascent Soul Realm within two hundred years.

To reach the Nascent Soul Realm within two hundred years was an almost unreasonable demand for the vast majority of people.

Even for Xu Chu, the condition was no light one.

But Xu Chu did not hesitate in the slightest. He accepted it openly, his gaze unwavering.

For now, Xu Bei’er and Xu Chu were still staying at the Sea Moon Sect and had not hurried back.

Mainly, Xu Bei’er had thought that since she had finally come back after so long, she ought to spend more time with her father and fulfill her filial duty.

After some time had passed, Xu Chu would also take Xu Bei’er to meet his own father. After that, they planned to travel together through the mountains and rivers for a while before returning to Cold Mountain Academy.

When Tushan Jingci finished reading the letter and learned that everything was well with her dear friend, the stone that had been hanging over her heart at last fell away.

She was sincerely happy for Xu Bei’er, and a faint smile rose unbidden to her lips.

Only...

Tushan Jingci slowly lowered the letter in her hand, and her gaze drifted unconsciously toward a certain direction.

There, a dense bamboo grove spread before her.

“That fool Xiao Mo... when is he finally going to wake up?”

Outside the courtyard, the spring wind brushed past, setting the bamboo leaves rustling, as though they were asking aloud the question she had hidden in her heart for so long.

...

In the blink of an eye, it was the beginning of spring again in a new year.

Cold Mountain Academy’s “worthy” examination was about to begin as well.

In truth, Tushan Jingci could have taken the examination last year.

Only, the academy had changed the rules then. A student now had to have studied at the academy for a set number of years before qualifying to sit for it.

And this year, Tushan Jingci had only just met that requirement.

The examination was presided over personally by the vice headmaster.

It looked at neither status nor family background. Whether one passed or failed depended solely on the depth of one’s learning.

Within the demon-race world, the status of a “worthy” from Cold Mountain Academy carried no small weight and commanded considerable respect.

Because of that, every young master and young lady studying at the academy had been ordered by their elders at home to obtain that worthy status. Once they did, it would count as an added layer of distinction.

So even those pampered young masters and young ladies who ordinarily had no love for books had no choice but to bury themselves in study and keep their lamps burning late into the night.

Tushan Jingci in particular.

For the three months before the examination, she studied by lamplight every night until deep into the night.

When Yueshi saw it, she could not help wondering whether she was seeing things. Was this really the same young lady who in the past had needed to be coaxed and pushed before she would read?

One night, when it was already well past the middle of the second watch and the light in her young lady’s room was still burning, Yueshi gently pushed the door open and went inside, softly trying to persuade her.

“Miss, it’s already very late. Let’s get some proper rest first. You can read more tomorrow.”

But Tushan Jingci shook her head, her eyes still fixed on the scroll in her hands. “No. The ‘worthy’ examination will begin before long. Since there’s still time now, I should learn as much more as I can.”

“But this isn’t the only worthy examination,” Yueshi said, looking at her young lady with aching concern. “If you don’t pass this one, you can always take it again in three years.”

“Three years...”

At that, Tushan Jingci lifted her head slightly and smiled out at the darkness beyond the window.

“But I promised Xiao Mo that before he woke up, I would become a worthy. If I don’t pass this time, and Xiao Mo just happens to come out of seclusion, then wouldn’t that mean I broke my word?”

Yueshi: “...”

“All right, Sister Yueshi, you should go rest first. Don’t worry about me.” Tushan Jingci drew her gaze back and lowered it again to the page. “Don’t worry. If I really get tired, I’ll go rest on my own.”

As she spoke, her pale, delicate hand continued to hold that Confucian classic, turning the pages one by one beneath the dim yellow lamplight, her expression focused and calm.

Looking at the stubborn seriousness on her young lady’s face, Yueshi knew there was no use saying anything more.

All she could do was set the pastries she was carrying gently on the table, bow to Tushan Jingci, then quietly withdraw and softly close the door behind her.

“Come out of seclusion...”

Standing in the courtyard, Yueshi looked toward the bamboo grove outside, shrouded in the night, and could not help letting out a soft sigh.

“So... it’s already been three years...”

Very soon, Cold Mountain Academy’s “worthy” examination arrived as scheduled.

Before dawn had fully broken on the day it began, Tushan Jingci woke.

After Yueshi carefully attended her washing and dressing, she accompanied her to the examination grounds.

Among those taking the examination this time, there were not only ordinary disciples of Cold Mountain Academy. The children of great clans and noble families alone numbered a full two hundred and thirty.

The three-day examination was tense and drawn out. By the time the final session ended and Tushan Jingci stepped out of the examination hall, her expression showed a trace of fatigue, yet there was also a certain release in her eyes and brows.

As for the other children of great clans, some remained calm and composed, full of confidence.

Others looked utterly dejected, convinced they were finished... that if they failed this time, the elders of their clans would surely give them a severe scolding.

Seven days after the examination ended, Cold Mountain Academy announced the results.

Out of the two hundred and thirty scions of great clans and noble families, only ten had ultimately passed the worthy assessment.

And Tushan Jingci’s name was plainly among them.

Many people were surprised that Tushan Jingci had managed to pass the “worthy” examination.

But in Yueshi’s eyes, her young lady’s success in passing it was entirely to be expected.

For these past three months, she had seen with her own eyes how diligently her young lady had studied by lamplight night after night.

...

“Greetings, Master Xian.”

On the very day the examination results were announced, Tushan Jingci came once more to that familiar bamboo grove.

She walked up to Xian Xichun, who was seated on a rock, and bowed to him with proper grace and respect.

The fox clan’s natural beauty and allure, together with the gentleness of a Confucian young woman, seemed to come together on her as though they had always belonged there.

Xian Xichun’s gaze fell on the worthy jade token hanging at Tushan Jingci’s slender waist. A smile touched his lips, and he nodded in satisfaction.

“Excellent, excellent. Congratulations, Young Lady Tushan. From today onward, you are one of the worthies of Cold Mountain Academy in our demon-race world.”

“I only passed the assessment by luck,” Tushan Jingci said with a faint smile, handing him the wine jug and food box she had brought with her. “You’ve worked hard these past years, Master Xian.”

“It’s been all right. Only three years. No matter where I read, I’m still reading, aren’t I? Here I can go through ancient texts every day without anyone disturbing me, so it’s made for a pleasantly quiet life.”

Xian Xichun accepted the wine and dishes for drinking and spoke cheerfully.

“It’s just that I don’t know when little brother Xiao Mo will wake up. If he stays in seclusion any longer, I’m afraid grass is going to grow on him.”

At that, Tushan Jingci could not help pressing her lips together in a smile, as if she herself had melted into the whole of spring.

“All right, I’ll leave Xiao Mo to you for a while. I’ll go drink on the other side and won’t disturb you two young lovers.”

“When Xiao Mo wakes up and sees that his old playmate has grown into such a graceful, enchanting beauty, I wonder what kind of startled expression he’ll make. Just thinking about it is enough to make a person look forward to it.”

Xian Xichun lightly dusted off his robes and turned to head deeper into the bamboo grove, leaving this little world to the two young people.

Tushan Jingci smiled as she watched him go. Only after he had walked away did she turn around, gently push open the familiar gate in the fence, and step into the courtyard where Xiao Mo was.

Sunlight slanted down. She stood quietly at Xiao Mo’s side, her pale pink dress falling to her feet. Sparse trailing floral patterns were embroidered along the hem, and the sash at her waist was drawn just right, revealing a slenderness that seemed no wider than a handful.

Higher still were her gently tapered shoulders and the faintly exposed line of her collarbone. The ends of her eyes tilted upward ever so slightly, not in a striking way, while clear moisture rested in her gaze.

Though the light in the young woman’s eyes carried a cool clarity, those eyes were filled entirely with Xiao Mo.

Her snow-white hair was pinned up with a plain silver hairpin. A few loose strands fell behind her ear, and when the wind came, they brushed lightly over her cheek. Her face had always been very fair, yet beneath that teasing touch of loose hair, a hint of red showed through faintly.

As she always did, the girl drew her legs together and slowly sat down in front of Xiao Mo.

She reached out and, leaning close to him, exposed half of a wrist as smooth as polished jade while brushing the bamboo leaves from his body one by one.

Her waist was soft, but the way she held herself was perfectly upright. Light and shadow, filtered through the bamboo grove, fell over her body, broke apart, and gathered again. When the spring breeze passed through, it carried with it a faint fragrance from the girl.

The Tushan Jingci of the past had been all brightness and liveliness, like a little fox who had never known what sorrow was.

But the one sitting here now, within that same inborn brightness and lively charm, possessed a little more of the maturity and stillness that the years had laid down in her.

And that perfectly measured touch of maturity lent her an even more stirring feminine grace, one that would make any heart move without its owner’s permission.

“Xiao Mo... did you know? I passed the examination. I’m a worthy now.”

Looking at the man before her, who still did not move at all, as though he had fused with heaven and earth themselves, Tushan Jingci curved her lips. Their color was a faint rouge red. When she pressed them together, it gave her an unstudied gentleness.

“I did what I promised you, you know. So? I’m amazing, aren’t I?”

There was a small trace of pride in the girl’s voice, as though she were waiting for him to praise her.

And yet, once the words had fallen, her eyes lowered of their own accord, and a faint shadow of sorrow and disappointment quietly touched her expression.

She lifted her head and looked past Xiao Mo, past the fence of the bamboo courtyard, toward the familiar peach grove in the distance.

“Only, Xiao Mo...”

“Why haven’t the peach blossoms bloomed this year...?”

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