On the morning following the day Xiao Mo had his conflict with the demon book attendants, because the Hanshan Academy was in its annual founding celebration period, the Qianxue Peak had been given five days off.
So today Tushan Jingci did not need to go to class, and Xiao Mo did not need to accompany her to the study hall.
Taking advantage of these five days of break, Xiao Mo was thinking of crossing his tribulation and entering Foundation Building.
Although the surface wounds on Xiao Mo's body had not yet fully healed, he felt the problem was not significant and today happened to be an auspicious day. Xiao Mo felt that if he missed today, there would not be another good day like this for the next six months.
He could not afford to wait six months.
Rising and changing his clothes, Xiao Mo planned to absorb the essence of the morning sun as he usually did, and then attempt the tribulation crossing in the afternoon but the moment Xiao Mo stepped out of his room, his expression gave a slight pause.
Tushan Jingci was sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard.
On days when the study hall was on break, Tushan Jingci would always sleep in. She would never get up until the sun was practically shining on her backside.
For Jingci to be up this early today was quite out of the ordinary.
She, who was usually cheerfully carefree, looked at this moment as though she was carrying a trace of worry.
It seemed as though that little head of hers was turning over something very important.
"The Young Miss is up so early." Xiao Mo walked over with a smile.
"Yah!"
Tushan Jingci, deep in her thoughts, was startled. The fur on her ears and tail puffed up in alarm.
"Xiao Mo, you frightened me to death!" Tushan Jingci let out a breath and kept patting her chest with one small hand.
"I apologize, Young Miss. I did not mean to." Xiao Mo smiled. "But why has the Young Miss been in a daze? Is something worrying you?"
"Something worrying me? Not at all." Tushan Jingci straightened up and shook her small head.
"Really?" Xiao Mo looked into Tushan Jingci's fox eyes. "If the Young Miss has a worry, you can say it. Perhaps I can help think of something."
"What worry would I have? I have no worries!"
Tushan Jingci shook her head vigorously, but her eyes kept sneaking glances at Xiao Mo, as though she had something she wanted to say but could not bring herself to say it.
"I see. That is good then."
Xiao Mo sensed that Tushan Jingci definitely had something on her mind but since she was not saying it, he could not very well press her.
After a simple wash, Xiao Mo sat down facing the sun and began running "The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet" to absorb the essence of the morning rays.
As the most orthodox of Daoist cultivation methods, the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet required one to draw in the essence of the sun and moon, to comprehend the principles of heaven and earth, and to dissolve oneself into the natural world.
And over the course of nearly a year, the more Xiao Mo cultivated the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, the more he felt the freedom and ease inherent in this cultivation method.
This method had no rigid structure to confine the practitioner, and focused far more on following the heart, cultivating the self, and nurturing one's nature.
Precisely because of this, Xiao Mo felt that if he cultivated the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet to its ultimate level, he could achieve the mastery of one method that naturally extends to all methods.
Sitting to one side, Tushan Jingci watched Xiao Mo glowing again, something she had long grown accustomed to.
Only the way she looked at Xiao Mo seemed to carry a trace of childlike worry.
An hour later, Xiao Mo opened his eyes and saw Tushan Jingci still sitting at the stone table in a daze.
She was draped over the tabletop with her upper body, her great fox tail swishing back and forth, the pebbles on the ground being batted around repeatedly.
On several occasions Xiao Mo had the sense that Tushan Jingci wanted to say something to him but each time she seemed to give up, as though not knowing how to begin.
At lunch, Tushan Jingci randomly started offering Xiao Mo various pieces of wisdom.
Things like, "Actually, I think what matters most is that a person lives happily."
"Books say that many things cannot be forced."
"Xiao Mo, I think the way you are right now is quite good!"
"Truly quite good!"
Xiao Mo did not know what Tushan Jingci was getting at, and could only nod along.
Seeing that Xiao Mo did not understand her meaning, Tushan Jingci puffed her cheeks, shoveled several large mouthfuls of food from her bowl, and then fell into complete silence.
Xiao Mo also did not know what he had done to make her unhappy.
After lunch, Tushan Jingci returned to her room to take an afternoon nap.
Once all was quiet in Tushan Jingci's room and Xiao Mo knew she was asleep, he opened his door and walked out.
"Going to cross your tribulation for Foundation Building?"
Just as Xiao Mo was on his way out of the courtyard gate, Yueshi's voice came from behind him.
Xiao Mo turned around and gave a nod. "Yes, Elder Sister Yueshi. My Qi Refinement is now at its peak, and I have received the pills. It is time to attempt Foundation Building."
"Crossing a tribulation is no small matter. Are you not going to say a word to the Young Miss?" Yueshi asked.
"It is precisely because it is no small matter that I cannot tell the Young Miss."
Xiao Mo smiled and shook his head.
"Although the Young Miss is innocent and carefree, she also knows what a tribulation crossing entails. If I told her, it would only make her worry even more."
"Rather than that, it is better not to say anything. However, if I do not come back, please tell the Young Miss that I am grateful to her for all her care over this time."
"Heh."
Yueshi let out a cold laugh, then tossed a bottle of pills to Xiao Mo.
"This bottle of pills was given by the Lady, to be handed to you when you cross your tribulation. When you feel you are about to die, swallow this pill. It may, and I can only say may, perhaps save your life."
"As for your words of thanks to the Young Miss, go and say them to her yourself."
With those words, Yueshi did not wait for Xiao Mo's thanks and turned and walked into Tushan Jingci's room.
"Another debt of gratitude..."
Looking at the bottle of pills in his hand, Xiao Mo let out a quiet sigh, tucked the pills into his sleeve, and walked out of the courtyard.
"Young Miss, are you truly not going to follow?" Yueshi looked at her young miss, who was sitting on a chair, and asked with puzzlement.
Tushan Jingci had not actually been sleeping, because she understood that after Xiao Mo had collected his Foundation Building Pills the day before, he would certainly use today's free time to cross his tribulation.
"No." Tushan Jingci shook her head. "If I follow along, Xiao Mo will be distracted."
"Besides, I already said so many things to him this morning, and he did not take any of it in. Why go through a tribulation at all? What if he dies? The way things are right now is perfectly fine."
Tushan Jingci muttered quietly, her tone carrying a small, private indignation.
Hearing the Young Miss's words, Yueshi very much wanted to say, "Young Miss, you said it so indirectly, how would anyone know what you meant?" But Yueshi also understood that the reason the Young Miss had not said it directly was because entering Foundation Building was something Xiao Mo truly wanted to do.
And whenever it came to something Xiao Mo truly wanted to do, the Young Miss had never once tried to stop him.
"Elder Sister Yueshi..." Tushan Jingci raised her head and looked at Yueshi with earnest eyes. "Xiao Mo will definitely be all right... right?"
…
Xiao Mo activated the "Wind-Following Art" from the Great Dream of the Yellow Millet, covering ten zhang with each step, and arrived quickly at an uncultivated mountain within the Hanshan Academy called Jianshan.
The Hanshan Academy occupied an enormous stretch of land, but not every peak had been developed.
Among them were a few wild mountains with abundant spiritual energy where very few people came and went.
Jianshan was one of them. It was also located very far from the main peaks of the Hanshan Academy.
In Xiao Mo's view, this was the most suitable place available for crossing a tribulation.
Xiao Mo made his way to a broad open clearing on the mountain, set up the formation arrays he needed for the tribulation crossing, burned incense and offered his respects to heaven and earth, then swallowed the Foundation Building Pill and began.
He patted down his clothes, sat cross-legged in the center of the clearing, and slowly closed his eyes, releasing every lock on his spiritual energy.
At the same time, Xiao Mo entered a profound and mysterious state of being.
Although he could see nothing with his eyes closed,
Xiao Mo could feel every blade of grass and every tree around him. He could sense the heavenly lightning gathering overhead, poised but not yet released. He could touch the inexpressible resonances of the Dao flowing in the air around him.
"BOOM!"
A gust of wild wind swept through, and the thunder clouds parted.
A great and mighty tribulation descended from the sky, driving straight toward Xiao Mo.
At the same time, in a courtyard on Qianxue Peak, Teacher Xian Xichun, who had been reading through Confucian classics, raised his head and looked in the direction of Jianshan, then pulled his gaze back and continued reading.
Only the faintest upward curve came to the scholar's lips, as though speaking to himself. "Not bad."
On the main peak of the Hanshan Academy, Dean Cun Caiguang of the Hanshan Academy was lying in a rocking chair, swaying slowly back and forth.
A breath of clear wind carrying the faintest hint of thunder's might drifted past, and the Hanshan Academy's dean slowly opened his ancient eyes but very quickly, the dean closed his eyes again, smacked his lips, and went back to sleep.
On the dean's chest lay a book.
The author of this book had long since been stricken from record in the Ten Thousand Laws Realm.
No one spoke that name anymore. No one dared.
And on the cover of this Confucian classic, written in a clean and upright hand, were five characters: "Unity of Knowledge and Action."
…
From afternoon to evening, from the sun's descent in the west to the fall of night.
In the side courtyard halfway up Qianxue Peak, the little girl who usually loved nothing more than chasing butterflies had stopped chasing butterflies entirely.
She, who normally ate three full bowls of rice at dinner, had eaten almost nothing tonight.
When doing her coursework, she kept staring blankly at her books, not even noticing as ink dripped drop by drop onto the page.
The longer time passed, the more worried the little girl became.
Had Xiao Mo successfully crossed his tribulation?
If he had succeeded, why had he still not come back?
What if Xiao Mo failed the tribulation crossing?
If the tribulation crossing failed, he could lose his life.
Beneath a sky full of stars, the little girl paced back and forth at the entrance of the courtyard.
The summer cicadas in the trees were singing joyously.
In the past, the little girl would have found the cicada calls unbearably noisy but right now, the little girl's heart did not have the slightest space left for the sound of the cicadas.
"Young Miss, the hour is late. The summer night air is cool. Let us go back inside and sleep."
Seeing her young miss's anxious expression, maidservant Yueshi stepped forward and said.
"Elder Sister Yueshi, I cannot sleep." Tushan Jingci shook her head, her eyes looking at Yueshi with unease. "Elder Sister Yueshi, why has Xiao Mo still not come back? It has already been five hours."
"Whether for demon folk or for humans, Foundation Building is the boundary between life and death for a cultivator. Some cross it in half an hour. Others take a full day and night. There is no way to know."
Yueshi explained.
"But Xiao Mo is someone the Lady has her eye on. Both his bone structure and his character are excellent. I am sure Xiao Mo will be just fine."
Although Yueshi said this, there was very little certainty in her heart.
Because no matter how gifted a person was, or how noble a demon's bloodline might be, when facing Foundation Building, failure was always a possibility. Even the complete destruction of body and soul was possible.
No one could guarantee they would definitely survive the Foundation Building tribulation.
Listening to Yueshi's reassurance, Tushan Jingci quietly lowered her eyes, her small hands gripping the hem of her skirt. "Then Elder Sister Yueshi, you go to sleep first. I will wait a little longer."
"Then I will wait with the Young Miss." Yueshi said.
"It is all right. Elder Sister Yueshi, go and sleep. Do not worry about me. I promise I will not go wandering off..."
Tushan Jingci raised her small arms and pushed against Yueshi's slender waist, steering her into the room, then closed the door.
Returning to the front courtyard, the little girl sat alone upright on a chair, legs pressed neatly together, hands resting on her thighs, facing the courtyard entrance, gazing earnestly into the deep night but as time ticked by, minute by minute,
Tushan Jingci felt herself growing more and more drowsy. Her small head kept nodding downward, as though at any moment she might fall asleep.
Yueshi watched through the window at the Young Miss's drowsy expression and let out a quiet sigh.
The more noble the bloodline, the more sleep was needed during the early years of life.
This was because only during sleep did the bloodline within the body gradually awaken and nourish the physical body and the soul in return.
And demon whelps would also, during sleep, gradually come to comprehend the divine abilities encoded in the soul markings of their bloodline.
So for demon folk of noble bloodline, there was no need to cultivate any arts during childhood. Sleep itself was the most effective cultivation.
Not to mention the Young Miss's Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan.
That was why the Young Miss dozed off in class, slept straight through her afternoon naps until dark, and went to bed early every evening.
All of it was the instinct of the bloodline, not something the Young Miss's own will could suppress.
Sure enough, before long, Yueshi watched as her young miss could no longer hold on and dropped her head forward onto the cool surface of the table and fell asleep, her shoulders rising and falling with steady, even breaths.
Yueshi walked out of the room and came to the Young Miss's side, intending to carry her back inside to sleep but just then, Yueshi felt something and raised her head, looking toward the courtyard entrance.
In the moonlight, a small boy with ragged, disheveled clothes pushed open the courtyard gate and walked inside.
Seeing Xiao Mo return, Yueshi let out a breath of relief. "Foundation Building achieved?"
"It was a bit rough, but the result is acceptable."
Xiao Mo had not expected his Foundation Building crossing to take this long.
The main reason was that after enduring the tribulation lightning, likely because of the cultivation method, Xiao Mo had fallen into another great dream.
Xiao Mo dreamed he had become a bird, weaving freely through the thunder clouds.
When Xiao Mo woke from the great dream, he found he had already entered Foundation Building, and the sky had already gone dark.
"Why is the Young Miss sleeping in the courtyard?" Xiao Mo looked at Tushan Jingci draped over the stone table and asked with puzzlement.
"What else would you expect? The Young Miss knew you were going to cross your tribulation, so from this afternoon on she has been waiting here for you to come back. By tonight, the Young Miss simply could not hold on any longer and fell asleep." Yueshi let out a sigh.
"..."
Xiao Mo recalled what Jingci had said to him throughout the day, all those little pieces of "wisdom."
So she had been worried about him failing the tribulation crossing, and that was why she had said all of those things, and why she had been so weighed down by her thoughts.
"Xiao Mo... Xiao Mo, when are you coming back?"
Just as Xiao Mo and Yueshi were speaking, the sleeping little girl's lips parted slightly, and she murmured soft, drowsy words in her sleep.
Xiao Mo and Yueshi exchanged a glance. Xiao Mo walked to the little girl's side, slowly crouched down, looked at her sleeping face, and said softly, "Young Miss, I am back."
"Back..."
The sleeping little girl's breathing remained steady and even, and the corners of her thin lips curved upward ever so slightly. Even her closed eyes seemed to hold the trace of a smile.
"You are back, that is good..."
"Truly..."
"So wonderful..."