We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 522: From That Point On, Neither of Us Can Be Soft-hearted Any Longer

"Xiao Mo, what do you say to me giving you Xiangniang as a wife?"The Grand Elder Tushan Meng smiled as she looked at Xiao Mo, her eyes full of what appeared to be genuine appreciation.

The expression on her face seemed to suggest she truly was doing nothing more than trying to find him a wife, with no ulterior motive visible but Xiao Mo's own heart read the situation rather differently.

As for what this Grand Elder was thinking inwardly, Xiao Mo felt he could make a reasonable guess.

The moment those words left the Grand Elder's lips, Tushan Jingci's heart lurched, and she could not help shifting forward by a small, involuntary step.

Xiao Mo marrying another woman?

How could that possibly happen?

She absolutely refused to allow it but just as she was preparing to speak, Xiao Mo had already stepped forward with a bow and said, "Many thanks for the Grand Elder's kind thought. However, Grand Elder, I have always been an idle and unattached sort of person, and have truly never given any thought to taking a wife. As for Xiangniang, we spoke pleasantly enough on the flying vessel, but we are no more than passing acquaintances. I really could not in good conscience impose on her like this."

"Ha ha ha, who says that passing acquaintances cannot become husband and wife? Feelings are something that need to be cultivated slowly."

Tushan Meng thought for a moment, then continued in an unhurried tone.

"But if you currently have no interest in Xiangniang, I naturally would not force the matter. How about this, let Xiangniang attend to your daily needs for a period of time first. If no feelings grow between you after all, it will not be too late to speak of that then."

Xiao Mo moved to decline further, but Tushan Meng cut him off.

"Xiao Mo, if you refuse again, you will be giving me no face at all."

"And besides, Xiangniang is attending to you willingly. She sent word back to the Tushan clan from the flying vessel saying she has long had a soft spot for you."

"Moreover, she is a proper, untouched young woman. You are not losing anything, are you?"

"Very well, it is decided."

Tushan Meng glanced over the two of them once more, her tone softening slightly.

"The journey has been tiring. Xiao Mo, go and rest for now. Someone will come shortly to show you to your quarters."

"As for you, Jingci, stay for a moment. I will take you to Crescent Moon Mountain shortly. Over the next few days you will receive the blessing of our Moon Spirit Tree. The Moon Spirit Tree you must already know of. Only those of our Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan may receive its gifts, and it will be of great benefit to your future cultivation."

"Yes, Grand Elder." Tushan Jingci pressed her lips lightly together and gave a nod.

"Then Grand Elder, Young Miss, I will take my leave."

Xiao Mo bowed to each of them in turn and stepped back to withdraw.

The moment Xiao Mo walked out through the great doors of the hall, he found a woman in a light rose-colored long dress leaning against the doorframe.

She had both arms folded across her chest and was looking at him with a faint, unreadable smile.

Beneath the dress, snow-white legs showed in glimpses through the split hem, giving off an air of teasing allure.

The upper portion of her chest-revealing ensemble looked as though at any moment it might fail to contain the fullness it was barely holding in.

If she took even a few quick steps, it seemed as though what was on display would be entirely without restraint.

"Allow me to take Young Master Xiao to his quarters. Please follow me." Xiangniang gave a soft smile, then turned and swayed her slender waist as she flew down toward the foot of the mountain.

About one incense stick's time later, Xiao Mo followed Xiangniang to the entrance of a small alley in Tushan's town.

"Oho? Xiangniang has brought a man home?"

"And a human at that?"

"What a pretty face on that human boy."

"Look at that bearing. A scholar, no less. I do love a scholar."

"Scholar nothing, with that Daoist aura around him, he is clearly half a Daoist."

"And still untouched at that."

"Come here, little brother, let elder sister get a look at you. Elder sister has missed someone like you terribly."

"Little brother might not be so little, mind you."

All through the alley, women who caught sight of Xiangniang bringing a man home leaned out of their courtyard gates one after another, making their assessments loudly.

Some of the women were quite unabashed about tugging their collars open a fraction or lifting the hem of their skirts, making every effort to offer Xiao Mo an eyeful.

Xiao Mo looked over the residents of this alley with a perfectly composed expression, without a trace of desire in his eyes.

He did notice that every single inhabitant was female, not a single male among them, and all were of the fox demon clan.

Every color of fox seemed to be represented there, aside from the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox variety.

"All right, all right, you shameless creatures, stop flirting right here! This man is mine, and anyone who tries to take him from me, I will tear both her mouths apart!" Xiangniang watched the women around her with a sharp, proprietorial eye.

"Oh my, how frightening." A pink fox patted her own chest, considerably larger than a watermelon, and called in a sweet voice, "Little brother, I am telling you, Xiangniang's skills are definitely not a patch on mine. I live right here, so if you ever feel the urge, come find me anytime."

"Bah! You shameless creature, even worse than me!" Xiangniang spat in the direction of the pink fox with a huff, then quickened her pace toward her home.

Before long, Xiangniang had led Xiao Mo into a courtyard.

The courtyard was much like any ordinary household.

A front yard, three rooms, and a kitchen.

The yard did have some spirit flowers and grasses planted in it, along with a peach tree. It was all in all rather quiet and pleasant.

Once the door was closed, Xiangniang gave Xiao Mo a small bow, her earlier sharp manner from the alley nowhere to be seen, her bearing soft and enticing instead. "Young Master Xiao, this is where I live. From now on, you will be staying here. I will be right next door. If there is anything you need at all, just ask me."

As she spoke, Xiangniang took a step forward and laid her small hand lightly on Xiao Mo's chest, her voice low and liquid. "Day or night, anytime is fine."

Xiao Mo stepped back, gave a faint smile, and replied with careful courtesy. "Staying here would cause you inconvenience, and I am afraid I would compromise your honor."

"Ha ha ha ha." At his words, Xiangniang covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Are you worried about compromising my honor, or are you afraid I might compromise yours?"

Her eyes shifted with a playful light, her tone growing softer still. "Young Master need not overthink things. You may simply stay here, and indeed you can only stay here. This is the Grand Elder's arrangement. And besides, if Young Master is willing, staying here could be... a heavenly experience."

With that, Xiangniang gave a wave of the scented handkerchief in her hand, swayed her waist, and turned to leave.

Xiao Mo watched her retreating figure and could only shake his head, then turned and went back to his room to sit with closed eyes and meditate.

At noon, Xiangniang called Xiao Mo from outside the courtyard for the midday meal.

Xiao Mo did not decline, and ate lunch together with her.

The lunch spread on the table was straightforward enough.

Only, Xiangniang had changed her outfit.

In the courtyard, she wore something considerably more revealing, the hem of her skirt barely reaching the top of her thighs, with a gauzy, near-transparent outer layer draped over her upper body.

Beneath the outer layer was a breast wrap embroidered with peonies, the colors vivid, making her skin appear even more pale and luminous.

Because Xiangniang's figure was genuinely exceptional, the peonies on the breast wrap seemed almost to come to life, drawing the eye immediately.

Even at the meal table, Xiangniang would stretch out one long leg every now and then, point her ankle, and attempt to brush quietly against Xiao Mo beneath the table but Xiao Mo moved aside each time without any fuss, drawing from Xiangniang a small, petulant reaction.

That evening, when Xiao Mo was in the kitchen courtyard heating water to bathe, Xiangniang attempted to step inside and offer to scrub his back, only to find that Xiao Mo had laid down a formation in advance, and she could not enter so much as half a step.

When Xiao Mo finished bathing and came back to his room, he found that Xiangniang had already shed her outer robes and was lying under the bedding, warming the bed for him.

"Young Master, it is so cold. Come and help me warm up." Xiangniang sat up and pulled the blanket to her chest, just exposing a glimpse of snow-white, and beckoned at Xiao Mo with a wave.

"I have no need of anyone warming my bed, and if there is nothing else, the young lady might as well go back for the night." Xiao Mo said calmly.

"And what if I do not go back?" Xiangniang blinked, her expression carrying every suggestion of spring.

"That is perfectly fine. I can rest in the courtyard." Xiao Mo stepped back out of the room and thoughtfully pulled the door closed behind him.

"Young Master Xiao! Xiao Mo!"

"I am completely undressed and you are still like this. Are you even a man? Is something wrong with you? Could it be that you do not like women?"

Seeing Xiao Mo walk away with such resolve, Xiangniang called after him from the room at full volume.

Xiao Mo simply pretended he had not heard, and went to sit cross-legged in the courtyard on his own to cultivate.

As the night grew deep, seeing that Xiao Mo would not come back to the room no matter what, Xiangniang accepted the inevitable and went to sleep herself.

The following morning, Xiangniang pushed open the door and happened to catch Xiao Mo in the middle of dressing. She could not help looking downward for a moment, swallowing involuntarily.

He definitely was a man, she thought.

"Though this is Xiangniang's courtyard, I ask that you knock before coming in in the future."

Seeing Xiangniang standing there rooted to the spot, Xiao Mo gave a helpless wave of his hand, closed the door again, and laid down a formation for good measure.

Over the six or seven days that followed, Xiangniang changed her tactics constantly in her attempts to provoke Xiao Mo.

For instance, she purchased things in town that were too immodest even to describe, only worn indoors.

Or she deliberately got herself soaked and walked up to Xiao Mo, letting the drenched, thin fabric cling to every line of her figure.

Or she would make sounds alone in the room next door, sounds that could only be described as belonging to the arrival of spring, making sure Xiao Mo could hear but Xiao Mo remained unmoved throughout.

Xiangniang genuinely could not understand it.

When she went about seducing Xiao Mo, he did have a physical response, that was clear enough but his rational mind seemed to hold absolute dominance at all times, his clarity never wavering for a moment.

Xiangniang had even begun to question her own appeal as a woman but looking at herself in the mirror, she felt that though she could not compare to the Young Miss Jingci, she was still quite beautiful.

And she had gone this far. What more could he want?

If it were any other man, she would already be carrying a little fox cub.

What did offer some small comfort to Xiangniang was that whenever she was not around, the other foxes in the alley would come trying to seduce Xiao Mo too, sometimes several at once.

And Xiao Mo was unmoved by all of them as well but that said, Xiangniang knew that she could not keep going on like this indefinitely either.

On the ninth day since arriving in the alley, Xiao Mo woke, walked out into the courtyard, and found the morning meal laid out but no sign of Xiangniang anywhere.

Xiao Mo sat in the courtyard and ate, understanding clearly where Xiangniang had gone.

…

"Xiangniang pays her respects to the Grand Elder!"

In the courtyard at the top of Crescent Moon Mountain, Xiangniang, who had arrived early, clasped her hands before her and gave a respectful bow.

"Rise." Tushan Meng gave a nod and poured herself a cup of tea, her manner unhurried. "How has the matter been progressing?"

"Grand Elder, in response," Xiangniang's eyes shifted from side to side as she rapidly assembled her words in her mind, "I have tried every approach I can think of, but that Xiao Mo... he simply will not be moved."

"Will not be moved?" Tushan Meng raised her head and let her gaze settle on Xiangniang's enticing face. "Have you truly given it your fullest effort?"

"Grand Elder, I truly have. Xiao Mo is certainly a normal man in that regard, but his self-restraint is genuinely extraordinary." A note of grievance crept into Xiangniang's tone, and moisture was already gathering at the corners of her eyes.

When she had left Tushan to go and receive Tushan Jingci, Tushan Meng had called Xiangniang aside privately and instructed her to seduce Xiao Mo.

Tushan Meng had told her that if she could successfully bewitch Xiao Mo, she would be admitted to Crescent Moon Peak and receive the Tushan clan's focused cultivation.

It was an offer Xiangniang had found very appealing to begin with.

And then, when she actually met Xiao Mo, she had been pleasantly surprised to find that he was genuinely handsome, his primordial essence entirely intact, and his Dao resonance profound and deep. If she could cultivate with him in dual practice, the benefit to her would be substantial.

But who could have anticipated that this Xiao Mo was, for all practical purposes, a stone.

No, not even a stone. He was harder than a stone.

If it were actually a stone, it would have melted under her relentless assault by now.

She had even tried using her beguiling arts, but Xiao Mo seemed to be cultivating some technique that kept his heart entirely clear and bright at all times.

"If you cannot manage it, we will find someone else." Tushan Meng said flatly.

"No, no, I can manage it." Xiangniang said quickly. She had no intention of letting this choice morsel be claimed by another fox. "I ask the Grand Elder to give me a little more time. I will not fail you."

"You do not have many more days." Tushan Meng set down her teacup. "If nothing else works, you may try a more direct approach. But remember what I told you before."

"I understand, Grand Elder. Everything will be attributed to Xiangniang's own desires for Young Master Xiao. It will have nothing to do with the Grand Elder, and the Young Miss Jingci will not be made aware." Xiangniang replied.

"Good. That is all. You may go." Tushan Meng waved a hand.

"Yes."

Xiangniang gave a bow and turned to leave and the moment Xiangniang stepped out, a young woman appeared quietly at Tushan Meng's side.

"This human man you have arranged to be around your daughter has quite a fine character, I will give him that." Tushan Meng set down her cup and turned to look at her disciple.

Tushan Xinhua shook her head. "I know what Xiao Mo is like. If I did not, I would not have left him at Jingci's side, and Jingci would never have come to love him."

"His greatest fortune is that Jingci loves him." Tushan Meng paused, her tone growing heavier. "His greatest misfortune is also that Jingci loves him."

She raised her gaze toward the direction of the Moon Spirit Tree.

"If he is sensible, he will find a fox woman to marry. After that, he will become a retainer of our Tushan."

"But if, once Jingci comes out of the Moon Spirit Tree's blessing, he still refuses to touch another woman..."

Tushan Meng turned and looked directly into Tushan Xinhua's eyes, her own gaze deep and cold.

"Xinhua, do not forget. From that point on, you and I cannot be soft-hearted any longer."