At the entrance of Shiqiao Village, Xiao Mo stepped out of his carriage and walked briskly back into the village.
"Well, look who it is! Brother Mo, you’re back! How did your exam go?" Granny Zhao, who was washing clothes, exclaid joyfully when she saw Xiao Mo return.
"It went alright," Xiao Mo replied.
"Brother Mo, did you pass and beco one of those... Imperial Scholars? I hear even the lowest-ranking Imperial Scholar gets to be a Parents Official," Aunt Niu said. She didn’t really grasp what an Imperial Scholar was, only that passing so kind of exam ant becoming an official.
"I passed. But the appointnt from the Imperial City won’t be announced for another two months."
"You really passed? That’s incredible! Absolutely incredible! Our Shiqiao Village is going to have a high official!"
"Ruxue was taken by an Immortal to beco a Fairy, and now you’re going to be a high official. Shiqiao Village has really beco a blessed land!" Granny Wang said with delight.
"Granny Wang, what did you say? Ruxue was taken away by an Immortal?" Xiao Mo wondered if he had misheard.
"Eh? Didn’t Xiao Qing write you a letter about it, Brother Mo?"
"No, she didn’t." Xiao Mo lowered his head, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Just as Granny Wang was about to say more, Grandma Qian pulled her hand and said to Xiao Mo, "Mo’er, you should head ho first. Xiao Qing is probably waiting for you."
"Alright. Grandma Qian, Grannies, Aunts, I’ll be heading back then." Xiao Mo bowed with his hands clasped and walked toward his courtyard.
Once Xiao Mo was out of earshot, Grandma Qian scolded Granny Wang, "You and your big mouth."
"How is that having a big mouth...?" Granny Wang’s face was full of worry. "A whole person is gone, how could Brother Mo not notice? At least this way, he can be ntally prepared."
Aunt Sun stepped forward. "It’s a good thing that Ruxue is becoming an Immortal, but I’ve heard that Immortals and mortals are worlds apart. Even if Brother Mo becos a high official, I’m afraid that from now on, the two of them..."
"Sigh..." Grandma Qian sighed. "Nothing to be done, nothing to be done..."
"Fortunately, Miss Bai has a sister. I think Xiao Qing is also..."
Grandma Qian shot Aunt Qin a glare. "Don’t you dare speak such nonsense!"
...
In less than the ti it takes for half an incense stick to burn, Xiao Mo arrived back at his courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, a young woman in a green dress had her sleeves rolled up, airing out clothes and bedding from the rooms.
But that graceful figure in white was nowhere to be seen.
"Xiao Qing," Xiao Mo called out softly.
Startled by his voice, Xiao Qing turned her head, her face lighting up with joy. "Brother Xiao! You’re back..."
"Yes." Xiao Mo nodded, walking into the courtyard with a faint smile. "Where’s your sister? Did she go out to buy groceries?"
"My sister..." Xiao Qing’s eyes darted around. "An Immortal Elder said my sister has a gift and took her away to cultivate. The Immortal said she was Elder Fuchen of the Tianxuan Sect... My sister said you know her too, Brother Xiao..."
"No." Xiao Mo walked forward, shaking his head. "Your sister... she wouldn’t just leave."
Xiao Qing: "..."
"Xiao Qing, just tell the truth. Did sothing happen to your sister?" Xiao Mo asked calmly.
The young woman lowered her head, her fingers twisting together tightly.
’Miss Xiao Qing, you don’t have to hide from him, nor do you need to deceive him. Xiao Mo has long known that you and Miss Bai are of the Demon Race.’
Just as Xiao Qing’s eyes filled with hesitation, the words Elder Fuchen had spoken to her suddenly echoed in her mind.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Qing looked up at Xiao Mo. "Brother Xiao, let’s go up the mountain."
Xiao Mo was taken aback for a mont, then nodded. "Alright."
After locking the door, the two of them left the courtyard and started up the mountain.
"Brother Xiao, you know... you know that my sister and I get sleepy in the winter, right...?"
Walking along the mountain path, Xiao Qing nervously watched Xiao Mo’s profile.
"Yes, I know. I’ve known for a very, very long ti... since your sister was just a girl."
Xiao Qing lowered her head. "I knew it. Brother Xiao, you know that my sister and I are..."
"What you and your sister are doesn’t matter," Xiao Mo said, shaking his head. "In my eyes, you are my family."
Xiao Mo stopped and looked earnestly into Xiao Qing’s eyes. "So, Xiao Qing, no matter what it is, I hope you’ll just tell directly."
Xiao Qing pressed her thin lips together tightly.
Xiao Mo wasn’t in a hurry; he simply waited for her to answer.
After a long mont, Xiao Qing’s lips parted:
"At the beginning of the eleventh month last year, my sister started getting sleepy.
Her Realm is higher than mine. I wasn’t getting sleepy at all, but she was. That’s not normal.
I kept telling her to go to sleep, but she said she felt this hibernation would be different, and she was worried that if she fell asleep, she might never wake up...
So my sister kept forcing herself to stay awake.
Then, a few days after you left, Brother Xiao, a female Daoist master arrived. Her na was Fuchen..."
Word by word, Xiao Qing told Xiao Mo everything that had happened during that ti.
The two of them continued walking up the mountain, step by step.
As the young woman spoke, he listened in silence.
By the ti Xiao Qing finished her last sentence, they had arrived in front of a mountain cave blocked by a giant boulder.
"My sister fell asleep inside there." Xiao Qing lowered her head, her eyes filled with loneliness and sorrow.
"I see."
Xiao Mo stared at the giant boulder blocking the cave entrance.
Seeing the look on Brother Xiao’s face, Xiao Qing felt a pang in her heart.
Brother Xiao and her sister were only a few dozen feet apart, yet they could not see each other.
"Brother Xiao... it’s not that my sister didn’t wait for you. If you’re going to bla soone, Brother Xiao, then bla ..." Xiao Qing said, looking up.
"I don’t bla you, Xiao Qing. If I were in your shoes, I would have done the sa." Xiao Mo patted Xiao Qing’s head as if comforting a younger sister. "You did the right thing."
"..." Xiao Qing lowered her head, clenching her fists as tears welled up in her eyes.
’Xiao Mo knew that for the past few months, Xiao Qing must have been blaming herself—blaming herself for making the decision on her sister’s behalf, for breaking the promise between her sister and .’
"Did Elder Fuchen say when Ruxue might wake up?" Xiao Mo asked, changing the subject.
Xiao Qing shook her head. "Elder Fuchen said it could be thirty or forty years, or it could be..."
"Or it could be my entire lifeti," Xiao Mo added.
"..."
"Xiao Qing, could you go pick so Cyan Dragon Flowers and Purple Sun Grass for ?" Xiao Mo asked in a gentle voice.
"Okay, Brother Xiao..." Xiao Qing wiped her tears and hurried off to find the flowers and herbs.
After Xiao Qing left, Xiao Mo sat down on the ground, like a weary traveler who had finally returned ho after a long journey.
Gazing at the boulder before him, Xiao Mo’s thoughts began to drift.
’No wonder you, who never ate spicy food, were always chewing on chili peppers, insisting your mouth just felt bland.’
’No wonder you, who were always afraid of the cold, kept washing your face with ice-cold water.’
’No wonder you never let yourself be idle those days, saying you’d get sleepy the mont you had nothing to do.’
’You silly girl... why did you have to put yourself through that?’
The spring breeze rustled Xiao Mo’s green robes.
This was the robe she had sewn for him, stitch by stitch. It carried the scent of soil and grass, and the faint fragrance of the Cyan Dragon Flower.
"Ruxue, you don’t have to wait anymore..."
Xiao Mo reached out, his hand caressing the large stone.
"I’m ho."
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