Chapter 598 - 488: If You’re Not Afraid to Die, Then Come

"Really... Is it really true?"

Tushan Jing Ci tilted her face up slightly, her eyes blinking as she gazed at Xiao Mo, her expression a mixture of dazed disbelief and brimming anticipation.

"Xiao Mo, you’re really not lying to me?" the young woman asked the young man before her, as if afraid of being deceived.

"It’s true," Xiao Mo said with a gentle, certain smile. "Assuming the divination arts of the Great Dream of Yellow Millet haven’t deceived me."

"Okay... Then I’ll wait for you. You can’t go back on your word!" Tushan Jing Ci extended her slender pinky finger, holding it right in front of Xiao Mo, her eyes showing a childlike seriousness. "Let’s pinky swear."

"I wouldn’t dare," Xiao Mo said with a laugh, extending his own hand.

One thick, one slender, their two pinky fingers gently hooked together.

A moment later, Xiao Mo released the young woman’s finger and took a step back. "Miss, it’s getting late. I’ll take my leave now. Please, take good care of yourself during this time."

"I... I’ll wait for you..."

Tushan Jing Ci pressed a small hand lightly to her chest, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Mo, as if trying to etch his appearance, piece by piece, into her heart.

Xiao Mo smiled and nodded, straightened his sleeves, and gave Tushan Jing Ci a deep bow. Then, he turned and slowly walked away.

Tushan Jing Ci remained standing where she was, her gaze tightly following his retreating figure as it grew more distant.

She subconsciously took a step forward, as if wanting to chase after him, but in the end, she stopped.

When Xiao Mo’s figure had shrunk to a tiny dot, the young woman couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes, tilting her chin up slightly, trying her best to see into the distance.

Even after that tiny dot had completely vanished over the horizon, the young woman continued to stare in that direction.

After a long, long time, she finally bit her lip and slowly withdrew her gaze.

"Sister Yue Shi..." Her voice held a barely perceptible tremble. "This secluded cultivation of Xiao Mo’s... will it be dangerous?"

Yue Shi glanced quietly at the young lady beside her and gently shook her head. "Whether human or Demon, any secluded cultivation is inevitably accompanied by a certain degree of risk."

As soon as the words were out, Tushan Jing Ci’s head drooped, the worry in her expression deepening.

"But please don’t worry, Miss." Seeing her young lady’s state, a flash of compassion crossed Yue Shi’s eyes. "I believe Xiao Mo will be able to emerge successfully. Since he made a promise to you, he will definitely keep it."

"Mmm..."

Tushan Jing Ci raised her head again, gazing in the direction Xiao Mo had disappeared.

"He said he would never lie to me."

"Since he promised me."

"He definitely won’t go back on his word."

...

After descending from Shallow Study Peak, Xiao Mo arrived at Liu Family Village.

He had intended to say hello to Liu Shui and tell her that she no longer needed to come to his courtyard to do his laundry and cooking.

However, he hadn’t expected Liu Shui to be away from home.

Xiao Mo asked a neighbor and learned that she was at the market with her mother selling things, and wouldn’t be back until later.

So, Xiao Mo wrote a letter and asked the neighbor to pass it on to Liu Shui, then turned and returned to his bamboo courtyard.

「Back at the bamboo courtyard.」

The first thing Xiao Mo did was take out a series of Array Flags from his Storage Pouch and carefully plant them one by one around the bamboo courtyard.

These flags could help Xiao Mo gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and also served as a warning system.

That said, if Xiao Mo entered a deep state of secluded cultivation, he would still be injured by the interruption to his practice if the Array Flags tried to wake him.

But in any case, it was better to have them than not.

After completing all his preparations, Xiao Mo consumed several Elixirs to supplement his Spiritual Power and Blood Qi. He then sat cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, quietly regulating the Spiritual Power within his body to meet the upcoming seclusion in his best possible condition.

An entire night passed quietly. The sun rose in the east, and a fish-belly white spread across the distant horizon.

Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes.

Xian Xichun had already arrived outside the bamboo courtyard. He brushed his green robes and sat cross-legged on a block of bluestone, giving Xiao Mo a slight nod.

"I’ll have to trouble you, Mr. Xian."

Xiao Mo spoke softly, then closed his eyes again.

The instant Xiao Mo began Entering the Dao, a clear breeze swept through the bamboo forest, creating a soft, rustling sound.

A squirrel in the bamboo grove lifted its head, looking curiously at the human sitting with closed eyes in the courtyard, before suddenly leaping away into the distance.

An aura of Dao charm drifted out from around Xiao Mo, gradually condensing into a winding, river-like stream of Dao charm.

Black and white intertwined to form the twin fish of yin and yang, which leaped up from the river of Dao charm before falling back into the water with a SPLASH, repeating the cycle endlessly.

’He’s only at the Dragon Gate Realm, yet his first secluded cultivation can trigger such a Daoist Sect phenomenon.’ Xian Xichun nodded in satisfaction, a hint of approval in his eyes. ’This young man is truly impressive...’

Before the thought was even finished, Xian Xichun’s Divine Thought stirred, and a longsword suddenly appeared in his palm.

In the next instant, with but a flicker of a thought, the longsword was unsheathed, and a flash of sword light streaked through the air.

Deep within the bamboo forest, a person in black fell from mid-air, crashing onto the soft earth. Blood spread out, staining the newly sprouted bamboo shoots and damp soil red.

"This has nothing to do with you, Mr. Xian. Are you really determined to meddle in others’ affairs?"

In the empty bamboo forest, an androgynous voice echoed eerily, its words filled with chilling killing intent and a bone-deep coldness.

"I don’t care how much Tushan paid you," Xian Xichun’s tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable authority. "If you want to touch him before he emerges from his cultivation, you’ll have to get past my sword first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xian Xichun swung his sword again.

The pupils of the person who had just been speaking from the shadows contracted abruptly.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The sword light sliced through his body, instantly cutting him in two.

"I may have spent a few hundred years reading books and cultivating my temperament," Xian Xichun said, flipping his blade and plunging the longsword straight into the earth beside him before tilting his head back to take a swig of wine, "but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost my temper."

His cold gaze swept over the surrounding bamboo forest.

"If you’re not afraid to die, then come on!"

"..."

Mr. Xian’s voice echoed through the bamboo forest before gradually fading away.

Silence reigned all around, and for a long time, there was no response.

After a moment, stalks of bamboo trembled slightly as all the shadows hidden in the darkness silently retreated, taking even their comrades’ bodies with them.

"With that little courage, they call themselves assassins. Ridiculous!"

Xian Xichun gave a cold laugh, tilted his head back, and continued to drink the wine from his flask.

"Then again..."

Xian Xichun lifted his head, looked toward the path leading halfway up the mountain, and couldn’t help but smile.

’The ones who shouldn’t have come have already come. When will the one who *should* come arrive?’

...

"Sister Yue Shi..."

In the courtyard, early in the morning.

Tushan Jing Ci had woken up early and was shaking Yue Shi’s arm.

"Please just let me go down the mountain..."

"Sister Yue Shi..."