“Xiao Mo...”

Early in the morning.

The sky had only just begun to brighten when Tushan Jingci suddenly sat bolt upright in bed.

She hurriedly put on her little shoes, jumped out of bed, and ran out of the room.

The moment she pushed open the door and saw that figure sitting in meditation in the courtyard, a bright, lovely smile filled Tushan Jingci’s eyes.

“Xiao Mo, you’re back...”

She skipped happily forward.

It was as if the whole world had brightened for her all at once.

Xiao Mo gathered in his thoughts, opened his eyes, and smiled faintly at her. “Mm, I’m back. I made Young Lady worry yesterday.”

“Who was worried about you? I wasn’t worried about you at all.” Tushan Jingci turned her little head aside and denied it on purpose.

Xiao Mo only smiled and said nothing. He closed his eyes again and continued absorbing the essence of the newborn sun.

Tushan Jingci kept looking at him.

She did not know whether it was only her imagination, but she felt that Xiao Mo seemed even more handsome now.

And there was a kind of comfort in the aura he gave off.

“Jingci...”

Just as Tushan Jingci was watching Xiao Mo cultivate, she heard Chen Jue’s voice.

She glanced toward the courtyard gate and saw Chen Jue standing outside with his book boy.

That book boy, Wang Zhong, had a bruised and swollen face, and his hands were wrapped in bandages. He looked rather miserable.

In Wang Zhong’s arms was a box, though it was impossible to tell what was inside.

The moment she saw Chen Jue and Wang Zhong, Tushan Jingci frowned.

Originally, because he had once attended her birthday banquet, and because the Heavenly Demon Kingdom and the Tushan residence were on good terms, she had always treated him politely.

But after what happened yesterday, she was full of dislike for him.

Naturally, she did not welcome him into her courtyard now.

Hearing Chen Jue’s voice, Xiao Mo also opened his eyes and looked at the master and servant pair with quiet vigilance.

“Chen Jue, what are you doing here?” Tushan Jingci hopped down from her chair, pouting, her pretty eyes opened wide.

“Jingci, about what happened yesterday—it was my fault for failing to discipline my people. So today I brought Wang Zhong here to apologize and make amends.” Chen Jue wore a pure, harmless smile. “Would it be possible for us to step inside and speak?”

Tushan Jingci was just about to refuse when Xiao Mo, standing beside her, lightly tugged at the corner of her sleeve and shook his head.

“Hmph!” Tushan Jingci turned away with marked displeasure. “Fine. Come in!”

“Thank you, Jingci!” Chen Jue hurried inside.

“If you have something to say, say it. If not, then hurry up and leave!” Tushan Jingci was not the least bit polite to them.

Chen Jue did not get angry. He merely kicked Wang Zhong beside him and barked, “Look at the mess you caused. See how angry you’ve made Miss Tushan? Why aren’t you apologizing to Miss Tushan already?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Wang Zhong hurried forward.

“Miss Tushan, yesterday I was the one whose head got kicked by a donkey. It was all my fault. I angered you, and I ask you to forgive me. Please calm down and don’t lower yourself to my level.”

As he spoke, Wang Zhong quickly opened the box in his arms. “This is a gift of apology from my young master—a five-thousand-year lingzhi. It may not be some extraordinary treasure, but it is greatly beneficial for replenishing qi in your cultivation.”

With that, Wang Zhong set the lingzhi on the table, then dropped to his knees before Tushan Jingci and began knocking his head against the ground again and again.

Tushan Jingci was, by nature, a kind little girl.

Seeing Wang Zhong—his face bruised, his body wrapped in bandages—kowtowing at her feet, she could not help softening a little.

But then she thought of the wound marks on Xiao Mo’s neck, and the blood dripping from his palm.

The anger inside her refused to die down. Clenching her fists, she turned her head away as if she would not even acknowledge him.

Seeing that, Chen Jue stepped forward as well and said to Tushan Jingci, “Jingci, I am his master. Failing to teach him properly is my fault too. So I owe you an apology as well.”

“And don’t worry. Tomorrow, this worthless cur will be sent back to the Heavenly Demon Kingdom. He will absolutely never again appear before you and offend your eyes.”

“I hope you won’t bother arguing with someone like this.”

“Hmph! You came here to apologize, but you can’t even get the right person!” Tushan Jingci snapped. “The person you should be apologizing to isn’t me! It’s my Xiao Mo! What does it amount to, having Wang Zhong kneel in front of me?”

“...”

Hearing Tushan Jingci’s words, Chen Jue’s brows drew together.

“Your Highness...” Wang Zhong also turned to look at his master.

Wang Zhong felt that apologizing to the Tushan clan was not humiliating at all, because she was a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, her bloodline noble to begin with.

But now he was being told to apologize to Xiao Mo.

He had always looked down on humans, believing they were fit only to be made into dishes.

To apologize to a human—rather than anything else, that was harder for Wang Zhong to bear than death.

“Why are you looking at me? You did this yourself, and now you won’t own it? Go apologize to Xiao Mo!”

Chen Jue roared at Wang Zhong, his fists clenched so tightly they shook with fury.

But his anger was not directed at Wang Zhong.

It was directed at Xiao Mo.

He simply did not dare show it and could only vent it on Wang Zhong instead.

After all, for his trusted follower to apologize to a human was a slap in his own face.

But thinking of his father’s warning, and of the power of the Tushan clan, Chen Jue could only endure it.

Gritting his teeth, Wang Zhong turned around to face Xiao Mo. His hands dug into the ground so hard his fingers sank into the soil.

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“Brother Xiao, yesterday was my fault. I, Wang Zhong, apologize to you here and now. I hope that, in your generosity, you won’t stoop to the level of someone small like me. I swear such a thing will never happen again!”

When he finished, Wang Zhong slammed his head into the ground three times in rapid succession, dirt and sand sticking to his forehead.

The wound on his brow split open again from the kowtow, and blood began to run down, making him look utterly sincere.

Even after seeing that, Tushan Jingci said nothing. She only looked at Xiao Mo.

As far as Tushan Jingci was concerned, whether Xiao Mo forgave them or not, she would support him all the same.

Xiao Mo, too, looked down at Wang Zhong kneeling at his feet, seeming to think about something.

“Brother Wang, get up. Since you’ve admitted your mistake, what more is there to say? Let this matter end here.”

Only after a long moment did Xiao Mo speak, as if he had let it go.

“Why are you still kneeling? Get up already!”

Hearing that Xiao Mo had forgiven Wang Zhong, Chen Jue let out a breath of relief and hurried over to kick Wang Zhong.

Then Chen Jue turned to Tushan Jingci with a smile. “Jingci, now that Xiao Mo has forgiven Wang Zhong, then just as Xiao Mo said, let yesterday’s matter end here. Let it not damage the goodwill between our two families.”

“But Chen Jue, Wang Zhong is your man. You said yourself that you failed to discipline him properly. Now Wang Zhong has admitted his fault, but what about you?” Tushan Jingci still showed no sign of letting Chen Jue off. “You have to apologize to my Xiao Mo too!”

“...”

The moment Tushan Jingci said that, silence fell over the courtyard again.

Yueshi, who had been hanging laundry off to the side, quietly watched the scene unfold.

But she did not interfere.

Behind his back, Chen Jue’s right hand clenched tightly into a fist.

Yet when he remembered his father’s words and the strength of the Tushan clan, that hand slowly relaxed again.

“Brother Xiao, it was my failure to discipline my people. I offer Brother Xiao my apology.”

Chen Jue cupped his hands and bowed to Xiao Mo, looking utterly sincere.

“You give me too much credit, Young Master Chen. When people live in close company, some friction is unavoidable. What matters most is keeping harmony between us.” Xiao Mo nodded and returned the gesture.

“Fine. Since Xiao Mo has said as much, then for now this young lady will consider the two of you forgiven!” Tushan Jingci said. “We’ll accept the gift too. You can leave now. What? Don’t tell me you were planning to stay for breakfast?”

Tushan Jingci was very plainly driving the two of them out.

“We have matters of our own to attend to, so we won’t disturb you any longer, Jingci.” Chen Jue straightened and smiled.

“No need to see you out.”

“Let’s go.”

Chen Jue led Wang Zhong out of the courtyard.

After the master and servant pair had left, Xiao Mo shook his head. “Young Lady really didn’t need to do that. The Tushan clan and the Heavenly Demon Kingdom are allied. Offending the future crown prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom for my sake isn’t worth it.”

“What do you mean, not worth it?”

Tushan Jingci folded her arms across her chest and lifted her little chin proudly.

“If it’s for you, then it’s worth it!”

“And what’s so great about some First Prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom?”

“If you hadn’t nodded, I wasn’t even going to forgive them!”

“All right, Xiao Mo. You go back to cultivating. I need to do my lessons too. Otherwise, when I go back to class in two days, the teacher will smack my palms with the ruler again.”

Tushan Jingci went into the room, brought out a copy of The Book of Odes, and sat in the courtyard reciting it aloud.

Watching the look of concentration on her face, Xiao Mo also sat down cross-legged in the courtyard and resumed his cultivation.

But Xiao Mo did not believe for a moment that the matter was truly over.

Chen Jue and that servant of his had not sincerely wanted to apologize to him.

Still, there was nothing Xiao Mo could do about it. For now, there was only cultivation.

Only by strengthening himself and raising his realm would it become easier to do the things he wanted in the future.

Otherwise, he was nothing more than a dish on a plate.

Night fell.

At the Tushan residence in Immortal Fox City,

Tushan Xinhua was reading the letter Yueshi had sent back from Cold Mountain Academy.

The letter described the conflict that had broken out at the academy between her daughter and her peers.

After reading Yueshi’s account from beginning to end and understanding the whole chain of events, Tushan Xinhua’s beautiful brows knit slightly.

“That First Prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom is ruthless for one so young.”

When she finished, Tushan Xinhua lowered the letter over the brazier.

Very quickly, it burned to ash and scattered through the room.

To other people, this conflict might have looked like nothing more than an accident.

But in Tushan Xinhua’s eyes, Chen Jue, First Prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom, had deliberately targeted Xiao Mo.

As for the reason—

most likely, it was because of Great Dream of Yellow Millet.

Otherwise, how could a mere book boy have dared to try to kill her daughter’s book boy?

And how could it have been such a coincidence that Xiao Mo happened to appear just as they were bullying a human girl?

This had probably been planned from the start.

Fortunately, the ruler of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom must have stepped in. Fearing any damage to relations between the Heavenly Demon Kingdom and the Tushan clan, he had ordered Chen Jue to bring that book boy to apologize to her daughter in person.

The other side had handled things well enough on the surface, and that was the end of the matter.

Otherwise, she would have gone to the imperial capital of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom herself and had a proper talk with Chen Bing.

“Come to think of it, the time is about right. I should return to the clan as well.”

Tushan Xinhua glanced at the moonlight, a trace of reluctance and distaste in her expression.

“What a nuisance...”

With a soft sigh, Tushan Xinhua gave a shake and transformed into a snow-white Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox, then rode the night wind with her innate divine ability, racing a million li into the distance.

Two mornings later, Tushan Xinhua arrived before a mountain peak.

Carved into the mountainside were the two enormous characters:

Tushan.

Passing over the peak, what spread before Tushan Xinhua’s eyes was range after range of mountains, with small plains scattered among them.

There were villages and towns on the plains.

There were houses on the mountain ridges as well, and demons cultivating among them.

The air for ten thousand {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} li in every direction was dense with spiritual power, making it a supreme place for cultivation.

This was the ancestral land of the Tushan clan—

and also the ancestral land of every fox clan in the demon-race world.

Whether Nine-Tailed Heavenly Foxes or ordinary foxes,

here, there was only one surname.

Tushan.

Tushan Xinhua did not want to come back to this ancestral land, but as one of the Tushan, she had no choice but to return.

Composing herself, Tushan Xinhua went directly to a certain mountain peak.

This was Council Peak, the peak where the Tushan clan held deliberations.

The assembly at Council Peak was convened once every three hundred years.

Its participants were the ten Nine-Tailed Heavenly Foxes with the highest cultivation realms.

They were also the ten elders of the entire Tushan clan.

When Tushan Xinhua arrived at Council Peak, she returned to human form and entered the great hall.

The moment she stepped inside, the other nine elders were already present, and all of them turned to look at her.

“Grand Elder.”

Tushan Xinhua cupped her hands and bowed to the old man seated at the head.

“Xinhua, I’d thought you might not come.” Grand Elder Tushan Meng looked at his personal disciple. “Take your seat.”

“Yes.”

Tushan Xinhua nodded and sat in the third seat on the right.

“Since everyone is present, let the meeting begin. First, we should discuss this recently rising Human Alliance...”

Tushan Meng began in a slow voice.

Over the next two hours, under the Grand Elder’s direction, the ten elders of the Tushan clan discussed one matter after another.

Most of it concerned alliances with other demon powers, the future direction of the Tushan clan, and the Human Alliance that was gradually rising throughout the demon-race world.

But no matter how the Grand Elder framed it, from everything said at the meeting, Tushan Xinhua distilled only two words:

struggle for supremacy.

“That will be all for today’s meeting. You may withdraw. We will continue tomorrow.”

“Yes, Grand Elder.”

With the meeting temporarily adjourned, Tushan Xinhua and the other eight elders bowed together and retreated.

But just as Tushan Xinhua turned to leave, Grand Elder Tushan Meng called out to her.

“Xinhua, stay a moment.”

The other eight elders glanced at Tushan Xinhua, then left the hall and closed the doors behind them.

“Grand Elder, what further instructions do you have?” Tushan Xinhua asked.

Only the two of them remained in the vast hall now.

“I have heard,” Tushan Meng said, “that you taught Great Dream of Yellow Millet to a human man?”

“Yes, Grand Elder.” Tushan Xinhua nodded.

“I’ll give you two choices.”

Tushan Meng clasped his hands behind his back and looked straight into Tushan Xinhua’s eyes.

“Will you kill him with your own hands?”

“Or shall I?”

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