Chapter 33: But he alone, Sister cannot do it

Leaving the Dowager Empress's residence, Xiao Mo returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and entered the Book of a Hundred Lifetimes once more.

Sitting in the courtyard.

Xiao Mo took a translucent snake scale from his bosom.

The scale had been strung into a necklace by Bai Ruxue and was currently hanging around Xiao Mo's neck, carried with him wherever he went.

Xiao Mo set down the book in his hands and looked up toward the direction of Mount She.

It was about time he went to pick her up.

Yesterday, Bai Ruxue had said she would pack her belongings and wait for him on that small path at noon tomorrow.

Estimating the time, she should be coming down the mountain soon.

"Sister, are you really leaving?"

At the mouth of the cave, Xiao Qing looked at her sister, her nose twitching as she sniffled.

"Don't worry, Xiao Qing." Bai Ruxue patted her sister's shoulder. "I will definitely come back to visit you often. Once I get familiar with the world below the mountain, I'll bring you with me. Xiao Mo is a very good person."

"Fine then." Xiao Qing wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Then sister, you must be careful after you go down the mountain! Humans are all very wicked! And you are so innocent, it'll be easy for them to trick you."

"It won't happen." Bai Ruxue proudly lifted her fair chin. "I am very clever, and besides, I have Xiao Mo."

"I'm just afraid he'll sell you out, sister," Xiao Qing sighed inwardly.

"Sister, after you go down the mountain, you must not reveal your true form in front of people. Remember that, remember that!" Xiao Qing urged once more.

"Mhm, mhm, I know," Bai Ruxue nodded. "Xiao Qing, you must eat plenty of mice and take good care of yourself. I will bring you down the mountain as soon as possible."

"Xiao Qing will wait for you, sister..."

After bidding farewell to her sister, Bai Ruxue walked happily down the mountain.

Before long, Bai Ruxue reached the mountainside.

By the stones on that small path, Bai Ruxue saw him, dressed in green robes.

"Xiao Mo!" Bai Ruxue called out and ran toward him.

Xiao Mo turned around and saw that Bai Ruxue was carrying a chicken in one hand and a rabbit in the other.

"What is this?" Xiao Mo asked.

"This is our lunch for today~" Bai Ruxue brandished her prey. "I'll cook it for you after we get down the mountain."

"Alright." Xiao Mo smiled. "Then I shall look forward to Miss Bai's culinary skills."

"Hmph~ This lady's skills are excellent~~~"

"I believe in you, Miss Bai," Xiao Mo said expectantly.

The two walked down Mount She side by side and entered the village.

"Mr. Xiao, the lady beside you is truly lovely."

"What a beautiful young lady."

"She looks like a fairy. Mr. Xiao, who is she?"

When Xiao Mo brought Bai Ruxue into the village, Auntie Li, Granny Wang, and others all praised her upon seeing her.

They weren't just flattering her; they truly had never seen such a beautiful woman.

This woman was fair and tender, as clean as snow, just like the fairies in legends.

"She is the daughter of a friend of my father's who passed away. She usually lived in the State of Chen. When war broke out in Chen, Ruxue fled with her parents. Her parents passed away not long ago. I recognized her while I was in town today. Since she has nowhere else to go, I brought her back here first."

Xiao Mo delivered the prepared excuse to the various aunts and elders of the village.

Hearing how pitiful the girl's background was, the villagers were overcome with sympathy, pulling Bai Ruxue close to offer words of comfort and warmth.

Before long, the villagers of Stone Bridge Village all knew that a girl as beautiful as a flower and more stunning than a fairy had arrived.

"Miss Bai, please make do with staying here for a while. If you need anything, just tell me."

After returning to the courtyard, Xiao Mo led Bai Ruxue to a small wooden hut nearby.

Originally, this hut was used for storing miscellaneous items, but Xiao Mo had cleared it out and replaced the bedding and pillows with new ones.

"I'm not 'making do' at all." Bai Ruxue waved her hand and sat on her bed. "It's so comfortable... I usually sleep on rocks."

Xiao Mo: "..."

"Um, what I meant was, the beds my sister and I had were very hard, just like rocks." Bai Ruxue hurriedly tried to cover her slip.

"As long as you like it, Miss Bai." Xiao Mo continued to act as if he knew nothing.

"I love it!"

Seeing how easily Xiao Mo could be fooled, Bai Ruxue thought to herself that there was no way she would ever expose her identity; Xiao Qing's worries were completely unnecessary.

"Xiao Mo, I'll go prepare some food for you."

"Then thank you, Miss Bai."

"You're very welcome~"

Bai Ruxue skipped lightly out of the bedroom and ran toward the kitchen.

Xiao Mo sat in the courtyard, flipping through a book.

Not long after, Xiao Mo smelled a thick scent of smoke.

Looking up, he saw a soot-covered Bai Ruxue running out of the kitchen, crying

"Xiao Mo, fire! The kitchen is on fire!"

***

In the kitchen of the backyard of the Minister of Rites of the State of Zhou.

Yan Ruxue was preparing a meal.

A maid named Xiao Chun stood by her side, attempting to assist.

Though it was called assisting, Xiao Chun had nothing to actually do.

Whether it was chopping vegetables or tending the fire, the young lady did everything herself.

Watching her mistress's skillful knife work and her efficient manner of stoking the flames, Xiao Chun couldn't help but marvel every time: how could there be such a perfect woman?

Capable in the parlor and skilled in the kitchen, possessing both talent and beauty.

Such a person could only be her young lady.

Once the meal was prepared, Yan Ruxue had Xiao Chun carry it out.

In the courtyard sat a woman dressed in a green skirt.

This was the young lady's close friend; Xiao Chun had never known this woman's origins.

She always appeared and disappeared without a trace.

However, Xiao Chun did not say much, nor did she ask questions.

Xiao Chun only knew that this woman's beauty was just a notch below her mistress's.

And her mistress addressed her as "Xiao Qing"...

After placing the food on the table, Xiao Chun bowed as usual and withdrew.

Yan Ruxue sat before Xiao Qing. With a slender hand, she pushed up her sleeve to reveal a fair arm, ladled a bowl of chicken soup, and placed it before her

"Xiao Qing, you haven't eaten my cooking for a long time, have you? Come, taste my skills and see if I've regressed."

"Sister..." Xiao Qing looked up at the woman with a complex gaze. "You haven't returned to the Dragon Palace in a very long time."

Yan Ruxue placed a piece of braised rabbit meat in Xiao Qing's bowl. "Once these matters are handled, I will return."

"Sister! It's useless!"

Xiao Qing's tone carried a hint of anger.

"Even if you have found his third life this time, so what? In this life, he is still just an ordinary man. His lifespan is still no more than a hundred years, and he will eventually turn to dust!"

Yan Ruxue remained silent, merely serving rice for her sister.

"Sister! Have you forgotten what he said to you before he died?" Xiao Qing suddenly stood up, staring at her sister, her chest heaving violently.

Yan Ruxue: "..."

Looking at her sister, who had been obsessed for thousands of years, Xiao Qing seemed to lose all her strength. "Sister... let it go..."

"Xiao Qing..."

Yan Ruxue looked up, gazing into Xiao Qing's eyes with tenderness.

"Sister can let go of anything.

But him.

Sister cannot do it."

(End of Chapter)