Chapter 27: I Will Truly Wait Forever

“Xiao Mo, how do you pronounce these two characters?”

“Yǎo tiǎo.”

“And this one?”

“Qiú.”

“'Yǎo tiǎo shū nǚ, jūn zǐ hǎo qiú.' Xiao Mo, what does that sentence mean?”

“It means—that a beautiful and virtuous lady is a gentleman's ideal match.”

“Then how do I become a lady?”

“Read books.”

“But I am reading.”

“Not enough. You must read more.”

“Then how many books do I have to read?”

“Once you’ve read enough, you’ll know for yourself.”

“Ooh.”

Bai Ruxue let out a soft sound, then lifted her head to look at the top of Xiao Mo's head.

“Eh? Xiao Mo, you seem to have grown taller.”

“Have I?”

“You have.” Bai Ruxue stood on her tiptoes to measure him. “Before, you were as tall as me, but now you're a whole head taller.”

“It seems so.” Xiao Mo looked at the girl in front of him. “But why aren't you growing?”

“That's true,” Bai Ruxue blinked. “Why am I not growing?”

“Maybe this is just how tall you are.” Xiao Mo patted her head, continuing to walk forward while leading the ox and reading his book.

“That's impossible.” Bai Ruxue chased after his silhouette. “Xiao Mo, I will still grow! I'll definitely grow very, very tall, and my legs will definitely be very, very long.”

Xiao Mo smiled. “Alright, then I'll wait and see.”

Every time Xiao Mo went up the mountain, he would encounter this young girl.

The girl never said where she came from, and Xiao Mo never asked where she lived.

When Xiao Mo rode the ox to read, the girl would sit sideways behind him, her small feet beneath her skirt swaying back and forth as she watched the white clouds, the grass, and him.

Since the girl appeared, Xiao Mo's time spent gathering medicinal herbs had decreased significantly.

Mainly because Bai Ruxue would collect those herbs and bury them in the ground.

Every time Xiao Mo arrived, she would excitedly pull him toward the mountains, saying, "I found so many more Ziyang herbs and Qinglong flowers!"

Xiao Mo taught her to read and write, and Bai Ruxue would pick up bits of silver to pay his "tuition."

But no matter how lucky Bai Ruxue was, she couldn't find money every single day.

When she failed to find any, Xiao Mo would have to comfort her: "It's fine. You can pay my tuition with rabbits or mountain chickens some other day."

After that, every time the girl came to see Xiao Mo, her fair little hands would be carrying a rabbit or a mountain chicken.

"You should have said so sooner; rabbits and mountain chickens are much easier to find than silver," the girl would say.

However, Bai Ruxue still searched for silver every day.

For no other reason than this

Bai Ruxue had heard Xiao Mo say that reading cost a lot of money, so she wanted to find money to pay for his studies.

In summer, the weather gradually became hot.

Snakes love the shade.

Standing at the mouth of the cave, Bai Ruxue didn't want to go out once she saw the blazing sun.

She even felt that if she crawled out, her belly would be scorched, and she would turn into a roasted snake.

But today, Xiao Mo said he would be coming up the mountain to graze the ox...

Looking at the time, Xiao Mo should have finished lunch and would already be riding the ox up the mountain.

"Xiao Qing, sister is going out..." Bai Ruxue said, summoning her courage.

Lying on a cool rock, Xiao Qing lazily lifted her head. "Sister, come back early."

As time passed, Xiao Qing no longer felt the need to say anything about her sister going to find that human.

After all, even if she said something, her sister wouldn't listen.

Besides, that human seemed quite foolish; he still hadn't realized that his sister was a demon.

"Mm, I'm off."

Bai Ruxue transformed into human form and made sure to check her little feet.

They were indeed not a tail. Bai Ruxue happily hopped out of the cave.

Sure enough, on the small path he often took up the mountain, Bai Ruxue saw a man and an ox.

"Xiao Mo!" The girl waved happily.

As usual, the two of them swayed through the mountains atop the big black ox.

It was just that the sun was truly fierce...

Bai Ruxue felt like her eyes were blurring and her head was spinning.

Just then, a shadow fell over the girl's face.

Bai Ruxue looked up; it was an oil-paper umbrella.

"Here, take this. It's hot; don't get heatstroke." Xiao Mo handed the umbrella to the girl.

"You're quite kind."

Bai Ruxue happily took the umbrella, resting it against her shoulder, and twirled the handle gently like a child.

On the back of the ox, the girl sat sideways under the umbrella, while the youth sat astride, reading his book.

The chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects blended together in the mountains.

A gentle breeze blew past, ruffling Xiao Mo's hair.

The girl took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing in comfort; the wind carried the scent of earth and the scent of him.

It seemed that summer wasn't so terrible after all.

Late autumn.

The weather gradually turned cold, and the leaves became increasingly withered and yellow.

The medicinal herbs in the mountains had also mostly withered and died.

Sitting on the rock that lay on his mandatory path up the mountain, the girl rested her chin in her fair palms, looking somewhat melancholy.

Compared to summer, Bai Ruxue found she hated autumn even more.

Because when autumn arrived, he rarely came up the mountain to graze the ox or gather herbs.

Although he would still come to play with her every few days, he was ultimately not as diligent as before.

She watched and watched, watched and watched.

Every day, the girl would sit on this rock and gaze outward, from sunrise to sunset.

Unknowingly, evening had arrived.

In half an hour, the sun would set.

Just as the girl thought he wouldn't come today, a familiar figure appeared on the small path.

The girl's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Xiao Mo!" The girl ran over happily. "Why are you coming up the mountain so late today?"

"I happened to have some free time today, so I came to visit. I thought if I ran into you, I'd have something to tell you. I didn't expect you'd still be up here," Xiao Mo said with a smile.

"I... I'm about to head down the mountain too..." The girl's eyes darted around. "What do you want to tell me?"

"The village chief said that my studies over the past few years have been quite good, and I should be able to pass the preliminary imperial examination. I've already registered, and I'll be going to take the exam next spring. The chief told me to prepare well and strive for a good ranking. Since winter is approaching, I probably won't be coming up here for a while."

"Ooh..." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, a flash of loss crossing her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I won't be able to teach you how to read for a while."

"It's okay, it's okay!" The girl waved her hands hurriedly. "Then next spring, you will definitely come back, right?"

"Yes," Xiao Mo nodded.

"Then let's pinky swear." The girl extended her slender little finger.

Xiao Mo extended his finger as well.

"Pinky swear, a hundred years without changing."

Their fingers hooked together. The girl shook her hand, her light, clear voice echoing through the mountain forest.

"Xiao Mo, next spring, I will wait for you here. You must not lie to me, okay?"

The girl lifted her beautiful eyes, looking at Xiao Mo with reluctance.

"And what if I do lie to you?" Xiao Mo teased.

"You're not allowed to lie to me."

The girl pouted.

"Because... I really will wait forever..."

(End of Chapter)