Chapter 482: Mother, I Don’t Want to Marry Those People
“Sister Xiao—”
“Is Brother Xiao here?”
“Brother Xiao—”
Early the next morning, a woman’s voice sounded from outside the bamboo courtyard.
When Xiao Mo stepped out of his room, he saw Liu Shui standing outside the courtyard with a basket in her hands.
“Sister Liu Shui, what brings you here?” Xiao Mo said with a smile as he walked forward and opened the fence gate. “Please, come in.”
“Mhm.”
Liu Shui stepped into the courtyard and looked around, curiosity bright in her eyes.
“I originally went to Young Lady Tushan’s place today to bring some cakes, but when I got there, I saw that you weren’t there. Sister Yueshi said you’d moved to the bamboo courtyard at the foot of the mountain.”
“Even though Sister Yueshi told me where it was, I still searched for a long time before I found it.”
As Liu Shui looked around, delight flickered in her eyes.
“I never imagined there would be a bamboo courtyard hidden in this grove.”
“And this courtyard is so lovely. Did you arrange it yourself, Young Master?”
“I didn’t.” Xiao Mo smiled and poured her a cup of tea. “It was already like this when I moved in. I only cleaned it up a little. Please, have some tea, Sister Liu Shui.”
“Thank you, Young Master.” Liu Shui dipped in a small bow and accepted the cup. “But with you living here alone and no one to look after you, won’t that be a little improper?”
Xiao Mo chuckled softly. “It’s all right. Living here alone, with no one around, is actually rather peaceful. It suits quiet cultivation.”
“That won’t do.” Liu Shui shook her head and looked at Xiao Mo. “Even if you’re cultivating alone, there should still be someone to wash your clothes, cook your meals, and clean your courtyard.”
As she spoke, Liu Shui lifted her head and looked seriously into Xiao Mo’s eyes. “Young Master, how about this? If you don’t mind, I can come here every day and clean the courtyard for you.”
“That would be too much trouble for you, Sister Liu Shui.” Xiao Mo shook his head. “And I have long since stopped needing ordinary meals.”
“That still won’t do,” Liu Shui insisted. “Even if you’ve long since stopped eating ordinary food, you still need to eat the flesh of spirit beasts and demonic beasts every day to replenish your spiritual power and vitality.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll come every day to cook for you and clean the courtyard.” Liu Shui bowed lightly. “I still have a few things to do, so I’ll be going first. I’ll come back at noon.”
With that, Liu Shui immediately turned and left, as though afraid Xiao Mo would refuse.
“Sister Liu Shui—”
Xiao Mo called after her, but she had already vanished into the bamboo grove.
“Well... so be it.”
Xiao Mo shook his head.
He did indeed need to eat some spirit beast or demonic beast flesh to replenish his spiritual power.
Sister Liu Shui’s cooking was quite good. She really could help him a great deal.
Of course, he would not let her work for nothing.
He would naturally pay her, and he would cover the full cost of the ingredients himself.
As for ingredients rich in spiritual power, he would have Sister Liu Shui eat them together with him. That would also help her cultivation.
After deciding that, Xiao Mo sat cross-legged in the courtyard and continued cultivating.
Without realizing it, noon arrived.
After Liu Shui finished cooking for her mother, she came on time to cook for Xiao Mo.
With one more person around, the courtyard felt a little livelier.
Only...
In Xiao Mo’s heart, there was still a faint sense of emptiness.
In the past, Jingci would always noisily drag him out to play.
Or else she would chatter beside him like a little bird.
Now that Jingci was no longer by his side, he found himself somewhat unaccustomed to it.
After lunch, Liu Shui had nothing else to do, so she simply stayed in Xiao Mo’s courtyard.
Xiao Mo naturally had no objection.
The spiritual power in this bamboo grove was abundant. Even breathing there would do Liu Shui a good deal of good.
In the afternoon courtyard, Xiao Mo would sometimes read Great Dream of Yellow Millet, and sometimes other Daoist classics.
Because Xiao Mo had discovered something.
After cultivating Great Dream of Yellow Millet to the middle section, other Daoist classics were also beneficial to him.
The deeper his understanding of dao arts became, the more smoothly he could cultivate Great Dream of Yellow Millet.
It had very much the feeling of one thing illuminating another.
And just as Xiao Mo had become deeply absorbed in his reading, Liu Shui, who was cleaning the courtyard nearby, kept glancing at him from time to time, her eyes full of softness.
“Young Master, have some tea...”
Liu Shui poured a cup and handed it to Xiao Mo.
“Thank you, Sister Liu Shui.” Xiao Mo nodded and reached out to take it.
But by accident, Liu Shui’s fingers brushed against Xiao Mo’s hand.
As if struck by lightning, Liu Shui quickly drew her fingers back and clasped them to her chest, her gaze flickering from side to side.
But Xiao Mo was too absorbed in reading to notice her expression.
In the evening, after cooking dinner for Xiao Mo, Liu Shui left the bamboo courtyard and returned to the village to cook for her mother.
“Mother, I’m back.” When she returned home, Liu Shui called out a greeting and was about to go into the kitchen. “Mother, I’m going to make dinner.”
“No rush, no rush.” Seeing her daughter return, Mother Liu smiled, took her daughter’s small hand, and patted the back of it gently. “Shui’er, there’s some good news. Mother wants to talk to you about it.”
“Mother...” Liu Shui ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) felt rather helpless. “It isn’t another marriage proposal, is it?”
“What do you mean, ‘another marriage proposal’?”
Mother Liu was a little displeased.
“You’re already a grown young woman in your twenties. Other girls in the village your age already have children old enough to run errands.”
“Shui’er, listen to Mother properly.” Mother Liu sighed. “You’re still young, and you’re pretty too, so quite a few people have come to propose. This time it’s Young Master Huang from Cold Mountain City. He’s a decent man. His family may not be especially wealthy, but living without worry about food and clothing in the future won’t be a problem.”
“Mother, I don’t want to marry those people...”
“Then who do you want to marry? Don’t tell me you’ve taken a fancy to one of the scholars from the academy.”
Mother Liu said it casually.
But it was precisely that casual remark—
That made Liu Shui’s face flush red in an instant.
Looking at her daughter like this, how could Mother Liu not understand what had happened?
“Daughter, you can’t really...”
Mother Liu stared blankly at her daughter.
“Daughter, those scholars from the academy are all from great families. We can’t climb that high!”
“That’s not it, Mother. It’s not what you think.”
Liu Shui bit her lower lip lightly.
“I’m not talking to you anymore, Mother. I’m going to cook.”
With that, Liu Shui hurried into the kitchen.
Past the middle of the Pig Hour—
Night had deepened.
Xiao Mo felt that today’s cultivation was about enough, so he returned to his room and planned to get a good rest.
Lying on the bed, Xiao Mo listened to the insects singing outside the window and felt the spring night breeze.
Moonlight spilled across the window ledge, clear and bright like water.
Before long, Xiao Mo fell asleep.
And just as the night had grown utterly still,
a man in black, sword in hand, concealed his aura with a spell art and quietly entered Xiao Mo’s courtyard.