Chapter 131 - 116: This Mo Lake Flowed for a Thousand Miles

The moment Bai Ruxue saw Xiao Mo, her eyes lit up.

"Xiao Mo, you’re back!"

Bai Ruxue ran happily into the courtyard.

"Yes, I’m back." Xiao Mo nodded. "But Ruxue, what happened to you...?"

Ruxue’s silvery-white hair and white dress were covered in dust, and she looked completely grimy, as if she had been digging a tunnel.

"Oh, oh, it’s nothing." Bai Ruxue performed a bit of Magic, and all the dirt on her vanished. "Xiao Mo, your timing is perfect. I have a gift for you. Come and see."

Before Xiao Mo could say anything, Bai Ruxue pulled him out of the courtyard.

Seeing the expectant and somewhat excited look on her face, Xiao Mo simply smiled to himself. ’What sort of novel idea has she come up with now?’

Before long, Bai Ruxue led Xiao Mo to the foot of a mountain peak.

Xiao Mo looked at the mountain peak before him.

’If I remember correctly, this peak is just one of the Academy’s undeveloped mountains. Although its Spiritual Power is abundant, Bailu Academy doesn’t have the extra resources to develop it.’

"I’m going to cover your eyes, Xiao Mo. No peeking, okay?" Bai Ruxue took out a black cloth.

"Alright." Xiao Mo closed his eyes cooperatively.

Bai Ruxue stood on her tiptoes, her soft body pressing against his back.

Xiao Mo froze for a moment.

He realized he might have underestimated Ruxue.

After carefully tying the blindfold, Bai Ruxue jumped in front of Xiao Mo and held up a finger. "How many is this?"

Xiao Mo shook his head. "I can’t see."

"Good that you can’t see. Let’s go!" Bai Ruxue took Xiao Mo’s hand and started leading him up the mountain.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows. The moss on the dark tree bark was slick with moisture, glimmering with a faint green light in the dimness, like forgotten stars hidden deep within the forest shade.

The bushes were packed densely together. Dewdrops clung to the tips of their leaves, as clear and trembling as the tears of someone who had stayed up all night.

Halfway up the path, Bai Ruxue realized she was holding Xiao Mo’s large hand.

The young woman’s cheeks flushed. Her fair fingers tightened their grip slightly, secretly holding Xiao Mo’s hand firmer, yet she seemed afraid he would notice.

Feeling the warmth and softness of her palm, Xiao Mo gave no reaction.

Seeing that Xiao Mo hadn’t noticed, Bai Ruxue seemed to grow a little bolder. She recalled a book she had read before.

Finally, Xiao Mo felt the young lady’s slender fingers slide between his own, her palm pressing against his as she gently held his hand.

After secretly making this bold move, the blush on Bai Ruxue’s cheeks had already spread to the tips of her ears.

Bai Ruxue didn’t even dare to look up at him.

But the next moment, Bai Ruxue felt his hand tighten its grip slightly, and a joy like a quietly spreading stream filled her.

Bai Ruxue said nothing, simply walking with their fingers intertwined. She wished the path up the mountain could be longer, and longer still, wished that she could walk with him for a lifetime.

But all roads must come to an end.

An hour later, Bai Ruxue brought Xiao Mo to a lake on the mountainside.

"We... we’re here. Let me take off your blindfold."

The young woman reluctantly let go of Xiao Mo’s large hand, stood on her tiptoes in front of him, and removed the black cloth.

Xiao Mo opened his eyes. Before him lay a lake.

The lake was surrounded by Spirit Flowers and Herbs. A small bridge extended from the shore to the center of the lake, ending at a waterside pavilion.

The lake’s surface reflected the pavilion’s image.

Looking up, Xiao Mo could see Literary Dao Fortune continuously gathering and flowing into the lake.

Because of the Literary Dao Fortune, the water had a faint black tint, reminiscent of an Ink Pool.

"What is this?" Xiao Mo asked.

"This is the lake I built for you."

Bai Ruxue said proudly.

"The bottom of the lake is lined with stones that can gather Spiritual Power and Literary Dao Fortune, and I’ve also set up a few Arrays.

Xiao Mo, you just need to drop a single drop of your blood into this lake to create a bond with it. Then, all the Literary Dao Fortune it accumulates can only be used by you. No one can take it away, unless they’re a Confucian School Cultivator at the Ascension Realm.

But then again, an Ascension Realm Cultivator wouldn’t be interested in the amount of Literary Dao Fortune in this lake, and they wouldn’t have the audacity to steal it anyway."

"..." Looking at the lake, Xiao Mo fell silent.

"What’s wrong, Xiao Mo? Don’t you like it?" Bai Ruxue tugged nervously at the corner of his sleeve.

Xiao Mo shook his head. "No, I love it. But Ruxue, you don’t have to do things like this in the future. I don’t want you to tire yourself out."

"It’s alright, Xiao Mo. As long as I’m doing something for you, I don’t feel tired at all. In fact, it makes me very happy." Hearing Xiao Mo say he loved it, Bai Ruxue’s eyes curved into crescents. "Hurry and give it a name, Xiao Mo. Then I’ll help you bond with the lake."

"Alright." The lake was already built, so Xiao Mo couldn’t let Ruxue’s kind intentions go to waste. "But Ruxue, I have something for you, and you can’t refuse it either."

Xiao Mo took out the Literary Fortune Pearl and handed it to Ruxue.

"What is this? It has such rich Literary Dao Fortune," Bai Ruxue said in surprise.

"It’s a reward I got from the trial I just passed. It’s called a Literary Fortune Pearl. After consuming it, you’ll receive the blessing of Literary Dao Fortune, which will slightly increase your chances of success when Crossing the Tribulation in the future," Xiao Mo explained.

"No, no, I can’t accept this!" Bai Ruxue shook her head hastily. "This is too valuable."

"It’s not that valuable. Compared to you building a whole lake for me, it’s nothing at all. If you don’t accept it, I’ll turn around and leave right now."

"..." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, hesitating for a long time before reluctantly accepting the Literary Fortune Pearl. "I... I’ll take it. But I’ll consume it later."

"Consume it now," Xiao Mo said with a smile. ’How could I not know what she’s thinking?’

"Hmph! You rotten Xiao Mo..." Bai Ruxue muttered softly, left with no choice but to consume the Literary Fortune Pearl in front of him.

"Ruxue, why don’t you name the lake as well?" Xiao Mo said with a smile. "I can accept this lake, but since you built it, the name should come from you. That way, it can be a shared memory for both of us."

"Me, name it?"

"Of course."

"Let me think then."

Bai Ruxue thought for a moment, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Xiao Mo, I’ve got it! Why don’t we call it Mo Lake!"

...

「Nighttime, at Bailu Academy.」

Atop a mountain peak on the north side of the academy.

A woman stood before a lake.

The bright moonlight spilled down, making the surface of the ink-colored lake ripple with a faint glow.

"Master, why do you come to this lake so often?" a young girl asked curiously as she walked up to her master’s side.

The girl’s name was Hu Die, and she was the Closed-door Disciple of Bailu Academy’s Director.

The Academy Director, a woman named Shang Jiuli, gazed faintly at the lake’s surface. "Because whenever I look at this lake, I am reminded of someone from the past."

"Someone from the past?" Hu Die asked, her curiosity piqued.

"He was my junior brother, and also a great Confucian scholar unknown to the world."

Shang Jiuli stood with her hands clasped behind her back. The moonlight slowly outlined her figure, and her deep eyes seemed to travel back across four thousand years of time, returning to a day she could never forget.

"Four thousand years ago, during the height of the Human-Demon War, he perished for the sake of what was most important to him. And it was on that very day that something happened to this lake."

"What happened?"

"That day, a downpour the likes of which Bailu Academy hadn’t seen in a thousand years began to fall. And this Mo Lake... it overflowed and streamed for a thousand miles."