noffsinger Chapter 474: But He Felt It Should Not Be This Way
Chapter 474: But He Felt It Should Not Be This Way
"I am asking you one final time. Why did you go after Tushan Jingci's book attendant?"Chen Bing looked at Wang Zhong with cold eyes, as though looking at a dead man.
"This servant... this servant truly was not going after Xiao Mo. Everything... everything was truly just a coincidence..."
Wang Zhong spat a mouthful of blood.
Blood was seeping from his eyes, his nose, and his ears.
"Still keeping up this pretense?"
Chen Bing's voice carried a note of anger.
In the next instant, a great hand formed of condensed spiritual energy closed around Wang Zhong's neck and slowly hoisted him into the air.
Suspended and dangling, Wang Zhong's legs kicked frantically. His powerful will to survive made him claw desperately at that intangible hand.
Chen Jue, who was only nine years old, kept his head low and his back bent throughout the whole ordeal, never once looking at Wang Zhong but his body was trembling involuntarily as well.
"I am asking you one last time! Why did you go and provoke that book attendant of the Mount Tu residence?" Chen Bing's patience seemed to have reached its absolute limit, and in the next moment he looked on the verge of destroying Wang Zhong's body and soul entirely.
"This servant... this servant truly did not go looking for trouble deliberately... it was all just... just a coincidence... it was that Xiao Mo who insisted on... on meddling in things that were none of his business..." Wang Zhong's eyes were rolling back in his head, his voice barely a whisper.
"Hmph!"
Chen Bing let out a cold snort and swept his sleeve.
Wang Zhong was flung heavily to the ground, crashing into a large crater. He fell completely unconscious.
"Attendant Jiao, take Wang Zhong away and see to his injuries. Do not let him die."
Chen Bing sat back down in his chair and said to the attendant beside him.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Attendant Jiao clasped his hands in a bow and quickly took Wang Zhong away.
At this point, the room held only Chen Bing and his son Chen Jue.
Chen Bing took another sip of tea. The soft sound of porcelain rim against cup drifted through the room.
After a long silence, Chen Bing slowly spoke. "Wang Deputy Minister's son is a decent enough young man. He is loyal to you. Even when he was nearly dying, he refused to give you up."
"Imperial Father..." Chen Jue swallowed, trying to think of how to explain himself.
"Enough." Chen Bing waved a hand. "There is no one here but the two of us. There is no need to hide anything. Besides, who could not see through that little scheme of yours?"
Chen Bing looked up at his son and said, "You had Wang Zhong go and make trouble for Xiao Mo. That girl Liu Shui was nothing more than a human worker who happened to arrive at the pill chamber at the wrong moment. She was used as a pretext to kill Xiao Mo. She was simply unlucky."
"Only you ended up not finding the trouble you were looking for with Xiao Mo. You only succeeded in making a stinking mess of yourself."
"Tell me. Are you truly that concerned about a human called Xiao Mo?"
Chen Jue gritted his teeth and stopped hiding the truth. He spoke earnestly. "In reply to Imperial Father, that Xiao Mo has a very close relationship with Tushan Jingci, and the Lady of Mount Tu holds him in very high regard."
"Most importantly, your son has heard that the Lady of Mount Tu has already given 'The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet' to Xiao Mo. Your son has heard that this cultivation method is of great significance to the Tushan clan. Your son was only worried that..."
"Absurd!" Chen Bing's palm came down on the table, and the table was instantly reduced to powder.
"Your son begs Imperial Father's forgiveness." Chen Jue was startled and bent his waist even lower.
Chen Bing closed his hand into a fist and said in a cold voice,
"So what if the Lady of Mount Tu has given 'The Great Dream of the Yellow Millet' to Xiao Mo? All it shows is that she values him highly. The ancient rule of the Tushan fox clan has long since become irrelevant!"
"Use your head and think clearly. In today's Demon Realm, would the Tushan fox clan allow one of their own women to marry a human in the future?"
"Would Tushan Xinhua not think of the future of the Tushan clan?"
"Does the Tushan clan truly have no ambitions within this Demon Realm?"
"Aside from the Vermilion Bird clan, which remains in seclusion, and the Tengshe clan, which is eagerly testing the waters, of all the noble divine beast bloodlines from the ancient age, only the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan remains, along with that true dragon of the North Sea!"
"The Demon Realm is about to be reshuffled completely. The Tushan clan will not waste the value of a single one of their bloodline members!"
"And even if we set all of that aside entirely, so what if Tushan Jingci played with a human when she was young?"
"Tushan Jingci is young now and does not yet understand her own standing. But the older she grows, the more she will come to understand her own noble worth! In the end she will cast that human aside without a second thought!"
"And what would be the point of you killing Xiao Mo? All you would accomplish is making Tushan Jingci despise you, while giving the children of other families an opportunity to step in!"
"To compare with all of that, you are the First Prince of our Celestial Demon Kingdom, the future crown prince, the future ruler of the Celestial Demon Kingdom. And you are stooping to quarrel with a book attendant? Do you not feel that is beneath your dignity?"
Listening to his Imperial Father's words, Chen Jue had a moment of sudden clarity and immediately bowed deeply again. "Your son understands his mistake. Please punish me, Imperial Father!"
"Hah." Chen Bing let out a long breath, releasing his anger.
"As long as you understand your mistake."
Chen Bing rose to his feet, walked to his son's side, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Jue, you possess the rare primordial demon constitution. In the future your bloodline will revert to its ancestral form and restore the glory of our feathered clan. Even the Vermilion Bird clan would not dare look down on you. And you have been sharp and mature beyond your years from a young age. But you are still too young, your experience still too shallow. You have a long road yet to walk."
"Tomorrow, go to Tushan Jingci and apologize. Show some of the manner befitting a man. Understood?"
Chen Jue gave a solemn nod. "Understood, Imperial Father."
"Good."
Chen Bing said with satisfaction, a fierce, burning ambition blazing in his eyes.
"After our Demon Realm's second defeat in the great war against humans, the various factions within the Demon Realm have all been growing restless. The greatest era of chaos is coming, but equally, for our Celestial Demon Kingdom, it is the greatest opportunity!"
"Our Celestial Demon Kingdom must seize it!"
…
"Xiao Mo, are you all right?"
"Xiao Mo, does it hurt?"
"Xiao Mo, should we go to the medical hall and have them take another look?"
"I think we should go back to the medical hall."
"After all, Elder Sister Yueshi is not a medical cultivator. What if you develop some kind of complication like they describe in books? What would we do then?"
In the courtyard, just as maidservant Yueshi was applying medicine and bandaging Xiao Mo's wounds, Tushan Jingci stood nearby swaying her tail, looking at him with worried, anxious eyes.
"Young Miss, I truly am fine. These are just surface wounds. They will heal in a few days. There is absolutely no need to go to the medical hall."
Xiao Mo said with a helpless smile.
Ever since Tushan Jingci had brought Xiao Mo back to the courtyard, she had been murmuring in his ear without pause.
Xiao Mo did not find it annoying.
After all, having someone care about him this much was his good fortune.
Beyond one's parents, how many people would ever care about someone so much?
Not to mention that in this lifetime, he did not even have parents.
He only thought the Young Miss was being overly anxious.
"Yes, Young Miss. Xiao Mo's injuries are not serious, just some surface wounds. He only needs to rest for a while, and he will be perfectly fine. Do not worry."
Yueshi tied off the bandage on Xiao Mo's arm and offered her reassurance to Tushan Jingci but though her words were calm, there was a hidden undercurrent of anger in Yueshi's eyes.
Looking at the two scratch marks on Xiao Mo's neck, these were far more than just a simple quarrel or scuffle.
Those book attendants had clearly gone after Xiao Mo with the intent to kill.
If Xiao Mo's own strength had not been considerable, things could very well have gone badly and she could not even imagine how heartbroken the Young Miss would have been if that had happened.
She would not tell the Young Miss about this, but she would absolutely report it to the Lady.
"Jingci, do not worry. Xiao Mo truly is all right. There is no need to be overly anxious. If it were otherwise, I would have had Jingci take him to the medical hall then and there."
Just as Yueshi was lost in her thoughts, a refined and cultured voice drifted into the courtyard.
Everyone turned to look, and saw a man in a blue robe walking slowly toward them.
"Greetings to Teacher Xian."
Tushan Jingci and the other two quickly stepped forward and gave a bow.
"Greetings to you all." Teacher Xian returned the bow with a clasped-hand gesture.
"Teacher, what brings you here?" Tushan Jingci asked with puzzlement.
"I came to have a little chat with young Master Xiao." Xian Xichun smiled at Xiao Mo. "I wonder if young Master Xiao might be free to take a stroll with me right now?"
"Since Teacher has extended the invitation, this junior would not dare decline. Please lead the way, Teacher." Xiao Mo gave a nod.
"After you, young Master Xiao."
Xian Xichun made a welcoming gesture, waited for Xiao Mo to come to his side, and the two of them walked together toward the woods.
Tushan Jingci's small feet moved forward, wanting to follow along but Yueshi took hold of the Young Miss's arm and shook her head.
Tushan Jingci could only bite gently at her lip and watch as Teacher Xian and Xiao Mo gradually walked further away.
Within the woods, Xian Xichun drew a pill from his sleeve and held it out to Xiao Mo.
"This pill is called the Spirit Healing Pill. It has remarkable effects on repairing injuries, particularly on the regeneration of flesh and blood. If young Master Xiao would not mind, you are welcome to try it."
Xiao Mo looked at the pill in Xian Xichun's hand, then looked at Xian Xichun himself, a trace of wariness in his expression.
"Ha ha ha!" Xian Xichun laughed with open-hearted heartiness. "Young Master Xiao is so young, yet his thinking is already this careful. Do not worry. This pill is my way of making amends. I have no other intention behind it. I would not stoop to harming a child."
"Many thanks to Teacher Xian for the medicine."
Xiao Mo was not fussy about it, accepted the pill, and swallowed it.
In an instant, Xiao Mo felt a warm current flowing through his body.
The arm and neck that had still been aching moments before suddenly felt considerably better.
He could even feel the wounds beginning to heal at an accelerated rate.
"Does young Master Xiao not want to ask why this pill counts as my 'apology'?" Xian Xichun looked at Xiao Mo with a smile.
"I have already guessed something of it." Xiao Mo's expression held a trace of gravity. "Although I am only a human, I am at the very least the Young Miss of Mount Tu's book attendant. By any logic, those people like Wang Zhong should not have come after me. And yet they came after me with lethal intent. That must have been the intention of whoever stands behind them."
Hearing Xiao Mo's answer, a flash of surprise crossed Xian Xichun's eyes.
"Young Master Xiao is truly precocious. You are right. The reason Wang Zhong went after you was because he was acting on his master's instructions."
"As for the other book attendants, they were simply talked into it by Wang Zhong."
"I do not understand it." Xiao Mo shook his head.
By any logic, he was nothing more than a book attendant, and he had not offended Chen Jue. Even if Chen Jue disliked him as a human, there was no need to want him dead.
What would Chen Jue gain from that?
Xian Xichun stopped walking and turned to give Xiao Mo a proper bow. "The reasons behind this, I cannot tell you in full. However, Chen Jue is my student, and yet he committed such a ruthless and merciless act. That is indeed my failure as a teacher. But please rest assured, young Master Xiao. Nothing like this will happen again."
"Teacher has taught them the principles. Whether they took them to heart is not Teacher's responsibility." Xiao Mo returned the bow. "Though I would ask, according to the academy's rules, how should Wang Zhong and the others be handled?"
Xian Xichun lowered his eyes, a flash of quiet desolation crossing them. "According to the academy's rules, those who attempt to kill without cause, regardless of whether they succeed, shall be expelled from the academy and never permitted to set foot in the Hanshan Academy again."
Xiao Mo was silent for a moment, then raised his head and asked again. "Then Teacher, if it were a case of killing a demon without cause, what would the ruling be?"
"..."
This time it was Xian Xichun who fell into silence.
His throat moved, as though he had something to say but stopped himself.
In the end, Xian Xichun drew a long, slow breath and said, "For killing a demon without cause, a life is repaid with a life."
"I see." Xiao Mo received the answer, his eyes calm and still as autumn water.
"Does young Master Xiao feel that is unfair? Both are lives. Why should a demon's be valued differently from a human's?" Xian Xichun asked.
"A demon's life is a demon's life, and a human's life is a human's life." Xiao Mo answered. "This is the Demon Realm. Human lives are worth less than grass here. I am not unable to understand that."
"But..." Xiao Mo raised his head and looked directly into Xian Xichun's eyes. "I can understand it, but I feel it should not be this way."
With those words, Xiao Mo took a step back and gave another bow. "Many thanks to Teacher for the medicine, and for speaking so frankly with me. The hour is growing late, and my Young Miss is waiting for me in the courtyard. This junior will take his leave."
"Rest well." Teacher Xian clasped his hands in farewell.
Xiao Mo turned and walked away but even after Xiao Mo disappeared into the distance, Xian Xichun did not pull his gaze away. He continued to look in the direction Xiao Mo had gone.
"That little human boy is very much like you." The Hall of Enforcement officer Jiang Feng stepped out from behind a locust tree, leaned against its trunk, and looked at Xian Xichun with a sword cradled in his arms. "And the little girl of the Tushan clan is very much like her."
"Do not say that. Do not let them be like us." A flicker of distant memory passed through Xian Xichun's eyes. "People like us do not come to good endings."
"Speaking of which," Xian Xichun composed himself and looked at Jiang Feng, "what have you been doing trailing after me instead of going back to the Hall of Enforcement?"
Jiang Feng spat out a piece of grass he had been chewing. "There was actually something I had been meaning to tell you, but those little ones made me forget it entirely."
"What is it?" Xian Xichun asked his friend.
"I am leaving the academy." Jiang Feng said with a pleased air. "Recently, a scholar from the White Deer Academy has come to our Demon Realm. I hear his sword qi is extraordinary, and he goes around challenging demon sword cultivators. I want to go and test myself against him."
"All right... just do not get yourself killed." With his friend leaving, Xian Xichun could not help feeling a touch of quiet loneliness, though he said nothing to dissuade him, knowing it would be useless anyway.
"That goes for you too."
Jiang Feng stepped forward, patted Xian Xichun on the shoulder, and looked at him seriously.
"Do not get yourself killed! Do not do anything reckless! Living is better than anything else!"
"If you die, it is not just me, she would not forgive you from beyond the grave either!"