Chapter 109: Xiao Mo, Please Don't Be Angry
In the forest, Bai Ruxue kept running forward but in the end, Bai Ruxue's delicate white wrist was still caught by Xiao Mo.
"You, you let go of me..." Bai Ruxue struggled a little, but Xiao Mo never let go.
Xiao Mo looked at Ruxue's wavering eyes, her expression of "I don't want to deal with you anymore," and couldn't help but smile inwardly.
If Ruxue truly didn't want to deal with him, if Ruxue truly didn't want to be caught by him, with her Immortal realm strength, how could he possibly catch up to her?
"I think you might have misunderstood something, Ruxue," Xiao Mo said.
"I didn't misunderstand anything. You came out of a woman's boudoir in the middle of the night," Bai Ruxue lowered her head and muttered softly.
"This..." Xiao Mo was momentarily speechless. This was indeed difficult to explain...
Seeing Xiao Mo's loss for words, Bai Ruxue's small face became even angrier.
Xiao Mo raised his head and looked at the sky, "Ruxue, why don't we take a walk? I'll explain slowly, and after I'm done, it won't be too late for you to be angry."
"..." Bai Ruxue neither refused nor agreed, only lowered her head even more, as if she wanted to bury it in her chest. "Let's go."
Bai Ruxue was pulled along by Xiao Mo, walking step by step toward the mountaintop.
Xiao Mo organized his words and slowly explained:
"Two months ago, I started going to Senior Sister Shang's courtyard every night."
As soon as Xiao Mo's words fell, Bai Ruxue raised her small foot in embroidered shoes and lightly kicked Xiao Mo's heel.
"Hiss..."
Xiao Mo winced a bit, smiled, and continued speaking.
"At that time, I wanted to learn something, but Senior Sister has been busy during the day recently, so I could only go at night.
To prevent you from discovering me, Senior Sister even gave me a treasure pearl. As long as I activated this pearl and didn't come within ten feet of you, I could sneak out.
Originally everything went quite smoothly, but I didn't expect you to discover me after all."
"Hmph!" Bai Ruxue turned her head away.
"But Senior Sister and I really didn't do anything," Xiao Mo glanced at the woman beside him. "These past days, I've been learning to paint in Senior Sister's courtyard every day."
"Learning to paint?" Bai Ruxue blinked. "What kind of painting?"
"What else could it be? Ordinary ink painting, of course," Xiao Mo smiled. "Senior Sister's mastery of ink painting is extremely deep. I've heard that in the entire world, there aren't many who can surpass her."
"But why would you suddenly want to learn painting? And even if you wanted to learn painting, Xiao Mo, why did you have to hide it from me?" Bai Ruxue pouted.
"Because this matter can't be known by you yet."
"Why not!" Bai Ruxue puffed out her cheeks, showing none of the dignity of the Demon Empress of the North Sea, only the anger and coquettishness of someone upset with their beloved.
"Well, that's..." Xiao Mo looked at the sky and changed the subject. "It's almost dawn."
"It's already three quarters past the hour of mao," Bai Ruxue said irritably.
"Then we need to hurry," Xiao Mo grasped Bai Ruxue's wrist and quickened his pace.
"Eh?"
Bai Ruxue blinked, not knowing what Xiao Mo was planning to do.
The higher Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue climbed toward the mountaintop, the brighter the sky became.
A faint gold gradually appeared at the horizon's edge, then gradually intensified, as if a goddess had spilled red ink and dyed the entire sky.
In the forest, the red morning glow descended for the first time. Sunlight tiptoed and tentatively stepped through the gaps between branches and leaves, carefully sliding down the tree trunks.
The bark was painted with a layer of porcelain white, its texture clearly revealed as if it had been finely carved. The cool light followed those uneven patterns, winding and climbing downward. Countless pale red rays of light cut diagonally through the forest gaps, penetrating the thin floating morning mist.
When Xiao Mo pulled Bai Ruxue to the mountaintop, the rising red sun revealed half its outline in the east.
"Dong dong... dong..."
Past the middle of the hour of mao, bell after bell echoed leisurely throughout the entire academy.
And just as the bell sounds faded, Xiao Mo took out a scroll from his sleeve and gently tossed it forward.
The scroll floated in the air and unrolled itself, revealing a blank painting.
"Xiao Mo, what are you doing?" Bai Ruxue asked in confusion.
"Touch it and you'll know," Xiao Mo said with a smile.
Although Bai Ruxue was filled with confusion, she still stepped forward and extended her slender finger toward the scroll.
The moment Bai Ruxue's finger touched the scroll, ripples spread across it layer by layer. Golden sunlight, like fine threads, slowly outlined on the scroll.
Finally, when Bai Ruxue withdrew her hand, her eyes trembled.
In the scroll, a woman in a white dress stood on a mountaintop, gazing into the distance.
Every stroke outlining the woman was so detailed, whether her form or expression, everything was so lifelike.
Although this was a black and white ink painting, Bai Ruxue felt as if the woman in the painting was about to come alive.
And the woman in the painting was none other than herself...
"Xiao Mo, this painting is..." Bai Ruxue's eyes wavered.
"Ruxue, have you forgotten? Today is your birthday. This painting is the birthday gift I'm giving you."
Seeing Ruxue's dazed expression, Xiao Mo smiled and explained.
"Two months ago, I was thinking about what kind of birthday gift to give you, Ruxue.
But you lack nothing. You have all the heavenly treasures and earthly treasures.
Later, I thought of giving you a painting, and since Senior Sister is skilled in ink painting, I went to find her.
I spent two and a half months on this painting, using the finest willow-green paper and moon-silk ink, which can be preserved for ten thousand years.
And you said before that you were born past the middle of the hour of mao.
So originally I planned to return tonight and secretly give you this painting at that time as a surprise.
I didn't expect an accident to happen that made you angry."
Looking at this painting and listening to Xiao Mo's words, then thinking of how she had just misunderstood Xiao Mo, Bai Ruxue's cheeks flushed with a light blush.
"Xiao Mo... I'm sorry... I... I shouldn't have doubted you. I shouldn't have misunderstood you and Senior Sister Shang."
Bai Ruxue lowered her head, walked in front of Xiao Mo, reached out to gently tug at the corner of his clothes, and said softly.
"Xiao Mo, please don't be angry, okay? It's all my fault. Would you scold me? As long as you're not angry, you can do anything to me..."
"Silly girl, I'm not angry," Xiao Mo smiled and stroked the woman's silvery-white hair. "But two months was still too rushed. I can see this painting still has some flaws. I'll go back and modify it, then give it to you later."
"No!" Bai Ruxue took the ink painting from the air and hugged it tightly, as if afraid Xiao Mo would take it away. "This painting is already very beautiful. I love it!"
"Really?" Xiao Mo felt like Ruxue was comforting him.
"Really!"
Bai Ruxue nodded vigorously.
She held the scroll, looking at it again and again, as if she could never get tired of looking at it, like a little girl who had obtained the world's most precious treasure.
Standing not far away, Xiao Mo quietly watched her under the red dawn.
She stood on the mountain peak gazing at the scroll, her figure merging with the morning light, her white dress reflecting the mountains and waters, like a Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens who had descended to the mortal world.
Regarding everything he was seeing at this moment, whether it was real or a painting, Xiao Mo momentarily couldn't distinguish.
"Xiao Mo!" Bai Ruxue turned her head, her curved eyes seeming to intoxicate the world. "This painting is really beautiful."
Xiao Mo looked at the painting-like woman, "It is very beautiful."