Chapter 129: Oh! So You're That Xiao Mo
"This scholar is quite interesting."
He Yeye curved her lips into a smile, stroking her fair and tender chin.
"Such a reckless fighting style, such a ruthless scholar, this old lady has truly never seen the likes of before."
"Woo woo woo, woo woo woo,"
After a full three hours of bloody fierce battle.
Deep horn sounds finally carried over from far behind the demon army's battle lines.
The demon forces that had been fiercely fighting the human cultivators heard the horns and retreated like a receding tide in orderly fashion.
Demon cultivators at Golden Core realm and above remained at the rear, responsible for covering the retreat, fighting and retreating while engaging the pursuing human forces.
He Yeye led from the front, taking the human cultivator army in pursuit for a while, but discovered that several powerful entrapment and killing formations had been quietly laid along the demons' retreat route ahead.
"These damn things." He Yeye spat and ordered the retreat signal to be sounded.
After the first engagement.
Xiao Mo dragged his weary body back to the small courtyard.
Xiao Mo was covered in blood.
He couldn't distinguish whether the sticky blood came from wounds on his own body or from the demon beasts slain on the battlefield.
However, looking at his blue robe that had become completely tattered, Xiao Mo couldn't help feeling a trace of melancholy.
This blue robe had been sewn by Ruxue's own hands. Its grade wasn't low either, being a third-grade magical treasure.
Yet after experiencing just one great battle...
It had become like this.
The battlefield truly was a meat grinder.
Xiao Mo silently drew cool, clean water in the courtyard, carefully washing away the blackened blood scabs and grime that had congealed on his body.
Afterward, he took out some clean cloth strips, applied medicinal herbs he carried with him, and simply bandaged several deeper wounds on his body.
"Not bad, not bad."
Just as Xiao Mo was focused on treating his wounds with his head lowered, a crisp female voice suddenly came from beside the stone table in the courtyard behind him.
Xiao Mo turned around upon hearing the sound.
He saw a petite girl sitting leisurely on a stone stool.
Her fair and delicate legs were crossed and gently swaying, gleaming with moonlight's soft radiance.
The silver little bell tied around the girl's slender ankle made faint, crisp "ding-ling" sounds as it moved with her motions.
She wore a playful smile on her face, examining Xiao Mo with great interest.
"City Lord, arriving uninvited and entering someone else's courtyard without permission seems... not quite appropriate, does it?"
Xiao Mo gazed at those crimson eyes that seemed able to see through people's hearts, puzzled in his mind.
He wondered why the city lord would suddenly seek him out.
"What's inappropriate about it?"
He Yeye stood up, bouncing over to Xiao Mo's front. Without any hesitation, she extended her finger and patted his abdominal muscles twice with "pat pat" sounds.
"The rent for this courtyard was paid by this old lady for you. This place rented with my own money, why can't I come in to take a look?"
After speaking, she withdrew her hand and stepped back, looking Xiao Mo up and down, "Really quite good. Your physical cultivation has almost caught up with those martial artists who specialize in body cultivation, and furthermore..."
Her small nose twitched slightly a few times, "Your entire body faintly emanates dragon might. Kid, where did you get so much dragon blood for body tempering?"
"..." Xiao Mo didn't answer.
"Fine, fine, this old lady was just asking casually. If you don't want to say, that's no problem either. After all, everyone has secrets. Like this old lady doesn't like her younger sister. My sister studies divination techniques all day, calculating everything. In front of her, I feel like I'm not wearing clothes."
He Yeye didn't mind either, smiling as she sat back on the stone stool, crossing her legs and swaying the bell on her foot.
"Speaking of which, do you have some deep hatred with the demon race? Like parents or family members dying at demon hands?"
"No," Xiao Mo answered very straightforwardly. "Why does the city lord ask this?"
"Oh?" He Yeye became more curious, leaning forward slightly, "Then where did that desperate energy you had on the battlefield come from? Looking at you, you seemed like you wouldn't be satisfied until you killed the entire Demon Realm?"
"I simply want more human race merit," Xiao Mo replied.
"Human race merit? Fine then."
He Yeye yawned, not continuing to ask what he specifically needed human race merit for, but instead changed the topic, her tone taking on a hint of warning.
"Kid, now that the great war has fully begun, killing enemies on the battlefield is indeed one of the fastest methods to accumulate human race merit. But kid, this old lady as someone who's been through this warns you, you must be careful when you go to battle afterward."
Her crimson eyes stared at Xiao Mo, "After this battle, you've definitely been listed on the demon side's 'Azure Cloud List.' Everyone on the Azure Cloud List are geniuses of the Ten Thousand Laws Realm. In the next great battle, as long as you appear on the battlefield, you'll definitely be their prime target."
She paused, her tone becoming more serious, "Don't be too hasty. Being too hasty will only get you killed faster. Merit needs to be accumulated, but life is more important."
"Thank you for City Lord's reminder. I will remember it in my heart and pay more attention," Xiao Mo bowed to He Yeye, but seemed not to have taken her words to heart.
"You... forget it, forget it. This old lady finds you pleasing to the eye and appreciates your courage and strength." He Yeye waved her small hand, "Speak then, what reward do you want? As long as this old lady is willing to give it."
Looking at this city lord whose behavior was quite unconventional, Xiao Mo didn't stand on ceremony with her and directly said, "Could I trouble City Lord to find a suitable location in the city for me to use as a school?"
"School?" He Yeye was genuinely stunned for a moment. This reward was completely beyond her expectations, "What do you want to build a school for?"
"Building a school is naturally for teaching," Xiao Mo explained calmly. "I've heard that teaching in Demon-Suppressing City requires the city lord's permission. I had originally planned to formally visit the city lord's mansion tomorrow to report this matter to you, but since City Lord has come today, I'll save myself the trip."
"Teaching? Teaching what?" He Yeye tilted her head, "Those sour, pretentious scholarly pursuits of you Confucians?"
"Something like that, though what I teach is a shallow discipline I created myself, called Mind Learning." Xiao Mo smiled slightly, "If someone is willing to come listen, I'll lecture a bit. If no one comes to listen, then so be it."
"Mind Learning?" He Yeye was first slightly startled, then seemed to suddenly remember something, her face showing an understanding smile, "Oh! So you're that Xiao Mo!"
"Good! This old lady agrees."
He Yeye stood up and walked toward the courtyard exit.
"Someone will come find you tomorrow morning. You can start classes tomorrow.
This old lady will also come listen to what kind of learning this 'Mind Learning' that once turned the Confucian school upside down actually is.
If it's interesting, I'll let you continue running this school.
If it's not interesting, you can close up shop."