The moment Bai Ruxue saw Xiao Mo, her eyes lit up.
"Xiao Mo, you're back!"
Bai Ruxue happily ran into the courtyard.
"Mm, I'm back." Xiao Mo nodded. "But Ruxue, what happened to you?"
Dust covered Ruxue's silvery-white hair and dress. She was filthy from head to toe, as if she'd been digging a tunnel.
"Oh, it's nothing." Bai Ruxue cast a spell, and all the dirt on her vanished. "Xiao Mo, you came back at just the right time. I've prepared a gift for you. Come take a look."
Before Xiao Mo could say anything, Bai Ruxue tugged him out of the courtyard.
Looking at her expectant, slightly excited profile, Xiao Mo smiled to himself, wondering what novel idea she'd come up with this time.
Before long, Bai Ruxue led Xiao Mo to the foot of a mountain.
Xiao Mo looked at the mountain before him.
If he remembered correctly, this was just a barren mountain belonging to the academy. Though it brimmed with spiritual energy, White Deer Academy didn't have the resources to develop it.
"I'm going to blindfold you, Xiao Mo. No peeking, okay?" Bai Ruxue pulled out a piece of black cloth.
"Okay." Xiao Mo obediently closed his eyes.
Bai Ruxue rose onto her tiptoes, her soft body pressed against his back.
Xiao Mo froze for a moment.
He realized he might have underestimated Ruxue after all.
After carefully tying the blindfold on him, Bai Ruxue hopped in front of Xiao Mo and held up a finger. "How many is this?"
Xiao Mo shook his head. "I can't see."
"Good. Then let's go." Bai Ruxue took his hand and led him up the mountain.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering dappled shadows. Moss slicked the dark tree bark, gleaming faintly green in the dim light like