Recaps

Xiao Mo helped Liu Shui begin cultivating, then spent the following years accompanying Tushan Jingci as she grew up and entered Yunxiao Peak. After hearing Mr. Xian’s unfinished story about a Yao and a human, Jingci promised Xiao Mo that they would tell each other first if they ever fell in love.

• Xiao Mo tested Liu Shui’s Root Bone, gave her cultivation manuals, and arranged for Yueshi to guide her; Liu Shui reached Qi Refining Layer One after two months.
• Over the next five years, Xiao Mo accompanied Tushan Jingci to classes and social gatherings as she grew taller than him and playfully demanded he call her “big sister.”
• Two years later, Jingci entered Yunxiao Peak with Xiao Mo and studied deeper Confucianism under Xian Xichun.
• Mr. Xian told his students the unfinished story of Xiao Feng, a Yao who fell in love with a human woman, and ended the lesson before revealing what happened.
• On the way home, Xiao Mo gave Jingci a hopeful ending for the story, and Jingci promised they would tell each other first if either found someone they loved.

At Hanshan Academy, Xiao Mo continued cultivating while Tushan Jingci grew into a talented and admired young woman. After Tushan Xinhua visited and praised Xiao Mo’s progress, she ordered him to move out of the courtyard.

• Xiao Mo practiced Great Dream of Yellow Millet and shaped clouds, birds, and a sword with his Daoist charm.
• Tushan Jingci hurried Xiao Mo back to the courtyard to greet her visiting mother, and asked whether Liu Shui treated him differently.
• Liu Shui left after telling Tushan Jingci that relatives were visiting, while Tushan Jingci noticed her tender glances toward Xiao Mo.
• Tushan Xinhua arrived, tested Tushan Jingci on her studies, and praised Xiao Mo’s cultivation.
• Tushan Xinhua told Xiao Mo to move out of the courtyard starting that day.

Tushan Xinhua ordered Xiao Mo to move out of Tushan Jingci’s courtyard, insisting it was improper for them to live together. Jingci protested, but Xiao Mo agreed to leave, and she made him promise that any girl he liked would be at least as pretty as her.

• Tushan Xinhua told Xiao Mo to move to a prepared courtyard at the foot of the mountain the following night.
• Tushan Jingci objected to Xiao Mo leaving, but Tushan Xinhua refused to change her decision and left to attend to clan matters.
• Jingci sulked on Jian Mountain, where Xiao Mo joined her and explained that moving out was the proper thing to do.
• Jingci asked Xiao Mo what it felt like to like someone, and he said he would stay by her side and protect her for the rest of his life.
• Jingci demanded that any girl Xiao Mo liked be at least as pretty as she was, and Xiao Mo refused to agree.

Xiao Mo moved into a secluded bamboo courtyard at the foot of the mountain, while Tushan Jingci struggled with his sudden absence. By dusk, she realized how much she missed him and wondered why he was all she could think about.

• Xiao Mo moved into the bamboo courtyard, and Tushan Jingci reluctantly left after asking him to join her for class.
• Xiao Mo cleaned the courtyard by hand and cultivated the Great Dream of Yellow Millet, briefly mistaking a falling bamboo leaf for Tushan Jingci teasing him.
• Tushan Jingci tried to visit Xiao Mo, but Yueshi stopped her because of Madam's orders.
• Tushan Jingci recalled the ways she had teased Xiao Mo and the things she admired about him before falling asleep.
• After waking near dusk, Tushan Jingci found Xiao Mo's old room nearly empty and lamented how long his absence felt, though he had been gone less than a day.

Liu Shui began visiting Xiao Mo’s Bamboo Courtyard to cook and clean, while growing more attached to him. After her mother urged her to marry Young Master Huang, Liu Shui’s blushing suggested her feelings were for Xiao Mo, and a black-clad swordsman entered his courtyard at night.

• Liu Shui found Xiao Mo’s Bamboo Courtyard and offered to come each day to cook and clean for him.
• Xiao Mo accepted Liu Shui’s help and spent the afternoon cultivating and studying Daoist classics while she stayed in the courtyard.
• Liu Shui accidentally brushed Xiao Mo’s fingers and reacted shyly, though he did not notice.
• Mother Liu told Liu Shui that Young Master Huang from Hanshan City had asked for her hand, but Liu Shui said she did not want to marry those men.
• After Xiao Mo fell asleep, a black-clad figure concealed their aura with a spell and slipped into his courtyard carrying a long sword.

An assassin entered Xiao Mo’s room, but Xiao Mo’s illusion made the attack and their battle seem real. After the assassin’s Soul Restriction triggered and burned him to ash, Xiao Mo suspected an Upper Three Realms cultivator was behind the attempt, while Cun Caiguang confronted a Tushan envoy about announcing the killing.

• The Man in Black attacked Xiao Mo in his bed, but Xiao Mo repeatedly reappeared and overcame the assassin’s attacks in an illusion.
• The Man in Black tried to escape, so Xiao Mo trapped him and began searching his soul for information.
• The Soul Restriction changed as Xiao Mo tried to break it, revealing that the battle had been an illusion and causing him to leap away.
• The restriction triggered, and the Man in Black burst into flames and turned to ash.
• Xiao Mo suspected an Upper Three Realms cultivator was responsible and wondered whether Chen Jue had ordered the attack.
• On Hanshan Academy’s Main Peak, Cun Caiguang criticized a Tushan envoy for announcing that someone would be killed.

Xiao Mo accompanied Tushan Jingci to class, then followed her on a long outing through Hanshan City and Qingquan Peak. As Xiao Mo succumbed to the sleepiness caused by his cultivation, Tushan Jingci revealed that she had kept him out because she did not want to be apart from him.

• Xiao Mo failed to uncover the Man in Black's identity with the Great Dream of Yellow Millet and set the mystery aside.
• Tushan Jingci attended class with Xiao Mo, then took him to Hanshan City to eat, shop, and play.
• Tushan Jingci persuaded the tired Xiao Mo to visit Qingquan Peak, where they splashed in the spring and roasted Spirit Fish.
• Xiao Mo fell asleep beside the spring, and Tushan Jingci drew on his face while he rested against her tail.
• Tushan Jingci admitted she had avoided returning because she would not be able to see Xiao Mo there.

Xiao Mo prepared to enter closed-door cultivation to advance the Great Dream of Yellow Millet, seeking a secluded place and protection after an assassin attacked him. Xian Xichun agreed to guard him, while Cun Caiguang revealed the Tushan Clan was behind the attack; Xiao Mo then told Tushan Jingci he would be away and promised to cover the mountains with peach blossoms when he returned.

• Xiao Mo discovered that the Great Dream of Yellow Millet was transforming his Root Bone and decided he needed to enter closed-door cultivation.
• Xiao Mo visited Xian Xichun, told him about the Man in Black's assassination attempt, and asked for a secluded cultivation site.
• Xian Xichun offered to protect Xiao Mo in the Bamboo Courtyard and promised to investigate the attack.
• Xian Xichun confronted Cun Caiguang, who identified the Tushan Fox Clan as the force behind the assassination attempt.
• Xiao Mo told Tushan Jingci he would enter seclusion, and she resolved to study hard while he was gone.
• Xiao Mo admitted he did not know when he would return and promised to cover the mountains with peach blossoms for Tushan Jingci.

Xiao Mo prepared to enter seclusion at the Bamboo Courtyard while Tushan Jingci worried about his safety. As Xian Xichun guarded him and drove off assassins sent by Tushan, Jingci asked Yueshi to let her go down the mountain.

• Tushan Jingci and Xiao Mo made a pinky promise before he left, and Yueshi tried to reassure Jingci that he would emerge safely from seclusion.
• Xiao Mo visited Liu Family Village, learned Liu Shui was away at the market, and left a letter for her with a neighbor.
• Xiao Mo set up formation flags, replenished his energy, and entered seclusion in the Bamboo Courtyard as Xian Xichun kept watch.
• Xian Xichun killed two hidden attackers and warned the remaining assassins that they would have to get past his sword to reach Xiao Mo.
• Tushan Jingci asked Yueshi to let her go down the mountain.

Tushan Jingci repeatedly tried to visit Xiao Mo during his closed-door cultivation, but Yueshi stopped her under Madam's orders. Jingci finally slipped out in fox form at night, only to find Yueshi waiting ahead on the path.

• Tushan Jingci tried to persuade Yueshi to let her visit Xiao Mo, but Yueshi refused and said she would stay by her side.
• Jingci attempted to sneak out using her spiritual power, but Yueshi caught her with a detection jade pendant given by Madam.
• Jingci stayed in her room for the morning, then tried to leave again in the afternoon, but Yueshi stopped her at the door.
• At night, Jingci transformed into a white fox and escaped through the window, but Yueshi was waiting for her less than a li down the path.