We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Evening fell.

In a charming side courtyard filled with all manner of flowers and plants,

Tushan Jingci, confined to reflect on her behavior, sat in her room on a meditation cushion.

She held a picture book, leaning forward with her whole body draped over the low floor table, turning the pages one by one with absolute boredom.

The snow-white fox tail behind the little girl drooped limply to the ground, looking utterly without energy.

"So boring..."

"So boring..."

Tushan Jingci let out a yawn, set the picture book down, and swept her tail back and forth across the floor like a broom.

"I hate being confined more than anything. Being confined is not fun at all..."

With that, the fox-eared little girl flipped onto her back and lay on the floor, hugging her great white fox tail to her chest like a fluffy snow-white bundle, rolling back and forth across the ground without stopping.

Rolling and rolling, the image of the little boy named "Xiao Mo" that she had encountered the night before drifted back into Tushan Jingci's mind.

Everyone else in the residence, whenever they saw her, would keep their distance, treating her with both reverence and fear, not daring to play with her...

But that little boy the same age as herself was different.

Not only did he have a nice face, but he also seemed unafraid of her.

"Maybe he is not like everyone else. Maybe he would actually be willing to play with me?"

As she thought about it, Tushan Jingci's eyes suddenly lit up, and she sat bolt upright from the floor.

"Right! I do not have to sneak out of the residence at all!"

"Going to find him to play should be fine, shouldn't it?"

Tushan Jingci said to herself.

Having decided on her new plan, Tushan Jingci pulled off her small foot coverings, climbed onto the bed at once, and called out to the maidservant waiting nearby. "Elder Sister Yueshi, I am a bit sleepy. I am going to sleep now. You should rest early too."

"Yes, Young Miss."

Yueshi smiled inwardly.

For the Young Miss to go to sleep this early, she was certainly up to something again but since the Lady had already said to turn a blind eye, she would simply act as though she knew nothing at all.

Half a stick of incense later, Tushan Jingci lay completely still in bed, her chest rising and falling evenly, as though she had genuinely fallen asleep.

Seeing the Young Miss "asleep," Yueshi removed her outer robe and went to sleep in the outer room.

Past the midpoint of the hour of hai, Tushan Jingci's eyes opened, and her large, bright eyes shifted quietly from side to side.

Tushan Jingci crept out of bed and tiptoed out of the inner room.

She glanced at Elder Sister Yueshi sleeping soundly in the outer room, covered her small mouth, and laughed silently to herself, quite pleased that she really was as clever as she thought, having fooled Elder Sister Yueshi just like that.

"Elder Sister Yueshi, I am going out to play."

The little girl called out softly, then sauntered out of the room with a satisfied air.

After Tushan Jingci left, Yueshi quietly shook her head and followed along behind her young miss.

In the courtyard, Tushan Jingci skipped along in cheerful steps, her small feet scattering the soft moonlight, her little tail bobbing up and down as she ran ahead.

Yueshi, following behind Tushan Jingci, furrowed her brow with quiet puzzlement, wondering where on earth the Young Miss was heading.

Before long, Tushan Jingci arrived at the entrance to a firewood room.

She looked left and right, confirmed no one was watching, and then reached out and knocked on the door.

Inside the firewood room, Xiao Mo was roused by the knocking. He rubbed his eyes, climbed down from the woodpile, and opened the wooden door.

The moment the door swung open, moonlight poured in through the entrance, falling upon the little girl's silver-white hair and her fluffy tail.

The pure, clear glow framed the fox-eared little girl's skirt hem, and her large, bright eyes blinked slowly, shimmering with the quiet light of the moon.

In that moment, she looked like a spirit born of moonlight.

"Young Miss? What brings you here?" Xiao Mo said in surprise.

"It is me, it is me." Tushan Jingci gave a cheerful nod.

"Are you trying to sneak out of the residence again?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Not at all." Tushan Jingci puffed out her cheeks. "I came tonight to find you to play with."

"Is this not the direction of the kitchen courtyard?"

"To find me to play?" Xiao Mo's expression carried a trace of hesitation.

"What is the matter?" Tushan Jingci, seeing that Xiao Mo seemed to be in a bit of a difficult spot, felt the happiness that had been on her face begin to fade. Even her swaying tail drooped. "Do you not want to play with me?"

"Of course it is not that. I am only worried that coming out this late at night might cause the Young Miss trouble. I am afraid you may be punished again." Xiao Mo explained.

"Do not worry. It will be fine. Even though I have not yet set foot on the path of cultivation, I can still use a little of the fox clan's innate divine ability. Elder Sister Yueshi is too simple-minded to notice that I have snuck out. I will play for a little while and then go back. There will definitely be no problem. That is how I have always done it."

Tushan Jingci waved her small hand, still looking every bit the same confident and adorable girl as before.

"But Young Miss... I am a human..." Xiao Mo said helplessly.

"Is there a difference between humans and demon folk?" Tushan Jingci tilted her head slightly to one side. "You look just like me, except you have no tail. That is all. It is fine. I do not mind that you have no tail."

"All right then." Listening to the little girl's words, Xiao Mo smiled and stepped aside. "Then please come in, Young Miss."

"Mm."

Tushan Jingci walked into the firewood room.

"What would the Young Miss like to play?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Hmm, right, what shall we play?" Tushan Jingci bit her finger thoughtfully, her fox ears twitching. "Xiao Mo, what do you usually play?"

"After working in the kitchen courtyard, I usually come back here to rest, or I listen to Master Niu and the others chat. There is generally not much for me to play." Xiao Mo answered.

"Oh... then... then what shall we do... what is there that is fun?" Tushan Jingci lowered her small head, looking as though she was thinking very hard.

"I have it!" The fox-eared little girl's tail suddenly perked upward, and she said happily, "Xiao Mo, how about you tell me about the things Master Niu and the others talk about?"

"That is a little..." Xiao Mo hesitated.

The problem was that what Master Niu and those rough men talked about was things like "the cow demon's chest," "the cat demon's waist," and "the hippo demon's backside," all far too coarse. There was no way he could share that with her.

"How about this? Shall I keep the Young Miss company playing tic-tac-toe?" Xiao Mo suddenly thought of it.

"Yes, yes! As long as someone is playing with me, anything works. But Xiao Mo, what is tic-tac-toe?" Tushan Jingci asked with curiosity.

"Tic-tac-toe is where you draw a grid shape with nine squares. The Young Miss draws circles on it, and I draw crosses. Like this..."

Xiao Mo picked up two small sticks, handed one to Tushan Jingci, then crouched down on the ground and drew a grid, teaching her how to play.

"That sounds like fun. Let us play this."

Since the rules were very simple, Tushan Jingci understood immediately.

"Good." Xiao Mo smiled and gave a nod, drawing a fresh grid. "Young Miss may go first."

"Mm mm."

Tushan Jingci nodded her head and was about to make her mark.

"Wait!"

Suddenly, the little girl seemed to think of something and looked up at Xiao Mo.

"What is it, Young Miss?" Xiao Mo asked.

"Xiao Mo, since we are playing together like this, does that make us friends?" Tushan Jingci asked with hopeful anticipation.

Xiao Mo gave a gentle smile. "If the Young Miss wishes it, then I can certainly be the Young Miss's friend."

"Really? You said it yourself, remember!"

Tushan Jingci's beautiful fox eyes curved into crescent moons.

"From now on, you are my friend for life."

"You are never allowed to change."