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

Chapter 495: A Mountain Full of Peach Blossoms

“Jingci...”

“Is Jingci there?”

“Jingci...”

On the second day after Cold Mountain Academy announced the list of those who had passed the Worthy Examination, several young women stood outside the fence, calling into the courtyard again and again.

Hearing the voices outside, Tushan Jingci—who had only just gotten up and finished washing and dressing—stepped out of her room. There was still a trace of morning languor in her expression, and a hint of surprise showed in her eyes.

“What brings you sisters here today?”

Seeing that it was her friends, Tushan Jingci smiled and stepped forward, asking in a soft voice.

These girls were all her former classmates. From their days at Elementary Learning Peak onward, they had studied together the whole time, and their friendship could be called quite deep.

“We came to congratulate you, our newest lady Worthy, of course. And while we were at it, we thought we’d invite you to go enjoy the spring with us.” Feng Shan, the daughter of the Sea Moon Sect’s sect master, said with a smile.

“Enjoy the spring?” Tushan Jingci lowered her eyes, a trace of hesitation in her expression.

“Come on, Jingci. Let’s go have some fun together.”

“You can’t refuse us again this time, Jingci. Before, whenever we asked you out, you always said you had to ‘prepare for the examination.’ You can’t use that excuse anymore.”

“That’s right, Jingci. You’ve just finished the examination, and it’s not as if you have anything urgent to do. Come walk around with us.”

“...”

Faced with her friends’ warm insistence, Tushan Jingci lightly bit her lip, unable to make up her mind at once.

Her original plan for today had been to go to the bamboo courtyard and continue keeping Xiao Mo company.

But... she really had already turned them down many times before.

And as a daughter of the Tushan clan, even if she did not need to be especially close with others, she still had to keep up the proper appearances. After all, her dealings with them also touched on their respective clans and sects.

Besides, they had always gotten along well enough.

If she refused again now, it would truly be hard to justify.

“All right...” Tushan Jingci finally nodded. “But where are we going?”

“Well, not far. Just to the back mountain of Elementary Learning Peak.”

A girl named Yuan Xing said it with a smile.

“The spring on the back mountain is at its clearest right now, and the signs of spring are at their loveliest. And it isn’t far from your courtyard either. We couldn’t have chosen a better place.”

Yuan Xing explained with a smile, her tone carrying a note of thoughtfulness.

She clearly knew that if the outing were set too far away, Jingci would most likely decline with polite excuses, so she had deliberately picked somewhere nearby.

And things unfolded exactly as she had expected.

Once Tushan Jingci heard that the destination was the back mountain of Elementary Learning Peak, much of her hesitation faded.

At least after the outing was over, she would still be able to hurry to the bamboo grove and stay by Xiao Mo’s side.

“Then let’s go.” Tushan Jingci nodded.

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

A girl named Shi Yang laughingly linked arms with Tushan Jingci. The other girls clustered around her as well, talking and laughing as they all headed together toward the back mountain.

The girls chatted brightly all the way there, their steps light, and before long they arrived at a mountain pavilion on the back slope of Elementary Learning Peak.

The pavilion stood on a great outthrust rock. The terrain there was rather steep, but all the more secluded and elegant for it.

Looking down from the pavilion, one could see a crystal-clear stream below. The water rippled and murmured as it wound through the stones of the mountain.

The stream lay some six zhang beneath the pavilion. If one leaned over the edge, the whole ravine came into view at once.

Not far to the east of the pavilion, a waterfall plunged straight down from above.

It poured down from the heights in an unbroken sheet, striking the jagged stone face again and again before smashing into the pool below and throwing up bursts of white spray. Mist rose thickly, and the sound carried great force.

Yet the distance between the pavilion and the falling water was just right. It was not so close that the spray blew into one’s face or the roar battered one’s ears, and not so far that the view lost its charm.

Sitting in the pavilion, one could hear the clear, ethereal sound of water striking rock in the distance, and if one looked up, one could vaguely make out the grand sight of the waterfall descending from the sky. Because of that, the place carried an even deeper sense of leisure and quiet remoteness.

And even though the peach trees around the pavilion had not yet bloomed, the place still possessed an elegant, secluded charm that soothed the heart at once.

However...

Only when Tushan Jingci arrived at the pavilion did she realize that today’s outing did not seem to be limited to their group alone.

Chen Jue, Li Wen, Situ Kong, Wanfeng, You’er, and several others had already been waiting there for quite some time.

They were all former classmates who had studied alongside Tushan Jingci in the school hall at Elementary Learning Peak when they were children.

Only later, after leaving Elementary Learning Peak, each of them had gone to different peaks.

Some had gone to Cloud-Soaring Peak. Others to Shangshu Peak. It was rare for them all to gather together.

“You all finally made it. We’ve been waiting a long time.”

Situ Kong and the others stepped forward with smiles, greeting Tushan Jingci and the girls.

“Hehe... so what if you had to wait a little? Besides, we brought Jingci here, didn’t we?” Yuan Xing replied with a smile, sounding more than a little pleased with herself.

“That’s true enough.” Chen Jue, dressed in blue robes, stepped forward. He flicked open the folding fan in his hand and waved it lightly before himself, looking every bit the cultivated scholar. His gaze came to rest on Tushan Jingci. “For you all to have invited Young Lady Tushan here is a great achievement indeed. If it had been us, we definitely wouldn’t have been able to.”

“Among all of us, only three passed the Worthy Examination, and Jingci was the only woman among them. That really is impressive.” Lou Huo stepped forward and offered his praise with complete sincerity.

“I was only fortunate.” Tushan Jingci answered softly with a gentle smile.

Though Tushan Jingci appeared mild and graceful, the truth was that she had not even looked at these men.

“Hmph. It’s good enough that you all know how remarkable our Jingci is.”

Feng Shan held Tushan Jingci’s arm, pride plain in her tone.

“Come on, Jingci, let’s go sit inside. Everyone who came today is one of our own. We’ve all been classmates since we first entered Cold Mountain Academy, and it’s rare for us to gather like this. You don’t need to be reserved.”

“I know everyone here. Why would I be reserved? And it’s true that it’s been a long time since we all got together.”

Tushan Jingci smiled and followed Feng Shan into the pavilion.

In truth, she was indeed somewhat displeased by Chen Jue and the others’ presence.

She had thought this would be an outing among women and had not expected these men to be there too. It made her somewhat uncomfortable.

Still, she did not show any of it on her face. Outwardly, she kept up the proper courtesies and manners.

In any case, gatherings like this were not a daily occurrence. She would stay for a while and then leave.

It was not long before jar after jar of good wine was set out on the stone table.

Yuan Xing and the others chatted about the various amusing things that had happened lately at Cold Mountain Academy, and then they started a linked-verse game. For a time, laughter rose again and again inside the pavilion, and the atmosphere was lively enough.

And in the course of that gathering, quite a few of the young women would from time to time secretly glance toward one particular young man or another, their gazes hiding the quiet stirrings of a girl’s heart.

Yet the gazes of those young men mostly settled on Tushan Jingci.

In front of her, they did their utmost to show themselves off. Some spoke of poetry and the Way, some displayed their talents, some affected a carefree elegance. Every one of them wanted to win her favor.

But most of the time, Tushan Jingci merely smiled faintly and replied with one or two polite remarks. She did not pay them any real mind.

Now and then, her gaze passed over everyone present and drifted beyond the pavilion, toward the direction of the bamboo grove.

This place was lively enough, yes.

But amid all this liveliness, he was not here.

“Since this is such a rare gathering over wine, how can we do without poetry?”

A man named Gu Huien smiled as he looked around at everyone and spoke in a clear voice.

“How about this? Each of us composes one poem today, and afterward we gather them into a collection. Then, years from now, when we open it again and read it in remembrance, wouldn’t that count as an elegant delight? What do you all think?”

“An excellent suggestion, Brother Gu!”

“I agree with Brother Gu as well!”

“Then let’s do as Brother Gu says.”

“I’ve never seen Jingci compose poetry before. Today we’ll finally get to see her literary talent.”

The moment Gu Huien made the proposal, everyone chimed in one after another, and the mood in the pavilion grew even warmer.

“Jingci, what do you think?”

Feng Shan turned to look at Tushan Jingci, her eyes full of anticipation.

Naturally, she approved of the suggestion herself. She only felt it was proper to ask Jingci’s opinion first.

“That’s fine.” Tushan Jingci smiled slightly, her tone gentle. Everyone was in such high spirits that she could hardly bring herself to dampen the mood.

“All right, then let me be the first to offer something modest.”

A man named Yu Qiushui rose to his feet. With one hand behind his back, he paced slowly through the pavilion, pondered for a moment, and then recited aloud:

“The pavilion hides among spring-green hills,

Clouds drift by, and jade cups stay warm.

Once a poem is done, who remains to answer it?

Only the birds in the woods debate among themselves.”

The instant Yu Qiushui finished, everyone first stilled slightly, as though caught by the mood of the poem. Then they came back to themselves and quickly praised it.

“Excellent poem!”

“It truly is an excellent poem!”

“Yu Qiushui’s poem really is quite good. Jingci, what do you think?”

Feng Shan turned to Tushan Jingci with the question.

Tushan Jingci only smiled faintly and answered politely, “It really is quite good.”

“Hahaha, I was only offering a humble beginning. I’ve embarrassed myself, embarrassed myself.”

Having received praise from everyone, and especially from Tushan Jingci, Yu Qiushui grinned and cupped his hands in salute, clearly in excellent spirits.

“Brother Yu’s literary talent is truly astonishing. Compared to him, I can only make a clumsy display before an expert.”

Once Yu Qiushui sat down, Chen Jue rose to his feet. He took a few measured steps, then slowly chanted:

“A winding path leads to the mountain pavilion through spring’s fragrant dust,

A gauze of mist softly veils the spring of ten thousand trees.

I would pluck a wildflower, yet fear my hand too heavy;

I fear startling hidden birds, so quick to shun men again and again.

The wind brings up the stream’s music, almost seeming like speech;

Clouds cover the mountain’s waist as though wearing a lovely frown.

At dusk I write a poem upon the mossy wall,

And the shades of ink look like the marks left upon a heart.”

When Chen Jue finished reciting, everyone present could not help going still for a moment.

Who here did not know that Chen Jue had long been pursuing Tushan Jingci?

And the poem he had just composed, though on the surface it described the scenery, hid feeling in every line. He was simply borrowing the poem to express his admiration for Tushan Jingci in a tactful, indirect way.

As if by agreement, everyone’s eyes turned toward Tushan Jingci, wanting to see how she would react.

Yet Tushan Jingci remained calm as ever, her features composed, her expression light, as if she had not heard anything beyond the poem itself. Not the slightest ripple showed.

“Excellent poem. Just as expected of Brother Chen, who passed the Worthy Examination. After a poem like that from Brother Chen, the rest of us won’t even know how to put brush to paper.”

“That’s right, Brother Chen. With talent like yours, who among us would dare write a poem next and make a fool of himself?”

The others all joined in praising him. Every one of them commended Chen Jue’s literary brilliance.

Only, as for the layer of affection hidden in the poem, all of them tactfully left it unspoken.

“Thank you all for the praise. Your own poems will surely be far better than mine.”

Chen Jue answered modestly, but his gaze still drifted involuntarily toward Tushan Jingci.

Tushan Jingci merely lifted her teacup and took a small sip. In those beautiful eyes of hers lingered a faint sorrow, as if her thoughts were elsewhere.

After Chen Jue had used poetry to hint at his feelings for Tushan Jingci, the other men naturally refused to be outdone.

One after another, they also composed poems, some openly and some obliquely revealing their admiration for her.

Yet without exception, Tushan Jingci gave none of them any further reaction. At most, she offered one or two polite words of praise, and then nothing more.

That faint distance around her was like a thin veil, shutting everyone outside her world.

“Jingci, your turn, your turn!”

When it was finally Tushan Jingci’s turn, a girl named Wang Yan looked at her with bright anticipation, her tone lively with excitement. She clearly wanted to know what kind of poem this newly minted lady Worthy would compose.

Unable to decline, Tushan Jingci picked up the brush and dipped it in ink.

She tilted her head slightly, letting her gaze pass beyond the edge of the pavilion roof toward the distant mountains, toward those peach trees that had still not bloomed.

Within those beautiful fox eyes of hers, a trace of loss and wistfulness quietly surfaced, difficult to put into words.

She thought of the one who was still in seclusion.

She thought of what he had once said.

She thought of that promise about spring, about a mountain full of peach blossoms.

A moment later, Tushan Jingci withdrew her gaze and slowly lowered her brush to the paper.

And just as she set the brush down, while everyone was about to crowd forward and see what she had written—

A warm spring breeze drifted softly through the pavilion.

The branches and leaves of the peach trees beside it stirred beneath that breeze with a rustling sound, as though whispering something to one another.

“Jingci, look! Look at these peach trees!”

Shi Yang threw out a hand, pointing at the peach trees beside the pavilion as she cried out in delight.

Everyone turned at once.

They saw that the peach grove on the back mountain of Elementary Learning Peak, which had not bloomed with a single flower in three years, had after that spring breeze suddenly put forth tender buds all along its branches, one after another in dense profusion, swelling and ready to bloom.

It was as though the whole mountainside had been dressed in a pale pink skirt, elegant and delicate.

At the same time—

Outside the bamboo courtyard at the foot of Elementary Learning Peak—

Xian Xichun, who had been sitting outside reading, seemed to sense something and looked up toward the courtyard within.

“Hm?”

He set down the book in his hands, surprise flickering across his face before the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.

“No more and no less. Exactly three years...”