Translator: Lordbluefire
The wind had risen.
The cold wind gusted through the plains. This was a common occurrence here. When this time of the year came, everyone would huddle together in a tent and stay there for an entire day.
The wealthy people could drink goat milk and eat some piping hot grilled meat. But the poor could only huddle together and pray for this bone-chilling gusts of wind to be quickly over.
Viewing the scenery? No one did that here.
The plains during the winter only had withered plants, and not a single wild beast could be seen. The scene here would be filled with the desolateness of death.
But right now, there were actually peach blossom petals floating around..
They were so radiant and gorgeous. Their pink color actually caused this bleak and desolate winter to be filled with a hint of vitality.
It was so beautiful that it felt like a dream!
It was so surreal.
âWhat the hell, has my vision gone bad?â
A vice headmaster subconsciously blinked his eyes and had a face filled with astonishment. (Why would I see peach blossom petals floating around in winter?)
âThese are peach blossoms, right?â
âThey look like it!â
âWhat do you mean they look like? They are clearly it!â
âBut why would there be peach blossoms now?â
The great teachers and students in the school stared at the rain of petals floating in the sky as they stretched their hands out to grab some.
Because the weather was cold, everyone could feel a sense of chill seeping into their hearts when their fingers came in contact with the petals. But this actually caused the faint fragrance emitted by the petals to feel even more valuable.
âWhat are you guys still in a daze for? Quickly go and investigate!â
The vice headmasters all started shouting, telling their assistants to search for the source of the peach blossoms.
Everyone was looking at the floating petals and for a time, they were immersed in the beauty of the scene. They didnât dare to make any noise as they were worried they would disrupt the beautiful atmosphere.
Not long later, a few assistants rushed over in a hurry. They had panic on their faces. âThe peach trees...the peach trees...â
âWhatâs wrong with the trees?â
The vice headmasters asked.
âThe peach trees have blossomed!â
An assistant spoke with a look of incredulous disbelief on his face. If it wasnât for the fact that he saw it personally, he absolutely wouldnât believe it.
âWhich peach trees?â Wanyan Xiongba was curious.
âOur headmasterâs wife once planted a peach tree forest.â
As the assistant spoke, a vice headmaster cut in.
âDonât talk nonsense before the Country Lord. Wasnât that peach tree forest withered a long time ago?â
The vice headmaster glared angrily. (As an assistant, donât you have this bit of brains?)
âI...itâs true!â
The assistant wanted to cry but no tears were coming out. (Iâm really not lying!)
âCould there be a connection with Sun Mo?â
Wanyan Mei blurted.
She recalled how the vice headmasters had mocked Sun Mo to revitalize withered trees. But at that time, there wasnât a single ripple on Sun Moâs calm expression.
It felt like Sun Mo was holding them in disregard, treating them like how a summer bug would never know of winterâs chill.
(Yes! Teacher Sun basically felt disdain to argue with them.)
âI...I donât know. But there are mysterious and profound-looking spirit runes on the bodies of those trees. They should be the reason why the peach trees came back to life.â
The assistant guessed.
All the major characters here went silent. They exchanged glances as shock filled their faces.
If this was truly the case, Sun Moâs standard in the study of spirit runes had truly reached a deep and profound level.
âEveryone. Rather than guessing randomly here, why donât we just head to the peach tree forest for a look?â
Wanyan Xiongba spoke. After that, he began to proceed majestically toward the peach forest.
As the distance became closer, the fragrance of the flowers became stronger. After that, after turning a corner past a library, a colorful scene directly âbargedâ into the vision of everyone with no omen beforehand.
For an instant, everyone was shocked directly.
This feeling was like when you were watching colored lanterns floating around during the Lantern Festival, you suddenly saw an absolute beauty turning her head, drawing away your attention completely.
It was the feeling of their hearts being moved!
As the cold wind gusted, the branches of the peach blossom trees swayed gently in the wind.
âBeautiful! Extremely beautiful!â
âThis must be how paradise in the human world looks like!â
âHow was this accomplished?â
All the great teachers sighed in admiration. Some couldnât even control themselves and rushed over, wanting to go closer for a look.
âHalt!â
Wanyan Xiongba roared loudly.
How could such beautiful scenery be tainted by human vitality? Even if one wanted to play around the place, they should be fair sweet-looking maidens or kids.
How strong was the vision of these vice headmasters? Even from afar, they could see numerous spirit runes on the tree trunks. These spirit runes were currently absorbing spirit qi and nourishing the peach trees.
âThis time around, we most probably have really underestimated Sun Mo.â
A vice headmaster suddenly spoke.
Those withered peach trees actually blossomed. Clearly, this incident had something to do with spirit runes. However, the grandmaster spirit runists in their school clearly didnât have such capabilities.
Hence, Sun Mo was clearly the one behind this.
After all, in the first two great teacher examinations, he scored full marks in both his written and practical exams for the study of spirit runes.
This vice headmaster with the surname Xianbei had an embarrassed look on his face. After all, he was the one who had said that Sun Mo would have no way to make spring come upon a withered tree.
As for some of the great teachers who had said things like this from the start, they had covered their faces and left.
(I better take a detour if I ever see Sun Mo again in the future.)
(I canât afford to antagonize him!)
Sigh!
(As expected, geniuses are not people us mortals could imagine.)
âRoyal father...â
Wanyan Meiâs eyes shone like torches as she stared at Wanyan Xiongba.
âMei`er, wait a little while more. If you go and beg him to accept you as a personal student now, it will only make Great Teacher Sun look down on you.â
Wanyan Xiongba appeared to be a brute that used his muscles more than his brains. However, his intellect was actually very high. If not, he wouldnât be able to become the Jin King.
Sigh!
The value of the gifts was truly not enough!
Wanyan Xiongba suddenly felt regret.
To a great teacher who was about 22 years old, Wanyan Xiongbaâs gifts definitely could be considered generous. But to Sun Mo, they were insufficient.
Because he was an ancestor-level spirit runist.
Many great teachers loved to take out rare commodities to invest in young great teachers with potential, hoping that they would be able to use these gifts in exchange for a friendship with a future high-ranking great teacher. However, Sun Mo was no longer someone to be invested in.
Because he had proven himself.
Although he wasnât a high-ranking great teacher, it wasnât like his talent and capabilities were not enough. Instead, it was because he hadnât gone for the examinations yet.
(Ai! Sun Mo, why are you a person from the Central Plains!?)
In King Wanyanâs heart, after feeling shocked, he felt an intense disappointment and envy.
The great Central Plains truly had luxurious treasures and outstanding heroes everywhere.
He had to be convinced even if he didnât want to!
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Wanyan Xiongba +1,000. Respect (1,610/10,000).
âMn!â
Wanyan Mei gazed at the peach blossoms with an intoxicated look in her eyes. She also started to worry. (What if Teacher Sun still doesnât accept me in the future?)
(Ai~ My identity as a princess of the Jin Country is completely useless.)
Other great teachers wanted nothing more than for her to become their personal students, but Sun Mo was so casual and it depended completely on his mood.
All of a sudden, Wanyan Mei thought of Xianyu Wei who followed behind Sun Mo. She then started to feel jealous of her.
âGo. Triple the rewards in the list and send them to Great Teacher Sun.â
Wanyan Xiongba suddenly spoke as he instructed the chamberlain.
When the great teachers heard this, they were incomparably shocked.
(This list is already so generous yet you still want to triple them?)
But when their gazes landed on these peach trees, they suddenly felt that it was only appropriate to do so.
Because, an ancestor-level spirit runist was worthy of this!
...
Ding!
Congratulations on obtaining a total of +31,200 favorable impression points.
Upon hearing the notification, Sun Mo started. Why were there so many points? But after he saw the floating peach blossoms in the air, he understood.
âWhy are there peach blossoms?â
An Xinhui was astonished.
âSis Xinhui, wait for a while. I have a bet with a great teacher and it is completed now. Iâm going to invite her now to join our Central Province Academy.â
Sun Mo smiled.
âYou are the one who did this?â
An Xinhuiâs eyes were filled with a bright light.
âJust a minor accomplishment!â
Sun Mo didnât claim the credit.
(Only you people from the Nine Provinces would be so shocked. In the modern era, even a kid would know about greenhouses.)
With the scarab as a scout, Sun Mo soon found Murong Mingyue at the top of the Dragon Subduing Library.
From here, one could see the patch of peach forest. The scenery was truly a stunning one.
âYou canât possibly be thinking of committing suicide, right?â
Sun Mo walked to the side of Murong Mingyue as he placed his hands on the railing and stared into the distance.
Murong Mingyue didnât speak. Her expression was stiff and she looked like she was waiting for death.
âI completed my side of the bet.â Sun Mo teased. âHow is it? They are beautiful, right?â
âThis is the most beautiful sight Iâve ever seen in my entire life.â
Murong Mingyue mumbled. (If I could be buried in the peach blossom forest, I would have no regrets left.)
âMingyue, come with me to Jiangnan. The scenery there is even more beautiful!â
Sun Mo invited.
âIâm a sinner.â
Murong Mingyue smiled in a self-mocking manner.
âDo you know why the Saint Gateâs Sect Lord didnât issue an order to capture you?â
Sun Mo cocked his head sideways and looked at Murong Mingyue. âIt is because he wants you to redeem yourself with meritorious acts. Death? That would be too cheap of a punishment for you. He might as well allow you to live on and use your entire life to educate people.â
Through An Xinhui, Sun Mo already knew the identity of the middle-aged man who had conversed with him during the âinterrogationâ.
After all, the death of the Dragon Subduing Academyâs headmaster was a major incident. Only a top-level major character like the Sect Lord of Saint Gate had the authority to judge and give out a sentence everyone could give recognition to.
âMingyue, you want to die so badly because you have never lived for yourself before. Ask your own heart, are you willing to die just like that?â
Sun Mo stared at the sky.
âSince you love the art of puppetry so much, have you created a puppet for yourself to play with before? Mingyue, from now onward, there will be no one restricting you. You can live freely and create any puppet toys you want to, bringing those imaginations in your mind into reality.â
Sun Mo turned his head and stared at Murong Mingyue.
âHumans will always make mistakes. But I feel that you are the type thatâs worthy of forgiveness.â
âBoohoohoo!â
Murong Mingyue, whose tears had stained her face, couldnât bear it anymore and started sobbing miserably.
During these years, she had lived a life of suffering. Her uncle always used the words âpatrioticâ and âfor the countryâ to force her to use her puppetry skills for evil stuff.
And she truly disliked that.
She remembered when she was very young, a guy next door broke his leg and had difficulty walking. He would never be able to graze sheep, ride horses, or run.
Hence, she started to learn the study of puppetry and wanted to build a prosthetic limb for him.
When she saw the guy able to mount a warhorse and gallop on the grassy plains, chasing the clouds and moon, laughing gracefully under the skies again...
At that moment, Murong Mingyue truly fell in love with puppetry.
âAll the bad things you had to endure are over!â
Sun Mo hugged Murong Mingyue and gently patted her back. âEverything is over.â
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Murong Mingyue +10,000. Reverence (13,100/100,000).
Very good, he had successfully acquired a beautiful female great teacher who had ancestor-level expertise in the study of puppetry.
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