Chapter 39: Ji Xia Academy

Northern Territory.

Su Mo left the small mountain village behind. According to the villagers, the imperial capital of the Nanyao Empire held an academy named Ji Xia Academy, a paradise for scholars throughout the Southern Domain.

Su Mo was intrigued, but the journey was lengthy. After all, he was but an ordinary mortal.

After wandering for several days, he found himself lost in the snowfields, eventually collapsing in the snow. When he awoke, he found himself within a white palace.

Carefully observing his surroundings, he realized he was inside a carriage. The one who saved him must not be an ordinary person, considering the extravagance.

Observing the carriage's interior, he recognized little; some items were beyond his recognition. However, he identified the white carpet beneath his feet as the fur of a fifth-grade beast, the Snow Fox.

Before he could examine further, the carriage door opened. A young girl dressed in white fur entered. She appeared rather young, around thirteen or fourteen.

As she entered, the tassels on her ears swayed, adding vibrancy to her appearance.

"Are you awake?" The girl inquired with concern upon entering.

With care, she placed a white jade bowl from a maid's tray onto the table.

"Thank you for saving me." Su Mo realized it was this young girl who rescued him, weakly expressing his gratitude.

"I saw you collapsed in the snow, worried you might be carried off by snow wolves. I had someone save you; it was a small favor," the girl spoke naively, her laughter marked by dimples forming at the corners of her mouth.

"Physician Xu… Physician Xu mentioned that your Dantian had been shattered, combined with the intrusion of cold energy. This medicine has some benefits for your body," the girl spoke, lifting the bowl as she did.

"Princess…" The moment the girl lifted her bowl, a maidservant beside her spoke hurriedly. How could a princess engage in such a thing, especially for a foreign man like this?

Yet, her words were quickly stifled. The princess had previously instructed her to address her as "Miss" to avoid revealing her identity, but it had become a habit, and she had momentarily forgotten.

"Princess?" Su Mo paused when he heard this address.

"Are you the Ninth Princess of the Nanyao Empire?" Su Mo looked around the room at the lavish decorations and realized.

"Do you know me?" The girl, her identity now laid bare, no longer concealed it, instead asking about the young man lying on the bed.

"I'm just an ordinary person. How could I possibly know about a princess like you?" Su Mo didn't recognize this so-called Ninth Princess. However, it was the opulent decor inside the carriage and the rumors he had heard during his time here that led him to guess.

"Are you really just an ordinary person?" The girl seemed skeptical, her gaze fixed on the jade pendant hanging from his waist. It was clear that the pendant was far from ordinary; it represented his status as the legitimate heir of the Su family, a symbol he couldn't easily dismiss. Su Mo noticed the girl's gaze on the pendant.

After his cultivation was crippled, he couldn't use storage rings anymore, so he had hung the jade pendant around his waist.

"Just an ordinary jade pendant." Su Mo covered the jade pendant with a corner of his robe and casually replied, gambling that the girl had mistaken it for something else.

Before she could retort, a man's voice sounded from outside the door. "Princess, we've captured a suspicious person outside and have come to seek your orders."

"Take him to the dungeon! If he's innocent, release him," the girl's tone was authoritative and devoid of the previous casualness.

Su Mo didn't pay much attention; after all, the person was just an assassin and was on someone else's territory.

"I'm not…" The voice started but was cut off, though Su Mo still heard it.

"Wait." Ignoring the girl's confusion, Su Mo weakly stood up. However, after lying down for too long, he stumbled upon rising. Luckily, the girl was quick to catch him. Unbeknownst to him, her face suddenly reddened.

"He's not an assassin." Su Mo's voice was hoarse as he pointed outside and spoke to the girl.

"Xiaodie." The girl realized and promptly called out to the maid.

The maid understood and quickly left the room. Su Mo struggled to stay steady but the girl swiftly guided him to a nearby chair. Fortunately, she poured him a cup of hot tea.

In a matter of minutes, the maid returned with two men in tow. One was the leader of the guards, dressed in golden armor and radiating a powerful aura, likely at the early stage of the Heavenly Martial Realm. As for the other, he was an old man with a somewhat disheveled appearance and several patches on his clothes. His hands were bound, and he knelt on the ground like a beggar.

"Mo Li." Su Mo hadn't misheard; the voice indeed belonged to Mo Li.

"Young Master Mo." Hearing the voice, the old man looked up and recognized Su Mo.

He struggled to stand, but his efforts were in vain. The girl noticed the familiarity between the two and gestured for the leader to free Mo Li from his restraints.

"Princess," the leader hesitated but upon seeing the princess's expression, he hurriedly untied Mo Li.

"How did you end up here?" After the ropes and seals were removed, Su Mo inquired.

"Fifth Elder was concerned for your safety, so he had me secretly follow you, fearing you might encounter danger." Mo Li gave an honest response.

"Go back and tell my father that I'm safe," Su Mo replied without delving into details.

Mo Li hesitated, a trace of conflict in his eyes. His cultivation wasn't sufficient for tasks like these. He had been tailing Su Mo all along, but when they encountered snow wolves, he was forced to deal with them first.

Upon returning, he found Su Mo missing. Finding anything in this snowy expanse was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. He had followed Su Mo's aura all the way, only to be mistaken for an assassin.

"My father dare not defy the Ancestor's command," Su Mo pressed on.

"Then, I'll return first and request stronger reinforcements from the family." Mo Li looked at Su Mo, almost as if saying he wouldn't leave without an agreement.

"Take care on your way back." Su Mo knew Mo Li's intentions. He said this not out of genuine concern, but rather to stabilize Mo Li.

"Princess, can you let him go?" Su Mo turned to the girl, aware that she held authority here.

Without asking for reasons, the girl motioned for Mo Li to be released.

Mo Li glanced at Su Mo and left.