"No way—he wouldn't hit me! You think everyone's like you, beating people without even a pretense of a reason?" Li Haimo bristled instantly, firing back.
"But when Confucians want to strike, they've got excuses galore. Especially a famed scholar like Master Fuzi Nian—he could clobber you first, then claim you swung at him, and no one would doubt it," Xiaoyaozi added.
Li Haimo deflated again. Fine, point taken. Who'd believe an unknown like him over Confucianism's top dog? What are you, chopped liver? Worth slandering a great Confucian master?
In this era, uttering that aloud would've drowned him in a tidal wave of spit from the masses.
"Truth is, if you really bolted, no one in the world could catch you. Trust me—even Eastern Emperor Taiyi or Ghost Valley Master in person couldn't," Xiaoyaozi insisted confidently.
Yeah, right—like I'd buy that from you, you sly old coot.If I hadn't just gotten air-juggled and brutalized by Beimingzi, I might've fallen for your nonsense.
"Descending the mountain? Impossible—this lifetime, never!" Li Haimo turned his back on Xiaoyaozi. Your little scheme's transparent—who do you take me for, the greenhorn fresh off the slopes? You just want to send me out to spread the Human Sect's name. Parading Daoism's sole Dao Jing heir around Little Sage Villa? That's the scholars' holy ground, faster for spreading fame than any royal court.
Once I'm notorious? Yin-Yang school crashes the party first: "We branched from Daoism, but we're no subordinates—time to prove we're superior." Cue Moon Goddess, Lord Dongjun, Star Soul popping up—either I paste them, or they paste me. Then the rest swarm in, itching for a piece. And what's a Daoist heir doing wandering off Taiyi? Testing your blade on the world, eh? Fine, we'll oblige—see who's sharpening who. You think Feng Huizi's sword rankings are just about the blades? Nah, it's the wielder too.
"You're not just scared of Master Fuzi Nian—you fear Lord Dongjun, Moon Goddess, Star Soul. Hell, you fear everyone!" Xiaoyaozi sneered.
"Retrieve Xueji first, then talk smack," Li Haimo shot back with equal bite.
Xiaoyaozi went quiet. Damn it, I really can't take that old coot Chishenzi right now. What to do? Tricky... and that little Xiaomeng's growing way too fast. Give her ten more years, and she'll truly outpace me.
No, gotta scheme something! Xiaoyaozi plotted inwardly. This kid has to hit the road and sort his Dao Jing mess—otherwise, the Human Sect's getting ground under a girl's heel again.
The Human Sect and Celestial Sect diverged sharply. Human disciples roamed the mortal realm often, so they knew how to indulge: more coin meant finer garb—silken Daoist robes, comfy without harm. They even piped hot springs through the grounds, prime for cultivation and recovery. The Celestial Sect had cribbed the idea, too. Daoism's split was deliberate, no doubt.Celestial hoards the essence, strongest always. Human probes the world recklessly—mess up? "That was the Human Sect's doing, not us Celestial. But as fellow Daoists, we can't stand by—allow me to escort the fool back for re-education." Then Human slinks home after a Celestial thrashing, lays low till the dust settles, and ventures out anew.
Soaking in the steaming pool, Li Haimo mused, If only a beauty were here to scrub my back and feed me grapes with fine wine—that'd be peak bliss. But this late hour, deep in the wilds? Any "beauty" would be a fox spirit or painted-skin demon. Ghosts and ghouls were the only company out here.
"We're different!" Xiaomeng's cool voice echoed once more.
What the—? Li Haimo cracked his eyes open. There she stood in her pale green Daoist robes, Xueji in hand, gazing down at him from the pool's edge.
"Junior Sister Xiaomeng... h-hi!" Li Haimo slapped his hands over his chest, stammering.
"We're different!" Xiaomeng repeated, relieved he seemed normal. She pointed at his body.
Li Haimo was still lost. What the heck does that mean?
"What's different?" he asked.
Xiaomeng stared, struggling for words. Then she shrugged off her robe—her snow-white form aglow under the moonlight. A full moon tonight, no less; every curve stood out in stark, crystalline detail.
Li Haimo froze. A 21st-century keyboard warrior like me? Broke as hell—no cash for even a basic unwind, left hand trading off with the right. Scenes like this? Never in my wildest dreams.
"Here, here—they're all different!" Xiaomeng pointed matter-of-factly, utterly serene. She slipped into the spring and glided over to him.
"Well, duh—men and women aren't the same," Li Haimo edged away discreetly. Not to ogle better—just... not used to a girl this close.
"But why the difference? Men and women are both human—why aren't we the same?" Xiaomeng pressed nearer.
Miss, you're tempting fate here—know that? Li Haimo scooted aside again. And your question's like "chicken or egg"—who the hell knows why men and women differ? Wait, if we were the same, it'd be hermaphrodites all around.
"Why crime? And who'd dare grab you from Daoist turf?" Xiaomeng asked, puzzled.
No clue if anyone's coming—but commit the crime? Beimingzi'd skin me alive and turn me into a lantern first.
"Confucians say: no intimate contact between unrelated men and women," Li Haimo recited, dodging to the far side.
"We're Daoists—Confucian rules don't bind us," Xiaomeng countered earnestly.
You've got a point, miss—leaves me speechless. But inch closer, and all that "three years hard time, death penalty" jazz? Out the window.
"First off, heaven and earth began in chaos, then the Dao split into Yin and Yang. With that split, life divided into male and female; humans into man and woman," Li Haimo explained.
"I know—from one comes two, two births three, three begets all things. But how's that tie to us being different?" Xiaomeng wondered.
"Of course it does. Look at Yin and Yang—are they alike? Sun and moon?" Li Haimo gestured at the moon.
"Sun and moon aren't Yin-Yang opposites to begin with," Xiaomeng stated flatly, closing the gap again.
"Then check the mountain monkeys—male and female the same?" Li Haimo parried.
"They're not—so that's why I'm asking why!" Xiaomeng replied.
"I..." Li Haimo was stumped. This is biology 101—how should I know? I studied Daoism, not bio class.
"Looks like you don't get it either. I asked Master—he couldn't answer, so he sent me to you," Xiaomeng said, leaning against the pool's edge in disappointment.
So the Celestial Sect's clueless on teaching gender differences and dumped it on me? Not scared I'll gobble her up? Remember, pre-Qin style: girls wed at 13. Unmarried by 16? Crime—parents dragged to the city walls for execution.
"Give me time to think—I'll explain once I figure it out," Li Haimo stalled. Drag it out till she forgets.Now I get why in later anime, Xiaomeng tells Zhang Han "the world has no men or women—just flawed human eyes." Roots in Celestial's lousy teaching—palm her off with vague Daoist fluff.
"Okay—I'll wait!" Xiaomeng climbed out, redonned her robe, and vanished as silently as she'd come.
Li Haimo exhaled in relief. Keep that up, and even Heart Like Still Water couldn't save me.
_
If you want to support me and read advanced 50+ chapters and also other stories: patreon.com/Caluem