The human girl opened her eyes and looked at the little boy standing before her, who seemed to be only six or seven years old. Fear flickered in her eyes as they blinked softly.

Xiao Mo gripped the other boy’s wrist and looked at this young demon calmly.

If Xiao Mo remembered correctly, this boy’s young master was Chen Jue, the First Prince of the Heavenly Demon Kingdom.

“Xiao Mo! What do you think you’re doing?” the demon cultivator named Wang Zhong demanded coldly.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Xiao Mo replied evenly. “At Cold Mountain Academy, it is forbidden to beat, abuse, or harm humans without cause, and all the more so to kill them for any reason. Or are you saying you intend to break the academy’s rules?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Mo slowly tightened his grip.

A flash of pain crossed Wang Zhong’s face. He loosened his hand, and the stone dropped to the ground.

Xiao Mo flung his arm aside, and Wang Zhong stumbled back several steps.

“How do you know I was hurting someone without cause?” Wang Zhong said furiously. “She was too blind to watch where she was going and ran into me. The pills I was fetching for my young master all fell on the ground. This lowborn human trash wouldn’t deserve mercy even if I beat her to death!”

“That’s not true, young master,” the girl said hurriedly. “I didn’t run into them just now. When I {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} passed by, I deliberately kept my distance from these young masters, but they ran into me themselves.”

“Bullshit. Filthy humans like you are enough to dirty the eyes just by looking at you, and enough to dirty our clothes just by touching you. Why would I deliberately run into you?” Wang Zhong shouted, jabbing a finger at the girl’s nose.

He turned to the others beside him. “You all tell him. Who ran into me? Say something fair.”

“This human should die.”

“A human dares block our path on purpose?”

“We should just turn her into a dish!”

“Forget it. Even if she got made into a dish, I’d still think she tasted disgusting!”

The other demon book boys naturally chimed in to back Wang Zhong.

“But I stayed far away from them... I really didn’t mean to... I...” The girl was so frantic that tears were already gathering in her eyes.

Xiao Mo shook his head. By now, he understood exactly what had happened, and he motioned for her not to say anything more.

What was the point of saying more?

Everyone here was on their side. They were the witnesses too. And who would believe a human?

“Xiao Mo, move aside! Are you really going to meddle in this?” Wang Zhong snapped. “Or do you think that because the Tushan residence is backing you, we won’t dare touch you?”

“What I do today has nothing to do with the Tushan residence.” Xiao Mo shook his head. “Some things can be ignored if you never see them. But once you’ve seen them, you cannot pretend you didn’t.”

“Fine! Since you’ve got a death wish, then die with her! Don’t blame me for not giving you a chance! And the Tushan residence can’t blame me either!” Wang Zhong’s lips curled slightly. “Get him! Kill these two damned humans together! Whatever happens, I’ll take responsibility!”

As soon as Wang Zhong’s words fell, the demon book boys who had been holding themselves back for a long time lunged at Xiao Mo.

In the courtyard halfway up the mountain, Tushan Jingci slowly opened her eyes after a nice long afternoon nap.

“Ahh...”

She yawned, rubbed her eyes, and walked out of her room.

“You’re awake so early today, Young Lady?” Yueshi said with a smile at the sight of her adorable little mistress. “Would you like some tea? Something to eat?”

“I’m not hungry, Sister Yueshi.” Tushan Jingci shook her head, then looked around in confusion. “Hm? Sister Yueshi, where did Xiao Mo go?”

“In reply, Young Lady, Xiao Mo went to the pill room at the top of the mountain to collect some pills. Going by the time, he should be back soon,” Yueshi answered truthfully.

“Then I’ll go meet him. We can catch a few crickets on the way back too.” Tushan Jingci happily ran toward the courtyard gate.

But before she could run out, she saw an academy steward walking toward her courtyard.

“May I ask which one is Miss Tushan?”

The academy steward stopped outside the courtyard and bowed with folded hands.

“I am...” Tushan Jingci walked over, looking at the man nervously. “Uncle, what’s wrong?”

“Miss Tushan, your book boy has gotten into a fight with some other demons outside the pill room. You had best go take a look,” the steward said.

“Huh?” Tushan Jingci’s eyes blinked in disbelief. “Xiao Mo got into a fight with someone?”

“I-I’m going right now!”

The moment she processed it, Tushan Jingci lifted her little legs beneath her skirt and ran toward the mountaintop.

Yueshi naturally hurried after her.

With Yueshi’s flying art carrying her along, Tushan Jingci reached the summit of Elementary Learning Peak very quickly.

“Xiao Mo!”

The moment she saw Xiao Mo outside the pill room, Tushan Jingci ran toward him anxiously.

“Xiao Mo, are you all right?”

“Why did you fight with someone?”

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

Tushan Jingci touched him all over in worry, checking left and right.

Then she saw several scratches on Xiao Mo’s neck, with blood seeping out, and one of his hands hanging at his side, blood steadily dripping from his fingertips onto the ground.

“Young Lady, there’s no need to worry. I’m fine.”

Xiao Mo smiled and shook his head, drawing the injured hand behind his back.

“And you still say you’re fine. You’re bleeding...”

Tushan Jingci’s eyes brimmed with tears, full of worry.

“Really, I’m fine. It’s only a flesh wound. Compared to me, they’re hurt more badly.”

Xiao Mo indicated the front with a glance.

Tushan Jingci followed his gaze.

All her attention had been on Xiao Mo just now, and only then did she notice four or five demons lying on the ground, groaning, blood at the corners of their mouths. They all looked as though they had suffered serious internal injuries.

And these people looked rather familiar too. They seemed to be the book boys of Chen Jue, Lou Huo, and the others from the school hall.

“What happened?”

No sooner had Tushan Jingci arrived than the masters of those book boys, having been notified, also reached the summit.

Seeing their own book boys lying on the ground unable to rise, Chen Jue and the others frowned, their expressions darkening with displeasure.

After all, the ones close enough to serve as personal book boys were always their most trusted attendants.

For their trusted attendants to be beaten was no different from being slapped in the face themselves.

“Young Master, you have to uphold justice for us!”

“Young Master, sob, sob, that human actually hit me! He actually dared to hit me!”

“Young Master, it doesn’t matter that I got beaten, but this Xiao Mo has shown utter contempt for our Thunder Roar Sect! I truly couldn’t stand by and watch!” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The moment their young masters arrived, the book boys endured the pain and hurried to their respective sides to complain.

Chen Jue, Lou Huo, and the others looked at their own attendants, then looked ahead at Tushan Jingci and her book boy.

The old dao-protectors standing behind Chen Jue and the others were even more angered. One of them stepped forward and demanded of Tushan Jingci,

“Miss Tushan, your book boy has injured members of our race in this sacred place of learning. This is truly going too far. Shouldn’t you give an explanation?”