Cultivating Immortality, Starting from Childhood Sweethearts

On the first day of school, Qin Qingwan had eagerly come to find Xu Ming early in the morning.

On the second day, however, Xu Ming got up early, finished breakfast, and realized that Qin Qingwan hadn't arrived yet.

With no other choice, he took the jade pendant Madam Qin had given him and headed to the Qin residence to look for her.

When he arrived at Madam Qin's courtyard, he saw Qin Qingwan half-asleep, leaning against her mother, who was gently combing her hair.

Madam Qin was dressed in a thin inner robe, her long hair cascading loosely down her back, just reaching her waist. Her delicate face glowed softly in the morning sunlight.

Sitting upright with her legs together, her posture impeccable, the inner robe clung slightly to her figure, outlining a graceful silhouette.

If a certain type of person were to see this, they might have exclaimed, "A true embodiment of Cao Wei elegance!"

"Qingwan, look who's here," Madam Qin said with a smile, gently tapping her daughter's cheek.

Since Xu Ming was only five years old, Madam Qin had no reservations around him. Even if he happened to see her in her inner robe, it didn't matter—what could a small child possibly understand?

Qin Qingwan blinked her sleepy eyes open and glanced toward the courtyard gate. Her large, bright eyes immediately lit up.

"Ming-gege~~~" She jumped down from her mother's lap and ran over to Xu Ming.

"Greetings, Madam Qin," Xu Ming said, bowing like a little adult. Then, turning to Qin Qingwan, he added, "Qingwan, it's time for school."

"Oh nooo." At the mention of school, Qin Qingwan's enthusiasm instantly deflated.

Even though she had said yesterday that she would try to like school, it seemed she hadn't succeeded.

In fact, Qin Qingwan was already regretting her decision to attend school. Wouldn't it be more fun to stay at home playing with Ming-gege and the big white goose in the courtyard?

But despite her lack of interest, Qin Qingwan still clung to Xu Ming's arm and walked with him toward the school, with her maid Caidie following behind them.

When they arrived at the school gates, Xu Ming saw many elegantly dressed noblewomen gathered there.

A number of children were clinging to their mothers' legs, wailing, "Mother, I don't want to go to school! School isn't fun at all!"

Yesterday, it had been the servants and maids bringing these young masters to school.

Today, it was their mothers instead—likely because the servants had failed to persuade them. Now, only their mothers could handle the situation.

Seeing their children crying so miserably, many of the noblewomen softened, thinking, Maybe they don't need to attend school after all. They're only five or six years old—what can they possibly learn?

But then they recalled their husbands' stern warnings. Gritting their teeth, the noblewomen reluctantly pushed their children into the school's front courtyard before turning to leave.

As their mothers walked away, the children wailed even louder. But their mothers didn't look back.

Realizing their crying wouldn't change anything, the children finally understood—they were on the clock. If they didn't enter the classroom on time, they'd get a spanking from their fathers.

Reluctantly, they turned around and trudged toward the classroom, their spirits thoroughly deflated.

"Ming-gege~~~" Sitting at her desk, Qin Qingwan tugged on Xu Ming's sleeve, her bright eyes blinking as she said, "They all cried about going to school, but Qingwan didn't cry."

"Hmm." Xu Ming nodded absently, taking out his copy of The Analects.

He had discovered that ordinary books like The Analects only granted attribute points the first time they were read. In contrast, the Tianxuan Heart Method provided points every time.

Seeing Xu Ming's indifferent reaction, Qin Qingwan pouted, tugging on his sleeve again. "Ming-gege, Qingwan didn't cry."

Xu Ming glanced at her. Qin Qingwan's sparkling peach blossom eyes were filled with innocent anticipation, as if silently urging, Praise me, praise me~~~!

"Qingwan is really amazing," Xu Ming said, patting her little head.

"Ehehe~" Qin Qingwan, finally satisfied, squinted her eyes with a wide grin, rubbing her small head against Xu Ming's palm affectionately.

While Qin Qingwan was clinging to him, Xu Ming noticed Xu Pangda walking into the classroom. Like yesterday, Pangda silently took the seat by the aisle next to Xu Ming's and pulled out his books.

It seemed that Xu Pangda had also come alone today. The first wife, Madam Wang Feng, had never once brought him to school. His deskmate didn't talk to him either, making Pangda's loneliness even more apparent.

Even though Xu Pangda had said he was just a "concubine's son" at the age of two, Xu Ming hadn't paid much attention to it. Their interactions were minimal, and he certainly didn't hold any grudges. After all, what could a two-year-old really understand? Kids just parrot whatever the adults around them teach them.

Xu Pangda noticed Xu Ming looking at him. The chubby boy scratched his head shyly and then flashed a bright, hearty smile at Xu Ming.

Xu Ming blinked, slightly taken aback, but nodded in return with a polite smile of his own.

Before long, their teacher, Xiao Mo-Chi, entered the classroom. Everyone immediately quieted down and sat properly at their desks.

These young nobles behaved so well largely because of their fathers' stern warnings. They had undoubtedly been repeatedly told not to embarrass themselves or disrespect their teacher.

Today, Xiao Mo-Chi continued teaching The Analects, occasionally interspersing it with content from The Book of Songs.

It was undeniably dry and tedious. In ancient times, after all, there was no such thing as "fun learning."

Still, Xu Ming listened attentively, driven by the promise of attribute points.

Qin Qingwan, on the other hand, was nodding off like a little chick pecking at grains. Before long, her small head tilted and rested on Xu Ming's shoulder as she fell asleep.

She wasn't the only one. Half the class was already asleep.

Interestingly, Xiao Mo-Chi had a peculiar method: he would only wake up students who had been asleep for at least 15 minutes, asking them to answer a question. If someone hadn't reached that threshold, he would let them continue sleeping.

What surprised Xu Ming even more was Xu Pangda's dedication. Despite his obvious drowsiness, Pangda was pinching himself to stay awake and focused.

Xu Ming couldn't help but recall the last time he had pushed himself this hard—it had been quite a while ago.

Xiao Mo-Chi also noticed Xu Ming and Xu Pangda, the two most diligent students in the class, and silently made a note of it.

"Honk, honk, honk!"

Midway through the lesson, the sudden sound of a goose honking came from outside the window.

The abrupt noise broke the monotony of the classroom, instantly reviving the drowsy students, who all turned their heads to look outside.

"Xiao Bai!" Qin Qingwan, now awake, lit up with joy at the sight of the Goose outside the window.

Xu Ming looked at the goose—no, the Tianxuan Goose—outside and couldn't help but feel his eyebrow twitch. What is this dumb goose doing here?

"Honk, honk, honk~~! (Little bro, Big Sis is here to see you!)"

The Tianxuan Goose, pleased to have gotten Xu Ming's attention, honked a few more times.

Inside the classroom, Xiao Mo-Chi watched the unusually intelligent goose. A soft smile tugged at his lips.

"Well, now, this is rather interesting," he remarked.