Di Ying Upon the Snow

Shen Xingchuan, Shen Er, Ye Sha, Jiang Xuehe...

The snow fell heavily, and in the end, everything stopped at those three words: "Jiang Xuehe."

The youth of about ten years old looked up at the white sky, then looked down at the girl's hair ribbon wrapped around his wrist. The not-so-clean hair ribbon was wrapped around his blood-stained wrist, fluttering in the wind. This reminded him that his original form was only a skeletal arm, and on that skeletal arm was also wrapped a clean, pastel pink hair ribbon of a young girl.

That was all he possessed.

He stared at the hair ribbon, then at the short girl beside him. His eyelashes trembled slightly as ice and snow condensed into frost upon them. In the end, everything still stopped at the name: Jiang Xuehe.

He was indeed not Shen Er, nor was he Ye Sha. It turned out he had a real name, given to him by Di Ying since childhood. His name was Jiang Xuehe. He was her senior brother.

He and she had relied on and supported each other since childhood. For some reason, he had died. That painful memory had left a deep wound in Di Ying's heart, making her not even dare to mention his name. They had entered the secret realm together; he had turned into Shen Er, and she had turned into Shen Er's younger sister. She was infected with demonic qi, and he wanted to save her, to wake his junior sister so they could leave this secret realm together.

The ten-year-old Jiang Xuehe looked down at Di Ying. The six-year-old Di Ying tilted her head up to look at him until her neck ached. Under his calm and indifferent gaze, a sense of unease and guilt welled up within her. She remembered seeing this youth among the corpses on the mountain, his blade still dripping blood, his eyes devoid of desire or emotion. She remembered the first time she saved him; he was covered in severe wounds, unlike ordinary people. This was an assassin.

Di Ying took two steps back in fear, her voice trembling, "You... it's fine if you don't like this name... I just didn't know how to address you, didn't know what your name was... Since we won't meet again anyway, if you don't like it, don't use it..."

Flustered, she turned to run. Jiang Xuehe immediately bent down, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back. Initially, he felt nothing, but when he saw her frail figure trembling in the wind and snow, he froze. He looked down at her and saw her eyes filled with tears. Jiang Xuehe loosened his grip on her.

He came to his senses, his clear voice ringing out, "Are you afraid of me?"

Di Ying shook her head in a hurry. The youth looked at her for a long time, gradually understanding something. A smile appeared on his face, and his voice softened, "I like the name you gave me very much. From now on, I will be called Jiang Xuehe. You saved me, so how could I harm you? I want to play with you... Hasn't Gui Gu still not returned to find you?"

Di Ying blinked, looking at him with vigilance and suspicion. The youth's expression remained unchanged. When he was Shen Er, he was arrogant and lazy yet gentle and powerful, always making Di Ying feel so secure that she acted without restraint. When he was Ye Sha, after half a year of slaughter, he had become cold and indifferent. But if he wanted to find his past gentleness, it was not difficult. Right now, Di Ying was just a child; coaxing a child to trust him was not hard.

Jiang Xuehe put on a gentle, patient expression to communicate with her. His usually cold face now showed lively, somewhat unfamiliar expressions. He deliberately spoke slowly, his tone like he was coaxing her. Di Ying, who had met him by chance and lived beside Gui Gu, had a very high level of vigilance. But in this world, she could not afford to offend anyone. She was afraid of Gui Gu losing patience, and also afraid of strong humans beating and scolding her. Di Ying had no choice but to smile fearfully at the youth, thinking to herself that it was fine, Gui Gu would come for her eventually. Because Gui Gu always looked at her while drooling, she certainly wouldn't have the heart to let her die.

Di Ying let Jiang Xuehe hold her hand, walking with him through the snowy night on the sealed mountain until they found an abandoned hunter's wooden cabin. He wanted to wash her face and change her clothes, but she anxiously refused. Recognizing her fear, he did not press her. He built a fire, and the warm flames gradually drew the little girl closer.

Di Ying stared intently at his palm. The youth conjured a fire right on his palm, the flames dancing before falling onto the firewood, sending sparks flying high. Di Ying thought to herself: *If only I knew how to build a fire too.* Gui Gu's cave was extremely cold; she often cried from the cold, fell ill, and was detested by Gui Gu. If she didn't fall ill, Gui Gu wouldn't threaten her anymore.

Di Ying tried to please him, "Your prowess is truly incredible."

Jiang Xuehe tilted his head to look at her, whispering, "It is very simple for a cultivator to learn fire-starting spells. Do you want to learn?"

Di Ying's eyes lit up. Her desire overcame her fear, and she quietly drew closer to him. Jiang Xuehe found that teaching her was by no means easy. He held her wrist and saw that her meridians were complete, but her spiritual root was still tiny, and her sea of consciousness was still asleep. She was completely ignorant about cultivation; she didn't understand anything he said. Her spiritual root belonged to the Water attribute, so learning a fire-starting spell was inherently contrary to her nature, making it much more difficult. If she learned a water-manipulation spell, it would be much easier, but right now, she wanted to learn how to start a fire.

Jiang Xuehe lowered his eyes. Di Ying stole a glance at him through the firelight, realizing she was too foolish to learn, and her heart grew even more terrified. In the past, when she didn't do her chores well, her father would slap her until she fainted; when she couldn't do what Gui Gu wanted, she would bite her flesh, sucking something out that made her slip into darkness. It would probably be the same now. That feeling was terrifying.

Jiang Xuehe moved his hand slightly. He was about to touch his chin in thought, but seeing Di Ying's face pale as death, her eyes tightly shut in fear, her voice trembled, "Can... can you strike me harder?"

Jiang Xuehe asked blankly, "Harder with what?"

The little girl trembled as if about to faint, "If you strike me hard, I won't see anything, won't feel anything... If you strike lightly, it will hurt a lot, and I will bleed... Can you strike me harder?"

Jiang Xuehe felt the blood in his body freeze. A surge of anger erupted in his heart. He placed his hands under her arms and lifted her up. Di Ying thought this posture would make it convenient for him to bite or beat her, but she felt no pain. She was held in his arms, sitting on his lap. His cold hand touched her neck, but not to choke her; instead, it gently rubbed her old wound. A wave of warmth spread from his fingertips, and the long-aching wound felt as if it were enveloped by something soothing.

She opened her eyes tremblingly, seeing the youth's long eyelashes beautifully illuminated by the firelight. She was stunned to see a pale green light emanating from his fingertips, soaking into her skin. Not only did it not hurt, but her wound was actually healing. Di Ying stared at him blankly, asking hesitantly, "Are you... healing my wound?"

Jiang Xuehe gave a soft, reassuring smile. He used his spiritual energy to treat all her old wounds. Although his cultivation was not high yet and it was his first time examining someone else's body, making it a bit difficult, seeing her sallow face gradually regain a healthy flush and her eyes light up made him feel it was worth it.

Di Ying was not stupid; she looked at him with deep gratitude. Not knowing how to express her thanks, she could only wrap her arms around his neck and blurt out, "You are so good. You are a good person."

Jiang Xuehe said in a low voice, "I am not a good person either."

Jiang Xuehe tried asking again if Di Ying wanted to go with him. He realized her perception of this world was completely warped. She didn't know she was beaten to unconsciousness, nor did she know what Gui Gu coveted from her. She insisted: "My parents said that as long as I am sacrificed to Gui Gu, the people in the town and village will live better. I am a little priestess; I must know how to contribute. Besides, Gui Gu loves me very much. Everyone says she eats humans, but she doesn't eat me. She treats me very well."

Jiang Xuehe placed his hand on her pulse, his heart aching. Her spiritual root was of the highest grade, just like his. A natural spiritual root, even without doing anything, would generate spiritual energy on its own, keeping the mind clear. But Di Ying did not have any; there was not a shred of spiritual energy in her body. What Gui Gu was plotting was obvious.

Jiang Xuehe pointed out directly that Gui Gu had bad intentions. Di Ying was stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting in his lap, she smiled innocently, "You mean Gui Gu only sucks my spiritual energy? That's great, then she won't eat me, and I won't die." She added gloomily, "I've seen many people close their eyes and never open them again... Gui Gu said that is death. I don't understand, but it seems very scary. I don't want to die; I think things are quite good right now."

Jiang Xuehe said, "If you come with me, it will be much better. Your parents and Gui Gu are not good to you, but I will never treat you like that."

Di Ying retorted, "You're lying! They love me very much and treat me very well. You're speaking ill of them, I won't pay attention to you anymore."

She struggled to escape his embrace. Jiang Xuehe felt a headache coming on; he didn't know how to correct her thinking. Her stubbornness made him realize he had not yet entered her heart, let alone awakened her true consciousness to take her away. He could only admit helplessly, "Alright, everyone is good to you, okay?"

The little girl looked up at him, finding his expression very funny. Cold, stiff, helpless, and then angry... Those strange emotions gathered on the youth's face, making him look much more alive. Di Ying burst into laughter. Before, she was a bit afraid of the sharp coldness about him, feeling that he looked at her as if she were a dead object, without affection, unlike her parents or Gui Gu. Children were always afraid of such things. Now seeing him show emotions, she felt he was more like a human and wanted to be closer to him.

Di Ying was curious about his story, but he didn't want to say much, only telling her, "It's time for you to go to sleep."

Di Ying gasped, "Ah?"

He repeated seriously, "It's time for you to sleep. Sleeping early will help you grow tall, strong, have nicer skin, heal your wounds faster, and become beautiful, so everyone will love you."

Di Ying didn't quite understand, but she asked, "Will my hair grow?"

He looked at her dry, yellow, sparse hair and confirmed, "Yes."

Di Ying's eyes lit up, and she immediately closed them. "Then I'm sleepy."

Jiang Xuehe sat still. Di Ying felt his breath surrounding her, a scent of pure snow, both cold and soothing. Her eyelashes trembled. She heard him ask, "Can't sleep? Let me tell you a story."

Di Ying was surprised: Why did he have to coax her to sleep? Why tell a story? What was a story? She didn't understand at all, but fearing she would miss out on something, she softly whispered, "Okay." She was held in his arms again, his hand covering her eyes. She felt the calluses on his hand, and remembered the blood on his sword. Just as she was feeling fearful, she heard his deep voice: "The story goes like this... There was a pair of senior brother and junior sister who relied on each other, trapped in a secret realm and wanting to escape. But the junior sister had forgotten her senior brother, and the senior brother's memories also had problems... They needed to break through those obstacles to escape together. So the senior brother went to find his junior sister..."

Di Ying thought to herself: *What is this? Is this storytelling?* Hearing a story for the first time, she didn't feel sleepy at all but perked up her ears to listen with great interest. But Jiang Xuehe was probably telling a story for the first time too, so his words were jumbled, making things up as he went. He quickly ran out of words and fell into silence.

His hem was gently tugged. He looked down to see the little girl's dark, jade-like eyes looking at him. His heart melted. But thinking that she needed to sleep, he couldn't let her get too excited. Jiang Xuehe tried to appear cold, "What is it?"

His calm voice scared her a little, but she still plucked up the courage to ask, "What happened next? Did the senior brother and junior sister escape? Why aren't you continuing?"

Jiang Xuehe asked, "Doesn't this story sound familiar to you? Do you not feel anything at all?"

Di Ying replied, "I do... I really need to pee."

Jiang Xuehe: "..."

Di Ying muttered, "Your story is too long, I couldn't hold it."

The youth sighed helplessly, letting her stand up. He realized the road ahead was still very difficult.

The next day, Di Ying felt Gui Gu's summons and had to part ways with Jiang Xuehe. He was a bit unhappy but feared she would suffer, so he had no choice but to accept. Before she left, he tapped her forehead gently. Di Ying felt no pain but felt something enter her body.

"Did you cast a death curse on me?" Di Ying asked.

Jiang Xuehe said with a serious face, "Children shouldn't talk about killing all the time. I only left an imprint. Next time if you want to find me, just call 'Jiang Xuehe' three times in your heart, and I will hear you and come find you."

Di Ying blushed, plucking up the courage to whisper, "Jiang Xuehe... that name was given to you by me."

Jiang Xuehe smiled, "Then am I not allowed to use it?"

She happily waved goodbye to him and ran into the forest. Looking at her bare feet, he told himself he had to patiently wait for the next opportunity.

Returning to Duansheng Dao, Jiang Xuehe still actively took on missions but was more selective. His comrades saw him buying mortal items like shoes, socks, silk, wound ointment... He also sought out "Ye Lang" Li Bu to teach him spells and study fire-attribute magic together. Li Bu was overjoyed, thinking his sincerity had finally moved his cold brother. In truth, Jiang Xuehe was accumulating experience to take better care of Di Ying.

Half a month later, Di Ying summoned him. He appeared before her in a small alley. He took out all sorts of things: shoes, socks, silk, ointment... He had her choose the color of the silk to make clothes, took her to wash her face, and combed her hair. By sunset, Di Ying felt she was the happiest child in the world.

When Jiang Xuehe asked if she had to return to Gui Gu, she shook her head, "No, this time she went hunting for a very long time, I can play for a long time." She clutched his hem tightly, fearing he would leave again. Jiang Xuehe was satisfied, "Very good."

That night in the inn, while Jiang Xuehe was cultivating, Di Ying crept closer. He knew very well it was her but let her be to see what she was planning. Di Ying handed him a piece of candy, "For you. Good things must be shared."

Jiang Xuehe took the candy. Di Ying plucked up her courage to ask, "Do you really know me?"

Jiang Xuehe smiled, "What do you think?"

Di Ying stammered, "I also feel we definitely know each other... I am a little priestess, I can divine fates. Actually... actually, you are my brother!"

Jiang Xuehe: "..."

Di Ying continued to make up a story, "Really, I'm not lying to you. My parents didn't just have me; I also had an older brother who went missing when he was young. Look, our eyes, nose, and mouth look so much alike, we must be blood-related. You are my real brother, there's no doubt about it."

The youth Jiang Xuehe looked at her with deep meaning. He could be her brother, but definitely not her "blood brother"!