Immortal's Pat on the Head (Part 2)

While Jiang Xue He was consumed by endless worry, searching everywhere with both shock and anger, Di Ying had quietly returned to the ancient battlefield. She followed the old path where she and Bai Lu Ye had once gotten lost, traversing mountains and forests, tracing the trail back to the abandoned temple of yesteryear.

The old temple had long been dilapidated. After losing the protection of the Meng Mo Pearl barrier, only cobwebs and dust remained. Di Ying knelt behind the altar, meticulously searching among the faded names, finally finding “Wei Bu Ying.” But right beside it, the name “Liu Qing Mi” had almost completely vanished.

Di Ying pulled out a dagger, carefully re-carving Liu Qing Mi’s name next to Wei Bu Ying, making it clearer. Even now, she still disliked Liu Qing Mi. But deep down, she felt a faint sadness for the woman’s disappearance. Seeing Liu Qing Mi vanish, Di Ying was reminded of the demonic maiden of a thousand years ago, who had single-mindedly walked to her death. Both of them, though with different fates, shared the same outcome: both died at the hands of the young man they deeply loved.

Thinking of this, Di Ying’s heart was filled with an indescribable bitterness. She felt this story was too fleeting, such an ending truly made one indignant. The one who committed many evil deeds should have died at Di Ying’s hands, died unrepentant before the world, but the final straw that broke her was precisely “Wei Bu Ying,” whom she deeply loved.

Was Hang Gu Qiu wrong? Who could say he was wrong? His heart was set on the Great Dao, unburdened by worldly affections, believing that mortals simply ceased to exist upon death. He even volunteered to offer deliverance to Liu Qing Mi for a bit of karma. There was nothing to criticize in what he did, yet why did Di Ying find this Senior Brother’s condescending attitude so repulsive? Perhaps, because she too had once been looked down upon with such eyes by others.

Circling back, Di Ying finally found Wei Bu Ying’s tombstone. She sat down, carving an additional note next to Liu Qing Mi’s name: “Wei Bu Ying’s wife, Liu Qing Mi.” Done, she leaned against the stone tablet, staring intently at the two names on the dry, wooden tombstone.

She murmured, “Both of your lives have ended; there is no future. Wei Bu Ying, you cultivated for a lifetime but had no love in your heart, no next life. Liu Qing Mi, you committed all sorts of evil, your soul scattered and spirit dispersed, with no tomorrow. What I did, neither of you knows. I cannot offer deliverance to two beings whose souls and spirits are gone, so I will take the liberty of tying a red string of fate for you. Though it has no beginning or end, both ends of the red string are empty, yet I still wish to do it…”

She whimsically took out a bright red hair tie and wrapped it around the tombstone. But then she fell into a daze; for one without a soul or spirit, without a future, where would the other end of the red string of fate be tied? She thought of herself, thought of the pitiful demonic maiden of a thousand years ago. After that dream, she no longer rejected the Grand Dream Art, nor did she fear the nightmares of her past life when her spiritual energy was depleted.

Her past life was truly too tragic. The pain of her sect’s annihilation, cultivating demonic arts alone, and the one she loved was the insentient Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao’s pity was like a cruel joke of fate. She was corroded by demonic qi, lost her true self, and silently entered chaos… What was the difference between a “sentient” immortal and an “insentient” immortal? Jiang Xue He was truly someone who caused people sorrow without ever realizing it.

That hateful immortal and lonely demonic maiden made her look at her current Senior Brother with complex eyes. Immortal Jiang Xue He and Senior Brother Jiang Xue He, who was the real one? Was his protection of her due to karmic ties from a previous life, or his true feelings for Tianshan? Di Ying was originally carefree and emotionless, but after that dream, she seemed to have matured and began to have her own worries.

As she was lost in thought, a maple leaf gently fell, and a tall figure blocked her vision. Di Ying looked up with tearful eyes, seeing a figure in a cold green robe, with an ethereal aura. It was Jiang Xue He. He stood there, looking at her with eyes that were both worried and angry, but when he saw her small, lonely figure among the tombstones, his heart softened.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice deep.

Di Ying did not reply. Jiang Xue He knew her too well; he said coldly, “Don’t throw a childish tantrum.”

Those words immediately pricked her pride. Di Ying snapped, “Can’t you see? I’m… sunbathing!”

She looked up at him, fiercely saying, “Move, you’re blocking all my sun!”

In the ancient battlefield, heavy with yin energy and dense with trees, where could there be sun? Jiang Xue He looked at the red string wrapped around the tombstone, then at her, his eyes full of hidden meaning.

Di Ying defied everything, “I’m playing matchmaker, tying red strings for ghosts. What does that have to do with you?”

Jiang Xue He was silent for a moment, then said, “I won’t control you; I’ll help you. How do you want to do it?”

Di Ying was speechless; she didn’t know what to do either. The two stood silently among the forest of tombstones. Finally, Jiang Xue He was the first to concede. He extended his hand towards her, his voice gentle, “If you don’t know what to do, then go wash your face and eat. I brought crystal cakes.”

Di Ying looked at his hand, then unexpectedly used its leverage to leap up and throw herself into his arms. She lifted the veil on his hat, burrowing inside, their eyes meeting.

“Jiang Xue He.” She called his name.

“Mm.” He replied gently.

“Talk.”

Jiang Xue He chuckled softly, “Say what?”

Di Ying blinked, affirming, “Your voice has changed. It used to sound strange, but now it sounds much clearer.” She stared at his face, “Your face is also more beautiful.”

Jiang Xue He smiled, about to embrace her waist, when Di Ying quickly, like a squirrel, darted out from under his veiled hat. She stepped back, saying indifferently, “You go back. Go back to where you want to go. Now that you see I’m safe, you should rest assured and go find Second Senior Brother or whoever to play with. I want to be alone.”

Jiang Xue He was stunned, “Where would I go?” He persisted, “I won’t disturb you; I’ll just follow to protect you.”

“I don’t need it!” Di Ying was stubborn, “I’m very capable now; I can fight by myself. I don’t need your protection.”

Jiang Xue He looked at her, calmly asking, “What did you see in that dream? Did you see something that made you afraid of me?”

Di Ying stammered, unable to answer. She retorted, “I taught you the Grand Dream Art, didn’t you dream?”

Jiang Xue He replied, “Perhaps because I am an outsider, the spell was not effective.” In reality, he did not dream because his spiritual energy never depleted.

Di Ying snorted, turning her back. Jiang Xue He remained gentle, “If you dreamed I did something bad, I can explain. When I was in Duansheng Dao, I was indeed not a good person, but I have changed now. Xiao Ying, ask yourself, have I ever harmed you, even a little?”

Di Ying softened, muttering, “I don’t consider you a bad person, but my heart is very chaotic right now. Can you leave me alone for a while?”

Jiang Xue He knew he couldn’t let her go. She was too young, too naive; if he let her go now, the little goodwill she had for him would vanish. He asked, “So where do you want to go? Not back to Tianshan to visit Master?”

Di Ying shook her head. She now knew Lin Qing Yang was Jiang Xue He’s person, so she didn’t want to go back. Jiang Xue He asked again, “What about the Demon Hunt Trial at Wushen Palace? Martial Uncle Shen wants you to go with Second Senior Brother.”

Di Ying took out a sound transmission talisman to message Shen Yu Shu, but received no reply. She shrugged, indicating that Martial Uncle Shen was busy, then waved goodbye to Jiang Xue He, “Senior Brother, I’m leaving…”

As she turned, Jiang Xue He stepped forward, grabbing her wrist tightly and pulling her back.

“Xiao Ying, you are truly too willful.” He said, his voice indifferent.

“So what? You haven’t known me for just a day.”

Jiang Xue He chuckled softly, the veil on his hat brushing against her face, “I cannot let you keep acting so recklessly.”

“Then what do you intend to do?” Di Ying challenged.

“A slap on the hand won’t make you remember for long.” Jiang Xue He finished speaking, then unexpectedly struck her buttocks with a palm.

Di Ying was stunned. She couldn’t believe he dared to do that. He struck again. Only then did Di Ying react, a sense of shame and indignation surging within her. She was a little immortal fairy! She lifted the veil, glared at him, then burst into sobs.

Her cries echoed through the mountains. Jiang Xue He held her tightly, letting her hit and kick him wildly.

Meanwhile, at Yujing Sect, a major incident had occurred. Elder Hua had severely injured Shen Yu Shu, escaped from Huangquan Peak, and seized control of the sect while Shen Xing Chuan was in seclusion. Elder Hua did not kill Shen Yu Shu but merely confined her, as he still feared Shen Xing Chuan. He declared that he only wanted to use Yujing Sect’s resources to cultivate into a True Immortal.

Returning to Di Ying, she was still sobbing in the mountain cave. Jiang Xue He held her in his arms, letting her vent her anger. She couldn’t bear to scratch his face, only pinched and twisted his arm out of spite. Jiang Xue He tried every method to coax her, from food to conjuring fireflies and butterflies, but she still wouldn’t stop crying.

She clung tightly to his neck, sobbing incessantly. Jiang Xue He, seeing her cry without end, finally asked, “How about I rub it for you?”

Di Ying’s face flushed crimson, her tear-filled eyes looked at him, and she shouted, “You… you’re seducing me!”