Wudu Forest: First Meeting with Senior Brother

A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye, the mortal world cycling through several reincarnations.

Di Ying suddenly awoke from a nightmare.
It was pitch black, rain pattering down. The smell of damp earth mixed with diluted blood rushed over her. In the wilderness, the sound of grinding teeth and the heavy breathing of an unknown demonic beast brushed past, incredibly close.
She turned her head and saw a pale, ghostly face with a long tongue hanging suspended in mid-air.
Di Ying was so terrified she almost fainted again when a raspy male voice suddenly sounded beside her: "Awake?"
Her face pale, Di Ying widened her eyes and saw a youth sitting with bent knees near the entrance of the narrow cave. He wore black robes, a hood covering his head. His figure was slender, but his limbs and face were obscured.
A bit frightening.
But compared to the ghostly face hanging right above her head, he was practically not scary at all.
Di Ying stared at him, her heart pounding for a long time. Her head no longer ached as intensely. Completely waking from the nightmare, she understood her current situation.
Reluctantly, she called out, "Senior Brother."
The hooded youth looked out of the cave and gave a soft, "Mm."
Di Ying felt annoyed.

Di Ying recalled their current circumstances.
A few months ago, the small sect she had joined was practically wiped out due to her master's utter incompetence. Whether her former master was alive or dead remained unclear, but she had fled all the way, constantly pursued by enemies.
Upon entering Dongzhou, the pursuers remained as formidable as ever. Lacking skill, Di Ying couldn't fight them off and had to find a way to seek protection. It just so happened that the Yujing Sect was recruiting disciples. Di Ying bravely signed up, abandoning her old sect to join the new one.
Though a country bumpkin, she had heard of the great reputation of the Yujing Sect. If she became a disciple of the Yujing Sect, her pursuers naturally wouldn't dare chase her anymore.
However, the Yujing Sect's recruitment was strict. Applicants had to pass various trials to successfully register and advance to the next round.
After registering, Di Ying was assigned to this place called "Wudu Forest." Naturally timid since childhood, she hesitated upon hearing such a terrifying name. Just then, a youth stood beside her, his figure looking exceptionally gallant.
He called out to her: "Is Junior Sister going to Wudu Forest? Would you like to team up?"
So they teamed up.
But after entering, Di Ying regretted it to death.
Wudu Forest was swarming with demons. She couldn't fight them, and her companion's skill level was practically the same as hers...
The two of them hid and fled in Wudu Forest, looking extremely pathetic. Just moments ago, when they were about to be eaten by a demon, Di Ying had no choice but to use her most powerful spell—
After using it, the demon dispersed.
But she was also frightened into a faint by the ghostly face she had summoned in mid-air.
Not only did she faint, but she also had a muddled dream about falling into demonhood, reincarnation... After waking up, she couldn't remember the dream clearly, but her head throbbed painfully.

Shivering, Di Ying heard the youth's raspy yet gentle voice: "A nightmare?"
Cold and terrified, Di Ying didn't dare lift her head, fearing she would lock eyes with the ghostly face she had summoned. Hearing her companion speak, she immediately snapped:
"You're so fierce! Why did you suddenly speak and scare me?"
The youth sitting at the cave entrance, blocking the wind and rain, seemed to daze for a moment. He turned his head slightly, looking at the young girl inside the cave through his hood.
Di Ying was only fourteen or fifteen. Her slightly damp hair clung to her rosy cheeks. Her dark eyes were downcast, and her lips were pressed tightly together, looking both stubborn and pitiful.
Yet, she immediately shifted the blame.
It was clear that whoever raised her hadn't done a very good job.
After pondering for a long moment, the youth said, "When you used the talisman earlier to repel the demon, you harbored too much hatred for evil, which is why you had a nightmare. Nightmares are caused by the lingering thoughts of heaven and earth; they cannot be taken as real. For a talisman cultivator, this side effect of exhaustion is not uncommon. Junior Sister need not worry too much."
Di Ying suddenly understood. Since her spiritual energy was weak, she couldn't remember the details of the nightmare clearly after waking up.
What "hatred for evil"? She simply couldn't control the power of the talisman, which triggered the nightmare.
Her cheap former master's prowess was too poor, leading to her own poor skills. Only after leaving her former sect's small mountain valley did she realize that the cultivators outside could fly and escape into the earth, far beyond her comparison.
But...
Di Ying choked for a long time before stubbornly saying, "I come from a background of talisman cultivation. I won't be scared."
She glared at the unfamiliar youth—I was the one who drove the demon away. Aside from saying a few words, what skills do you have!
The unfamiliar youth had an exceptionally good temper: "In that case, it was my meddling."
He slowly took something out of his storage bag and handed it to Di Ying.
In the dim light of the night, Di Ying looked down and was shocked to see that the back of his extended hand was covered in scars. Before she could get a clear look, he seemed to realize the issue, tossed the item into her lap, and quickly withdrew his hand, hiding it back in his sleeve.
The youth said, "This is dry food I bought in the town at the foot of the mountain. Junior Sister probably hasn't achieved Inedia yet? This place is crude, I have wronged Junior Sister."
His voice wasn't pleasant, but his tone was like flowing water, unhurried and soothing, causing the inexperienced Di Ying to daze slightly.
Di Ying looked down at the dry mantou tossed into her lap.
She didn't feel embarrassed: She had just saved the two of them, so what was wrong with him providing some food and drink?
Di Ying: "Hey!"
He turned his head in surprise.
Di Ying thought about it and ordered like she was at a restaurant: "I don't like this kind of dry stuff. It's not delicious at all."
Anyone else would have lost patience with her temperament long ago.
Yet the youth remained placid: "In that case, I will remember. I came in a hurry and didn't make enough preparations. Bear with it for now, Junior Sister. Next time, I certainly won't wrong you."
Next time?
Di Ying thought: Oh, he must mean after leaving this godforsaken Wudu Forest.
Not bad. Once they left Wudu Forest and were selected as disciples of the Yujing Sect, they indeed wouldn't have to suffer.

The youth gave Di Ying dry food, then fresh water, and finally threw a cloak to her to ward off the cold.
Except for the ghostly face still hanging overhead, Di Ying was now wrapped in the cloak. Warm and full, her mood calmed down.
She whispered, "Thank you."
She was young. When she looked up to speak, her dark eyes revealed a mix of innocence and hostility.
The youth turned his face to watch the misty rain outside the cave.
He stared out of the cave, the back of his hand bent, his neck slender. Through his clothes, one could occasionally see terrible scars on his exposed skin. But he hid them all tightly, turning his back so the timid junior sister inside wouldn't see.
He watched the rain, sitting upright.
He seemed lost in thought, yet also seemed to be judging when the demons would find them, or how they should leave Wudu Forest.
The rustling of clothes and the girl's soft hums pulled his Divine Sense back.
He looked down and saw Di Ying's hand gently tugging at his sleeve.
Di Ying thought: In this desolate mountain wilderness, why does he sit so straight? From behind, he actually looks quite elegant.
As she slowly drifted closer, the youth's breath hitched slightly.
Her voice was soft, like a little kitten rubbing against him: "Senior Brother..."
The youth thought: When she was throwing a tantrum at him earlier, didn't she just call him "Hey"?
But he answered her.
His response gave Di Ying courage.
She crept closer to him at a snail's pace, shifting to his side, carefully clutching his sleeve and twisting it.
Di Ying: "Senior Brother, you saw that I'm a talisman cultivator. Is it because you are one too?"
The youth's voice was still raspy, but he seemed very patient: "You could say so."
Di Ying grew bolder.
She tremblingly pointed a finger upward: "Then... is it still there?"
The youth dazed, looked up in the direction of her finger, and locked eyes with the ghostly face in mid-air.
The ghostly face offered him a pleasing smile. With that smile, its three-foot-long tongue was about to drop, and its thick saliva dripped toward the back of the shivering girl's neck.
Di Ying gasped.
She didn't dare look up: "What... what is it, Senior Brother?!"
The youth looked at the ghostly face.
Just as the drop of saliva was about to fall, his fingers resting on his knees twitched slightly. The ghostly face's tongue instantly knotted, sealing its mouth and trapping the saliva.
He brushed the back of the girl's neck with his sleeve: "It's just rainwater, Junior Sister."
Di Ying breathed a sigh of relief, though her teeth were still chattering: "Why is rainwater dripping inside the cave..."
The youth: "The forest is damp and cold. This kind of weather is very common. Junior Sister is not a local, right?"
Completely reassured by his explanation, Di Ying simply hugged his arm.
The youth hesitated: "Junior Sister..."
Di Ying shushed him, her voice still trembling: "Is it still there?"
The youth feigned ignorance: "What?"
Di Ying struggled: "You know... the specter."
The youth thought: You don't even dare say "ghost"? Isn't this the ghost you summoned yourself that listens to you?
He replied, "It's still there."
Di Ying shuddered.
He felt the girl was about to cry.
As evidence, she spoke to him in a soft, whimpering voice: "Can you find a way to make it disappear?"
The ghostly face in mid-air suddenly felt extremely aggrieved. It flew down, trying to nuzzle Di Ying.
Di Ying shivered and threw herself into the youth's arms: "Ooh, ooh, ooh."
The youth said, "The demons are going to be drawn here by your crying."
Di Ying's crying stopped instantly.

The rain fell through the long night, and the mountain forest was incredibly gloomy. Only the sound of each other's breathing could be heard, giving a slight sense of relying on each other for survival.
The youth wasn't used to this sudden, excessive reliance, but she had a stubborn temper, and he couldn't easily find a reason to make her scold him. After thinking, he made her look up at him.
She refused.
The youth: "The ghost..."
Di Ying: "Don't mention that word!"
The youth was startled by her.
He changed his words: "The specter you summoned is behind you. If you look up at me, you won't see it."
Di Ying was very stubborn: "Why should I look up at you?"
The youth: "To let me wipe your tears."
Di Ying dazed.
This kind of reason was intimate, gentle, yet illogical. Moreover, his voice wasn't pleasant; she should have refused. But when his hand reached out, Di Ying was inexplicably cupped by the chin, her face gently lifted.
Through his veil, the youth's eyes rested on her slender, pale cheeks. Her curved eyelashes trembled slightly, her rosy lips were almost bitten raw, and her wet black lashes held a hint of innocence and charm.
He then felt that the person who raised her hadn't done a bad job after all.
The youth slowly wiped the tears from her lashes with his sleeve.
He said softly, "You don't need to fear the specter behind you... If demons come, it will help us. After a while, it will disperse. If you are afraid, close your eyes and sleep."
Di Ying was skeptical: "Sleep?"
The youth: "Mm, I will keep watch."
Di Ying was puzzled: *Haven't you been silently following me and freeloading the whole way?*
Though she had a bad temper, the youth had personally wiped her tears, his cloak was wrapped around her, and he had just fed her and given her water... She felt deeply comforted and comfortable, her cheeks flushing slightly.
She nodded obediently.
She also made an extremely outrageous request: "Senior Brother, I am very delicate. Can I sleep on your lap, and can you pat my back to coax me?"
The youth: "...?"
She really knew how to order people around.
But he had an exceptionally good temper and gave an "Mm."
Di Ying indeed smiled. Her smile was much sweeter than when she pouted.

After her outrageous request was granted, she fell asleep first. The youth's hand rested on her back, and she mumbled:
"Why do you treat me so well?"
The youth paused.
He replied, "Because I am your Senior Brother."
When cultivators met on the road, they would politely call each other Senior Brother and Junior Sister. Di Ying had traveled a long way and knew these etiquettes. Moreover, if they both entered the Yujing Sect, they would indeed be Senior Brother and Junior Sister.
Thus, Di Ying assumed he was just being polite.
The sound of rain rustled.
After a day of hiding from demons, Di Ying was exhausted. Snuggling under the cloak, coaxed to sleep by his gentle pats, she was incredibly drowsy. She squeezed in one last question before falling asleep:
"Senior Brother, what is your name?"
The youth paused for a moment—after a whole day, the young miss finally remembered to ask his name.
The youth replied, "Jiang Xuehe."
This name sounded a bit familiar.
Di Ying mumbled it, couldn't recall, and was too lazy to think.
After a moment, there was no movement. Feeling he was being impolite, she became slightly unhappy again: "Aren't you going to ask my name?"
He knew her name.
But to prevent her from throwing another tantrum before falling asleep, he cooperatively asked, "What is Junior Sister's name?"
Di Ying burrowed contentedly under the soft, warm cloak: "Senior Brother, my name is Di Ying."
The youth looked down at her, gently patting her back: "I know."

Di Ying didn't know.
Jiang Xuehe was truly her Senior Brother.
Before Di Ying left her former sect, her master, fearing she would suffer, had sent a letter to her Eldest Senior Brother, expressing deep concern for Di Ying.
Jiang Xuehe was indeed Di Ying's Eldest Senior Brother, whom she had never met.