Yujing Sky 8: He Didn't Cross the Line, But He Allowed Her To...

In the Scripture Pavilion, Shen Xing Chuan was about to tell Shen Yu Shu his thoughts.
Among the five Grand Elders, the one he needed to guard against the least was his own younger sister.
The words stopped as soon as he looked up.
Shen Yu Shu was puzzled: “Brother?”
A wisp of green light, like smoke, flew from behind the towering bookshelves. This light was extremely faint. Shen Xing Chuan pursued it with folded arms. Shen Yu Shu, a moment later, sensed the spiritual energy fluctuation.
Shen Yu Shu was surprised, yet understood.
The Scripture Pavilion forbade the use of spell arts and spiritual energy. But because the sect had not given an official explanation, disciples inside often used tricks, secretly employing spiritual energy within the Scripture Pavilion. Once the mechanisms in the library sensed sufficient spiritual energy fluctuations, they would activate, punishing those disciples.
However, older disciples in Yujing Sect knew about this. Still falling into the Scripture Pavilion’s trap now… It could only be those naive new disciples who had just joined this year.
And at this moment, those still in the Scripture Pavilion could only be the children who were copying books as punishment.
Shen Yu Shu couldn’t help but feel a headache.
She began to feel that the new inner disciples this year were all troublesome.
Shen Yu Shu caught up with Shen Xing Chuan, heading straight towards the skylight.
There, everything around remained as it was; no traces of activated mechanisms were visible. But on a table, paper and brush lay open, indicating that someone had indeed been there earlier.
Shen Yu Shu said, “Which child accidentally triggered the mechanism this time? Brother, please help a little.”
Shen Xing Chuan: “Copying books is already a punishment. To provoke sect rules while being punished. They should be taught a lesson.”
Shen Yu Shu chuckled, sighing: “Still, save them.”
Shen Xing Chuan stood upright, not reacting.
But he still didn’t leave, his deep, serene eyes staring at Shen Yu Shu.
Shen Yu Shu reacted for a moment, glancing at her older brother, only then realizing that he wouldn’t help himself, but he also wouldn’t stop her if she acted.
Shen Yu Shu understood this point, and for a moment, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
She shook her head, lowered it to chant a spell, and a ray of spiritual light slowly and gently flew towards the skylight, activating the array.
---
The ground cracked open, and floodwaters surged.
Below Jiang Xue He, he was adding another layer of talismans to his sleeve, to conceal the little cat’s aura within his sleeve, and incidentally to forbid the little cat from moving on his body and climbing out from elsewhere.
He heard an urgent female voice from above: “Now is the time, guide—”
Two streams of spiritual energy simultaneously descended from above. One suppressed the agitated tide, preventing the crack in the ground from closing again. The other wrapped around Jiang Xue He, urging him to quickly exit the water.
---
Whoosh.
Jiang Xue He controlled all his spiritual energy aura, not resisting the spiritual energy binding him.
Immediately after, his vision was still dim, but he had left that secret realm, thrown onto the ground.
Jiang Xue He looked up, quickly assuming the proper demeanor of a disciple, and thanked the two Elders: “This disciple and my junior sister were copying books here. After my junior sister left, this disciple, feeling tired from copying, wanted to use a spell to substitute.
“This disciple, ignorant of his own limits, accidentally triggered the mechanism, troubling the two Elders for their rescue. I am deeply grateful.”
Shen Yu Shu: “…”
She found it strange.
She looked down at the young man.
Like most people in Yujing Sect, this was the first time she had seen the young man without his hood.
His clothes were drenched, unable to conceal the young man’s pure and elegant beauty.
The light in the Scripture Pavilion was dim. The young man knelt. His jet-black hair was half-tied, a few wet strands clinging to his cheeks. The young man was so handsome and clean; after being in the water, he became even more captivating.
She saw some wounds on the young man’s neck, but she didn’t pay them much mind. After all, she had heard from the steward that Jiang Xue He and Di Ying had fought a great battle with Suan Yu in the Five Poisons Forest. Suan Yu was difficult to deal with, and Jiang Xue He’s wounds were slow to heal, likely left by that dead great demon.
Shen Yu Shu had once secretly speculated: How could two newly debuted children kill Wuzhi Wei?
However…
She herself had killed one not long ago.
So, if they killed it, they killed it.
What Shen Yu Shu found strange was Jiang Xue He’s attitude—
His voice carried neither too much nor too little gratitude and fear. He looked up at her and her brother with anxiety and unease. He explained the cause and effect clearly in one sentence, without needing her to ask again.
He was respectful, humble, polite, and appropriately uneasy.
But Shen Yu Shu remembered the young man’s first glance after emerging from the water: it was one of tranquility.
Such tranquil eyes, yet after seeing her and her brother, he was appropriately stunned for a moment, before beginning to show gratitude and fear.
Shen Yu Shu frowned, looking towards Shen Xing Chuan.
Shen Xing Chuan looked down at Jiang Xue He, his gaze growing darker.
He had always felt that Jiang Xue He resembled an old acquaintance.
He had never pursued the matter.
The young man in his memory, full of heroic spirit yet cold and ruthless, and the gentle and serene Jiang Xue He before him, were already as different as two people.
Moreover, the wounds on Jiang Xue He’s body… Shen Xing Chuan vaguely suspected these wounds were abnormal.
Shen Xing Chuan asked blandly, “Are you here alone?”
Jiang Xue He: “Yes.”
He knelt properly, able to feel the small animal in his sleeve gently rubbing, occasionally brushing against his palm.
His fingers in his sleeve were touched by the dampness, trembling slightly, curling up.
He then calmly turned his hand to press down on the cat, gently stroking it, hoping it wouldn’t make a fuss.
Jiang Xue He lowered his gaze, once again answering Shen Xing Chuan: “Yes.”
Shen Xing Chuan did not speak for a long time.
Such silence made Shen Yu Shu suspicious.
Shen Yu Shu glanced at Shen Xing Chuan, then heard Shen Xing Chuan ask, “Do you find the inner sect lessons of Yujing Sect easy to understand?”
Shen Yu Shu: “Brother?”
Jiang Xue He looked up, his moist eyes showing confusion, yet also a hint of nervousness because the Elder had asked.
He replied, “How could it be easy to understand? This disciple has tried very hard to listen. This disciple is of meager talent and limited learning; even now, I cannot master the wind manipulation technique.”
In reality, Di Ying was the one who couldn’t learn it well.
Jiang Xue He was with her. If his junior sister didn’t use it well, he would also use it poorly. In class, when the teacher tested them, he and his junior sister were always the ones the teacher shook his head and sighed at.
Shen Xing Chuan was surprised: “You can’t learn a simple wind manipulation technique?”
Jiang Xue He was startled for a moment, then asked: “…Should this disciple… learn it very easily?”
Shen Xing Chuan then fell into an eerie silence again.
Jiang Xue He felt a little tormented.
Half of his mind was used to deal with Shen Xing Chuan and Shen Yu Shu, preventing them from discovering Di Ying’s existence. The other half was vaguely vast, like an unclear mess.
Actually, Di Ying realized her Senior Brother didn’t want her to come out, so she obediently climbed down and lay within his reach, no longer making a fuss.
But for Jiang Xue He—
Her faint breath brushed the back of his hand, and his palms were sweating.
---
Shen Xing Chuan asked all sorts of strange questions.
Sometimes it was about whether his studies were difficult, sometimes where he learned spells before becoming a disciple, sometimes how he fared in the competition these past few days.
Jiang Xue He believed his responses were appropriate, certainly not enough to arouse suspicion.
He felt a certain confidence in his heart.
The fourteen-year-old Ye Sha of Duansheng Dao, and the eighteen-year-old Jiang Xue He, were certainly two completely different people.
Their appearance, temperament, spells, hobbies… Everything had changed.
Shen Xing Chuan, though somewhat suspicious, could not confirm anything.
And during this questioning, Jiang Xue He noticed the little cat Di Ying in his sleeve stand up, take two steps, and then try to sneak out of his sleeve.
Thinking she was growing impatient, Jiang Xue He cupped the little cat in his palm, once again soothingly stroking it.
In reality, Jiang Xue He looked up at the two Elders with a hint of confusion: “May this disciple leave?”
Shen Xing Chuan said nothing.
Shen Yu Shu smiled and said, “It’s fine, you may leave. However, tomorrow you must inform the Elder of the Scripture Pavilion about tonight’s events and tell him to restore the mechanisms… The punishment you deserve, you must still receive.”
Jiang Xue He obeyed.
He was truly a person without curiosity.
Whatever was commanded, he responded accordingly.
He heard Shen Yu Shu murmur with a hint of confusion, “Actually, I don’t understand why the Scripture Pavilion forbids people from using spiritual power and spells here. Would using spells here have any effect?”
She looked towards Shen Xing Chuan—Shen Xing Chuan had been in Yujing Sect longer; he should know more than her.
Shen Xing Chuan said blandly, “It seems that a long time ago, someone from outside broke into the pavilion and injured Yujing Sect disciples. That’s why Yujing Sect has been so cautious.”
Shen Yu Shu: “Really? When was that?”
Shen Xing Chuan didn’t want to say more: “It’s an old family legend; I’m not very clear myself.”
---
Jiang Xue He left the Scripture Pavilion and walked a great distance.
He confirmed that Shen Xing Chuan’s intense gaze had left him, then found a wall under a bamboo bush and released Di Ying.
His sleeve opened, and a soft, snow-white mass rolled out from his body.
The snow-white mass fell to the ground. Jiang Xue He’s spell enveloped her, and Di Ying returned to her human form.
Water dripped from her body. She knelt on the ground, looking up somewhat dazedly at her lofty Senior Brother. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand, and yawned.
Jiang Xue He’s heart pounded.
He remained calm, his gaze shifting from her lips, focusing his attention on other parts of her.
In the dark night, her eyes were like jade flowing with water.
Immediately after, another layer of spell was cast—a dust-cleansing charm descended, and her clothes dried.
Jiang Xue He squatted down, wanting to examine her condition.
Di Ying grabbed his hand and questioned, “Why does Elder Shen Xing Chuan keep asking you questions?”
Jiang Xue He was startled.
Di Ying’s eyes were vigilant: “Why is he so concerned about you? He cares about your living arrangements, your studies, and even asks how you fared in the competition. What does he mean?”
— Does he fancy Senior Brother?
Does he like Senior Brother and want to choose Senior Brother as his disciple?
Di Ying was full of vigilance, looking at Jiang Xue He with piercing eyes.
Jiang Xue He’s arm was held by her, scratched by her cat claws, feeling a little painful.
He lowered his gaze and softly said, “Is this all you care about?”
Di Ying was stunned.
After a long while, she said, “Are you not injured? The Scripture Pavilion’s mechanisms are very powerful.”
Jiang Xue He shook his head.
According to Di Ying’s judgment, her Senior Brother was a little aloof.
She didn’t know why. He just took out a coat and draped it over her.
He glanced at her face, reaching out as if to do something. His hand paused in mid-air. Di Ying’s confused eyes watched him.
His hand retracted.
He avoided Di Ying’s gaze.
Jiang Xue He said, “It’s late. I’ll take you back.”
Di Ying was pleasantly surprised: “Oh, no need to cultivate with you tonight?”
Jiang Xue He seemed to chuckle faintly: “After so many things tonight, your mind is unsettled. I fear you won’t be able to calm down even if you cultivate. It’s better for you to go back and rest well, and prepare for tomorrow’s competition.”
Di Ying felt that made a lot of sense.
She got up from the ground, wearing the coat her Senior Brother gave her.
The night wind blew from behind, making the coat flutter slightly. Di Ying, in that instant, smelled her Senior Brother’s scent on the clothes.
She trembled slightly.
Jiang Xue He asked from behind, “What’s wrong?”
Di Ying turned around.
In the darkness, she looked at her gentle Senior Brother, his gaze slightly lowered.
---
She couldn’t see anything clearly.
She didn’t understand anything clearly.
She could only vaguely shake her head.
---
Before leaving, Di Ying thought for a moment, still wanting to say something: “Even if Elder Shen likes you more, I won’t admit defeat!
“I will defeat you.”
Jiang Xue He said nothing.
After Di Ying finished speaking, as if afraid he would open his mouth, afraid she would get angry, she hastily ran into the dark night.
Her coat fluttered, her dried black hair brushed past his eyes, which were looking back.
Her pink cross-over skirt, under the black coat, lifted a corner.
It was just like…
Under his utmost concealment and protection, she still shone brightly, not belonging solely to him.
---
Jiang Xue He’s heart was in turmoil.
---
He didn’t use spells. After Di Ying left with her clumsy wind manipulation technique, her aura was no longer in the air. Only then did Jiang Xue He slowly walk back to his courtyard.
The courtyard originally belonged to inner disciples.
But Chen Zi Chun had just arrived and had always refused to separate from him. Jiang Xue He, with his eloquent tongue, persuaded the steward to let Chen Zi Chun, an outer disciple, stay with him.
Outer disciples’ studies were actually more arduous than inner disciples’, as they had to learn many things from scratch.
At this moment, Chen Zi Chun should have been asleep. Jiang Xue He didn’t use spells, also not wanting to wake him.
Jiang Xue He walked, thinking, feeling the cold wind, pondering tonight’s events.
His junior sister transformed into a soft little cat and leaned against his neck.
His junior sister in human form, pressed tightly against him in a narrow space.
His junior sister in cat form, timidly snuggled close, lightly touched his lips, reminding him of her predicament.
His junior sister’s breath, pressed against his palm, over time, made his palm a little damp.
In the tranquil, confined water, Jiang Xue He floated, using his thin, scarred hand to grasp Di Ying’s cat form, lifting her to his face, opening his mouth, and transmitting spiritual energy to her.
Each action was done out of necessity.
Jiang Xue He was certain he hadn’t acted intentionally.
He hadn’t intentionally touched the mechanism, hadn’t intentionally wanted to hug Di Ying, hadn’t enticed Di Ying to kiss him. When transmitting spiritual energy to her, he was even more careful to maintain propriety, not offending her.
But Jiang Xue He knew everything tonight had crossed a line.
---
He closed his eyes. In his mind were Di Ying’s clear, moist eyes, her soft breath, her sweet smile.
And her fierce questioning immediately after returning to human form—
It concerned Shen Xing Chuan.
In that instant, Jiang Xue He, who had always been calm, felt a surge of anger.
Angry at Di Ying, angry at Shen Xing Chuan, and angry at himself.
Although he quickly controlled his emotions, quickly realizing that Di Ying’s sole concern for Shen Xing Chuan’s words and actions was normal.
But the killing intent in his heart at that moment chilled Jiang Xue He’s heart.
Did he feel killing intent because Di Ying didn’t care about him in time?
Would everything about Ye Sha that he painstakingly sealed away fail at the last moment?
He had worked so hard for so long, but in the end—
Could he not become the noble person Master hoped for, living a good life, protecting what he cared about?
---
In the dark night, the wooden door creaked softly.
Jiang Xue He pushed the door open and heard Chen Zi Chun’s voice: “Senior Brother, you’re finally back?”
Jiang Xue He, covered in the night’s frost, looked up and saw Chen Zi Chun’s tired face.
This young man, who had gone through complex experiences, was clearly exhausted, but still insisted on waiting for him. After he returned, a smile finally appeared in Chen Zi Chun’s eyes, relieved.
Jiang Xue He silently looked at Chen Zi Chun.
This was whom he had nurtured.
He was skilled at silently controlling people to what extent.
However, this was not considered despicable.
Jiang Xue He looked at Chen Zi Chun. Through Chen Zi Chun’s eyes, he saw a pair of clear, dark eyes that were always unhappy—
Di Ying puffed out her cheeks, always angry at him.
Those eyes were so clean.
---
Jiang Xue He realized his true despicableness—
She understood nothing.
He didn’t cross the line.
But he allowed her to cross the line.
---
But she understood nothing.
---
Chen Zi Chun was startled to see Jiang Xue He return so late, yet not preparing to rest, instead sitting on the bed and beginning to meditate.
Chen Zi Chun: “Senior Brother?”
Jiang Xue He had entered meditation, no longer paying attention to anyone.
Chen Zi Chun belatedly realized: Senior Brother, having entered the inner sect, is so diligent. If he doesn’t cultivate for a day, he feels uneasy. How can I, an outer disciple, sleep so early?
Although it was past midnight, this was a good time for cultivation.
Chen Zi Chun, oh Chen Zi Chun, how can you waste time like this while by Senior Brother’s side?
So, Chen Zi Chun, as if injected with chicken blood, washed his face and also began to cultivate.
---
Jiang Xue He naturally didn’t know Chen Zi Chun’s thoughts.
He himself entered meditation merely to awaken himself, carefully review his actions, and apologize to Master.
Jiang Xue He continuously controlled himself in his heart, and began to write a letter to Master: Your disciple will definitely deliver Di Ying, unharmed, to Second Junior Brother.
---
Far away, Tianshan was sealed. Lin Qing Yang inexplicably received a letter from his eldest disciple.
He didn’t know what his eldest disciple was doing.
He only knew that Jiang Xue He would probably have to leave again, wandering the mortal world alone.
Alas, that young man…
Lin Qing Yang, over thousands of years, repeatedly met Jiang Xue He in his reincarnations, repeatedly watched Jiang Xue He entangled in sins, living a restless life.
But Lin Qing Yang could do nothing.
That was an immortal’s decree. His power was meager; he could not defy fate, and apart from Tianshan, he could go nowhere else.
A thousand years ago, Lin Qing Yang was merely commanded by an immortal—to protect Di Ying well.
To repeatedly search for Di Ying.
To repeatedly bring Di Ying back.
In the repeated cycles of reincarnation and ending, only in this life did Jiang Xue He and Di Ying meet.
Was this the end?
Or the beginning?
---
In the dark night, in the Yujing Sect inner female disciple dormitory, Di Ying tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
She hugged the warm and comfortable new bedding, smelling her Senior Brother’s scent on the quilt.
Her heart was restless, growing more and more irritable.
The bedding was fine; the problem could only be her Senior Brother.
She scowled, stepped barefoot onto the floor, haphazardly stuffed the quilt into the cupboard, then took out the quilt she disliked somewhat.
Covering herself with the quilt, which no longer carried her Senior Brother’s scent, Di Ying grew even more unhappy.
She jumped up from the bed.
Nan Yan’s voice from the adjacent bed was clear and cool: “Di Ying?”
Di Ying pouted angrily: “I want to cultivate all night.”
Nan Yan was startled: “Are you that diligent?”
Di Ying endured the pain: “Yes. I’m super hardworking. It must be that if I don’t cultivate tonight, I won’t be able to sleep. I love cultivating that much.”
Nan Yan heard a sniffle.
Nan Yan: “…”
Nan Yan got up from the bed.
Her eyes were covered with cloth; she couldn’t see Di Ying. She wanted to remove the cloth, but after a moment’s hesitation, Nan Yan still didn’t remove it.
Nan Yan only wondered: “Are you crying?”
— Crying about what?
Crying because she wasn’t cultivating enough?
Di Ying was shedding tiny pearls.
She was angry at her own state.
The angrier she got, the more pearls she shed.
But she wouldn’t admit defeat.
Di Ying said coldly, “No! Cultivation makes me happy; I love cultivation!”
Wiping away her tears, Di Ying diligently sat cross-legged, recalling the spells the Elder taught in class today, and began to cultivate.
Nan Yan, her roommate: “…”
She was drawn into it.
She also quietly got up and cultivated with her.
---
That night.
At least four people cultivated all night, extremely diligently.
---
The next day, Jiang Xue He carefully sorted Di Ying’s storybooks in his room.
He simultaneously sat at the table, adding to his "Di Ying Rearing Handbook."
After a night of meditation, Jiang Xue He felt he could fulfill his role as Senior Brother well.
Just as he was considering how to raise his junior sister without leading her astray, he, sitting by the window, received a paper crane.
He was puzzled: He hadn’t even sent a letter to Master yet, and Master had already sent one?
Yujing Sect’s prohibitions were so strict; wouldn’t Master be afraid of being discovered by sending him a message?
Jiang Xue He checked the letter for any tampering before opening it.
After opening it, he remained silent for a long time.
The letter turned out not to be from Master Lin Qing Yang.
The sender was named Bai Lu Ye.
Bai Lu Ye was his Second Junior Brother whom he had never met.
This Second Junior Brother’s letter to him was written in a wild, abstract script.
Amidst the chaotic handwriting, Jiang Xue He barely made out a few important words:
Senior Brother, I have arrived, right at the foot of Yujing Sect Mountain.
Senior Brother, please wait a moment; I will soon join the sect and ascend the mountain to take care of junior junior sister.
Senior Brother, rest assured, junior junior sister and I are especially close; she will not reject me.
Master said Senior Brother has something on his person and cannot stay with us for long. Now that I have arrived, Senior Brother, if you have urgent matters, you may leave with peace of mind.
---
Jiang Xue He looked at his "Di Ying Rearing Handbook," and accidentally, he didn’t know what to do.
A drop of ink fell onto the yellowed talisman paper.
He had just thought of separation.
He hadn’t expected separation to come so quickly.