Slowly, Ghost Boy glanced up toward the hovering darkness. His eyebrows furrowed together, revealing a slight annoyance at whatever was there that Mei Ying could not detect. There was a click of tongue.

Huh? Tilting her head, the child watched him whisper a short incantation. She was about to ask the boy what he was doing—when a clear, sonorous ring echoed throughout the shadowy vicinity. Ah, what a pretty sound!

At that moment, a large red barricade materialized itself, encompassing their nearby surrounding. It teemed with maple-scarlet illumination, erasing the little disciple’s doubts and fears all at once. Here, she felt safe and reassured that nothing and no one could ever hurt her.

In a flash, the shield became thoroughly invisible to the untrained eye. Wherever the boy moved, the barrier moved slightly alongside with him. It was completely mobile, meaning that no matter where he went, if Mei Ying was with him, they would be safe.

Her friend was truly amazing!

The girl was about to get up—

“Don’t!” Ghost Boy hissed.

Though his voice tone was alarming—the person’s eyes were soft. The brows creased together, along with his tightened jaw.

“Just stay there. Don’t move.” he warned her.

Mei Ying swallowed. Her heart pounded heavily. The small child did not know why he seemed troubled by what she was about to do, but she obeyed and sat back down slowly. Her ankle stung.

She did not want to burden her friend.

After all, for Mei Ying to ascend as a Heaven Immortal, it meant eventually letting go of all earthly desires and what makes her a mortal here. To do so meant putting people before herself no matter what. It was what everyone had berated her to do, because it is what the people expect what a future hero must do.

Ah, in less than a year after the girl was born, word had spread like rain and wildfires about the Child of Red Omen. Many people outside of the magical floating Cheng Xiu Village passed on the prophecy that was shared by the ancestor:

When the heavens rain swords

and the springs flood with fire,

the earth shall bleed to ash!

Lest the child of Red Omen

ascends time of great dire,

keep a promise and cut the clash!

If the ‘heavens’ seemed to imply the Heaven realm—and ‘the springs flood with fire’ represent the Netherworld, the ‘earth’ that ‘shall bleed to ash’ is the Mortal realm. Does this mean that there will one day be a devastating war between the Heaven Immortals and demons? It was not a pretty picture for the righteous cultivation grandmasters and their disciples…

Soon, the entire cultivation world was paying attention to the newborn child from a laughable place. The eyes were back on the Song clan that had been ignored and suffered over a hundred years in silence.

If the war between the two most powerful realms are inevitable, it is no surprise. Tensions had been building up between the Heaven realm and the Netherworld, with the weak Mortal realm stuck in between.

Hence, Mei Ying had no choice but to walk the Heaven realm’s Immortality path as the Child of Red Omen, the prophesized hero who, if successful, will restore the balance between the Three Realms and keep the peace. Otherwise, the mortals will pay for it with their lives.

It was the girl’s fate.

Not wasting time, the black-robed boy jumped onto his feet and approached closer to Mei Ying. He turned around and squatted short of her, motioning for the child to climb onto his back.

At once, the little disciple realized what Ghost Boy was trying to do. Her eyes grew large as she looked over her dusty blue robe and back at her friend’s pristine black attire. He was so clean and good-looking, that the girl felt bad. She could ruin his perfect appearance if he carries her in the Minjue Forest.

Sensing her hesitance, the boy did not turn around but lazily said, “Just get on. You probably sprained your ankle when the large cousin grabbed you earlier from behind that tree.”

“You know so much…” stammered the small child. “Can ghosts read people’s minds?”

“No, but I…saw it.” The spirit’s words were small, his voice fading into almost a whisper.

Mei Ying considered his response. That made sense, also. “But I can’t have you carry me.”

“Are you saying that you are choosing not to get on?”

Shaking her head, the disciple stuttered out, “I-I’m just saying that I don’t want to d-dirty the big brother’s nice clothes—”

Before the girl can finish her sentence, Ghost Boy whirled around and swept her off the ground into his arms. It gave her little heart quite a frightening lurch, beating in complete panic! She cried out, bracing herself, but nothing happened. Why, Mei Ying soon realized that her friend was carrying her like a bride!

The boy cursed under his breath.

For a moment, the little disciple thought her friend acted older than his current age. Then, there was her—very clueless and made easy to cry.

“I will carry you then!” With a huff, the spirit glanced down at the girl in his arms with hard dark eyes. “You can’t walk with such an injury. It’ll delay your cultivation even more if your wound worsens! What are you doing to do when you can’t train anymore with Shifu?”

Red shimmering lights continued to float around the two as Mei Ying stared back at her friend. At last, she saw that he was not angry at all. Rather, he seemed concerned and frustrated at her stubbornness.

“Let’s get out of here.” With a short whistle from the boy—a luminous sword flew out of the elaborate black sheathe by his side.

The weapon was quick and obedient to please its master, floating up into the air. It then flipped over to the flat blade side for Ghost Boy to sit on like a bench. He sat down while holding the girl. His posture was impeccable despite holding the little disciple in his arms, like he had practiced this for years.

Since the little disciple was cooped up in a bridal-style carry, the girl craned her neck to look down. She gaped at her shining reflection from the sword. As expected, she looked terrible. Several sparkling red fireflies floated close to Mei Ying’s face, almost tickling her. She smiled.

“The big brother has a flying sword?” asked the disciple.

“Of course!” The spirit grinned, with a soft gleam in his eyes.

Wow, Mei Ying could not believe how much cooler her friend could be! “Since when did ghosts have flying swords?”

“Since this one…” Ghost Boy paused, turning to look the other way as the wind blew past his bangs. He stiffened.

Suddenly, the spirit solemnly ordered, “Ying Ying, wrap your arms around my neck!” His high ponytail fluttered into the wintry wind like black streaming silk. “The sword will take us away from here to where it’s more pleasant.”

At that moment, the little disciple tilted her head. For some reason, her ears were slightly ringing… In the far distance, there was a familiar shrilling tune. It was too faint for her to tell what the sound was though.

Aside from that, Mei Ying could not imagine how such a vast, gloomy place have a patch of any charm. She also did not understand the quick change of her friend’s demeanor. What was there to worry about?

“But as long as you are here, Ying Ying is fine.” The girl was a bit slow and glanced around their dark surroundings. She stopped and stared at her admirable friend with large, clear honey-hued eyes. “Anywhere with the big brother would be pleasant, ah...”

A strange expression drifted across the boy’s face. Before the disciple could read the wavering of his emotions—the spirit flicked her forehead!

“Ow!” The girl pouted, rubbing the sore spot.

Immediately, the radiating sword sped off with both children on it.

Where are we going? Then, remembering what she was told, the girl wrapped her arms around her friend’s neck—only because she did not want to fall. The weapon soared under countless tree limbs and past innumerable bushes, tall jasper grass, and bushes. Not once did the boy wobble, sitting poised as what one would imagine from a Heaven Prince. Even in the darkness, his golden hairpin seemed to irradiate quietly.

As their ride streaked through the night, passing by all the red gleaming eyes and indistinguishable shadows, the disciple resigned to being supported by the older boy. Sometimes, the weapon would bump, causing her to cling onto him more. Cool, dry drafts of wind swept through her long hair and caused her once-warm skin to shiver at its crisp strokes.

When Mei Ying touched her own forehead with one hand, she felt the surprisingly smooth and clean skin. Slowly, the girl sniffed her fingers. The smell of blood was gone! What a talented friend, using his magic to clean the blood from her head! She was not upset anymore, and so, the birthmark should not be visible at this time.

“Thank you!” gasped the disciple, forgetting her previous thoughts. She decided to relax in the boy’s arms like a good, obedient person. “This one is not skilled at all…”

There was a chuckle. “One day, you will be very skilled. Just be careful next time when you are out at dusk.”

“But I always am.” The stupid child smiled brightly.

Ghost Boy only rolled his eyes. “Ghosts and demons are attracted to the scent of mortal blood in yin territories! You and your cousins are lucky to have made it this far into Minjue Forest without any pursuit. Most wouldn’t even make it past the boundary of the entrance.”

How knowledgeable her friend seemed to be! It felt that there was no end to his depth of skills and understanding of the world. Mei Ying blinked. Now that I think of it, I have not seen a single ghost or demon come out except…

While the children breezed below the seamless clouds of foliage, the girl found herself staring at blood-ruby eyes, all of which peered down at the little disciple. Spanning one tree after another, they had been long observing from the large, outstretched black bodies of branches and leaves. Since she was under the invisible protective shield, the child felt the overwhelming presence and met their intense gaze.

Upon further examination, Mei Ying realized that the hundreds and hundreds of eyes were, in fact, shivering. It was as though they were afraid of her…or…

Glancing at her friend, the little girl creased her eyebrows together. She watched the older boy’s seemingly innocent demeanor. He looked elsewhere, the long lashes quavering like wind-blown flowers. Why would they afraid of…?

❁❁❁

For the duration of the ride, the Mei Ying nearly dozed off in her friend’s arms when laying her head down against his shoulder. From here, she could see parts of the foliage overhead gradually giving way to the bright sea of glittering pearl-white stars. It was far more beautiful than she had ever imagined.

Though far, far away—the child eventually discerned the tall, thin gold and silver Sky Pillars that led toward the Heaven realm. Every single one was beaming quite exquisitely! Thousands of them are typically scattered all over the cultivation world, reserved for only the top strongest cultivators to walk up the many, many steps toward Heaven when they feel that they are ready to ascend. Inside these towers, the person will face trial after trial in testing their worthiness to be an Immortal.

But Mei Ying has no need for these trials since a Heaven Immortal is overseeing her growth. When Shifu feels that the girl is ready, she will formally invite the disciple to ascend as a true Heaven Immortal with god-like limitless powers and abilities. It would happen as long as the child does not stray from the righteous path.