"You can call me Yunwei," the priest said with a grin, "It's my priesthood name."
"Senior Yunwei," Yujin nodded and looked towards the village, "Are you going there?"
"I will try and dissolve the concentrated resentment lingering in your village," Yunwei explained and began to walk, "Otherwise, many kinds of ghosts and other bad things might emerge there."
"Ghosts exist?" Yujin's face turned pale but he walked after her.
"You already saw me casting a supernatural healing spell on you, why are you surprised to know ghosts exist?" Yunwei giggled.
"This..." Yujin was a bit embarrassed, "I always believed that ghosts were just inventions made to scare children."
"It sure looks like you are scared," Yunwei giggled again, "The world is big and many supernatural things from myths actually exist."
"Do immortals exist too?" Yujin asked curiously, "Are you an immortal?"
"I'm just a priest," Yunwei shook her head, "Immortals do exist, although they don't live forever like in the folk myths and legends."
"But I heard that healing priests were all liars," Yujin commented, "How can a simple priest be able to cast spells?"
Yunwei twitched the corners of her mouth and complained, "How is it possible that all priests are liars? Ain't I the real deal?"
Yujin was silent and just walked behind her, he was suddenly hit with a wave of air full of the scent of blood.
"Hundreds of people died," Yunwei's face turned solemn, "A vengeful ghost king might emerge here if the resentment qi is not dispelled."
When they arrived at the village, they saw some beasts feasting on the corpses scattered, the survivors were too afraid and grief-stricken to fight back and protect the village from the waves of hungry beasts.
Yunwei took a deep breath and shouted, "Go away!" Her voice was deep and contained a strange charm.
All the beasts seemed deeply scared and quickly ran away from the village.
Yujin was marveled and was more determined to be a priest like Yunwei, despite the fact she said he wasn't compatible.
The survivors saw the beasts running away at her shout and wondered if she was some kind of mountain guardian.
"I'm a priest from afar and came here to dispel the lingering resentment of the victims of the disaster, please don't be afraid," Yunwei shouted to them with a calm but powerful voice.
She then sat on the ground with her knees and began to chant strange words with her palms together, a strange golden glow began to surge from her body and strange letters floated around her from time to time.
Strange black and red wisps of mist began to surge from the whole village and ascend to the sky to be carried away by the wind.
After about half an hour, no more mist surged from the village and Yunwei got up from the ground, "My job is done, child. Are you truly willing to come with me? There are almost a hundred survivors here, they might be able to reconstruct the village."
Yujin shook his head and said, "This place brings me no good memories, I have no attachment to the village or the people."
"Your past sounds awful," Yunwei looked at him with pity, "Let's go then."
The survivors didn't stop them from asking more questions, apparently too afraid to approach Yunwei, a strange priest with supernatural powers.
They used the fact the beasts were away to quickly gather all the corpses and burn them together, burying them would waste too much time and the beasts might approach during that period.
When Yujin was a few kilometers away from the village, he saw a huge tower of smoke ascending on the horizon, he knew what it was. He just sighed and took back his gaze, he was determined to never return to that place.
"Where are we going, senior?" he asked.
"It will be a long journey, a few months of non-stop travel," Yunwei explained, "We are going to the Western Green Mountains, there is a branch of a sect there called Abyssal Fountain Sect there which I have business with."
"Abyssal? Are they evil?" Yujin asked.
*Don't judge a book by its cover," Yunwei tapped his head lightly, "It's a righteous sect, at least on the surface."
"I see..." Yujin caressed the place he had just hit, "Can you tell me more about the world? I never heard about this place."
"The journey is long, we have plenty of time..." Yunwei smiled.
Then they began their journey,m through woods and mountains. When there were roads, they would use them. When there weren't they would just traverse the forests or whatever was in their way.
Yunwei was a powerful priest full of versatile spells that scared both beasts and well-intentioned people. Yujin was a skilled hunter despite his young age.
Before leaving the village for the last time, he took a bow, a butcher knife, and a few arrows with him. He used them to hunt.
At night, Yunwei would cast a fire spell to light a fire and would stay alert while Yujin slept, she seemed to not need much sleep and would rest a couple of hours every two days during the morning, when Yujin was already awake.
They took care of each other until they arrived at their destiny, almost three months later. Despite the harsh travel, their clothes were neat and clean thanks to Yunwei's clever cleaning spells.
The Western Green Mountains were within the territory of the Xue Empire and contained many prosperous big cities despite the hard terrain, the mining economy was blooming thanks to the rich deposits under and within the mountains.
The biggest city there was Azure Lake City. It was built close to a naturally formed big lake on a valley, it was also where a branch of the Abyssal Fountain Sect was located.
After paying a small fee, they entered the city in safety.
The city had big walls and tall buildings that seemed to reach the sky, Yujin had never seen something like that before and was surprised by the size and prosperity of the city. The busy streets and numerous carriages made Yujin feel somewhat suffocated.
They first paid for a stay in an inn and began to rest after the long journey. Yunwei advised Yujin to try and avoid going out alone since the city was dangerous and he had little to no experience in that kind of place.
The next day, Yunwei took Yujin to a manor in the center of the city, it was luxurious at a glance and only a very rich person could live there.
"Say to your master that Yunwei from the Eastern Plains is here," Yunwei said to the guards in front of the main gate of the manor and one of them entered to deliver the message.
After a while, the big wooden gate was opened and a middle-aged man appeared along the guard from before.
"Senior Yunwei," the middle-aged man held one fist with a hand and greeted her, "I was waiting for you, my name is Long Bai."
"You sure look like him," Yunwei giggled, "Where is your father?"
"He had to leave for urgent business but will be returning after a few days," Long Bai said and gestured, "Please enter, I ordered some tea to be prepared."
Yunwei nodded and then introduced the boy beside her, "His name is Yujin, he is my traveling companion for now, is there a problem with him entering?"
"Of course not, please be at ease," Long Bai smiled and glanced at Yujin friendly.
Yujin hesitated for a moment and said, "Thanks."
After entering the manor they were guided to a courtyard and were served tea.
After a lot of small talks, Yunwei said, "Unfortunately, I can only finish my business with your father," Yunwei said with a sigh, "I have no choice but to wait for him."
"That's to be expected," Long Bai shook his head, "He already explained to me some ins and outs."
Long Bai then looked at Yujin, who was imitating Yunwei while drinking tea, and asked, "I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive, but who exactly is this little friend?"
"He is the survivor of a disaster, I saved him on the way and decided to bring him alone," Yunwei explained simply.
"To have such fate with you, he must possess an interesting future," Long Bai marveled.
Yunwei giggled and said nothing, she knew he wanted to know if Yujin had some special talent for the priesthood.
After a while, Yunwei felt the time was up and said, "We were staying in the Red Moon Inn, order for a messenger to give me notice when your father arrives."
"I will be sure to not delay," Long Bai nodded and guided them to outside.
When Yunwei and Yujin returned to the inn, she asked him, "What is your first impression of Long Bai?"
"Huh?" Yujin was surprised and said without much thought, "I felt he was trying to hide his craftiness, I felt bad every time he glanced at me."
"You are sharp!" Yunwei was surprised, "It's no wonder, he was certainly unhappy with a mortal entering the manor."
"Was he an immortal cultivator?" Yujin's eyes sparkled, he learned a lot about the cultivation of immortality on the journey.
"Yes, that manor is the branch of the Abyssal Fountain Sect, and he is the oldest son of the master of the branch," Yunwei explained, "He has some cultivation base and is arrogant. If not because I was with you, he would have kicked you out."
"What a jerk!" Yujin said.
"You better control your mouth in the future, many cultivators kill mortals as long as they wish so," Yunwei frowned, "If Long Bai hears you cursing him, he might try and kill you in the future."
Yujin was scared and nodded non-stop.
After a couple of days, a messenger came to the inn and notified to Yunwei that Long Tian, Long Bai's father, arrived.
Long Tian was of the same generation as Yunwei and they were old friends, once lovers.
"It has been a long while, my friend," Yunwei greeted after entering the manor's main hall.
A tall old man with sharp facial features and a thin body was seated on the main chair, he smiled at her greeting and got up to greet her back, "I'm glad you arrived in safety."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Long Tian waved his hand and said, "Son, please go outside. I have a few matters to discuss with her."
"Please excuse me," Long Bai smiled and left without any complaint.
"Your little friend?" Long Tian glanced at Yujin in wonder, "I heard his name is Yujin?"
"I will let him leave after we talk about him first," Yunwei explained her purpose, "I hope you can accept him as a registered disciple of your sect."
"Well?" Long Tian looked at her meaningfully and said, "Our sect's standards are quite high."
"Stop being snub and check out his spirit root," Yunwei clicked her tongue and gave him a gloomy glance, "Child, go to him."
Yujin swallowed hard and approached Long Tian with a nervous heart, he knew his spirit good wasn't considered good.
Long Tian grabbed his pulse and frowned immediately, "What the- Seven elemental spirit root? Such a thing actually exists!"
"What do you think?" Yunwei smiled.
"Boy, I will be honest, your talent is theoretically pure trash! It requires too many resources to nurture!" Long Tian said to Yujin with deep eyes, "Do you still want to try cultivation? There's a high chance you will just die before reaching any proper results! I won't give you resources for free and certainly won't accept someone useless into the sect.
"So tell me, what is your objective!?"
Long Tian's aura turned oppressive and Yujin felt suffocated, "I... don't know!"
"Don't know? You better think hard!" Long Tian sneered.
Flashbacks flashed in Yuhin's mind before he reluctantly said, "I just want to see what more is there to live, and... I want revenge too!"
"I won't accept a vengeful ghost into my place, get out!" Long Tian snorted and waved his hand.
Yujin was about to despair when Yunwei inadvertently arrived beside him and said, "The child just lost his family to bandits and saw with his own eyes as his father died by a sword, do you still think it's too much for him to wish revenge?"
"He is not the only one who is pitful in this world, how many people suffer similar fates daily?" Long Tian was ill-humored when he saw Yunwei protecting Yujin, "Moreover, the more elements a spirit root has, the more resources one needs to advance. This branch will reach bankruptcy before he reaches anything meaningful with cultivation, and that if his life span is enough!"
Yunwei cast him a sharp glance and began to smile weirdly.
Long Tian trembled and had a scared expression, "Okay, okay, it's just a child, it's not much for you to ask me, alright?"
Yunwei snorted and patted Yujin's shoulder, "Although he acts like this, he is not bad. Be quick to thank him!"
"Thank you, seniors!" Yujin put one knee on the ground and thanked them sincerely, he knew he just gained a great fortune.
"Yujin, you are now a registered disciple," Long Tian snorted and said, "The lowest of the lowest in the sect. If you don't want to live forever despised by others, you better put in the effort!"
"Yes!"