Dark Forest 3

'What's that Little One,

The beast motioned to Xueyu with a jerk of his chin her direction.

'A human i found in the forest, brother.'

The eyes of the elder beast narrowed at the younger.

'Don't get smart with me. I know a human when i see one. I've eaten enough. What. Is. She. Doing. Here?'

The beast enunciated every word in a chilling voice that echoed in the young beast's head.

'I brought her for supper,' he said.

He got a pointed glare, well as much as a beast could glare.

'Alright. I blew her into a tree with my super strong Gust of Wind technique. I couldn't practice on you and she seemed like a nice... candidate. The impact of her hitting the tree caused it to start falling. She just sat there staring at it so i swooped in to save her like the hero i am,' the beast explained beaming with pride.

The elder brother of the beast closed its eyes and angled its head heavenward.

'I have said to you a countless amount of time that you absolutely cannot...'

The beast totally disregarded his brother and started to walk away.

The elder beast abruptly stopped its lecture.

'You have got-,' the beast paused, thinking.

'No... you were always this stubborn, rude, rebellious and wild.'

The veins on the side of his neck stood pointed.

The same conversation every time there was a slight slip up or an inkling of going against the rules.

The elder beast tossed its head and walked to the cave.

'You know father won't like this so get her out of here before he's back. If she stays... it might get too tempting to eat her,' it called out after him.

He stomped his foot on the ground. Always ordering him around.

He was almost tempted to just leave the girl somewhere to march after his brother but he knew he couldn't so he also turned on his heels and walked back to where he was coming from.

'My father is not fond of your type unless it has to do with eating,' he explained to the girl.

Her reaction was a jolt of surprise when his voice sounded in her head.

'Do not worry. I will not abandon you in the forest. My presence is enough to keep animals at a 2 mile distance. I will leave you on the outskirts of the border. There are some human villages there.'

Xueyu had known about the villages. Her father told her about the Rui Yan village that was right at the border. He had suggested staying there over anywhere else.

Xueyu wasn't sure when or what time is was but somehow she fell asleep. The days of endless walking must've caught up on her.

The rocking motion from being on the beast's back lulled her to sleep.

___

She woke up to a light continuous tapping on her shoulder.

When she opened her eyes and looked up she was almost tempted to rub them again to check if she was dreaming.

'...'

A man that looked to be just a few years older than her stood there.

What made Xueyu dumbfounded was his face and ... just him in general.

His facial features were flawless, like a statue that the artist took forever to chisel but it was worth it since the end product was perfect.

He had a pair of eyes that seemed to be painted on.

The colour was simply too eye catching.

Red eyes.

'Scarlet, actually,' she heard a voice say.

Xueyu almost cried.

Even his voice was perfect.

His black hair fell down untamed on his shoulders and it looked so silky that Xueyu almost wanted to reach out and run her hand through it.

'Who are you?'

The youth raised an eyebrow.

'So it isn't that obvious,' he thought to himself

'I'm Bao Wei.'

Xueyu's face still showed no difference in emotion.

'The beast from just now,' it sighed, spelling it all out.

'B-but beasts can't be humans,' she stated to him.

'That is true but i am a special case. As the number one beast of the Celestial Realm, it is a surprise that i have the ability to shift.'

Xueyu's mouth formed a small o.

She was tugged up by the soft hands that were offered to her. Busying herself with dusting off her clothes and picking the leaves from her makeshift bed out of her hair.

'What is the Celestial Realm?'

Bao Wei couldn't help but pause.

He smirked to himself.

'Come, come my little one. Let this elder impart some knowledge to you.'

Xueyu raised an eyebrow at his theatrics.

'The Celestial Realm is the highest realm there is in this universe. It can be seem as a place and a cultivation level. Because of the prestige, only highly skilled cultivators ever breakthrough to that rank. It is extremely difficult and can only be possible once you pass all 8 levels of this realm, Nether Realm and the 8 levels of the Ethereal Realm,' he explained.

Xueyu's face seemed to be fixed in an awestruck position.

There were so many levels.

'One good advantage of advancing to Celestial Realm is that once you are there you have access to any resources. You'll know the best of the best and with high influence you could even be in a leading position or join the Circle of The Celestials,' he added.

'I'm only at Level 5, Celestial but being a rare happening i am well respected within the circle but not apart of it.'

When Xueyu processed all of this information an idea sparked. The full weight of her parents death and the crumbling of her empire hit her but she pushed it all away with a smile.

'Bao Wei, i have to cross the border very quickly. There is someone there that i must meet. In the meantime i want you to tell me all about cultivation,' she said eagerly.

Bao Wei didn't know the reason behind it but he saw an undying flame of determination in the girl's eyes and so he told her everything.