Pursuit of the Truth

”Hah, I only managed to see his back…” As Nan Gong Hen spoke, he shook his head regretfully. At that moment, the group had already arrived at a rather remote area in Shaman City. Right before them was a normal looking inn.

”We’re here. Brother Mo, this is where I stay every time I come here. It’s very quiet here. Please go rest for a while. Once morning arrives, we’ll go rent a Spirit of Nine Yin.”

Nan Gong Hen walked into the inn, and immediately, after having a brief exchange with the innkeeper, he wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming. With the regret of having only seen the red-haired Su Ming’s back still lingering on his face, he brought the boy with the withered right arm and headed to their rooms.

”Come with me,” Su Ming said flatly to the children, then turned around to walk towards his own room once he received instructions from the innkeeper.

Lan Lan’s face was pale. She became hesitant, even though she was usually bold. However, the usually timid Ahu grabbed Lan Lan’s hand and gave her a nod with a determined look on his face. Then, pulling her along, he followed behind Su Ming.

For the first time, Lan Lan let Ahu pull her, and nibbling on her bottom lip, she slowly followed Su Ming into his room.

There were only a few people staying in the inn. Most of the rooms were empty, and every single one of these rooms had its own seal. Once a person stepped inside, that seal would be activated.

When the door to the room fell shut, Su Ming stood by the window and looked at the quiet street outside, as well as the fog-covered sky. It was almost noon outside. He could hear muffled noises filled with excitement coming from the distance, but when they fell into his ears, those sounds were so weak that they felt as if they had traveled through several layers of something before they fell into his ears.

This was not a bad place to stay. He could avoid being bothered, and could obtain some form of peace.

He spread out his divine sense and had it surround the room without making a sound, causing no one to be able to find out what was going on in the room as long as they did not send out a wave of power that would cause ripples in the air surpassing the amount caused by Su Ming’s divine sense.

Su Ming also sent his divine sense to Nan Gong Hen’s room as he spread it out. Under his divine sense and his scrutiny, he saw that once Nan Gong Hen returned to his room, he first had a melancholic look on his face as if he was deeply moved by something, then he sat down cross-legged to meditate. When he showed no other actions after a long while, Su Ming left a trail of his divine sense to continue observing Nan Gong Hen, then turned around to look at Lan Lan and Ahu.

The two teenagers had already waited for a long time, but they did not dare have even a hint of impatience within them. Lan Lan’s face turned even paler, and Ahu clutched Lan Lan’s hand even tighter.

When she met Su Ming’s gaze, Lan Lan shuddered.

”Se… Senior…”

Ahu’s current manner of conduct was completely different from how he showed himself to others usually. With a resolute look on his face, he pulled Lan Lan down and knelt on the ground with her.

”Senior, please cast a Spell on us to wipe away our memories just now to avoid us revealing anything subconsciously. If we did, not only will it bring trouble to you, we will also bring disaster on ourselves.”

Su Ming did not speak. After sweeping his gaze across the two youths, he closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

This was an accident. However, Su Ming was already prepared for this accident to happen when he agreed to White Bull Tribe’s Patriarch’s request. After all, Hong Luo’s actions were too flashy, and it was difficult for people to not remember his looks and traits.

However, he did not expect that this would happen so quickly. Just one Nan Gong Hen, and his appearance when he was his red-haired self was completely revealed.

But fortunately for him, Nan Gong Hen had been talking about it casually when they were in the city, and judging by his looks, he did not seem to have grown any suspicions towards him. A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes and he looked at the two youths once again.

”Knowing about this will bring more harm than good to you. Not only will it possibly make you lose your life, you might also bring about total annihilation to your tribe…” Su Ming did not lie. Once the two children revealed any hints, then White Bull Tribe would be in danger.

”Senior…” Ahu’s face turned pale. Lan Lan, too, was in the same condition.

Su Ming lifted his right hand swiftly, and with a flick of his wrist, the boy and girl immediately fell to the side unconscious. Su Ming was still as calm as ever. If he did not have the Immortal’s Nascent Soul and learned a method to wipe out other people’s memories from the legacy Hong Luo left him, he would not have agreed to escort anyone in the World of Nine Yin.

He was already prepared for this a long time ago. He just did not expect that he would be using it so early.

Two hours later, Lan Lan and Ahu walked out of Su Ming’s room with dazed looks in their eyes. After returning to their rooms, they only started recovering gradually after the time taken for the burning of an incense stick. Not a hint of the red-haired Su Ming was left in their memories.

Teenagers would never be able to keep still. Once Lan Lan regained her senses, she could not contain her desire to go out and take a look around Shaman City, especially now that noon had just passed by and it was still bright outside. So she went with Ahu and invited the boy with the withered right arm to go with them. Once the three of them obtained permission from Su Ming and Nan Gong Hen, they left the inn.

Time trickled by. When it was almost evening, while sitting with his legs crossed, Su Ming opened his eyes and looked towards the door. After a moment, knocking fell into his ears, and it was soon followed by Nan Gong Hen’s cheerful voice.

”Brother Mo, dusk in the World of Nine Yin is incredibly beautiful, and it’s even more so when the nine moons show up. Why don’t we drink and admire the sky together?”

A large part of the reason why Nan Gong Hen could have so many friends was because he spoke with a cheery tone and because he was the type of person who would take the initiative and invite people to drink with him.

When Su Ming heard Nan Gong Hen’s words, he smiled and went to the door. Once he pushed it open, he saw Nan Gong Hen carrying two pots of wine standing outside his room.

Since Su Ming had covered the entire inn within his divine sense, all of Nan Gong Hen’s actions, and even everything that happened in the inn could be detected him. Nan Gong Hen did not bring out those two pots of wine himself. He had instead asked the innkeeper for them, and these pots of wine had just been brought out from the underground wine cellar.

Su Ming had also scanned the innkeeper and the wine with his divine sense, and detected no problems. Besides, Nan Gong Hen had also drank one pot when he was in his room, and it seemed like because he thought that wine when drank without any company was tasteless, he came to Su Ming.

Su Ming knew about all of this, and took over a pot of wine with a smile, then took a big swig from it. Nan Gong Hen’s eyes shone brilliantly, and as he laughed heartily, they walked towards the top level of the inn.

The top level of the inn was a balcony loft. There were several tables placed there and the balcony did not have a lot of things acting as shelter, causing the air to enter the space from all directions and circulate freely there. They sat at a table by the edge and looked towards the fire-red shade in the sky. It was very comfortable.

”I like the World of Nine Yin a lot, and I come here almost every single time it’s opened…” Nan Gong Hen said with a deep sigh while drinking and looking at the sky in the distance.

Su Ming’s gaze fell on the fire-red shade in the sky and he remarked in a calm ton, ”This is indeed a good place. It’s difficult to imagine that it was an ancient ruin.”

”Heh heh, look at the peace we have here and think about the dangers outside. Think about the area one million lis away where not even our ancestors have managed to explore, and here we are, drinking and looking at the moon appearing. This is just so friggin’ comfortable!” Nan Gong Hen laughed boisterously and drank a huge mouthful.

”Brother Mo, do you know what my dream is? I want to go past those one million lis and go to a place no one has ever gone to before, and I want to drink over there while looking at the dusk and watching the moon appearing!” Nan Gong Hen looked at the faint shadow of the moon that was gradually appearing in the red sky and spoke with a smile.

”Over there, I wouldn’t have to be bothered by any wars, I could ignore my father’s dreams for me, I wouldn’t have to think about anything, just my own dreams… and over there, I would wait for a person.” Nan Gong Hen let out a light sigh.

”Oh?” Su Ming took a sip of his wine and looked towards Nan Gong Hen.

”Brother Mo, you must have wondered why I always come here. It’s not just because I like this place—I really like it, by the way—but I come here every time because I made a promise with someone, and that’s the more important reason…

Nan Gong Hen remained silent for a moment before he spoke with an agonized voice. ”I will wait for her here. She went past those one million lis… And we made a promise that I’ll wait for her here. But it’s been so many years, and she still isn’t back.”

”Promise…” Su Ming lowered his head and looked at the pot of wine in his hand. He brought it up and took a big swig from it. His gaze fell on the sky in the distance, and in the midst of that red, the first moon gradually appeared.

”If you truly can’t forget her, then why don’t you go and look for her in that area?!” Right at that moment, an aloof voice traveled forth from the loft. Su Ming’s divine sense focused together. He had only managed to notice this person appearing one breath before that voice spoke!

Several breaths later, an aloof woman walked up the stairs. That person was naturally Nan Gong Hen’s little sister, who also happened to be the one person Su Ming kind of did not want to see at the moment.

The woman did not even look at him. Once she walked over, she sat by the side and took the pot of wine from Nan Gong Hen’s hands. Immediately, white, chilling air spread out from within, and it was obvious that the wine inside the pot had chilled over instantly. She brought it up and took a big mouthful from it.

Nan Gong Hen lifted his head and looked at the woman, only speaking after a long while. ”I will, I definitely will!”

Su Ming watched the siblings by the side and was just about to search for an excuse to leave when his expression suddenly changed. A freezing glint immediately appeared in his eyes and he got up to look at a distant spot in the city.

”Brother Nan Gong, I have something I have to deal with. Please excuse me.” As Su Ming spoke, the freezing look in his eyes became even colder, and with one move, he turned into a long arc and flew off the balcony.

Nan Gong Hen was momentarily stunned. When he lifted his head to look, the cold woman by his side turned her gaze on Su Ming’s departing back for the first time, and her pupils suddenly shrank.

At that moment, in a bustling street located in a downtown area to the north of Shaman City was a shop, and Lan Lan was standing in that shop seething in rage. Ahu looked a little frightened by her side, and as for the boy with the withered right arm, his face was pale and his expression bitter.

Right before them stood an extravagantly dressed boy with scorn on his face. There was a married woman standing by his side, and she held herself in a beautiful manner. No signs of time or age could be seen on her face. Her eyes were calm.

There were three expressionless men standing behind the boy and woman. The ripples spreading off the three men showed that they were all Medial Shamans.

”Qi Dong was the one who first took a fancy to this herb, and he even paid for it! How could you be so unreasonable and snatch it away?!” Lan Lan demanded furiously.

”Qi Dong, I didn’t expect I would run into you here. Judging by your right arm, you must be thinking about using this herb to heal it. Don’t you worry, I’ll have someone buy all of these herbs in the city. If you come and beg me, I can give you some of it. If you kowtow to me, then I will give you a shrub… but right now, I’m feeling horrible. Chase them out!” the rich boy said with a smile, and his final sentence was spoken to the Medial Shamans behind him.

”Bei Er, don’t go causing trouble to other people intentionally. That’s impolite. Since he bought this herb first, then we’ll give it to them after we break their legs and throw them out.”

The woman spoke with a bland voice, then turned around and no longer bothered with them, looking at the other things in the shop, as if this sort of thing would not catch much of her attention. Since she gave the order, there would naturally be someone who would carry it out.