Pursuit of the Truth

‘How could this be?’

As Su Ming stared at the little girl, disbelief gradually appeared in his eyes. The girl… looked exactly the same as Bai Feng!

She looked like the child version of the woman. It made Su Ming remember when she was in Dark Mountain.

“Grandpa, what are you doing? Please give me that fish. It looks so pitiful! I want to let it go. Its parents must be very worried…” The little girl stared at Su Ming. Her pleading look and naive eyes made it impossible for people to refuse her.

Su Ming remained silent. He turned his head to the side and cast a glance at the fish in the net. It was an incredibly normal fish. It struggled in the net, occasionally blowing bubbles. By the looks of it, it seemed like it was exhausted to the point of giving up.

‘Could it be that since Bai Feng was around when I executed Mortal Refinement Art, her soul was dragged inside as well? But she didn’t form the 999 seals I did just now. They’re the reason I kept my memories and intelligence, but she didn’t form them, which is why when her soul was dragged in, her memories and intelligence were lost. Only her origin soul is left, and it was transformed due to the reincarnation.’

Su Ming cast a complicated gaze at the little girl who was by Bai Feng’s soul.

With Su Ming’s intelligence, he could already tell that the fish was formed by the will of the white ring, and there were two ways to form a link of fate with it. One was to let it leave, but this choice was a little uncertain. No one could be sure whether it was the correct method. The other was to cook and eat it. By doing so, he would truly form a link of fate with it. Besides, if he did something like this, then once the refinement came to a successful end, it would mean that he had completely suppressed the treasure.

In silence, Su Ming cast a glance at the girl. He shook his head.

When the girl saw his action, tears immediately collected in her eyes. She turned her head to look at the fish in the net, and her expression filled with a reluctance to see it die. Once she took a few steps forward, she lowered her head to look at the net submerged in the lake.

“Grandpa, then may I lift the rope and take a good look at it? Please?”

Su Ming stared at the little girl and sighed in his heart, giving silent consent to her request. When the little girl saw that Su Ming did not speak to refuse her request, she immediately extended her hands to seize the rope, pulling it up with great effort. When the fish was slowly lifted up with the net out of the lake, it started struggling. In fact, Su Ming saw a ferocious glare shining in its eyes.

Clearly, the fish had basic intelligence. It might have been caught by Su Ming, but since the net was submerged in the lake, nothing had changed for it, besides its movements being restricted. However, when the little girl pulled it up bit by bit, removing it from the water, she slowly stripped the fish of its life, and a fierce glare shone in its eyes. At the same time, it also started struggling violently.

The little girl pulled the net with great effort. When she was about to bring it to the fishing platform and the fish started struggling violently, a sly expression suddenly appeared in her eyes. She grabbed the bottom of the net and lifted it, allowing the fish to rush out. With a loud splash, it sank into the lake and disappeared without a trace.

“Thank you, grandpa.”

The little girl looked incredibly happy. She turned around and stood beside the edge of the fishing platform with her back facing the lake. Then, she stuck her tongue out at Su Ming, presenting him with the picture of adorableness.

“Is this your choice?” Su Ming’s expression was calm, but he sighed in his heart.

“Yes…”

The little girl looked incredibly happy, feeling that she had done a good thing. She had released the fish, and it would definitely be grateful to her, since it could return to its parent. Yet the moment she said her first word, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared in the lake behind her. The instant it showed up, a black shadow flew out.

It flashed in midair before growing to be about ten feet big. They could vaguely see that it was a creature that had the shape of a fish, and it was so fast that it instantly approached the completely unaware girl. In an instant, it bit into her shoulder and rushed back into the lake on the other side of the fishing platform while dragging its prey.

The little girl’s laughter disappeared. When she looked up, she saw that the fierce creature which had bitten her and had caused her such intense pain that she was about to fall unconscious… was the same the fish she had released moments go. If not for the size, they would be identical.

Only at that moment did she see the light in the fish’s eyes. It was not gratitude, but a cold, fierce glare.

When the girl sank into the lake and saw the fierce glare, she found that she could no longer speak. Her lips moved slightly, and there was confusion on her face. She mouthed her words, and once Su Ming saw them, he immediately understood what she said.

“Why?”

Su Ming watched what was happening. He did not stop it. This was Bai Feng’s choice. When she chose to lift the net, her destiny was decided.

This was not the real world, but an illusory cycle of life and death. Everything was possible in this place.

Splashing could be heard from the water. A large amount of blood filled the area, dyeing a small part of the lake red. Su Ming watched this quietly before closing his eyes. After a moment, he opened them, and a fierce glare shone in in them. However, he only threw the fishing rod into the lake before closing his eyes again.

The sky slowly turned dark, and rain gradually fell from the sky…

The world fell silent and gradually shattered into pieces. Once it was reduced to countless fragments, it regrouped itself, as if nothing had changed… but it also seemed like something had changed.

Su Ming had no idea how much time had passed. When he opened his eyes, he saw a vast sky. It was drizzling, and rain fell on the stone floors, bringing up fog that shrouded the county.

He was no longer the old fisherman, but a middle-aged man dressed in a purplish blue long robe. There was already quite a lot of white in his hair. He sat in a rocking chair under a roof and stared at the rain falling from the sky. He watched the pearls made of water at the eave, the slow moving dark clouds, and the sun which could still be vaguely seen through the dark clouds.

He was in a quiet county town basked in the rays of dusk and drenched by rain.

The house in which Su Ming was sitting had a garden. There were a lot of medicinal herbs planted above the ground. They looked like they were being nourished by the rain.

The house was not big, and only Su Ming stayed in it. He was a slightly famous doctor in this county. He practiced medicine to help people, and he had succeeded in saving quite a lot of lives.

Time trickled by. The patter of the rain grew louder when it fell on the ground. Night arrived even earlier and filled the county with darkness. Only the lights from laps in the houses could be seen, and they looked like some form of guides, allowing people to feel that they were not alone…

Su Ming slowly stood up from the rocking chair. He could still remember that he was Su Ming, but he found that his memories were no longer clear. It was as if he had lived a long, long life, so long that he had almost completely forgotten it.

‘Is this the power of reincarnation? This is just the second time, and I’m already like this. Based on this, perhaps during the third or fourth time, I will completely forget why I came to this place…’

Su Ming stood up quietly and picked up a lamp. Its fire shone on his face, flickering, and gave him an ancient aura.

At that moment, banging sounds reached his ears. Someone was knocking on the gate to his courtyard.

“Is Doctor Mo here? Doctor Mo, please, help us!”

Su Ming turned his head around and looked towards the gate, then took a few swift steps forward to push open his gate while under the rain. Once he did so, he saw two men standing right outside his gate along with a shattered palanquin held by eight people.

The two men looked rather similar, and it was clear that they were brothers. At that moment, the one to the left looked at Su Ming anxiously, then came forward to hold his hand.

“Doctor Mo, please help us! My wife is about to give birth, please save her!”

With an anxious face, he dragged Su Ming over. When he was about to call the people holding the palanquin to come forward, Su Ming interrupted him

“Wait, if your wife is about to give birth, you should go to a midwife. This is…”

Su Ming was momentarily taken aback. At that moment, he looked as if he had forgotten about his previous status and seemed like he had completely fused into this world. He instinctively said the fitting words.

“But… ha… Doctor Mo, this is a long story. In truth, my wife’s life is hanging on the line. Doctor Mo, I… I’ll kowtow to you!”

The man knelt on the ground with a thump. Without even caring about the water on the ground drenching the cloth covering his knees, he started kowtowing to Su Ming with loud banging sounds every time he did so.

His eyes were bloodshot. No one could tell whether the liquid flowing from his eyes was tears or rainwater, but he looked like a ferocious beast filled with despair. If Su Ming did not agree to help him, he would go berserk and start killing.

“Ha… Get up first. I’ll go, alright? Bring me my medicinal box.” Su Ming hesitated for a moment before casting a glance at the man and quickly helping him up.

After a moment, with his medicinal box in hand, Su Ming was lifted up to the palanquin. In the distance, he could see lights in the windows shining amid the rain. They had an air of freedom to them.

Su Ming sat down in the palanquin and placed the medicinal box by his feet as he stared at the county beyond the window. As the palanquin was swiftly carried away, he saw a shed built not too far away at the bottom of the county town’s wall. There was a noodle stall there, and a few people sitting beside a table were eating steaming noodles.

A loud thunderclap roared in the sky. At the same time, a woman in the distance started crying hysterically. Her voice grew shriller with every second.

“Feng Er, Feng Er… Why aren’t you back yet?”

“Ha… Bai Family’s daughter-in-law is…”

The people in the noodle stall raised their heads when they heard the shrill voice and cast glances in the direction of the voice. They shook their heads and started speaking to each other in whispers.

“It’s a pity what happened to that lassie. Three days ago, she was dragged into the lake by a big fish…”