Pursuit of the Truth

Su Ming narrowed his eyes in a barely noticeable manner, and his lifted right hand stopped in the air. His burning eyes were fixated on Bei Qiong, and the ghost of a smile gradually appeared at the corners of his lips.

Once Bei Qiong saw it, his heart trembled. Compared to Su Ming’s previous callous ruthlessness, he was even more afraid of his current expression. This caused him to be unable to guess what Su Ming was thinking of, and he could not guess what he would do next.

But he could guess that Su Ming would definitely think of asking him why he knew Su Ming’s name, and why he could tell that he was Su Ming, even though his appearance had clearly changed!

“Su Ming… how did you manage to tell that I’m Su Ming?”

Su Ming smiled. He stared at Bei Qiong and did not attempt to refute his words. Instead, a glint appeared in his eyes. A huge pressure instantly fell on Bei Qiong.

“I… I’ll tell you… It’s…” Bei Qiong hesitated for a moment, but when he looked at Su Ming, he gritted his teeth. “You… are Su Ming, but also the Third Prince of Ancient Zang!”

When he said those words, Su Ming’s expression remained the same, but a roaring storm had come to rage in his heart. Bei Qiong knew so much? This caused Su Ming to fall silent, and the light in his eyes grew stronger.

Bei Qiong was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke. His voice was slightly hoarse and seemed to contain nostalgia. When he looked at Su Ming, a complicated look appeared in his eyes.

“Three thousand years ago, the Third Prince of Ancient Zang left the royal capital to wander about the universe for six thousand years. During his travels, he lost his way and became immersed in the era of the ancient Harmonious Morus Alba. He lost himself there…

“He’s not the only one who lost himself. All his friends and all the people who had formed ties with him through preordained fate during his travels had also lost themselves because of him.

“And while my level of cultivation isn’t high, as the descendant of Ancient Zang’s Taoist Master, I have a much longer life compared to normal people, and during the past… I was also lost with you.

“But I woke up much faster than the others, and after I woke up, I noticed that… Due to my bloodline, once I woke up, I retained my memories from when I was lost. However, I noticed that the people who woke up after me were confused. They no longer had the memories from the time when they had been lost…

“It’s as if it was just one meditation, a short time of being confused. I could also see that a portion of their souls had been split from them, and while they were in the worlds where you were lost, they were them, and they were themselves in Ancient Zang as well.

“But they were also different…”

Bei Qiong sighed softly and lowered his head.”Harmonious Morus Alba is fake…”

Su Ming was silent. After a long time and without any changes in his expression, he spoke flatly. “You said a lot, but you didn’t answer me how you managed to tell that I’m Su Ming.”

“If I look at you now, I can’t tell that you’re Su Ming or the third prince of the past… but back there, you didn’t appear before me with your real real form. The one I saw was a shadow figure you formed through the Seven Lives Art.

“People’s appearances can be different, but shadows… are like a person’s soul. They might appear different under the sun, but very few people know that the darkness of the shadow can allow an observant person to see another’s real self!

“But there are only few who know of this Art. I have the bloodline of a Daoist Master in me, which is why I can tell what is different and was able to recognize you.”

Bei Qiong smiled wryly. Judging from his looks, he seemed to be sighing and regretting being able to identify Su Ming.

Su Ming’s eyes sparkled, and the shock as well as disbelief showed by Bei Qiong when he saw him appeared in his head. All of what Bei Qiong said provided a perfect explanation for how he had acted.

“I’ve already told you what I know of the truth. After I woke up, I’ve also been pondering over the reason why you lost your way, and I discovered that this is closely connected to the second prince as well as the eldest prince. The two of them worked together to stop you by making you lose your way!

“Third prince, please… wake up. Everything during the era of Harmonious Morus Alba was fake. That time was not real, not even a single bit of it. You can find all the people you met in Harmonious Morus Alba in Ancient Zang. The people in Ancient Zang are real, and the ones in Harmonious Morus Alba were just wisps of lost souls. They were fake!

“As long as you wake up, they… will immediately wake up and remember you, such as Sect Elder Lan. She’s one of those people. Three thousand years ago, she went out to train, and she ran into you, but she can’t remember it now… because you still haven’t woken up.

“Third prince, be it for you or for your friends, please wake up. As long as you wake up, then all the people will remember you!

“I don’t know what you went through in Harmonious Morus Alba during the later days… but even if the people in that world died, as long as you wake up, you will realize… that they are all still by your side!” While Bei Qiong spoke, there was a hint of pity in his eyes.

“I’ve said all I know. If you don’t believe me, you can perform a Soulseek on me. I’ve told numerous lies in my life, but this time… I did not lie!” Bei Qiong lifted his head and looked at Su Ming with a firm look.

Su Ming was silent. No one could tell what sort of emotions were tumbling in his heart right then. He lifted his head, but he did not look at Bei Qiong. Instead, he looked at the sky high above. He stared at the blue vastness as well as the clouds and fog. He also stared at the sun hidden behind the white clouds.

All of them seemed incredibly real. When he looked to the side, the world in the distance did not seem to have an end. There was a long line that seemed to connect the ground and sky together.

After Su Ming looked around, he lifted his right hand. Before Bei Qiong could react to the situation, Su Ming pushed his hand on top of Bei Qiong’s skull. With it, Su Ming’s power instantly spread out and enveloped Bei Qiong’s entire body. It seeped into his head through his will to search through his memories.

In them, Su Ming saw many things, and among them was everything that Bei Qiong had mentioned before. However, this time, he did not hear words, but saw pictures.

Bei Qiong shuddered. Soulseek was incredibly harmful to a person, but there was a firm look in his eyes, as if he had already come to an understanding. Since he could not avoid it and destiny had already arranged for the meeting between them, it would be better… for him to make Su Ming wake up so that he would know what is real and what is fake!

When the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn passed, Su Ming moved his right hand away and put it down gently. He did not find any signs of Bei Qiong’s memories being changed. Everything in them was what Bei Qiong had experienced.

“Third prince…” Bei Qiong’s face was pale, and he looked incredibly weak. When he shifted his gaze to Su Ming, he was about to speak, but…

“You can leave now,” Su Ming said faintly and closed his eyes.

He swung his right hand, and immediately, the black wind became a gentle breeze that swept up Bei Qiong’s body. It sent him through layers of Sky Beyond the Sky until they reached the first layer of Seven Moons Sect.

The breeze beside Bei Qiong disappeared then, but he did not immediately leave. Instead, he stood still and lifted his head to look at the mountain in which Su Ming stayed.

Even though he could only see the first layer, he vaguely felt that he could see the overlapping mountain from the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky and Su Ming sitting there alone, meditating.

Bei Qiong sighed softly.

‘So it’s not about the eldest prince or second prince being powerful and suppressing you in a manner that you cannot wake up… It’s because you don’t want to wake up yourself… You’re immersed in Harmonious Morus Alba. You’d rather sink into the nine layers of earth and refuse to believe in the nine heavens.’

When Bei Qiong shook his head, he looked to have become much older. He then turned around and walked into the distance.

His shadow was elongated, but it stayed by his feet… However, while that shadow seemed to have gained a hint of ancientness, but it seemed to be wearing a straw cape and a straw hat. Slowly, it became fainter until it overlapped with itself. When it slowly faded away, even Bei Qiong did not notice it.

…..

On the mountain, Su Ming closed his eyes while sitting quietly. When the sun in the distant sky began to set, a woman appeared outside his house.

It was Lan Lan, and it was the first time she had appeared in that place in the eight years. She stood beside Su Ming and stared into the distant evening sky.

After a long time, she lowered her head and looked at Su Ming, who still had his eyes shut. Without saying a word, she turned around to leave.

When night fell and stars glimmered in the sky, midnight fell, and Su Ming… opened his eyes.

His gaze was calm, but in the depths of that calmness was a determination that would cause others to stare at him. That determination was like fire, and it could burn the world and the night sky.

“There are no signs of his memories being changed. This means that his memories are real, but the truth of his memories does not mean that they are the reality!” Su Ming declared slowly.

“Because my memories were not manipulated either, and if they’re real, then it means I am also real! But there must be one that is fake…” Resolve was in Su Ming’s eyes, and a fierce light shone in them.

“He accidentally revealed the biggest loophole just now, and because of it, his seemingly perfect story had a flaw.

“He should have called me Mo Su, not… Su Ming! After all… when we were in Wind Stream Tribe, I had changed my name to Mo Su. I had left after that and never met him again. When I searched through his memories, his memories in Harmonious Morus Alba also ended in Wind Stream Tribe!” A surprised glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes.

“But he called me Su Ming…” A profound smile appeared on Su Ming’s lips. “Xuan Zang, is this your world or my world? You and I… we both know this clearly. My will is not something you can change so easily.

“This is a battle of Arts… between you and me.”

When Su Ming said those words flatly, a roar of thunder suddenly rang out in the night sky. Rain began to fall from the sky as the dark clouds hidden in the dark night gradually gathered together.

The rain was not heavy at the start, but in the blink of an eye, it looked as if someone had tipped over a basin in heaven. A curtain of water enveloped the mountains, the land, and Seven Moons Sect.

But… the rain only poured in the first layer. Su Ming could see the rain in the fifth layer of Sky Beyond the Sky, but he could not sense it.