Pursuit of the Truth

The rain slowly came to a stop when morning arrived. When the sun rose, Su Ming came out of his contemplation. Once he lifted his head, he saw the two white dogs wagging their tails while staring at him with pitiful expressions.

Clearly, with the intellect possessed by the two people—formerly cultivators—they could not accept dying in such a manner. Even if there was only the slightest hint of possibility, they did not want to give up on hope.

Su Ming’s expression remained the same, but he was laughing coldly in his heart. He was never one to be merciful to his enemies, but he did not lie to them the previous night either. However, whether or not it could become true would entirely depend on the two white dogs’ future performance.

“White One, White Three, let’s go.”

Su Ming stood up and walked to the courtyard’s door. Once he pushed it opened, he walked out. The two white dogs quickly followed behind him, especially the three-legged dog. When it ran, it was not any slower than White One.

Just like what he had done over the past few months, Su Ming went to the western side of the village and got a pot of wine for the old man. On his way, he ran into quite a number of villagers, and all of them smiled at him. They waved at him and were also very interested in the two white dogs behind him.

It was especially so for the children. They surrounded the two white dogs and regarded the three-legged dog with great curiosity, wondering why it could run so fast.

When Su Ming returned to the courtyard, the children outside dispersed while laughing and still brimming with curiosity. Clearly, they intended to tell all that they saw to their parents.

Once he closed the door, Su Ming placed the pot of wine beside the door to the house, then suddenly frowned and turned his head to look at the two white dogs.

“You were once cultivators and practiced inedia, right? You don’t need to eat, do you?”

The two white dogs became even more indignant, but they nodded.

Su Ming did not say more. He picked up the axe and sat down on the stump before beginning his daily task of chopping wood. Every single time he lifted the axe, the white dogs would shudder. They could not recover from the trauma so soon. It would remain for a long time.

Banging sounds echoed in the village in the morning, and all the villagers knew that the young man named Su Ming had begun chopping wood again.

When morning was over and noon was nigh, the door to the house was pushed open, and the old man walked out in his jacket while stretching. The moment the two dogs saw him, they were so scared that their tails dropped between their legs. They ran to Su Ming’s side as if he was much gentler than the old man.

The old man was definitely the most terrifying existence in the entire world to them.

“Haha! Sleeping early and waking up early is good for you~ Waking up naturally is good for you~ Drinking after you wake up is good for you~”

The old man picked up the pot of wine and walked into the courtyard. He looked at the sun hanging high in the sky and spoke loudly.

“Eating dog meat after drinking is good for you!”

The old man’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the two large dogs beside Su Ming’s feet. His gaze flickered between the two of them as if he was wondering which he should eat on that day.

“Su Ming, which dog should we eat today?” The old man strode forward, then squatted down and stared at the two big dogs. He gulped.

Su Ming did not pay any attention to the old man. He continued chopping wood seriously. In his mind was the endless repetition of the old man’s two swings from the night before.

When the old man saw that Su Ming was ignoring him, he lifted his head in surprise, went to stand in front of Su Ming, then squatted down, and shouted at him.

“Wake up!”

Su Ming scowled. He could handle the old man’s strange personality, but he still found it hard to get used to the moments when the old man would occasionally shout as if he was off his rockers.

It was especially so when he was immersed in a state of trying to gain an epiphany. The old man’s shouts instantly snapped him out of his immersion.

“Boy, your comprehension level is too high. When have you ever seen me daydreaming when I chop wood? I am always awake when I swing my axe. Stop thinking about all these understandings, epiphanies, and enlightenments, aren’t you tired constantly trying to understand all that crap?

“Don’t try to comprehend everything while running around like a headless chicken. If you chop wood, then chop wood. Don’t let your mind wander, be serious! Don’t think of anything else in your head, just cut wood seriously.

The old man’s expression grew stern then, and he spoke in a grave voice. “Alright, let’s talk about something more serious. Say, which dog should we eat today?”

“I don’t think that we should eat them for now. After all, we need dogs to watch the house for us.”

Over the months, Su Ming had learned how to communicate with the old man. At that moment, he too had a stern expression on his face. He had even mulled over the matter before answering seriously.

As expected, when Su Ming spoke with a serious expression, the old man scrutinized the two big white dogs while maintaining his own serious expression. The two white dogs quaked in their paws as he stroked his beard as if thinking about Su Ming’s words.

“Yes… You’re right, you’re very right, you’re incredibly right, you’re absolutely right!” After mulling over it for a very long time, the old man nodded sternly.

The moment he said that, the two white dogs released a sigh of relief. When they looked at Su Ming, their faces were full of gratitude.

“But I want to eat,” the old man said the next moment while looking at Su Ming.

Because of it, the two white dogs became nervous again. They suddenly felt that the old man was a mad man while Su Ming was still somewhat normal.

Su Ming thought about it seriously again before he answered gravely. “You’ll get your chance. There should be quite a number of white dogs coming over in the future. At that time, we can rear more, and you can eat whichever one you like.”

Once the old man heard it, he immediately became excited, but he forced it down and put on a serious face again. Then, as if he had thought about it long and hard, he nodded.

“Yes, you’re right, you’re very right, you’re incredibly right, you’re absolutely right!” The old man rubbed his hands, but soon, he looked as if he was about to cry. “But I still want to eat.”

The two white dogs practically descended into despair. They lay on the ground shuddering as if they had lost the courage to even run. They could only hope that Su Ming could help them.

Su Ming fell silent, then picked up the axe and stopped bothering with the old man. He began cutting wood once more. This time, he did not try to gain an epiphany and neither did he pay attention to how he struck down. Instead, he casually brought the axe down and repeatedly chopped wood.

“Hmm? Why aren’t you talking?”

“Y-y-you-you’re just a boy! How could you ignore this old man?!”

“You’re ACTUALLY not speaking?”

“I’m telling you, I’m about to get mad! Just try and continue keeping quiet!”

Every single time the old man spoke, he would change his position. When he said his last sentence, White Three was right in front of him. It was sent flying with a kick, and the old man looked at Su Ming sternly.

But Su Ming still had no intention to speak and just continued to chop wood. Upon seeing that, the old man rolled his eyes, lifted his right hand, then placed in on the log. When Su Ming’s axe fell, he quickly pulled his hand away. After repeating this act several times, the old man began laughing out loud.

Su Ming was already used to it. Even though it did not happen every single day, but once every few days, the old man would fool around like that beside him, and he would always look very happy about it.

But that day was clearly different. The old man seized White One’s tail just when it was about to leave quietly, wrapped his arms around it, then placed it on the log. When Su Ming’s axe fell, he quickly pulled White One away.

Su Ming’s expression remained the same, but the old man had a lot of fun doing it anyway. The white dog, however, was faced with multiple life and death instances, and every single time, its heart trembled.

When dusk arrived, the old man laughed loudly, then threw the white dog aside after it had experienced an entire afternoon of life and death situations and had gotten numb to everything in life. He stood up and stretched his back.

“Ah, how boring, so boring! Su Ming! Go and get a girl for me tomorrow! Mmm… I want one with a big rump!” The old man’s expression became serious again when he gave his instructions to Su Ming.

When he said those words, the trajectory of Su Ming’s axe went askew, and the axe cut the side of the log, slicing off a layer of wood scraps. Su Ming lifted his head and looked at the old man with a strange expression. He had just heard the most bizarre request since he had come to stay at the old man’s place.

“Huh? What’s with your expression? Y-y-you… You’re looking down on me!” When the old man saw Su Ming’s expression, he immediately jumped up and shouted loudly in exasperation and fluster.

“You’re looking down on me! You’re going overboard! I’m also a man, you know?! A man! What’s wrong with me going to a girl?! Is my request bad now?! No! My request isn’t bad at all! I want a girl with a big rump!”

A moment ago, the old man had been exasperated, but the next one, his eyes began glowing.

“By the way, do you like girls with big rumps?” The old man squatted down and stared at Su Ming while quivering in high spirits.

Su Ming remained quiet.

“Hey, why aren’t you speaking again?”

“Y-y-you… If you still keep quiet, then you’ll have to find me three girls with big rumps!”

Su Ming sighed softly. “Senior, if you do this, then there will be no one to cut wood for you.”

“Hmm? Why? Eh, forget about that, you still haven’t answered me. Do you like girls with big rumps?”

The old man seemed to have found squatting down to be too tiring and grabbed the three-legged White Three before sitting on it. Then, he quickly looked at Su Ming while waiting for his answer.

Su Ming remained silent. Three women’s figures appeared in his mind. After a long while, he shook his head, but no matter how he did so, he could not shake off the grief that filled his heart when old memories filled his mind.

The old man seemed to have noticed his sadness, and he fell silent as well. After some time, Su Ming lifted his axe and continued cutting wood.

Thud, thud, thud… The sounds echoed in the air. They traveled out of the courtyard and resounded in the village. It also landed in the ears of a woman who was strolling under the setting sun.

She was dressed in a Daoist robe. She might already be middle-aged, but she still had a charm about her. When she walked, her expression was calm, but when she passed the villagers, they ignored her as if they could not see her.

Her wide Daoist robes covered her body, but when she moved, the grace of her walk allowed others to to see that the body under the Daoist robe possessed beautiful curves that would cause others to sigh in wonder.