Pursuit of the Truth

”Zi Che, you little rascal, it’s a complete waste for me to have fought for you when you were bullied last time! If you’re still a man, then get Sun Da Hu here now!”

The woman’s voice as she hissed out through her teeth clenched quickly came from beyond the ninth summit.

Two long arcs whistled through the air in the sky. One of them wore a yellow robe and had an oval shaped face. Although her face was twisted in anger, it simply gave her a different vibe of beauty.

There was a woman behind her. That woman was also beautiful, but there was a look on her face that suggested she was holding back her words. There was also a strange look in her eyes. That woman was Han Cang Zi.

Zi Che scratched his head and quickly got up, but he had no idea what he should be saying in this situation, so he really was just standing there awkwardly.

”Sis…”

”Don’t call me sis, I don’t have a brother like you!”

The woman glared at Zi Che and her gaze fell upon Su Ming.

”Oh, if it isn’t uncle master Su,” the woman said with a chilling laugh.

Su Ming could feel the beginnings of a headache blooming. The woman’s name was Zi Yan, and she was Zi Che’s sister. During these two months, she had been coming here often to search for Hu Zi.

He managed to dodge her a few times, but once she found him, something happened between them, and after that, Hu Zi started hiding himself deep in the mountain. They only knew that he was in the mountain, but it was difficult for them to know where he was hiding.

Only when he was forced into a corner would he start shouting, but his words floated in the air, making it hard for anyone to determine the source of his voice.

There was even one time where Hu Zi thought it was unfair that the woman only came looking for him to teach him a lesson when everyone else had also seen her, that was why he shouted out those words. After a few times, the woman’s attention slowly spread out.

Su Ming could only feel resigned, laugh bitterly, and get a headache out of this.

The woman’s personality was also hard to grasp. Once she diverted her attention towards them, she made an absurd request of Su Ming, and if he did not fulfill her request, she would continue pestering him.

Fortunately, Su Ming was not the instigator of this. Once he avoided her a few times, Zi Yan once again focused her attention on searching for the instigator of this entire incident, Sun Da Hu.

”Um… disciple niece Zi Yan…”

Su Ming looked at the raging Zi Yan and also saw Han Cang Zi standing behind her. He blinked instinctively.

Han Cang Zi pretended not to see him and turned her head in another direction.

”What is it that you want of me, uncle master Su? Are you still not satisfied by what you saw?”

Zi Yan let out a cold harrumph and walked towards the ninth summit elegantly. She stood on the platform outside Su Ming’s cave, and as wind blew past her, her black hair was lifted up, which also brought a nice fragrance that wafted into Su Ming’s nose.

”Um… About the thing you asked, it’s not as if I can’t do it, but you see, since your uncle master Hu is the instigator, if he can fulfill your request, then I’ll naturally do so as well.”

It was not as if Su Ming was not good at talking, it was just that he chose to remain quiet when he came to the Land of South Morning.

Right now, he had already found the warmth that gave him the feeling of home on the ninth summit, and his manner of speaking when he was in Dark Mountain started returning a little.

”You…” Zi Yan glared at him. Just as she was about to speak, Han Cang Zi let out a faint cough beside her. Zi Yan cast a deep look at Su Ming before she snorted and said, ”I’ll put this aside first for my junior sister Fang. Just you wait until I find that Sun Da Hu!”

When she said it, Zi Yan leapt up and started moving around the ninth summit.

The ninth summit was a strange place. There were no Runes that protected the mountain. Anyone could enter as they pleased, but only if they were allowed to do so. If the people in the ninth summit did not permit their entry, those who entered would end up like Zi Che.

However, it could be said that everyone in the ninth summit had wronged Zi Yan. Tian Xie Zi was sly and had gone into isolation to train a long time ago. Since this thing had nothing to do with Su Ming’s eldest senior brother, he also enjoyed his peace and quiet.

His second senior brother had been hanging around the place often during these two months and was busy with tending to his plants. Every single time he saw Zi Yan, he would give a smile as gentle as the spring wind before giving her a nod.

Once Zi Yan left to search for Sun Da Hu, who had gone into hiding in the ninth summit, Han Cang Zi descended from the sky and stood on the platform. Zi Che could tell that these two knew each other since a long time ago, and coupled with the things that were now circulating in Freezing Sky Clan’s Great Frozen Plains regarding Su Ming, they made Zi Che lower his head and take a few steps back and leave the place.

White clouds covered the blue sky. The wind brought about a chill as it blew past the two people. As the wind lifted some locks of their hair, it also gave a sense of beauty to the serenity in the place.

”You seem to be avoiding me,” Su Ming said, looking at Fang Cang Lan with a smile.

”I’m not.”

Fang Cang Lan did not look at Su Ming. Instead, she stood on the platform and looked at the blue sky in the distance.

”You’ve come to this place with your senior sister Zi Yan many times during these two months, but this is the first time you chose to stay alone.”

In Su Ming’s eyes, Fang Cang Lan was like a serene snow lotus in the wind.

”I came here before,” Fang Cang Lan whispered.

”Thank you.”

Su Ming sat down and his gaze fell upon the white clouds in the sky.

”What for?”

The motion when Fang Can Lan turned her head to the side was very beautiful. Sunlight shone on her, and he could see some of the fine hair framing her face.

”Thank you for worrying about me when Zi Che came here, and thank you for warning me when I was fighting against Si Ma Xin.”

Su Ming picked up the drawing board next to him and tapped it with his right hand.

A faint banging sound echoed in the air, and a thin layer of powder fell away from the drawing board.

”I know that you should have guessed Si Ma Xin’s goal, that’s why I didn’t come to warn you again.”

Fang Can Lan smiled faintly. There was a hint of something Su Ming understood but was still a little uncertain about in her smile.

”A Berserker Son, hmm?”

A chilling glare appeared briefly in Su Ming’s eyes. If he could still not figure out Si Ma Xin’s goals, then he would not be the Su Ming who arrived alone in the Land of South Morning and made it to this point in life.

Fang Cang Lan hesitated for a moment before she said softly, ”I don’t know what else Si Ma Xin is planning to do, but from what I understand about him, once he makes up his mind about something, then he won’t give up.

”You… have to be more careful.”

Once she finished speaking, she lifted her right hand and smoothed down her hair, which had become messy due to the wind. She tucked some locks behind her ear and turned around to no longer look at Su Ming. It was just as Su Ming said, she was indeed avoiding him, because every single time she met his gaze, she would feel her heartbeat suddenly quicken.

”Don’t move,” Su Ming suddenly said.

Fang Cang Lan was stunned and looked at Su Ming curiously.

”Stay that way, let me draw your picture.”

Su Ming picked up his drawing board and looked at Fang Cang Lan, then he drew a stroke on the drawing board with his right hand.

Red colored Fang Cang Lan’s cheeks. She bit her bottom lip and looked at Su Ming as she maintained her posture of tucking her hair behind her ear. Her dress fluttered in the wind, and the blue sky and white clouds behind her acted as her background.

Not only did the wind make her dress flutter, it also made her hair float diagonally. It was a beautiful picture.

It was as if time slowed down all of a sudden. A woman’s face gradually appeared on the drawing board under Su Ming’s fingers.

Fang Cang Lan’s fluttering heart slowly calmed down. She kept her gaze on Su Ming and what entered her vision first was the scar underneath his eye.

When she saw the scar, Fang Cang Lan’s heart clenched in pain.

The two of them did not speak. In this peace, one of them drew, and the other watched.

Admiration appeared on Zi Che’s face as he stood in the distance. He might not have heard what Su Ming and Fang Cang Lan said to each other, but when he saw Su Ming drawing Fang Cang Lan, his admiration towards Su Ming grew to an incredibly high point.

‘As expected of uncle master Su, when he fought against Si Ma Xin, his killing intent was suffocating, and he had an intimidating presence… Now, he can draw so tenderly and make a woman so bashful… When will I ever be like that..?’

Zi Che sighed deeply. He shook his head and closed his eyes slightly as if he was thinking about something.

‘He has just fought Si Ma two months ago, Now he sits drawing for a woman. If the day comes that I can do this…

‘What should my next line be..?’

Zi Che frowned. During these two months, as he continued observing the odd eccentricities of the people in the ninth summit, he gained an epiphany and believed that perhaps these eccentricities were what made them so different from the others.

That was why he also tried looking for a weird quirk for himself, which led to something like this happening, where he would start making poetry when he was deeply moved…

While Zi Che was thinking about what his next line should be, while Su Ming was looking at Fang Cang Lan and drawing her, second senior brother, who had been tending to his flowers on the ninth summit, lifted his head and looked towards the direction of Su Ming’s cave. His eyes also sparkled brilliantly.

”Youngest junior brother, thank you,” second senior brother suddenly uttered these abstruse words before quickly standing up and letting out a few fake coughs. Then he disappeared without a trace.

On another spot on the ninth summit, Su Ming’s second senior brother suddenly appeared. He first smoothed out his robes and took a few deep breaths before placing his hands behind his back and lifting his head to look at the sky.

Yet he soon moved his body to the side and let the sunlight fall on his face as he looked up

Soon, he frowned again and waved his left hand by his side. Immediately, a light breeze blew past him and made his robes and long hair flutter in the air. With the wind constantly around him, the second senior brother looked at the sky and remained still.

Before long, Zi Yan appeared on the stairs not too far into the distance. She had already gone to a few places, but she simply could not find Sun Da Hu. She might be furious, but she could not do anything to vent her anger.

As she continued walking forward, a gentle voice suddenly reached her ears.

”Miss Zi Yan.”

Zi Yan’s footsteps faltered. When she turned around, she saw Su Ming’s second senior brother standing nearby. The very instant she saw him, shock appeared on her face.

She saw Su Ming’s second senior brother’s hair dancing in the wind.

She also saw his long robes fluttering in the wind…

She even saw him positioning the side of his face towards her and with his hands behind his back look at the white clouds in the sky. When sunlight fell on his face, it made him seem different from how he usually was.

Zi Che felt her skin crawl. She did not know what had happened to this person, so she quickly took a few steps back and spoke softly.

”Er… Greetings, second uncle master of the ninth summit…”