Pursuit of the Truth

”Miss Zi Yan, I’m not that much older than you are. Let’s talk as equals. You may call me senior brother Hua.”

Zi Hua was momentarily taken aback, but then opened her mouth as if to speak.

”Miss Zi Yan!” Su Ming’s second senior brother’s face grew more stern. ”I said that I would bear the responsibility for his wrongs. How about this, I’ll follow you to the seventh summit and punish myself to protect you for three years. I’ll use these three years to compensate for Hu Zi’s mistake.”

Once the second senior brother finished speaking, he sighed. If Hu Zi was by his side and saw the gentleness on his face along with the persistence in his words, perhaps… just perhaps, he would be very touched?

”Senior brother Hua… There’s… no need for that.”

Zi Yan felt that she could not handle him and took a few steps back.

”Are three years not enough? Alright then, ten years. I’ll punish myself to go to the seventh summit and protect you for ten years.”

Second senior brother was just about to take a step forward, but after a short moment of hesitation, he did not move, because the sunlight in the spot one step away from where he was right then was not as bright as the spot where he stood right now.

”Ah… You really don’t have to do that,” Zi Yan said nervously. Su Ming’s second senior brother’s enthusiasm was beginning to scare her.

”Miss Zi Yan, in truth…” Second senior brother looked at Zi Yan and a grave expression appeared on his face. ”In truth, I was also among the people who watched you. That’s why, you must accept my apology.”

When Zi Yan heard his words, she was stunned before a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

”Senior brother Hua, please don’t joke around. I know that you weren’t there. Ah… let’s leave it as it is, I’ll be leaving now.”

While speaking, Zi Yan quickly moved back towards the stairs in an attempt to leave as quickly as possible.

This place was making her uncomfortable all over her body.

”Miss Zi Yan, I was really there!”

When he saw that Zi Yan was about to leave, second senior brother took a few steps forward quickly.

”Let’s leave it at that. I’ll be leaving now…”

Zi Yan did not even turn back and quickly ran down the mountain through the stairs feeling incredibly flustered. By the looks of it, if second senior brother chased after her, she would immediately jump into the air and fly away.

”No!” Ssecond senior brother took a leap and instantly appeared before the fleeing Zi Yan. ”Miss Zi Yan, you have a heart of gold, but I am a person who repents with my actions. If you will not accept my apology, then you can request three things from me. You can come to me at anytime and ask me to fulfill your requests,” second senior brother stated sternly.

”Alright, alright, I’ll remember it. Senior brother Hua, I’m leaving first. You don’t have to send me off, in fact, please don’t send me off…”

Zi Yan quickly nodded her head and flew up just as hastily. She avoided Su Ming’s second senior brother and charged out into the distance. In the blink of an eye, she disappeared without a trace.

Just as Zi Yan was scared off by Su Ming’s second senior brother’s enthusiasm and fled quickly in a flustered state without even bothering about Han Cang Zi, Su Ming’s right hand made the last stroke on his drawing board where he sat outside his cave abode.

When he finished drawing, Su Ming held out the drawing board to Han Cang Zi. A baffled look appeared momentarily on her face when she looked at it. After a long while, she placed the drawing board down, cast a glance at Su Ming, then spun around with a calm look on her face and turned into a long arc and left.

The drawing board was empty.

Those who could see it would certainly see it, but those who couldn’t, no matter how they forced themselves to see it, they would still not be able to see anything.

Su Ming did not know whether Han Cang Zi saw the drawing. He looked at her leaving figure, then closed his eyes after a long while. When he opened them once again, they were as calm as water.

He picked up the drawing board silently and once again immersed himself in copying Si Ma Xin’s sword slash. With every single copy, he would gain a slightly better understanding of it. These experiences gradually built up and slowly allowed him to sense the might of that one stroke he had made previously.

Three days later, Hu Zi came out of his hiding place silently. When he saw that Zi Yan seemed to no longer bother him, he became pleased with himself once again and spent his days in his cave abode drinking, and as he did so, he would also mumble under his breath and fiddle with some ice shards, grouping them together. He would even occasionally let out some weird giggles as he did so.

Second senior brother tended to his plants as he usually did, but he also gained a new hobby for himself. He would go to the spots where the sun was the brightest and position himself so that sunlight would fall on the side of his face. It was as if he was extremely fond of this particular action.

Their Master, Tian Xie Zi, also walked out when Zi Yan no longer appeared on the ninth summit. Every morning, the people in the ninth summit would hear long lasting howls from the top of the mountain.

Those roars were like thunder and rumbled in the air. Tian Xie Zi would always rise up to roar and fly in different directions to do something, though no one knew exactly what he wanted to do, and he would usually only return by noon.

As time passed by, Su Ming learned that this was his Master’s hobby.

At the same time, as another month went by, Su Ming noticed that his Master, Tian Xie Zi, had another unique quirk!

He only learned about this quirk through his second senior brother’s words and his own observations.

”Look, Master is wearing white again today. He should be flying north.”

Second senior brother sat beside Su Ming on his platform outside his cave abode. At that moment, second senior brother had his head lifted towards the sky, looking at the top of mountain. He spoke as if he was deeply moved by his Master’s actions.

A rumbling roar came from the top of the mountain, and Tian Xie Zi, who was dressed in white, flew towards the north.

”If Master is in a good mood in the morning, he’ll do this. Youngest junior brother, you must get used to it.”

”Master is wearing red today, he’ll fly to the west.”

Hu Zi was also sitting beside his second senior brother this time. There was a pot of wine in his hand. He mumbled under his breath, ”Master is wearing black today, so he’ll definitely fly to the south…” and did not even bother looking at the sky.

Then just as he said, Tian Xie Zi flew towards the south from the summit, dressed in black.

”Master is dressed in green today and is also wearing a green hat. Just you wait, his mood is bad today, so he’ll fly east…” Second senior brother did not even bother lifting his head when he stated that softly, holding a green plant in his hands.

When Su Ming heard it as he was still drawing Si Ma Xin’s sword slash, he instinctively lifted his head to look, and a stunned look appeared on his face.

Rumbling sounds came from the mountaintop, and then Tian Xie Zi appeared in the air dressed in green and a green hat, and… flew north.

This scene immediately made Hu Zi, who was drinking, stunned, and he quickly rubbed his eyes.

”That’s not right, why did Master fly north?”

Second senior brother also lifted his head and his expression suddenly became grave.

”Something happened to Master!”

When Zi Che heard this and saw the changes in expressions of second and third senior brothers while meditating not too far away, having gained a deeper understanding if the weirdness in the ninth summit over the past few days, his heart immediately started racing against his chest. He had a feeling that he was about to discover some sort of secret.

At that moment, the green robed Tian Xie Zi suddenly faltered in the sky, in the act of flying towards the north. He stopped for a moment in midair as if he was mumbling something under his breath before he turned around and flew east…

Hu Zi rolled his eyes and lifted his wine pot to continue drinking with a look as if he was displeased with Tian Xie Zi’s actions.

Su Ming frowned and cast a glance at his second senior brother. He saw a hint of seriousness that was rarely seen in his second senior brother’s eyes.

”I remember that the last time Master made a mistake like this was fifteen years ago… Could it be… that his purple robed self is about to appear once again..?”

Second senior brother took a deep breath and looked at Su Ming and Hu Zi.

”Purple robe?” Su Ming also looked at his second senior brother.