579 Big Brother La Su… 1 (1/2)

When Su Ming lifted the flap of the tent, a gentle light from a lamp spread out from within. It looked like light beams shining on his body.

The sound of the xun became clearer once the flap of the tent was lifted.

An old man sat inside. He held a bone xun in his hands and had it placed against his lips. His eyes were closed while playing a sorrowful tune. As the notes filled the air, Su Ming felt as if he had been separated from the world.

He walked into the tent quietly and sat before the old man. He closed his eyes and listened to the song. His heart soared with the melody, flying to some unknown place… but, perhaps, it was actually just wandering around.

Time trickled by, but Su Ming’s eyes remained closed. His soul continued wandering about, as if it could not find a place to stay.

The bald crane’s feathers were all standing on its body, as it remained outside the small tribe. It continued looking around with wide eyes. Terror was evident on its face. In its eyes, this entire area was empty, and besides Su Ming, no other person could be found.

Su Ming had sat down in the distance on this vast mass of empty land and had even closed his eyes, occupied by his thoughts.

If it was just that, the bald crane would not have been terrified. What caused it fear was the strange power within the island. It was invisible, and made the crane unable to move even a single inch.

The entire area should be empty, but it could occasionally hear the sounds of children playing and laughter ringing by its ears. It was as if there was a bunch of children it could not see playing tag around…

At times, a cold chill would also travel through the bald crane’s heart, as if the playing children had just phased through where it stood.

Its beak snapped open and closed a few times, but it could not move its body. It looked at Su Ming, looked at its surroundings, and a wave of fear towards the island stemmed right from the bottom of its heart.

Su Ming did not know how much time had passed. The sky was still dark, as if it would never know daylight. The song of the xun gradually weakened, and when it eventually faded away completely, an old voice reached his ears.

”You still came…”

Su Ming opened his eyes and saw the old man putting down the xun in his hand. There was a kind smile on his face, and his eyes looked like those of a normal person, but Su Ming knew… that he was blind.

”You knew I would come, senior?” Su Ming asked softly. This was the third time he had come to this place, and he had gained a different experience each of the previous two times.

”It’s because of your confusion that you are constantly wandering about. That is why… you come here.” The old man looked over. The smile on his lips was incredibly kindly when he said words that Su Ming could not understand.

Su Ming remained silent for a moment before he suddenly asked, ”What do you mean by ‘wandering’?”

”If you do not have a place in your heart you call home, you will wander no matter where you are…”

Su Ming’s heart trembled. The words reverberated in his soul, causing him to be stunned for a long, long time, as he sat there. He did indeed not have a place he could call home in his heart. Dark Mountain was fake, and besides Hu Zi, the ninth summit was deserted. He… had always been wandering in his life.

He did not know where his home was, did not know the laws of causality affecting all these things, and neither did he know where the start of this entire cycle lay...

”Who are you?” After some time, a brilliant sparkle shone in Su Ming’s eyes.

”When you know who you are, you will know who I am.” The old man shook his head and caressed the bone xun in his hand. His fingers scraped the surface of the xun, creating scratching sounds.

That sound echoed in the tent before spreading outside.

”You saw what is outside, my child. Tell me, what did you see?” The old man turned his eyes towards Su Ming, but they looked blankly at the tent.

”This place doesn’t exist, the island is empty. All the members of the tribe outside should be dead. There’s a large amount of spectres occupying this land, and you should be one of them, senior,” Su Ming said calmly.

”What you see might not be the truth, and what you believe doesn’t exist… might not necessarily not exist.” The old man closed his eyes while speaking.

Confusion appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. That confusion ran deep, filling up his entire heart and surrounding his soul, refusing to leave.

”They exist. You saw them… but you refused to believe… Outsiders cannot see them, and they will be afraid. It is as if thousands upon thousands of people are asleep, but you are the only one who has opened your eyes. You are fortunate, but also unfortunate, because you don’t believe in what you see, and because the moment you believe, the world will no longer accept you…

”Because… you will have woken from your slumber,” the old man said gently. There seemed to be a deeper meaning to his words, and it caused Su Ming to be uncertain about his words.

”Thousands upon thousands are awake, but you are still asleep… Is it because you don’t want to wake up, or is it because… you believe yourself to be awake? What does it mean to be asleep, and what does it mean to be awake? All of this… is just the world you see, and no one else… can see it,” the old man said slowly. There was an ancient air to his voice, and if anyone heard it, they would feel as if they had just heard time itself.

”It is like fate, you can choose to submit to it or to fight against it. It is like life, where moments of joy and sadness exist together. It is like you and I. What I see, you cannot see, and what you see, I… cannot see.

”Do you understand, my child?” The old man opened his eyes and turned his blank eyes towards Su Ming as if he was looking at him as he smiled kindly.