Chapter 33

"Look at your hair, it’s white . " Bai Ling covered her mouth and laughed . The light in her eyes was so bright it made the strange feeling in Su Ming’s chest become stronger .

"I’m not the only one . Your hair has also become white . You’re an old woman now . " Su Ming pointed at Bai Ling and laughed .

The two of them laughed and talked, feeling more familiar with each other . During that snowy night, Su Ming was happy but he also felt that time was passing by too quickly . Before he knew it, the sky started to brighten up .

It was not due to the snow but because the sun had risen .

Night was over . When the sun shone and brightened up the sky, snow was still falling . Su Ming and Bai Ling came down from the tree . Once they cleaned themselves up, they smiled at each other .

Su Ming did not say anything but squatted down instead . Bai Ling’s eyes lit up briefly and she climbed once more onto his frail back . A warm feeling blossomed in her chest .

This time, the strange feeling became clearer the closer he got to Dark Dragon Tribe . He was unwilling to part with Bai Ling . Slowly, he became silent, his footsteps became slower and he started circling around the forest again .

Bai Ling hung onto Su Ming’s back . Just like the day before, she saw a lot of the sights repeatedly and knew that Su Ming was walking around in circles . However this time, she did not speak . She placed her head against Su Ming’s back, listening to his heart beat .

Nevertheless, everything had to come to an end eventually . The sun had risen to the highest point in the sky and begun setting once again . The outline of Dark Dragon Tribe appeared in Su Ming’s line of sight despite the snow falling from the sky .

When he saw the tribe, Su Ming placed Bai Ling on the ground with a smile on his face .

"You’re home . "

Bai Ling took a look at her tribe, then back at Su Ming . The expression was on her beautiful face was unreadable . She nodded her head silently and walked towards Su Ming . She then swept the snow on Su Ming’s body away with her clean hands .

"Thank you… I hope you’ll return to your tribe soon…" Bai Ling opened her mouth again like she was about to say something but in the end, she just remained silent . She smiled beautifully and walked back to her tribe .

Su Ming stood there watching Bai Ling gradually disappear from his sight . As he looked at the petite figure occasionally turning towards him to wave, his mind went blank .

As the distance between them grew bigger, the falling snow became an invisible barrier . It obstructed his sight and covered the figure of the person walking away . It was akin to walking past an icy plain . If he did not return, he would not see the ice melting . It was like a memory . If he did not remember it, he would not be able to recall the voice of the person who sighed in that memory .

After a long time, Su Ming shook his head . He took one more look at Dark Dragon Tribe and turned away . The snow had been his companion when he came and the snow was still his companion when he left .

The snow fell on his body and on his hair but Su Ming thought he was missing something .

‘Do I like her . . ?’

Su Ming ran in the forest towards Dark Mountain Tribe . There was a frown between his brows as he ran . In his head, he only saw Bai Ling .

‘It’s different from how I feel towards Chen Xin…’

Su Ming took a deep breath and shook his head vigorously . He wanted to be rid of the strange and unfamiliar feeling in his chest . Once he calmed down, he ran even quicker .

When the sky became dark, the stars shone around the moon and the snow still fell endlessly from the sky . Su Ming finally returned to his home, Dark Mountain Tribe .

He stole a look at the tribe from afar yesterday and could roughly tell that the tribe was unharmed . Now that he was back, he saw his tribe members standing guard on night watch outside the giant wooden gate .

The tribe settlement was very quiet . The bonfire in the square was still burning as usual and making crackling sounds . Su Ming walked in and looked around . He then arrived outside the elder’s house .

There was still light from the elder’s house, a clear sign that he had not gone to rest .

"Su Ming, right? Come in . " The elder’s voice traveled from within the house with a hint of fatigue .

Su Ming lifted the leather flap gently and walked in . He saw the elder sitting cross-legged in the middle . His white hair was slightly messy too .

"Elder," Su Ming called out to him in a low voice . Then he sat in a corner .

"The tribe is fine, don’t worry . " The elder looked at Su Ming with a smile on his face . He gestured for Su Ming to sit by his side and patted Su Ming’s head, his smile becoming wider .

"You’ve reached the third level? You did well!"

Su Ming looked at the elder and slowly told him everything he saw within the cave . He went into the details especially regarding the corpse . As he talked about it, he saw the elder’s face becoming serious .

"Wherefore doth thou wail, o blue sky…? Elder, what does this mean?" Su Ming frowned .

"The legends are true…" The elder looked at the leather flaps as if his eyes could see through them and they allowed him to look at Dark Mountain .

"That should be a rhetorical question . Perhaps it meant ‘Why should I be sad when compared to the lonely, endless sky?’ Or perhaps, there is another meaning to it…" The elder sighed . Then he spoke slowly . It was a voice burdened by his experiences in life when a thought struck his head .

"I don’t really understand the words about worshiping the fire . Perhaps you saw it because it’s your destiny . " The elder averted his gaze from the flaps and looked at Su Ming kindly .

"I’ll be going to Wind Stream Tribe in a month’s time . If you’re wandering outside by then, remember to come back . "

"One more thing, elder . I saved a Dark Dragon Tribe member in the nest of the Wings of the Moon . Her name is Bai Ling . She’s the granddaughter of the elder of Dark Dragon Tribe . " The elder nodded his head . Then as he remembered something, he spoke once again .

"Bai Ling?" He was momentarily surprised . He fell into silence for a while . Then told Su Ming to go back and rest . Once Su Ming left, a hint of nostalgia appeared in the elder’s eyes .

‘Lei Su… Your granddaughter was saved by my little La Su accidentally… Perhaps this will allow you to reduce your hatred towards me a little…’

The elder sighed and the hint of nostalgia in his eyes grew thicker .

"The blood red moon appeared earlier… Then there’s also the strong Qi that suddenly appeared from Black Mountain Tribe during that night… I can feel disaster brewing…" The elder closed his eyes as he mumbled . His voice was filled with worry .

Su Ming left the elder’s house and walked around the tribe . He did not return to his own house but went to Lei Chen’s . When he saw that Lei Chen was injured but still up and about, he applied salve on his wounds . Once he did so, his worries went away .

Lei Chen was also happy to see Su Ming . He hit his chest and bragged about his fight against the Wings of the Moon . Su Ming left smiling after they talked for a long time .

It was already midnight but Su Ming’s gaze fell on a brightly lit house not far away . As he did so, hesitation appeared on his face .

It was the Head of the Guards’ house . It was also Bei Ling’s house .