Ren Bai opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to utter any word. She tried over and over again, and again and again no sound came out. She could only stare as the man, the beautiful child in his arms lamenting in her sleep, walked past her.

It was as if her body wasn’t willing to obey her if it meant crossing the path of the mysterious existence giving off such intense pressure.

“Don’t worry…” She heard Cheng Hao whisper as he caressed the girl’s forehead gently: “There is nothing to fear, we will get home soon…”

Hearing that, Ren Bei gritted her teeth, ignoring the feeling of terror induced by the red skinned youth, and stepped forward, grabbing Cheng Hao’s arms. Her eyes red from the rage, she yelled at his face:

“So you CAN talk! Idiot, what the hell is this about! Do you have any idea how dangerous that little stunt of yours was? Do you have any idea how worried we were! How do you expect us to just let you walk past us without even sparing us a word of apology?”

“…”

Cheng Hao shook, as if he had just woken up from a dream. He turned around: his expression was not as cold and unforgiving as it had been earlier. At the same time though, it not as warm as it had been just a few hours prior.

Ren Bai found herself comparing this new side of the red-skinned youth to the cheerfulness Ren Hong had displayed less than a single day ago. It was as if she was comparing the innocence of a child with the seriousness of a grown-up… the difference between the bliss of ignorance and the burden of the knowledge.

Why are your eyes so full of pain? Why do you act as if you had the weight of the world on your shoulders?

The two siblings looked at each other in the eyes. Ren Bai felt pain in her chest as tears fell: as she stared into those pupils, full of pain and determination, she realized.

Within that pair of eyes, the carefree and cheerful Ren Hong was no longer. The brother she had shared battlefieds and laughter alike was nowhere to be found.

“…I am sorry” Cheng Hao finally whispered in an apologetic tone. Then, his voice grew firmer and he walked past her, his eyes filling with determination:

“But I cannot mingle with illusions any longer.”

…

A sleeping child laid on a bed covered by plain, white sheets. He looked really handsome, with long, straight black hair, a small, pointy nose and a small mouth. The boy was sweating profusely, as if he was having nightmares…

A sleeping child laid on a bed covered by plain, white sheets. She looked really beautiful, with long, straight black hair, a small, pointy nose and a small mouth. The girl was sweating profusely, as if she was having nightmares.

A girl was kneeling beside the bed: she had red skin, beautiful crimson hair and scarlet eyes filled with concern. Hidden behind that concern tough, was great pain, grief and... coldness. It was as if her heart had been frozen and was encased in ice…

A boy was kneeling beside the bed: he had red skin, beautiful crimson hair and scarlet eyes filled with concern. In his eyes, other than worry, the gaze was also filled with excitement and happiness… as well as love. It was the gaze a person would give to a loved one whom he had thought long lost.

"Aaaah!" The boy suddenly jerked awake. He panted for a bit before calming down, he brought one of his hands to his face as if to assure himself that it was still there.

"Aaaah!" The girl suddenly jerked awake. She panted for a bit before calming down. Before she could do any other motions however, the red youth intervened, grabbing both of the girl’s hands. The girl was startled, however she immediately calmed down when she felt the warmth of the boy’s hands.

The girl’s eyes lit up and she immediately grabbed his other hand "Are you alright? What happened, why were you so scared?"

The boy was about to retract his hand when he saw the girl's expression. The boy could see that behind the mask of concern, her eyes were filled with sadness and what looked like grief.

The boy's eyes lit up and he immediately hugged the young girl, tears falling from the corner of his eyes:

"There is no need to worry… I am here! And I will protect you this time!” The girl was about to free herself from the youth’s embrace but she immediately stopped when she saw the boy's expression.

The girl could see that despite the tears, his eyes were filled with such radiant happiness that she began to feel happy herself.

The boy tilted his head: "Why are you so sad, miss?" He asked…

The girl tilted her head as she giggled: "Why are you so happy, mister?" She asked.

The woman flinched and then her face darkened. The girl shook her head "It is nothing, you don't need to worry about it. It will pass soon..." although she said that, it could be seen from her expression that something important was indeed bothering her…

The youth flinched and then his face beamed even brighter. The boy shook his head "It is because I have been waiting for so long... I’m sorry if I startled you, it will pass soon..." although he said that, it could be seen from his expression that he could barely contain his excitement.

The boy pondered for a while then his eyes lit up "If you smile happily while you are sad, you will get better!" he grinned himself "Try it, miss!"

The girl pondered for a while then, her eyes lit up "You don’t look like it! If you kee going like this, mister will probably dry up!” the girl grinned as she pointed at the stream of tears: "Do you want to talk about it, mister?"

The girl gaped for a while but then smiled bitterly.

"Like... this?" She asked as her fake smile trembled.

The boy hesitated for a while but then he nodded happily.

He beamed and nodded:

"Sure, let’s talk!"

…

“Mister, so you are telling me that you have been waiting for someone?”

“Mmmm-mmm.”

“And that this someone just showed up? Woah, you are lucky mister! I’m happy for you! What is she like?”

Cheng Hao smiled at the young girl and patted her on her head:

“She is really beautiful… and kind. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”

The girl gaped and her eyes widened. Then, she suddenly smirked as a cheeky expression appeared on her face:

“You… did you love her mister?” She giggled.

Cheng Hao widened his eyes in surprise as he turned to look at the young girl before him. Then, his expression grew softer and his gaze became tender…

Her smile. Her scent. Her warmth.

It was all so nostalgic, as if it had all been such a long time ago… and yet so realistic it was like it had just happened but a moment ago. These memories were blurred, as if distorted, and yet so vivid he could perfectly recall any of them with but a thought!

Did he love her? Did he love Ren Hong?

“What is love?” He muttered to himself, startling the younger girl. She seemed eager to speak, but Cheng Hao didn’t notice it. Instead, his lips parted as he spoke with passion, as if he was chanting a scripture or reciting a poem.

“Is it love, what makes one feel warm despite the night being cold?

Is it love, what makes a person’s smile seem brighter than a bonfire?

Is it love, what makes one feel torn when apart and a whole when close?

Is it love, what makes time flow and the world colorful?

Is it love, what makes one sunny despite the dark clouds in the sky bearing down?

Is it love, what turns simple fireflies into a starry sky?

Is it love, what makes one shed an ocean of tears and yet smile as brightly as the sun?”

Silence. The girl was gaping: she had asked the question so as to tease the young man in front of her, but what he had offered as a response had shocked her beyond measure.

What was love? To a child like her, love was but a word. But to the young man? It was clearly much, much more.

That is why she stayed silent, and no sound, not even the buzzing of an insect, interrupted the sacred silence that had befallen into the large room.

“What is love?” Cheng Hao finally spoke again, startling the young girl.

“If all that and more is love… if mere words can’t be used to illustrate it, yet at the same time only the simplest of vocabules can even barely hope to begin to describe its magic…” He spoke, his eyes melanchonic as tears fell down once again.

“If all that and more is love… then yes. I loved, love and will love her, once upon a time, now, and in a distant future, I will love her.”

Cheng Hao cried as he forced the words to come out:

“I love Ren Hong.”

The girl gaped. Then she blushed and approached the young man pouting:

“Why are you crying mister? Didn’t you finally get to meet her?”

Cheng Hao’s tears stopped falling for a brief moment as he opened his eyes. Then, as if he was resigning himself to some horrible fate, he smiled bitterly and shook his head:

“That was what I had thought of as well… however, only now I finally realize just how wrong I was. Because, by looking at you, I do not feel the pain of my soul getting any better…”

“I had believed you were her, however I now know you are not.”

“M-Mister?”

“You are an illusion… an ephemereal phantom, just like all others… and another attempt of this world to mesmerize me and throw my mind into oblivion!”

“Mister? What are you saying?

Cheng Hao gritted his teeth as he stood up:

“However, that ends now! I’m done being taking advantage of!”

“Mister, your face is scary!”

“It is now my turn!” Cheng Hao’s eyes glowed a bright green as a certain scene replayed in his mind. As he reharsed what he was about to do, his eyes glowed even brighter as his determination flared up into a blazing inferno!

“Young girl, did you know that I am a cultivator?”

"Cultivator?" The girl asked in wonder, her worries dispelled as she pondered upon the boy’s words: "What does that mean?"

Cheng Hao grinned fiercely:

"It means a person... Who wishes to reach immortality! And to do that, he cultivates scriptures, deepens his understanding of the world and breaks through various levels!"

"Im... mortality?" The girl asked.

The boy nodded "Yes, Immortality!" He drew in the air two characters: the character for person, 人(Rén) and the character for mountain 山(Shān)!

The two characters floated in the air as if they had been written in magical ink then began to approach each other... And form the huge green character 仙(Xiān!)! Immortal!

"Those who stand above everything else, celestial beings that are higher than the tallest of mountains! These are immortals! The greatest existence in the world!"

It is time for me to do what I had meant to do since I got here! It is finally time for me to find out my origins!

"No!"

An ancient voice sounded out from the young girl's mouth. It radiated an aura of ancientness, of rot, of death. But there was also a powerful will and a determination to do whatever it had decided to.

No matter wether it meant living or dying, it would accomplish his objective!

However, at the moment, Cheng Hao didn’t care about any of that. Instead, his wide grin expressed his excitement as he thought:

Success! He has truly come! The key to my past and to my future! The one connected to both the mountain AND my past self!

"Immortals, The Greatest? That Is False!”

Suddenly, the child swatted the character for immortal aside and divided the character for mountain and person again!

It was as if the young girl had grown crazy, as if she was not herself anymore! And the golden glow in her eyes confirmed that: this was not the child that Cheng Hao had saved after all!

“I Must Write... The-“

"So you have finally come! Why don’t you stop with your blabbering and focus on this?” Cheng Hao yelled as he pointed at his own forehead: there, a golden symbol glowed proudly! It was ‘靈’, Líng!

“That… Is…”

“Yes, that is the one truth you are talking about! You are getting repetitive there, even though you can’t actually know about this lol, so why don’t you shut up about this truth…”

Cheng Hao pointed at the unconscious female Xu Ling, the girl’s eyes wide open and glowing with golden light as she stared, speechless and completely overwhelmed, at Cheng Hao’s lips parting again and again, the words flowing out like a raging torrent, as he spoke:

“And explain to me… who exactly this child, no, I am?”