Chapter 60: Truths and Falsehoods

Chapter 60: Truth and Falsehood

Moonlight spilled across the nearly barren land, the world shrouded in a thin veil of mist. Su Hang gazed at the figure before him, a feeling of unreality hanging over him.

He heard the man's reply, but his tense body only grew more suspicious instead of relaxing.

At this moment, Lu Jinghe no longer seemed in a hurry to find Elder Yang. He simply stood before Su Hang, studying him with a meaningful, probing gaze.

The two fell into a stalemate, the air around them still and silent. In the distance, the hoarse, sharp cry of a night crow pierced the silence.

Lu Jinghe noticed Su Hang's nervous look and suddenly laughed, teasing: "Are you scared? If you're afraid, we don't have to go tonight. It's not as if Yang Zheng would only make her move for one night."

"Who is Yang Zheng?" Su Hang spoke up, his voice urgent and rapid. He stepped toward Lu Jinghe, pressing closer step by step, trying to dominate him with his aura.

But the man opposite merely raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile curling at the corner of his mouth. As Su Hang advanced step by step, he made no move to back away.

Finally, Su Hang stopped less than three feet away, his lovely almond eyes blazing as they locked onto Lu Jinghe, determined to get an answer out of him today.

Lu Jinghe gave a faint smile and simply said: "I've seen the Outer Heavens' registry. Yang Zheng is Elder Yang's personal name."

"How could you have seen it? How could you possibly have seen it?" Su Hang took half a step forward. "Only the Sect Master has the registry."

Lu Jinghe raised an eyebrow, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes, his smile unreadable: "So... what are you getting at? What do you want to know?"

"Who are you?" Su Hang asked quietly, his voice holding a hint of anticipation he hadn't even realized was there.

"Lu Jinghe."

The man's voice stayed calm and steady.

Su Hang sighed, his nose twitching a little: "Immortal Venerable, I can smell you."

The man before him didn't show the slightest hint of panic. He raised an eyebrow, then laughed out loud, his shoulders shaking as he dropped the disguise to reveal his true form: "Very well."

Su Hang watched the man's jet-black hair shift back to its original silver, shining in the moonlight. His dull, puppet-like eyes gradually brightened, and his whole body seemed to emit a soft, faint glow under the moonlight.

Su Hang's nose stung with emotion. They had been in a cold war before parting; they hadn't been separated for long; he had already suspected the Immortal Venerable might be secretly following him; he had long suspected Lu Jinghe's true identity—and yet—

The crisp, snow-capped mountain scent that was uniquely Immortal Venerable Lingqing's seemed to intensify. Su Hang couldn't hold back. He lunged forward, burying himself in the Immortal Venerable's arms, rubbing his tearful eyes against the Venerable's porcelain-white skin.

At the sight, the Immortal Venerable's eyes softened. He rested his hand on Su Hang's thin back, patting it gently.

His touch was light and gentle.

Su Hang's throat constricted, his voice shaking slightly: "Did the Immortal Venerable never plan to hide his identity? If so, why go to the trouble of coming here disguised as Lu Jinghe?"

After all, the faint lingering scent and the slip of Elder Yang's real name made this act way too unconvincing. Su Hang figured that if Immortal Venerable Lingqing had really wanted to hide it, he wouldn't have let him catch on.

Immortal Venerable Lingqing held Su Hang tight, running his fingers through his fine, soft hair, a wry smile curling at his lips.

He had been afraid Su Hang still didn't want to talk to him.

When he had taken Patriarch Su's life, all he could think of was Su Hang being bullied in the Su family. He wasn't a good-hearted man—he always paid back every grievance—and he couldn't swallow that anger just because Patriarch Su was someone Su Hang cared about.

But at the time, he hadn't been sure how Su Hang would feel.

He always seemed to ignore Su Hang's wishes.

Before this, Immortal Venerable Lingqing had few regrets—after all, everything he did was his own doing. What was done was done; what was there to regret?

Except Su Hang.

After Su Hang entered his life, he regretted not catching the true cause of Su Hang's death in his past life; regretted stubbornly believing Su Hang had died of illness, because he refused to accept that someone could have harmed Su Hang right under his nose; regretted killing Patriarch Su outright without finding a more suitable excuse for his death...

So he hid inside a puppet, dropping hints to Su Hang that it was him. If Su Hang could forgive him, he'd stop hiding. If Su Hang still wouldn't forgive him, he'd stay quiet and protect Su Hang from the shadows.

Thankfully—thankfully, Su Hang was still willing...

"Immortal Venerable! Aren't we going to look for Elder Yang?"

Su Hang breathed in the scent that was uniquely the Immortal Venerable's while in his arms. After a moment to calm down, his mind gradually cleared, and his fear of the surroundings faded away.

After all, the Immortal Venerable was here.

Su Hang tried to pull back, but Immortal Venerable Lingqing clearly wasn't ready to let go. He tightened his grip on Su Hang's waist slightly. Su Hang got the hint and buried his head back into the Venerable's chest.

"Yang Zheng? She won't be coming back. Tonight won't end so easily." Immortal Venerable Lingqing paused, then decided to explain more clearly to his young disciple: "We—including your two friends—are all trapped inside Elder Yang's illusion."

"Illusion?"

Su Hang was stunned, then thought about it—it made sense, really. Everything had been too fake, so fake that Su Hang had noticed something off at every step along the way.

But Elder Yang's cultivation was far above theirs—how could she let them see through the illusion so easily?

"Don't overthink it. It wasn't easy to see through. Your two friends only noticed Elder Yang acting off; only you sensed the weirdness in the surroundings."

Immortal Venerable Lingqing easily read Su Hang's thoughts and explained with a soft chuckle.

Su Hang was even more confused: "Their cultivation is higher than mine, but they didn't see through it... Could something be wrong with them?! Immortal Venerable, we have to go back!"

With that, he tried to pull away, but Immortal Venerable Lingqing grabbed him. Su Hang turned back to see a helpless smile on the Venerable's lips as he looked at him calmly: "Actually, in this Venerable's opinion, the one with the problem is you."

Su Hang's body went rigid. He turned back, staring at Immortal Venerable Lingqing in confusion.

He was the one with the problem?

What problem could he have?

Su Hang opened his mouth to speak, but Immortal Venerable Lingqing gently pressed a finger to his rosy lips.

"Don't ask. As your master, this Venerable would rather you find out for yourself." Immortal Venerable Lingqing said, guiding Su Hang back to the original path: "Follow me."

Su Hang followed the Immortal Venerable, then suddenly thought of something. His steps faltered, anxiety flashing in his eyes: "Immortal Venerable!"

Immortal Venerable Lingqing paused, turning back with a trace of exasperation in his eyes: "What's wrong?"

"Earlier, Qu Wenshan said that Lu Jinghe was a disciple studying under Elder Wang. If you took Lu Jinghe's place for the training trip, then where's the real Lu Jinghe?"

Immortal Venerable Lingqing halted, his brow furrowing slightly.

So Lu Jinghe was actually a real person?

He wasn't the Sect Master—how would he know who'd taken on new disciples or who'd been kicked out?

"The real Lu Jinghe? I don't know. From the start, this body was just a puppet, so I simply possessed it directly."

Su Hang's eyes went wide in shock, staring at Immortal Venerable Lingqing in disbelief.

Immortal Venerable Lingqing wasn't sure what to think either. He figured that if Su Hang was really curious, he could ask the Sect Master for the registry and check whether a disciple named Lu Jinghe actually existed in the Outer Heavens.

"Come on, keep up."

At that, Su Hang kept following Immortal Venerable Lingqing, but once he let his guard down, those questions bubbled back up. Su Hang was genuinely curious, and his steps grew distracted as he walked, until finally, he couldn't hold back and spoke up.

"Immortal Venerable..." Su Hang's voice was like a kitten's mew, so soft it might vanish in the wind at any second.

Eventually, Immortal Venerable Lingqing relented. He turned back, giving Su Hang a helpless look, and let out a long sigh, as if he'd completely run out of patience with him: "What's wrong?"

Seeing the Immortal Venerable give in, Su Hang's eyes lit up, he quickened his pace, and pressed close to him: "Why did Elder Yang do this?"

A rare flicker of confusion crossed Immortal Venerable Lingqing's eyes, and he simply said, "I don't know."

Su Hang didn't buy it, shooting the Immortal Venerable a reproachful look.

Immortal Venerable Lingqing shook his head. He genuinely had no clue why Elder Yang had done this.

After all, what any elder or disciple did—whether they lived or died—had nothing to do with him. Why should he care?

Even if someone actually went and harmed others or killed people for treasure, as long as it was handled cleanly and didn't tarnish the sect's reputation, nobody would step in. If it was botched, the sect master would just strip their cultivation and kick them out, and no one with half a brain would dare to talk.

Elders never stuck their noses into each other's business—that's how it'd been for thousands of years.

Seeing that the Immortal Venerable really seemed clueless about the details, Su Hang had no choice but to let it go. He shut his mouth and hurried to catch up.

They walked for nearly an hour. Su Hang kept glancing up, and sure enough, the moon hadn't budged—still hanging right ahead of them, glowing softly.

Everything around them felt dreamlike. For some reason, the village seemed bigger than before. The path leaving the village was longer than the one entering it. A few scattered houses on either side had candles flickering, and occasional whispers drifted over—maybe too far off for Su Hang to catch clearly.

But as they neared those lit, murmuring houses, the lights inside suddenly went out, plunging everything into dead silence, and the sounds vanished like they'd been a hallucination.

At last, Su Hang spotted a stretch of gold up ahead—the wheat field they'd seen when entering the village.

There was wind.

Su Hang took a deep breath, feeling his mind clear considerably.

The wind swept through the wheat field, releasing a faint scent of earth. Just as he was about to take another deep breath, Immortal Venerable Lingqing's voice suddenly cut through: "Stop walking."

Hearing this, Su Hang withdrew the step he had taken and peeked out from behind the Immortal Venerable, looking ahead.

Sure enough, under the endless moonlight, Elder Yang stood in a clearing before the wheat field, head bowed, staring at something.

Su Hang could vaguely make out that there seemed to be another person lying on the ground, silent and still.

==========Author's Note:==========

Thank you to all the dear readers who have followed along this far! I love you all so much!