Pursuit of the Truth

“Drink.” The old man stopped and turned his head around to cast a glance at Su Ming while pointing at the lake.

“When the water in a lake does not move, it will reflect the sky. Drink this water, and you will feel as if you have swallowed a corner of the sky. This lake… will be named Sky Lake.”

As the old man spoke, he bent his back and extended his hand to scoop up a handful of the water in the lake. He brought it to his lips and drank it.

In silence, Su Ming shifted his gaze to the lake. He did not bend his back, however.

The old man lifted his head and looked at Su Ming.

“Why should I drink this water? Even if it reflects the sky, and even if I feel as if I’ve swallowed a corner of the sky after I drank its water, I’ll just be lying to myself,” Su Ming shook his head and said languidly.

“Lift your head and look into the sky in the distance,” the old man said calmly.

Su Ming lifted his head. At the instant he saw the sky, he narrowed his eyes. He saw that there was a small region in the distant sky that seemed… to have been devoured!

“I don’t know the lake’s original name, but since I passed by it and said that it is the sky, then it is the sky. When I drink the water in the lake and say that I’ve swallowed a corner of the sky… then I will have swallowed a corner of the sky.

“If you’re hung up on this, then you will be governed by karma,” the old man said faintly.

Su Ming fell silent. After a long while, he suddenly laughed. Why should he care about karma? Why should he care about where he was? Why should he seek an answer? As long as he continued walking forward, it was enough.

“Your disciple has learned his lesson.”

Su Ming wrapped his fist in his palm. Once he bent his back, he crouched down, brought his right hand up, and placed it in the water, but he did not scoop up the water. Instead, a dark glint shone in his eyes, and he gently patted the surface of the lake.

At the instant he did so, the water in the lake roared and tumbled about. Endless ripples spread out, causing the sky that was originally reflected on the surface to immediately shatter and disappear from view.

“Why did you do this?” The old man frowned.

“Master, you say that it’s the sky, and once you drink it, you would have swallowed the sky. I say that it’s not the sky, hence I don’t need to drink it.” Su Ming stood up and looked at the old man.

“You have quite the ambition.” A hint of praise that disappeared as soon as it showed up appeared in the old man’s eyes, but soon, his gaze grew fierce, and the tone of his voice changed.

“But your logic doesn’t work, and you’re a little too conceited. When I say that the lake is the sky, it’s because I gained the feeling of looking at the sky when I looked at the lake. That is why I went along with the will of heaven and said those words, and which is why I could swallow the sky, because that is what the will of heaven has depicted, and I just went along with it.

“But you… disturbed the lake as if you’ve disturbed destiny. Before long though, the lake will return to normal, and it will reflect the sky. To it, you are just a passerby.

“You are complacent. You laugh at the water, disturbing it, but the lake is also laughing at you. If you don’t believe me… then look at the lake when it is calm. You laugh at the calm water, but can you not see your own reflection? It is laughing at you,” the old man said calmly. His words were uttered slowly, and they seemed to contain Dao.

“I don’t believe in destiny.”

Su Ming did not turn his head back, but vapor rose from the lake the moment it was about to become calm once again. The vapor instantly turned into fog. It covered the surface of the lake, and after the span of around ten breaths, Su Ming swung his arm at the lake with his back still turned towards it.

Wind immediately blew across the area. Once it sent the fog away, there was nothing left of the lake; it had disappeared without a trace. Only the ugly mud in a deep pit could be seen. There were also countless fish, prawns, and all sorts of lives in it.

“Now, it is completely gone,” Su Ming said faintly.

The old man was silent. He cast a profound glance at Su Ming, then shook his head.

“The blood of the royal family in Ancient Zang is the strongest in the universe. This rumor is indeed real. Let’s go. We still have a long way ahead of us.” The old man turned around and no longer looked at the lake. He continued onward.