"Look at your hair—it's turned white."
Bai Ling covered her mouth and giggled. The brightness in her eyes made that strange feeling inside Su Ming grow even stronger.
"Don't talk about me. Your hair's turned white too. You've become an old woman." Su Ming pointed at Bai Ling and laughed.
As they chatted, they seemed to grow more familiar with each other. On that snowy night, Su Ming felt a wonderful warmth rising within him, body and soul. Time seemed to fly; before he knew it, the sky in the distance had begun to turn white.
It wasn't snow. It was the first light of dawn.
And so the night passed. When daylight spread across the land and snowflakes still drifted down, Su Ming and Bai Ling climbed down from the tree. After washing up, they smiled at each other.
Su Ming said nothing more. He crouched down, and Bai Ling came over with a light step, her big eyes blinking as she climbed onto his frail back again. A feeling of warmth quietly took root in her heart.
The closer Su Ming drew to the Black Dragon Tribe, the more strange thoughts stirred within him, as if he couldn't bear to part. Gradually, he fell silent. His steps slowed despite himself, and he began circling around again.
Though Bai Ling rode on Su Ming's back and, just as the day before, saw many familiar sights, she knew he was going in circles again. This time, however, she didn't say a word. She rested her head against his back and listened to his heartbeat.
All feasts must end... When the sun hung high and the day once more sank into dusk, snow still fell from the sky, but the outline of the Black Dragon Tribe appeared before Su Ming.
Looking at the tribe, Su Ming set Bai Ling down and smiled.
"You're home."
Bai Ling glanced at the tribe, then looked at Su Ming. Her beautiful face gave nothing away. She silently nodded, stepped in front of him, and gently brushed the snow from his clothes with her pale hand.
"Thank you... Go back to your tribe soon..." Bai Ling opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but the words never came. Instead, she smiled beautifully, stepped back, and headed toward her tribe.
Su Ming stood there, watching Bai Ling's figure slowly recede, watching her lovely silhouette turn back now and then to wave at him. His mind went blank.
As the distance between them grew, the falling snow seemed to become an invisible barrier, fracturing his gaze into pieces. Slowly, it covered her retreating figure. It was like walking across a sheet of ice: if you never returned, you would never see the ice melt. It was like walking through the years: if you never looked back, you would never hear who was sighing in those passing days.
After a long while, Su Ming shook his head, glanced once more at the Black Dragon Tribe, and turned to leave. Snow had kept him company on the way there, and it did so again on the way back.
Snowflakes settled on his clothes and hair, yet Su Ming felt as if something were missing.
Is it love...? Su Ming ran through the forest toward the Wu Mountain Tribe. His brow furrowed the whole way, and Bai Ling's face kept appearing in his mind.
"It doesn't feel the same as being with Chen Xin..." Su Ming took a deep breath and shook his head hard, as if trying to banish this strange feeling he had never known before. Once he had steadied himself, his eyes flashed, and he sped up again.
Under the black night sky, stars glittered as moonlight spilled down. Snow that had fallen for an entire day and night drifted endlessly through the air as Su Ming returned to his home, the Wu Mountain Tribe.
He had taken a distant look the day before and had roughly determined that the tribe was safe. Now, upon returning, he saw tribesmen keeping watch outside the great wooden gate.
The tribe was quiet. The bonfire at its center still blazed, crackling. Su Ming walked through the tribe, looking around, and eventually stopped outside Grandpa's house.
Firelight still spilled from Grandpa's house. He was clearly still awake.
"Is that you, Su Ming? Come in." Grandpa's voice came from within, touched with weariness.
Su Ming gently lifted the hide curtain and went inside. He saw Grandpa sitting cross-legged, his grizzled hair slightly disheveled.
"Grandpa," Su Ming said softly as he sat down nearby.
"The tribe is fine. Don't worry." Grandpa smiled at Su Ming and motioned for him to sit at his side. Then he raised his withered right hand, patted Su Ming's head a few times, and smiled even more broadly.
"You've actually reached the third layer. Not bad!"
Su Ming looked at Grandpa and slowly recounted everything he had seen in the cavern, especially the skeleton. He clearly saw Grandpa's expression tighten at its mention.
"O Vast Heaven above, why do you alone weep...? Grandpa, what does this mean?" Su Ming asked, frowning.
"So the legend was true..." Grandpa gazed at the hide curtain, his eyes seeming to pierce through it and see Mount Wu beyond.
"The words are likely a question to oneself: compared with the boundless heavens, what sorrow could I possibly have...? Or perhaps they hold some other meaning..." Grandpa sighed softly. Whatever he was thinking, his words carried the weight of years as he spoke slowly.
"As for the words about worshipping fire, Grandpa doesn't really understand them either. The fact that you could see them may be a blessing meant for you." Grandpa withdrew his gaze and looked at Su Ming kindly.
"In a month, Grandpa will go to the Fengzhen Tribe. If you're away from the tribe then, remember to come back."
"Also, Grandpa, I rescued someone from the Black Dragon Tribe in Moon Wing's nest. Her name is Bai Ling, and she's the granddaughter of the Barbarian Duke of the Black Dragon Tribe." Su Ming nodded, then seemed to remember something and continued.
"Bai Ling?" Grandpa was startled. After pondering for a long while, he told Su Ming to go back and rest. Once Su Ming had left, a trace of remembrance appeared in Grandpa's eyes.
"Lesu... Your granddaughter was accidentally rescued by my Lasu... Perhaps this will lessen your hatred of me..." Grandpa sighed softly, the remembrance in his eyes growing stronger.
"The Blood Moon came early... And that powerful aura of blood qi that suddenly came from the Black Mountain Tribe in the night... Disaster is brewing..." Grandpa closed his eyes and murmured, worry in his voice.
Su Ming left Grandpa's house and walked through the tribe. He didn't return to his own hide tent, but went to Lei Chen's home instead. Seeing that Lei Chen had only suffered a few injuries and was still full of life, Su Ming personally applied some medicine to him before finally feeling at ease.
Lei Chen was delighted to see Su Ming too. He thumped his chest and bragged about every moment of his battle with Moon Wing, spittle flying everywhere. He went on for a long time before Su Ming finally laughed and left.
It was already the middle of the night. But when Su Ming's gaze fell on a hide tent lit by firelight not far away, hesitation crossed his face.
That was Scout Leader's home. It was also Bei Ling's home.
In these two chapters, Er Gen tried to do some things differently from Renegade Immortal. Perhaps you can feel it. I don't know how well I wrote it, but I racked my brains to write this first love, trying to recall my own first love...
Unfortunately, it was more than ten years ago, and the memory had grown hazy... Actually, I think an author is sometimes an actor, sometimes a director, and even more often a screenwriter, shifting between those roles in a few short lines.
Whether actors or directors, I think they always remember the things in life, the moments in the passing years, that moved them. Whether sorrow or joy, these memories are precious. They keep people from growing hollow and let them immerse themselves in a performance, no matter the era, until it feels real.
Authors are the same. They remember the moving moments of their lives, weave them into words, and write them down. I searched for a long time but couldn't find the feeling of my first love beneath the moonlight all those years ago, so... I did something rather bold. Ahem, I won't say more about that. It was all for the sake of writing, anyway...
Finally, seeing how hard Er Gen has worked, shouldn't you cast a recommendation vote to show your support?
Before you continue