The flying boat had traveled for only the time it took to drink a cup of tea when Ziming had already finished handling her affairs. She straightened her clothes, walked before Xiao Hua, and bowed. "Fellow Daoist Xiao, I concealed my identity from you. Please forgive me!"
Xiao Hua had originally wanted to study the things Master Ke Qin had left behind, but he could not open the brocade pouch. Knowing that Ziming must possess a technique involving soul sense, he had waited for her to speak. Seeing her so solemn now, he hurriedly rose as well and helped her up. "Ziye, you and I are merely two among the countless living beings. At first sight, we found each other kindred spirits and called one another confidants. You did not ask where I came from, and I did not wish to know your background. Whether you are in a male body or a female body, all I know is that you are the Ziye who walked through the snow with this Xiao in Xuntian City that day!"
Fairy Hongxia, standing nearby, let a faint, almost imperceptible smile rise at the corner of her lips.
"Good! This is exactly the openhearted sincerity I admire in you, Fellow Daoist!" Ziming's face brightened with delight as she laughed. "I had originally intended that once I returned to Houtu Village this time, I would never again use the identity of Ziye. But since there is a True Person Xiao in this world, why can there not be a Ziye as well? From now on, Ziye will appear only before True Person Xiao!"
"Good." Xiao Hua nodded. "What is false will always be false, and there will always come a day when it is exposed. Better to let truth return to truth and let falsehood