Soul Aspect

Qu Zhongheng glanced at Ding Songyan, his tone strange as he said:

"You don't know?"

"The day I went missing, I injured my head and forgot many things. I came to Doctor Shao today for a follow-up examination," Ding Songyan said candidly.

"No wonder it was such a coincidence." Qu Zhongheng suddenly understood and pointed at the eye set horizontally across his forehead. "This is a Yin Eye. It can only open at night. It can see the flow of the qi between Heaven and Earth, see wandering souls and wild ghosts drifting about. If one wishes to create mystical objects, one must use the Yin Eye deep at night."

"You can see wandering souls and wild ghosts?" Ding Songyan jumped in fright.

Wasn't this a martial arts world?

No, even snake demons existed. Ghostly beings appearing would be perfectly normal. I remember that Houtu's description included the line, "Rules the netherworld." The inheritance she left behind might even be able to restrain evil ghosts...

Qu Zhongheng smiled.

"What's there to fear? Wandering souls and wild ghosts possess neither intelligence nor supernatural abilities, and they are exceptionally weak. They cannot harm anyone at all. When they encounter even slightly vigorous yang qi, they melt away as swiftly as thin ice meeting fire. Even if no one pays them any mind, within three to five days, they will fall into the Nether Palace or scatter completely between Heaven and Earth."

"I see..." Ding Songyan wore an expression of immense relief.

Inwardly, he had already made up his mind never to seek out Qu Sanlang at night. Who knew whether the other man's Yin Eye could see that there was something wrong with his soul?

After a while, Doctor Shao sent an attendant to invite Ding Songyan to the second floor of the medical hall.

Inside a room hung with freehand landscape paintings, Doctor Shao sat cross-legged behind a brown wooden table carved with auspicious cloud patterns. Before him lay several old thread-bound books and a few sheets of letter paper.

He gestured for Ding Songyan to sit as well, then smiled and asked:

"Have you recalled any past events these past few days?"

"No," Ding Songyan answered honestly.

Doctor Shao's slightly white-rimmed eyes studied Ding Songyan for a moment.

"Let me examine you again. Give me your hand."

Ding Songyan thought he meant to take his pulse. But as soon as he extended his hand, he saw Doctor Shao take out a golden needle.

The soft golden needle abruptly straightened and pierced an acupoint on Ding Songyan's wrist.

A thread of cool air entered his body, racing swiftly along his meridians.

"What is this?" Ding Songyan asked, concerned yet curious.

Doctor Shao did not answer. He half-closed his eyes and quietly sensed something.

After a moment, he stroked his five long strands of beard, his face full of confusion.

"The soul and form match, the soul and form match..."

Doctor Shao's hand tugged harder and harder at his beard. Ding Songyan began worrying that he might suddenly rip out two strands.

At last, Doctor Shao withdrew the golden needle and began frantically flipping through the pile of thread-bound books, wholly ignoring Ding Songyan.

"What is it?" Ding Songyan could not help asking again.

Only then did Doctor Shao regain a little normalcy. Pointing at the letter paper beside his hand, he said:

"After I returned to the medical hall that day, I wrote a letter and sent it to my benefactor and master by carrier bird, asking for his guidance.

"His reply came quickly. He said that the sect's Lost Classic of the Medicine King mentioned a possibility: the soul and form might not match.

"I searched through all the medical texts and found some related material.

"If a person suffers excessive fright, the three souls and seven spirits may scatter. Some martial arts can achieve similar effects. When the soul returns to the body, a mismatch between soul and form may occur, causing the person to forget part of their past. In severe cases, if the soul is damaged while outside the body, the three souls will be incomplete and the seven spirits lacking. One will either become dull-witted and vacant-eyed, or remain bedridden, unable to rise.

"I thought I had found the cause of your soul-separation ailment. Who would have thought that your soul and form are compatible?"

Doctor Shao could not help tugging at his beard again.

"Oh... so the golden needle was?" Ding Songyan asked cautiously.

My soul and form actually match?

Doctor Shao answered casually:

"The golden needle examines the soul."

You should have said so earlier. If you had, I wouldn't have come... Ding Songyan felt a wave of lingering fear.

He had suffered from his own lack of knowledge.

Yet this also dispelled many of his worries. Even an examination of the soul could not uncover his problem.

After leaving Yannian Medical Hall, Ding Songyan saw that it was still early, so he returned to Dangkang Temple. He planned to listen to an hour or two of martial world lore and jianghu anecdotes before going home.

His original body had only been skilled at telling old tales, and the storybooks he left behind covered little of this subject. Still, it was not entirely absent. The martial world and the history of the imperial court were tightly intertwined, impossible to separate.

The moment Ding Songyan arrived at the patch of open ground that belonged to him, he saw someone standing beneath the shade of a tree.

It was Xu Chang'an, who had not come with the others today.

Xu Chang'an still wore a blue, narrow-sleeved straight robe, his hair tied with a strip of black cloth. He paced back and forth, looking deeply anxious.

Ding Songyan's first reaction was to turn around and leave, lest trouble come knocking. But Xu Chang'an had already spotted him and cried out joyfully:

"Second Brother Ding!"

"What is it?" Ding Songyan replied helplessly.

Xu Chang'an said worriedly:

"My master is missing!"

Missing? Ding Songyan's heart jolted.

The last time he had heard that someone was missing had been when the previous owner of this body vanished.

Xu Chang'an quickly said:

"I went to Master's place yesterday for my assessment, but he was not there at all. He had not told us beforehand, either. I went to look for him again today, and he was still gone. He did not even leave behind any secret marks...

"Second Brother Ding, do you think something might have happened?"

He had originally believed Ding Erlang was, like himself, rather timid and cowardly. That was why they had gotten along in the past: neither could look down on the other. It definitely was not because the Ding family's younger sister was beautiful as a celestial maiden. Yet over the past two days, he had noticed that Ding Erlang had somehow become sharp-eyed and quick-witted, with outstanding judgment. Now, whenever anything happened, he instinctively wanted Ding Songyan to come up with an idea.

"He was already gone yesterday..." As Ding Songyan pondered, a strange thought surfaced in his mind. He asked in a low voice, "Did your master have any dealings with me?"

Xu Chang'an looked utterly baffled.

"You two got along quite well. At noon several days ago, my master even invited you to his courtyard for wine and meat."

"How many days ago was several days ago?" Ding Songyan pressed.

"You don't remember it yourself, yet you ask me?" Xu Chang'an thought back. "Seven or eight days, perhaps."

Ding Songyan narrowed his eyes.

"I truly do not remember, because I also went 'missing' several days ago. Later, I was found, but I forgot many things."

He stressed the word "missing."

Xu Chang'an shuddered in alarm.

"You went missing too?

"Was it that day? I even asked you about it, but you never answered me."

Could the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas from the previous owner's body have come from Xu Chang'an's master? Had Xu Chang'an's master stolen it from somewhere? Hiss—if that was truly the case, then Xu Chang'an's master was blackhearted indeed. As an old thief of many years, how could he not know several people who specialized in fencing stolen goods? From the very beginning, he might have intended to use the previous owner as a scapegoat... Had he fled to the ends of the earth, or had he met with misfortune just as the previous owner did? Ding Songyan's thoughts raced as he said to Xu Chang'an:

"Take me to your master's courtyard."

"Alright!" The terrified Xu Chang'an seemed to have found a pillar to lean on.

He completely forgot that Second Brother Ding was not even as good a fighter as he was.

Ding Songyan had only followed Xu Chang'an a few steps when he abruptly stopped.

"Go to North Water Street first. No, the docks," he said to Xu Chang'an.

"Why?" Xu Chang'an did not understand.

Use your brain... Ding Songyan sighed and said:

"If we run into danger, will you step up and fight them, or will I?"

"We're still inside the city. It shouldn't come to that..." Xu Chang'an raised his head and glanced at the tallest watchtower.

Ding Songyan could not be bothered to respond. He pointed at the brown-tiled roof of Dangkang Temple and headed toward the docks.

Right. If danger awaited them inside Master's house, the guards on the watchtower would not be able to spot it... Xu Chang'an's heart tightened as he hurried after him.

The docks lay outside the city gate nearest Dangkang Temple. The river here was broad, and ships of every size were moored there: tower ships, pleasure boats, long-route ships, centipede ships, and all manner of others.

Waterwheels positioned along the tributaries drove mechanisms that hoisted heavy cargo from the ships and set it before the nearby warehouses. Porters carried loads on their backs, shoulders, or wooden carts, moving different crates and hemp sacks.

Ding Songyan swept his gaze around casually. He saw tower ships clustered like clouds, and in the middle of the river, he saw a sizable river islet thick with trees and piled with jagged rocks.

While searching for Ding Daniu, he caught sight of two people seated at the bow of a tower ship, playing chess. They were too far away for him to make out the style of their clothes, only that both wore black. One was an elderly man with white hair and beard; the other wore a veiled black hat, making their gender impossible to discern.

"Wearing a veiled hat even while playing chess? Have they renounced the world and its customs, or is there something strange about their face or head that others cannot see?" Ding Songyan muttered before walking toward the area where the porters were gathered.

He casually asked Xu Chang'an:

"Is that Wangtianmen Island?"

Qu Sanlang's mother had died while taking a wooden kite carriage to that island.

"Yes." Xu Chang'an already knew that Second Brother Ding had forgotten many things.

"Why is it called Wangtianmen?" Ding Songyan did not hide his curiosity.

Xu Chang'an recalled:

"They say that after Emperor Zhuanxu severed the link between Earth and Heaven, only a few places in the Great Wilderness could still see sights of the Heavenly Realm. This was one of them, hence the name 'Wangtianmen.' Later, from some dynasty onward, it could no longer be seen here either."

Emperor Zhuanxu had quite the overwhelming presence in the myths of this Great Wilderness... Ding Songyan remarked inwardly.

Before long, he found Ding Daniu, who stood over nine chi tall and was conspicuous wherever he went.

With several hemp sacks on his back, Ding Daniu walked steadily and effortlessly toward a donkey cart nearby.

"Big Brother!" Ding Songyan called out only after Ding Daniu set down the goods and wiped his face with the rough cloth hanging around his neck.

Ding Daniu came over happily.

"Erlang, you were looking for me?"

Ding Songyan nodded.

"I'm going somewhere and am worried there may be some danger. I'd like to ask you to come along and look after me."

"Alright." Without another word, Ding Daniu went straight to the foreman. His voice rumbled like thunder. "My Erlang needs my help. My mother also told me to look after Erlang. I have to leave early today."

His eyes shone brightly, and his face was full of anticipation, as though he were waiting for the foreman to refuse.

That way, he could reasonably make a move without worrying that Mother would get angry.

The foreman was a bearded middle-aged man. The moment he caught Ding Daniu's gaze, he shivered violently.

"Go, go," he answered at once.

Somewhat disappointed, Ding Daniu followed Ding Songyan and Xu Chang'an away from the docks.

Autumn Water Alley, before a courtyard.

Xu Chang'an skillfully used half a length of iron wire to unlock his master's front gate.

Not only was this courtyard much more spacious than the Ding family's, it also had a full five rooms. The three searched slowly for a while but found no trace of anything suspicious. They did turn up quite a few other things, however.

"So much silver?" Xu Chang'an stared at the five or six silver ingots, more than a dozen small silver nuggets, and much loose silver he had found inside a hidden compartment. He was so shocked that he nearly forgot his master was missing.

He had not fled to the ends of the earth... Ding Songyan's eyes narrowed at once.

Who would flee to the ends of the earth while leaving behind most of their fortune?