"Jade Maiden"

Ding Songyan earnestly reminded Lay Buddhist Little Zhang:

"Unlike the ' Devil Lord ' or the ' Evil Immortal,' Hero Ou will stay in Flame Capital for a long time. You can't hide away for a short period of time to avoid it. Unless you really enjoy a life where you only have indirect contact with everyone and are willing to continue indefinitely, you still have to write."

"I understand." Zhang Qiang's smile vanished, highlighting the extreme paleness in his face.

After making those two remarks, Ding Songyan smiled amicably and said:

How much Silver Coins is needed for information about the Ghost-Wyrm Path?

Lay Buddhist Little Zhang tentatively said:

How about two hundred taels?

"Very fair, you get what you pay for." Ding Songyan took out two hundred-tael silver notes from his pocket and handed them over.

Upon receiving the Silver Coins, Lay Buddhist Little Zhang became even more certain that he had not misheard the other party's implied meaning.

This person wasn't stingy or unwilling to spend Silver Coins; he wasn't using Ou Luwen's affair to threaten him, but rather using that as a pretext to give him a warning.

"Unlike the ' Devil Lord ' and the ' Evil Immortal,' I will remain in Flame Capital. If you intend to conceal your identity and betray me, revealing my information to the Accumulated Evil Path, then while I may Deathlessness live, you certainly will not. I will patiently wait for you to appear, just like today. Even if no one reveals your hiding place, I will still come to you." The Lay Buddhist Little Zhang, dressed in a wide robe, stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and pulled out a few sheets of paper.

"The people of the Ghost-Wyrm Path used to frequent the three streets of East Town, Huaiyuan, and Shuning, as well as the nearby alleys. I asked a friend in Heaven-Bearing Prefecture to check the records of various cases from that period, and we found some clues." Lay Buddhist Little Zhang Jushi handed the papers in his hand to Ding Songyan. "Several households felt that someone had broken into their homes at night, but they found nothing. Also, two people were inexplicably killed, without any grudges or debts."

The three streets of East Town, Huaiyuan, Shuning are located at the junction of the South City and East City the city.

Ding Songyan took the papers, flipped through them, and found that they were portraits.

The people in the portraits all look different, but they also have certain similarities: thin and slightly pointed heads, small eyes with round pupils, and slightly upturned nostrils. At first glance, they look like turtle spirits.

The image of the "Yu" quickly flashed through Ding Songyan's mind:

"The Yu resembles a turtle but has three legs, and its mouth has horizontal flesh."

Lay Buddhist Little Zhang sat back down in his chair.

"Both of the mysteriously murdered individuals had some resemblance to turtles in appearance, and the households that were infiltrated also had people with similar appearances."

"I suspect the Ghost-Wyrm Path is looking for someone with this appearance. The deceased was murdered after witnessing Ghost-Wyrm Path investigator, and this person looks very much like one of the Ghost-Wyrm Path's own disciples."

"Traitor?" Ding Songyan asked thoughtfully, then asked Body-Splitting Path, "Traitor Zhang Qiang."

"That must be it. I've been searched like that before, otherwise I wouldn't be stuck in Flame Capital, afraid to leave." Lay Buddhist Little Zhang didn't feel offended at all. Flame Capital has many righteous Celestial Person all year round, and there are countless powerful Martial Grandmaster. Outer Dao people are still quite cautious here and only dare to do things in secret.

The assassin who betrayed the Ghost-Wyrm Path... Ding Songyan pondered for a moment and said:

"Layman, could you please help me find that Traitor from the Ghost-Wyrm Path? The price is negotiable."

"Okay." Lay Buddhist Little Zhang didn't give a direct quote.

Finding a missing person is unpredictable. You might bump into them around the corner, or it might take a lot of manpower and several days, months, or even years to find a clue. Obviously, the prices for these two situations are not comparable.

Ding Songyan withdrew his hand from stroking Feifei's fur, picked up the Cold Shadow Sword, stood up, and walked out of the Study.

Seeing his figure disappear through the doorway, Zhang Qiang and the little Feifei both quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the corridor outside, Ding Songyan suddenly noticed Double Pupils in his eyes.

What he had previously developed was not the "Illuminating the Long Night Scripture," but the "Mirror Lake Divine Mirror," which had been listening to the inner thoughts of Lay Buddhist Little Zhang. Whenever the other party harbored resentment, revenge, or insatiable greed, he would immediately draw his sword, seize the person, imprison them in a certain place, and then find out the informant methods that Zhang Qiang had set up for his own potential harm, and destroy them one by one.

Better safe than sorry.

Ding Songyan were a subtle warning to Lay Buddhist Little Zhang, also intended to draw the other's attention to these matters and not to focus too much on his eyes.

He stroked Feifei's fur for a similar purpose, creating a relaxed and languid posture, in which half-open eyes would be quite normal. However, even if Lay Buddhist Little Zhang noticed that today's visitor no longer had Double Pupils, Ding Songyan wasn't too concerned. In Lay Buddhist Little Zhang's mind, he was already a mysterious and unpredictable master of unknown strength, so being a little more mysterious wouldn't matter.

In the afternoon, at Cheap Wine Shop.

Ding Songyan saw from afar that there were only two tables of guests left, and Twelfth Madam Luo was nowhere to be seen, so he lowered his head slightly and pressed his face.

Beneath his palm, his face quickly took on Bird Form, with several white patterns appearing on his neck, behind his ears, and cheekbones. His eyes became unusually deep, as if they held a mirror-like lake within them.

These anomalies disappeared in the blink of an eye.

As soon as Ding Songyan stepped into the Wine Shop, the waiter Yu Qilang said with a smile:

"The Manager is in the Rear Courtyard."

"I need to speak with Chef Shi." Ding Songyan ignored Yu Qilang's inner turmoil and went outside the kitchen.

He pointed to the table in the corner and said to Shi Wuyan, who was looking at him from the side:

"Shall we chat for a bit?"

Shi Wuyan silently followed Ding Songyan to a corner and sat down. Ding Songyan and said:

"Twelfth Madam was annoyed by the harassment from idle men, so she specifically asked me to act as a pretext to put on these few plays."

Shi Wuyan suddenly raised her head and looked into Ding Songyan's eyes.

Ding Songyan sat in the glaring sunlight, causing him to squint, and smiled slightly:

"What I told you before was from the bottom of my heart. I already have someone I love, and if it weren't for my gratitude to Twelfth Madam for her help, I would never have sacrificed my reputation to help her."

Before Shi Wuyan speak, Ding Songyan pondered for a moment and said:

"I wanted to explain to you yesterday, but Twelfth Madam, 'Let you misunderstand.' I think you should understand her meaning and attitude. Don't let yourself become one of those unpleasant idlers."

Shi Wuyan remained silent for a long time before saying:

I never expected Twelfth Madam to treat me differently.

"I only hope that Twelfth Madam can continue to enjoy every little thing in ordinary times, just like she always has."

After saying that, the cook stood up and went back to the kitchen.

Aren't you from some Outer Dao sect? You're actually a pure love enthusiast, admiring, secretly loving, protecting, and never regretting—tsk tsk... You're clearly feeling incredibly jealous, yet you want to warn me not to let Twelfth Madam down... Is Twelfth Madam really that charming? Ding Songyan raised his hand to rub his face, and Double Pupils reappeared in his eyes. He came to eliminate potential threats, but ended up watching this romance drama.

If Shi Wuyan, misunderstanding his relationship with Twelfth Madam Luo, wanted to secretly sell the information about who Golden Boy was to Accumulated Evil Path in order to take revenge on him, then he would obtain Twelfth Madam Luo's consent to make the cook disappear completely.

After confirming the situation, Ding Songyan ate his belated lunch at Cheap Wine Shop, and then went to the Rear Courtyard to greet Twelfth Madam Luo.

Twelfth Madam Luo was numb to it all and couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to him.

Afterwards, Ding Songyan returned to the Side Courtyard of the Prince's Residence to practice martial arts and write books, which he found quite pleasant.

As evening approached, Fan Chunlin and the others hurried back, their expressions showing excitement and barely concealing their joy.

"What is it now?" Ding Songyan put away his Cold Shadow and asked sharply.

Fan Chunlin said in a high-spirited tone:

"A little over an hour ago, Huo Minglou, the ' Pure Altar Dragon King ' of the Returning Ruins Sect, was murdered on a pleasure boat on Golden Pool Lake!"

This is the thirteenth ranked Heterodox Path sorcerer in the "Evil-God Hell".

The Martial Grandmaster of the Returning Ruins Sect was killed? Ding Songyan frowned slightly, a bad feeling creeping over him.

Wu Mo excitedly added, "The murderer was a woman; those by the lake saw her wearing a mask made up of a Jade Maiden Mask!"

Ding Songyan's expression froze for a moment, and he seemed to stiffen up.

Jade Maiden Mask?

A jade-colored Jade Maiden Mask with Peach Blossom Red Makeup?

Li Baima sighed with heartfelt emotion:

"It is said that Huo Minglou did not last five moves, and the woman wearing the Jade Maiden Mask was of unknown origin, yet she was so terrifying."

"Such a master should not have remained unknown before."

Ding Songyan's lips twitched, but he didn't speak.

Fan Chunlin said with a wistful expression:

"She and that person with the Golden Boy Mask who kills ' Evil Through and Through ' must be a divine couple, a pair of immortals who specialize in slaying Outer Dao."

"If I could travel the world with such a chivalrous woman in the future, I would die happy," Li Baima expressed his envy.

"A perfect match, a golden couple! They're so well-suited!" Wu Mo exclaimed. They were both young martial artists; how could they not be incredibly excited and yearn for something that not only eradicated evil forces but also possessed a legendary quality?

Ding Songyan's expression had returned to normal, but inwardly he was gritting his teeth:

Okay, okay, is this how you play it?

She truly is my dear sister!

He gritted his teeth, but then relaxed a little.

The fact that Qingyan didn't come over directly to reprimand her, but instead chose this method, shows that she didn't take her previous little tricks to heart.

He wondered how much information she had gathered, and how she had obtained it... Ding Songyan's mind raced, and he smiled as he said to Li Baima and the others:

"I'll go out and find out more details."

Cheap Wine Shop in the Rear Courtyard.

Ding Songyan looked at Luo Mingyin, who was sitting on the floor drinking tea in the Main Room, and asked with a smile:

"Twelfth Madam, do you have someone you want to teach a lesson to?" Twelfth Madam Luo glanced at Ding Songyan but didn't speak.

Her meaning was crystal clear:

Aren't you one?

Ding Songyan coughed lightly:

"Besides me, who else?"

"What are you doing in such a hurry?" Twelfth Madam Luo asked with a smile. "I heard that a ' Jade Maiden ' appeared today. What is her relationship with you, ' Golden Boy '? Your two Facial Mask are still in the East Wing Room; no one has taken them."

"That's my enemy. I offended her before, but now I can't beat her, so I have to hide in the Prince's Prince's Residence. I killed Sun Feiyang wearing the Golden Boy Mask before, and today she's using the Jade Maiden Mask to frame me," Ding Songyan explained vaguely.

Twelfth Madam Luo thought about it carefully and said:

"What did she do to frame you?"

"To mislead the world into thinking we're a couple, ruining my reputation!" Ding Songyan replied without hesitation. "Besides, she's planning to kill members of the Returning Ruins Sect anyway. Wearing the Jade Maiden Mask can mislead the Martial Prohibition Bureau, Heaven-Bearing Prefecture, and the Outer Dao, causing them to connect this matter with my killing of Sun Feiyang and lead them astray."

"A debt of love? "Twelfth Madam Luo's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Then what do you want to do?" Ding Songyan asked in a low voice.

"Stir up the waters and bring out a few more ' Jade Maiden '."