An act

Chapter Forty-Seven Play

Ding Songyan slowly turned his head and saw a face that could be both happy and angry, appearing and disappearing in the deep night, captivating and mesmerizing.

Ji Hanyi had somehow gotten into his bed, less than two fists' width away from him, his breath audible and his warmth palpable.

And he hadn't noticed anything at all... Is the initial Celestial-Human Realm really that much stronger than the Perfected Law Realm? Or is it that only Great Grandmaster of the Hundun Technique can achieve this level? Or perhaps, Sister Qingyan has developed some extraordinary skill or technique? Ding Songyan instantly felt a strong sense of suffocation.

He suddenly sighed and said earnestly:

"Little Sister, you've come of age, how can you just lie in bed with any man? Not even your second brother."

Taking advantage of this, Ding Songyan threw off the covers, calmly got out of bed, picked up his clothes, and put them on.

Ji Hanyi simply lay on her side watching, her beautiful eyes smiling, and did not stop her.

After Ding Songyan finished dressing, she sat up, wrapped herself tightly in the quilt, leaving only her beautiful head exposed. Her black hair was loose, her face was delicate and pretty, and she looked a little aggrieved and fragile.

Ding Songyan felt a surge of heat and couldn't help but raise his head, avoiding looking directly at the source.

This vixen—no, my sister—is too skilled!

Has he already mastered the World-Enchanting Charm?

Before Ji Hanyi could speak, Ding Songyan spoke up:

"Little Sister, there's something I want to ask you."

What "done great thing"? I didn't hear that!

Don't answer difficult questions unless pressed for an answer.

The ancients demonstrated this point long ago: the king looked around and spoke of other things!

Ji Hanyi remained seated, wrapped in the blanket, which made her face appear exceptionally small.

Her eyes sparkled as she smiled:

"It's rare that you want to ask me, Second Brother. Go ahead and ask."

Ding Songyan recounted the story of Mister Wei, Fu Yangquan, and the "Demon Seed" Two-Faced Clan, and concluded by saying:

"Little Sister, is this your work?"

Ji Hanyi shook her head lightly:

"No."

She immediately revealed a slightly shrewd smile:

"It was only after you mentioned it, Second Brother, that I learned about the ' Demon Seed '."

"It turns out that Qin Guanchan had this trick up his sleeve."

"Thank you for informing me, Second Brother~"

Her voice trailed off, revealing a touch of gentleness and playfulness.

Huh? Ding Songyan was stunned.

So, Little Sister doesn't know about "Demon Seed"...

She acted so intimidatingly before that I had the illusion that she knew everything.

This crucial intelligence was sent out just like that, without getting anything in return...

Forget it, we're family, siblings have a deep bond, no need to make a fuss.

"If it wasn't your doing? Then who could be trying to trip up the ' Devil Lord '... Jiang Weichen?" Ding Songyan resisted the temptation of her beauty, staring intently into Ji Hanyi's eyes to see how she would react to the name Jiang Weichen.

Ji Hanyi smiled slightly, her beautiful eyes flickering:

Who is Jiang Weichen?

Is my sister acting, or is it her true feeling? I can't tell, her expression is so natural... If she really doesn't know, does that mean it wasn't Jiang Weichen who helped her escape Dingjiang Prefecture through the Netherworld Grounds? Otherwise, even if she didn't know him at the time, she would have tried her best to investigate afterwards... Ding Songyan couldn't see through Ji Hanyi, and wanted to use the "Mirror Lake Divine Mirror" to eavesdrop on her thoughts, but he also knew that it couldn't penetrate the Nether Darkness Hundun that sealed her Sea of Consciousness, and what he could hear would only be what his dear Little Sister wanted him to hear.

He hesitated for a moment and said:

Before the Master Yan was killed by the Netherworld Lightning, he mentioned the surname "Jiang," but before he could finish speaking, he was tragically silenced.

"I later asked around and found that the only person with the surname Jiang who has achieved great things in the past thousand years and might still be alive is Jiang Weichen, who was active during the late Wei and early Zhao periods. I suspect that the Celestial Emperor's Palace and other events are related to this person, hence this question."

"Jiang Weichen..." Ji Hanyi repeated the name.

She suddenly smiled sweetly, making the deep night seem to brighten slightly:

"Second brother, you always surprise me. I didn't know there was such a person."

"You really don't know? Am I trying to extract information from you, or are you subtly leading me to reveal important news without my knowledge...?" Ding Songyan felt a pang of pain in his teeth and said in a defiant tone, "What the hell?"

"I thought the person who helped you leave Dingjiang Prefecture from the Netherworld Grounds was Jiang Weichen."

"It's not him." Ji Hanyi shook her head with a smile.

He didn't deny that he escaped Dingjiang Prefecture by using the Netherworld Grounds... Ding Songyan asked thoughtfully:

Who is that?

"Yes..." Ji Hanyi suddenly paused, then said with a smile, "I'll tell you more later, Second Little Sister, once you've performed well enough for Little Sister."

"Alright then," Ding Songyan magnanimously.

He had to be magnanimous.

Moreover, he always knew when to be persistent and when to be shameless.

He took this opportunity to ask:

"Little Sister, did the ' Xiaoming Great Art ' not fall into the hands of the Accumulated Evil Path? When I Spirit Walking Through the Netherworld, Sun Feiyang knew nothing about this technique, but his practice notes did record many problems with the ' Celestial Stars Scripture ' and the ' Illuminating the Long Night Scripture '."

Ji Hanyi, wrapped in the blanket, smiled and said:

"The ' Xiaoming Great Art ' is in the hands of the Accumulated Evil Path, but apart from Qin Guanchan who studies it, Sun Feiyang and his ilk have never thought of looking at it. As far as they are concerned, this skill has no lineage in the martial arts world, and they will certainly not encounter it when they go out to do evil, so why waste time on useless things?"

"Yes, I vaguely remember that several Transmission Elder of the Xiaoming Sect escaped the pursuit and hid in the Three Kingdoms Gan, Yu, and Feng, leaving behind their respective lineages. More than two hundred years have passed, and some of them have disappeared, while others are still here."

At this point, Ji Hanyi raised her chin like a young girl:

"I won't tell you the clues so you can use them to curry favor with your Senior Sister Zheng Brother."

"My main focus is on developing the ' Celestial Stars Scripture ' and the ' Illuminating the Long Night Scripture.' If I can learn the ' Xiaoming Great Art,' my strength will definitely reach a higher level," Ding Songyan argued.

Ji Hanyi glared at Ding Songyan:

"Look at you, you just won't deny that you want to please your Senior Sister Zheng."

This is only our second face-to-face conversation, and my sister has already figured out my tactics? Isn't that a bit too fast...? As expected of the Sage-Slaying Path Sect Master. It's a pity that my style of doing things has changed quite a bit, otherwise my Dao and Virtue bottom line could be even lower, and there would be things I can't say... Ding Songyan didn't know how to respond to Qingyan's words for a moment.

Ji Hanyi sized him up twice, then said with a smile:

"Second brother, you're even more Little Sister than I anticipated. When you killed Sun Feiyang, you deliberately made the servants only see the Golden Boy Mask, making it difficult to determine whether it was a man or a woman. Were you waiting for me to wear the Jade Maiden Mask to kill him, so you could shift all the suspicion onto me? Tonight, you attacked Hu Chaohui of the Treading the Sea Gang while disguised as a man and wearing the Jade Maiden Mask, was that to hint at the connection between the two to the Martial Prohibition Bureau?"

"It was a complete accident," Ding Songyan said honestly. "I only let the servants see the Golden Boy mask because I didn't want them to know what I was wearing that day, lest someone on the watchtower with a photographic memory recall someone wearing similar clothes passing by before, and mislead them into thinking it was a woman wearing the Golden Boy mask. I never imagined you would be paired with the Golden Boy and Jade Girl."

"Didn't expect I'd end up with a perfect couple?" Ji Hanyi's expression suddenly dawned on her. "Then your eagerness to create a male 'jade couple' today seems to be an attempt to muddy the waters."

At this point, the delicate and beautiful woman's lips curved into a smiling smile:

"Is this because you're afraid your Senior Sister Zheng will misunderstand?"

Good grief, they were waiting for me here? Ding Songyan was completely stunned.

If he had known this would happen, he would have simply admitted that he was cunning and wanted to trick the Little Sister.

Ding Songyan decided to be more flexible with his bottom line, and he chuckled as he said:

"I go to cheap taverns every day, and I'm not afraid that my senior sister will misunderstand me and Luo Shierniang, so why should I worry about this vague talk of a golden boy and jade girl?"

"That's true, you've practically made that Wine Shop your home." Ji Hanyi nodded slightly, teasing with a smile, "I didn't expect that you, Second Brother, would like someone mature, charming, and a little feisty."

She suddenly laughed:

"No, you like someone like your Senior Sister Zheng, and you also like Su Qingli is younger, more lively, and romantic."

"I'm just a lecherous man." Ding Songyan didn't hesitate to smear himself.

"But I haven't seen you go to Brothels." Ji Hanyi tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling as she looked into Ding Songyan's eyes.

You know so much... Although Ding Songyan usually uses his "Candle Eyes and Star Pupils" to observe his surroundings and look for people of the Two-Faced Clan and those with the Heavenly Heart Imprint or "Moth Species," and he also checks the people coming and going in the vicinity before going to the Cheap Wine Shop, he knows that this may not be enough to prevent Qingyan from spying on him:

The Heavenly Heart Imprint combined with "Moth Species" can turn any passing dog into a "Mothman".

Ding Songyan calmly responded to his sister:

"Having seen so many renowned figures of Rivers and Lakes Beauty Register like you, Little Sister, ordinary women no longer catch my eye."

Ji Hanyi smiled gently:

"Second Brother, what you say is even better than your singing."

She stretched out a delicate, white hand from under the tightly wrapped blankets and gently patted the bed, saying:

"Sit here, sit here."

Ding Songyan walked over slowly, smiling as he said:

"It's late now. Shouldn't I tell Little Sister a story so you can rest in peace?"

"It's a good thing you still remember, Second Brother." Ji Hanyi's eyebrows curved slightly, and he said in a light tone, "Go on, tell me."

Ding Songyan pulled out the unfinished storybook, sat on the edge of the bed, and began to tell the story of Cao E, Spirit-Communicating Precious Jade, and his journey westward to find the missing Kunlun.

Ji Hanyi rested her chin on her knees, which were covered by the blanket, and listened attentively with a gentle expression.

After Ding Songyan finished telling the story, she insisted on hearing the second and third times.

Ding Songyan always refused verbally first, but after Qingyan pleaded a few times, he would pick up the stack of papers with a seemingly helpless expression.

Before they knew it, it was past Fourth Watch, and the sound of gongs grew louder as they approached.

"It's late, you should go to sleep," Ding Songyan said in the tone of his second brother.

"Okay," Ji Hanyi agreed reluctantly.

Suddenly, the stunningly beautiful woman straightened her back, looked at Ding Songyan with clear eyes, and asked with a curious expression:

"Second Brother, will the Spirit-Communicating Precious Jade ultimately choose the Tree Demon Xiaoqian, the Jade Pool Crimson Grass, or Princess Iron Fan?"

Ding Songyan froze instantly.

His gaze swept across his sister's face, and he noticed that a half-smile had crept onto her otherwise "Unstained Green Lotus" lips.