No Such Person

Xiaoqing wore a crimson fitted outfit tonight, adding a few strokes of dashing valor to her delicate charm.

Not long ago, she had apparently disguised herself as one of those female martial artists commonly seen in streets and markets, so she could secretly observe whether anyone was following Ding Songyan.

Hearing Ding Songyan's question, she concentrated and thought back for a while.

"Never heard of him."

So he had indeed given a false name... Ding Songyan was not surprised in the least.

When traveling abroad and swindling people left and right, how could one use one's real name?

After a brief ponder, he said,

"Over the past few years or decade or so, has any important figure suddenly vanished?"

"An important figure? A Great Grandmaster or Transcendent One?" Xiaoqing asked in return. Shaking her head, she said, "There were quite a few. Some Great Grandmasters and Transcendent Ones, no matter how much they extended their lifespans, were still in their twilight years. They preferred to live peacefully within their mountain gates. Nowadays, there were no great wars and disasters did not strike in constant succession, so it was common for them not to roam the martial world for over a decade. Some had long since retired to the countryside and rarely showed themselves in the martial world. Others cultivated in secret, and no one knew they had already stepped into the Celestial-Human Realm or Spirit Platform Realm."

"Some cultivate in secret without the world knowing?" Ding Songyan was somewhat surprised.

Xiaoqing answered casually,

"Of course. If certain members of the Demon Race who don't like emerging into the world to cause trouble cultivate to some realm, how would ordinary people know..."

As she spoke, she fell silent.

Ding Songyan also fell silent.

He truly feared that Miss Xiaoqing would fly into a rage from embarrassment and toss him into the great river to sink.

After this exchange, he had confirmed that relying only on the name "Yan Changqing" and the fact that he had been imprisoned for many years would not reveal that "honored guest's" true identity anytime soon—unless they happened to ask someone who had known him before.

After some thought, Ding Songyan probed,

"Miss Xiaoqing, did you come for some item or some person in Zhen Estate?"

Huh, he could ask that...

Xiaoqing pressed her lips together and eyed Ding Songyan suspiciously without answering.

Not answering was itself an answer.

Ding Songyan smiled and pressed further.

"What should have ended swiftly, Zhen Estate has kept finding excuses to drag out. Even though you and the True Spirit Sect have already been here for quite some time?"

Xiaoqing leaned a little closer, tilting her head slightly as she looked into Ding Songyan's eyes.

"Did you hear that from Zhen Estate?

"Is that why Zhen Estate sent people to follow you, and why Old Master Zhen had to show himself when you went to the county office?"

She had wanted to ask about this earlier, but the surroundings and timing had been unsuitable, so she had planned to inquire tonight.

"No." Ding Songyan shook his head openly. "If it were only because of this, while I was at the Zhen Family, they could have taken advantage of the Watchtower's inability to monitor them, put a sack over me, disguised me as cargo, and sunk me in the river. I merely noticed a few clues."

I was only verifying my guess just now...

Xiaoqing found that rather amusing.

"Do you often put sacks over people and sink them in rivers? You sound very familiar with it."

"I'm a storyteller, so naturally I'm good at imagining things. Besides, plenty of storybooks have similar scenes." Ding Songyan had even read true-crime records of major cases.

Xiaoqing's eyes shifted slightly.

"Zhen Estate is hiding other secrets? Or are they waiting for another family?"

Ding Songyan merely smiled without speaking.

It was not that he did not want to answer. He had simply forgotten what he had intended to say.

Xiaoqing nodded faintly, her expression becoming unusually serious, and did not pursue the matter further.

She had come to Dingjiang Prefecture to broaden her horizons and have fun. Such complicated matters could be left for her Second Uncle to worry over.

If her Second Uncle had questions later, she could come find Second Brother Ding again.

After making all the hints he could, Ding Songyan continued writing today's installment of Legend of the White Snake.

Xiaoqing sat beside the bed, looking at Ding Songyan's back as she said with a touch of feeling,

"I thought you were merely an impressive storyteller capable of telling countless good tales. How did you become a little mysterious today? No, you already were the day before yesterday..."

She sank into thought.

Ding Songyan turned halfway toward her and brought the topic back to Legend of the White Snake.

"Miss Xiaoqing, I don't intend to have Xu Shilin train in martial arts step by step. That would probably take another ten years before he could save Lady White. I want him to encounter some great fortune, eat some divine beasts or strange creatures or something else, and strive to have the family reunited when Lady White has been eternally imprisoned beneath Leifeng Pagoda for exactly twenty years.

"Is there anything particular about eating divine beasts and strange creatures?"

He was purely using Xu Shilin to satisfy his own curiosity. After flipping through the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas every day and seeing so many entries saying "eating it," how could he not want to ask about it?

As for why she had to be rescued after twenty years, naturally it was to make it a round number with commemorative significance.

"What do you want to ask?" Xiaoqing unconsciously curled her lips.

Ding Songyan had long been full of questions.

"When eating divine beasts and strange creatures, do you need to eat the whole creature, or only part of it, or merely its essential parts?"

Something as huge as Kunpeng could not fit into a single pot, nor could it be finished in one meal. Even a month would probably be a struggle.

Of course, the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas contained no Kunpeng. Only an annotation mentioned, "Xuánmíng is Kunpeng: a water god at sea, a wind god in the heavens. Xuánmíng is Yuqiang." (Note 1)

And Yuqiang was the northern deity, an aide to Emperor Zhuanxu: swallowing the Northern Abyss, bearing the blue heavens, commanding the Five Pestilences, suppressing the netherworld and protecting the dead, assisting the Black Emperor.

Xiaoqing was a little amused.

"You couldn't eat the whole thing anyway. Eating part of its essential parts is enough. Any more is useless, and some might even bring danger—causing you to suffer deviation, burst apart and die, have savage Qi invade your mind, or let divine intent seize your body. Well, eating just a little extra is fine."

"What if the amount eaten is insufficient?" Ding Songyan had always liked to analyze matters qualitatively and quantitatively.

Xiaoqing wore an expression that said, Why do you have so many questions?

"It depends on how much you eat. Roughly speaking, it can grant you the strength of a Martial Grandmaster at the completion of the Law Realm for anywhere from a year and a half to more than a decade.

"If, during that time, you can use your own realm's clear perception of mutated acupoints, bodily conditions, the Qi currents of heaven and earth, and the mysteries of the void to sort out cultivation methods and the heavenly treasures needed, completing your cultivation quickly, then when the time limit arrives, neither your realm nor strength will regress. Both will become your own."

"But if not, once the hour arrives, your realm will continually fall and your strength will gradually weaken, until only a trace of divine strangeness remains."

So the Opening Orifices and the Aperture Refinement Method had all been explored and created by those who ate first, relying on their realms and their bodily conditions... Ding Songyan had gained an initial understanding of the mysteries of "eating."

Xiaoqing continued on her own.

"By now, eating divine beasts and strange creatures can at most bring you to the completion of the Law Realm. If you want to go further, you still have to rely on yourself. If you cannot thoroughly integrate the corresponding martial path, if your heart and spiritual realm are insufficient, and if you lack deep understanding and command of heaven and earth, it will be difficult to enter the Celestial-Human Realm.

"This realm, even before the Severance of Heaven and Earth, was the first gate separating humans from gods.

"The Exalted Orchid Roll does not include Great Grandmasters or rank them, not because there are too few Great Grandmasters, but because it is unworthy."

"Martial cultivation also emphasizes one's heart and spiritual realm?" Ding Songyan had heard the martial-world rumors that Ji Hanyi, the demoness of the Sage-Slaying Path, had flaws in her heart and thus found it difficult to become a Celestial Being, but he had thought that was primarily a problem with her cultivation technique.

"Of course. Without spiritual control and harmony of the heart, constantly implanting foreign things into yourself and creating aberrant acupoints will only cause you to suffer deviation or transform into a savage beast." Xiaoqing clicked her tongue with a smile.

Ding Songyan had always possessed an investigative spirit.

"Then why don't those who become Law Realm Martial Grandmasters by eating divine beasts and strange creatures worry about such problems?"

"When cultivating techniques, the growth of the spirit and body differs at every minor realm. But when eating divine beasts and strange creatures, the spirit and body change and strengthen together, so naturally there is no issue. Still, one will more or less be affected by the lingering thoughts of the corresponding divine beast or strange creature, and the heart must likewise be tempered afterward." Xiaoqing explained, "If you eat too much, as I just said, some can produce similar problems."

At that moment, she remembered that they were discussing Xu Shilin's great fortune and considered it.

"The Divine Firmament Sect inherits the legacy of the Thunder God. Having him eat a Kui Ox would be more suitable, and the cultivation techniques would not conflict."

"I understand now. Thank you, Miss Xiaoqing." Having broadened his knowledge, Ding Songyan's mood improved considerably.

The corresponding contents of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas naturally flashed through his mind.

The Thunder God bore yin and embraced yang, wielded thunder and commanded lightning, carried out Heaven's punishments, shattered yin evils, and suppressed the Three Realms.

The Kui Ox shattered yin evils, shone with thunderlight, accompanied wind and rain, and its roar subdued the Three Realms. Note: Its body was azure, hornless, one-legged, and ox-like.

After setting up the "setting," Ding Songyan began envisioning Xu Shilin's great fortune. Then he considered whether to add some romance. After all, in the television drama, Xu Shilin and Hu Meiniang were a couple, though he had forgotten whether she was a rabbit spirit or fox spirit.

Of course, Ding Songyan's goal was not restoration. He wanted to add plot and slow the storytelling's progress, so he could tell Yan Changqing stories for several more days.

Delaying in order to await change was also a method.

"Miss Xiaoqing, when Xu Shilin encounters his great fortune, would it be better for him to develop feelings for a rabbit demon or a fox demon? His parents were a human and a demon who fell in love, so he cannot drag the family down in his generation." Ding Songyan sought advice from his "God of Wealth."

Xiaoqing was silent for a moment before saying in a slightly odd Qi tone,

"Neither is necessary. Change it to something else."

You only identify with snake demons, huh? We can't add another one. The snake demon content is already too high. We can't possibly pair the Green Snake with Xu Shilin by force, can we? No, no, that violates human ethics... Uh, demon customs don't say it's forbidden, but it would seem like I was arranging Miss Xiaoqing's marriage... Ding Songyan thought for a moment and said,

"How about the ruler of the Maiden Kingdom?"

Someone who was not a demon, but still somewhat divine and strange.

"The ruler of the Women's Kingdom?" Xiaoqing's tone brightened. "Fine."

Ding Songyan immediately had Xu Shilin and his fellow disciples, while pursuing the Kui Ox Orb, stumble into the Maiden Kingdom. They soaked in the waters of the Mother-and-Child River and all became pregnant. Forced to seek help from the ruler of the Maiden Kingdom, they later found that she had taken a liking to Xu Shilin and wished to forcibly keep him as her husband. Yet she was moved by his devotion to saving his mother, voluntarily gave up her throne, and planned to follow Xu Shilin through all manner of perils in search of the Kui Ox Orb.

The reason he foretold all manner of perils rather than eighty-one trials was simply that Ding Songyan could not make up so many. He had even deliberately changed "drink" to "soak," stitching in the bathing scene from the spider demons' Silken Cave.

I can still write a few more installments... What a pity I've forgotten so much of the plot of Journey to the West. Otherwise, I could tell eighty installments of all manner of perils... Ding Songyan set down his brush and watched Miss Xiaoqing take away those pages.

As Xiaoqing read, she raised her head and stared at Ding Songyan in confusion.

"How did you know that women in the Women's Kingdom become pregnant after soaking in the Yellow Pool?"

"I made it up... What is the Yellow Pool?" Ding Songyan looked utterly blank and perfectly sincere.

Xiaoqing said thoughtfully,

"The Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas contains an annotation: the Women's Kingdom has a Yellow Pool. When women bathe in it, they emerge pregnant. If they give birth to a boy, he dies at the age of three. (Note 2)

"Mm, you truly seem not to have known. That something you fabricated at random happened to align with reality may be Heaven's will."

Hearing Xiaoqing's reply, Ding Songyan nearly broke out in a cold sweat.

Good thing I haven't yet reached this section of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas. Otherwise, I truly couldn't have acted so clear of conscience just now.

Still, if he had actually read that passage, he would not have changed "drink" to "soak." He certainly would have made sure to avoid it.

Note 1: Many scholars believe that Zhuangzi's inspiration for Kunpeng came from Xuánmíng, as many of their characteristics match. I have adopted that view.

Note 2: Quoted from annotations by Guo Pu of the Jin dynasty.