Each on Their Own

Hearing Xiaoqing's question, Ding Songyan tried to say:

"Yes."

The moment the words left his mouth, joy surged through him:

Good, I can answer this question!

Joy and self-satisfaction crept into Xiaoqing's brows and eyes. Eagerly, she pressed on:

"At Zhen Estate... was it Old Master Zhen?"

"No." Ding Songyan answered quickly.

This had nothing to do with the dungeon or Yan Changqing. He had not forgotten.

Xiaoqing's eyes shifted slightly.

"Was it one of the Attendants at Zhen Estate?"

"No, not an Attendant of Zhen Estate." Ding Songyan tried to make his answer more precise and detailed.

He had not forgotten. He had not been affected.

"A member of the Zhen family?" Xiaoqing narrowed down the possibilities.

When Ding Songyan shook his head again and answered no, she became puzzled.

"Not an Attendant of Zhen Estate, nor a member of the Zhen family. Don't tell me it was some servant of Zhen Estate?"

"No." Ding Songyan gave another negative answer.

"Strange..." Xiaoqing stared blankly, sinking into thought.

Ding Songyan wanted to prompt her, but he had forgotten what he wanted to prompt her about.

After a moment, Xiaoqing's eyes turned, and life returned to her gaze.

"Not someone from Zhen Estate, but hiding inside Zhen Estate?"

Ding Songyan did not answer. He had forgotten what she had asked, and also forgotten what his own answer had been.

"You didn't say no, so that means it is." Xiaoqing smiled, so bright it was impossible to look away. "Sometimes, not answering is also an answer."

Suddenly, inspiration flashed through her mind.

"You specifically asked me before whether I knew someone named Yan Changqing. It was very strange, and I had no idea where you had heard of him...

"So was he the one who told you about the Moth God Sect? He's hiding in Zhen Estate, yet he isn't from Zhen Estate?"

Smart! She connected the dots! Ding Songyan was instantly overjoyed.

He had always felt that Miss Xiaoqing was sometimes innocent and sometimes adorably slow-witted, not quite clever enough. But now it seemed that she was fundamentally very smart. She was merely inexperienced in the ways of the world and lacking in experience. Often, she was too lazy to think, anyway. Her backing ran deep, and she was not afraid of danger. Even if she made a mistake, elders would clean up the mess afterward.

From this, Ding Songyan also discovered a way to bypass Qingmengmeng's "seed."

He believed that Yan Changqing was imprisoned in the dungeon beneath Zhen Estate and could not stay at his side to monitor him in real time. In theory, Yan Changqing could only influence his thoughts through the preset priorities, avoidance conditions, and list of people he was not allowed to meet within the "seed."

That meant this pattern of thought poured in from outside was rigid, bound by old rules, and inevitably incomplete. It could not cover every circumstance, especially winding and roundabout ones.

And finding blind spots and loopholes in rules like these was something Ding Songyan had always been rather good at, much like figuring out how to get around blocked keywords.

Mentioning Yan Changqing had happened several days ago. Back then, it had nothing to do with Zhen Estate, and Ding Songyan had not thought of using it to reveal information to Miss Xiaoqing. He had simply asked about him naturally. Tonight, likewise, he had not considered directly spilling the matter of Yan Changqing. He had only wanted to deepen the impression that he was mysterious and that Zhen Estate was mysterious. Thus, he had easily bypassed the restrictions of Qingmengmeng's "seed." After that, however Xiaoqing thought about it, however she linked the two together, was her own affair—something Yan Changqing could not control through the "seed."

Breaking one unspeakable matter into several parts, revealing them separately on different days through other circumstances, then letting the target draw their own conclusions, make their own associations, and piece together the truth themselves—this was the method Ding Songyan had currently discovered for bypassing the restrictions.

What it required was advance planning, as well as enough time.

Ding Songyan did not answer Miss Xiaoqing's question. After his wild delight came bewilderment.

What was she asking?

What had I wanted to say?

Uh, I still remember the method I discovered...

Seeing that Ding Songyan had gone silent again, though his expression was somewhat lost, Xiaoqing nodded in satisfaction.

"If you won't answer yes or no, that means there truly is some connection, just not one that completely matches my description?"

With an expression that said, "This is so fun," she said to herself:

"I'll tell my Second Uncle all this later and see whether he can figure out what is going on, and why you can't speak."

Good, good, good! Ding Songyan only wanted to applaud Miss Xiaoqing.

After pondering for a moment, he had another idea.

"Miss Xiaoqing, may I accompany you to visit... your Second Uncle later? I have important news to tell him."

"What important news could there be that you can't tell me?" Xiaoqing voiced her dissatisfaction.

"You can listen in then. I'm a little afraid to say it now," Ding Songyan quickly explained.

He had never hoped that he could speak of Yan Changqing and Zhen Estate directly, informing Miss Xiaoqing's Second Uncle. Instead, he wanted to openly display the suspicious points and abnormalities before him.

Once Miss Xiaoqing informed her Second Uncle beforehand that Second Brother Ding had important news to reveal, only for Second Brother Ding to "forget" what he wanted to say right in front of him, the problem would rise plainly and solidly to the surface.

Ding Songyan believed that, as an old hand of the martial world, Miss Xiaoqing's Second Uncle would surely be able to guess something from this. He might even deduce which martial art was affecting Ding Songyan. After all, with how powerful and mysterious Yan Changqing's divine art was, it could not possibly be unknown in the martial world.

"All right." Xiaoqing assessed her own strength and agreed with slight helplessness.

After Ding Songyan finished writing that day's storybook, and after she finished reading that section, Xiaoqing stood and glanced out the window.

"You go to Tianyang Guildhall yourself. I'll head there first and inform my Second Uncle."

She immediately lowered her voice.

"Ren Youyang and his guards are still secretly helping you watch for the people following you. I don't want him to discover me. With him around, you needn't worry about danger."

"Understood." Ding Songyan indicated that he understood.

As outsiders who did not belong to Great Zhao, Miss Xiaoqing's side probably did not wish to expose their identities.

After Xiaoqing left, Ding Songyan packed his belongings, pretended to be going out for the evening cool, left the courtyard, and locked his room.

He had long since found out where Tianyang Guildhall was, preparing to seek help and refuge there in a crisis.

When he reached Fengshui Bridge and was about to turn onto the road Xiaoqing had taken earlier, Ding Songyan saw Ren Youyang seated before a stall selling grilled meat, smiling as he waved him over.

This disciple of the True Spirit Sect wore a light gray robe. His two dog ears stood relaxed in the night breeze, while the bruises and wounds on his face had either faded or healed, no longer affecting the bearing of a master.

"Out to enjoy the cool?" Ren Youyang asked with a smile.

Ding Songyan sat down.

"I worked up a stink of sweat writing tomorrow's storybook, so I came out to cool off."

Like an old friend, Ren Youyang pointed at the grilled lamb before him.

"Then have some. Care for a few drinks?"

Before Ding Songyan could agree, he lowered his voice.

"Ever since you came back from outside the city, the 'Mothman' following you left. I didn't touch him. I wanted to let the long line catch the big fish, to find the 'Moth Father' or 'Moth Mother.' But these 'Mothmen' are a little different from the information I received this evening, so for the moment, I still can't determine who the 'Moth Mother' or 'Moth Father' is.

"Also, people from the authorities have begun secretly following you too. Add me in, and we could make up a whole table of mahjong."

Mahjong was a card game played by four people and was currently rather popular.

You still don't know about Miss Xiaoqing's side... Ding Songyan wanted to hint at where those "Mothmen" came from, but once he raised his wine cup, he had already "forgotten" about it.

Xiaoqing took her maidservant through streets and alleys beneath tree shadows that swayed with moonlight, heading toward Tianyang Guildhall.

They had only just entered a quiet, deep alley when a black shadow suddenly pounced down from a tree.

Xiaoqing shifted her footing and dodged sideways.

Immediately afterward, the crisp crack of a whip tip tearing through the air rang out without warning, yet no whip shadow appeared in midair.

The black shadow abruptly retreated, kicked off the alley wall, and flipped backward into someone else's courtyard like a startled bird taking flight.

Crack!

Another whip crack sounded. Two marks appeared on the wall the black shadow had just kicked. One was deep enough to split the bricks and stone; the other was shallower, with dust continually sifting down. Wherever it reached seemed to have turned soft.

The two whip marks crossed each other, yet from beginning to end, no long whip had ever appeared in the alley.

"That's it? He's leaving already?" Xiaoqing let her hands hang at her sides, her face still showing that she had not had enough fun. "Then why did he come? To say hello?"

After muttering to herself, Xiaoqing's heart stirred, and she looked up at the tall Watchtower in the distance.

She hurriedly pulled her maidservant along. Her figure blended into the darkness, hazy as an illusion, and vanished without a trace.

Back at Tianyang Guildhall in the eastern part of the city, the instant Xiaoqing stepped into the main hall, she loudly complained:

"Second Uncle, I ran into a very crafty enemy. He deliberately forced me to make a move, trying to expose us to the Southern Zhao authorities!"

Xiaoqing's Second Uncle sat in the main hall holding a teacup. As he brushed aside the tea leaves with the lid, he raised his head to look over.

"Someone ambushed you?"

He wore broad robes with wide sleeves, his black hair hanging loose. His features somewhat resembled Xiaoqing's; his face was on the smaller side, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned. He had an elegant, unworldly air and graceful manners, carrying an innate trace of mature charm. He looked only a little over thirty.

Xiaoqing nodded rapidly.

"I was forced to use the Formless Whip!"

She first recounted the attack exactly as it had happened, then spoke of the Moth God Sect and the mysterious man in Zhen Estate, Yan Changqing.

Her Second Uncle set down his teacup, rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing slowly.

"This matter is very complicated. Starting tomorrow, do not go looking for that Second Brother Ding at night."

Seeing Xiaoqing about to object, his expression turned stern.

"Your father sent you here to see the world and broaden your horizons, not to take risks for amusement. If you truly insist on going, I'll have to accompany you."

"All right." Xiaoqing agreed reluctantly.

Her Second Uncle thought for a moment, then muttered to himself:

"What has the Moth God Sect come for... What Zhen Estate seeks to plot is likely greater than what we want...

"I truly have never heard the name Yan Changqing..."

The handsome, spirited man looked toward Xiaoqing once more.

"Qingli, is there anything else?"

Xiaoqing carefully thought back, then shook her head.

"No."

After drinking and eating grilled meat with Ren Youyang, Ding Songyan bade him farewell and slowly returned to Chengyu Lane.

As he neared the Ding family courtyard, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Did I forget something...?"

He thought for a while but gained nothing. He opened the courtyard gate, returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and soon fell asleep.

It was a dreamless night.