Deep into the Night, Yet No One Is Quiet

In the gentle evening breeze, Ding Songyan and Xiaoqing strolled through the dim, secluded alleyways toward Fengshui Bridge.

This time, Xiaoqing did not bring her maid.

Glancing at the picturesque young woman beside him, Ding Songyan suddenly felt a touch of emotion:

Fewer than ten days had passed since his transmigration, yet it felt as though an entire month had gone by. He had interacted with many people during this time, seeing quite a few of them on a regular basis, but the only ones who treated him with genuine sincerity, without scheming or wearing masks, were Xiaoqing and Second Brother Yan—well, Xu Chang'an counted for half.

As for the family upon whom he had originally projected some affection and was on the verge of integrating with, they had become completely unrecognizable in less than the span of a single cup of tea not long ago.

Taking a breath and slowly exhaling it, Ding Songyan smiled and said to Xiaoqing:

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by Ren Youyang today, Miss Xiaoqing?"

Xiaoqing responded with a light smile:

"We'll probably cross paths tomorrow anyway, so it doesn't matter."

Ding Songyan thought for a moment and reminded her:

"Aside from Ren Youyang and his companions, there are also government officials following me—they might be from the county yamen, or perhaps from the Xiaoming Sect."

"And that doesn't matter either?"

"If your identities are exposed, we might not be able to attend tomorrow's banquet at the Zhen Estate."

"..." Xiaoqing blinked innocently.

Ding Songyan was left speechless.

A mere few breaths later, Xiaoqing flicked her arm and said in a brisk tone:

"It's fine, Second Uncle will handle it!"

At that very moment, Ren Youyang, dressed entirely in black, was peeking about from a tree at the mouth of the alley.

He struggled to maintain his balance while masking his own presence, watching as Ding Songyan strolled forward alone, muttering to himself from time to time.

"Brother Ding, why are you out enjoying the cool air this late? Go back to your room and get some sleep early, I have important matters tomorrow..." Ren Youyang grumbled silently.

In the shadows at the end of the alley, a constable and a Xiaoming Sect disciple also quietly watched Ding Songyan's every move.

"Though he's alone, something feels a bit strange." A faint, yellowish glow seemed to bloom within the Xiaoming Sect disciple's eyes.

The constable nodded repeatedly.

"I feel like something's not quite right either."

"Brother Zhang, my cultivation is shallow and I can't quite make out the problem. You keep following him, I'm going to fetch help!" the Xiaoming Sect disciple said with a deep sense of shame.

He immediately broke away from the end of the alley and detamped from another direction.

Seeing that Xiaoqing did not mind, Ding Songyan set the matter aside. He pondered for a moment and said:

"Miss Xiaoqing, tomorrow's banquet at the Zhen Estate is likely to have disturbances, so you must be extremely careful. If everything proceeds as usual, the Zhen Estate might push the matter back by a day or two."

He successfully managed to say these words without forgetting them.

This was also within Ding Songyan's expectations. He had thought it through carefully: Yan Changqing's goal was to escape the Zhen Estate and recover his strength, while his "old friend"—whether wishing to rescue him or coveting his treasures—had to become an enemy of the Zhen Estate. Therefore, neither of the two forces capable of influencing Ding Songyan's thoughts would mind causing some trouble for the Zhen Estate and dragging their feet.

Xiaoqing kicked away a small pebble, turned her head to look at Ding Songyan, and smiled brightly:

"You have so many troubles of your own, yet you still concern yourself with my safety."

Her expression gradually grew serious:

"Over the past few days I've also been able to sense that your thoughts are quite Chong, and you likely harbor quite a few difficult matters in your heart.

"I have no soaring ambitions for now; apart from chivalry and righteousness, everything I seek can be provided by my family, and I harbor no greed for what belongs to others. If you can trust me, you can tell me what troubles you, and perhaps I can be of some help."

Ding Songyan let out a wry smile.

It's not that I don't want to speak, it's that I cannot speak.

Miss Xiaoqing, these words of yours are precisely what I desperately craved from the very beginning.

Seeing his expression, Xiaoqing said thoughtfully:

"You can't speak of it? No way to tell me?

"Such matters usually stem from witchcraft and sorcery, though you bear no gu worms on your body—that much I can confirm. Is someone using witchcraft to control you?"

Did this count as witchcraft? Ding Songyan recalled carefully, unable to be certain.

He still did not possess enough understanding of the wondrous martial arts and witchcraft of this world.

He wanted to hint to Miss Xiaoqing that there might be another possibility, but he was afraid that the moment he started to speak, he would forget it entirely, just like trying to write something on paper only to forget what was supposed to be written.

Amidst the silence, Ding Songyan suddenly thought:

Aside from the explicit restrictions on what cannot be discussed, the methods that Yan Chang'qing's "seed" and his "old friend" might have left in his sea of consciousness probably relied entirely on "free judgment" to shield his thoughts—checking whether he harbored malice or any intention to leak information.

What if I don't?

It is indeed impossible if I truly don't have it, but I can lie to myself, lie to that "seed," lie to the means left behind by Yan Chang'qing's "old friend," and pretend that I don't.

Originally I wouldn't have been able to pull off such a deception, but who told Yan Chang'qing to pass down a secret technique centered entirely on self-deception...

Hah, this secret technique complements and mutually restrains his mind-influencing divine art; they really do share the same origin, don't they...

Under these circumstances, unless Yan Chang'qing's "old friend" was right nearby, constantly monitoring his thoughts, it would be very difficult to stop him in advance...

Could this be what Yan Chang'qing was waiting for: he guessed that I wouldn't practice this secret technique before the matter was resolved out of fear of hidden dangers, so he used the control of the "seed" to force me to practice it? Once practiced, would I become completely his puppet or vessel?

What if I still refuse to practice it, and merely borrow its core essence to perform a single act of self-deception? Besides, I don't even have martial arts to make this secret technique take effect...

Ding Songyan ran through that secret technique in his mind, discarding numerous steps and potentially dangerous parts, and filtered out a section involving only self-deception based on the psychological suggestion methods he understood from his previous life.

The hazy green "seed" spun, and Ding Songyan's mind split into two. Half of it shrank into his sea of consciousness, sitting cross-legged in the void.

He lowered his head and cast his gaze toward the individual thoughts that made up the golden, illusory ocean.

As his mind stirred, each of these thoughts manifested his own appearance.

Looking into those familiar eyes as if gazing into a mirror, Ding Songyan whispered to himself in a specific rhythm:

"To deceive others, one must first deceive oneself. Falsehood can become truth, and to believe is to possess...

"I am merely discussing various possibilities with Miss Xiaoqing, and harbor no intention of leaking secrets...

"Merely discussing various possibilities..."

As the words repeated over and over, Ding Songyan's eyes grew deep and dark, as did the versions of himself within those individual thoughts.

Seeing that Second Brother Ding kept ignoring her and merely walked on in silence, Xiaoqing extended her slender, fair right hand in bewilderment and waved it before his eyes:

"Oh soul, return home~! Oh soul, return home~!"

Ding Songyan's eyes shifted slightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"Perhaps there is another possibility."

"Another possibility..." Xiaoqing furrowed her brow in thought.

Xiaoqing's second uncle was walking along the main avenue seven or eight zhang away when he abruptly turned his head, gazing toward a building lining the street.

Beneath the bright half-moon, a dark figure wielding a sharp sword broke through a window and leaped out.

Within that dark figure's line of sight, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared—eyes that slanted slightly upward, deep, bright, and clear.

At that moment, he felt as though he had returned home, catching sight of the person he had yearned for day and night. His heart softened, and his hands softened as well.

A palm with slender fingers then pressed firmly against the center of his brow.

Thud, he collapsed to the ground and ceased to breathe.

Within mere breaths, a moth resembling a large red ant darted out from his nose and mouth, and his body rapidly began to rot.

Xiaoqing's second uncle grabbed the "Moth Species," discovering that it split apart on its own and went completely still.

Discarding the "moth seed," he produced a white handkerchief, gently wiped his palm, and cast his gaze back toward Xiaoqing and Ding Songyan.

Just now, although he had taken action, the greater part of his attention had remained fixed over there.

At the top of the nearest Watchtower, the surnamed Yi constable on duty rotation merely saw a human figure leap out of a window on its own, landing headfirst and plunging to its death on the street.

He immediately used a lantern signal to notify a patrol squad operating nearby, instructing them to come over and collect the corpse, and to see if there were any hidden circumstances behind the apparent suicide.

Having thought about it for a long time without result, Xiaoqing gazed at the sparsely populated avenue and the distant, still lively Fengshui Bridge. She let out a soft "hum" and said:

"Second Brother Ding, you are the first friend I've made while walking the jianghu. I hope we can meet again in the jianghu one day."

First I have to survive tomorrow and the day after... Ding Songyan had wanted to say that, but he had "forgotten" the corresponding phrasing.

He could only offer a self-deprecating smile:

"I'll do my best."

Xiaoqing let out a soft chuckle:

"Do your best at what? You've been asking all sorts of questions, and I could tell long ago that you have a great interest in practicing martial arts. If you're willing to leave your hometown and head to the Gan State, I can help you find a few sects suited to you so you can choose one to join."

Hearing this, Ding Songyan's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't this precisely what he had been dreaming of?

Yet when he thought of his parents, his younger sister and eldest brother, and the fact that the Gan State was dominated by foreign tribes in the upper strata, he hesitated once more.

He weighed his words and said:

"Miss Xiaoqing, might I give you my answer tomorrow evening?"

To carefully consider and weigh things out.

"Of course you can. You aren't all alone in the world, after all." Xiaoqing expressed her understanding.

She waved goodbye to Ding Songyan and walked alone toward Fengshui Bridge in the direction of the Tianyang Guildhall.

Ding Songyan also turned around and retraced his steps along the path back toward Chengyu Lane.

The closer he got to the familiar surroundings of Chengyu Lane, the more inexplicable unease welled up within him, as if he were terrified of something, yet unable to remember the object of his fear.

This made his steps increasingly heavy and sluggish the further he walked.

"What is there to be uneasy about? Isn't it just going home to sleep..." Even Ding Songyan found his own state of mind baffling.

When he reached the side of the water well and heard Ah Hua barking because someone was passing by, he actually began to pace back and forth, unwilling to move forward.

The night seemed to have grown much thicker, heavy and oppressive.

Suddenly, a gentle, yellowish-tinged beam of light shone into Ding Songyan's eyes and into his mind, causing many of the dark, lurking thoughts hidden within his depths to recede like the tide, forcing that hazy green "seed" and the wisps of shadow to sink down together and hide within the illusory ocean.

Ding Songyan's thoughts instantly became active. He raised his eyes toward the source of the light, first spotting a glass palace lantern, and then catching sight of the lantern-bearing young woman followed by several Xiaoming Sect disciples.

The young woman walked forward like a willow bending in the wind. She was tall with rather thick eyebrows, adding a hint of heroic spirit to her delicate and clean features.

Beneath the bright moonlight, she wore a light green gauze skirt, her long black hair gathered with a silk ribbon, and her beautiful eyes shone brilliantly, as if starlight and Zhuhuo were truly hidden within them.

The young woman stopped, the lantern swaying gently, and looked at Ding Songyan with a clear, soft smile before saying:

"I am Zheng Zhuxi of the Xiaoming Sect, and there are some things I would like to ask you."