Origins

Ding Songyan's emotions fluctuated, failing to pierce the illusion in time to catch a glimpse of Liu Yuzao's true state.

Waiting for this nominal mother to disappear into the covered corridors of the Zhen Estate, Ding Songyan finally calmed his thoughts and laughed silently to himself:

My intuition is still quite accurate...

Fortunately, we only interacted for a few days and haven't invested too much deep emotion, otherwise my martial heart would really have shattered...

Recalling all the previous events and combining them with the previously deduced details of the matter, Ding Songyan quickly gained a relatively clear understanding of the situation regarding the "Ding Family":

Ding Shengyi was cooperating with Yan Changqing's "old friend," and using extraordinary "Mothmen" to stage dramas such as the Small Boat Gang's repeated provocations and Chen Yuliang's audacious purchase of the "Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas." This indicated that they were targeting Yan Changqing. As for whether they wanted to save him, or were plotting the potentially existent Celestial Emperor's secret treasure and the whereabouts of Kunlun, it remained temporarily unknown—or perhaps it was a combination of both.

Before they arrived at Dingjiang Prefecture, the "relative" Qin Nuangsheng had already married into the Zhen Estate for over two years. It was not difficult for them to obtain the news that members of the Zhen Estate frequently went to listen to storytelling, and they might even have known that there was a "distinguished guest" in the dungeon of the Zhen Estate. Therefore, Second Brother Ding's identity as a storyteller was almost certainly tailor-made. Ding Shengyi and Yan Changqing's "old friend" hoped to use Qin Nuangsheng to give Second Brother Ding the opportunity to contact Yan Changqing through storytelling, laying the foundation for a subsequent rescue.

If this conjecture was correct, Ding Songyan believed that Second Brother Ding was an unlucky, innocent person who had been chosen. Because before things actually happened, no matter how anyone looked at it, a storyteller not belonging to the Zhen Estate who wanted to enter the dungeon to tell stories to Yan Changqing would inevitably undergo meticulous inspection by the experts of the Zhen Estate. It was not impossible for Old Master Zhen himself to come and scrutinize him. By then, even divine arts capable of concealing anomalies probably couldn't have fooled Old Master Zhen, a Grandmaster who understood Yan Changqing's cultivation methods quite well.

Based on such judgment, finding a truly ordinary person and controlling them by implanting Qingmengmeng's "seed" or constantly influencing their thoughts was more covert and less easily detected by Old Master Zhen.

As for why the Zhen Estate had been so negligent later on and failed to inspect Ding Songyan meticulously, it was naturally because they had other plots afoot.

Viewed in this light, the former Second Brother Ding was probably tragically chosen precisely because he could tell stories and looked somewhat like Ding Shengyi and Liu Yuzao, becoming a chess piece with an almost certain death sentence. Earlier, Mr. Yu had likely also lied; what Yan Changqing loved to hear should not only have been romance and legends, but also ancient affairs and pugilistic anecdotes—Second Brother Ding telling tales of old was likewise catering to his preferences.

Afterward, the "Ding Family" had arrived in Dingjiang Prefecture for over half a year, yet Qin Nuangsheng's side had consistently been unable to get the Zhen Estate to hire an outside storyteller. Growing impatient and fearing that further delays would increase variables, they decided to change from "cleverly taking" to "forcibly breaking in." Thus came the Small Boat Gang's repeated provocations, the "transaction" of the "Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas" between Chen Yuliang and Second Brother Ding, and other such events. Their purpose was to provoke a fierce struggle between the Four Waters Gang and the Small Boat Gang, forcing Old Master Zhen to make a move himself and leave the Zhen Estate.

After being forced to participate in the "transaction," Second Brother Ding thought he could escape, but who would have thought that his escape was also part of the plan? If he didn't escape and die in the ruined temple, the conflicts could not have escalated rapidly.

In the end, the transmigration of Ding Songyan prevented Second Brother Ding from dying. This shocked Yan Changqing's "old friend," Ding Shengyi, and the others, causing them to temporarily change their plan, toss out Chen Yuliang, and let the matter temporarily subside. Later, when Ding Songyan was invited by the Zhen Estate to tell the "Legend of the White Snake" to Yan Changqing, the plan returned to its original track.

The current problem is, the other members of the "Ding Family" all have roles to play—what is the significance of Ding Qingyan's existence? Standing under the shade of a tree opposite the Zhen Estate, Ding Songyan fell into doubt.

When he was in the state of piercing illusions, he had not discovered any external anomalies about Ding Qingyan, which made him feel that the little sister was either an extremely formidable expert or possessed other special traits.

Could she be involved in a third method prepared by the mastermind besides "cleverly taking" and "forcibly breaking in"? Thoughtfully, Ding Songyan cast his gaze toward the east of North Water Street.

Two carriages were driving over from there, their wheels grinding against the stone slabs and producing a rumbling sound. One of them even had a wind chime hanging from it, its crisp and pleasant feeling leisurely spreading far and wide.

The carriage stopped at the gates of the Zhen Estate. Two attendants first descended from the lead carriage, followed by a handsome and ethereal man. He looked to be only in his thirties, wearing a bamboo crown and a grey robe with wide sleeves and billowing hems. In every gesture, he possessed a refined and otherworldly air, without any external anomalies.

Xiaoqing stepped down from the rear carriage with her maid. Her black hair was gathered up with a white silk handkerchief, and she wore a lake-blue martial outfit with flowered white boots on her feet—the attire of a jianghu heroine, at once charming, bright, and full of dashing vigor.

It looks like she took my warning to heart. This outfit at a glance is suited for dealing with contingencies and fighting people... Ding Songyan hurried out from the shade of the tree so that he could be seen by Miss Xiaoqing.

As the heavy doors of the Zhen Estate slowly swung open, Xiaoqing's beautiful eyes shifted, sweeping across Ding Songyan's figure. She smiled and nodded at him, which counted as a greeting.

Ding Songyan's goal was thus achieved.

Soon, under Zhen Quanwang's welcome, Xiaoqing followed her second uncle, stepping into the Zhen Estate from the fully opened gates, bypassing the spirit wall, and heading toward the depths.

Their carriages drove forward a bit further and stopped at a spot with multiple hitching posts.

Before Ding Songyan had time to retreat back into the shade of the tree, he heard the clatter of hooves drawing near from afar.

Ren Youyang was mounted on a white horse, leading four guards as he galloped over.

He still wore his feather garments and tall crown, with his canine ears twitching upright, but he had brought no beautiful maidservants.

The five fine steeds came to a halt. Ren Youyang dismounted with fairly nimble movements, and the four guards closely followed him in uniform synchronization.

Ren Youyang looked around and, upon seeing Ding Songyan, actually smiled and raised a hand in greeting:

"Brother Ding, you're here too?"

Damn, Brother Youyang is really giving me face... If this were normal times, just this greeting alone would be enough to get me accepted into a non-top-tier sect and watch my social standing skyrocket... Surprised and grateful, Ding Songyan walked over.

While waiting to be welcomed by the Zhen Estate, Ren Youyang smiled and said to Ding Songyan:

"Did you catch sight of the people who just entered the estate?"

"I did." Ding Songyan was none the wiser.

Ren Youyang tilted his head in bewilderment toward him:

"You weren't even soul-stirred, with such great beauty right in front of you?"

I am face-to-face with her every morning and every evening... This outfit and temperament aren't even Miss Xiaoqing's most beautiful side... Perhaps, Brother Youyang, you appreciate her second uncle more? Organizing his words, Ding Songyan said:

"Naturally an absolute beauty of the mortal world, but Miss Xiaoqing comes to listen to my storytelling every day, so this isn't my first time seeing her."

At this moment, another legitimate son of the Zhen Family had already led people to greet them at the main entrance, but seeing that Ren Youyang and Ding Songyan were chatting happily, he didn't dare to interrupt.

Hearing Ding Songyan's reply, Ren Youyang was both inexplicably startled and suddenly enlightened:

"So that peerlessly beautiful wealthy guest in the marketplace rumors was her! How did I not think of that!"

He wore a look of self-reproach, seemingly doubting his own brains.

In order not to be noticed by Ding Songyan, he twitched his canine ears and took the initiative to say:

"I only found out today that the other party is the Gan Kingdom's Celestial Maiden Sect."

"The Celestial Maiden Sect?" Ding Songyan was confused.

Wasn't Miss Xiaoqing a snake demon?

"You didn't know?" Ren Youyang laughed. "That Miss Xiaoqing is the biological younger sister of the 'Dust-Free Young Master' Su Yunzhang. She came to Dingjiang Prefecture following their second uncle, Su Chongxiao. Hiss, you didn't tell Su Qingli anything about how I critiqued Su Yunzhang, did you? Eh, it's just me overthinking; you two couldn't possibly meet in private."

So Miss Xiaoqing's full name is Su Qingli... But isn't she a snake demon? Ding Songyan remained baffled.

How does a fine snake demon end up joining the Celestial Maiden Sect? And she's the biological younger sister of the "Dust-Free Young Master" Su Yunzhang—did they just poke a snake demon nest?

"I naturally kept my mouth sealed." Ding Songyan had no intention of telling Ren Youyang that Su Qingli might be a snake demon, and merely deliberated as he said:

"Miss Xiaoqing privately urged me to write vernacular scripts and even shape-shifted to scare me, but I kept my promise and didn't tell her what you said, Brother Youyang."

Ren Youyang let out a "haha" laugh:

"Her shape-shifting to scare you is right—that's the inherent vice of their Su family and their Celestial Maiden Sect!

"The Celestial Maiden Sect focuses on cultivating the 'Celestial Fox Scripture', and its foundational divine art is the 'Myriad Transformations All-Beguiling Demonic Art'. That 'myriad transformations' is certainly not an undeserved reputation."

The "Myriad Transformations All-Beguiling Demonic Art"... myriad transformations... Have I been toyed with by Miss Xiaoqing? She's not a snake demon at all! The prettier a girl is, the better she is at lying, right? Qingyan is one, and Miss Xiaoqing is one... The heritage of the Celestial Maiden Sect clearly stems from a Nine-Tailed Fox; is she playing with all living beings here? Ding Songyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, though he wasn't too angry either.

Deception in such trivial matters was harmless; her not being a snake demon actually made him heave a sigh of relief, seeing as he was afraid of snakes.

Ren Youyang suddenly felt a bit puzzled:

"Su Qingli is only sixteen, having reached womanhood not long ago, and has completed neither body-tempering nor qi-refining. She only came to Dingjiang Prefecture to broaden her horizons; where would she get the ability to shape-shift?"

He supplied an explanation of his own:

"Did her elders secretly follow along, creating a Grand Void illusion, or lend her strength?"

Listening to Ren Youyang's soliloquy, Ding Songyan gradually felt that something was amiss:

Judging from Miss Xiaoqing's reaction to hearing the "Legend of the White Snake", and from her attitude toward demons in her conversation, was she really not a demon?

When he used Yan Changqing's baleful intent outside Dangkang Temple to pierce the illusions, it seemed he had seen several fluffy white tails. Were those hers, or was her second uncle secretly protecting her?

Worried about affecting Miss Xiaoqing, Ding Songyan didn't delve further into the matter and instead asked:

"Is the 'Twelve Paths of Grand Void' another divine art of the 'Celestial Fox Scripture'?"

"The 'Myriad Transformations All-Beguiling Demonic Art' is the substance, while the 'Twelve Paths of Grand Void' is the application." Ren Youyang explained in a low voice.

He then smiled and teased Ding Songyan:

"If you could manage to marry Su Qingli, it really would be the envy of countless martial arts talents. The Su family has a profound foundation with a history of over two thousand years. Every generation produces a Celestial-Human Realm Great Grandmaster, and occasionally they even produce Spirit Platform Realm Transcendent Ones. Moreover, Su Qingli's paternal aunt Su Liudan was formerly the number one beauty of the jianghu. Once Su Qingli fully blossoms and you put in a bit more effort, you might not fail to become such a jianghu legend."

"What virtues or abilities do I possess?" Ding Songyan laughed in spite of himself.

Ren Youyang chuckled, "Heh heh":

"Don't you say, the Su family really is quite strange. Every generation either practices asceticism in solitude or loves to find ordinary mortals or nameless martial artists. You're just right."

Without waiting for Ding Songyan to speak further, he pointed at the welcoming party of the Zhen Estate at the main entrance:

"This brother will go in first; I can't keep others waiting too long."

"Please go ahead, Brother Youyang." Ding Songyan cupped his fists in salute.

Looking at the wide-open gates of the Zhen Estate and the respectful welcoming attendants putting on a grand display, Ren Youyang suddenly felt a touch of emotion:

"Brother, whenever I see this scene and setting, I'm always reminded of a line of lyrics:

"'Once the gongs and drums sound, all take the stage in powdered makeup.'"

With that, he led his four guards step by step toward the gates of the Zhen Estate.

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