Worth a fortune

At that moment, Ding Songyan felt he had almost perfectly reenacted that joke:

"What haven't I seen?"

"Okay, I really haven't seen anything like this."

Not long ago, the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas had dragged him into a dangerous storm. He had been thankful it had already been traded away and that he had "forgotten" everything long since, or the consequences would have been endless. Now he had turned around and dug up a copy in his own home?

Was this a heap of rotten vegetable leaves at the market, something he could pick up wherever he pleased? No, it was even easier to come by than rotten leaves. He did not even have to fight anyone for it...

Hiss... Wasn't my predecessor supposed to be timid? Why did he secretly copy out a whole book and hide it at home? Judging by the handwriting and annotations in some of these storybooks, he probably copied it himself...

At this thought, Ding Songyan's eyes narrowed slightly, and some plausible but rather unpleasant guesses abruptly rose in his mind:

If I were my predecessor, I would definitely have come back for this handwritten copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas before leaving Dingjiang Prefecture. Otherwise, wouldn't all that copying have been for nothing?

Besides, leaving it at home would endanger his family. After he had been "missing" long enough, his parents, elder brother, and younger sister would inevitably sort through his "belongings." If they didn't know how important and dangerous the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas was and failed to keep it secret, the disaster of their entire household being slaughtered would be right before their eyes.

When my predecessor went out of the city to the Ruined Temple, was he not fleeing somewhere far away, but pursuing some other purpose?

Was he planning to finish something, return home for this copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, leave a few words for his family, and only then leave Dingjiang Prefecture?

That would make more sense and be safer. It would also avoid the risk of his family searching everywhere for him afterward...

Wait, there was actually another question I never got answered: where did my predecessor get the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas?

Before leaving Dingjiang Prefecture, he couldn't even spare the time to come home first, but insisted on going to the Ruined Temple outside the city. Could that have something to do with where the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas came from?

Did the person who actually supplied the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas kill Ding Songyan and take the money from the sale?

Why does this never end?

Ding Songyan could not help mocking himself:

"You've really made me suffer.

"If you were going to die, fine, but why did you leave me such a huge pile of trouble?"

After the incident with Banner Master Chen, the scheme of stirring the grass to startle the snake and throwing a stone to test the road would probably no longer work. Ding Songyan only dared mention once more to his cousin Nuansheng or Mr. Yu that "the actual source of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas still hasn't been established, and someone else might have tried to murder me." He did not dare tell them that a handwritten copy was hidden at home.

All he could do now was pray that, although the Zhen Estate appeared to have dropped the matter, they had actually already realized a supplier of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas was still lurking behind it and were quietly continuing their surveillance and investigation. Or perhaps that supplier had taken the silver and fled far away. Or, after lying low for days, they had deduced the "truth" from Chen Yuliang's death, learned that Ding Songyan had lost all his memories, and decided to let the matter rest rather than dredge it up again.

Things have already come to this. I might as well see what this damned book actually says... Ding Songyan steeled himself, focused his mind, and began reading the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas with its plain white paper cover.

Before the description of Feiyi, there were some notes on its appearance:

"Its form resembles a quail, with a yellow body and a red beak..."

Based on what my little sister said, would cultivating a Feiyi-related art to its ultimate stage give me wings and let me fly? Keeping an ear on Ding Qingyan as she washed the laundry, Ding Songyan casually leafed through the pages:

"Celestial Emperor: the Central Yellow Emperor, foremost of the Five Emperors; unites with the Great Dao, commands yin and yang, orders all things, rules heaven and earth, ordains the lives of living beings."

You become that powerful at the end? How does this look like something martial training could achieve? This is clearly cultivation of the Dao! Unfortunately, the Severance of Heaven and Earth happened long ago... There's no "eat of him," so what the Celestial Emperor left behind should be a cultivation art. I wonder which sect is connected to him. One of the sacred lands? A hundred feelings welled up in Ding Songyan as he read, his emotions rising and falling.

"Northern Emperor Zhuanxu: embodies the virtue of water, lord of winter, source of the stars, governs the north and spreads calamity, establishes precepts and laws.

"...

"Torch Dragon: eat of it to part primordial chaos, illuminate the nine darknesses, command day and night, turn the four seasons, summon wind and rain."

Wait, there's an "eat of it"? Who ate the divine body left behind by the Torch Dragon? Where is the sect they founded, and the art they created? Ding Songyan was both astonished and envious.

"Xiangliu: eat of it to corrode the earth, swallow mountains, poison a hundred generations, move each of nine heads independently.

"...

"Houtu: embodies the virtue of earth, mother of the land, bears all things at the center, nurtures and transforms all beings, rules the Netherworld.

"...

"Queen Mother of the West: governs heaven's scourges, commands the five afflictions, communes with the Netherworld, puts an end to untimely death, nurtures blessings and brings forth gold.

"Taotie: eat of it to dispel evil and avert disaster, devour heaven and earth, dissolve all things, possess insatiable greed, possess boundless desire.

"...

"Dayi: eradicates evil and wickedness, shoots down nine suns, succors those in a hundred hardships, stands at the pinnacle of humanity.

"...

"Lizhu: eat of it to command the great sun, cleanse all darkness, discern the tip of an autumn hair, see ten thousand miles away.

"...

"Phoenix: eat of it to command all birds, bear the five virtues, bring peace to the world, be born bathed in fire, gather all the world's colors.

"...

"Shengyu: eat of it to subdue all fish, imitate the phoenix's dance, flood an entire country.

"...

"Shetuo: eat of it to govern rectitude, judge merit and fault, distinguish the Three Powers, embody radiance. (Note: tuo is pronounced like 'camel' in Chinese.)

"...

"Xiegou: eat of it to excel at climbing, carry the five pestilences, spread epidemics wherever it goes.

"...

"Ancestor Yu: eat of it to make human hearts treacherous, command gloom and darkness, spit sand at people, wound the shadow to harm the body.

"Yu: eat of it to excel at lurking and hiding, spit sand at people."

After quickly reading through the key contents of fifteen or twenty entries, Ding Songyan noticed a certain pattern in the descriptions:

Some had five clauses, some four, some three, and some only two...

Almost all those called "Emperor" have five descriptive clauses. The next rank of Mythical Beasts has four, while those I've barely even heard of have only three or two... A hierarchy from strongest to weakest? Yes, that's probably it.

Xiaoming, candle flame: light of the stars, flame of a candle, illuminates the long night, pierces the dark depths. Four clauses. Not bad. Worthy of the sect I'm aiming for, though its cultivation art is rather incomplete...

I used to gulp down the Classic of Mountains and Seas without chewing, but I remember a Nine-Tailed Fox... Found it, found it... Qingqiu Fox, also called Celestial Fox, Nine-Tailed Fox, Tushan Clan; eat of it to suffer no gu affliction, assume myriad forms, toy with all beings, enchant the world... I wonder which sect it belongs to...

I wonder if eating two kinds of Mythical Beasts would cause a conflict...

Excited, Ding Songyan flipped back and forth through the book, imagining what he would become if he could obtain the corresponding legacy or eat one of those divine creatures...

As his thoughts wandered, he suddenly froze:

None of this means anything to me as I am now...

Mythical Beasts disappeared long ago. Without tremendous good fortune on my side, I'd probably have a hard time encountering one. And that's before the very serious question of whether I could beat it. Who would eat whom is far from certain;

And the top sects with the corresponding legacies aren't places I can join either;

Even if I memorize the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas until I can recite it fluently, it won't do anything to change my current circumstances or help my future prospects.

Not only is it useless, it might even bring enormous risks!

"The Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas is most useful to experts who have some strength but don't belong to Great Sects. First, they can use it to identify divine things, especially fruits and trees. Eating some grants a memory that never forgets anything seen, while others let you ward off weapons and make you impervious to blades and spears. Some promote fertility, some render you childless, and some are simply elixirs of immortality;

"Second, the descriptions of their traits let you learn a target's strengths and weaknesses in advance and prepare accordingly. For example, anyone specializing in gu insect arts who encounters a legacy related to the bird Feiyi or the Nine-Tailed Fox must never fight it head-on. Stay as far away as possible... Likewise, those practicing martial arts involving epidemics and calamities must never provoke an inheritor of the bird Feiyi, while an inheritor of the bird Feiyi should avoid strutting around in front of a Phoenix. Its command over all birds is absolutely real... Of course, this assumes you already know which Celestial Emperor, heavenly god, or Mythical Beast the corresponding sect originated from, or can judge from the characteristics of its martial arts...

"From the perspective of experts like that, the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas is worth a fortune. Even at tremendous risk, they would try to collect it.

"No wonder Chen Yuliang offered such a high price..."

As Ding Songyan analyzed the value of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, he increasingly felt as though he were begging while holding a mountain of gold, or entering a treasure vault only to return empty-handed.

He drew a deep breath and slowly let it out. A few ideas surfaced in his mind:

"I should just burn it and cut off any future trouble, before someone discovers it one day.

"It's a pity I'm not a disciple of a Great Sect. Otherwise, I could openly possess the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas. Still, disciples of Great Sects can read the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas anyway. Their sects have private collections, though many are incomplete.

"Incomplete..."

Ding Songyan's eyes suddenly lit up.

Trade the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas for a chance to join a sect?

Once I become a member, I'll be able to read the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas openly!

Yes, provided that sect's Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas is incomplete. But they can't have no copy at all. That would mean they lack deep foundations and aren't strong enough. They might kill me to silence me and hide the secret.

Also, I need to find one whose traits sound relatively bright and upright. Since cultivating an art to its ultimate stage partially changes the body, the mind and spirit should also be affected to some degree. Those described as radiant or just should be at least somewhat more righteous. That would be better for me and less dangerous...

A sect related to Shetuo would be very suitable: embodying radiance and governing rectitude. But I don't even know which sect that corresponds to, or what country it's in... The Xiaoming Sect would do too. Starlight and candle flame-something that illuminates the long night and pierces the dark depths can't be too bad, can it? And it's local, so I wouldn't need to risk a long journey...

First, I'll find a way to ask whether the Xiaoming Sect has the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas and whether its copy is complete. Then I'll decide.

If I can join the Xiaoming Sect, I won't need to fear the true supplier of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas anymore!

Having found an approach and clarified his direction, Ding Songyan felt as though his entire being had become clear and unclouded.

The sky seemed higher, the earth broader, and even the sunlight much brighter.

Hearing Ding Qingyan's footsteps suddenly approach as she entered the main room, he hastily put down the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, hid it among the pile of books, and picked up a storybook his predecessor had used for storytelling.

"Second Brother, what are you reading?" Ding Qingyan shook the water off her hands and asked casually.

"Getting ready to return to my old trade." While giving his younger sister a perfunctory answer, Ding Songyan pretended to turn to a page.

The handwriting on this page was sparse. It began:

"Qi did not inherit the imperial throne, becoming only the Human Emperor."

Note: this book's Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas will include somewhat more supernatural beings, Strange Beasts, and races than the Classic of Mountains and Seas. For instance, only three of the Four Fiends appear in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. My obsessive-compulsive streak wouldn't let me settle for just Three Fiends, so I added the remaining one. Another example: there aren't many Mythical Beasts suited to assassination arts, and they aren't particularly powerful, so I divided Yu into Ancestor Yu and the ordinary variety to raise their strength a little. There are also additions made for other reasons.