Summer Night

That lovely voice fell upon Ding Songyan's ears like a death spirit calling for his soul.

"I'm doomed! I forgot someone would come knocking for the next installment!"

Ding Songyan's eyes flew open, and he sat bolt upright.

On the other side of the screen, Ding Qingyan asked sleepily:

"Second Brother, why did you suddenly sit up?"

Ding Songyan had already turned toward the oil-paper-covered window, where the young girl Xiaoqing stood with a faint smile.

She wore a plain white, round-necked jacket that fastened down the front, paired with a pleated yellow silk skirt. Her hair was loosely gathered up and fell in smooth strands, adorned with a gold dangling hairpin bearing a pearl flower.

In the clear moonlight, she raised her right index finger and held it upright against her lips.

Ding Songyan understood her meaning easily enough and said to Ding Qingyan through the screen:

"I came home late today and forgot I haven't written the story for tomorrow morning. I'll have to get up and work."

Ah, I had to stay up late working in my last life, and I still have to do it in this one?

Ding Qingyan's voice relaxed, a smile lurking in her words:

"Thanks for the hard work, Second Brother. I'll look forward to reading it tomorrow morning."

You don't even spare a thought for your brother and tell me not to burn the midnight oil... Ding Songyan put on his clothes and rearranged the wooden boxes into a makeshift desk and chair.

He lit the oil lamp and set out his paper and inkstone, then glanced at Xiaoqing, who had taken a seat beside the bed. He rubbed his face to drive away the last of his drowsiness.

The key to the next installment was Flooding Jinshan Temple, but he couldn't write only about their magical battle. The characters' changes and the eruption of their emotions mattered more.

So he had Xu Xian see Lady White brave every danger to rescue him, heedless of life and death, and remember all the love they had shared. At last, he overcame his fear of the snake demon and chose to return to his wife's side. And so he took Lady White from "the rain's heart broke, the wind shed tears" to "for those words alone, even a broken heart held no regrets." (Note 1)

Naturally, he worked in such things as "Great Might Heavenly Dragon," "Overturn Rivers and Seas," and "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms" along the way, making the writing a dazzling bouquet of thrilling scenes.

As soon as Ding Songyan finished a page and set it aside for the ink to dry, Xiaoqing took it to read closely. One page, then another, then another.

"Hurry up," Xiaoqing urged, her voice slightly nasal.

Sensing that his sister was fast asleep, Ding Songyan finally dared to speak and replied helplessly:

"Miss Xiaoqing, how could I possibly write as fast as you read?"

Ever since Xiaoqing had revealed her snake's tail, his form of address for the girl had quietly reverted to "miss"-Miss Xiaoqing.

From "miss" to "heroine," then from "heroine" back to "miss"-they had grown considerably closer.

Xiaoqing was reasonable, too. She sniffed and said:

"I just can't wait to find out what happens next."

I'm afraid you'll hit me in a moment... Ding Songyan shook his head inwardly and turned his brush toward a new development.

With Yan Nantian's initial help and Green Snake fighting desperately, Lady White succeeded in bringing Xu Xian out of Jinshan Temple. But Fahai had earlier provoked her into flooding the place, harming innocents and violating heaven's laws. In the end, her only reward was separation from her husband and eternal imprisonment beneath Leifeng Pagoda.

After reading that page, Xiaoqing remained silent for a long time.

Before she could speak, Ding Songyan volunteered:

"The rest of the story will roughly go like this: Xu Xian blames himself and grieves, withdrawing from the world to cultivate in a Daoist temple. Xu Shilin, the reincarnation of the Wuqu Star, grows up under his aunt and uncle's care. After getting into trouble several times, he learns who his birth parents really are and where each of them is.

"He travels far from home and joins a top sect, where he masters powerful martial arts. At last, he splits open Mount Hua-no, Leifeng Pagoda-and rescues Lady White. Then he goes to the Daoist temple to bring Xu Xian home, finally reuniting the family."

As he spun the tale, Ding Songyan realized he was almost turning it into Lotus Lantern, with Chenxiang cleaving a mountain to rescue his mother.

"Good, good, good!" Xiaoqing said, a slight sob catching in her voice.

Seeing her emotions settle, Ding Songyan decided to turn to his real purpose:

"Miss Xiaoqing, what's troubling me now is which sect Xu Shilin should join and which divine art he should practice to deal with Fahai and break open Leifeng Pagoda..."

He had made Xu Shilin the Wuqu Star for two reasons. First, this world clearly valued martial prowess more than scholarly accomplishment, and ordinary folk preferred stories about learning martial arts. Second, it laid the groundwork for asking Xiaoqing for information later, giving him a sound pretext. Only with a logical thread could the story take shape.

Xiaoqing rubbed the corners of her eyes and looked at Ding Songyan, waiting for him to continue.

Ding Songyan rambled on:

"As you know, I've forgotten many things. Right now, my knowledge of the martial world is limited to the old tales and anecdotes storytellers recount. Beyond those, I know nothing."

At this point, he unrolled the map to reveal the dagger:

"Could I ask you for a little guidance?"

"Oh!" Xiaoqing froze for a moment, then sat up straight in delighted surprise, adopting the air of a proper teacher.

She hadn't expected that she could take part in creating the story, much less offer Second Brother Ding instruction.

Clearing her throat, she nodded and said slowly:

"I know a little about the martial world.

"Hmm, the Heaven-Tilting Dao's martial arts come from Gonggong, who contended for the Celestial Emperor's Throne before the severance of heaven and earth. They're called the 'Mountain-Breaking Heaven-Tilting Scripture.' In ancient times, this art could smash Mount Buzhou in two, let alone a Leifeng Pagoda reinforced by nothing more than a magical formation. Even today, someone who mastered its deeper levels should have no trouble."

Gonggong? Ruler of all waters, destroyer of a thousand mountains, master of wrath, breaker of heaven and earth, annihilator of laws and order... Ding Songyan considered this and asked:

"Where is the Heaven-Tilting Dao now?"

"It's now one of the Upper Nine Paths among the Twenty-One Paths of Evil Demons. I don't know where it is, either," Xiaoqing answered honestly.

Ding Songyan uttered an "er."

"That won't really do, will it? Wouldn't Xu Shilin become a follower of an evil, unorthodox path?"

"There are good inheritances from Gonggong, too. The 'Water Virtue Commentary,' for instance." Xiaoqing also felt Ding Songyan had a point. After that brief defense, she said, "Then let's choose another. The Nine Heavens Sect's 'Chaos Creation Record' comes from Torch Dragon. Its fundamental art, the 'Creation-Opening Technique,' would be enough to break open Leifeng Pagoda."

Torch Dragon's inheritance... the Creation-Opening Technique... Isn't that giving Leifeng Pagoda a little too much credit? Curious, Ding Songyan pressed:

"Which country is the Nine Heavens Sect in?"

"New Yu." Xiaoqing maintained her teacherly bearing.

"That's not really suitable either, is it?" Ding Songyan said hesitantly. "New Yu counts as an enemy nation. How could we have Xu Shilin learn an enemy nation's martial arts?"

Xiaoqing was both annoyed and amused:

"Why do you have so many taboos?"

"It's not that I have taboos. It's that my esteemed listeners wouldn't like it." Ding Songyan put on a broad smile. "Most of the people who listen to my stories are from Zhao. I can't put them off."

Xiaoqing exhaled helplessly and said:

"Then the Xingtian Clan's 'Heaven-Breaking Treasure Record.'"

"The Xingtian Clan..." Ding Songyan pointed at his head. "Wouldn't their appearance be a little frightening? Xu Shilin is supposed to be a handsome, elegant young man."

Xiaoqing couldn't help lifting her eyes toward the rafters:

"Let me think. Let me think again... The Divine Firmament Sect, then. Your Great Zhao's Divine Firmament Sect. Whether it's 'Heaven's Punishment Collection' or the 'Nine Divine Firmament Mansions,' both have a ferocious, ruthless side capable of smashing mountains and destroying cities. At the appropriate realm, snapping Leifeng Pagoda in two wouldn't be particularly difficult."

"That's good. That's good." Ding Songyan stopped finding fault.

It suited Xu Shilin perfectly.

Besides, Lady White had been imprisoned beneath Leifeng Pagoda forever because she violated heaven's laws earlier in the story. If Xu Shilin cultivated "Heaven's Punishment Collection," the two would mirror one another perfectly. Every sip and every morsel had been ordained beforehand.

Xiaoqing first smiled, then frowned slightly:

"You mustn't use the actual names of those two arts later, though. Otherwise, before you finish telling this installment, you'll be in the prefectural yamen's prison.

"You'll have to change them a little."

The renowned orthodox sects only publicize the fundamental arts of evil, unorthodox paths, while keeping their own secret? Ding Songyan thought for a moment and recalled a martial art with a rather ridiculous name, though he could no longer recite it in full:

"How about changing it to the Nine Heavens Ten Earths Bodhisattva-Scaring Thunderbolt Lightning Palm?"

"Take out 'Bodhisattva-Scaring.' It's far too frivolous," Xiaoqing criticized. "Hmm, Nine Heavens Ten Earths Thunderbolt Lightning Palm sounds good."

Ding Songyan followed up smoothly:

"Miss Xiaoqing, do you happen to know anything about the Xiaoming Sect?"

"You want to write the Xiaoming Sect into your story as an orthodox sect to curry favor with them?" Xiaoqing felt she had guessed Second Brother Ding's intentions.

After recalling what she knew, she said:

"The Xiaoming Sect inherited its teachings from the two goddesses Xiaoming and Zhuguang. Each had a fundamental art: the 'Celestial Stars Scripture' and the 'Illuminating the Long Night Scripture.' Unfortunately, both divine arts lost their contents covering the final part of the Law Realm through the Celestial-Human Realm long ago.

"Don't mention those two fundamental arts directly, either. What the martial world knows are the individual techniques derived from them, such as the 'Bi Moon Illusory Form' movement art, the Southern Dipper Calamity-Transcending Steps, the Northern Dipper Killing Sword, and the Seven Night-Illuminating Swords."

The Celestial Stars Scripture? Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow:

"Is there a Celestial Stars Formation?"

"They lost the crucial parts long ago. They can't set it up at all," Xiaoqing answered casually.

She suddenly froze and looked at Ding Songyan suspiciously:

"How do you know about the Celestial Stars Formation?"

"The 'Celestial Stars Scripture' must correspond to the celestial stars, and that sounds very suitable for a formation." Ding Songyan swiftly invented an excuse.

Xiaoqing suspected nothing further, the gold dangling hairpin atop her head trembling:

"At present, they only have the seven-person Northern Dipper Sword Formation and the thirty-six-person Heavenly Dipper Sword Formation."

Ding Songyan very much wanted to ask whether the Xiaoming Sect had a complete version of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas. But he felt the timing was wrong: he shouldn't know about that book yet. He could only suppress the impulse for now and ask hesitantly:

"What does the Xiaoming Sect value most when taking disciples?"

Xiaoqing glanced at him:

"How would I know?

"Who would care about that sort of thing?"

I would... Ding Songyan felt a little disappointed.

Still, the subject had now been brought out into the open. He could seek information from the Zhen Estate later.

Xiaoqing set the sheet in her hand back on the wooden box, stood up, and waved with a bright smile:

"Second Brother Ding, get some proper rest. You'll need to marshal your spirits tomorrow and tell this installment well."

Weren't you the one disturbing my rest? Ding Songyan turned and walked toward the door.

"What are you doing?" Xiaoqing asked curiously, just as she was about to leave.

Ding Songyan sighed and said:

"The summer heat is blazing, and it's stuffy indoors. But if I open the window, I'm afraid mosquitoes will fly in. I want to cool off in the courtyard for a while before going to sleep."

The weather was hot, and after spending so long writing the story, he was drenched in sweat.

"Oh, I see." Xiaoqing smiled kindly. "Then I'll help you."

She raised a hand and pressed it against Ding Songyan's shoulder.

First, Ding Songyan's vision went black, and he felt his body sway. Then he saw his courtyard wall and gate-from the outside.

"I think the stretch from your Chengyu Lane to Fengshui Bridge is cool and comfortable. You could try it." Xiaoqing appeared before Ding Songyan with her maidservant, brought her palms together, and said with a smile, "We'll be off, then."

Ding Songyan looked at the tightly shut courtyard gate and the rather tall wall:

"Miss Xiaoqing, how am I supposed to get back to my room to sleep afterward?"

Xiaoqing blinked, offering no answer for a moment.

Ding Songyan was about to speak again when, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly glimpsed mist blending into the night at the mouth of the lane. Blurred figures walked within it, some in tattered clothes, others clad in armor and bearing weapons.

In the blink of an eye, it all vanished again.

Note 1: Quoted from "Waiting a Thousand Years," the theme song of New Legend of the White Snake.