Mysteries upon mysteries

Ding Songyan picked up his brush again, intending to polish the earlier story, but it froze above the paper, nearly dripping ink. It betrayed his inexplicable shock and the thoughts racing through his mind.

None of the royal courts or major sects in any country has a complete Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, yet I seem to have one?

Hmm, the Zhen Estate should have obtained Chen Yuliang's copy too...

What qualified Chen Yuliang to judge that this Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas was genuine and complete?

If it really is complete, or close to complete, where did this version of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas come from?

The mysteries and dangers lurking behind it are probably more numerous and greater than I imagined!

I'd been thinking of trading this relatively complete Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas for a chance to join the Xiaoming Sect. Now it seems they would indeed value its contents, but they'd care even more about who produced this version and where it came from...

Ding Songyan steadied himself and put brush to paper, jotting down a few good lines of dialogue he had just thought of so Xiaoqing would not notice the storm surging within him. Xiaoqing was rereading the heartbreaking family scene between Xu Xian and Xu Shilin, never lifting her head.

After writing down those lines, Ding Songyan frowned slightly.

Chen Yuliang's Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas should be in the Zhen Estate's hands, and they also control everything concerning the aftermath of Xu Chang'an's master's death. Both matters have sunk like stones into the sea, without another sound...

I used to think it was a relatively "common" version. The Zhen Estate has a Martial Grandmaster, so they've seen all sorts of oddities; nothing coming of it seemed normal enough. But now, this version of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas is so rare it might even be the only copy. Did the Zhen Estate really find nothing amiss? Aren't they curious about its origins? Wouldn't they question Xu Chang'an and me again? Uh, was Mr. Yu following me because of this, rather than anything to do with that "honored guest"?

Besides all that, Xiaoqing's side and the True Spirit Sect, represented by Ren Youyang, have both come because of the Zhen Estate...

The Zhen Estate is also hiding a very mysterious, very suspicious "honored guest"...

They told me to keep everything strictly secret, yet imposed no restrictions at all. They didn't even make me sign anything...

At that thought, Ding Songyan suddenly regretted accepting the job of telling stories to the "honored guest."

He felt that storm clouds were gathering over the Zhen Estate. Something was bound to change; something was bound to happen.

Had this been when he had first left school, he would have eagerly joined in, convinced his wits would let him avoid danger and reap rewards. The bigger the waves, the more valuable the fish.

Now, after reality had given him a brutal beating, he only wanted to keep his distance, wait until the problem erupted and everything blew into "fragments," then see whether there was anything he could pick up.

Hiss... should I speed things up, finish "storytelling" for the honored guest early, and get out sooner? Ding Songyan began weighing the idea.

Xiaoqing put down the papers in her hand and said in a noticeably nasal voice:

"When Xu Shilin begged so desperately outside the door but wasn't allowed in, I really wanted to curse Xu Xian. But when I saw how much Xu Xian was suffering behind that door, I felt... ah...

"It reminded me of a lyric you used before: without the bond of fate, hands cannot meet even face-to-face.

"Add another line, and it would fit this scene perfectly:

"Without the bond of fate, hands cannot meet even face-to-face; from this day on, our paths may cross, but we shall never see each other."

You're quite the literary type... Ding Songyan considered it.

"That's a good line. May I add it to the story manuscript?"

He needed to give his "god of wealth" more of a sense of involvement.

"Of course." Having received his approval, Xiaoqing shook off a little of her gloom.

Ding Songyan adopted a casual, conversational manner.

"When I heard people mention the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas the day before yesterday, they said copies were originally everywhere, and only later did the courts, sects, and great clans destroy them, keeping private copies for themselves. I didn't expect it to have been a 'secret classic' from the beginning, only leaking out into the martial world afterward."

"That's how rumors in the martial world are. Truth and falsehood are all mixed together, with far more falsehood than truth." Xiaoqing was unconcerned. "Besides, tall trees catch the wind. People in the martial world love cursing the greatest powers and blaming them for every problem. They don't dare say it to their faces, but they still have the courage to wag their tongues behind their backs."

She stood up, waved goodbye to Ding Songyan, and vanished from the room like a wisp of green smoke in the night.

Ding Songyan felt as though he had just woken from a dream, or watched flowers in a mirror and the moon on water dissolve.

He put away his papers, brush, ink, and wooden boxes, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down on the bed. Gazing at the roof beams washed in faint, shifting moonlight, he began thinking everything through carefully.

He thought about the past, the present, the many details he had overlooked, and the ways things might unfold in the future.

The next day.

As they reached Fengshui Bridge, Xu Chang'an turned to glance at Ding Songyan.

"Second Brother Ding, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Ding Songyan rubbed his slightly swollen bags under his eyes and gave a wry smile.

"Maybe it's because I've been telling the Legend of the White Snake so often lately. I actually dreamed a huge white snake was chasing me."

"What fills your thoughts by day fills your dreams by night," Xu Chang'an reassured him.

Today, he wore a pale straight-cut robe and a square scholar's cap, which considerably softened his shifty, rat-eyed look.

Ding Songyan stepped onto the stone bridge and changed the subject.

"You aren't working today?"

"With the money Master left me, I could go two years without working." Xu Chang'an smiled. "You were right before, Second Brother Ding. How can someone who wants to become a Great Thief steal from an old granny selling fruit and vegetables, or a scholar writing letters for people?"

Only with food and clothing enough did people learn honor and shame.

Then Xu Chang'an looked a little troubled.

"I'm planning to look around the martial arts schools and see whether they have any techniques that suit me and my plans to become a Great Thief. Fortunately, I haven't begun aperture refinement yet, so I don't have to worry about conflicting martial arts.

"But then the money won't last two years..."

"The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the bridge. Learn first, and worry about future expenses later." Ding Songyan had originally intended to ask Mr. Yu today when his arrangements to attend a martial arts school for body tempering and qi training would be made, but he was already a little afraid to visit the Zhen Estate.

Outwardly calm but inwardly agitated, he looked at Xu Chang'an and casually gave him a scare.

"It's wise not to work lately. Your master had a bit of a reputation at the yamen. When my father came home from duty yesterday, he said Constable Xue already knew your master had offended the Zhen Estate and fled to the ends of the earth. He intends to give you youngsters a warning, so you won't run too wild now that nobody's keeping you in line. Don't become the chicken he kills to scare the monkeys."

Give you a few more scares, and hopefully you'll get firmly onto the right path.

Xu Chang'an's face instantly turned white, and he hastily said:

"I understand, I understand."

As a petty thief of no standing, the person he had always feared most was Xue Zhangjian, Constable Xue.

Seriously, you scare that easily? Seeing Xu Chang'an's exaggerated reaction, Ding Songyan asked in amusement:

"What year were you born?"

Don't tell me you just look old?

"I was born early in the eighteenth year of Xingping." Xu Chang'an did not understand why Second Brother Ding had suddenly asked.

Ding Songyan froze.

"And you call me Second Brother?"

You're over a year older than this body of mine!

"You're Qingyan's older brother." Xu Chang'an wore an expression that said, "What's wrong with that?" "Besides, these past few days, I've often felt you really should be the older brother. You're calmer than me, cleverer than me, more discerning than me, and more knowledgeable than me."

Stop praising me, stop. When I was twenty, clever was the only one of those I could claim... Ding Songyan waved the hand carrying the Bamboo Basket. He and Xu Chang'an parted on the far side of Fengshui Bridge, one heading to Dangkang Temple and the other to visit martial arts schools.

Xiaoqing and her maid had again arrived early outside Dangkang Temple to wait for the storytelling. As Ding Songyan followed yesterday's draft, recounting Xu Shilin's childhood and adolescence, he felt the character still lacked depth, so he added several experiences from his own youth: becoming obsessed with games until his parents beat him back onto the right track; gawking at a murder scene and nearly being knocked over by a fugitive who had been hiding nearby and was hurrying away; going fishing in the mountains and almost stepping into waters where someone was electrofishing...

He gave these episodes new faces, presenting them in ways that suited an ancient setting and Xu Shilin's character:

Relying on his innate divine strength to bully his fellow students at the martial arts school, then gradually learning right from wrong through his aunt's tears and his uncle's reprimands; encountering officers pursuing the fugitive Pacifier of the West and, though still only a youth, bravely intervening and killing him with three punches; going fishing in the mountains, meeting a fierce tiger, and leaping onto its back to rain blows down on it...

With all these details in place, when the brave, strong-willed, sensible Xu Shilin sobbed and pounded on the door, begging to see Xu Xian, the audience began wiping their eyes. By the time Ding Songyan recited the closing verse, "Without the bond of fate, hands cannot meet even face-to-face; from this day on, our paths may cross, but we shall never see each other," some were crying aloud.

"You tell it even better than you write it." After the crowd dispersed, Xiaoqing praised Ding Songyan with reddened eyes.

I'm the improvisational type. That's how I convinced my previous investors... Before Ding Songyan could say anything to Xiaoqing, she disappeared into the crowd with her maid, seemingly intent on helping him catch his follower.

He shook his head and decided to visit the County Yamen under the pretext of looking for his father, then decide whether to go to the Zhen Estate depending on the situation.

Just as Ding Songyan was about to move, someone approached.

The man wore a blue robe and a small cap, dressed as an ordinary townsman. With his puffy eyelids and pale, plump face, he was unmistakably the True Spirit Sect disciple Ren Youyang.

"Brother Youyang, what are you doing?" Ding Songyan asked in surprise.

"Don't I look more like an ordinary person now?" Ren Youyang smiled and pointed at himself.

"Ordinary people aren't quite as... prosperous-looking as you," Ding Songyan said after considering his words.

Ren Youyang suddenly understood.

"No wonder people always spot something wrong when I dress the white dragon in a fish's guise."

"Did you need something, Brother Youyang?" Ding Songyan asked.

Ren Youyang's expression grew serious, and he coughed.

"I'll go to the Zhen Estate with you. Whatever happens, I can't promise anything else, but if it's only a matter of keeping you alive, Old Master Zhen will have to grant me that much consideration."

Ding Songyan was briefly dumbstruck. He had never expected Ren Youyang to help him like this.

Catching a follower and uncovering the person giving the orders was amusing and interesting, so it was perfectly normal for Ren Youyang to be willing to do that. But the Zhen Estate was connected to the reason the True Spirit Sect had sent people to Dingjiang Prefecture. Yet Ren Youyang actually intended to spoil the estate's plans for someone he had met only once by chance.

Though this would not be a direct confrontation, it would still damage their relationship somewhat.

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Ding Songyan could not help saying admiringly:

"Brother Youyang, you truly have the spirit of the chivalrous heroes of old!"

Ren Youyang clearly had not expected such praise. He paused, then laughed heartily.

"How could we let ourselves fall short of the ancients?"

Joy spread across his face, and his smile shone brightly.

After escorting Ding Songyan to the Zhen Estate, Ren Youyang did not stay with him, instead going straight to pay his respects to Old Master Zhen.

As on the previous day, Mr. Yu led Ding Songyan to the little building screened by flowers and trees. He was blindfolded, then guided through turn after turn until he finally reached the room with the heavy iron door.

Throughout the process, Mr. Yu remained silent, never mentioning that Ding Songyan had gone to Beili Ward and waited until he found Ren Youyang.

Once seated, Ding Songyan opened his folding fan and prepared to begin.

Suddenly, he once again felt as though the heavenly gate atop his head had opened and a cool sensation was descending into him.

That aged, hoarse voice echoed through his mind with a chuckle.

"You've discovered that the Zhen Estate sent someone to follow you, harboring ill intentions, haven't you?"

Ding Songyan was startled at first, then abruptly understood.

Yesterday, this "honored guest" used divination to calculate his own opportunity not to prove anything at all. His real purpose was to draw me into the game!