Sea of Consciousness

Yesterday, Ding Songyan had thought he had made no meaningful contact with this "honored guest." With disciples of the Zhen Estate watching nearby, even their conversation had been restricted. Surely he would not fall under suspicion. That was why he had dared to stake out Beili Ward for a fortuitous encounter and witness the wonders of the art of numerology.

Who knew the Zhen Estate would rather kill the wrong man than let anyone slip through? Even under these circumstances, they had sent Attendants to take turns following him.

As Ding Songyan saw it, if the Zhen Estate really had done this because of the "honored guest," rather than because they had traced the source of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, then this guest should have foreseen what would follow. Yesterday, he had deliberately used the art of numerology and the promise of a fortuitous encounter as a smokescreen to trick Ding Songyan into going to Beili Ward to verify it. That way, in the Zhen Family's eyes, his movements would be plainly suspicious and his behavior abnormal.

Afterward, even if he chose to come clean with the Zhen Estate, they would suspect a scheme within a scheme. Given how little his status mattered, his fate was easy to imagine.

Even jumping into the Yellow River would not wash him clean!

And even if the Zhen Estate believed him, once he had become entangled in something they took so seriously, the odds of being silenced afterward might not be ten out of ten, but they were certainly nine out of ten.

The human heart is treacherous! I did nothing to you, yet from the very beginning, you harbored such malice and wanted to drag me into the mire! Anger surged through Ding Songyan. He groped to the side for his teacup, trying to calm himself by moistening his throat.

Although he had fought in the seas of commerce for years, at least he had lived in an orderly society with good public security. He had truly never encountered someone who tried to trick him to his death at their very first meeting. Nor did he understand enough about the mysteries of this world's various divine arts. He had assumed that without any overt interaction, he should not fall under suspicion, and thus had landed himself in a position where he could neither advance nor retreat.

With a gulp, Ding Songyan drank some tea, doing his utmost to quell his anger and panic.

One of the most important lessons he had learned over the years was never to act on emotion, never to think things through or make decisions while anger, panic, fear, or other emotions ruled his mind.

As some of those intense emotions subsided, he caught a familiar scent:

The scent of a scam.

Many of the scams he had heard about, seen, or even experienced shared one feature: first frighten, then entice. They began by using every means to make their targets terrified, afraid, and flustered, or genuinely trap them in a predicament. Then they revealed their "identity" or "power," taking advantage of their targets' utter disarray and loss of judgment to guide them into doing something that benefited the scammers.

Wasn't everything you did yesterday and said today meant to make me terrified, afraid, and panicked? Let's see what you say next and how you try to "entice" me... By the time Ding Songyan handed his teacup back to the Zhen Family disciple beside him, he had regained some composure.

Inside his mind, the aged, hoarse voice was still echoing:

"Even if I hadn't tricked you into going to Beili Ward, the Zhen Estate would not have spared you.

"When they brought in someone who wasn't a disciple of the Zhen Estate to tell stories, I knew Zhen Qianfan could wait no longer.

"Think carefully. Has the Zhen Family taken control of your parents or elders to threaten you into keeping this storytelling matter secret? Haven't their promises to you remained unfulfilled? If you don't bring them up, won't they stay silent about them too?

"In their eyes, the moment you agreed to tell stories, you were already a dead man."

Still "frightening" me... But the Zhen Family's behavior really is abnormal. They even blindfold me and lead me around in circles just to meet someone, yet they believed a mere spoken promise that I would keep the secret? Ding Songyan opened his folding fan again and, showing nothing unusual, began telling the part where Lady White married Xu Xian.

"Young friend, you and I are already grasshoppers tied to the same string. Only by setting aside our grievances and joining forces can we wrest life from death," the aged, hoarse voice continued.

Here comes the "enticement"... Hard to say whether his aim is genuine or false... Ding Songyan coolly assessed the other man's words without letting it affect his storytelling.

The aged, hoarse voice echoed once more:

"As a show of sincerity, I shall first lend you a strand of qi, allowing you to communicate with me in your sea of consciousness without Zhen Qianfan or those beside you hearing.

"While this strand of qi remains within you, it also has many everyday uses. In your eyes, it can pierce illusions; in your hands, it can injure others; in your feet, it can aid your leaps; in your soul, it can protect you. But you must remember: outside this dungeon, you will have only two opportunities to use it."

Has the dagger finally appeared at the end of the unrolled map? Is your real aim to trick me into opening my mind so that strand of "qi" can enter? Ding Songyan sneered inwardly, with no intention of agreeing.

Just then, the cool sensation descending through the heavenly gate atop his head became exceptionally intense. It poured into him like the Milky Way cascading down, swiftly nurturing a hazy, glimmering "seed."

As the "seed" gently turned, Ding Songyan's soul seemed to split in two. One half fluently told the Legend of the White Snake, its emotions rising and falling, while the other withdrew above a vast, undulating, illusory sea glittering with golden light.

The sky over the sea was entirely shrouded in dense mist. Only at its highest point was there an opening, through which hazy light streamed down.

Within that light stood a figure with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore a Huayang Headscarf and a blue scholar's robe. His temples were graying, his face lean, and his bearing scholarly and refined. His eyes were pitch-black, as though deep pools lay hidden within them.

You simply forced that strand of qi into me? Then why waste so many words just now? It's not as though I could resist... Is this still part of the "enticement"? What sort of cultivation art is this, to be so wondrous... Ding Songyan was both startled and suspicious.

Yet even an old man possessing such a wondrous cultivation art had been locked in a dungeon by Zhen Qianfan, unable to escape!

"Senior, what exactly do you intend?" Ding Songyan took the initiative and cupped his hands.

The old man took two steps with his hands behind his back, then nodded in praise:

"Your wits remain steady. Your future holds promise."

First, I need to have a future... Ding Songyan waited for him to continue.

The old man smiled faintly:

"For the next few days, you need not panic. Before you finish telling me the story, and before the Zhen Estate finds any trace of a lead, they will do nothing to you.

"As for my aim, you should already have guessed it. Help me escape and recover, and when the time comes, I shall grant you a tremendous fortune."

"Senior, I don't even have the strength to truss a chicken. What ability or worth do I have to help you escape? Never mind Old Master Zhen-even those two Zhen Family disciples beside me could beat me to death with a few punches." Ding Songyan was so angry that he laughed.

Aren't you thinking far too highly of me?

The old man gazed at Ding Songyan with his dark eyes and said calmly:

"Great strength would merely add flowers to the brocade. Even if you lack the strength to truss a chicken, it is no obstacle. Once you begin following my instructions, you will discover for yourself that those who follow the right path find abundant support. There will be plenty of people to help you."

"Then why must it be me?" Ding Songyan was not about to be deceived so easily.

The old man nodded slightly:

"Good. You have the caution I possessed in my youth.

"To tell you the truth, Zhen Qianfan sent you here to tell me stories precisely because he wanted me to make use of you. I am merely turning his scheme against him. Otherwise, why would he insist on choosing someone with little connection to the Zhen Estate and no martial arts to protect himself? After studying storytelling for so long, could all those disciples of the Zhen Estate still not have learned the Legend of the White Snake?"

That does make sense. Mr. Yu clearly followed me to Beili Ward yesterday, yet the Zhen Estate showed no reaction today. Even if they chose not to kill me out of respect for Ren Youyang, they should still have done something else. As things stand, aren't they obviously setting a trap? Ding Songyan deliberately put on an expression of agreement.

The old man looked up at the mist-heavy "sky" and chuckled:

"Your performance exceeded my expectations. It has allowed me to see hope."

"Senior, what exactly is going on?" Ding Songyan played along, trying to coax more information out of him.

Of course, he also understood that the other man's words surely contained both truth and falsehood. He could neither believe all of it nor dismiss all of it.

The old man in the Huayang Headscarf and blue scholar's robe paced toward Ding Songyan and said with a sigh:

"I was blind to consider Zhen Qianfan a friend I could trust with my life.

"My original name was Yan Changqing. In my youth, I came from a family with a respectable scholarly heritage. But one day, an elder provoked demons and followers of evil paths, and our entire household was slaughtered. I alone survived.

"That night, I had climbed over the wall to carouse with my disreputable friends. It was precisely that which allowed me to escape disaster. One of those friends was Zhen Qianfan.

"Later, I traveled far from home. Relying on old ties of goodwill left by my ancestors, I entered a sect and cultivated divine arts.

"To avenge my family, I searched everywhere for opportunities. I had quite a few extraordinary encounters, and through them, I became a force to be reckoned with for a time.

"When I returned to my hometown that day, I found my childhood friends scattered to the ends of the earth. I could locate only Zhen Qianfan. His family had fallen on hard times, and he had joined the Four Waters Gang, cultivating that blasted Water Ape Divine Art.

"I was all alone. Thinking of our youthful friendship and everything in the past, I revealed myself and met him. I helped him obtain all manner of cultivation resources and find the Northern Abyss Fishback Scripture left behind by a predecessor, which could accommodate the Water Ape Divine Art. That allowed him to defy the saying, 'Fail to become a Martial Grandmaster by forty, and you have no hope for the rest of your life,' and enter the law realm at forty-two..."

Yan Changqing became immersed in his memories, even abandoning his formal, elderly manner of referring to himself.

As Ding Songyan listened, he analyzed which statements were true, which were false, and which could be verified.

Yan Changqing lowered his gaze from the sky, a faint trace of hatred entering his expression:

"I regarded him as my own younger brother, and he honored me as his elder brother. Yet when I suffered grave injuries while seizing a divine object and rushed to Dingjiang Prefecture to seek shelter with him, he coveted that object. Breaking faith and repaying kindness with betrayal, he seized the opportunity to strike a killing blow.

"Heh. Fortunately, I had already been grievously wounded and near death, so I dared not carry that divine object with me. The moment I obtained it, I found somewhere to hide it. Only because Zhen Qianfan failed to find it on me did he spare my life and lock me in this dungeon, interrogating me day and night. By now, I no longer know how much time has passed."

Is he being vague about how many years he has been imprisoned because he fears I'll uncover his true identity? Ding Songyan formed a suspicion.

Yan Changqing regained his easy, composed bearing:

"Zhen Qianfan has reached sixty and can hardly wait any longer. All the peculiar things happening today stem from that."

"Why can't he wait any longer?" Ding Songyan did not ask what the divine object was. The other man had not said earlier, and would most likely refuse to say even if asked.

Yan Changqing chuckled:

"His Northern Abyss Fishback Scripture is incomplete. Once he enters the law realm, there is no further path recorded. It also carries certain hidden dangers, causing his body to decline more rapidly after sixty. Unless he finds the Immortality Elixir, even something that extends his lifespan will only let him live a few more decades, without restoring his strength.

"That divine object can help him with this."

"I see." Ding Songyan acted as though realization had dawned on him, then asked casually, "Senior, which school or sect do you come from?"

Yan Changqing fell silent for a while:

"Back then, I betrayed my sect for that divine object. Now, I dare no longer speak its name."

You're afraid I'll follow the trail to your sect and ask around, only to discover there's no such person as Yan Changqing, aren't you? Ding Songyan sneered inwardly.