No Such Person

Xiaoqing wore Crimson Martial Attire that evening, adding a touch of dashing vigor to her dainty charm.

Not long before, she seemed to have disguised herself as one of the wandering heroines commonly seen in the streets and markets, so she could discreetly watch for anyone following Ding Songyan.

At Ding Songyan's question, she concentrated and thought back for a while.

"I've never heard of him."

So he did give me a false name... Ding Songyan was not surprised in the least.

When traveling abroad and bluffing people, how could anyone use their real name?

After a brief pause for thought, he asked:

"Has any important figure suddenly disappeared in the past few years-or the past decade or so?"

"An important figure? A Great Grandmaster or a Perfected Person?" Xiaoqing asked in return, then shook her head. "There are quite a few. Some Great Grandmasters and Perfected Persons are tottering with age, no matter how much they've extended their lives, and prefer to stay quietly within their sects. With no major wars or frequent disasters these days, it's quite common for them not to venture into the martial world for a decade or more. Others retired to the countryside long ago and rarely appear in martial circles, while some cultivate in secret, so the world never even learns that they've entered the Celestial-Human Realm or the Spirit Platform Realm."

"There are people who cultivate in secret, without the world knowing?" Ding Songyan was a little surprised.

Xiaoqing answered casually:

"Of course. How would the world know what realm some of the Demon Race have reached, if they don't like coming out to stir up trouble..."

As she spoke, she fell silent.

Ding Songyan fell silent too.

He really feared that Miss Xiaoqing might fly into a rage out of embarrassment and toss him into the great river to drown.

After this exchange, he had confirmed that the name "Yan Changqing" and the fact that he had been imprisoned for years would not reveal the "honored guest's" true identity anytime soon-unless he happened to ask someone who had known him.

After some thought, Ding Songyan ventured:

"Miss Xiaoqing, did you come here for something-or someone-in the Zhen Estate?"

Oh, I can actually ask that...

Xiaoqing pressed her lips together and studied Ding Songyan suspiciously, offering no answer.

Not answering was itself a kind of answer.

Ding Songyan smiled and pressed further:

"Something that should have been settled quickly, but the Zhen Estate keeps finding excuses to drag it out, even though you and the True Spirit Sect have already been here for quite some time?"

Xiaoqing leaned a little closer, tilting her head as she looked into Ding Songyan's eyes.

"Did you find that out at the Zhen Estate?

"Is that why the Zhen Estate sent people to follow you, and why Old Master Zhen had to show up himself when you went to the County Yamen?"

She had wanted to ask about this earlier, but the setting and timing had been wrong, so she had planned to inquire that night.

"No." Ding Songyan shook his head candidly. "If it were only about that, when I was with the Zhen Family, they could have taken advantage of the Watchtower's blind spots, stuffed me into a sack, disguised me as cargo, and sunk me in the river. I only noticed a few threads of evidence."

I was only testing my guess just now...

Xiaoqing found this rather amusing.

"Do you often stuff people into sacks and sink them in rivers? You sound very familiar with it."

"I'm a storyteller. Naturally, I'm good at imagining things. Besides, plenty of storybooks have scenes like that." Ding Songyan was someone who had even read true-crime accounts of major cases.

Xiaoqing's eyes shifted slightly.

"The Zhen Estate is hiding other secrets? Or waiting for another party?"

Ding Songyan smiled without speaking.

It was not that he did not want to answer. He had already forgotten what he meant to say.

Xiaoqing gave a tiny nod, her expression turning unusually serious, and did not press him further.

She had only come to Dingjiang Prefecture to see the sights and have fun. Such complicated matters were best left for Second Uncle to fret over.

If Second Uncle had questions later, she could come find Second Brother Ding again.

Having dropped all the hints he could, Ding Songyan resumed writing that day's installment of the Legend of the White Snake.

Xiaoqing sat down by the bed and gazed at Ding Songyan's back, speaking with a little emotion.

"I thought you were just a brilliant storyteller who knew all sorts of wonderful stories. Why have you become a bit mysterious today? No, you were already like this the day before yesterday..."

She sank into thought.

Ding Songyan turned halfway around, steering the subject back to the Legend of the White Snake.

"Miss Xiaoqing, I don't plan to have Xu Shilin train in martial arts step by step. That would probably take another ten years before he could rescue Lady White. I want him to have a fortuitous encounter and eat some Mythical Beasts or something else, so the family can reunite when Lady White has spent twenty full years imprisoned forever beneath Leifeng Pagoda.

"Are there any particular rules about eating Mythical Beasts?"

This was purely a way to satisfy Ding Songyan's own curiosity through Xu Shilin. Leafing through the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas every day and seeing so many entries saying "eat it," how could he not want to ask?

As for why she had to be rescued after twenty years, that was naturally to make it a nice round number with commemorative significance.

"What do you want to ask?" Xiaoqing unconsciously pursed her lips.

Ding Songyan already had a bellyful of questions.

"When eating Mythical Beasts, do you have to eat the whole creature, or will a portion-or just the parts containing its essence-do?"

Something as enormous as Kunpeng would not fit into a single stewing pot, could not be finished in one meal, and probably not even in a month.

Of course, Kunpeng did not appear in the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas itself. Only a commentary mentioned it: "Xuánmíng is Kunpeng. In the sea, he is a water god; in the heavens, he is a wind god. Xuánmíng is Yuqiang." (Note 1)

Yuqiang, meanwhile, was the northern god and Emperor Zhuanxu's aide: he swallowed the northern abyss, bore the azure sky, governed the Five Plagues, suppressed the netherworld and guarded the dead, and assisted the Black Emperor.

Xiaoqing was a little amused.

"You couldn't eat the whole creature anyway. Eating some of the parts containing its essence is enough. Any more is useless, and with some creatures, it can even be dangerous. You might suffer cultivation deviation, explode and die, have savage qi invade your brain, or have a divine will seize your body. Well, eating just a little extra is fine."

"What if you don't eat enough?" Ding Songyan had always liked analyzing things both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Xiaoqing wore an expression that said, Why do you have so many questions?

"It depends on how much you eat. Roughly speaking, it gives you the strength of a Martial Grandmaster at the perfected Law Realm for anywhere from six months or a year to over a decade.

"If, during that time, you can use your realm's clear perception of your altered apertures, your bodily condition, the flow of qi through heaven and earth, and the mysteries of the void to work out a cultivation method and the natural treasures you need, then quickly complete that cultivation, neither your realm nor your strength will regress when the time is up. Both will truly belong to you.

"Otherwise, once the time is up, your realm will keep falling and your strength will weaken day by day, until only a little supernatural power remains."

So Opening Orifices and the Aperture Refinement Method were developed by those who ate first, using their realms and the condition of their bodies to feel their way forward... Ding Songyan had gained an initial understanding of the mysteries of "eating."

Xiaoqing went on of her own accord:

"Nowadays, eating Mythical Beasts can take you no further than the perfected Law Realm. If you want to advance beyond that, you still have to rely on yourself. Without a thorough grasp of the corresponding martial arts, a sufficiently developed mind and spirit, and a deep understanding and command of heaven and earth, it's difficult to enter the Celestial-Human Realm.

"Even before the severance of heaven and earth, this realm was the first gate separating humans from gods.

"The Exalted Orchid Roll excludes Great Grandmasters and does not rank them, not because there are only a few Great Grandmasters, but because it isn't worthy."

"Martial cultivation also requires a certain level of mind and spirit?" Ding Songyan had heard rumors in the martial world that Ji Hanyi, the demonic woman of the Sage-Slaying Path, had a flaw in her mind that prevented her from becoming a Celestial Person, but he had assumed this was mainly an issue with her particular cultivation method.

"Of course. Without your spirit controlling things and your mind harmonizing them, constantly implanting foreign things into yourself and creating inhuman apertures will only lead to cultivation deviation or turn you into a savage beast." Xiaoqing chuckled, clicking her tongue.

Ding Songyan had always possessed an inquisitive spirit.

"Then why don't those who become Law Realm Martial Grandmasters by eating Mythical Beasts have to worry about this?"

"When cultivating a method, the spirit and body develop differently within each minor realm. But when you eat Mythical Beasts, your spirit and body change and strengthen together, so naturally there's no problem. Still, the lingering will of the corresponding Mythical Beast will affect you to some degree, so you'll have to temper your mind later too," Xiaoqing explained. "If you eat too much, as I just said, some can cause similar problems."

Then she remembered that they were discussing Xu Shilin's fortuitous encounter and said thoughtfully:

"The Divine Firmament Sect inherits the Thunder God's legacy. Eating a Kui Ox would be more suitable. It wouldn't conflict with his cultivation method."

"I understand now. Thank you, Miss Xiaoqing." Having broadened his knowledge, Ding Songyan felt considerably better.

The corresponding passages from the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas naturally flashed through his mind:

The Thunder God bore yin upon his back and embraced yang, wielded thunder and commanded lightning, meted out punishment on heaven's behalf, crushed yin and evil, and subdued the three realms.

The Kui Ox shattered yin and evil, shone with lightning, traveled with wind and rain, and quelled the three realms with its voice. Commentary: blue-green body, hornless, one-legged, resembling an ox.

Having settled the "setting," Ding Songyan began devising Xu Shilin's fortuitous encounter, then considered whether to add some romance. After all, Xu Shilin and Hu Meiniang had been a couple in the television series, though he had forgotten whether she was a rabbit spirit or a fox spirit.

Of course, Ding Songyan's aim was not to recreate the original. He wanted to add some plot and slow the storytelling down, so he could tell stories to Yan Changqing for a few more days.

Dragging things out while waiting for a change was a strategy too.

"Miss Xiaoqing, would it be better for Xu Shilin to fall in love with a Rabbit Demon or a Fox Demon during his fortuitous encounter? His parents fell in love as a human and a demon. His generation can't fall behind." Ding Songyan consulted his "God of Wealth."

Xiaoqing fell silent for a moment, then said in a slightly odd tone:

"Neither, perhaps. Choose something else."

You only identify with snake demons, then? I can't add another snake. The snake-demon content would be too high. Surely I can't force a match between Green Snake and Xu Shilin? No, no, that would violate human morality... Uh, demon etiquette doesn't say it's forbidden, but it could look like I'm making things up about Miss Xiaoqing... Ding Songyan thought for a moment, then said:

"How about the Maiden Kingdom Ruler?"

Someone who was not a demon but still had something supernatural about her.

"The Women's Kingdom?" Xiaoqing's tone brightened. "That works."

Ding Songyan immediately had Xu Shilin and his senior and junior brothers stumble into the Maiden Kingdom while searching for the Kui Ox Orb. After bathing in the Mother-and-Child River, they all became pregnant and were forced to seek help from the Maiden Kingdom Ruler. Then the Maiden Kingdom Ruler fell for Xu Shilin and wanted to make him stay and marry her, but his devotion to rescuing his mother moved her. She willingly relinquished her throne and planned to accompany Xu Shilin through all manner of dangers in search of the Kui Ox Orb.

The reason he promised all manner of dangers rather than eighty-one tribulations was that Ding Songyan really could not invent that many. He had also deliberately changed "drinking" to "bathing," stitching in the spider spirits' bathing scene from the Silken Cave.

That'll give me a few more installments... A shame I've forgotten so much of Journey to the West. Otherwise, I could tell eighty installments about those dangers... Ding Songyan set down his brush and watched Miss Xiaoqing take the pages.

As Xiaoqing read, she raised her head and stared at Ding Songyan in puzzlement.

"How did you know that people in the Women's Kingdom become pregnant by bathing in the Yellow Pool?"

"I made it up... What's the Yellow Pool?" Ding Songyan looked utterly bewildered, and quite sincere.

Xiaoqing said thoughtfully:

"There's a commentary in the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas: the Women's Kingdom has a Yellow Pool. Women who enter it to bathe emerge pregnant. If they bear a boy, he invariably dies at three years old. (Note 2)

"Hmm, you do seem not to know. Something you invented at random actually matched the truth. Perhaps this is heaven's will."

At Xiaoqing's answer, Ding Songyan nearly broke into a cold sweat.

Luckily, I haven't reached that section of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas yet. Otherwise, I really couldn't have acted with such a clear conscience just now.

Still, if I had read that passage, I wouldn't have changed "drinking" to "bathing." I'd definitely have taken care to avoid it.

Note 1: Quite a few scholars believe that Zhuangzi's inspiration for Kunpeng came from Xuánmíng, as many of their characteristics match. I have adopted that interpretation.

Note 2: Quoted from the commentary by Guo Pu of the Jin dynasty.