Seeing Through Illusions

Chapter 36: Breaking Delusions

Here they come again?

Hearing what Ren Youyang said, Ding Songyan felt both that this was within expectations and somewhat helpless.

These people were quite persistent!

They had already been exposed by Ren Youyang once, yet they still dared to come. They really did not take one of the Six Sects and Four Factions seriously at all!

"Take it slow this time, and we'll definitely catch them." Ren Youyang chuckled softly before fully entering character as a spectator, "Hey, Second Brother Ding, I heard that a woman as pretty as a Heavenly Immortal comes to listen to your storytelling every day. Is she really that gorgeous? How does she compare to the ones on the Rivers and Lakes Beauty Register?"

You would have seen her if you had come earlier. However, as a "competitor," Miss Xiaoqing might not be willing to see you. Her disguise and concealment skills are quite impressive... Ding Songyan continued packing up his storytelling gear while glancing sideways in the direction subtly pointed out by Ren Youyang's left index finger.

Meanwhile, he did not stop talking and casually replied:

"I've never seen the heroines or demonesses on the Rivers and Lakes Beauty Register, so how can I compare?"

Scanning with the corner of his eye, Ding Songyan spotted a man whose behavior was slightly bizarre.

He wore a bamboo hat and brown clothes, looking like a farmer who had come to the market. Clearly, he was just watching others gamble and play games, yet from time to time, he pretended to inadvertently glance at Ding Songyan's side.

"That's true." Ren Youyang laughed heartily. "If you have the opportunity to learn martial arts and travel the rivers and lakes in the future, I'll take you to pay a visit to the famous people on the Rivers and Lakes Beauty Register. I wouldn't dare speak for other families, but I'm still quite familiar with Bai Lingxu of the Emperor Xi Sect."

"Oh?" Ding Songyan had all his energy focused on the stalker, so he just perfunctorily replied to Ren Youyang.

Ren Youyang fell silent for two breaths, then said with a trace of embarrassment:

"Don't not believe me, I really am very familiar with her. She, she beat me up!"

"Ah?" Ding Songyan's attention was dragged back.

Ren Youyang puffed out his chest and said:

"She's from the same generation as Yu Chongyuan, Feng Yining, and the others, eight years older than me, and only a step away from the Celestial-Human Realm. She's the youngest elder of the Emperor Xi Sect, so it's completely normal that I couldn't beat her."

"Normal, normal." Ding Songyan inexplicably felt as though he were playing the straight man in a cross-talk routine with Ren Youyang.

Ren Youyang did not mention this matter further; he cleared his throat and laughed heartily:

"Life is short, and one never knows when they will die. Before that, one must live unrestrainedly and enjoy themselves to the fullest. Second Brother Ding, let's go, I'll take you to Cuiliu Tower for wine and women!"

Why did this sound so familiar? Ding Songyan quickly recalled the reason for the familiarity and quietly distanced himself from Ren Youyang by a step.

Miss Xiaoqing's words wouldn't turn out to be a prophecy, would they?

Just going for drinks and women by itself was nothing much-after all, he had previously run into Ren Youyang right outside the entrance of Cuiliu Tower-but hopefully nothing else would happen, right?

Ren Youyang looked somewhat respectable, so he shouldn't be so dissolute and unrestrained, should he?

Ding Songyan hurriedly said in a low voice:

"Don't we still have to look after the 'customer'?"

The "customer" referred to the stalker.

"In a pleasure house, with no path to the heavens and no door into the earth, it'll be much easier to catch a rat." Ren Youyang explained in a low voice.

He glanced left and right, then said:

"I've been chatting with you for too long, and we'll raise suspicion. Later, you make your way to Hongxiu Street by yourself, and I'll change my clothes and find you."

With that, he left the patch of open space belonging to Ding Songyan and walked into the passing crowd.

Pondering Ren Youyang's words, Ding Songyan felt they made a certain amount of sense. Thus, he planned to capture the stalker first, extract information about the mastermind, and then go to the Zhen Estate to tell stories to Yan Changqing, while solving his lunch right at Cuiliu Tower.

Just at that moment, a man in his forties wearing a scholar's robe approached and asked with a smile:

"Second Brother Ding, will you still be telling stories in the afternoon?"

Who are you? Didn't you know I only do morning sessions? Ding Songyan felt anxious inside, but on the surface, he smiled and said:

"In the afternoon, I have to go perform at a gathering in a wealthy household."

Telling stories for Yan Changqing was no different from attending a gathering at the Zhen Estate.

The voice of the man in his forties suddenly turned very soft:

"Second Brother Ding, I've found the stalker you mentioned!"

This voice was soft and sweet, completely different from before.

Miss Xiaoqing? This Disguise Art is miraculous! While praising her inwardly, Ding Songyan asked in a low voice:

"Who is it?"

"The one gambling at pitch-pot, the one wearing the bamboo hat." Xiaoqing said concisely.

It was the one Ren Youyang pointed out... Double-verified, so that definitely makes him the stalker... Ding Songyan was just about to thank Miss Xiaoqing when she stepped closer and added at a flying speed:

"He shows signs of being controlled, similar to a Gu insect but not quite."

Having finished this sentence, Xiaoqing put on a regretful expression, muttered a farewell, and blended into the crowd.

Controlled... That settles it! Miss Xiaoqing was actually able to see this; she's much better than Ren Youyang. It seems Brother Youyang really isn't very skilled in this aspect... What a pity that the control method still can't be identified, otherwise there would be a chance to follow the vine and find the mastermind... Ding Songyan's thoughts spun rapidly as he analyzed and brainstormed solutions.

Suddenly, he recalled the "seed" Yan Changqing had given him.

This thing could break illusions with the eyes!

Although Ding Songyan had previously worried that the so-called Falsehood-Piercing might actually add an extra layer of hallucinations and affect his judgment, right here and now, taking a look wouldn't cost him anything. Once he caught the stalker, he would also ask Miss Xiaoqing to cross-check, making sure he didn't blindly believe it.

With his decision made, Ding Songyan hurriedly transferred that hazy cyan "seed" within his Sea of Consciousness to the center of his brow, then let it split into two and settle over his eyes.

His vision instantly grew clear; the sky looked as though it had been washed by rain, and the earth seemed to have been pulled closer.

He looked uninhibitedly toward the pitch-pot gambling spot, sweeping his gaze over the man wearing the bamboo hat.

At this sight, Ding Songyan froze entirely.

The man's skin was flushed red, and from inside one of his ears, a moth shaped like a large red ant poked out, its feelers covered in blood-colored scales.

The moment those feelers touched the outside world, they withdrew rapidly, and the vermilion moth shrank back inward, vanishing into the man's ear canal.

Ding Songyan felt his scalp tingle, suspecting that the man in the bamboo hat was actually already dead, and that it was now this red ant-like moth-or several of them-controlling him.

Moths...

Ding Songyan suddenly furrowed his brow, and his head even felt as though it were aching.

He felt as though he were quite familiar with creatures like moths.

Right, he had never seen vermilion moths of this kind before, but somewhere or other, he frequently saw huge numbers of ordinary moths gathering.

That was his home!

That was the courtyard of the Ding family!

Could there be some connection between the two? The hairs all over Ding Songyan's body abruptly stood on end, as if he were having a nightmare from which he would never wake up.

He grabbed his tools for making a living and bolted toward Chenyulang Lane. On the way, he seemed to see one or more fluffy, plush white tails flash past and vanish.

He walked at a flying pace at first, practically breaking into a jog, and only slowed his step once the world-defying effect brought by the hazy cyan "seed" faded, his expression gradually returning to normal-or at least appearing normal.

As usual, Ding Songyan walked into Chenyulang Lane in a manner that was neither fast nor slow, appearing somewhat relaxed, and greeted the neighbors he encountered from time to time.

He patted the courtyard door, answered Ding Qingyan's inquiry, and was let in by his younger sister.

Stopping in the courtyard, Ding Songyan turned a deaf ear, completely ignoring whatever Ding Qingyan was saying, and his eyes reflected only the midges and moths gathered around the elm-coin tree.

He once again split the cyan "seed" into his eyes, stimulating its Falsehood-Piercing power.

Those moths and midges did not reveal any possible true forms, nor did they transform into vermilion ant-like evil entities.

Ding Songyan turned his body sideways and looked at Ding Qingyan.

Ding Qingyan was not wearing a hair bun today; she had simply pinned her hair up, adding a touch of lazy casualness to her fresh and delicate beauty.

She tilted her head slightly and sized up Ding Songyan:

"Second Brother, what's wrong? You're acting all weird..."

Seeing that his younger sister had no abnormalities, just as before the Falsehood-Piercing power was activated, Ding Songyan quietly let out a breath and said with a smile:

"It's nothing, I just didn't sleep enough last night, and I'm still a bit dazed right now."

"Then hurry up and get some rest," Ding Qingyan said with concern.

She had just boiled a bowl of noodles, added some pickled mustard greens, and simply handled this midday meal.

"Alright." Ding Songyan did not refuse, returning to the west wing room and lying down.

Fearing that she would disturb him, Ding Qingyan picked up her writing brush, ink, inkstone, and paper, and began practicing calligraphy in the main room.

Whew, am I overthinking things? Connecting ordinary moths with vermilion moths... Vermilion moths, like large red ants, I feel like I've seen a similar description somewhere... Ding Songyan lay on the bed, racking his brains in thought.

In the blink of an eye, he had a clue. Carefully, he rolled off the bed and felt between the bedding and the wooden boards to retrieve the copy of the "Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas" that he had hand-copied himself.

He had seen the corresponding description in this very book!

Flipping through it rapidly, Ding Songyan found that section:

"The vermilion moth, an aphid, its shape is like a moth...

"Eating it makes one command a hundred insects, share a marrow sea, and thousands of men share one face."

Dingjiang Prefecture, the Linjiang County Yamen.

After leading a team of constables on patrol through their assigned streets and alleys, Li Wu strode back to the duty room, picked up his large bowl, and gulped down the tea that had already gone cold, the drinking leaving a few tea leaves stuck to the corners of his mouth.

"Refreshing!" he let out in a low cry, and just as he was about to sit down and rest, he saw Constable Xue Zhangjian and County Lieutenant Yi Qincang walk in together.

Yi Qincang had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He was robust and towering, with his left arm slightly longer than his right, and a red stiff bow slung across his back. White-feathered arrows were thrust into the quiver at his waist. Xue Zhangjian was half a head shorter than Yi Qincang. In his forties, he looked scholarly and did not resemble a martial artist. As he walked, his body was slightly bowed and his hands were somewhat stiff, shaped like chicken talons.

"Lord Yi, Constable Xue, this is?" Li Wu's body instantly tightened.

Did trouble arrive?

Xue Zhangjian produced an official document and placed it on the duty room table:

"The Flame Capital Martial Prohibition Bureau has replied regarding the abnormality of Chen Yuliang's death from the Small Boat Gang, providing four possibilities."

Li Wu fixed his gaze on it and saw that the document stated:

"The matter of a body rotting faster than its head is the first of its kind within the borders of Great Zhao.

"Combined with the intelligence previously sent back by several secret agents, it is suspected that certain evil-path demonic beings who originally only operated north of the Great River have arrived in Ning Prefecture.

"There are four possibilities:

"First, the Five Thieves Gate of Gan; second, the Fungus Man Faction of New Yu;

"Third, the Thousand Puppets Gate, whose sect's location is unknown anywhere north of the River; and fourth, the Moth God Sect of Feng Kingdom."