Each to Their Own

Hearing Xiaoqing's question, Ding Songyan ventured:

"Yes."

The moment the word left his mouth, delight surged through him:

Good, I can answer this question!

Joy and pride lit Xiaoqing's eyes and brows, and she eagerly pressed on:

"In the Zhen Estate, then... is it Old Master Zhen?"

"No," Ding Songyan answered quickly.

This involved neither the dungeon nor Yan Changqing, so he had not forgotten.

Xiaoqing's eyes shifted slightly:

"Is it one of the Zhen Estate's attendants?"

"No, not an attendant of the Zhen Estate." Ding Songyan tried to make his answer more precise and detailed.

He had not forgotten and remained unaffected.

"A Zhen Family Disciple?" Xiaoqing narrowed the range of possibilities.

When Ding Songyan shook his head again and said no, she grew puzzled:

"Not an attendant of the Zhen Estate, and not a Zhen Family Disciple. Surely it can't be one of the Zhen Estate's servants?"

"No." Ding Songyan gave another negative answer.

"Strange..." Xiaoqing's gaze went blank as she sank into thought.

Ding Songyan wanted to give her a hint, but forgot what the hint was supposed to be.

A moment later, Xiaoqing's eyes turned, regaining their lively sparkle:

"Someone who doesn't belong to the Zhen Estate, but is hiding there?"

Ding Songyan did not answer. He had forgotten what she had asked, as well as what his answer was.

"You didn't say no, so that means yes." Xiaoqing smiled, so radiantly that it was hard to look away. "Sometimes not answering is an answer too."

Suddenly, inspiration struck her:

"You specifically asked me earlier whether I knew someone called Yan Changqing. It came out of nowhere, and I had no idea where you'd heard of him...

"So he's the one who told you about the Moth God Sect? He's hiding in the Zhen Estate, but doesn't belong to it?"

Smart! She's connected the dots! Ding Songyan was instantly ecstatic.

He had always thought Xiaoqing sometimes seemed innocent and sometimes adorably clueless, not particularly quick-witted. Now, however, it appeared that she was fundamentally very clever, only inexperienced in the ways of the world. Often, she simply could not be bothered to think. With such powerful backing, she had no fear of danger; even if she made a mistake, her elders would clean up the mess.

From this, Ding Songyan also discovered a way to circumvent Qingmengmeng's "seed."

He believed that Yan Changqing, imprisoned in the Zhen Estate's dungeon, could not follow him around and monitor the situation in real time. In theory, he should only be able to influence Ding Songyan's thoughts through the "seed's" preset mental priorities, avoidance conditions, and list of people he must not meet.

That meant this externally implanted pattern of thought was rigid, bound by its own rules, and necessarily incomplete. It could not cover every situation, especially the winding, roundabout ones.

Finding blind spots and loopholes in rules like these was something Ding Songyan had been fairly good at before, much like working around blocked words.

He had mentioned Yan Changqing several days ago, when the Zhen Estate had not been involved. Ding Songyan had not considered using that question to disclose information to Xiaoqing, either, and had asked it quite naturally. Tonight, likewise, he had not considered directly exposing the matter of Yan Changqing. He had only wanted to deepen her impression that both he and the Zhen Estate were shrouded in mystery, easily slipping past the restrictions of Qingmengmeng's "seed." How Xiaoqing then thought about it and connected the two was her own business, beyond Yan Changqing's control through the "seed."

Breaking something he could not discuss into several parts, revealing them separately on different days through other circumstances, and leaving the intended listener to speculate, draw connections, and piece together the truth-this was the method Ding Songyan had now discovered for circumventing the restrictions.

It required advance planning, as well as sufficient time.

Ding Songyan did not answer Xiaoqing's question. After his ecstasy came bewilderment.

What is she asking?

What was I trying to say?

Uh, I still remember the method I discovered...

Seeing that Ding Songyan had once again fallen silent, his expression slightly confused, Xiaoqing nodded in satisfaction:

"If you answer neither yes nor no, that means there really is some connection, only it doesn't quite match my description?"

With an expression that said, "This is so much fun," she continued on her own:

"I'll tell my Second Uncle all this in a bit and see if he can guess what's going on, and why you can't say it."

Good, good, good! Ding Songyan wanted nothing more than to applaud her.

After considering for a moment, he had another idea:

"Miss Xiaoqing, could I go with you to visit our-your Second Uncle in a bit? I have important information to tell him."

"What important information can't you tell me?" Xiaoqing expressed her displeasure.

"You can listen in then. I don't really dare say it now," Ding Songyan hurriedly explained.

He had never hoped that he would actually be able to speak about Yan Changqing and the Zhen Estate to Xiaoqing's Second Uncle. Instead, he intended to use this to openly display the suspicious and abnormal aspects before him:

Once Xiaoqing told her Second Uncle in advance that Second Brother Ding had important information to share, only for Second Brother Ding to "forget" what he meant to say right in front of him, the problem would rise plainly and unmistakably to the surface.

Ding Songyan believed that, as a seasoned veteran of the martial world, Xiaoqing's Second Uncle would certainly be able to deduce something from this. He might even identify the art affecting him. After all, Yan Changqing's divine art was so powerful and extraordinary that it was unlikely to be unknown in the martial world.

"All right." Xiaoqing assessed her own strength and agreed with some resignation.

Once Ding Songyan had finished writing that day's story, and she had finished reading the installment, Xiaoqing stood up and glanced out the window:

"Go to the Tianyang Guildhall on your own. I'll head over first and let my Second Uncle know."

Then she lowered her voice:

"Ren Youyang and his guard are still secretly keeping an eye on your pursuers for you. I don't want him discovering me. With him around, you don't need to worry about danger, either."

"Understood." Ding Songyan indicated that he understood.

As outsiders who did not belong to Great Zhao, Xiaoqing and her people were presumably reluctant to reveal their identities.

After Xiaoqing left, Ding Songyan put his things away, pretended he was going out to cool off, left the courtyard, and locked his door.

He had long since found out where the Tianyang Guildhall was, preparing to seek help and refuge there in an emergency.

Having made his way to Fengshui Bridge, Ding Songyan was about to turn onto the road Xiaoqing had taken earlier when he saw Ren Youyang sitting at a grilled-meat stall, smiling and beckoning to him.

This True Spirit Sect disciple wore a pale-gray straight-cut robe, his two dog ears standing relaxed in the night breeze. The bruises and wounds on his face had faded or healed, no longer detracting from his bearing as a martial expert.

"Out to cool off?" Ren Youyang asked with a smile.

Ding Songyan sat down:

"Writing tomorrow's story left me drenched in stinking sweat, so I came out for some cool air."

With easy familiarity, Ren Youyang pointed to the grilled lamb before him:

"Have some, then, and a couple of drinks?"

Without waiting for Ding Songyan to agree, he said quietly:

"After you returned from outside the city, the 'Mothman' following you left. I didn't touch him, thinking I'd cast a long line to catch a big fish and find the 'Moth Father' or 'Moth Mother.' But these 'Mothmen' are a little different from the information I received this evening, so I still can't determine who the 'Moth Mother' or 'Moth Father' is.

"Also, someone from the Government Office is secretly following you now. Including me, we've got enough for a table of madiao."

Madiao was a card game for four players, quite popular at present.

You don't even know about Xiaoqing's people... Ding Songyan wanted to hint at the source of those "Mothmen's" unusual traits, but once he raised his wine cup, he had already "forgotten" the matter.

With her maid in tow, Xiaoqing passed through streets and lanes beneath tree shadows that swayed with the moonlight, drawing closer to the Tianyang Guildhall.

They had just stepped into a quiet, secluded alley when a dark figure suddenly swooped down from a tree.

Xiaoqing shifted her footing and dodged sideways.

Immediately afterward, the crisp crack of a whip tip slicing through the air rang out without warning, though no whip could be seen.

The dark figure abruptly retreated, kicked off the alley wall, and flipped backward into someone's courtyard like a startled bird taking flight.

Crack!

Another whip crack rang out. Two marks appeared on the wall the dark figure had just kicked off: one deep, with the bricks split open, the other shallow, with dust constantly sifting down from it, as though everything it touched had softened.

The two whip marks crossed, yet no long whip had appeared in the alley from beginning to end.

"He's leaving already?" Xiaoqing's hands hung at her sides, her face showing that she had not had nearly enough fun. "Then what did he come for? To say hello?"

After muttering to herself, Xiaoqing's heart stirred, and she raised her head to look toward the tall Watchtower in the distance.

She hurriedly pulled her maid along, their figures melting into the night like phantoms and vanishing from sight.

Returning to the Tianyang Guildhall in the eastern part of the city, Xiaoqing began complaining loudly the moment she stepped into the front hall:

"Second Uncle, I ran into a very crafty enemy! He deliberately forced me to act, trying to expose us to Southern Zhao's Government Office!"

Seated in the front hall, Xiaoqing's Second Uncle held a teacup, brushing the leaves aside with its lid as he looked up:

"Someone ambushed you?"

He wore a loose robe with wide sleeves, his black hair hanging free. His features somewhat resembled Xiaoqing's, with a rather small face and slightly upturned outer corners to his eyes. His appearance was refined and unworldly, his manner elegant, with an innate air of maturity, though he looked only a little over thirty.

Xiaoqing nodded rapidly:

"I was even forced to use the Formless Whip!"

She first recounted the ambush exactly as it had happened, then spoke about the Moth God Sect and Yan Changqing, the mysterious man in the Zhen Estate.

Her Second Uncle put down his teacup and rose, clasping his hands behind his back as he slowly paced:

"This is complicated. Starting tomorrow, don't visit that Second Brother Ding at night."

Seeing that Xiaoqing wanted to object, his expression grew stern:

"Your father sent you here to see the world and broaden your knowledge, not to play around with danger. If you insist on going, I'll have to accompany you."

"All right." Xiaoqing agreed, looking thoroughly aggrieved.

Her Second Uncle considered for a moment, then murmured to himself:

"What has the Moth God Sect come for... what the Zhen Estate is plotting is probably bigger than what we're after...

"I really haven't heard the name Yan Changqing before..."

The handsome, distinguished man looked at Xiaoqing again:

"Qingli, is there anything else?"

Xiaoqing thought back carefully, then shook her head:

"No."

After finishing the wine and grilled meat with Ren Youyang, Ding Songyan bid him farewell and slowly walked back to Chengyu Lane.

As he neared the Ding Family courtyard, a thoughtful expression crossed his face:

"Did I forget something...?"

After thinking for a while without any result, he opened the courtyard gate, returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and soon drifted into sleep.

The night passed without dreams.