In the gently rising night breeze, Ding Songyan and Xiaoqing strolled through the dim alley toward Fengshui Bridge.
This time, Xiaoqing had brought no maid.
Glancing at the girl beside him, lovely as a poem or a painting, Ding Songyan suddenly felt a pang of emotion:
He had been in this world for fewer than ten days, yet it felt as though an entire month had passed. He had met many people during that time and seen quite a few regularly, but only Miss Xiaoqing and Brother Youyang treated him sincerely, without deceit or masks. Well, Xu Chang'an counted for half.
And the family he had begun investing his feelings in, the family he had nearly become part of, had changed beyond recognition in less time than it took to drink a cup of tea.
He drew a breath, slowly let it out, then smiled at Xiaoqing.
"Miss Xiaoqing, aren't you afraid Ren Youyang will discover you tonight?"
Xiaoqing answered with a faint smile:
"We might be meeting tomorrow anyway. It doesn't matter anymore."
Ding Songyan thought for a moment, then reminded her:
"Besides Ren Youyang and his people, there are also people from the government following me. They might be from the County Yamen, or they might be from the Xiaoming Sect.
"Does that not matter either?"
If your identities are exposed, you might not be able to attend the banquet at the Zhen Estate tomorrow.
"..." Xiaoqing blinked innocently.
Ding Songyan had nothing to say.
Only a few breaths later, Xiaoqing swung her arm and said brightly:
"It doesn't matter. Second Uncle will take care of it!"
At that very moment, Ren Youyang, dressed entirely in black, was craning his neck from a tree at the mouth of the alley.
Struggling to keep his balance while concealing his presence, he watched Ding Songyan stroll along alone, occasionally muttering to himself.
Brother Ding, why are you out enjoying the cool air this late? Go back to your room and sleep already. I have important business tomorrow... Ren Youyang began grumbling silently.
In the shadows at the far end of the alley, a constable and a Xiaoming Sect disciple were also quietly watching Ding Songyan's every move.
"He's alone, but something seems strange." A dim yellow glow seemed to spread through the Xiaoming Sect disciple's eyes.
The constable nodded repeatedly:
"I feel something isn't quite right either."
"Brother Zhang, my skills are too shallow to make out the problem. Keep following him while I fetch help!" the Xiaoming Sect disciple said, looking rather ashamed.
He immediately left the end of the alley and circled around another way.
Seeing that Xiaoqing was unconcerned, Ding Songyan let the matter drop. After some thought, he said:
"Miss Xiaoqing, there may be trouble at tomorrow's banquet at the Zhen Estate. You must be extremely careful. If everything proceeds as usual, then the Zhen Estate may put things off for another day or two."
He successfully spoke those words without forgetting them.
This was also what Ding Songyan had expected. He had considered it carefully: Yan Changqing wanted to escape the Zhen Estate and recover his strength, while his "old friend," whether seeking to rescue him or coveting his treasure, would have to oppose the Zhen Estate. Thus, neither of the two forces capable of influencing Ding Songyan's thoughts would mind causing the Zhen Estate some trouble and holding it back.
Xiaoqing kicked away a little pebble, turned toward Ding Songyan, and gave him a radiant smile.
"You have so many troubles of your own, yet you're still concerned for my safety."
Her expression gradually grew serious:
"These past few days, I've noticed how heavily things weigh on your mind. You must be keeping quite a few difficult matters to yourself.
"For now, I have no ambitions to soar into the clouds. Apart from upholding chivalry, my family can provide everything I seek, so I have no reason to covet anything belonging to others. If you trust me, you can tell me what's troubling you. Perhaps I can help a little."
Ding Songyan gave a bitter smile.
It's not that I don't want to tell you. I can't get the words out.
Miss Xiaoqing, those words of yours are exactly what I so desperately longed for at the beginning.
Seeing his expression, Xiaoqing said thoughtfully:
"You can't tell me? You're unable to say it?
"Things like that usually stem from witchcraft and gu. I can confirm that there are no gu worms in your body. Has someone used witchcraft to control you?"
Does it count as witchcraft? Ding Songyan carefully recalled what had happened, but could not be sure.
He still knew too little about this world's mystical martial arts and witchcraft and gu arts.
He wanted to suggest to Miss Xiaoqing that there might be another possibility, but feared he would forget the moment he tried to speak, just as he had forgotten what he wanted to write when he tried putting it on paper.
Amid the silence, a thought suddenly struck Ding Songyan:
Apart from explicitly restricting which matters I can't speak of, Yan Changqing's "seed" and whatever his "old friend" may have left in my Sea of Consciousness most likely screen my thoughts through "subjective judgment," checking whether I harbor ill intent or mean to reveal anything.
What if I don't?
I can't truly have no such intention, but I can deceive myself, deceive that "seed," and deceive the method Yan Changqing's "old friend" left behind, pretending I don't.
Originally, I couldn't have deceived them like that. But Yan Changqing just had to teach me a secret art built around self-deception...
Uh, this secret art and his mind-influencing divine art complement and counteract each other. Do they really share the same origin...?
In that case, unless Yan Changqing's "old friend" is nearby, constantly monitoring my thoughts, it'll be difficult to stop me in advance...
Could this be exactly what Yan Changqing is waiting for? He guessed I wouldn't practice this secret art before the matter was resolved, for fear of hidden dangers, so he's using the "seed's" control to force me to practice it. Once I do, will I become his puppet or his vessel completely?
What if I still don't practice it, and only borrow its core principles to deceive myself once? Besides, I don't have the martial arts needed to make this secret art work...
Ding Songyan went over the secret art in his mind, discarded its many steps and potentially dangerous parts, and, drawing on the psychological suggestion method he knew from his previous life, selected a passage that involved only self-deception.
The hazy, clear "seed" turned, and Ding Songyan's consciousness split in two. Half withdrew into his Sea of Consciousness and sat cross-legged in the void.
He lowered his head and looked at the individual thoughts that formed the illusory golden ocean.
With a stir of his consciousness, all those thoughts took on his appearance.
Looking into those familiar eyes as though gazing into mirrors, Ding Songyan began murmuring to himself in a particular rhythm:
"To deceive others, first deceive yourself. Falsehood can become truth; belief brings it into being...
"I am merely discussing various possibilities with Miss Xiaoqing. I have no intention of revealing any secrets...
"Merely discussing various possibilities..."
As he repeated the words over and over, Ding Songyan's eyes grew deep and dark. The versions of him within each thought did the same.
Seeing that Second Brother Ding still would not answer her and merely walked on in silence, Xiaoqing puzzledly raised her slender, fair right hand and waved it before his eyes:
"O soul, return~ O soul, return~"
Ding Songyan's eyes shifted slightly, and he said in a low voice:
"Perhaps there's another possibility."
"Another possibility..." Xiaoqing frowned in thought.
Xiaoqing's Second Uncle was walking along the main road some seventy or eighty feet away. Suddenly, he turned his head toward a house beside the street.
Beneath the bright half-moon, a dark figure burst through a window with a sharp sword in hand.
A pair of eyes abruptly appeared in the dark figure's field of vision-slightly upturned, darkly luminous, and clear.
In that instant, it was as though he had returned home and seen the person he yearned for day and night. His heart softened, and so did his hand.
A palm with long, slender fingers then pressed against the center of his brow.
Thud. He fell to the ground and stopped breathing.
Within a few breaths, a moth resembling a large red ant darted out of his nose and mouth, and his body began to rot rapidly.
Xiaoqing's Second Uncle seized the "moth species," only to find that it split apart on its own and ceased moving.
Throwing away the "moth species," he took out a white handkerchief, gently wiped his palm, and turned his gaze back toward Xiaoqing and Ding Songyan.
Although he had just struck, most of his attention had remained on them.
Atop the nearest watchtower, the constable surnamed Yi, who was on surveillance duty, saw only a figure jump out of a window, land headfirst, and die in the street.
He immediately used a light to signal a nearby patrol of fellow constables, telling them to collect the body and investigate whether there was more to the suicide.
After thinking for a long while without finding an answer, Xiaoqing looked at the sparsely populated street and the still somewhat lively Fengshui Bridge in the distance, then gave a soft hum.
"Second Brother Ding, you're the first friend I've made in my travels through the martial world. I hope we'll meet again out there someday."
First, I have to survive tomorrow and the day after... Ding Songyan had wanted to say that, but once again, he "forgot" the words.
He could only give a self-mocking smile:
"I'll do my best."
Xiaoqing laughed.
"Do your best at what? You're always asking about this and that. I could tell long ago that you're very interested in practicing martial arts. If you're willing to leave your home behind and go to the Gan Kingdom, I can help you find a few suitable sects, so you can choose one to join."
Ding Songyan's heart leaped at her words. Wasn't this exactly what he had dreamed of?
But when he thought of his parents, his younger sister and elder brother, and how foreign races formed the upper ranks of the Gan Kingdom, he hesitated again.
After considering it, he said:
"Miss Xiaoqing, may I give you my answer tomorrow evening?"
I need to think it through and weigh things carefully.
"Of course. It's not as though you're alone in the world." Xiaoqing understood.
She waved goodbye to Ding Songyan and walked alone toward Fengshui Bridge and the Tianyang Guildhall.
Ding Songyan also turned around and retraced his steps toward Chengyu Lane.
The closer he came to the Chengyu Lane he knew so well, the more inexplicably uneasy he became, as though he feared something but could not remember what it was.
That feeling weighed ever more heavily on him, slowing his steps further and further.
"What is there to feel uneasy about? I'm just going home to sleep..." Even Ding Songyan found it puzzling.
When he reached the well and heard Ahua barking at someone passing by, he actually began lingering there, unwilling to move forward.
Even the night seemed to have deepened, thick and heavy.
Suddenly, a soft, yellowish light shone into Ding Songyan's eyes and into his mind. Many dark thoughts hidden in its depths receded like an ebbing tide, while the hazy, clear "seed" and a few shadows sank together into the illusory ocean.
Ding Songyan's thoughts instantly grew lively. He looked up toward the source of the light, first spotting a Glass Palace Lantern, then the girl carrying it and the several Xiaoming Sect disciples following her.
The girl approached like a willow swaying in the breeze. She was tall, and her rather thick eyebrows added a touch of spirited boldness to her lovely, fresh features.
Beneath the bright moonlight, she wore a pale green silk skirt and tied back her long black hair with a silk kerchief. Her beautiful eyes shone as though starlight and candle flames truly dwelled within them.
Her steps stopped, and the lamplight swayed gently. Looking at Ding Songyan with a clear, gentle smile, the girl said:
"I'm Zheng Zhuxi of the Xiaoming Sect. There are a few things I'd like to ask you."
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