Cool moonlight filtered through the window's oiled paper, spilling a little light into the room. The darkness no longer felt frightening or fathomless; instead, it rippled with a peace that lulled one toward sleep.
Ding Songyan pondered quietly for a while, then turned toward the screen and called softly:
"Little sister."
There was no response, only long, faint breaths that he could barely hear even when he held his own breath and concentrated.
She's asleep... Ding Songyan looked away.
He had just remembered that he still hadn't asked what the Zhen Estate was like, what position it held in Dingjiang Prefecture, or whether it had recently become embroiled in any trouble.
Yes, he was beginning to suspect that the bizarre events that had befallen his predecessor, an otherwise ordinary storyteller, might indeed have something to do with the Zhen Estate.
Forget it. I'll ask tomorrow morning... Ding Songyan closed his eyes and tried to summon sleep, but it remained elusive.
After graduating, he had worked for two years, then spent many more running his own business, always far from his hometown and returning no more than twice a year. There had been nights when he tossed and turned in the stillness, lonely and melancholy, longing to go home, but most of the time he felt little tenderness about it. He often mocked himself for having a heart of iron and stone. Yet now, at this very moment, an unusual sorrow weighed on him, with no way to dispel it.
The ancients could at least say, "May we live long, sharing the moon's beauty across a thousand miles." For him, however, this moon was no longer that moon, and the moon of today was not the moon of his own time.
Suddenly, Ding Qingyan mumbled on the other side of the screen:
"I want to learn martial arts..."
Her voice faded, and nothing followed.
Talking in her sleep... Ding Songyan opened his eyes and instinctively looked toward the crude screen.
Several breaths later, he said silently to himself:
Who doesn't want to learn martial arts?
He turned his gaze back to the dim outlines of the rafters.
Just then, Ding Qingyan murmured another indistinct sentence:
"Mother, Second Brother, I won't let anyone bully you again..."
Ding Songyan froze at those words. Only after a long while did he let out a soundless laugh.
As the girl rustled and turned over, his heart gradually settled, and sleepiness rose with it.
The next day, the arrival of the night-soil cart drove away the darkness and startled the morning awake.
Carrying his chamber pot, Ding Songyan entered the little courtyard and saw his father, Ding Shengyi, opening the gate.
Mosquitoes near the elm tree flew up in a sudden swarm, attracting a flock of moths that had been hiding somewhere moments before.
After they emptied their chamber pots into the cart one by one and watered the tree with the water used to rinse them, Ding Songyan heard Ding Shengyi, now wearing his square scholar's cap, say to his mother, Liu Yuzao, with undisguised envy:
"That night-soil boss wore coarse cloth on the outside, but silk underneath. Those men live more lavishly than the yamen's constable captains.
"The night-soil trade really is a fine business!"
"Anyone who can secure that business is no ordinary person," Liu Yuzao replied mildly.
"If you ask me, Dangkang Temple is the living Buddha of countless households. Not only can they pray for blessings and abundant harvests and harmonize the heavens, they also send their disciples throughout the countryside to teach farming and the art of making fertilizer. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, every year has brought a bumper harvest, and night-soil prices have steadily risen." Holding a pig-bristle toothbrush, Ding Shengyi stood before the elm and began cleaning his teeth.
And so the morning slipped slowly away amid family chatter, plain congee, and small side dishes.
While Liu Yuzao and the others cleared the bowls, chopsticks, and square table, Ding Shengyi pulled Ding Songyan aside.
"You have things to do today. Don't stint yourself. Take these two tenths of a tael." The middle-aged scholar glanced at Liu Yuzao's back and slipped a piece of silver into Ding Songyan's hand, instructing him quietly, "This isn't household money. It's the private savings your father put aside. Keep it for yourself."
Penniless as he was, Ding Songyan did not refuse.
Ding Shengyi fell silent for two breaths, then added softly:
"Be careful today. Don't take risks just because you have an Attendant from the Zhen Estate with you."
With that, he patted Ding Songyan's elbow, picked up a folding fan, and left the courtyard.
Before Ding Songyan could return to the main room to help his mother and sister tidy up, Ding Daniu approached, scratching his head in embarrassment:
"Second Brother, I don't have much money on me. I gave it all to Mother. If you can't find anything to eat at noon, come look for me at the docks. I'll share some of my food with you."
"All right," Ding Songyan agreed.
By the time Ding Daniu left, Liu Yuzao had finished tidying up and approached Ding Songyan with a black gauze veiled hat in hand.
"I'm going to copy Buddhist scriptures today. Here are two tenths of a tael." Her tone was calm, as though she didn't want to make Ding Songyan too nervous. "If you do nothing but wander around Dangkang Temple today, you'll look suspicious. If there's food you like, eat some. If there's something you fancy, buy it."
With another piece of silver pressed into his hand, Ding Songyan hardly knew what to say.
Once their mother had left the courtyard and pulled the gate shut behind her, Ding Qingyan, her hair arranged in twin coiled buns, came to the main doorway and beckoned furtively to Ding Songyan:
"Second Brother, come here. Come here."
Ding Songyan walked over with a laugh:
"I wouldn't dare take the savings at the bottom of your chest."
The girl pouted:
"You're looking down on me, aren't you? You don't think of me as your sister, do you?"
She put on an expression as though she were about to burst into tears.
Seeing that Ding Songyan wasn't falling for it at all, she huffed:
"I just wanted to give you some copper coins. You're going to Dangkang Temple today, so you'll definitely listen to the storytellers, to tales of ancient times and the martial world. Would you really bear to tip them with silver?"
She reads people well... Ding Songyan did indeed intend to listen to storytellers today to gain an initial understanding of this world.
He thought for a moment, then said:
"All right. Give me some."
Ding Qingyan immediately beamed. With a spring in her step, she returned to the west wing and brought out an embroidered purse carrying a faint fragrance.
Inside were a few small silver ingots and plenty of loose copper coins.
"These are from Sister Nuansheng. These are what you gave me whenever you came back from storytelling. You told me to save some more money for the bottom of my chest myself, instead of relying only on Father and Mother. There's still quite a lot in the chest..." Ding Qingyan chattered as she counted out the coins.
As she spoke, she slowly fell silent again.
After Ding Songyan accepted the coins, Ding Qingyan smiled once more and waved a clenched fist:
"Second Brother, even if you've forgotten all these things, I never will!"
Ding Songyan sighed inwardly and could only offer a noncommittal reply:
"Perhaps one day I'll remember."
He examined the copper coins and found that they were mainly of two types: Xingping Heavy Treasure coins, also marked "worth five," and Jianwu Tongbao coins. Together, they came to roughly fifty cash.
Regular script, traditional characters... I can read them, but I'm not very good at writing them... Having changed into a light-colored robe, Ding Songyan tucked the two pieces of silver into the inner sleeve pockets sewn behind his elbows and put the copper coins in the purse at his waist.
Then he asked:
"Does Mother believe in Buddhism?"
"No." Ding Qingyan shook her head. "Mother goes there to work. Many wealthy families copy large quantities of Buddhist scriptures or Daoist texts themselves and hire others to do the same as a show of devotion. Since it's mostly the women who like doing this, they prefer to hire literate women from respectable families, like Mother. Once I reach hairpin age, I can go too."
"Mother usually earns money by copying Buddhist scriptures and Daoist texts?" Ding Songyan understood now, and confirmed that both Buddhism and Daoism existed in this world.
"There isn't much of that work. Usually it only comes up for Buddhist festivals or some old madam's birthday." Holding the rather heavy purse, Ding Qingyan said, "Mother usually works as a hairdresser. She goes into the inner quarters to arrange elaborate hairstyles for the women, and also does facial threading, ear cleaning, and all sorts of other things. If there's no work, she stays home with me to starch and wash clothes and prepare meals."
Ding Songyan nodded at first, then looked at Ding Qingyan with some concern:
"Then you're often home alone?"
Ding Qingyan burst out laughing:
"Second Brother, don't let your imagination run wild. There are five watchtowers here, and the techniques of the Xiaoming Sect and the Yi clan are good for seeing far into the distance. Nobody's going to bully me."
"Besides, I'm formidable! Every boy and girl in Chengyu Lane listens to me."
As she spoke, the girl waved her fist again:
"I'm the terror of Chengyu Lane!"
Before Ding Songyan could respond, she blinked, and her smile suddenly blossomed like a flower:
"But I'm very happy that you care about me.
"It means that even if you've forgotten the past, our bond as brother and sister is still there!"
Bang, bang, bang! Someone pounded on the courtyard gate.
"Second Brother Ding, time to go!" a voice like a drake's squawk called from outside.
Ding Songyan looked at Ding Qingyan. Only after his sister gave a slight nod did he walk over to the gate.
Outside stood a young man wearing a blue-green, narrow-sleeved robe, his hair bound with black cloth. Ding Songyan estimated that he was under one hundred seventy centimeters tall. His features were perfectly regular, yet his cringing manner gave him a furtive, shifty look.
"Oh, Sister Qingyan's here too." The young man looked past Ding Songyan and greeted Ding Qingyan in the courtyard first.
Where else would my sister be if not at home? Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow at the young man.
The young man shrank back and smiled awkwardly:
"Second Brother Ding, we need to head to Dangkang Temple. I heard something happened to you yesterday?"
At that moment, Ding Qingyan called from several paces away:
"Xu Chang'an, wait a moment. I have a few things to tell my second brother."
"Sure, Sister Qingyan." Xu Chang'an nodded rapidly and waved at her.
Ding Songyan returned to Ding Qingyan's side and signaled that she could speak.
The girl pulled him back into the main room and lowered her voice:
"That man's called Xu Chang'an. He lives here in Chengyu Lane too, over by the well. You used to like going to Dangkang Temple with him.
"He... he's a thief."
"A thief?" Ding Songyan anxiously felt the elbows of his sleeves.
Ding Qingyan laughed at once:
"He wouldn't dare steal from you. Otherwise, I, the terror of Chengyu Lane, would give him something to remember!
"Oh, pick out a gift for me today, to give to Qu Sanlang later. We troubled him yesterday, so we need to show our gratitude. We can't owe too many favors; once they pile up, they're hard to repay. Remember, he likes mechanical toys. I'll give you the money this evening."
That's certainly the right thing to do... Ding Songyan approved of his sister's approach.
The girl gave him a few more reminders and briefly explained the Zhen Estate's situation before letting Ding Songyan and Xu Chang'an leave Chengyu Lane.
"Second Brother Ding, what happened to you yesterday?" Xu Chang'an asked along the way, unable to conceal his curiosity.
Of course, he genuinely cared about Ding Songyan too. After all, in his mind, this was his future brother-in-law.
Perfectly composed, Ding Songyan answered with a question:
"What time did you leave Dangkang Temple yesterday?"
"After the evening market. I came looking for you, but you'd already left," Xu Chang'an replied, suspecting nothing.
My predecessor's behavior yesterday really was a little strange... Ding Songyan did not answer Xu Chang'an's question, instead drawing him out to learn more about what had happened.
Chatting and laughing, the two walked to Dangkang Temple on the eastern side of the prefectural city.
An enormous market spread outside the temple, crowded with people coming and going, heels on heels and shoulders rubbing. Everywhere were vendors selling fruit, vegetables, dried meat, jeweled ornaments, pendants, blades, spears, flower-decorated fans, and sugar fish; performers displaying fireworks, Daoist arts, football tricks, acrobatics, music, and dance; people enticing customers into gambling and pitch-pot games, or swindling them with miracle medicines and licorice.
Amid all the hawkers' cries, Ding Songyan and Xu Chang'an came to a storyteller's stall:
"Last time, we spoke of Jin Shaochong, a true disciple of Gan's Everlasting Sect, who set out to test his sword against the world. Who could have known that before he ever reached New Yu or our Great Zhao, Su Yunzhang, the fourth disciple of the Celestial Maiden Sect's current generation, would defeat his Seven Kill Sword Art with the Twelve Paths of Grand Void on Five Hills Mountain in Gan? She even declared his weakness to be 'a wavering will to kill.'
"Thus, Su Yunzhang's name resounded across the world, and enthusiasts placed her on the Jade Tree Martial Arts Rankings, with the appraisal: 'handsome and elegant, dashing and debonair.'"
PS: This chapter is an extra update for Wutong. The regular update will follow in two or three minutes.
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