Startling the Snake

Ding Songyan had just taken a long stride when his eyes, habitually scanning his surroundings, suddenly caught a face with emotions flickering across it.

The face belonged to a man wearing a Futou, around thirty years old, with a clean-shaven chin and a reddish nose that looked blotched from drink.

He stared at Ding Songyan as though he had seen a monster that had no business appearing here, his shock and fear written all over his face.

When he noticed Ding Songyan looking at him, the man abruptly turned and squeezed into the market crowds. In an instant, he vanished like water pouring into the sea.

Ding Songyan's first thought was to chase him down and seize him. But without any martial training, even his reaction came a beat too late. By the time he tried to act, the man was nowhere to be found.

He saw someone who was already dead strolling brazenly outside Dangkang Temple, and got so frightened he couldn't control his expression? Beating the grass to startle the snake actually worked pretty well... Hmm, something is bound to happen next. No need to chase him right now. Hopefully, Mr. Yu has already made his preparations... Ding Songyan stared in the direction the red-nosed man had fled, sinking into thought.

"Second Brother Ding, what are you looking at?" Xu Chang'an asked curiously.

Only then did Ding Songyan pull himself out of his thoughts and notice that the Light Cavalry Commandant of the Headless People had long since gone, disappearing from sight.

"Looks like a thief got caught." Ding Songyan casually made something up to give Xu Chang'an a pointed warning.

Nothing good comes of being a thief!

The first phone he had ever scrimped and saved to buy had been stolen, leaving him miserable for months.

Xu Chang'an's face turned pale. Rising onto his toes, he kept peering in that direction.

"I don't see anything. There's nothing there. Where...?"

"They've already hauled him away," Ding Songyan replied dismissively.

He headed toward another storyteller, outwardly relaxed but inwardly taut and intensely alert.

Xu Chang'an followed in a daze, no longer hunting for fat sheep to fleece.

Looks like he's never been caught... Those who go in and out of the government offices all the time are already slippery old hands. They aren't afraid in the slightest... Ding Songyan glanced at his neighbor, stopped among the crowd, and listened to the storyteller's tales of legend while casually surveying his surroundings.

Perhaps because martial-world lore and tales of the wandering heroes already qualified as legends, these legendary romances mostly dealt with mythology and everyday human affairs. The latter were things ordinary people could reach out and touch, and they drew quite an audience, packing this patch of ground so tightly that not even water could get through.

Suddenly, Xu Chang'an poked Ding Songyan's arm.

Ding Songyan's heart tightened, and he turned to look at him.

The fellow, whose features were perfectly regular yet somehow carried a furtive, rat-eyed look, pointed to the other side and lowered his voice.

"Second Brother Ding, look over there. Over there."

The crowd was too dense for Ding Songyan to see, so he had to step back twice and change his position.

Without another word from Xu Chang'an, he knew at a glance whom his companion meant.

She was a girl of sixteen or seventeen, wearing a plain white, round-collared jacket that fastened down the front, and a pleated white-edged skirt trimmed with green below. Her hair was arranged in twin hanging buns, with two lengths of black hair falling behind her shoulders, lending her a touch of cuteness.

The outer corners of her eyes tilted upward, her chin was delicately pointed, and her small, straight nose had a pleasantly rounded tip. Her pale skin was tender as congealed cream. As her gaze moved, she looked both fresh and playful, with a trace of alluring beauty that had yet to fully blossom. Innocence and charm seemed to coexist in her without the slightest contradiction. A green beaded flower at the tip of the silver hairpin beside her bun swayed gently, echoing the jade ornaments that moved at her waist.

Simply standing there, she drew countless gazes.

Those gazes darted away the moment they touched her, only to circle back again.

"Second Brother Ding, pretty, isn't she?" Xu Chang'an murmured admiringly. "If she already looks like that at this age, in a few more years she'll probably topple cities and kingdoms."

As he spoke, he noticed Ding Songyan looking at him and blurted out:

"Of course, she's still a little behind Sister Qingyan. Just a little."

Heh, at least you know what to say. She really is a little behind-in height... Different styles and temperaments, though. You can't compare them directly. One is ethereal and graceful, the other innocent and alluring... As Ding Songyan muttered to himself, the storyteller finished a session and began asking for tips.

With a clack, the girl tossed a small silver ingot into the Bamboo Basket. By the look of it, it weighed a full tael.

"Oh my, how generous of you, miss!" The storyteller was instantly overwhelmed with delight and surprise, and praise poured from his mouth.

The girl raised her chin slightly, looking rather pleased with herself.

"I'll come listen to you again tomorrow."

Loose with her purse, and very generous... A little naive, too. Clearly she hasn't seen much of the world... Ding Songyan suddenly wondered whether he ought to find some way to earn a little silver from this girl.

If I don't earn it, someone else will. Better it goes to me than to them!

Only now did he notice a maid beside the girl, dressed in a blue-green gauze skirt and looking sweet and charming.

Under the radiance of the girl's beauty, everyone around her had unconsciously overlooked the maid.

As he observed them, Ding Songyan suddenly turned toward Xu Chang'an.

"Have you ever seen this young lady before?"

"Never." Xu Chang'an answered with a bewildered expression.

If I had, I'd have spread the news until everyone in Chengyu Lane knew!

"She doesn't seem to be from this city?" Ding Songyan asked further.

Xu Chang'an, who had kept his back straight the whole time, replied with considerable certainty:

"Of course she isn't. With looks like hers, going out without hiding her face, unlike Sister Qingyan with her Veil Hat-if she were from here, her beauty would have been famous long ago, just like Zheng Zhuxi of the Xiaoming Sect. And Zheng Zhuxi isn't even as pretty as she is."

Ding Songyan immediately lost the urge to make money, and his brows drew together slightly.

When he had first arrived and seen Ding Qingyan, he had been stunned by her beauty, but had not found it strange. He had merely assumed that this world's water and soil were exceptional, nourishing beautiful women. Only after walking the streets a few times had he realized that girls like his younger sister were actually uncommon, even rare. At least over these past two days, he had not found a single one. Everyone he had encountered fell far short.

Now another girl of equally breathtaking beauty had suddenly appeared. Wasn't that a little too much of a coincidence?

Have all the beauties gathered in Dingjiang Prefecture?

Moreover, this girl loved listening to storytellers, yet Xu Chang'an had neither seen nor heard of her outside Dangkang Temple in the preceding days. That suggested she had arrived in Dingjiang Prefecture only within the past two days.

And something else had happened during those two days: Second Brother Ding had mysteriously vanished and died in a ruined temple outside the city.

The two things may not have any direct connection, but the timing is so perfect that I can't help feeling something is brewing in Dingjiang Prefecture. Are winds and rains from all eight directions converging on Dingjiang? Ding Songyan pondered privately.

Meanwhile, Xu Chang'an glanced left and right and started after the departing girl in the white skirt and her maid.

Smack! Ding Songyan caught him by the shoulder.

"What are you going to do?"

Startled, Xu Chang'an froze for a moment before replying:

"That girl had a lot of silver on her, and she didn't seem to care much about it. She wasn't on her guard at all. I thought I could do a little business."

When Ding Songyan merely stared at him in silence, Xu Chang'an added sheepishly:

"She's pretty, sure, but I still need money to eat. If I don't steal from her, someone else in the trade will.

"She's not Sister Qingyan. She and I don't have any connection."

Ding Songyan clicked his tongue.

"A girl with looks like hers travels all the way to Dingjiang Prefecture, yet she's still so innocent and carefree, with no idea of concealing herself. You really dare steal from her?

"Traveling is hard. Traveling far is harder still. There's no Watchtower out on the roads.

"If you ask me, she either comes from an exceptional family and has expert guards nearby, or she's highly skilled in martial arts herself. Even if you're looking to die, you don't have to insist on doing it today."

Xu Chang'an's expression changed.

"You're right!"

He immediately turned toward Ding Songyan, overflowing with gratitude.

"Second Brother Ding, that sounds a lot like what my master says. In our trade, skill matters, but it's not the most important thing. What matters most is your eye for people: who you can steal from, who you can't, who's easy to steal from, and who isn't. You have to figure all that out before making your move.

"My master's always scolding me about that."

No, no, no. What matters most is having a brain, and you're still a little short on that... Ding Songyan grumbled inwardly and patted Xu Chang'an's shoulder.

"And stop always targeting fruit-and-vegetable peddlers and old women selling needles and thread. Someone who's going to become a great thief shouldn't lower himself like that. Otherwise, even after you become famous, people will still laugh at you."

Xu Chang'an froze. Several breaths passed before he said:

"Then how am I supposed to feed myself...?"

You absolutely have to steal, is that it? Can't you find some honest work? This world seems to have a pretty developed commercial economy. There ought to be something you can do... Ding Songyan sighed.

"Rob the rich to help the poor, then. Only steal from the sort who get rich without a shred of decency."

Their acquaintance was too shallow for deep advice, and he could not be bothered to say more. He stopped trying to persuade the thoughtful Xu Chang'an, said goodbye, and continued strolling outside Dangkang Temple. He hoped the man who had been so terrified upon seeing him earlier would bring about some change, allowing him to put an early end to the danger lurking over him.

"Second Brother Ding! Second Brother Ding!" Someone called his name from not far away.

Ding Songyan's nerves tightened. He turned and looked toward the voice with a smile.

It was a man selling Wound Plaster, not yet thirty, with a piece of black cloth wrapped around his head. A plaster of his own stock was stuck to his face, making him look rather comical.

The cloth banner he held bore two lines:

"Guaranteed to treat bruises and sprains,

"Only one copper a plaster."

No literary flair, but at least it's concise... Ding Songyan stayed silent, waiting for the man to explain why he had called him.

The man with the plaster on his face looked excited.

"Second Brother Ding, why haven't you come to tell stories today?"

He pointed to the empty spot beside him.

Oh, so this is the pitch "I" obtained from the Storytellers' Association through connections with the Zhen Estate? I wonder if I can transfer it to someone else for ready silver. I don't have any storytelling skills... Though after listening for so long just now, I found that storytelling here doesn't involve all the techniques, stock phrases, and rapid-fire patter of my old world. You only need clear speech and the ability to tell the story coherently. But my goal is to learn martial arts, not become an expert with my mouth... Before Ding Songyan could speak, the plaster seller rattled on:

"A young lady was just asking about you, too. A beauty like a fairy from heaven!"

Huh? A figure suddenly surfaced in Ding Songyan's mind.

"Miss! Miss!" the plaster seller shouted. "Second Brother Ding's here! His historical storytelling ranks among the top three in our Dingjiang Prefecture!"

Thanks for talking me up. The essence of doing business is puffing each other up... Just as Ding Songyan expected, he saw the girl in the white skirt and her maid.

The girl hurried over and, without the slightest reserve, asked delightedly:

"Second Brother Ding, when are you telling stories today? I want to come listen."

Ding Songyan blinked, thoughts racing through his mind, then cupped his hands.

"To answer you, miss, I've been unwell these past few days and had intended to rest. But if you'd like to listen, I can tell a short piece. Not history, but a legendary tale I only recently learned. If I tell it poorly, you needn't give me any reward."

Historical storytelling was certainly beyond him. Stories, though-he had a whole pile of models to draw on.

His aim was clear. He wanted neither the girl's money nor the girl herself. He only hoped to establish a connection and leave a small favor in his account. Given her possible family background, if the right circumstances arose, that small favor would be worth more than a thousand pieces of gold.

PS: Thanks to Aurora Society Wage Slave for the Silver Alliance donation~