A searing pain in his eyes and the sudden loss of sight threw Chen Yuliang into instant panic.
He tilted his head slightly, straining to read the wind and discern the sounds, trying to pinpoint Mr. Yu's current position and the likely direction of his next attack.
Yet Mr. Yu excelled in movement arts above all, and the fierce wind stirred up by his motion scrambled Chen Yuliang's hearing, filling his ears with a howling rush that drowned out every other sound.
"Where is that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Through the darkness, barely holding his ground with the Mysterious Turtle Divine Art, Chen Yuliang finally heard Mr. Yu's chilling voice.
A surge of hope rose in his heart; he thought he could use it as bargaining leverage.
That thought caused his hands to slow noticeably, and he stepped backward, seeking to open up distance to facilitate talk.
In that exact split second, a sharp gust whistled between his arms and struck his face.
Two warm fingers plunged straight into his eye sockets, sinking deep.
"Heh... heh..." A bizarre rasp tore from Chen Yuliang's throat as he stumbled backward.
In his ears rang Mr. Yu's emotionless voice once more:
"I will find it myself."
With a heavy thud, Chen Yuliang crashed to the floor, his dark, bloodstained eye sockets staring hollowly up at the roof beams.
Mr. Yu did not immediately search the corpse. Turning around, he walked toward the doorway.
Inside this martial arts hall, which had deep ties to Chen Yuliang, the disciples had already fled far into hiding. A squad of patrollers clad in black martial tunics—their cuffs embroidered with starlight and candlelight—quickly arrived on the scene, each brandishing a longsword.
Leading them was a young woman around twenty. Unlike her companions in standard uniforms, she wore a light-green silk dress, with only the starlight and candlelight embroidered on her cuffs indicating her status.
Her face was clean and lovely, her eyes bright and expressive. Her long black hair was simply tied up and bound with a teal embroidered silk kerchief. Tall and slender with a graceful figure, she moved like a willow swaying in a gentle breeze, an exquisite sight.
Seeing this young woman, Mr. Yu's expression grew a touch more solemn, and he said in a low voice, "The conflict between the Sishui Gang and the Xiaochuan Gang was already registered with the yamen last month."
The girl held a longsword in a golden-red scabbard. Glancing at Chen Yuliang's corpse lying inside, she put on an air of world-weary gravity:
"Were any uninvolved parties harmed?
"Has martial force been used to defy the law in public view?"
Mr. Yu gave a slight shake of his head.
"No."
He paused, then added, "It was the same over there—only people from the Zhen family and the Xiaochuan Gang."
The tall, graceful girl sounded slightly disappointed. "If any search is conducted hereafter, we must oversee it from start to finish."
"Understood, Heroine Zheng." Mr. Yu cupped his hands and turned back toward Chen Yuliang's corpse.
Whether due to his cultivation technique or some hidden affliction, in the span of just a few sentences, the corpse had already begun to show slight signs of decay, attracting several flies, mosquitoes, and moths that circled above it.
As Mr. Yu approached, they were startled into flight.
At this sight, Mr. Yu's brow furrowed slightly.
***
In the blind spot between the alley wall and the lush tree.
After hearing his brother's answer—"Probably not"—Ding Daniu offered an honest, simple smile:
"Erlang, you're the one in the family who's best to me."
"Is Little Sister not good to you?" Ding Songyan changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on killing people.
Ding Daniu seemed unable to find the right words for a moment, sinking into visible thought. Only after a good while did he say, "She's a little afraid of me."
*I am too...* Ding Songyan grumbled helplessly to himself.
Being afraid was the normal reaction.
Glancing at the red-nosed man's corpse behind the tree, and recalling that the matter of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas truly could not be made known to the authorities, Ding Songyan took a breath.
"Eldest Brother, how do you plan to handle this body?"
*I've been standing here too long. Even if the person on top of the watchtower doesn't suspect anything illicit, they'll think I have trouble emptying my bladder...*
"How to handle it..." Ding Daniu stared at the corpse with the caved-in face and fell silent.
Ding Songyan fell silent too.
*So you never even thought about how to handle it...*
*And here I thought you were an experienced veteran...*
*Then again, on a long journey through the wild backcountry with no one around, one could just wait until dark and heave some petty crook's body into the woods, down a cliff, or into a river, and that was that...*
*I have to think of something. Someone could pass by here at any moment...*
While thoughts raced through his mind, a strong gust blew past, carrying Mr. Yu's voice:
"Just leave on your own. The Sishui Gang will take care of the body."
Ding Songyan let out an immediate breath of relief.
Sounds like things with Chief Banner Chen had been settled smoothly as well.
As for The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, he didn't care in the slightest whether Mr. Yu had found it or taken it. If the man didn't bring it up, all the better; bringing it up would only bring danger.
***
Zhen Manor, inside Hanshui Pavilion.
Surrounded by water-powered fans and large basins of ice, Mr. Yu cupped his hands in a bow and presented the book in his hands to the old man seated in the armchair of honor at the head of the room:
"Old Master, it is indeed the copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas lost from the manor. All the secret marks match."
The old man wore a black robe embroidered with numerous characters for good fortune, topped with a small skullcap. His left palm was broad; even holding two heavy iron balls, he rolled them effortlessly with relaxed ease.
The whiskers on his face were already white, his eyes showed signs of bulging, and a piercing light spilled out between the fluttering of his eyelids. His complexion was unusually ruddy, while his ears gave a layered, overlapping impression, as if each had split into two.
Zhen Qianfan, the Old Master of the Zhen family, took the indigo-bound volume with his right hand, shook it open casually, and cast a couple of glances at it.
"When you handle matters, my mind is at ease.
"The people from the Xiaoming Sect and the yamen didn't learn about this book, did they?"
Mr. Yu retained his usual gloomy, lifeless demeanor.
"The book was hidden in Chen Yuliang's robes. Though Zheng Zhuxi was present at the time, she is young, after all, and has not yet officially wandered the jianghu. She shrank from getting too close to a corpse and didn't look closely. I took advantage of the opening to snatch and conceal it using my wind-gathering art, then used Ding Erlang's business as an excuse to leave in haste."
Zhen Qianfan looked at The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas in his hands and chuckled softly.
"Lost nine months ago, and now it actually turns back up. What a coincidence..."
He leaned back against the armchair and closed his eyes.
"Does the Ding family's Erlang truly not remember where he got this copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?"
"He has indeed forgotten. Over the past two days, I observed his behavior in secret and found he barely remembers even daily matters. Divine Physician Shao confirmed this as well, though he could not determine the cause," Mr. Yu answered truthfully.
Zhen Qianfan remained silent for a long while, looking as if he had drifted to sleep. Suddenly, he turned his head toward his son standing in attendance beside him.
"When did Qin Nuansheng enter the manor?"
Zhen Quanwang, the legitimate son of the Zhen family, bowed and answered, "Nuansheng entered the manor a little over two years ago. Father, it was investigated at the time—the disappearance of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas had nothing to do with her."
Facing the father he had always feared, he summoned the courage to speak up in Qin Nuansheng's defense.
Zhen Qianfan let out a soft laugh, speaking in an utterly confident tone:
"Of course it had nothing to do with her.
"If she came a little over two years ago, then that is fine."
He opened his eyes fully, the inner light shining forth, and questioned Mr. Yu:
"How long has the five-member Ding family been in Dingjiang Prefecture, and what kind of people are they?"
"Only a little over seven months," Mr. Yu replied after a moment's recollection. "They should have nothing to do with the disappearance of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas."
His deepest impression of the Ding family was that the youngest daughter, though not yet fully grown, was already a rare beauty. He had initially intended to mention this directly, but on second thought, Old Master Zhen and the various masters of the Zhen family were hardly abstinent when it came to women. In ordinary times, Qin Nuansheng never let Ding Qingyan come to the manor, choosing to visit Chengyu Lane in person whenever she missed her younger cousin. It was best not to let Old Master Zhen and his kin know too much about her; after all, the Ding girl was only fourteen or fifteen, and laying hands on her would be an offense against Heaven.
And with the Zhen Manor's token in place, no one in Chengyu Lane dared bully Ding Qingyan.
Weighing his words, Mr. Yu began with Ding Shengyi, giving a detailed description of the middle-aged scholar, followed by Liu Yuzao, Ding Daniu, and Ding Songyan, before concluding:
"There is also a youngest daughter, not yet reached the hairpin coming-of-age at fifteen, and possessed of fine looks."
Merely fine looks.
Zhen Qianfan listened attentively, the two iron balls rolling continuously in his palm.
After a long pause, he nodded slightly.
"Doesn't seem like it..."
Offering no explanation, Old Master Zhen instructed Mr. Yu:
"The Xiaochuan Gang has risen too swiftly in recent years, which is abnormal. Someone may be backing them from behind. If it is one of the major sects, that's fine—Ningzhou belongs to the Chongwu Sect and the Yi clan, and we can establish ties with either. Once outsiders are called out, they will naturally withdraw. What I fear is that the Xiaochuan Gang has hooked up with one of the Twenty-One Ways of Demons. Those heretical fiends care nothing for jianghu rules and will resort to any means.
"When you, the Xiaoming Sect, and the yamen search Chen Yuliang's banner lodge, keep an eye out for anything of that sort. You must not be careless. Heh, colluding with demonic factions makes it easy to accomplish things, but it also makes it easy for the imperial court to pull you up by the roots."
"Understood, Old Master," Mr. Yu answered with cupped hands.
***
After spending eight copper coins on a bowl of noodles with bits of minced pork and a few greens, Ding Songyan—feeling considerably lighter now that his lurking crisis had reached a temporary close—returned to Chengyu Lane and pushed against the courtyard gate.
It didn't budge.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Ding Songyan knocked on the wooden gate.
"Who is it?" Ding Qingyan's voice called from within.
"Your Second Brother," Ding Songyan replied with a smile.
Only then did Ding Qingyan lift the crossbar. Looking both pleased and puzzled, she asked, "Back so early?"
Her hands were dripping wet, and a wooden tub sat beside the water cistern; clearly, she was doing laundry.
"The matter is mostly resolved." Ding Songyan pulled the wooden gate shut and gave his sister a general outline of what had transpired.
He did not mention The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas by name, describing it only as something of great value, nor did he say that Ding Daniu had killed another man.
Ding Qingyan paid no mind to such details. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she cried out in joyful surprise, "Second Brother, we don't have to live in fear anymore!"
With that, she began pacing in small circles, murmuring excitedly to herself:
"We must celebrate, we have to celebrate! When Father finishes his shift at the yamen, I'll have him go to Shaoyao Residence to buy a crispy roast duck, and then get..."
As she muttered, Ding Qingyan swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Ding Songyan watched with a smile. Only when his sister calmed down did he ask, "Do we have paper and ink at home?"
He intended to draft an outline for tomorrow's performance of The Legend of the White Snake, so he wouldn't leave out too many details like he had today—Xiaoqing, for instance, had barely received any stage time.
After all, if that Headless Folk Commandant of Elite Cavalry returned to the military camp, Ding would never have another chance to cross paths with him. The girl in the white skirt was currently his most valuable personal connection, and they had gotten off to a great start. He had to maintain it properly!
"Don't you have them in your trunk?" Ding Qingyan pointed toward the west wing.
*Right, my original profession was a storyteller...* Ding Songyan nodded, returned to his room, and opened the small wooden chest beside the bed.
The chest contained paper, brushes, an inkstone, inksticks, and several books.
Ding Songyan flipped through them casually and found they were prompt books needed for storytelling. Some had been bought from the storytellers' guild, while others were likely copied by his predecessor. The handwriting between the two types was noticeably different, and the latter had far cruder bindings.
"Mostly historical... If I'd known, I wouldn't have gone to listen to historical storytelling. Browsing these would have been plenty. What a waste of copper coins..." he grumbled as he went through his collection.
A tea's time later, Ding Songyan picked up an untitled handwritten manuscript near the bottom of the trunk. As his eyes swept across the page, a sentence suddenly leapt out at him:
"Feiyi: consuming it wards off vermin, defends the spirit, and renders one impervious to all disease."
*This...* Ding Songyan's expression froze instantly.
The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?
Chapter 11