Having composed himself, Ding Songyan left Chengyu Lane and headed toward Beishui Street, buying some fried sesame balls and steamed buns along the way to scarf down for a meal.
His initial thought had been to hurry and warn Miss Xiaoqing that whoever was controlling the stalker practiced a vermilion moth-related legacy. However, fearing that doing so might reveal that he possessed The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and had the ability to dispel illusions, he decided to first perform storytelling for Yan Changqing and discuss the vermilion moth with this mysterious, powerful "esteemed guest" before dropping hints to Miss Xiaoqing.
That way, his information would have an overt "source." Moreover, it offered the beauty of killing two birds with one stone: Xiaoqing would clearly perceive that Ding Songyan was enigmatic and that his intelligence was closely tied to Zhen Manor. She and the faction behind her would then scrutinize Zhen Manor and its every detail with far greater caution.
At the thought of Yan Changqing, Ding Songyan suddenly slowed his pace.
He had already used the "qi" twice today, and the misty, translucent "seed" in his sea of consciousness was gone!
This meant he could try reporting to the authorities again to see if it worked!
Ding Songyan immediately turned toward the county yamen. Just as he arrived before the screen wall, he saw Constable Li Wu and a man dressed in the same red-and-black patterned uniform striding out.
"Ding Erlang! Just the man we were looking for!" Li Wu's eyes lit up, and he hurried over to greet Ding Songyan.
"Brother Li, what is it?" Ding Songyan asked, feeling both bewildered and hopeful.
Are they going to arrest me and examine me for anything abnormal?
Li Wu pointed to the refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man beside him. "You probably forgot, but this is Head Constable Xue. You used to call him Uncle Xue."
"Uncle Xue, has something happened?" Ding Songyan seized the opening and questioned Head Constable Xue Zhangjian.
According to what he had heard from his father, Ding Shengyi, Head Constable Xue was a lay disciple of the Body-Intent Heterodox Sect, a monastic Buddhist sect.
The Body-Intent Heterodox Sect was also a top-tier power. It bore that name because there was also a Body-Intent Sect in the state of Feng. Due to divergent Buddhist philosophies and martial arts lineages, the Body-Intent Heterodox Sect had broken away from the Body-Intent Sect, traveling all the way south to establish their sect in Great Zhao. Among the top-tier powers, their history was relatively shallow.
With his back slightly hunched and his fingers hooked like chicken claws, Xue Zhangjian nodded slightly. "Tell us everything you know about Chen Yuliang once more, from start to finish."
"Did you find something strange about him?" Ding Songyan asked, slightly surprised.
Xue Zhangjian and Li Wu nodded in unison, but offered no explanation of what anomaly had been discovered.
Ding Songyan pondered for a moment, weighing his words for several breaths before speaking earnestly: "Brother Li, to tell the truth, I withheld a few details when I spoke with you last time. That man with the rosacea nose—right, named Wang Yishu—mentioned other things back then. He claimed I sold a certain treasure to Chen Yuliang, and Chen Yuliang gave me a large sum of silver and told me to leave Dingjiang Prefecture as soon as possible. Who would have thought I'd end up unconscious in the ruined shrine outside the city? When my family found me, not only was the silver gone, but I had come down with this soul-departing illness and completely forgotten everything about it.
"When I asked Wang Yishu about other matters, he seemed to hold nothing back, telling me what martial arts Chen Yuliang was skilled in, what made him unique..."
Except for keeping The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas to himself and omitting Ding Daniu's name by referring to him simply as someone from Zhen Manor, Ding Songyan recounted the entire sequence of events exactly as it had occurred.
Xue Zhangjian and Li Wu exchanged a glance, each harboring his own suspicions and deductions.
"You don't remember what the treasure was, nor where it came from?" Li Wu pressed.
Ding Songyan shook his head with complete candidness.
I really didn't remember back then; I only found out later.
"It seems someone is plotting behind the scenes," Xue Zhangjian muttered softly before turning to Ding Songyan. "Ding Erlang, return home for now. If we have further questions, we will seek you out."
Great, great! Better yet if Zheng Zhuxi of the Xiaoming Sect leads the investigation. That way I can forge a good bond with her and see if I can drop her a hint or two... Ding Songyan took his leave and departed the main street.
As he approached Beishui Street, it suddenly struck him that he had once again "forgotten" to report to the yamen that a mysterious man was imprisoned in Zhen Manor's secret cell!
It seems the power Yan Changqing planted in my sea of consciousness isn't just one strand. On the surface, there's that "seed," but in the shadows lurks another, hidden influence. That's the real culprit tampering with my thoughts and making me forget to do certain things... I have to find a way to drag it out... Otherwise, not only will I be unable to call for help, but I might also be steered into doing things against my will at times... Ding Songyan sighed, though he wasn't in an extreme rush.
This was because with Zhen Manor on one side and the practitioner of the vermilion moth legacy lurking behind the scenes on the other, he could only balance the situation by pulling Yan Changqing in and obtaining "help" from him.
A triangle was the most stable structure!
He truly couldn't afford to lose any of them. The moment one side collapsed, Ding Songyan would swiftly be engulfed by the unfolding crisis, powerless to save himself.
As for Xiaoqing's faction, Ren Youyang's Zhenling Sect, and the yamen along with the Xiaoming Sect, they were all still on the periphery. Unable to disclose critical information to them, Ding Songyan could only treat them as an inconsequential outer triangle, leaving them to be drawn in when an opportunity arose later.
Phew... Ding Songyan stepped into Zhen Manor. Tying the black cloth over his eyes as usual, he made his way to the secret cell and sat down opposite Yan Changqing.
"You used up that breath of qi?" A cool sensation descended into Ding Songyan's sea of consciousness, echoing as an aged, hoarse voice.
Immediately afterward, the cool sensation thickened once more, condensing into a new, misty, translucent "seed."
This old man's reserves run deep. Squeeze him a bit, and plenty more comes out... Ding Songyan inexplicably felt as though he were sponging off an elder.
Aided by the "seed," his mind split in two once again. Half of his consciousness withdrew and coalesced into a figure.
Still clad in his Huayang cap and blue scholar's robe, Yan Changqing was already waiting within the fog-shrouded sea of consciousness. He asked Ding Songyan, "Encountered an unexpected mishap?"
Ding Songyan nodded and politely cupped his hands. "In response to Senior: Ren Youyang of the Zhenling Sect helped junior realize someone was tailing me—not just the retained experts of Zhen Manor. Later, he failed to catch the stalker, and junior was forced to use the qi Senior granted me to attempt dispelling illusions..."
He did not conceal that Ren Youyang was helping him; after all, this very encounter had been divined by Yan Changqing.
He recounted the red, ant-like moth he had seen, the anomalies after the previous stalker's death, and the matters regarding Chen Yuliang and Wang Yishu.
Throughout this, Ding Songyan watched Yan Changqing's face intently. He deliberately mentioned waking up in the ruined shrine outside the city with much of his prior memory lost, as well as Chen Yuliang's belief that The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas was authentic and complete.
Mentioning the former was to see whether Yan Changqing had deduced his secret of rebirth through soul possession; mentioning the latter was to observe whether the senior possessed knowledge of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and what connection he had to it.
In the end, Ding Songyan found that Yan Changqing remained placid throughout, betraying neither joy nor anger, nor any hint of surprise.
Is he always this composed, or did he already know that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas was at least nearly complete? Ding Songyan paused, then asked, "Senior, do you know which faction that stalker comes from, and what their purpose might be?"
With graying hair at his temples, Yan Changqing clasped his hands behind his back and paced a few steps. "This old man saw it once in the Great Desert. That ant-like vermilion moth should be a 'moth seed' cultivated through the vermilion moth legacy, originating from the Moth God Sect in the state of Feng. What business do they have joining the fray?"
Yan Changqing's tone carried a hint of puzzlement—though whether it was genuine or a display put on for Ding Songyan's benefit remained unclear.
After pondering a moment, he said: "The stalker you described resembles the 'moth people' this old man has encountered before, yet Chen Yuliang and Wang Yishu behaved quite differently. Normally, even if they have reached the Dharma Realm, a 'moth father' or 'moth mother' must remain within a hundred zhang to control a 'moth person.' The closer the distance, the more agile and nimble the 'moth person' becomes. Within ten zhang, a 'moth person' can execute martial arts as usual and engage in a measure of conversation. Yet Wang Yishu spoke far too much, even displaying thoughts of his own, as though he weren't under the control of a 'moth seed' at all. Furthermore, when Chen Yuliang fought Yu Wanxiong for his life, by your account, it took place inside the Shichi Martial Arts School—a 'moth father' or 'moth mother' could not have hidden within ten zhang. This old man has never witnessed such 'moth people' before. It is exceedingly peculiar; I fear there are hidden depths here."
It takes a seasoned veteran of the jianghu to recognize the moth's origins at a glance and spot what's out of the ordinary... Ding Songyan did not interrupt Yan Changqing's soliloquy.
Yan Changqing's voice grew lower. "Either someone in the Moth God Sect has secretly reached the Heaven-Man Realm, or there is other assistance. If there is other assistance... The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas..."
Suddenly, Yan Changqing stopped pacing back and forth.
A faint smile appeared on his emaciated face. "It seems an old friend of this old man has arrived, though I know not which one."
"What should junior do?" Ding Songyan asked immediately for guidance.
Yan Changqing chuckled. "Pay it no mind for now, and pretend to know nothing. Since the authorities questioned you again today about Chen Yuliang, it indicates they have their own suspicions. Let us first see whether these two sides clash, and if they do, what kind of muddy waters will be stirred."
"Understood, Senior," Ding Songyan replied, before turning to ask, "Does a vermilion moth cause ordinary moths to gather?"
Yan Changqing shook his head. "This old man does not know; I have never seen such a thing. Heh, this old man only ever encountered a 'moth person' once, and dealt with their 'moth mother' along the way. Beyond that, my knowledge is limited."
I'll ask Miss Xiaoqing later... Ding Songyan looked toward the misty, translucent "seed." "Can this breath of qi also only be used twice?"
Yan Changqing scolded with a laugh, "This old man feigned total helplessness for many years just to hoard a few breaths of qi. You must not squander them, or matters down the line will become difficult to handle."
Since you put it that way, it means you still have quite a bit of qi left... Ding Songyan agreed without the slightest twinge of guilt. After a moment's thought, he asked, "After leaving Zhen Manor today, what should junior do?"
"Try to seek out people from the Xiaochuan Gang," Yan Changqing said with a faint smile.
Ding Songyan let out an "er."
"Junior has already done so."
He briefly mentioned what had occurred at the Shichi Martial Arts School.
Yan Changqing broke into laughter. "Young friend, you truly suit this old man's temper! If I had met you before being thrown into prison, I would certainly have taken you as my disciple and led you onto the path of profound martial mastery!"
Ding Songyan offered a few disingenuous words of thanks.
Yan Changqing paced a few more steps, his tone even and calm: "In that case, go to Duokang Temple on this old man's behalf and offer three sticks of incense."
Chapter 37