Once he emerged from the rear mountain of the mass burial ground, Ding Songyan's yin eye quickly faded.
He was not troubled by this, as he already possessed a dependable way to activate it.
He deliberately slowed his pace, taking until the sky had turned completely dark before arriving at the ruined shrine.
The state inside the shrine was no different from several days ago: unpatched holes, spiderwebs everywhere, and weeds covering the ground.
Ding Songyan was in no hurry to awaken his yin eye, casting his gaze instead toward the filthy, broken deity statue.
The statue appeared to be an Earth God, but no one offered worship to it any longer. Across Dingjiang Prefecture—whether in the city or the countryside—people now prayed to Dangkang and the Kitchen God, while the incense burners of Daoist and Buddhist temples were mainly patronized by the middle and upper classes.
After Ding Songyan bowed to the abandoned Earth God, he shifted the hazy, clear "seed" from his sea of consciousness to the space between his brows.
His yin eye opened accordingly. An endless wilderness dominated by mysterious blackness overlapped with the interior of the shrine, unfolding before his sight.
Ghostly figures drifted aimlessly through the smokelike darkness, while the fractured deity statue remained filthy, shedding neither blood nor tears.
*Just now, I was quite worried that opening my yin eye might let me see an incense-and-worship deity that had fallen from its altar, which is why I bowed repeatedly and sincerely explained the situation... Is there simply no such deity in this world, or did the one in this shrine fall so long ago that it has already vanished into thin air?* Ding Songyan turned his gaze toward the wooden pillar his back had rested against when he first woke up in this world.
A black wind, nearly condensed into substance, curled around that spot, where an almost dissipated figure lingered, unable to move forward.
Ding Songyan held his breath and quietly approached.
The figure lifted its head, revealing an upright, well-proportioned face.
It was identical to Ding Songyan's!
The difference lay in its pale, sinister complexion, bulging eyes weeping streaks of bloody tears, and an extraordinarily contorted expression.
*Original self, you really did return on your seventh day... I was terrified your soul had shattered, or that I had transmigrated long ago and merely forgotten everything from before...* Ding Songyan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, checked the involuntary trembling of his hands, and shifted the hazy, clear "seed" to his throat.
In a cold, drifting voice, he asked:
"Ding Songyan, who killed you?"
The contorted expression on the figure's face shifted in an instant, giving way to an indescribable fear that seeped into the very marrow of its bones.
It began muttering incessantly:
"I won't run anymore...
"Don't kill me..."
"I won't run anymore...
"Don't kill me..."
"I won't run anymore!
"Don't kill me!"
Its voice rapidly turned shrill and hysterical, brimming with the raw terror of imminent death.
Drops of spectral tears stained with crimson blood trickled down its face.
"Don't kill me!"
With one last shriek, the figure completely disintegrated and dispersed, merging into the smokelike darkness and the boundless wilderness.
Ding Songyan watched quietly, his heart awash with conflicting emotions.
He could not tell whether this was sympathy for a fellow being's plight, or the realization that even now, he had not escaped those same two phrases—that he, too, was still begging others not to kill him.
Once the yin eye naturally faded, Ding Songyan pondered the final obsession left behind by his predecessor:
*He was indeed fleeing back then... and the urgency of the situation forced him to abandon any concern over the disaster that The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and that other book in the wooden chest might bring upon his family...*
*Where did his private stash of silver go? I never found it... Sensing he might have to flee on the spot, did he take it with him beforehand, only for someone else to seize it? Or had he already spent it earlier—spent it on the matter concerning The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?*
*In such a desperate flight, why did he enter this abandoned Earth God shrine? Doing so took him out of view of the watchtowers, forfeiting his last sliver of survival...*
*Was someone waiting for him here, leaving him no choice but to meet them? Or was he also 'acting against his own will'?*
Ding Songyan immediately thought of Chen Yuliang, Wang Yishu, the vermilion moth, and the "moth seeds."
He quickly discarded that hypothesis. If this body had truly been possessed by a "moth seed," it would have been impossible for Divine Physician Shao to miss every trace of it during two separate examinations.
Immediately after, his thoughts turned back to his own recent experience—how he had clearly sensed something was off, yet still took the initiative to lurk in Beili Ward in pursuit of a fortuitous encounter, never realizing anything was amiss at the time:
*Were my predecessor's thoughts also manipulated back then, prompting him to enter the Earth God shrine 'of his own accord'?*
*Does that mean the mastermind shares the same lineage as Yan Changqing?*
Amid the whirlwind of thoughts, Ding Songyan's eyes suddenly lit up. He remembered something Yan Changqing had said:
*"It seems an old friend of mine has arrived, though I know not which one..."*
A fellow disciple was also a kind of old friend!
And nothing dictated that there could only be one mastermind behind the scenes; an expert of the Moth God Sect could very well be cooperating with Yan Changqing's "old friend" to orchestrate this layout.
The more Ding Songyan considered it, the closer to the truth this deduction felt. Through this, he also understood why Chen Yuliang and Wang Yishu had behaved differently from ordinary "moth people."
They likely had a hazy, clear "seed" in their seas of consciousness as well!
By injecting thoughts, ideas, and pretexts through the "seed," a "moth person" would naturally become far more nimble, resembling a living human even more closely!
*That must be why Yan Changqing guessed an old friend had come. But judging by his reaction, they are more likely foe than friend... In that case, did he really betray his own sect in the past, leading senior or junior brothers and sisters to track him down and clean house?* Ding Songyan walked out of the abandoned Earth God shrine in deep thought, stepping back onto the main road leading to the city gates.
He realized that the divine art of Yan Changqing's sect and the techniques of the Moth God Sect complemented each other remarkably well, achieving an effect where one plus one was far greater than two.
The problem Ding Songyan was currently pondering was how to bypass his mental restrictions and relay this discovery to the authorities, to Miss Xiaoqing, and to Brother Youyang.
Returning to the city and turning into Chengyu Lane, Ding Songyan brought a smile to his face, making himself look entirely unperturbed.
Beneath the faint glow of the dark blue twilight, he spotted his father, Ding Shengyi, holding a folding fan by the water well, chatting amiably with a cluster of neighbors.
After exchanging greetings, Ding Songyan did not head inside right away, lingering beside his father to join in the perfunctory banter.
"Clerk Ding, what a pity your Sanjie'er was too young to take part in the imperial consort selection during the fifth year of Jianwu," a woman remarked with mingled envy and sighed regret. "Otherwise, with her looks, you'd be the father of an imperial consort by now."
"Ding Sanjie'er" naturally referred to Ding Qingyan, who was also called Third Young Lady Ding or Little Lady Ding on occasion.
Before Ding Shengyi or Ding Songyan could respond, an idler standing nearby chuckled. "Little Lady Ding will reach the hairpin coming-of-age at fifteen next year, and the year after that will be the tenth year of Jianwu. His Majesty might very well hold another imperial consort selection. Heh-heh, mastering the Fire God Art all the way to the end must surely leave one with quite a lot of 'fire.'"
Ding Shengyi waved his folding fan, driving off the buzzing mosquitoes. "I only hope Sanjie'er marries close by so we can see each other often. I don't ask for great wealth or honor—only that she stays safe and peaceful, and that we can look out for one another when trouble comes."
"Haha, Clerk Ding, what about me?"
"You'd have to make something of yourself first."
"..."
Ding Songyan accompanied them in idle chatter for a while, then went inside, where he saw his mother, Liu Yuzao, just setting down her needlework beside an oil lamp.
"Erlang, come try on these new shoes. Your sister and I each stitched one." Liu Yuzao picked up a pair of black cloth shoes and gestured for Ding Erlang to sit so she could help him change into them.
Ding Songyan suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and hurried to say, "Let me clean up first. I've walked quite a distance."
Having a family that cared for him too much was not entirely comfortable either, after all, given that he had not fully settled into this identity.
After washing his feet, Ding Songyan tried on the cloth shoes himself.
"They fit perfectly and feel very comfortable," he praised.
Liu Yuzao offered a faint, gratified smile and nodded, tidying her needle and thread as she said, "Then wear them tomorrow."
Seeing his mother's expression and hearing her words, Ding Songyan thought of Ding Erlang's remnant soul, which he had met only moments earlier. A sudden wave of sorrow and melancholy washed over him.
Once Ding Shengyi returned, the family of five washed up separately and prepared for bed.
Ding Songyan naturally helped Ding Daniu move the wooden chest and lay out the bedding.
"Erlang, Erlang," Ding Daniu whispered, glancing toward the east wing where their mother stayed. "Do me a favor tomorrow."
Straightening up, Ding Songyan set down the crossbar on the main room's door and asked with amused curiosity, "Eldest Brother, what favor could I possibly do for you?"
Ding Daniu hesitated a moment before saying, "Come find me at the wharf tomorrow afternoon and say you need my help with something. That way, I can ask the foreman for leave."
"Where are you planning to go?" Ding Songyan had a vague premonition.
Ding Daniu gave an honest, foolish grin. "Beili Ward."
"..." Ding Songyan thought it over and decided it was acceptable.
Let him expend some energy so he wouldn't constantly be thinking of killing people!
He turned his thoughts to long-term plans: once the trouble on his own end was settled, if he was still alive, he would speak to their mother about arranging a wife for his elder brother.
*Then again, given Eldest Brother's nature, wouldn't that just be ruining some poor girl's life?* Ding Songyan suddenly felt a twinge of guilt.
Returning to the west wing, he saw his sister, Ding Qingyan, sitting by his bedside, waiting with a smile.
"You have something too?" Ding Songyan asked, somewhat resigned.
Ding Qingyan offered a sweet smile. "Second Brother, tell me another story tonight."
Compared to Miss Xiaoqing, Ding Qingyan's smile was sweeter and more approachable, never making one feel inferior.
*Ah, it's only because I just met my predecessor's remnant soul; otherwise...* Ding Songyan sighed once more. "All right."
"You're the best, Second Brother!" Ding Qingyan praised with a bright, radiant smile, obediently heading back into the inner room to lie down in bed.
Ding Songyan shook his head. Leaning his back against the wall behind his bedhead, he began recounting the tale, picking up from Madame White Snake stealing the elixir of immortality all the way to Xu Xian entering Jinshan Temple.
By the time the night had deepened, Ding Qingyan's voice carried an unmistakable drowsiness:
"Second Brother, Mother says before I reach my hairpin coming-of-age at fifteen, we'll rent a larger place with five rooms. When that happens, I won't be able to chat with you and listen to your stories before falling asleep."
"Then I'll tell you your story before returning to my own room." Ding Songyan was thoroughly practiced when it came to humoring a younger sister.
Though he had been an only child in his past life, his father's and mother's siblings had given him two paternal cousin-sisters and three maternal cousin-sisters, and they had frequently visited and played together.
Ding Qingyan drifted happily into dreamland, and Ding Songyan resumed his late-night writing by the lamplight.
This time, the sect, unwilling to help Xu Shilin confront Fahai because Bai Suzhen was a demon, allowed only a few senior and junior martial brothers and sisters to assist him in an individual capacity. Having caught wind of the news in advance, Fahai laid down the Great Arhat Formation, bringing Xu Shilin's first attempt to rescue his mother to a disastrous failure.
As he wrote, Ding Songyan caught sight of Miss Xiaoqing from the corner of his eye.
Xiaoqing had changed back into the attire from their first meeting: a round-collared, straight-front plain white short coat paired with a white skirt bordered in green, her hair styled into twin hanging buns.
After a moment's contemplation, Ding Songyan spoke directly:
"Miss Xiaoqing, I heard someone say that the stalker is a 'moth person' from the Moth God Sect."
"Them?" Xiaoqing was momentarily startled, her brow furrowing slightly. "Who told you that?"
Ding Songyan wished to speak, but the words slipped from his mind.
"You can't say?" Xiaoqing's eyes flickered with lively intelligence. "Just answer me yes or no. Is it Zhen Manor?"
Chapter 39