Ding Songyan slowly withdrew his gaze. Following his preplanned routine, he walked back to the west wing with stiff movements that showed no outward sign of alarm.
Ding Qingyan was sitting by his bed, leafing through the storybooks he had written for The Legend of the White Snake.
"Second Brother, you're almost at the final chapter, aren't you? Once that time comes, you won't have to burn the midnight oil anymore, and you can tell me the whole story from start to finish—the really detailed version." The girl smiled shrewdly. "That's the only way I can help you transcribe it so we can take it to the storytellers' guild to sell."
Ding Songyan gazed at Ding Qingyan, scanning her from head to toe. Just like before, he found nothing out of the ordinary.
"What is it?" Ding Qingyan asked, looking confused.
Ding Songyan forced a smile. "I only just realized my little sister is so pretty."
Ding Qingyan rolled her eyes and said scornfully, "Don't think you can brush me off like that!"
"All right, all right. Once I don't have to stay up writing by the lamp, I'll tell you a chapter of The Legend of the White Snake every day," Ding Songyan said perfunctorily.
Right now, all he wanted was an undisturbed space where he could think things through in peace.
Only then did Ding Qingyan break into a smile. Sweetly thanking her second brother, she walked back into the inner chamber partitioned off by the screen.
Ding Songyan sat down and pondered for a moment. Before the illusion-dispelling effect of the pale, misty "seed" faded entirely, he dug out the silver ingot Xu Chang'an had given him from the wooden chest, crossed the main hall, and walked up to the east wing, knocking firmly on the door.
"Who is it?" Liu Yuzao's cool voice came from inside.
"It's me. Something's come up." Ding Songyan's voice had regained its steady composure.
Before long, the door creaked open. Dressed in white sleeping robes, Ding Shengyi looked at Ding Songyan in confusion. "Erlang, what is it?"
In Ding Songyan's eyes, two antennae covered in blood-red scales protruded from his father Ding Shengyi's temples, and his gaunt frame carried a faint reddish sheen.
This... A term suddenly leapt into Ding Songyan's mind:
*Moth father!*
His nerves tightened in an instant. Lowering his head, he feigned embarrassment to mask his reaction. "Father, I helped Xu Dalang earlier, and he gave me quite a bit of silver to thank me. I... should I hand it over to the household funds?"
The somewhat effeminate Ding Shengyi's antennae quivered slightly as he gave a soft laugh. "No need. What you earned yourself, you keep."
"All right." Ding Songyan did not dare linger in the slightest. Turning immediately, he walked back to the west wing.
Once he sat back down, the extraordinary clarity before his eyes gradually faded.
*He doesn't seem like a demon...* Ding Songyan made an initial judgment based on what he had seen and heard over this period. *It looks more like the physical abnormalities developed through methods like aperture crafting after reaching the Dayan Realm, similar to Mr. Yu's ears, Divine Physician Shao's eyes, and Ren Youyang's hound ears.*
He had initially suspected that his eldest brother was a half-demon, and that demons had abducted his mother in the past. But Ding Shengyi's "moth father" appearance made him lean toward the possibility of a Dayan Realm martial artist instead.
A single "family" couldn't possibly have two half-demons, could it?
And not even of the same species!
*So the one controlling the 'moth people' to tail me was Ding Shengyi? Heh, whether his name is even Ding Shengyi is another matter entirely... No wonder there are so many mosquitoes and moths in our courtyard. The 'moth father' is right here, so the trait of 'commanding insects' naturally took effect...*
*Was he also the one who manipulated Chen Yuliang and Wang Yishu into putting on a play to deceive me and Zhen Manor? Is he working together with Yan Changqing's 'old friend'?*
*Was Yan Changqing's 'old friend' the source of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?*
*When The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas was traded back then, was my predecessor acting of his own accord, or was he forced into it?*
*Did my predecessor copy The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas because he wanted to, or did someone compel him to?*
*There's no way they're a real family...*
The more Ding Songyan thought about it, the more terrified he became.
He even began to wonder if his predecessor had actually been named Ding Songyan.
Could that be a fake name too?
*No, there's no way a fake name would happen to match my pre-transmigration name by sheer coincidence. Sharing the same name being one of the reasons for transmigrating makes much more sense.* Ding Songyan suddenly gave a wry smile, chuckling in exasperation. *So all your fake names were changed to match mine!*
This reminded him of an exchange he had had with his little nephew, not even three years old, when visiting his cousin in his past life:
"Uncle, what's your last name?"
"My last name is Ding."
"Oh, so you took my last name too! Daddy did too."
Ding Songyan reined in his thoughts and earnestly analyzed a question:
How difficult was it to conceal the physical abnormalities brought about by martial arts practice so that no one would notice them in daily life?
*It shouldn't be easy... If it were easy, Ren Youyang wouldn't have to press those hound ears tightly against his scalp and hide them beneath long hair every time he disguised himself...*
*Concealment through martial arts techniques? Ding Daniu and Ding Shengyi couldn't possibly know the same technique, could they? Their physical abnormalities are completely different...*
*Did someone help conceal them? And did Ding Daniu indulge his desires today, getting so carried away, or dabbling in women and breaking his vow of celibacy, that his concealment partially failed?*
*That's very likely...*
*In other words, there's another expert hiding in the shadows... Yan Changqing's 'old friend'? Does the 'qi' of that divine art possess wondrous uses for transformation and concealment?*
*My predecessor said, 'I won't run anymore, don't kill me'... His running away was probably trying to escape this 'family.' No wonder he abandoned even the manuscript of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas... Only to have his thoughts manipulated by Yan Changqing's 'old friend,' enter the ruined shrine, and die tragically on the spot...*
*Wait, that's not right. Why didn't Yan Changqing's 'old friend' plant a pale, misty 'seed' directly in his mind so he couldn't run even if he wanted to? Just like me right now—if I ever have the thought of fleeing Dingjiang Prefecture, I forget it the next moment...*
*I'll ask Miss Xiaoqing in a bit to see if there's any martial art that can help someone conceal such anomalies...*
Ding Songyan stopped his silent deliberations. Moving the wooden chests around, he cobbled together a makeshift table and stool, then moved the oil lamp over.
Taking advantage of Miss Xiaoqing's absence, he took out the manuscript copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and, by the light of the oil lamp, quickly flipped through the pages, searching for mythical beasts that matched Ding Daniu's physical traits.
He even thought to himself that if Miss Xiaoqing happened to walk in and discover this copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, it might serve as a desperate move to find a way out of certain death. His only fear was that she, too, would turn around and "forget."
After a moment, Ding Songyan locked onto a mythical beast:
"Shuhu: horse's body and bird's wings, human face and snake's tail.
"Consuming it grants strength surpassing a hundred oxen, divine speed across ten thousand li, and awareness of heaven and human intent."
*Except for the bird wings, everything matches... Eldest Brother is practicing the Shuhu legacy... And yet he told me he had inborn godlike strength and had never practiced martial arts... Good on you, Ding Daniu. You look like a simpleton, but you're quite the liar...*
*Mother as well. That day, she actually ate the steamed bun that dropped on the ground. That's hardly a habit a young lady from a prominent family would have. Our current life isn't wealthy, but it's not terrible either... I actually overlooked that back then because I wasn't familiar enough with things. Thinking about it now, she either never came from a prominent family at all, or she has rolled and crawled through the mud for far, far too long...*
*If it's the former, Qingyan has been lying to me too, talking about how the Liu family was this and that. That little liar...* Ding Songyan grumbled a few words to find some humor in his misery.
He put away The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and began writing the final chapter of The Legend of the White Snake.
In this chapter, Xu Shilin first attempted to sneak in and covertly breach the pagoda, only for Fahai to have anticipated it, sending him fleeing in defeat once again. Afterwards, he entered the Dao through emotion, successfully breaking through to a new realm. With the aid of returning masters such as the Green Snake, he finally broke the Arhat Formation, shattered Leifeng Pagoda, rescued Bai Suzhen, and brought back Xu Xian, reuniting the family of three. The ending saw Xu Shilin hold a wedding with the former ruler of the Women's Kingdom, in total joy and harmony.
"Good, good, good!" Xiaoqing, who had arrived at some unknown moment, praised as she read.
Once she finished reading everything, she clapped her hands together in satisfaction. "Not bad at all! Before coming over, I was thinking that if this wasn't the final chapter, I'd have to invite you to our boat tomorrow night to tell the rest."
"Miss Xiaoqing, you're leaving Dingjiang Prefecture tomorrow?" Ding Songyan asked, rather surprised.
Xiaoqing hummed in affirmation. "Zhen Manor has invited us to a banquet tomorrow at the beginning of the wei hour. Things should be coming to a close. Regardless of whether we gain anything, it wouldn't be proper for us to stay long. As you know, we are not people of Great Zhao."
*A banquet tomorrow, also in the afternoon...* Ding Songyan's mind stirred. "Did Zhen Manor invite you only after the shen hour today?"
"Yes." Xiaoqing was taken aback for a moment, but hid nothing.
"Between one and two quarters past shenzheng, I bought a dagger. Someone made me buy it." Ding Songyan tested the waters by speaking, finding that he was indeed able to state this matter.
Xiaoqing parted her lips, her eyes shifting slightly. "The two matters are connected...
"I'll tell Second Uncle about this in a bit."
She immediately rose to her feet and pursed her lips. "I should be going. If you have any difficulties, you'd better act quickly."
"I'll see you out; it'll be nice to cool off outside anyway." Ding Songyan had already packed up his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
There were still things he had not asked Miss Xiaoqing, because right now, the phrase "walls have ears" was literal truth.
Xiaoqing gave a nod and vanished from the room first, like a dream or an illusion.
Just like previous days, Ding Songyan took the key, stepped outside, and locked the door from the outside.
In the courtyard, which had been clean without a single mosquito or fly, swarms of moths were once again fluttering about in chaos.
Inside the pitch-black east wing, Ding Shengyi, clad in white sleeping robes, stood beside the oiled-paper window and whispered in some annoyance:
"He's noticed something wrong with us.
"Sister Xiaoxiang, that son of yours has repeatedly broken taboos and refuses to mend his ways despite repeated admonitions. He almost ruined our great undertaking. Fortunately, only a day or two remains, and your sect master can still handle things."
Liu Yuzao, who had delicate beauty, a gentle demeanor, and the appearance of someone merely in her thirties, was also dressed in sleeping robes. She looked toward the main hall and said, as calm and unrippled as if speaking of someone else:
"Back then, I thought about dashing him to death."
Ding Shengyi fell silent. After a few breaths, unable to conceal the pity in his voice, he said:
"Even a vicious tiger will not devour its own cubs. Who could blame you?
"Once this affair is concluded, why don't you take the opportunity to request your sect master to let you step away from all these disputes? You are kind-hearted by nature and were never suited for the unorthodox path. Unlike me, who grew accustomed to it long ago and have no need to transcribe Buddhist scriptures or do good deeds to dissolve internal blockages.
"If you wish to withdraw from the jianghu, I can do so as well. As for Li Zhi's lust and bloodlust, it wouldn't be difficult for us to satisfy him—brothels and pleasure houses, moth seeds and moth people, any would do."
Liu Yuzao gazed at the window paper and shook her head slowly.
"In the past, when I was trapped in that den of monsters, every attempt to escape saw me dragged back. Not a single righteous hero could find that hidden place. In the end, the one who rescued me was an unorthodox titan preying on other villains. He didn't just save me; he took pity on me, taught me martial arts, and passed down his supreme teachings, giving me a place to stand in this world.
"On that day, I secretly swore that I would repay this kindness with my life, until the day I die.
"Now, how could I abandon the sect merely because of my own reluctance to bear it?"
Ding Shengyi was at a loss for words. After a long while, he let out a protracted sigh.
"Your sect master's divine art complements my Classic of the Moth God perfectly. After this matter is over, if he honors his promise and truly offers some guidance, it isn't impossible for me to join your side. After all, I turned my back on my sect long ago."
At this point, Ding Shengyi hesitated before asking:
"Is that girl Xiaoyan a child of you and him?"
"Xiaoyan is not my daughter." Liu Yuzao shook her head gently. "There is something unique about her. The sect master sought her out specifically. If Ding Songyan failed to make contact, it would have fallen to her."
Chapter 42