Only after the figures of Ren Youyang and his guards disappeared from sight and the servants of Zhen Manor led their horses forward to tether them did Ding Songyan enter through the side door, meeting Mr. Yu—Yu Wanxiong.
Without uttering a word, he followed familiar paths behind the man deeper into Zhen Manor.
Along the way, he prayed to all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens, hoping that the experts of the Xiaochuan Gang would strike today and unleash chaos.
He was not the only one thinking this way; he believed that Yan Changqing, Zhen Qianfan, and the "Ding family" cohort were all anticipating the very same thing.
After all the previous probing, combined with the anomalies Zhen Manor had displayed, Ding Songyan was convinced that Zhen Qianfan had him tell stories to Yan Changqing precisely to create an opportunity for this "honored guest" to escape.
The reason was nothing more than this: over the years, Yan Changqing had endured every manner of torture without divulging where the Heavenly Emperor's secret treasure—the object Zhen Qianfan craved—truly lay. Having reached the age of sixty, Zhen Qianfan could no longer afford to wait and chose to "release the tiger back to the mountain," casting a long line to catch a big fish.
He wanted Yan Changqing, after a grueling escape and pressed hard by pursuing enemies, to head for the hiding place, retrieve the secret treasure, and fight for a sliver of life. When that time came, Zhen Qianfan would make a timely entrance, playing the oriole that stalks the cicada.
If the rescuers who came for Yan Changqing exceeded his expectations in both strength and numbers, the Zhenling Sect and Tiannü Sect—lured here by other items—would become his reinforcements. Working together with the grandmasters in the city, they would ensure that matters did not spiral into the worst-case scenario.
The reason Zhen Manor had delayed "inviting" Ding Erlang to tell stories to Yan Changqing was not that they did not "trust" him, but that the "external aid" had not yet arrived. As soon as the people from the Tiannü Sect and Zhenling Sect showed up, Ding Songyan received his "invitation" shortly after.
Based on this:
The Xiaochuan Gang wanted to attack Zhen Manor to wipe away their past disgrace;
Yan Changqing wanted the Xiaochuan Gang to attack Zhen Manor to create the chaos essential for his escape;
Zhen Qianfan wanted the Xiaochuan Gang to attack Zhen Manor to fabricate a situation where his attention was divided, rendering him unable to prevent Yan Changqing's getaway;
The Ding family faction wanted the Xiaochuan Gang to attack Zhen Manor so they could fish in troubled waters and spirit Yan Changqing away;
Ding Songyan wanted the Xiaochuan Gang to attack Zhen Manor so the chaos would be as great as possible—only with chaos would there be variables, and only with variables could he possibly survive this ordeal.
Therefore, if the Xiaochuan Gang truly made their move today, it would be a five-way win!
Amid his swirling thoughts, Ding Songyan once again caught sight of the small pavilion nestled among the flowers and trees.
...
*Clop, clop, clop.* Three fine steeds galloped in from outside the city. Riding at the front was Zheng Zhuxi, who had changed into black martial attire with starlight and candlelight embroidered upon her cuffs.
At the first light of dawn, she had spurred her horse alongside Senior Brother Wu Feng and Senior Sister Tao Wuyue back to the Xiaoming Sect's mountain gate. After reporting the matter, they had switched mounts and hurried back to Linjiang City, spending more than three shichen on the road.
Her mother, Sect Master Tao Wenshu of the Xiaoming Sect, had not traveled with them. Over such a distance, a Tongshen grandmaster moved far faster than horses and had already reached the prefectural city long ago.
Passing through the city gate, Zheng Zhuxi, fearing she might collide with pedestrians, suppressed her inner anxiety and swung down from her saddle. Handing the horses over to her fellow disciples guarding the gate, she executed the Bi Moon Phantom Form movement technique, weaving through the crowd and leaving behind softly wavering, illusory afterimages in her wake.
Soon, she reached the tallest watchtower and ascended its wooden steps to the very top.
Besides two members of the Yi clan on routine observation duty, a woman clad in black robes stood there.
She appeared to be only in her thirties and bore a fifty to sixty percent resemblance to Zheng Zhuxi. Though her features were slightly squarer, lacking Zheng Zhuxi's delicate beauty, she possessed a mature, gentle grace refined by the passage of time.
Upon her head rested a heavy, crude iron crown, and in her left hand she held a longsword sheathed in pitch-black. Both of her eyes possessed double pupils, each harboring faint glints of light within the deep darkness.
"Mother, has there been any movement at Zhen Manor?" Zheng Zhuxi caught her breath and asked anxiously.
Tao Wenshu glanced at her daughter.
"Not yet.
"When will you be able to remain unflinching before a collapsing mountain, like your father? You are always so restless."
"Then I'd have to switch to practicing the Book of Utmost Sincerity, and it's too late for that now," Zheng Zhuxi said, relaxing at her mother's words and replying with a playful grin.
Tao Wenshu turned her gaze toward Beishui Street, looking toward Zhen Manor, and said in an even voice:
"Prefect Lin is already at the north city watchtower, and County Lieutenant Yi is at the east city watchtower. You may rest easy and go get some sleep.
"Even if you stay here, with your martial cultivation, you won't be of any help."
Zheng Zhuxi adopted a coquettish, filial demeanor. "My cultivation progress is no slower than the core disciples of major sects. If you had borne me a few years earlier, Mother, I would certainly be at Chaofan, or perhaps even Ruhua by now.
"County Lieutenant Yi is only at Ruhua. Can he really hold off any evil sect fiends who might appear?"
Tao Wenshu, whose black robes were embroidered with scattered stars, gazed toward Zhen Manor and said, "Firing from high above alone, County Lieutenant Yi is sufficient to hold off a Ruwei grandmaster."
Zheng Zhuxi asked no further. Calming her breath, she focused all her attention on what might unfold at Zhen Manor.
...
Zhen Manor, Jiangbo Hall.
Su Chongxiao and Su Qingli sat cross-legged behind desks laden with tea and refreshments, flanked by attending servants and maids. Seated opposite them in a swaggering posture was Ren Youyang, backed by four guards standing abreast.
Seated in the seat of honor was Zhen Qianfan, clad in a black robe embroidered with characters for fortune and wearing a Liuhe skullcap. His four ears twitched faintly, listening for who knew what.
Amid their polite exchanges of pleasantries, Zhen Quanwang arrived carrying a wooden box draped in red cloth, stepping up to his father's side and presenting it.
"Honored guests," Zhen Qianfan said, taking the wooden box and setting it before himself. "First, allow this old man to let you confirm its authenticity once more."
He then lifted the red cloth and opened the lid.
Inside lay a fruit the size of a papaya, entirely crimson. Even across a fair distance, Ren Youyang and Su Qingli caught a faint, delicate fragrance. As the scent entered their noses, both felt as if their strength had subtly increased.
"It is genuine," Su Chongxiao, wearing a bamboo crown, nodded gently.
Zhen Qianfan closed the lid and said in earnest tones, "Originally, this old man had no wish to sell this huai fruit obtained by chance. My sons possess dull aptitudes, and to this day not one of them has achieved Ruhua. If one of them consumed this huai fruit, it would surely grant them a bit more power to protect themselves after I pass away.
"Alas, things do not always go as one wishes, and I can only sell this divine object. This old man seeks neither wealth nor secret manuals; I ask only for a promise."
...
Blindfolded with black cloth and guided in circles by two Zhen Manor youths, Ding Songyan only realized a question upon arriving where Yan Changqing was held:
*Why didn't I ever consider refusing to come tell stories to Yan Changqing today?*
*I could completely stall for time and wait for the official authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly and step in directly!*
*Although Zhen Manor might send a retained expert like Mr. Yu to force me here, the fact that I never even considered this must be the handiwork of Yan Changqing or his 'old friends.' If it is the latter... are they truly determined to act today?*
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, a cool sensation descended into Ding Songyan's sea of consciousness, taking shape as the gaunt-featured Yan Changqing.
With the aid of the "seed," Ding Songyan split his mind in two. While beginning to narrate the continuation of The Legend of the White Snake, he asked Yan Changqing above the shimmering, illusory golden ocean:
"Senior, are you going to make your move today?"
Yan Changqing smiled faintly. "Let us watch a bit more, wait a bit longer."
Ding Songyan glanced at the hazy, pale glow piercing the mist and asked instead, "What treasure did Zhen Manor use to draw in the people from the Zhenling Sect and Tiannü Sect?"
"The huai fruit," Yan Changqing said with an unruffled smile. "Consumed, it increases strength; eating it makes one immensely strong without hindering the practice of other martial arts. In their early stages, the martial arts of the Tiannü Sect and Zhenling Sect are somewhat lacking in this regard, so they naturally crave it. However, it is not something they would fight to the death over; they merely seek an opportunity for their juniors."
*No wonder they brought Miss Xiaoqing along to broaden her horizons; they intend to feed it to her once they obtain it...* Ding Songyan said thoughtfully, "Then will they lend their aid to Zhen Manor for its sake and intercept Senior's old friends?"
Yan Changqing chuckled softly. "Aren't my old friends precisely who Zhen Qianfan lured here?
"He deliberately invited someone affiliated with my sect as a guest, giving him the chance to steal that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas. Afterward, how could my elders and my old friends fail to recognize my handwriting or discern what that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas truly signifies?"
*As expected, that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas was transcribed by your own hand! And it did leak from Zhen Manor—so that was the intention...* Ding Songyan pretended he had not deduced this, wary that Yan Changqing might be deliberately misleading him, and merely asked, "What does it signify?"
Yan Changqing looked at him, his smile unchanging, and said, "It signifies the grand fortune that this old man will bestow upon you."
Pacing with his hands clasped behind his back, he continued in a leisurely tone, "If the people of the Zhenling Sect and Tiannü Sect can hold off my old friends for a bit, that would naturally be wonderful.
"Did you bring that dagger of yours?"
"Junior carries it on his person," Ding Songyan replied, his nerves tightening.
Yan Changqing smiled. "It will have its use in a moment."
Hearing this, Ding Songyan's mind turned, and he asked as if to verify, "Senior, you are adept in the path of divination. Could you calculate whether the Xiaochuan Gang will attack Zhen Manor today?"
Smiling, Yan Changqing took two more steps and said with calm composure, "They will."
...
Not long before, at the rear gate of Zhen Manor, two porters dressed as peasants—wearing bamboo hats and keeping their heads low—carried shoulder poles loaded with foodstuffs, guided all the way to the kitchen by a Zhen Manor servant.
Having settled their payment, they followed the same servant back toward the gate. Servants and guards along the way were remarkably sparse, seemingly having been reassigned elsewhere.
Suddenly, one of the porters took two quick strides, came up beside the servant, and patted his shoulder.
The servant turned around in irritation, only to see a pair of bloodthirsty, savage eyes, unnaturally pale, bleached skin, and vivid red lips with the texture of a bird's beak.
Instant malevolence surged in his heart, overflowing with resentment toward Zhen Manor:
*Why do you get to drink, make merry, and enjoy yourselves every day, while I have to rush about under the blazing sun?*
The moment this thought arose, he wished nothing more than to hack at the youths of the Zhen family with a blade. Yet, knowing he had no martial strength, he could only stomp back to his room in bitter indignation to sleep, abandoning his current errand.
With him gone, the two porters slipped instantly into the shadows of the covered walkway, moving like phantoms as they crept toward Jiangbo Hall, where Zhen Manor entertained its honored guests.
They remained utterly silent throughout, neither uttering a word, for both knew that Zhen Qianfan practiced the Water Ape Divine Art and possessed ears capable of hearing in all directions.
Chapter 47