Seeing Yan Changqing dead, Ding Songyan did not immediately pull out the dagger; instead, he pressed it deeper into the man's skull and gave it a twist.
It was not that he hated him too much, but that he feared this former Juesheng Dao sect master was not quite dead.
He was a man who lacked even the strength to truss a goose; how could he possibly weather any more of this? Even though he still had one strand of "qi" left, he had no confidence at all.
Seeing that Yan Changqing made no further movement, Ding Songyan cautiously withdrew the dagger, staring at the corpse again and again.
He exhaled... finally he relaxed, and turned his gaze to the mass of Hundun's remains extending from Yan Changqing's stomach:
a yellow sac-like thing, within which seemed to flicker crimson flames, and at the heart of the flames lay a patch of deep darkness.
Without any hesitation, Ding Songyan first wiped the blade on Yan Changqing's blue scholar's robe, then thrust the dagger at that mass of Hundun's remains.
Just as he had told Yan Changqing earlier, such a divine object had to be eaten the very first thing—there must not be the slightest chance of letting someone else have it for free.
Moreover, once he ate it, when he later faced enemies like Ji Hanyi, he would have the means to break out of the deadlock.
If Dingjiang Prefecture and the Xiaoming Sect could no longer tolerate him because of it—well, now that he had become a Dharma Realm grandmaster, where in this vast world could he not go?
The dagger pierced into the yellow sac as if into rotting flesh; Ding Songyan flexed his wrist and swiftly cut off a quarter of it.
He had learned from Yan Changqing's mistake—he planned to eat only a little first, and if it was not enough, he could have another portion. He must not be assimilated by the domineering and peculiar Hundun and meet the same tragic end.
Everyone makes mistakes, but it is best not to repeat the mistakes of others—especially when that person has just died before your eyes.
After cutting away a quarter of Hundun's remains, Ding Songyan discovered that the surface of his steel dagger had become pitted and no longer gleamed with cold light; it looked unusually dull.
"Can—can this thing really be eaten?" Ding Songyan only dared to grip the surface of the yellow sac, not daring to touch the flames and the darkness inside.
Thinking that even Yan Changqing, this grand master, had eaten it, he took a breath and was about to raise his left arm to bring the small portion of Hundun's remains to his mouth.
At that moment, his whole body froze. He wanted to raise his arm but forgot to lift it; he wanted to move his body but forgot to stir. The dagger fell to the ground with a clatter.
Through the doorway sauntered a figure, dressed in a scallion-white short top with a standing collar and a front-fastening placket edged with silver embroidery, and a light, gauzy goose-yellow skirt, her jet-black hair hanging down.
Ji Hanyi.
The demoness had come so quickly... Ding Songyan barely managed to turn his body aside, but he could no longer eat Hundun's remains, nor could he launch an attack on Ji Hanyi.
It was not that he thought the last strand of "qi" could do anything to the demoness; rather, he had hoped to force her back a step and create a chance for himself to eat Hundun's remains. Besides, if the two of them clashed at the Dharma Realm level, the commotion would surely be impossible to hide—the officials' grandmaster would instantly lock onto their location and come rushing over at once.
Unfortunately, Ding Songyan had no intent to attack Ji Hanyi at all—not that he truly lacked it, but that the moment he was about to act on it, he forgot.
With Yan Changqing no longer there to help him suppress Ji Hanyi's Heaven Heart imprint, he was merely an ordinary man.
Ji Hanyi did not look at Ding Songyan. With light footsteps she walked to Yan Changqing's corpse, reaching out for Hundun's remains as she spoke with a faint smile:
"Master, in truth I too coveted the divine object you took from the Heavenly Emperor's traveling palace. Otherwise I would not have given you the chance to speak just now, letting you stall as you pleased.
"My thinking was the same as Zhen Qianfan's—we both wanted you to escape for a short while, with only ordinary people around you, to see whether such a situation might make you lower your guard and expose where the divine object was. The difference is that Zhen Qianfan trusted only himself, yet lacked the strength of mind and was easily affected by martial arts like the 'Heart-Ruin Mind-Chaos Art,' while I chose to place my bet on Ding Erlang."
Me? Ding Songyan had not expected the demoness to believe that he, an ordinary man, could turn the tables from a hopeless position.
Still, she truly had used the Heaven Heart imprint to give him a hand at the critical moment.
Because the demoness Ji now treated him as though he did not exist, Ding Songyan finally managed to calm his mind, and his thoughts quickly came alive:
Right now this was the home ground of the official forces; every extra breath he could stall meant one more sliver of a chance to survive...
Huh—though I can't attack the demoness, and have "forgotten" to flee, and no longer have any urge to "eat," it seems I can still do other things...
In the end, the demoness and I have no deep hatred between us; as long as I don't get in the way of her affairs, there seems to be no need for her to insist on killing me...
Besides, she has already been exposed to the officials' view, so there's no possibility of me leaking her secrets...
I even helped her kill Yan Changqing, helped her get Hundun's remains!
I'm the one with the resentment, not her.
Uh—then I'd better hide this lump of Hundun's remains in my hand. Handing it straight to the demoness is too galling; she didn't look at me just now, so she shouldn't have noticed... and there's plenty left, more than enough for her to eat—any more and she'd be repeating the master's fate...
At that thought, Ding Songyan's left hand gripped tighter, the five fingers concealing the already small portion of Hundun's remains completely.
Still uneasy, he suddenly recalled something.
That was how he had once sent a copper coin into the Netherworld, and only after a while retrieved it.
"If I hide this lump of Hundun's remains in the Netherworld, the demoness will surely never think of it, and won't be able to find it." Ding Songyan quickly made up his mind. "Once the thing is hidden, I'll chat with the demoness a bit—we've been together for quite a few days now; even if the act was false, there might still be a bit of genuine affection. Letting an ordinary man like me go won't cost her anything... and at the very worst, it's a way to stall for time..."
Ding Songyan swiftly transferred the misty "seed" within his sea of consciousness to the space between his brows.
Once more he saw the smoke-like darkness and the boundless wilderness, saw the restless, wandering ghostly shadows, and saw the blank, vacant-eyed "Yan Changqing."
By now, Ji Hanyi had taken that large mass of Hundun's remains. Still gazing at Yan Changqing's corpse, she said with a face full of smiles:
"Worth it that I valued Ding Erlang. Before my Heaven Heart imprint took effect, he had already worked out the crux himself, and had even obtained the Xiaoming Sect's Zhuzhao Sword Intent in advance; I only needed to suppress the Heaven Heart imprint you left on him, and in time.
"Master, you surely never imagined that you, who swept across the world all your life, would in the end die at the hands of an ordinary man without any martial arts—what a great irony.
"You must be lamenting that you were too impatient, that you revealed a flaw and let Ding Erlang catch it. Heh heh—that was no accident.
"I deliberately used Ding Erlang to pass word of the Heavenly Emperor's traveling palace to the Xiaoming Sect and the Great Zhao court on the very last night. That way, a grand master—or even a Perfected One—was bound to arrive today. With your command of the path of divination, you surely calculated that this moment was your only chance to escape alive, that there would be no more stalling for time or waiting for a change in circumstances—so how could you not be anxious?
"Once a person grows anxious, they easily make mistakes. And deep down you looked down on an ordinary man like Ding Erlang, never thinking he could pose any danger to you, so naturally you were not too careful in dealing with him..."
So that was it—telling me that The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas was complete was all so that I would let the word slip out, and only after everything was fully prepared on all fronts... As Ding Songyan silently marveled at how cunning and scheming the demoness was, he quietly sidestepped a few steps toward the side of the corpse.
Since he had no thought of seizing the chance to flee, he managed to complete this attempt smoothly.
His current position had several dark-black stone pillars behind it, their surfaces pocked with small holes weathered out over time.
Ding Songyan hurriedly transferred the misty "seed" to his left hand, and successfully sensed a bone-chilling cold wind.
Little by little, bit by bit, he extended his left palm behind his back and, shielded by his body, stuffed that small yellow sac into one of the hollows on the pillar's surface.
Then he loosened his fingers, and after confirming that the Hundun's remains had not dropped, slowly drew his left palm back.
The smile on Ji Hanyi's face gradually faded. Looking at Yan Changqing's corpse, she sighed:
"What a pity I did not kill you with my own hands."
You could always add a few more stabs... Ding Songyan felt a terrified throb in his heart.
Ji Hanyi, holding the large mass of Hundun's remains in one hand, turned her body and fixed her gaze on Ding Songyan.
"Miss Ji." Ding Songyan forced out a smile.
A real man knows how to bend as well as stand tall!
Ji Hanyi let out a soft laugh, like a flower of summer melting away the ice and snow of winter.
"What a distant way to address me." Smiling, she stepped closer, one step at a time, until she stood beside Ding Songyan.
I can't very well keep calling you "little sister," can I? For a moment Ding Songyan did not know how to respond.
Ji Hanyi suddenly leaned forward, bringing her head close to his ear.
Ding Songyan instantly caught a faint, delicate fragrance and glimpsed half of her fair, beautiful face.
"Second Brother," Ji Hanyi said with a soft laugh, "take a guess—when you tried to send that copper coin into the Netherworld and take it back out, was I watching from the shadows?"
Ding Songyan's gaze froze on the spot.
In that instant, he felt as though his very thoughts were about to freeze over.
This demoness is too terrifying!
He immediately wanted to take out that small lump of Hundun's remains, then see whether he could use his survival instinct to shield himself with the last strand of qi when Ji Hanyi tried to kill him, creating a chance to eat the divine object.
Ji Hanyi straightened up, her beautiful eyes shifting as she swept a glance over Ding Songyan.
Ding Songyan then and there forgot his intention of reaching his hand behind him to touch the stone pillar.
Clasping her hands behind her back, Ji Hanyi said to him with a smile:
"Second Brother, are you wondering why I value you so much, and often follow you in secret?"
"Miss Hanyi, I do have that doubt." Ding Songyan forced himself to summon his spirits.
Every moment I can drag out is a moment gained!
Ji Hanyi tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, her dimpled smile suddenly blooming like a flower.
Her tone was light and cheerful as she said:
"The person I killed with my own hands suddenly came back to life before me—how could I not be curious, how could I not value him?"
Ding Songyan's heart instantly sank; his whole body seemed to plunge into an ice pit, and even his soul could not escape.
So everything about me has been seen clearly by the demoness all along...
I had only guessed that they were puzzled about how I hadn't died; I never thought it was because she'd witnessed it with her own eyes...
"Just what is going on, I wonder?" Propping her cheek with her right hand—the one not holding Hundun's remains—Ji Hanyi asked with a smile, her eyes gleaming brightly.
Hearing this, Ding Songyan actually began to seriously consider whether to reveal the matter of his transmigration, so as to heighten his own mystery and importance in the demoness's eyes, and thereby escape this calamity.
But at that very moment, Ji Hanyi's right hand reached out, as if to stroke the top of Ding Songyan's head.
Ding Songyan felt his soul nearly fly out of his body; he strained with all his might to resist the Heaven Heart imprint, wanting to shield himself with the misty "seed."
Ji Hanyi suddenly pushed off with the tip of her foot and flipped backward through the air, landing amid soft laughter at the doorway of the room.
Her goose-yellow skirt swayed as she turned sideways and gave the dumbstruck Ding Songyan a charming smile:
"I've enjoyed myself these past few days; for now, I'll let you live a while longer."
With that, Ji Hanyi, hands clasped behind her back and footsteps light, walked into the dim courtyard where the heavy rain was still falling, and soon vanished from Ding Songyan's sight.
"..." Ding Songyan remained dazed.
Chapter 55