One thought after another flashed through Ding Songyan's mind; weighing his words, he said:
"This disciple does not know."
Without waiting for Tao Wenshu to ask again, he offered on his own:
"This disciple was ambushed at the ruined shrine outside the city and lost a great many of my memories. All this while I've been treating Ding Qingyan—the form the demoness Ji has taken—as my little sister, looking after her a great deal..."
He picked out a few everyday examples of how the "siblings" got along and recounted them briefly—the storytelling at bedtime, giving her a silver hairpin to keep as her most treasured possession—and placed the emphasis on the three "nightmares" "Ding Qingyan" had had last night and on the oath he had sworn.
Finally, he briefly repeated the conversation between Ji Hanyi and Yan Changqing, along with what Ji Hanyi had said to him before leaving—"I've enjoyed myself these past few days; for now, I'll let you live a while longer"—while concealing only the secret of his own death and resurrection and his peculiar ability to touch the Netherworld.
"Master, what is 'severing worldly ties'?" After Ding Songyan finished, he raised his question.
Tao Wenshu, who wore a heavy iron crown, said thoughtfully:
"In the orthodox path, severing worldly ties means leaving home to withdraw from the world and no longer concerning oneself with the affairs of kin. In the left path, well..."
She paused, then said:
"...it means leaving you with nothing but yourself, no kin and no friends."
Isn't that the same as wiping out a whole family? The demoness Ji's first "nightmare" was somewhat along these lines, wasn't it... Yan Changqing had also said his own family had been wiped out, and that he alone had luckily escaped the calamity... Now it seemed most likely that his family had been slaughtered precisely because his talent had been noticed—that he hadn't merely escaped the calamity, but had been taken away by a top expert of Juesheng Dao from two generations past... At this thought, Ding Songyan suddenly felt it was somewhat absurd:
Could it be that the demoness Ji's playacting has turned into real feeling, that she truly does regard me as her own brother?
The body's former owner had known part of the truth about the "Ding family," and had surely been timid and cowering toward her and everyone alike; I knew nothing at all, yet pitied her for losing her brother and really did treat her like a little sister...
Still, the demoness Ji was cunning and full of schemes, so all of this might well be an act—perhaps she had some other design, such as having glimpsed something from The Legend of the White Snake?
Surely I'm not going to end up with an extra demoness little sister from now on...
Tao Wenshu looked at Ding Songyan and said gently:
"I roughly understand now. But this master must warn you: Ji Hanyi is a demoness of the left path, long renowned for her inexhaustible wit and cunning. Her words and deeds are truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, and cannot be trusted in full. You should know that she has a nickname in the martial world—'Nine-Evils Demoness'—from which you may well imagine the sort of person she is."
"This disciple will remember it well." Ding Songyan himself thought the same.
Although the demoness Ji had spared his life, it was still better to keep his distance from her; to guard against her, he had even been prepared to take the risk of eating Hundun's remains.
Tao Wenshu's gaze swept once more over Yan Changqing's corpse, its belly slit open, and she was just about to ask something else when she heard Su Qingli's urgent shouts from beyond the courtyard:
"Ding Erlang! Ding Erlang!"
By now the sudden downpour had all but subsided, and Su Qingli came running in, her black hair streaming with water, her fitted martial garb damp.
Seeing Ding Songyan standing there safe and sound, her expression eased, and she let out a breath:
"It's good you're all right, good you're all right. I've been searching everywhere for you, and was even thinking of using my aunt's name to cozy up to Yan Yong and ask him to let you off—huh? He, he's dead?"
Feeling Miss Xiaoqing's concern and worry, a sudden warmth welled up in Ding Songyan's heart.
Though only about ten days had passed since his transmigration, he had already gone through a great, great deal—so often having to hold things in, so often facing darkness. To receive such sincere and pure care and help amid peril—how could it not move him deeply?
"Right, I killed him." Touched as he was, Ding Songyan did not keep this from Miss Xiaoqing.
"You?" Su Qingli's eyes went wide, her face full of shock.
Just then, Tao Wenshu asked:
"Miss Su, where is the young hero Ren of Zhenling Sect?"
Su Qingli seemed to have already known Tao Wenshu was here, yet she was still a little embarrassed by how frantic she had just been:
"When Ren Youyang and I had searched our way nearby, he suddenly said, 'Sect Master Tao has arrived, so Brother Ding should be safe and sound,' and then turned and went to Jiangbo Hall to help my second uncle and the prefect of your Dingjiang Prefecture."
Ah, so Brother Youyang had also been urgently searching for me just now, wanting to save me? Ding Songyan was moved once again.
My Brother Youyang truly has the air of the knights-errant of old!
Amid his crowding thoughts, he somehow thought of this:
Brother Youyang has dog ears; and Miss Xiaoqing, whether or not she's a demon, will surely develop the traits of a nine-tailed fox once she reaches the mid-to-late stages of cultivating the "Grand Art of Myriad Transformations and Bewitching All Sentient Beings." So in my case, do I now count as having "fox and dog companions"?
To gain this pair of "fox and dog companions" in one's life is enough!
Dragging his thoughts forcibly back, Ding Songyan at last caught something in Miss Xiaoqing's words just now:
Brother Youyang now has a bit of the power of "foresight"?
Is this how formidable "becoming a god after death" is?
The "Useless Divine Art" truly does go against heaven's will...
Hearing Su Qingli's answer, Tao Wenshu nodded slightly:
"Then there's no need for me to hurry off to Jiangbo Hall."
She turned her gaze once more to Yan Changqing's corpse and said to Ding Songyan with a trace of feeling:
"What a pity that you must have had to go all out at the time, leaving Yan Yong no opening at all—otherwise you might have been able to ask him about Kunlun's whereabouts."
"Kunlun's whereabouts?" Su Qingli was taken aback and blinked.
Tao Wenshu glanced at Ding Songyan, also a little surprised.
She had assumed that this newly taken disciple, having run all over trying to find help earlier, must have mentioned the matter of the complete Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas to Su Qingli, with whom he was on good terms, and had therefore spoken so openly of the mystery of Kunlun's whereabouts—yet it turned out this was not so.
Surely she isn't going to kill Miss Xiaoqing to silence her?
Ding Songyan's first reaction was to quietly take out Hundun's remains, forcibly raise his own strength, and—even if it meant turning against the Xiaoming Sect—protect Miss Xiaoqing so she could rejoin her second uncle and leave Dingjiang Prefecture.
However others treated him, he would respond in kind—especially while he was still feeling so moved.
But thinking of Zheng Zhuxi's openness and uprightness and the peculiarity of Xiaoming Sect's cultivation methods, he felt his master would not go so far.
Tao Wenshu thought for a moment and said:
"Yan Yong once found the lost Kunlun and entered the Heavenly Emperor's traveling palace."
Su Qingli was also exceptionally sharp-witted; she gave a little "ah" and looked at Ding Songyan:
"When you asked earlier where in the world today one might find a complete Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, was that because of this matter?"
"Mm." Seeing that the master he had just sworn to bore no murderous intent, Ding Songyan relaxed a little.
Su Qingli's brow and eyes eased, and—afraid to look yet unable to help it—she stole a glance at Yan Changqing's corpse and quickly pulled her gaze back:
"What a pity—that was the lost Kunlun..."
She did not seem very interested in the Heavenly Emperor's traveling palace, but she was greatly interested in finding that lost, mysterious place.
Still a child at heart... Ding Songyan appraised her silently, with some amusement.
Su Qingli's eyes shifted slightly, and she murmured to herself:
"Actually, if only someone who could reach the Netherworld were here, we could question Yan Yong's lingering soul..."
Suddenly the girl looked at Ding Songyan and said with an air of regret:
"If only your yin eye could open at this moment..."
Yin eye? Tao Wenshu looked at Ding Songyan.
Ding Songyan felt a rush of helplessness—Miss Xiaoqing, you really are still exactly the same as before, without the slightest change.
This also reminded him that he could converse with Yan Changqing's lingering soul.
Before, his mind had been wholly occupied with finding a chance to eat Hundun's remains, and he had given this matter no thought at all.
After a moment's consideration, Ding Songyan said to Tao Wenshu:
"Master, after this disciple survived that ambush and forgot most things, I somehow gained the power of the yin eye, but it's uncertain when I can see with it and when I cannot."
As he spoke, all sorts of thoughts kept colliding in Ding Songyan's mind as he weighed whether to communicate with Yan Changqing's lingering soul right in front of Tao Wenshu and perform the act of spirit walking.
Though he too wanted to find Kunlun and set foot in the Heavenly Emperor's traveling palace, judging by Yan Yong's reaction before he died, this matter still held hidden and enormous dangers. Given that, it would be better to question Yan Yong's lingering soul openly, under the Xiaoming Sect's witness—"better to share the joy than to enjoy it alone"—letting more capable people tackle the crisis beneath the waters, while he contented himself with just a share. One ought not to be too greedy.
And most importantly, this way whatever valuable things he "obtained" would have Tao Wenshu's on-the-spot witness, so that afterward he could be spared a great deal of interrogation and scrutiny—it would be as good as having done it all openly, through the proper channels.
"Master?" Su Qingli keenly caught the key point, quite astonished.
Ding Songyan explained:
"Sect Master Tao has just helped me remove the Heaven Heart imprint, and, taking pity on my plight, was willing to take me as a disciple. I still dread the Heaven Heart imprint and fear running into it again in the future, so I hope to cultivate the Scripture of Candle Illuminating the Long Night to counteract it—I have already taken Sect Master Tao as my master."
"The Heaven Heart imprint... ah, right, the Heaven Heart imprint." Su Qingli smiled in relief. "If you can join the Xiaoming Sect, that's naturally for the best. When you've completed your training and I've made some success in my cultivation, we'll meet again in the jianghu and uphold justice together."
Ding Songyan smiled and agreed, then turned to Tao Wenshu:
"Master, Miss Xiaoqing, actually I had already found a way to open my yin eye normally by relying on the Heaven Heart imprint—I can even converse with ghosts."
He kept hidden the activation of the clear, misty "seed."
Tao Wenshu rarely let a hint of pleasant surprise show, while delight rose plainly to Su Qingli's face.
She urged Ding Songyan on:
"Then hurry—while Yan Yong's lingering soul hasn't yet been dragged into the Netherworld and drifted off into its depths! Otherwise we'll have to wait a full seven days!"
Ding Songyan looked at his master, a questioning look on his face:
Should he let Miss Xiaoqing stay and listen in?
It was not that Ding Songyan didn't want Miss Xiaoqing to learn the secret of lost Kunlun, but that he feared bringing deadly disaster down upon her—after all, she was in a foreign land far from home, and even a powerful family background could not always be of use.
Tao Wenshu looked at Su Qingli, thought for a moment, and said:
"Miss Su, if you wish to listen, you must agree to two things from me."
Only then did Su Qingli realize how grave the matter was, and she said quickly:
"Please go on, Sect Master Tao."
"First, what you hear shortly may circulate only within your own Su family—you must not tell anyone else, not even others of the Tiannü Sect," Tao Wenshu said in an even, unhurried voice. "Second, if in the future you gain anything concerning the matter of Kunlun, I hope you will let us know a little of it."
Su Qingli did not blurt out an answer; she thought it over carefully before saying:
"I can agree to that. The first is certainly no problem—our Su family doesn't want more people knowing either. As for the second, if others won't agree to tell you, I'll secretly let you know myself!"
With the look of an elder regarding youngsters, Tao Wenshu turned to Ding Songyan:
"Miss Su has just learned that this matter involves Kunlun, and I am unwilling to kill her over it, so I can only draw the Su family in as well. If we truly can get Kunlun's whereabouts out of him, then this is no matter for a small sect like the Xiaoming Sect to shoulder alone; I will report it up to Yanjing at once, seeking only a share of the benefits in the future—or even to trade it directly for advantages—and you will surely have your part in it. At that point, whether the Su family knows or not no longer matters, and we can even do them a favor in the bargain. Mm, in the struggle between the two nations, the Tiannü Sect has always been rather neutral. And if all we get out of him is a few scant clues, and the situation leaks out besides, then having another credible party to bear witness means the Xiaoming Sect won't have trouble coming to its door every single day afterward—for even if we laid it all out honestly, we still could not make others believe us."
This Xiaoming Sect sect master had laid out her own considerations openly and aboveboard before Su Qingli, while also harboring the intent to instruct her disciple.
Right—the matter of Kunlun was already known to many, and could no longer be kept entirely secret. If today there were no Miss Xiaoqing, no Su family, no Xiaoming Sect, and only he were here alone: if he really did get Kunlun's whereabouts out of the man, that would be fine—he could just spread the word; but if he didn't, he would inevitably fall under suspicion later. And once he was suspected, there would be no shortage of crafty masters of unfathomable intent trying every means to probe him, and before he grew strong enough, that would be exceedingly dangerous... A secret that can no longer be kept, or that one lacks the power to keep—if one forces oneself to guard it, it will only bring disaster...
Ding Songyan cupped his hands in salute and thanked his master for the instruction.
Beneath Su Qingli's expectant gaze, he shifted the clear, misty "seed" to the space between his brows.
Once more he saw the bewildered, wandering spirit of Yan Changqing.
Chapter 57