Hearing the red-nosed man's challenge from across the way, Ding Songyan keenly sensed something was off:
Why are you angry?
There shouldn't be any anger...
Based on his earlier speculation, the man should be seeing someone who ought to be dead suddenly appear alive, causing all sorts of abnormal emotional changes—and anger shouldn't be among them.
Could he have killed someone, only to be angry that the other had come back as a vengeful ghost to take revenge?
Was my speculation wrong?
With this suspicion, Ding Songyan did not immediately respond to the red-nosed man's words; he silently watched him.
When faced with a difficult question, don't answer it right away.
Seeing this, the red-nosed man was both angry and anxious:
"The price Chief Banner Chen set is already high enough, so why did you come back?
You can just wait a while, confirm everything is safe, then quietly fetch your family!"
Chief Banner Chen? Who? Sounds like someone paid me to flee far away—the original me really got mixed up in something... Ding Songyan pondered for two breaths, then decided to bluff the man.
He chuckled coldly:
"If I hadn't come back, I'd be dead without a place to bury me already."
The red-nosed man blurted out:
"How could Chief Banner Chen kill you, to silence you..."
His voice gradually dropped, and he spoke with less and less confidence.
By the end, he couldn't go on. Changing the subject with a fierce exterior and a cowardly interior, he questioned Ding Songyan:
"You say Chief Banner Chen harmed you, so why not report it to the authorities directly?"
Ding Songyan, who understood nothing of the situation, skillfully gave no answer. He only smiled as if not smiling as he retorted:
"Yeah, why don't I report it to the authorities?"
The red-nosed man's lips moved. After a long while, he said:
"You've already escaped one calamity, so why not take the opportunity to flee to the ends of the earth, hide your name and change your identity—and still come back to seek death?"
Oh, you also think I'm unlikely to report it? So the things the original me was involved in can't be brought to light, can't be known by the authorities or the local righteous sects, and Chief Banner Chen indeed might kill to silence... Sigh, I didn't think of reporting because I didn't understand this world, and could only follow my family's advice to first seek help from Zhen Manor. Wrong is wrong...
Ding Songyan considered for a moment, then coldly laughed:
"I have not a penny, so naturally I can only come back."
The red-nosed man was nearly speechless:
"You have hands and feet, and you can do storytelling—where can't you find a meal to eat? Why must you come back and drag everyone down with you?
Do you really think Chief Banner Chen doesn't dare to act again? Have you spent your whole life under the watchtower's surveillance?
Oh, Ding Erlang, how about this: I'll scrape together some more silver for you, so leave Dingjiang Prefecture quickly."
Ding Songyan, looking thoughtful, changed the subject:
"Did you just meet Chief Banner Chen? What did he say?"
Such a major matter—the man before him surely wouldn't decide on his own. He'd definitely inform that Chief Banner Chen right away.
The red-nosed man spoke with a hint of threat:
"Chief Banner Chen already knows you're back, so why aren't you leaving yet?
He had me come see you because he thinks you're acting strange—you neither flee far away nor go find him, and no one knows what you're planning to do."
I see... Ding Songyan nodded secretly.
Having communicated to this extent, he planned to "show sincerity":
"Of course I'm strange. Someone injured my head; I don't remember anything at all."
He said this while touching the side of his head.
"Don't remember anything at all..." The red-nosed man froze. "Then you..."
Ding Songyan showed an unusually standard smile:
"I know I was murdered, and I can't remember who did it, so I can only stroll outside Duokang Temple to see who looks uneasy."
"You, you!" The red-nosed man pointed at him, shocked and angry, unable to speak.
He had actually been bluffed by the timid and cowardly Ding Erlang!
But this also perfectly explained his own doubts:
Say Ding Erlang had something to rely on? He hadn't gone directly to find Chief Banner Chen. Say he had nothing to rely on? He hadn't fled to another place, but was still loitering outside Duokang Temple. His contradictory behavior was baffling.
Forgetting key past events, wanting to understand what had happened, and eliminating hidden risks—this was currently the only reasonable explanation.
Ding Songyan took the opportunity to "persuade":
"Tell me exactly what's going on.
If it really is dangerous, I can still leave immediately; otherwise, I'll go report to the authorities, and even if it costs me my skin, I'll drag you and Chief Banner Chen down with me!"
The red-nosed man carefully examined Ding Songyan's face for a while, hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Fine. I'll let you know this place cannot be lingered in."
"You'd better not make up stories to lie to me. I have my own ways to verify." Ding Songyan bluffed again, betting that the other wouldn't believe Ding Erlang remembered nothing of the past.
The red-nosed man suppressed his anger:
"What's there to lie about? You're not someone else—you know this matter yourself. Once you understand the situation, you definitely won't spread it outside; that would only endanger your life.
A few days ago, you came to me, saying you had a copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas to sell. Chief Banner Chen was very interested. He gave you a large sum of silver and told you not to stay in Dingjiang Prefecture and not to mention this to anyone..."
"The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Ding Songyan interrupted the red-nosed man.
I know the Classic of Mountains and Seas, but what's The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?
The red-nosed man looked at Ding Songyan:
"You don't even remember this?"
Ding Songyan shook his head, honest and innocent.
The red-nosed man took a breath, looked around, saw no pedestrians passing, then lowered his voice:
"All martial arts in this world either come from the inheritances left by various Heavenly Emperors and some Heavenly Gods, or from those strange monsters and aberrations mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Even the ordinary Classic of Mountains and Seas mentions that eating this or that can cure this or that illness, eating this can ward off fire and ward off evil...
According to The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, after eating many strange monsters and aberrations, one can obtain the traits and divine powers they possess, and become a god or immortal. Although after Emperor Zhuanxu severed Earth from Heaven, the Way has waned day by day, and strange monsters and aberrations have grown weaker and fewer, if you truly encounter one and eat it, you can still ascend in one step and become a grandmaster.
Feng Yining of the Five Saints Sect—didn't she swallow a phoenix egg, becoming a grandmaster as soon as she entered the jianghu? Their Five Saints Sect also happens to be of the phoenix inheritance, truly a case of mutual enhancement.
I've digressed. In short, after Emperor Zhuanxu severed Earth from Heaven, strange monsters and aberrations gradually died out, but those who came before, who had eaten such things, created and left behind cultivation methods and all sorts of martial arts moves based on the changes in their own bodies, the traits they gained, and their divine powers. This is the source of most sects today, including the evil paths.
The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas is said to have been copied, hand to hand, from the Annotated Classic of Mountains and Seas left by the Heavenly Emperor. The latter, together with Kunlun, has long been lost, nowhere to be found. The former likewise records the specific traits of different strange monsters and aberrations, even with corresponding annotations for the inheritances of the Heavenly Emperors and Heavenly Gods. Isn't this overturning the old foundations of all the great sects and clans?
If everyone had a copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, then the fundamental mysteries of their divine arts and great methods would be known to all. For ants like us, it's of no use. But if it falls into the hands of someone scheming, they can prepare countermeasures in advance.
Even so, even if the trait annotations don't involve martial disputes and are indeed useless in that regard, with The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas, when encountering divine creatures in the future, one could know which can be eaten and which cannot, what happens after eating, and not cheaply benefit the great sects and clans for nothing.
Since ancient times, The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas has been destroyed by all sects and clans, with only portions privately kept by each family. If anyone obtains The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas and is not a disciple of a great sect or clan, they will surely be hunted down and certainly die. Ding Erlang, why aren't you fleeing yet?"
So this was how martial arts in this world had evolved—mostly beginning with eating strange monsters and aberrations. No wonder Qingyan said that when martial arts were cultivated to a deep level, the body would show certain external abnormalities—one was drawing close to the corresponding strange monster or aberration... I remember there's a nine-tailed fox in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, right? The fox tail Qingyan spoke of growing probably comes from this?
Ding Songyan inexplicably felt a sense of sudden realization.
He asked in puzzlement:
"Where did I get The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas?"
That must have been thousands of years ago. To this day, aside from portions privately held by the great sects and the court's secret vaults, how could a copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas suddenly appear in the outside world? But in the hands of this ordinary storyteller, the original me.
Could it be that Ding Songyan dug it up from some ancient tomb?
A "partner"?
The one who killed the original me wasn't Chief Banner Chen, but a "partner"?
The red-nosed man glared at Ding Songyan:
"How would I know? You keep your mouth so tight. No matter how I ask, you won't reveal where The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas came from. Chief Banner Chen had no choice but to have you leave Dingjiang Prefecture, to avoid leaking the news."
"Are you sure that copy of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas is genuine?" Ding Songyan asked thoughtfully.
The red-nosed man looked completely blank:
"Chief Banner Chen said it's genuine, complete. You don't have the guts to lie to him, and who would make up something like this?"
You underestimate liars too much... However, Chief Banner Chen seems able to tell genuine from fake copies of The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas. He doesn't sound like a disciple of a great sect or clan; otherwise he wouldn't need to privately hoard it, nor worry about having the original me flee far away...
Ding Songyan then asked:
"Who exactly is Chief Banner Chen?"
Seeing someone pass by the alley entrance, the red-nosed man sped up his speech:
"Chief Banner Chen's name is Chen Yuliang, a banner chief of the Xiaochuan Gang in Dingjiang Prefecture. His seal rank is 'Kanxuan'—nine, eight, seven... by our common folk's reckoning, fifth rank.
Our Xiaochuan Gang is a fairly well-known gang within Ningzhou. Nowadays we're competing with the Sishui Gang over parts of the river."
Sishui Gang? The Old Master of the Zhen family is the Grand Elder of the Sishui Gang, a famous grandmaster... So this really involves the Zhen family...
Ding Songyan felt he had roughly figured out the situation, yet also seemed to sense an air of mystery. Could the original me obtaining The Esoteric Classic of Mountains and Seas be part of a larger plot?
"I see..." Ding Songyan put on a look of resignation. "I indeed shouldn't linger in Dingjiang Prefecture. Go find Chief Banner Chen and have him give me some more silver. I'll find my own chance to leave. Until then, I'll stay outside—I dare say he won't act under the watchtower's gaze."
The red-nosed man visibly sighed in relief:
"Good, good, good. Everything can be negotiated!"
He gave a few more reminders, then turned and walked toward the alley entrance.
Watching his retreating back, Ding Songyan continuously analyzed and thought:
Mr. Yu should be able to tail this fellow and find Chen Yuliang...
Would Chen Yuliang have no precautions at all? I've acted so out of character...
If I were him, given the current situation, what would I do? Well, he surely wouldn't stay home waiting for his subordinates to report, since big trouble might well be brought back.
Either hide and secretly observe his returning subordinates, deciding based on circumstances whether to resolve things in person or directly abandon the Xiaochuan Gang's foundation in Dingjiang Prefecture and flee to another place;
Or tail his subordinates from behind, covertly eavesdrop, and respond immediately once he grasps the specific details.
Right now, if Mr. Yu has gone to the Xiaochuan Gang, am I not in great danger staying here?
Killing in broad daylight is hard, but doing something else might still be possible!
Thinking this, Ding Songyan was startled out of his wits and spoke directly:
"Wait a moment."
"Hmm?" The red-nosed man half-turned, asking in confusion.
Ding Songyan smiled faintly, chatting in a leisurely tone:
"Tell me, where do you think Chief Banner Chen is right now?"",
Chapter 9