Qu Zhongheng glanced at Ding Songyan, his tone peculiar as he asked:
"You don't know?"
"I suffered a head injury the day I went missing and forgot many things. I am here today for a follow-up visit with Master Physician Shao," Ding Songyan replied candidly.
"No wonder it’s such a coincidence." Qu Zhongheng suddenly realized, pointing to the eye positioned horizontally across his forehead. "This is a Yin Eye. It can only be opened at night to observe the flow of the world's Qi and the drifting of lonely spirits and wild ghosts. If one wishes to craft mysterious objects, one must use the Yin Eye in the dead of night."
"You can see lonely spirits and wild ghosts?" Ding Songyan was startled.
Isn't this a martial arts world?
No, that's not right. Even snake demons exist, so the appearance of ghosts is to be expected. I recall that the description of Houtu includes the phrase "ruler of the netherworld." Perhaps the legacy left behind can suppress evil spirits...
Qu Zhongheng laughed:
"What is there to fear? Lonely spirits and wild ghosts possess neither intelligence nor supernatural powers, and they are exceptionally weak. They have no way to harm people. If they encounter someone with even a slightly vibrant Yang energy, they will dissolve rapidly, like thin ice meeting fire. Even if you ignore them, they will fall into the netherworld or dissipate completely between heaven and earth within three to five days."
"I see..." Ding Songyan wore an expression of relief.
Secretly, he had already made up his mind: he would absolutely not go looking for Qu Sanlang at night. Heaven knows if the man's Yin Eye could discern that there was something wrong with his own soul.
After a while, Master Physician Shao sent an attendant to invite Ding Songyan to the second floor of the clinic.
Inside a room hung with freehand landscape paintings, Master Physician Shao sat cross-legged behind a brown wooden desk carved with auspicious cloud patterns. Spread out before him were several thread-bound ancient books and a few sheets of letter paper.
He gestured for Ding Songyan to sit, smiling as he said:
"Have you recalled any fragments of the past these last few days?"
"I have not," Ding Songyan answered truthfully.
Master Physician Shao’s eyes, tinged with a faint white hue, observed Ding Songyan for a moment:
"Let me take another look. Give me your hand."
Thinking it was for pulse-taking, Ding Songyan reached out, only to find Master Physician Shao producing a golden needle.
The soft golden needle suddenly stiffened, piercing the acupoint on Ding Songyan’s wrist.
A wisp of cool energy flowed into his body, darting rapidly along his meridians.
"What is this?" Ding Songyan asked, both concerned and curious.
Master Physician Shao did not answer; he half-closed his eyes, concentrating on what he was sensing.
After a moment, he stroked his long, five-stranded beard, his face full of confusion:
"Soul and form are in harmony, soul and form are in harmony..."
Master Physician Shao’s hand pulled harder and harder on his beard, and Ding Songyan began to worry that he might accidentally rip a few strands out.
Finally, Master Physician Shao withdrew the golden needle and, completely ignoring Ding Songyan, began frantically flipping through the pile of thread-bound books.
"What is wrong?" Ding Songyan could not help but ask again.
Only then did Master Physician Shao return to a semblance of normalcy, pointing to the letter paper at his side:
"After I returned to the clinic that day, I wrote a letter and sent it via carrier bird to my mentor to seek his guidance.
"He replied quickly, stating that the sect’s Medicine King’s Lost Chapters mentions that this could be a case of the soul and form being mismatched.
"I have scoured the medical texts and found some relevant content:
"If a person suffers from excessive shock, the three souls and seven spirits may scatter. Certain martial arts can also achieve similar results. When the soul returns to the body, it may result in a mismatch between soul and form, leading to the loss of some memories. In severe cases, if the soul is damaged while separated from the body, the three souls may be incomplete and the seven spirits deficient, leaving the person either dull and foolish or bedridden and unable to rise.
"I originally thought I had found the cause of your soul-loss syndrome, but who would have thought your soul and form are in harmony?"
Master Physician Shao could not help but tug at his beard again.
"Oh... and the golden needle was?" Ding Songyan asked cautiously.
My soul and form are actually in harmony?
Master Physician Shao replied offhandedly:
"The golden needle probes the soul."
You should have said so earlier; I wouldn't have come if I'd known... Ding Songyan felt a lingering fear.
This was the price of being ill-informed.
However, it also dispelled many of his worries; even if someone probed his soul, they would not be able to discover his secret.
…………
After leaving the Yannian Medical Clinic, Ding Songyan saw that it was still early, so he returned to Dangkang Temple, intending to listen to an hour or two of martial arts legends and anecdotes before heading home.
His predecessor was only skilled in storytelling, and the scripts left behind touched little on these matters. Of course, it wasn't as if there were none at all; the martial arts world and the history of the imperial court were closely intertwined and inseparable.
Just as he arrived at his usual spot, Ding Songyan saw a person standing under the shade of a tree.
It was Xu Chang'an, who had not come with him today.
Xu Chang'an was still wearing his cyan narrow-sleeved robe, his hair bound with a black cloth, pacing back and forth and appearing quite anxious.
Ding Songyan’s first instinct was to turn and leave to avoid trouble, but Xu Chang'an had already spotted him and called out joyfully:
"Second Brother Ding!"
"What is it?" Ding Songyan asked helplessly.
Xu Chang'an said with worry:
"My master has disappeared!"
Disappeared? Ding Songyan’s heart gave a sudden jolt.
The last time he heard of someone disappearing, it was his predecessor.
Xu Chang'an spoke rapidly:
"I went to my master’s place yesterday for my examination, but he wasn't there at all. He hadn't informed us beforehand. I went to look for him again today, but he was still gone, and he hadn't left any secret marks...
"Second Brother Ding, could something have happened?"
He had originally felt that Second Brother Ding was like him—someone rather timid and cowardly—which was why they had been on good terms; neither looked down on the other. It certainly wasn't because the Ding sister was as beautiful as a fairy. But over the past two days, he had discovered that Second Brother Ding had somehow become sharp and insightful, making him want to seek his advice whenever something happened.
"He has been missing since yesterday..." A strange thought emerged in Ding Songyan’s mind as he pondered, and he asked in a low voice, "Does your master have any friendship with me?"
Xu Chang'an looked blank:
"You two are on good terms. Just a few days ago at noon, my master even invited you to his courtyard to drink and eat meat."
"How many days ago was 'a few days ago'?" Ding Songyan pressed.
"You don't remember, yet you ask me?" Xu Chang'an recalled for a moment. "About seven or eight days, I suppose."
Ding Songyan narrowed his eyes:
"I truly do not remember, because I also 'disappeared' a few days ago. When I was found, I had forgotten many things."
He placed heavy emphasis on the word "disappeared."
Xu Chang'an was shocked:
"You disappeared too?
"Was it that day? I asked you about it, but you didn't answer me."
Could the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas from my predecessor have been obtained from Xu Chang'an’s master? Did Xu Chang'an’s master steal it from somewhere? Hiss, if that is the case, Xu Chang'an’s master is truly vicious. As a veteran thief, how could he not know a few people who fence stolen goods? From the very beginning, he probably harbored the intention of using my predecessor as a scapegoat... Has he fled to the ends of the earth, or has he met with the same misfortune as my predecessor? Ding Songyan’s thoughts raced, and he said to Xu Chang'an:
"Take me to your master’s courtyard to have a look."
"Alright!" The terrified Xu Chang'an seemed to have found his backbone.
He had completely forgotten that Second Brother Ding was even less capable of fighting than he was.
Ding Songyan had only walked a few steps with Xu Chang'an when he suddenly stopped.
"First, go to North Water Street—no, the wharf," he told Xu Chang'an.
"Why?" Xu Chang'an was puzzled.
Use your brain... Ding Songyan sighed and said:
"If we encounter danger, will you be the one to step forward and fight them, or will I?"
"We are still in the city; it shouldn't come to that..." Xu Chang'an looked up at the tallest watchtower.
Ding Songyan couldn't be bothered with him; he pointed to the brown-tiled roof of Dangkang Temple and headed toward the wharf.
Right, if we encounter danger in the master’s house, the guards on the watchtower wouldn't be able to see it... Xu Chang'an’s heart tightened, and he hurried to follow.
The wharf was outside the city gate nearest to Dangkang Temple. Here, the river was wide, and ships of all sizes were docked—tower ships, pleasure boats, long-distance vessels, centipede boats, and so on, too numerous to mention.
Waterwheels located on the tributaries were driving mechanisms to hoist heavy goods from the ships and place them in front of nearby warehouses. Porters were transporting various wooden crates and sacks, either on their backs, by carrying them, or using wooden carts.
Ding Songyan scanned the area casually, seeing tower ships like clouds and a large river island in the middle of the river in the distance, covered in lush trees and piled with jagged rocks.
While searching for Ding Daniu’s figure, he caught sight of two people sitting and playing chess on the bow of a tower ship. Because they were so far away, it was difficult to determine the style of their clothing; he could only tell that both were dressed in black. One was an old man with white hair and beard, and the other wore a black gauze veil hat, making their gender indistinguishable.
"Wearing a veil hat even while playing chess? Have they renounced the world, or is there something unusual about their face or head that cannot be seen by others?" Ding Songyan muttered to himself and walked toward the area where the porters were concentrated.
He asked Xu Chang'an casually:
"Is that Wangtianmen Island?"
Qu Sanlang’s mother had died while taking a wooden kite flying carriage to this island.
"It is." Xu Chang'an already knew that Second Brother Ding had forgotten many things.
"Why is it called 'Wangtianmen'?" Ding Songyan did not hide his curiosity.
Xu Chang'an recalled and said:
"They say that after Emperor Zhuanxu severed the connection between heaven and earth, there were only a few places in the Great Wilderness where one could still see the scenery of the Heavenly Realm. This was one of them, hence the name 'Wangtianmen.' Later, I don't know which dynasty it started in, but it could no longer be seen from here."
In the myths of this Great Wilderness, Emperor Zhuanxu has such a high presence... Ding Songyan sighed inwardly.
Not long after, he found Ding Daniu, who was over nine feet tall and stood out wherever he went.
Ding Daniu was carrying several sacks, walking toward a donkey cart not far away with ease and steady steps.
"Big Brother!" Ding Songyan called out loudly only after Ding Daniu had put down his cargo and wiped his face with a coarse cloth hanging around his neck.
Ding Daniu came over happily:
"Second Brother, are you looking for me?"
Ding Songyan nodded:
"I need to go to a place, and I am worried there might be some danger. I would like to ask you to come along and look after me."
"Alright." Ding Daniu didn't say another word. He went straight to the foreman, his voice booming: "My Second Brother needs my help, and my mother also said that I should take good care of him. I must leave early today."
His eyes were bright and expectant, as if he were waiting for the foreman to refuse.
That way, he would have a reasonable excuse to use his fists without worrying about his mother getting angry.
The foreman was a scruffy, middle-aged man. Seeing the look in Ding Daniu’s eyes, he couldn't help but shiver.
"Go, go," he replied quickly.
Ding Daniu followed Ding Songyan and Xu Chang'an away from the wharf, looking somewhat disappointed.
…………
Qiushui Lane, in front of a courtyard.
Xu Chang'an skillfully used a piece of wire to open the door to his master’s house.
Not only was the courtyard much more spacious than the Ding family’s, but the house also had five rooms. The three of them searched slowly for a while without finding any clues, though they did turn up quite a few other things.
"So much silver?" Xu Chang'an looked at the five or six silver ingots, a dozen silver pieces, and a large amount of loose silver he had found in a hidden compartment, so surprised that he almost forgot about his master’s disappearance.
He didn't flee to the ends of the earth... Ding Songyan’s eyes narrowed instantly.
Who would leave the vast majority of their wealth behind if they were fleeing to the ends of the earth?
0 Comments