Xiaoqing was wearing a deep crimson martial outfit tonight, which added a touch of sharp, spirited flair to her usual delicate charm.
Not long ago, she had seemingly disguised herself as one of the common swordswomen found in the bustling markets and alleys, the better to observe whether anyone was tailing Ding Songyan.
Hearing Ding Songyan’s question, she focused her thoughts for a moment:
"I have never heard of it."
So, he really did give a fake name... Ding Songyan was not the least bit surprised.
When traveling abroad and engaging in swindling, how could one possibly use their real name?
He pondered for a moment and asked:
"In the last few years or the last decade or so, has any major figure suddenly vanished?"
"A major figure? A Grandmaster or a Transcendental Being?" Xiaoqing countered with two questions of her own, then shook her head. "There are quite a few of those. Some Grandmasters and Transcendental Beings, no matter how much they extend their lifespans, eventually grow frail and elderly. They prefer to settle down within their mountain gates. Since there are no major wars or frequent disasters nowadays, it is common for them not to walk the pugilistic world for a decade or more. Others retire early to the countryside and rarely appear in the martial arts world, while some go into deep seclusion for cultivation, with the world at large unaware that they have stepped into the Heavenly Human Realm or the Spirit Platform Realm."
"There are those who go into deep seclusion, unknown to the world?" Ding Songyan felt a flicker of surprise.
Xiaoqing replied casually:
"That’s right. For instance, if certain demon clans who prefer not to stir up trouble in the mortal world reach a certain level of cultivation, how would the world know..."
As she spoke, she fell silent.
Ding Songyan also fell silent.
He was genuinely afraid that Miss Xiaoqing might fly into a rage out of embarrassment and toss him into the Great River to drown.
After this exchange, he had confirmed that relying solely on the name "Yan Changqing" and the fact that he had been imprisoned for many years would not reveal the true identity of that "distinguished guest" anytime soon—unless he happened to ask someone who had known him personally.
After some thought, Ding Songyan probed further:
"Miss Xiaoqing, are you here for a certain object or person within the Zhen Mansion?"
*Oh? He can actually ask about this...*
Xiaoqing pursed her lips and scrutinized Ding Songyan with suspicion, offering no answer.
The lack of an answer was, in itself, an answer.
Ding Songyan smiled and pressed on:
"A matter that should have been resolved quickly, yet the Zhen Mansion keeps finding excuses to drag it out—even though you and the True Spirit Sect have been staying here for quite some time?"
Xiaoqing leaned in slightly, tilting her head to look into Ding Songyan’s eyes:
"Did you find this out from the Zhen Mansion?
"Is this why the Zhen Mansion sent people to tail you, and why Old Master Zhen had to step in personally when you went to the Magistrate's Office?"
She had wanted to ask about this earlier, but due to the environment and the timing, she had reserved it for a nighttime inquiry.
"No." Ding Songyan shook his head candidly. "If it were just for this, when I was at the Zhen residence, they could have easily waited until the Watchtower was not monitoring to stuff me into a sack, disguise me as cargo, and sink me into the river. I merely discovered a few traces."
*I was just verifying my guess...*
Xiaoqing found this amusing:
"Do you often stuff people into sacks and sink them into the river? You seem quite familiar with the process."
"As a storyteller, I am naturally skilled at imagination. Besides, many scripts have similar tropes." Ding Songyan was, after all, a man who had even read records of major criminal cases.
Xiaoqing’s eyes flickered:
"Does the Zhen Mansion hide other secrets? Or are they waiting for another party?"
Ding Songyan smiled without a word.
It was not that he did not want to answer; it was that he had already forgotten what he was going to say.
Xiaoqing gave a slight nod, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious, and she did not press further.
She was only in Dingjiang Prefecture to see the sights and have some fun; she would leave such complicated matters for her second uncle to worry about.
If her second uncle had questions later, she would just come back to find Second Young Master Ding.
Once Ding Songyan had pointed out everything he could, he resumed writing today’s installment of *The Legend of the White Snake*.
Xiaoqing sat on the edge of the bed, watching Ding Songyan’s back, and remarked with a touch of sentiment:
"I originally thought you were just a talented storyteller capable of spinning many good tales. How did you become so mysterious today? No, you were like this the day before yesterday, too..."
She fell into deep thought.
Ding Songyan turned his body slightly, pulling the topic back to *The Legend of the White Snake*:
"Miss Xiaoqing, I don’t intend for Xu Shilin to practice martial arts step by step; that would likely take another ten years before he could rescue Lady White. I want him to have a fortuitous encounter—to consume some divine monster or beast or something of the sort—and strive for the family to be reunited exactly twenty years after Lady White was permanently suppressed under the Leifeng Pagoda.
"Is there anything specific to keep in mind when consuming divine monsters or beasts?"
This was purely an excuse for Ding Songyan to satisfy his own curiosity through Xu Shilin. Every day he flipped through the *Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas*, seeing so many entries that said "eating it...", how could he not want to inquire about it?
As for why it had to be twenty years, it was simply to make it a round number—it had commemorative significance.
"What exactly are you asking?" Xiaoqing couldn't help but pout.
Ding Songyan had a belly full of questions:
"When eating a divine monster or beast, must one eat the whole thing, or is it enough to eat only a part or just the essence?"
Take the Kunpeng, for example; it was so large that a single pot couldn't hold it, and one couldn't finish it in a single meal—he reckoned even a month wouldn't be enough.
Of course, there was no Kunpeng in the *Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas*, only a note in the annotations: "Xuanming is the Kunpeng; in the sea, it is the Water God, and in the sky, it is the Wind God. Xuanming is Yuqiang." (Note 1)
And Yuqiang was a Northern God, an assistant to Emperor Zhuanxu: swallowing the Northern Deep, bearing the blue sky, governing the five plagues, suppressing the Netherworld and the dead, and assisting the Black Emperor.
Xiaoqing was amused:
"You couldn't eat the whole thing even if you wanted to. Eating a portion of the essence is sufficient; any more is useless. Some might even bring danger, causing you to suffer a cultivation deviation, explode and die, have your mind invaded by baleful energy, or have your soul usurped by the beast’s spirit. Hmm, eating just a little bit is fine."
"What if the portion eaten is insufficient?" Ding Songyan had always loved analyzing things with precise quantities.
Xiaoqing gave him a look that said, *Why do you have so many questions?*
"It depends on how much you eat. Generally, it grants you the strength of a Grandmaster—a completion of the Law Realm—for anywhere from a year or two to over a decade.
"If, during this period, you can use your clear perception of mutated apertures, physical condition, the energy of heaven and earth, and the mysteries of the void to organize a method of cultivation and gather the necessary heavenly treasures, you can quickly complete your training. Then, when the time limit expires, your realm and strength will not regress; they will truly belong to you.
"If not, once the time is up, your realm will continuously fall, and your strength will gradually wither away until only a small amount of divine power remains."
*So, the Aperture Refining and Body Tempering methods were all created by those who ate first, relying on their realms and their understanding of their own physical conditions...* Ding Songyan had initially grasped the mystery of "eating."
Xiaoqing continued on her own:
"To this day, relying on eating divine monsters and beasts can at most bring one to the completion of the Law Realm. To go further, one must still rely on oneself. If one cannot master the corresponding martial path, or if one’s heart and spiritual realm are insufficient, lacking deep insight and grasp of heaven and earth, it is difficult to step into the Heavenly Human Realm.
"This realm, even before the 'Severing the Connection Between Heaven and Earth,' was the first gate distinguishing humans from gods.
"The 'Register of Worldly Orchids' does not include Grandmasters and does not rank them, not because the number of Grandmasters is limited, but because they are not worthy."
"Martial cultivation also emphasizes the heart and spiritual realm?" Although Ding Songyan had heard rumors in the pugilistic world that the Absolute Saint Path demoness Ji Hanyi had a flaw in her heart and found it difficult to attain the Heavenly Human Realm, he had assumed it was primarily a problem with her specific techniques.
"Of course. Without spiritual control and harmony of the heart, constantly implanting foreign objects into yourself and creating alien apertures will only lead to cultivation deviation or turning into a ferocious beast," Xiaoqing said with a "tsk-tsk" laugh.
Ding Songyan had an inquisitive spirit:
"Then why don't those who become Law Realm Grandmasters by eating divine monsters and beasts worry about this?"
"When practicing techniques, the growth of the spirit and the body in each minor realm is different. But when eating divine monsters and beasts, the spirit and body change and strengthen together, so naturally, there is no problem. However, one will more or less be influenced by the residual will of the corresponding divine monster or beast, and one must still temper the heart later on," Xiaoqing explained. "If you eat too much, as I said before, some will encounter similar problems."
At this point, she remembered they were discussing Xu Shilin’s fortuitous encounter and pondered:
"The Divine Firmament Sect is the legacy of the Thunder God; eating a Kui Ox is more appropriate. The techniques will not conflict."
"I understand now. Thank you, Miss Xiaoqing." Having gained this knowledge, Ding Songyan felt much better.
The corresponding content from the *Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas* naturally flashed through his mind:
*Thunder God: Bears the Yin and embraces the Yang, wields thunder and grasps lightning, acts on Heaven's behalf to punish, destroys Yin evil, and suppresses the Three Realms.*
*Kui Ox: Breaks Yin evil, illuminates with thunderous light, accompanied by wind and rain, its voice suppresses the Three Realms. Note: Pale body, no horns, single-legged, like an ox.*
Having finalized the "setting," Ding Songyan began to conceive of Xu Shilin’s fortuitous encounter, then considered whether to add some romance. After all, in the television series, Xu Shilin and Hu Meiniang were a couple—he had forgotten if she was a rabbit spirit or a fox spirit.
Of course, Ding Songyan’s goal was not to recreate the show, but to add some plot to delay the progress of his storytelling, allowing him to keep telling stories to Yan Changqing for a few more days.
Delaying to wait for changes was a valid strategy.
"Miss Xiaoqing, do you think it would be better for Xu Shilin to fall in love with a rabbit demon or a fox demon during his encounter? His parents were a human and a demon in love; he shouldn't fall behind in his generation," Ding Songyan consulted his "God of Wealth."
Xiaoqing was silent for a moment, her tone sounding slightly strange:
"Neither. Change it to something else."
*Only snake demons are allowed, is that it? Can't have another one. The snake demon content is already too high. I can't pair the Green Snake with Xu Shilin—no, no, that’s against human ethics... er, demon etiquette didn't say it was forbidden, but it would look like I’m mocking Miss Xiaoqing...* Ding Songyan thought for a moment and said:
"How about the Queen of a Women's Kingdom?"
Someone who wasn't a demon but still had some divine mystery.
"A Women's Kingdom?" Xiaoqing’s tone became light and airy. "Fine."
Ding Songyan immediately had Xu Shilin and his fellow disciples accidentally enter the Women's Kingdom while searching for the Kui Ox Pearl. They drank the water of the Child-Mother River, all became pregnant, and were forced to seek help from the Queen of the Women's Kingdom. Afterward, the Queen took a fancy to Xu Shilin and wanted to force him to marry her, but was moved by his filial piety in rescuing his mother. She voluntarily gave up her throne and intended to follow Xu Shilin to face various dangers in order to seek the Kui Ox Pearl.
The reason he foreshadowed "various dangers" instead of "eighty-one tribulations" was that Ding Songyan couldn't actually invent that many. He even specifically changed "drinking" to "soaking" to stitch in the spider demon’s bathing scene from the Spider Cave.
*I can still write a few more chapters... It’s a pity I’ve forgotten much of the Journey to the West plot; otherwise, I could tell eighty chapters of various dangers...* Ding Songyan set down his brush and watched as Miss Xiaoqing took the pages.
As she read, she looked up and gazed at Ding Songyan in confusion:
"How did you know that the Women's Kingdom uses the Yellow Pool for soaking to conceive?"
"I made it up... What is a Yellow Pool?" Ding Songyan looked blank, appearing quite sincere.
Xiaoqing said thoughtfully:
"The *Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas* has an annotation: In the Women's Kingdom, there is a Yellow Pool; women bathe in it and become pregnant upon exiting. If they give birth to a boy, he dies at the age of three. (Note 2)
"Hmm, you seem to be unaware. To make it up randomly and have it match the facts—perhaps this is the will of Heaven."
Hearing Xiaoqing’s reply, Ding Songyan almost broke into a cold sweat:
*Thank goodness I haven't flipped to that section of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas yet, or I wouldn't have been able to perform such a clear conscience.*
*However, if I had actually read that content, I wouldn't have changed "drinking" to "soaking"—I definitely would have been careful to avoid it.*
Note 1: Many scholars believe that the inspiration for Zhuangzi’s Kunpeng came from Xuanming, as many characteristics match. I have adopted this theory.
Note 2: Cited from the annotations by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty.
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