Ding Songyan decided to act on his impulse, choosing to do so near Fengshui Bridge.
This way, if anything went wrong or a disturbance broke out, there were patrolling constables and disciples of the Xiaoming Sect on the opposite bank. In such an event, beyond resolving the situation, he hoped they might simply arrest him and throw him into a cell, where he could be thoroughly examined for any peculiarities.
With his back to the Fengshui Bridge night market, which was as bright as day with colorful lanterns, Ding Songyan finished his candied hawthorn in a few quick bites. He held his breath, focused his mind, and attempted to shift that clear, misty "seed" within his Sea of Consciousness toward his eyes.
The moment the "seed" reached the center of his brow—before it could even split in two and infuse his eyes to manifest its power of piercing illusions—the scenery within Ding Songyan’s vision began to shift.
Mist rose, dreamlike and ethereal, merging with the darkness. It caused the surrounding buildings to recede into isolated islands; though they were within arm's reach, they now seemed worlds apart.
As the night deepened, shadowy figures swayed through the black fog, wandering aimlessly. Some were dressed in rags, others clad in armor and wielding weapons; some were mangled masses of flesh, others missing limbs; some were bizarre, while others appeared entirely alien...
Silent lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating a sickly green hue. It revealed the vast, hollow, and boundless expanse in the distance, and the pitch-black mountain peak standing deep within the gloom.
"It actually works...
"Just by combining with it, without even triggering the 'seed's' power, it has already activated my Yin Eye... I’ve said it ten thousand times, Master Yan’s 'Qi' is truly incredible. It strengthens my unique traits without wasting any of my limited uses. I genuinely want to learn it. If only he weren't so wicked and had died sooner, how wonderful that would be..."
Ding Songyan was both shocked and delighted, sighing with emotion.
He observed the scene carefully for a while and realized the sight before him was inexplicably familiar.
It seemed to be the very image he had felt—vague and hazy—in his "dream" before he woke up in this body of Second Young Master Ding:
The smoke-like darkness, the blurred figures, the ghostly green lightning, the empty wilderness...
"Hiss. Before I was reborn into this body, did I wander through the Netherworld of this world for a time? I didn't just transmigrate immediately?" Beyond his shock and bewilderment, a profound question took root.
He had always possessed an academic spirit, and at this moment, he only wanted to know:
What was the mechanism behind this?
He steadied himself, observing his surroundings while comparing them to the experiences in his memory.
"There are several black stone pillars beside me, and similar objects can be seen in the distance in different directions of the Netherworld... I didn't notice them when I was wandering the underworld, but back then, I couldn't see far or clearly; my senses were dull, and my thoughts were muddled...
"I don't feel the bone-chilling wind now, which is normal. I’ve only activated my Yin Eye, which provides visual effects without other sensory input...
"Likewise, the feeling of darkness wrapping around me like a curtain is absent..."
Ding Songyan looked at the black pillars, which appeared both illusory and real just a few steps away. He approached cautiously and reached out toward the small, weathered holes on the surface of the stone.
His palm passed through the black stone pillar, and through a ghost passing by, touching nothing.
Separated by the boundary of Yin and Yang, he thought with a sigh.
Suddenly, a new idea struck him.
Since his soul had once wandered the Netherworld of this world for a time—to the point that it left behind an unstable Yin-Yang Eye ability after occupying Second Young Master Ding's body—could it be that his eyes weren't the only things with special traits? Could other parts of his body possess them as well?
After all, it wasn't just his "eyes" that entered the underworld, but his soul as a whole.
And since Master Yan’s "Qi" didn't need to be actively consumed—merely being near it was enough to stably trigger the Yin Eye—would shifting the "seed" to his hand in this environment cause his palm to undergo a corresponding change?
Ding Songyan slowly shifted the clear, misty "seed" from his brow toward his arm. Throughout the process, his Yin Eye remained stable and did not fade.
After only a dozen breaths, the misty "seed" reached the center of his palm.
Suddenly, Ding Songyan felt a bone-piercing chill.
Gusts of eerie, ghostly wind blew against his palm, making his blood feel as though it were freezing and his skin as if it were weathering away.
Ding Songyan raised his arm and attempted to reach out with that hand again.
Amidst the heavy, suffocating constraints of the deep darkness, he touched a cold, gloomy surface—it was the armor of a passing ghost.
Ding Songyan’s palm moved further forward, touching one of the pitch-black stone pillars, and then the ear-sized "weathered" hole that seemed to pierce right through it.
"It really is like this..." Ding Songyan felt the cold, rough texture of the stone pillar while watching ghost after ghost pass by the parts of his body where the "seed" had not been activated.
They occasionally bumped into his palm, causing them to deviate from their path and detour around him.
Ding Songyan withdrew his hand and, with a spirit of experimentation, took a copper coin from his purse.
"A five-cash piece?" Without thinking, he subconsciously swapped the five-cash Xingping Heavy Treasure for a one-cash Jianwu Circulating Treasure.
He gripped the Jianwu Circulating Treasure tightly and attempted to move it toward the black stone pillar.
The cold, ghostly wind passed over the back of his hand and flew out from his palm; he could not tell if it had blown through the coin.
Ding Songyan carefully placed the Jianwu Circulating Treasure into one of the weathered holes, then curiously and slowly retracted his hand.
The one-cash Jianwu Circulating Treasure did not lose its support; it fell to the ground and remained firmly tucked inside the hole in the stone pillar.
"This is quite interesting...
"Did it truly enter the Netherworld through my hand?
"Has it become a Yin-Yang coin?"
Ding Songyan withdrew his hand and patiently observed what might happen next.
Not long after the sound of the night watchman's drum faded, his vision began to sway.
The scenery of the Netherworld and the terrifying ghostly figures vanished rapidly, and the surrounding buildings and streets broke free from the smoke-like mist.
"Without Master Yan’s 'Qi' to stimulate it, my Yin Eye cannot be maintained indefinitely, but it can remain stable for a while—about a cup of tea's time. That’s fine; keeping it on all the time would surely be dangerous. I wouldn't even dare to go out at night..." As Ding Songyan analyzed the situation, he cast his gaze toward the ground under the bright moonlight.
There was nothing there but dust.
Ding Songyan’s Jianwu Circulating Treasure had completely vanished.
"It really was sent into the underworld..." After checking his purse and counting his coins, confirming that he was indeed one Jianwu Circulating Treasure short, he muttered to himself with a mix of excitement and bewilderment.
He felt that if he couldn't find work in the future, he could open a "Heaven and Earth Bank," specializing in helping people send items to their deceased relatives in the underworld.
Of course, that would require Master Yan to be thoroughly dead while his "Qi" remained usable, or for Ding Songyan to cultivate a similar "Qi" himself.
Because he hadn't consumed any "uses" of the "Qi," Ding Songyan tested it repeatedly, verifying many details. For instance, only by activating the Yin Eye and shifting the "seed" to his palm could he touch ghosts and other objects in the Netherworld. If the Yin Eye was not active, shifting the "seed" to his palm was merely a preparation for combat, unable to connect to the underworld.
After a long while, Ding Songyan rubbed his head, feeling a sharp throb. He knew that while the "seed" hadn't consumed much, he himself had expended quite a bit of energy.
He was forced to end his exhilarating experiment. However, he had managed to retrieve that copper coin from the Netherworld:
The copper color had been stained with a ghostly green, becoming old and corroded, as if it had been buried in a tomb for over a century.
Not only that, but it also carried a sense of unreality, feeling icy cold to the touch, as if a faint ghostly wind were still blowing from it.
"I wonder what use this could have..." Ding Songyan put away the Jianwu Circulating Treasure, returned to Chengyu Lane, opened his door, and lay down on his bed.
His head felt hollow, and he was so exhausted that he found it difficult to fall asleep.
This forced him to ponder a few questions:
What kind of cultivation art did Master Yan practice, what was the deal with his "Qi," why did it have such marvelous effects, and why could it activate his Yin Eye without consuming any power?
The conversation with Master Yan flashed through his mind, and Ding Songyan suddenly captured a specific segment:
When the other party explained that the opening of the divine art was "Humanity is Precious," he had given several examples to clarify the uniqueness of humans:
"Utilize body and mind, resonate with Heaven and Earth, summon gods and command ghosts..."
Resonate with Heaven and Earth, summon gods and command ghosts... The Netherworld is included in the category of Heaven and Earth. Being able to resonate with the Netherworld through "resonate with Heaven and Earth" is logical, especially since "commanding ghosts" was mentioned later. No wonder... that palm strike I used at the Stone Pool Martial Arts School could also be considered resonating with Heaven and Earth, summoning lightning and catalyzing rain... Ding Songyan had a moment of realization, deepening his grasp of Master Yan’s martial arts.
As he thought, his body and mind gradually relaxed, and he drifted into a deep sleep.
…………
Another morning arrived, and Ding Songyan looked haggard and weary.
"Second Brother, you said you were going out for a walk to cool off last night. Where did you go?" Ding Qingyan asked with a mix of concern and teasing.
Ding Daniu was gnawing on a pancake his mother had made. Hearing this, he glanced at Ding Songyan and asked in a booming voice tinged with envy:
"Did you go for a walk to the North Ward?"
*Swish.* Both Liu Yuzao and Ding Shengyi turned their gazes toward Ding Songyan.
*Life is hard; I have to accompany the 'God of Wealth' in the middle of the night. It’s just that the 'God of Wealth' only likes candied hawthorns and doesn't like to drink, otherwise I’d be dead drunk...* Ding Songyan gave a wry smile:
"I went for a walk to Fengshui Bridge last night. There’s a lot of good food there, and some familiar street performers, so I had a few drinks and a bite to eat. Sigh, I can't go walking over there anymore; it's too dangerous." Ding Songyan recalled the various "perils" he had encountered during his occasional night runs.
Liu Yuzao gave an "Hmm":
"Did they pay for the meal? Remember to treat them back next time."
Ding Songyan agreed, and Ding Shengyi patted him on the shoulder with a laugh, joking:
"Next time you go for a walk to Fengshui Bridge, you can take your old man with you. I’d like to have some night drinks too..."
Seeing Liu Yuzao’s gaze, his voice gradually trailed off.
After leaving Chengyu Lane and arriving outside Dangkang Temple, Ding Songyan set up his storytelling spot as usual, and Miss Xiaoqing gave her customary tip of a silver ingot.
This session of the story was quite brisk. Xu Shilin fought the tiger demon, broke the illusion, and destroyed the Yellow Eyebrow, finally obtaining the Kui Ox Pearl and ascending to the heavens in one step, drawing cheers from the audience.
By noon, just as Ding Songyan was packing up his gear, Ren Youyang, with his dog ears hidden under a green cap, approached him furtively. Pretending to be a member of the audience, he lowered his voice and said:
"That group of people is following you again."
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