====== CHAPTER 038 ======
"Is there anything else?" Ding Songyan asked proactively.
Yan Changqing pondered for a moment:
"Between the hours of the Rooster and the Dog, take a stroll to the mass grave. You don't need to stay long."
Leaving the city... Ding Songyan’s first reaction was to wonder if this might be dangerous, but he immediately thought that he was already surrounded by crises, so a little more wouldn't matter. Perhaps it might even lead to some unexpected variables.
Besides, he was no longer someone who couldn't even bind a goose; as long as it didn't exceed two strikes, he was enough of a half-expert to hold his own.
Since he couldn't escape this desperate situation anyway, he might as well look on the bright side:
Wealth is sought in danger!
He agreed immediately, and Yan Changqing ended the conversation.
Ding Songyan pushed the story forward to the point where Lady White was permanently suppressed under the Leifeng Pagoda, concluded his storytelling for the day, and left the Zhen Mansion.
He did not go directly to the Dangkang Temple to offer incense. Instead, as usual, he wandered through the marketplace, listening to other storytellers recount martial arts legends and anecdotes from the Jianghu.
After a long while, he saw Li Wu patrolling by with a group of constables.
Ding Songyan’s heart stirred. He approached them and lowered his voice:
"Brother Li, it seems someone has been following me lately."
"How did you discover that?" Li Wu was even more puzzled by this question.
Ding Songyan had long since prepared his response, his tone filled with relief:
"I made the acquaintance of Young Hero Ren Youyang of the True Spirit Sect. He possesses the spirit of an ancient knight-errant and specifically pointed this out to me."
"Ren Youyang?" Li Wu glanced at Ding Songyan with considerable surprise.
He hadn't expected Second Young Master Ding to have such luck.
After a few moments of contemplation, he also spoke to Ding Songyan in a low voice:
"We will keep an eye out for you. You yourself are a clue that we value quite highly."
Having achieved his goal, Ding Songyan thanked him repeatedly and returned to the storyteller’s stall where he had just given a two-wen tip.
His primary goal was not to have the official authorities actually catch the people from the Moth God Sect—though that would certainly be excellent if they could. He mostly wanted the official authorities to "monitor" him in secret, hoping they would discover that the Zhen Mansion was also sending retainers to tail him, thereby casting suspicion upon the Zhen Mansion in their eyes.
Only by entering the game himself could he drag those with malicious intent into the water and expose them to the light!
With that conversation just finished, Ding Songyan suddenly remembered something:
Ren Youyang was likely still waiting for him at the Cuiliu Pavilion on Red Sleeve Street to "drink flower wine"!
He had been waiting for an entire afternoon...
"Startled by the Vermilion Moth affair, I was in such a rush to go home and verify things, and then I was busy 'checking in' at the Zhen Mansion... I completely forgot about Brother Youyang..." Ding Songyan felt a bit guilty, only hoping that Ren Youyang was capable enough to drink his share of the flower wine as well.
After listening to more Jianghu tales, he walked into the yellow-walled, brown-tiled Dangkang Temple and arrived in front of the main hall for the first time.
Inside the hall was a massive, pig-shaped idol, painted with green lacquer, with protruding tusks and large, wind-catching ears. It appeared both mighty and majestic, yet possessed a certain breadth and gentleness.
The temple keeper here also had pig-like, large ears, a belly that protruded beneath his robes, and a nose that was thick and broad, slightly extended forward, with two longer, sharp teeth on either side.
In a trance, Ding Songyan felt as if he were looking at Bajie, but the temple keeper’s face was still human, his nose wasn't quite as exaggerated, and his teeth were distinctly different.
A master indeed. To have so many strange physical traits—even if he isn't a grandmaster, he can't be far off... Ding Songyan steadied his mind, spent three wen to buy three sticks of incense, and lit them from the flame of the incense burner.
Amidst the gradually curling blue mist, Ding Songyan closed his eyes, emptied his thoughts, and prayed earnestly.
As long as it could help his current situation, he could believe in anything, and he could be very devout!
After bowing three times, Ding Songyan inserted the three sticks of incense into the burner and turned to leave the Dangkang Temple.
With his current sensory perception, he had no way of knowing if anyone was spying on him during this process.
Having finished this, Ding Songyan hurried toward the North Ward; being late was better than not showing up at all.
Before he even entered Red Sleeve Street, he saw Ren Youyang squatting by the roadside with his dog-like ears pricked up. Despite his feathered robes and high cap, he didn't care about his image in the slightest.
Why does it feel like he’s perfectly suited for squatting by the side of the road... Ding Songyan muttered to himself as he approached.
"Second Young Master Ding, you’ve finally arrived!" Ren Youyang sprang up, making no effort to hide his complaints.
He really was waiting for me the whole time... Does this count as a promise being worth its weight in gold... Ding Songyan apologized immediately, then said to Ren Youyang:
"Brother Youyang, I discovered some things and had to rush to verify them, so I forgot about you."
Without waiting for Ren Youyang to speak, he leaned toward his dog-like ear and lowered his voice:
"The person following me is suspected to be a 'Moth Person' from the Ying State’s Moth God Sect, controlled by a 'Moth Father' or 'Moth Mother'."
"How do you know?" Ren Youyang had no impression of the Moth God Sect, so he couldn't help but be suspicious and uneasy.
His focus thus shifted away from his dissatisfaction and restlessness after waiting so long.
"I went to the Zhen Mansion and heard it from someone there." Ding Songyan spoke in half-sentences, fearing he might "forget."
This was the truth, but he had reversed the order of events.
"The Zhen Mansion..." Ren Youyang repeated the term.
Ding Songyan took the opportunity to repeat what he had told Xiaoqing, questioning whether the Zhen Mansion was stalling, whether they were waiting for an opportunity, and whether what they wanted wasn't just money.
Ren Youyang drew a breath:
"This Zhen Mansion is truly mysterious."
Brother, you said it perfectly! Ding Songyan quickly added:
"Although I am half a member of the Zhen Mansion, I feel the same way."
He distanced himself from them in advance.
"I must go back and discuss this with someone." Ren Youyang turned his gaze toward Ding Songyan.
He hesitated for a moment, then added with a hint of embarrassment:
"I really didn't notice the problem with that follower earlier. The martial arts I practice aren't very good at this sort of thing."
"What divine art does Brother Youyang practice?" Ding Songyan asked casually, not expecting Ren Youyang to answer.
If the other party did give an answer, he could factor it into his plans or improvisations later.
Ren Youyang fell abruptly silent. Just as Ding Songyan was about to say, "It was too presumptuous of me, Brother Youyang, please don't be troubled," he let out a long sigh and said:
"The Useless Divine Art."
"Uh..." Ding Songyan was somewhat bewildered.
What kind of terrible name is that? You can't tell what it’s good at or what it’s bad at; it feels like it’s not good at anything, and yet it actually calls itself a "divine art"!
Ren Youyang gave a sheepish smile:
"One cannot judge a person by their appearance, and one cannot judge a martial art by its name.
"I’m heading back now. I’ll treat you to flower wine next time."
At this point, he sighed with lingering fear:
"You didn't come in the afternoon, and I had to handle it alone. By the end, I was already struggling to keep up."
Ah, a martial artist shouldn't be that weak, right? Ding Songyan watched suspiciously as Ren Youyang walked into the distance.
…………
After eating dinner in Chengyu Lane, at the second quarter of the Hour of the Rooster, Ding Songyan found an excuse about looking for Xu Chang'an and left the Ding family courtyard alone.
He first found Xu Chang'an and instructed him to help cover his lie, then, taking advantage of the fact that the summer sky grew dark quite late, he exited through the nearest city gate and headed toward the mass grave.
Along the way, everything was under the surveillance of the watchtowers. Some passersby were in a hurry, while others were quite leisurely, as if they had just returned from an outing.
By the time Ding Songyan reached the mass grave, the sky had darkened significantly. The area was lush with trees and dense foliage, casting streaks of black shadows that rejected the light of the sunset that had yet to fall below the horizon in the distance.
Walking through it, Ding Songyan felt the evening breeze, which carried a hint of chill, and occasionally saw white bones scattered among the grass and tree shadows, but he wasn't overly afraid.
This was, firstly, because he had the "Qi" given by Yan Changqing to protect him, and secondly, because he had already seen the sights of the Netherworld through his Yin Eye and was no longer so fearful of the mass grave.
As he walked, Ding Songyan gritted his teeth and proactively entered the back mountain.
He wanted to see if he could fish something out once he was away from the surveillance of the watchtowers.
The back mountain grew increasingly dark as night approached. The howling of wild beasts echoed from time to time, and a faint, putrid stench drifted by.
Suddenly, a mist that blended into the darkness appeared before Ding Songyan’s eyes, along with ghostly shadows swaying forward.
His Yin Eye had activated on its own.
"Stimulated by the Yin energy and death energy gathered in the back mountain of the mass grave?" Ding Songyan speculated while looking around.
Trees and shallow graves were shrouded in mist and separated from one another, with some lonely ghosts and wandering spirits still lingering nearby.
Among them, one ghostly shadow was quite peculiar; phantoms extended from its body, and these phantoms would occasionally swap places with its physical form.
Ding Songyan suppressed his unavoidable fear and moved a little closer.
As the distance closed, he heard that peculiar ghostly shadow, which was about to drift into the void, muttering in a daze:
"Blocked me nine times...
"Killed me nine times..."
What is this talking about? Do you have that many lives to be killed? Nine times... Ding Songyan tried his best to recall the contents of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas, finally finding something that barely fit:
"The Heluo fish; eating it grants ten lives, a hundred hands, and no blame."
"One head, ten bodies; its sound is like a dog, and it can cure boils."
Ten lives is about the same as nine... Had it already lost one life? Relying on his "Qi," Ding Songyan asked the peculiar ghost with great interest:
"Who killed you?"
The ghost repeated its previous muttering, completely ignoring Ding Songyan, nor did it come to harm him.
Ding Songyan thought for a moment, and while his Yin Eye was still active, he transferred the clear, misty "seed" in his Sea of Consciousness to his throat.
Perhaps he needed to rely on this to trigger it, just like before.
Ding Songyan opened his mouth once more, his voice tinged with a cold, ethereal quality:
"Who killed you?"
The ghost replied in a daze:
"The Sect Master..."
"Which sect are you from?" Ding Songyan blurted out in astonishment.
The peculiar ghost did not answer, repeating its previous words instead.
Ding Songyan changed his question, but did not obtain any more information.
He had to suspect that this ghost had been dead for too long; it was only because it had been a minor expert in life and possessed a deep obsession that a remnant soul had survived until now, but it only had this tiny bit of memory left.
Thinking of this, and thinking of the location of the mass grave, Ding Songyan suddenly had a few thoughts:
The original owner of this body died in the ruined temple on the way to the mass grave, exactly seven days and an hour or two ago.
There is a saying about the soul returning on the seventh day... and it is almost night now... If I go to that ruined temple or return home and open my Yin Eye, is it possible to see the ghost of the original owner and speak with him for a few moments?
If I could know his true encounter and know who killed him, many mysteries would be solved, and the enemy would be clear...
Ding Songyan narrowed his eyes, turned his body quickly, and headed toward the ruined temple between the mass grave and the city gate.
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