===== Chapter 40 =====
Upon hearing Xiaoqing’s question, Ding Songyan tried to say:
"Present."
As soon as the words left his lips, a wave of joy surged within him:
Excellent, this question can be answered!
Xiaoqing’s brows and the corners of her eyes brimmed with delight and self-satisfaction as she asked with keen interest:
"In the Zhen Mansion... is it Old Master Zhen?"
"No." Ding Songyan answered quickly.
This did not involve the dungeon, nor did it involve Yan Changqing; he had not forgotten.
Xiaoqing’s eyes darted slightly:
"Is it one of the retainers of the Zhen Mansion?"
"No, not a Zhen Mansion retainer." Ding Songyan attempted to describe the answer more accurately and in greater detail.
He had not forgotten, nor was he affected.
"A member of the Zhen family?" Xiaoqing narrowed the scope of her target.
When Ding Songyan shook his head again to say no, she grew puzzled:
"Not a retainer, and not a family member—it couldn't possibly be one of the servants, could it?"
"No." Ding Songyan gave a negative answer once more.
"Strange..." Xiaoqing’s gaze went blank as she fell into thought.
Ding Songyan wanted to give her a hint, but he had forgotten what he was supposed to hint at.
After a moment, Xiaoqing’s eyes shifted, and her gaze regained its spark:
"Not someone from the Zhen Mansion, yet hiding within the Zhen Mansion?"
Ding Songyan did not answer; he had forgotten what the other party had asked, and he had also forgotten what his own answer was.
"You didn't say no, so that must be it." Xiaoqing laughed, her expression so bright it was impossible to look away. "Sometimes, not answering is an answer in itself."
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her:
"You specifically asked me earlier if I knew someone named Yan Changqing. It was so inexplicable, and I have no idea where you heard that name...
"So, is he the one who told you about the Moth God Sect? Hiding in the Zhen Mansion, yet not a member of the Zhen Mansion?"
Clever! She had connected the dots! Ding Songyan was instantly ecstatic.
He had always felt that Xiaoqing was sometimes naive and sometimes dim-witted, appearing not quite sharp enough. But looking at it now, she was fundamentally quite intelligent; she simply lacked worldly experience and often couldn't be bothered to use her brain. After all, with her deep background, she feared no danger, and even if she made a mistake, her elders would be there to clean up the mess.
Based on this, Ding Songyan had also discovered a way to bypass the "seed" of the clear mist.
He reasoned that since Yan Changqing was imprisoned in the Zhen Mansion dungeon, he could not be by his side to monitor the situation in real time. Theoretically, the "seed" could only influence his thoughts through preset focal points, avoidance conditions, and a list of people he could not see.
This meant that the thought patterns being poured in from the outside were rigid, bound by rules, and inevitably incomplete. They could not cover every situation, especially those that were convoluted and indirect.
Finding blind spots and loopholes in such rules was something Ding Songyan had always been skilled at, much like bypassing censored words.
As it happened, he had asked about Yan Changqing several days ago. At that time, it did not involve the Zhen Mansion, and Ding Songyan had not intended to use that to leak information to Xiaoqing; he had asked it quite naturally. Tonight, he had similarly not considered blurting out the matter of Yan Changqing directly, only intending to deepen the impression of his own mysterious nature and the mystery of the Zhen Mansion. Thus, he had easily bypassed the restrictions of the clear mist "seed." As for how Xiaoqing thought about it and connected the two, that was her business—something Yan Changqing could not control through the "seed."
Breaking down a matter that could not be spoken of into multiple parts, mentioning them on different days through other circumstances, and letting the target guess, associate, and piece together the truth for themselves—this was the method Ding Songyan had currently discovered to bypass the restrictions.
This required advance planning, and it required sufficient time.
Ding Songyan did not answer Xiaoqing’s question; after the initial ecstasy came a sense of bewilderment.
What was she asking?
And what did I want to say?
Uh, I still remember the method I discovered...
Seeing that Ding Songyan had not spoken again, but that his expression was slightly dazed, Xiaoqing nodded with satisfaction:
"Not answering yes or no implies that there is indeed a connection, just not one that perfectly fits my description?"
With an expression that said "this is so much fun," she said to herself:
"I'll tell my second uncle about this later and see if he can guess what's going on, and why you can't say it."
Good, good, good! Ding Songyan just wanted to applaud Xiaoqing.
He pondered for a moment and had another idea:
"Miss Xiaoqing, may I accompany you to visit your second uncle later? I have important information to tell him."
"What important information could there be that you can't tell me?" Xiaoqing expressed her dissatisfaction.
"You can listen in when the time comes, but I don't quite dare to say it right now." Ding Songyan hurriedly explained.
He had never harbored the delusion that he could speak of Yan Changqing and the Zhen Mansion directly. By telling Xiaoqing’s second uncle, he was using this opportunity to openly display the suspicious points and anomalies to the other party:
When Xiaoqing told her second uncle in advance that Second Young Master Ding had important information to reveal, but then Ding Erlang "forgot" what he was supposed to say in front of the uncle, the problem would surface clearly and undeniably.
Ding Songyan believed that Xiaoqing’s second uncle, as a veteran of the martial arts world, would surely be able to guess something from this, or even deduce which sect the technique affecting him belonged to. After all, such a powerful and profound divine art as Yan Changqing’s was unlikely to be unknown in the martial arts world.
"Fine." Xiaoqing assessed her own strength and agreed with a hint of helplessness.
After Ding Songyan finished writing today’s story and she finished reading the chapter, Xiaoqing stood up and glanced out the window:
"You go to the Tianyang Guild Hall yourself; I’ll go ahead and inform my second uncle."
She then lowered her voice:
"Ren Youyang and his guards are still secretly watching for trackers for you, and I don't want to be discovered by him. With him around, you don't need to worry about danger."
"Understood." Ding Songyan expressed his understanding.
As outsiders who did not belong to the Great Zhao, Xiaoqing’s side likely did not wish to expose their identities.
After Xiaoqing left, Ding Songyan packed up his things, pretended to be going out to enjoy the cool air, left the courtyard, and locked the door.
He had long since scouted the location of the Tianyang Guild Hall, preparing to seek refuge there in case of an emergency.
Reaching Fengshui Bridge, Ding Songyan was about to turn onto the path Xiaoqing had taken earlier when he saw Ren Youyang sitting at a stall selling grilled meat, smiling and waving at him.
This disciple of the True Spirit Sect was dressed in a light gray Lanshan robe, his two dog ears standing upright and relaxed in the night breeze. The bruises and wounds on his face had either faded or healed, no longer affecting his demeanor as an expert.
"Out to enjoy the cool air?" Ren Youyang asked with a smile.
Ding Songyan sat down:
"I worked up a sweat writing tomorrow’s story, so I came out to cool off."
Ren Youyang pointed at the grilled mutton in front of him with the familiarity of an old friend:
"Then have some, and drink a couple of cups?"
Without waiting for Ding Songyan to agree, he lowered his voice:
"Ever since you returned from outside the city, the 'Moth Person' following you has left. I didn't move against him, thinking to cast a long line to catch a big fish, to find the 'Moth Father' or 'Moth Mother.' But these 'Moth People' are a bit different from the information I got this evening; I still can't determine who the 'Moth Mother' or 'Moth Father' is.
"Also, the government has people secretly following you too. Add me to the mix, and we could almost play a game of Mahjong."
Mahjong was a card game played by four people, which was quite popular at the time.
You still don't know about Xiaoqing’s side... Ding Songyan wanted to hint at where the uniqueness of those "Moth People" came from, but after picking up his wine cup, he had already "forgotten" that point.
…………
Xiaoqing, accompanied by her maid, walked through the streets and alleys along the tree shadows swaying with moonlight, heading toward the Tianyang Guild Hall.
Just as they stepped into a quiet and secluded alley, a black shadow suddenly pounced down from a tree.
Xiaoqing shifted her feet, dodging to the side.
Immediately following, the crisp crack of a whip tip breaking the sound barrier rang out without warning, yet no whip was visible in mid-air.
The black shadow retreated abruptly, feet pushing off the alley wall, and flipped into someone else’s courtyard like a startled bird.
Crack!
Another whip crack sounded. Two marks appeared on the wall the shadow had just pushed off from—one deep, with the bricks and stones split, and one shallower, with dust continuously falling. Where the whip had struck, the wall seemed to have turned soft.
The two whip marks intersected, yet from start to finish, no long whip had ever appeared in the alley.
"Leaving already?" Xiaoqing lowered her hands, looking as if she hadn't had her fill of the excitement. "Then what did he come for? Just to say hello?"
After muttering to herself, Xiaoqing’s heart stirred, and she looked up at the high watchtower in the distance.
She hurriedly pulled her maid along, her figure merging into the night like a phantom, disappearing from sight.
Returning to the Tianyang Guild Hall in the east of the city, Xiaoqing had barely stepped into the front hall when she complained loudly:
"Second Uncle, I ran into a very cunning enemy who deliberately forced me to act, wanting to expose us to the eyes of the Southern Zhao government!"
Xiaoqing’s second uncle, who was sitting in the front hall, held a teacup. While smoothing the tea leaves with the lid, he looked up:
"Someone ambushed you?"
He wore wide robes with large sleeves, his black hair draped loosely. His features were somewhat similar to Xiaoqing’s; his face was narrow, the corners of his eyes slightly upturned, his demeanor elegant and refined, carrying a touch of mature sophistication. He appeared to be only in his early thirties.
Xiaoqing nodded rapidly:
"I was even forced to use the Invisible Whip!"
She first recounted the ambush in its entirety, then spoke of the Moth God Sect and the mysterious man from the Zhen Mansion, Yan Changqing.
Her second uncle set down his teacup, stood up, and paced slowly with his hands behind his back:
"The situation is very complex. From tomorrow on, do not go to see that Ding Erlang at night."
Seeing that Xiaoqing wanted to object, his expression turned stern:
"Your father sent you here to see the world and gain experience, not to take risks and play around. If you really must go, I must accompany you."
"Fine." Xiaoqing agreed, feeling aggrieved.
Her second uncle thought for a moment and muttered to himself:
"What is the Moth God Sect here for... The Zhen Mansion is likely plotting something even bigger than what we want...
"The name Yan Changqing is indeed one I have never heard..."
This refined and handsome man looked at Xiaoqing once more:
"Qingli, is there anything else?"
Xiaoqing thought carefully, then shook her head:
"No."
…………
After finishing the wine and grilled meat with Ren Youyang, Ding Songyan bid him farewell and walked slowly back to Chengyu Lane.
As he neared the Ding courtyard, he wore a thoughtful expression:
"Did I forget something..."
After thinking for a while without success, he opened the courtyard gate, returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and soon drifted off into a dream.
The night passed without dreams.
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