Chapter 197: Swordplay
Chapter 197: Swordplay
Report this to the authorities? Liu Cheng’s expression froze.
If Prince Kang’s estate insisted on auditing the Silver Hook Gambling House’s accounts, the Chengtian Prefecture and the Martial Prohibition Bureau certainly would not stop them. They might even lend a hand.
You officials all cover for one another, and you tell me to report you?
Noticing Guard Fan’s obvious hesitation beside Guard Ding, Liu Cheng put on his amiable smile again.
"Gentlemen, surely it’s better to settle disputes than make enemies. We’re all trying to get by. Why let things become so tense?
"I’m not refusing to let you inspect the gambling house’s books, but I can’t make that decision on such short notice. How about this? Guard Fan can return to the estate for the accountants, and I’ll send someone to inform our gang leader.
"One of you is a Brightnight Sect disciple, the other a successor of the Shadowkill School. How long will you stay at Prince Kang’s estate? Sooner or later, you’ll leave, and our paths are bound to cross again in the jianghu. After all, harmony brings wealth?"
His words offered friendship and concessions, but also carried a veiled threat. What he really meant was: You’re not truly part of Prince Kang’s household. Why risk your lives for the paltry resources and silver they give you?
I can’t touch you while you’re at Prince Kang’s estate, but you’ll leave one day. Would the estate really go to such lengths for you if you happened to suffer an "accident" then?
"I’ll leave the estate within two years at most." Ding Songyan’s smile faded as he looked at Liu Cheng. "But in two years, Young Boss, you may no longer be around. Neither may the Sea-Treading Gang."
Liu Cheng’s face darkened. He could no longer keep up his amiable smile.
He turned a dark gaze on Fan Chunlin, waiting to see where the other guard stood.
Fan Chunlin instinctively averted his eyes and turned toward Ding Songyan.
Ding Songyan lowered his head a little and took a small sip of tea, perfectly at ease.
Brother Ding is so calm even with a Grandmaster threatening him. I can’t begin to match him there... Does he have something to fall back on, or does he truly believe that righteousness will prevail, as the Brightnight Sect teaches? Fan Chunlin was torn. He feared Liu Cheng and the Sea-Treading Gang, yet felt he ought to follow Ding Songyan’s instructions and handle this according to the estate’s rules.
Perhaps Ding Songyan’s unshakable composure gave Fan Chunlin courage. He gritted his teeth and rose.
"I’ll return to the estate, report to the steward, and bring several accountants over."
At that moment, Fan Chunlin’s reasoning was simple: If I offend the Sea-Treading Gang and Young Boss Liu Cheng, I’m the only one they’ll come after. If I disappoint Prince Kang’s estate, the whole Shadowkill School will suffer for it.
With two phantom cyan snakes coiled around his ears, Liu Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He watched in silence as Fan Chunlin left the room and descended the wooden stairs.
A few breaths later, he turned to Accountant Ma.
"Mr. Ma, go and see to your other duties."
Accountant Ma swallowed and turned to leave.
A sheathed longsword suddenly barred his way.
He turned in alarm. Ding Songyan had closed his eyes as though resting, yet the sword in his hand blocked Ma’s path.
"Until the estate’s accountants arrive, neither of you may leave or send word outside," Ding Songyan said evenly, leaning back in his chair with his eyes shut.
Liu Cheng let out a furious laugh.
"Do you think you’re the prince himself?
"Let’s see you stop me."
He was past talking about harmony bringing wealth.
Eyes still closed, Ding Songyan spoke at an unhurried pace.
"The Accumulated Evil Way may be involved in this Silver Hook Gambling House affair. Young Boss, if you leave this room without permission today, I will take it that you intend to destroy evidence.
"Colluding with the Twenty-One Heretical Ways... Can you and the Sea-Treading Gang afford to face that charge?"
"Who would believe you without proof?" Liu Cheng scoffed. Showing no sign of confusion, he rose from the host’s seat and headed for the door.
Suddenly, he saw Ding Songyan’s sheathed longsword rise half an inch, its tip aimed at a spot on his body.
Liu Cheng’s gaze sharpened. He stepped diagonally with his left foot, changing course.
As he moved, Ding Songyan’s sheathed sword shifted a foot toward the doorway, seemingly pointing at empty air.
Liu Cheng planted his left foot and leaned toward the door. The moment he committed to the movement, however, he found himself heading straight into Ding Songyan’s sword.
A scorching gale roared up. Liu Cheng stopped just in time, as though an invisible hand had seized him.
He abruptly raised both hands and thrust them toward the doorway.
Instantly, the air parted to either side, sweeping every obstacle aside, including Ding Songyan’s sword, and leaving a clear path to the door.
Ding Songyan drew his sword back, swept it through an arc, and thrust again, angling its tip toward the floor.
Thud!
His scabbard struck a floorboard, flipping it squarely into that open path.
Like the single unchanging great transformation number, it resisted every disturbance and barred Liu Cheng’s way.
A phantom sea surged in midair, its waves savagely slapping the board aside. But Liu Cheng could not advance. Ding Songyan’s sheathed sword was already barring his way again.
Liu Cheng’s pupils widened. He turned to look at Guard Ding, who had remained leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, never once glancing at him. He seemed merely to have toyed idly with his sword.
Astonishment crossed the Young Boss’s face. He realized he could not gauge the man’s true strength.
Those sword movements hardly required a Dharma Realm Grandmaster. Even a martial artist in the early Great Proliferation Realm could have performed them. Yet Guard Ding had placed each one to perfection, always threatening a weakness or blocking Liu Cheng’s path.
"May I ask your full name, sir?" Liu Cheng cupped his hands, his expression serious.
Ding Songyan replied in a relaxed voice, "You’ll find out when the estate’s accountants arrive, Young Boss.
"Please wait here until then."
Several expressions passed over Liu Cheng’s face, but he stopped short of risking everything in a desperate rush for the door.
Seeing that Guard Ding still had not opened his eyes, he felt his anger rising again.
How arrogant can he be? Does he think so little of me?
Ding Songyan would gladly have opened his eyes and played the courteous gentleman. He was keeping them shut to conceal the disappearance of his double pupils.
While Liu Cheng was watching Fan Chunlin leave, Ding Songyan had lowered his head to drink his tea, derived Mirror Lake Divine Reflection, and suppressed its outward anomalies.
He had been silently listening to Liu Cheng’s and Accountant Ma’s thoughts ever since.
That was also why he kept provoking Liu Cheng. Anger made people’s thoughts more active and less guarded.
Now he heard Liu Cheng thinking:
I have to find a way to get someone to burn the real ledgers...
We rigged games to ruin certain subordinates of the princely estates, the yamen, the Martial Prohibition Bureau, and the leading court officials. Then we lent them money at exorbitant interest, using threats and inducements to make them provide information and favors. If Prince Kang’s estate discovers that, the entire Sea-Treading Gang will pay dearly...
Who is this Ding, anyway? Since when has the Brightnight Sect had someone like him?
His swordplay is peculiar. I can’t judge its limits. If I try to force my way out, I may only make matters worse...
I can only hope the others in the accounts office realize something is wrong in time...
It sounds as though the Young Boss hasn’t colluded with the Accumulated Evil Way or any other heretical faction... He has done the things I expected, but his worries lie in an entirely different direction... Ding Songyan thought with mild surprise, still pretending to rest his eyes.
Then he heard Accountant Ma, a man in his fifties, muttering inwardly, This is bad. It’s over. It’s all over.
I have to get the Young Boss to stop holding back. He can’t let this Ding stand in his way. He’s a Dharma Realm Grandmaster! Why should he fear a mere estate guard?
He must be afraid of retaliation from Prince Kang’s estate. I need to make him believe this is more serious than he thinks. Only then will he force his way out, whatever stands in his path.
You’re just an accountant. How much can they possibly pay you to worry this much? This isn’t some company where the accountant can be made to take the fall. Once the real ledgers come to light, the yamen, princely estates, Martial Prohibition Bureau, and leading court officials will all go after the Sea-Treading Gang’s leaders. They won’t believe a defenseless accountant took it upon himself to gain control over the servants and guards of all those households... Ding Songyan sensed something amiss.
Accountant Ma paced a few steps, looking at Liu Cheng and the two cyan snakes adorning his ears. He wanted to speak but could not think of a convincing story. All he could do was make himself look even more anxious, hoping Liu Cheng would catch his unease.
After a moment, he finally thought of something and said to Liu Cheng in a low voice, "Young Boss, there was a eunuch from the palace who used to visit often. Why don’t we ask him to see that we’re treated fairly?"
Someone from the palace? When did I tell you to recruit anyone from the palace? Are you trying to get every last person in the Sea-Treading Gang killed? Liu Cheng understood what Accountant Ma was implying and reeled in shock.
"I doubt the Sea-Treading Gang would dare go that far. Accountant Ma, you acted on your own, didn’t you?" Ding Songyan said calmly, his eyes still closed.
He... he actually said something decent for once... Is the Brightnight Sect really as honorable and fair as its reputation, refusing to wrong even a single person? Liu Cheng’s eyes widened slightly. He stared in disbelief at Ding Songyan, whom he had wanted to tear limb from limb only moments before.
He’s actually speaking up for the Sea-Treading Gang instead of using this chance to make things worse for us!
Accountant Ma’s heart, however, leaped into his throat.
How did he guess?
Why does he suspect me?
It’s over. This time it’s really over...
My only hope of saving my child is to give up my own life. That will alert those people, so they can erase the evidence in time...
Thank goodness they gave me poison and helped me hide it behind my teeth...
Taking his own life was no easy decision. Accountant Ma wavered between resolve and the desperate hope that he might yet escape.
Just then, he heard Ding Songyan speak with a smile.
"Young Boss, Accountant Ma, I was born with the gift of spirit channeling. Even if someone takes their own life, it won’t hinder my investigation."
Dingjiang Prefecture must have reported his gift of spirit channeling to the Martial Prohibition Bureau long ago. There was no need to hide it.
Liu Cheng and Accountant Ma both turned to Guard Ding. Ma’s thoughts were in turmoil.
Is that true?
Then what am I supposed to do...?
Within a few breaths, Accountant Ma’s forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Even Liu Cheng could now see that something was terribly wrong.
The accountant, a man in his fifties whose long beard hung in five strands, abruptly dropped to his knees with a thud.
He kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead striking the floor with dull thumps as he pleaded, "Guard Ding, please save my child! I’ll confess everything!"