Chapter 238: A Friend Arrives from Afar
Chapter 238: A Friend Arrives from Afar
The Liu residence on Hidden River Lane.
In the night, a roar filled with fear and suspicion suddenly rang out and echoed.
Liu Cheng hurried out of bed and ran toward his godfather’s room without even throwing on an outer robe.
He arrived a step ahead of the other Sea-Treading Gang members, but as soon as he pushed open the door, he saw Hu Chaohui curled at the head of the bed, body trembling uncontrollably, his face a bewildered mix of fear and dread. He looked nothing like a gang leader and Grandmaster who had perfected the Dharma Realm years ago, but more like an ordinary old man in the twilight of life.
Liu Cheng quickly scanned the room, found no one else, and saw no traces of a fight.
"Godfather, what happened?" Liu Cheng looked back at Hu Chaohui.
Hu Chaohui took a deep breath and forced his body’s trembling to subside.
After a moment’s thought, he said, "I dreamed again of the one in the Jade Maiden mask. He felt even more like the Celestial Thearch."
Before Liu Cheng could respond, the Sea-Treading Gang leader added on his own, "It seems this has become a weakness in my spirit."
Only a weakness in your spirit? A pure spiritual weakness could jolt a perfected Dharma Realm Grandmaster awake from a dream, but could never make him tremble like this... This seems more like a spiritual weakness that has evolved into a nightmare, and such things happen either through outside influence or because an inner demon of that kind was already hidden within... Liu Cheng did not expose his godfather’s words. He turned his head to look out the window, where a bleak wind and cold rain mingled, and said thoughtfully, "Godfather, would you like to stay in quiet retreat at a Daoist temple or Buddhist monastery for a while, to regulate your body and mind and mend the weakness?"
Recalling what he had "seen" in the dream, Hu Chaohui fell silent for a moment, then said, "I must. I can’t ignore this weakness any longer, or it will turn into an inner demon.
"A-Cheng, I’ll leave the Sea-Treading Gang to you. Unless it’s serious, don’t disturb my cultivation."
Hearing this, Liu Cheng’s heart stirred, and he seized the chance.
"Godfather, how about I handle the more presentable businesses, and leave ones like the Silver Hook Gambling House to the other Elders? We should always leave ourselves a way out."
Hu Chaohui looked up at Liu Cheng and sighed.
"I know what you mean, but the current situation is complicated and murky. The Sea-Treading Gang could be overturned at any moment. Only by leaving it to you can I feel at ease."
Liu Cheng fell silent for a moment, then argued no more. He only gave his godfather a deep look and smiled wryly.
"My wounds haven’t healed. Carrying this heavy burden is a bit of a stretch. I can only handle the important things first, and the other Elders can’t be idle either."
"Be careful." Hu Chaohui nodded and waved outward. "Go back and rest. I need to also visualize and circulate qi to harmonize body and mind."
Liu Cheng took his leave, and before closing the door, looked back once more at his godfather.
The scene just before had left a deep impression on him:
So Godfather is no longer the proud, storm-proof strongman I remember. At some point he has become a trembling little old man, his fear plain to see...
......
Five Mounds Mountain, summit of the main peak.
Snowflakes filled the sky, spreading out a vast white expanse.
The maid Yuyao hurried up and called to the figure beneath the jade trees and gemlike branches.
"Miss, Second Ding has sent another letter."
The figure wore a white cloak trimmed with fur. Before her was a campfire roasting a fat rabbit, and the biting wind around seemed to ignore this area and detour around it.
"Another letter? Didn’t one just arrive two days ago?" The figure stood and looked at Yuyao, revealing a lovely, fair face.
Her chin was dainty, the corners of her eyes charmingly upturned. She looked innocent yet carried a hint of allure, and with each glance, a world of grace began to show. Even though she saw it every day, the maid Yuyao was still entranced and nearly lost herself in such beauty.
"It’s from the Flame Capital," Yuyao steadied herself and answered her mistress’s question.
Su Qingli, in a white jacket and white skirt, her raven-black hair tied with a white ribbon, added a bright color to the snow-covered ground. She was breathtakingly lovely.
Having finally grown a little taller, she took the letter and read it in the wind and snow, her expression gradually turning excited.
Su Qingli blinked and said to the maid Yuyao, "Roast the rabbit for me. I’m going to find my dad!"
As she spoke, the girl bounded lightly down from the peak, sometimes leaping over icy stone steps.
Miss’s looks and figure have fully matured, but she’s still a little girl at heart... Yuyao muttered, then obediently crouched to roast the fat rabbit.
Su Qingli ran all the way home and found her father tasting tea in the tea room.
Su Changzhou was dressed as a scholar, his hair streaked with gray and held by a single wooden hairpin. His face was handsome and refined with delicate features, and he had the Su family’s signature fox eyes. He had a mustache and a beard on his chin which were similarly gray-white. His overall air was gentle, mature, and cultured, yet carried a hint of romantic flair.
"Daddy!" Su Qingli stopped and called out with a sweet smile.
Su Changzhou set down his teacup and sighed helplessly.
"Go on, what is it this time?"
Su Qingli sat beside her father, smiling, and naturally tilted her face up at him.
"Daddy, I heard the Jianwu Emperor of the southern dynasty will hold a consort selection in early spring. It must be so fun, so interesting, so lively. I want to go see."
The girl’s eyes, like dots of lacquer, were full of pleading, pitiful like a shunned little fox.
"This affair involves a great deal, and who knows what Hong Jingchu is planning. Who knows how many major sects will meddle. You haven’t even reached the Dharma Realm. What are you going to join in for?" Su Changzhou ruthlessly rejected his younger daughter’s request.
"I’m only joining in to experience the buzz, not participating. What danger could there be?" Su Qingli pouted her pink lips. "Besides, Daddy, you’re a Supreme Master. Can’t you protect me?"
Su Changzhou glanced at Su Qingli.
"When did I say I’m going to the Flame Capital?"
Su Qingli giggled.
"You’d really feel at ease letting your weak, pitiful, innocent daughter go to the Flame Capital alone?"
"You still want to run away from home? After your birthday next year, you can go wherever you like." Su Changzhou berated her in amusement.
Su Qingli showed two rows of neat little white teeth.
"Mom’s never been to the Flame Capital either. Won’t you take her to experience it?
"Daddy, let’s say the three of us go to experience the Flame Capital’s customs, and watch the excitement along the way, then return to the sect once the consort selection is over.
"Eldest Brother? Eldest Brother has his own matters to tend to."
The girl desperately searched for excuses as she wheedled.
After a long while, the thoroughly annoyed Su Changzhou picked up his teacup.
"Fine, have it your way. But we need to prepare. We should aim to reach the Flame Capital before the New Year festival."
"Daddy, you’re the best~" Su Qingli was thoroughly satisfied, her voice turning sweet and playful.
She thought for a moment and said, "Daddy, do you know a woman named Luo Mingyin? She’s tempering her heart in the mortal world in the Flame Capital. I hear she has some connection to Ditai."
Su Changzhou thought carefully for a while.
"Never heard of her."
"Do you think it could be Aunt?" Reading the phrase "tempering her heart in the mortal world" in the letter, Su Qingli had made that guess.
In terms of connections, the Su clan did have some ties to Ditai.
Su Changzhou mused.
"It’s possible. I haven’t seen your aunt for a while either.
"But we’d still have to see her actual temperament. Appearances change easily, but nature is hard to change. Tell me about this Luo Mingyin."
"I don’t know much..." Su Qingli recounted the passages Ding Songyan had written in his letter.
Su Changzhou pondered for a moment.
"Doesn’t seem like her. Your aunt has plenty of ways to play tricks on people.
"Unless, unless her mortal-world heart-tempering has progressed and she’s returned to simplicity..."
"I see..." Su Qingli grew even more curious about who Luo Mingyin was.
As she was about to leave the tea room, Su Changzhou suddenly asked, "Is that good friend you often write to, Ding Songyan, also in the Flame Capital?"
"Yes." Su Qingli nodded candidly. "When we get there, I’ll go see him, but mostly I’m there for the excitement of the consort selection."
"Can you even get near him?" Su Changzhou asked, amused.
Su Qingli fell silent at once, and after a few breaths said, "I can see him from afar!"
Su Changzhou shook his head and sipped his tea, saying no more.
......
On the second day of his days off, Ding Songyan did not go out, instead focusing on writing his storybook and cultivating martial arts.
On martial arts alone, he had too much to do. The two main matters were: first, to merge the Faith-Slaying Sword from the Accumulated Evil Divine Art into his own Unified Way Sword; second, to combine the Essentials of Heaven’s Decrees and the Celestial Heart imprint to create his own Ding-style Celestial Heart.
Neither would yield results in a few days or even a dozen days. They required hard work and patient grinding, and he hoped to make some progress within two or three months.
Originally, Ding Songyan had planned to keep his promise and treat Li Baima, Wu Mo, and Fan Chunlin to wine and women at the Hengbo River in the evening. But Li’s elder had just died, so he had no appetite for it for now, and leaving him out would be improper. So after discussing with Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin, Ding Songyan postponed the treat for a while.
As the sky darkened, Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin sat at the stone table watching Li Baima practice the Qiezhi Fire-Commanding Sword over and over, waiting for dinner to be delivered.
Suddenly, a light knock sounded at the side courtyard’s entrance.
The two turned their heads and froze.
Beside the open gate stood a peerless beauty dressed as a man. Standing tall in a wanderer’s headband and a wide white robe, with long slender brows, bright, lively eyes, pearly teeth, a finely bridged nose, and milky skin, she was so beautiful that she appeared as though she’d stepped straight out of a painting, a fairy come to life.
"Mi-miss, what, what can we do for you?" Wu Mo shot up and went to meet her, stammering.
She’s no less beautiful than Miss Zhang Yingbo!
Yet she doesn’t resemble the other beauties on the Peerless Beauties of the Jianghu...
Jiang Lanting was long used to such treatment and smiled slightly.
"Does Ding Songyan of the Brightnight Sect live in this courtyard?"
Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin were first dazzled by that smile before reacting.
Looking for Brother Ding?
How did Brother Ding attract such a stunning beauty?
Isn’t his luck with beauties a bit too good?
By then, Ding Songyan had already sensed Jiang Lanting’s visit, put down his brush, and stepped out of the room.
Using the Chaos Realm, he could grasp changes in posture, force exertion, and part of the true qi circulating beneath the skin of any target within about twenty meters, so he could naturally tell whether a visitor was male or female. Jiang Lanting indeed had both, with all the necessary organs.
Normally Ding Songyan would not sense so thoroughly, which would be rather rude, but just now an outsider had suddenly entered the Chaos Realm’s range and was not one of the few familiar ones, so in a stress response he had started to discern.
This was all the fault of Demoness Ji, who had made him edgy.
"Why have you come?" Ding Songyan smiled and went to meet Jiang Lanting, introducing him to Li Baima and the others, "This is Young Master Brightstream."
He couldn’t be bothered to ask whether it was Young Master Jiang or Miss Jiang today, and used the nickname directly.
"Young Master Brightstream"? Fan Chunlin and the others suddenly recalled the portrait and description on the Martial World’s Jade Tree Rankings.
He is Young Master Brightstream Jiang Lanting?
No wonder he resembles a stunning beauty...
Truly "a face as lovely as a woman’s"!
Jiang Lanting said to Ding Songyan with a smile, "Didn’t I say before that I’d repay your help separately?
"Here, I’ve brought you something good."