Chapter 290: Clues Hidden in the Past
Chapter 290: Clues Hidden in the Past
Faced with Twelfth Madam’s proposal, Ding Songyan pondered for a moment.
"There’s no need to go to the Yin-Yang Temple on purpose. If Demoness Ji had made her move today, she had over a 90% chance of catching me, but she didn’t. That shows that at least today, she has no intention of killing me.
"I can just run a bluff. We can pretend that you’re openly seeing Senior Sister out of the capital but have quietly returned, waiting for Demoness Ji to show up."
If Ji Hanyi really did see through the ploy and came looking for him, that would be perfect for having a "chat" with her and finding out what she was really up to.
Although every word from the leader of the Sage-Severing Way was worth doubting and might be false, even the falsest words were better than a blank. They could be analyzed and verified, and they might offer a glimpse of the principles and truths hidden beneath.
Zheng Zhuxi recalled what had happened today and in the past, and immediately understood her junior brother’s intent.
She was silent for a moment, then nodded lightly in support of Ding Songyan’s idea.
Twelfth Madam Luo grumbled.
"Suit yourself. You made your bed, now lie in it."
The shopkeeper pointed to the west wing room and said to Zheng Zhuxi, "I’m going to get a couple of things."
After Twelfth Madam Luo went into the room, the young woman turned to Ding Songyan and said softly, "Be utmost careful."
She had all sorts of feelings inside, but worry was the strongest.
Ding Songyan set Frostshade aside, took his senior sister’s hands along with Autumnwater, and said with a smile,
"If I don’t take advantage of Demoness Ji having no killing intent today to find out as much as I can, I’ll lose the chance once she changes her mind.
"You’ll be a Dharma Realm Grandmaster any day now, Senior Sister, and I’ll soon reach the perfected Dharma Realm too. We need to keep the long view. As long as we’re alive, there’s still a chance."
His voice was calm and his tone unhurried, meant to put his senior sister’s mind at ease.
Dimples flashed on Zheng Zhuxi’s cheeks, and she teased with a smile, "Junior Brother, you used to teach me that explaining is covering up, and the more you explain, the guiltier you look. I do believe you, of course, but that Demoness Ji really does seem to have some sibling affection for you."
The young woman still hinted at a slight touch of jealousy deep down.
"And if she called you Sister-in-law, would you answer or not?" Ding Songyan replied by teasing her.
Zheng Zhuxi had no experience with this kind of thing and was stunned by the question. Whether she answered "yes" or "no," it felt wrong somehow, yet she found it inexplicably sweet. She could only reprimand him softly, "You have such thick skin!"
Twelfth Madam Luo came out of the west wing room just in time to hear this line.
Her mouth twitched, and she thought to herself, Miss Zheng, are you only just now noticing how thick Second Bull Ding’s skin is?
Was it all rose-colored glasses before?
Noticing Twelfth Madam Luo, Zheng Zhuxi hurriedly pulled her hands back and gave Ding Songyan a deep look.
"Now that I have the follow-up manuals, I’ll train in earnest."
She had already said whatever exhortations she needed to give her junior brother.
"If you haven’t come to the Flame Capital by the time the consorts are selected, I’ll come find you in Changhua," Ding Songyan said with a smile.
Zheng Zhuxi’s eyes were reluctant to part, but her actions were brisk and crisp. She didn’t linger any longer and left the courtyard with Twelfth Madam Luo through the shop side.
Thinking of his senior sister’s eyes at parting, which seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words, Ding Songyan slowly sat down behind the desk.
At times he pondered Ji Hanyi’s thinking and the details of today’s events. At times he couldn’t help recalling every little thing since he had met his senior sister.
Suddenly, Ding Songyan lifted his head slightly, his gaze fixing.
He had remembered something.
Before he could think it through, he turned his gaze to the outside of the main building.
Twelfth Madam Luo had come back with Zheng Zhuxi.
"What is it?" Ding Songyan stood up and cautiously used the Candle-Star Pupils and other means to check whether it was really them.
Twelfth Madam Luo pointed her chin at Zheng Zhuxi,
"Miss Zheng says she remembered something very important and has to tell you right away."
Ding Songyan looked at the graceful, clear-eyed Zheng Zhuxi, and the two of them said a name in unison, "Feng Zhengning."
Zheng Zhuxi paused, then asked in pleasant surprise, "Junior Brother, you remembered too?"
"I was just thinking back over our past and noticed something," Ding Songyan said with a nod.
"Me too..." Zheng Zhuxi remembered Twelfth Madam Luo was right there, and her voice grew softer and softer. Then she said seriously, "Do you remember where Feng Zhengning came from before he got to Alpine Lake Town?"
Feng Zhengning had been a heretic of the Accumulated Evil Way, sent by a Malevolent Envoy to Dingjiang Prefecture to investigate the Zhen household’s affairs. He had asked his way to Alpine Lake Town and died under Ding Songyan’s sword, making Zheng Zhuxi famous.
"From Jinyang Prefecture in Du Province, where the Yin-Yang Order’s sacred altar is," Ding Songyan answered in a low voice.
Zheng Zhuxi continued, "Tan Guanchan was hiding in Shilin Temple, and the Yin-Yang Temple is only two or three streets from Shilin Temple."
That was the Yin-Yang Order’s base in the Flame Capital, grand in scale and comparable to the sacred altar.
Twelfth Madam Luo understood what the senior sister and junior brother were saying to each other.
They thought Tan Guanchan had chosen to stay at Shilin Temple with the Yin-Yang Order in mind!
"I suspected back then that Feng Zhengning was deliberately sent to Dingjiang Prefecture to mislead us with his background, linking Jiang Lanting to Jiang Weichen and steering the official investigation toward the Yin-Yang Order," Ding Songyan said, voicing the first guess that had come to him after learning that Jinyang Prefecture in Du Province was where the Yin-Yang Order’s sacred altar was.
After a pause, Ding Songyan said gravely, "Now it looks like it wasn’t a misdirection, but a hint.
"Tan Guanchan staying at Shilin Temple is too..."
He’s telling me that Jiang Weichen is in the Yin-Yang Order.
He’s known all along that I’m a transmigrator and ate part of the Chaos remains!
"In that case, Tan Guanchan probably learned your secret from the very beginning," said Twelfth Madam Luo, who had heard Ding Songyan tell the story of the Zhen household and its connection to the Demon Sovereign, and drew a conclusion.
Ding Songyan suddenly laughed at himself.
"Fu Yangquan and the Demon Seed Two-Faced who was caught later were probably also sent to Dingjiang Prefecture at Tan Guanchan’s order through Wei Wuji. And only he himself could have timed Bai Zhaolin’s trip up Alpine Lake Mountain so precisely, neither early nor late, letting us learn of it at just the right moment.
"What does that mean? Was it to temper me, or to leave a crack in my mindset and plant a hidden danger?"
Zheng Zhuxi hadn’t expected a settled past to turn up a new interpretation, and her thoughts churned, unable to settle.
After a moment, she asked softly, "But how would Tan Guanchan know that Yan Yong said the word ’Jiang’ before he was obliterated?"
Zheng Zhuxi knew her junior brother had told Twelfth Madam Luo about this, so she didn’t hold back.
"If you say Tan Guanchan is connected to the people behind the Zhen household affair and learned the details through them, those people were most likely Jiang Weichen’s group, and Tan Guanchan is clearly on bad terms with Jiang Weichen, always hinting at Jiang Weichen’s hiding spot..." Twelfth Madam Luo began to think it over too.
Ding Songyan considered for a moment and said, "Did Tan Guanchan guess Jiang Weichen was behind it from the style of the Zhen household affair, or from other things like what happened to Yan Changqing, and that’s why he dropped these hints?"
Zheng Zhuxi snapped out of her earlier mood, and inspiration suddenly struck.
"Why doesn’t Tan Guanchan say it outright and only hint?"
Ding Songyan’s eyes lit up, and he answered in a hushed voice, "Enemies and friends at once. They’re on the same side, but also fighting each other from within?"
This also fits their identities as transmigrators...
"Very possible," Twelfth Madam Luo said with a light nod.
She went on with a sigh.
"If Tan Guanchan takes Jiang Weichen this seriously, Jiang Weichen must be more than a Heaven-Man who has eaten the elixir of immortality. He must have entered the Spirit Platform Realm long ago, and be the kind who has already touched the limits of the heaven-earth severance."
Ding Songyan was quiet for a moment, then said, "Twelfth Madam, do you know the general situation of Jiang Lanting’s master, Perfected Xiang?"
That Supreme Master supposedly hadn’t made a move in several decades.
Twelfth Madam Luo recalled what she knew.
"Perfected Xiang is at the peak of the Heaven-Man Realm, a hundred and fifty years old, and hasn’t made a move in nearly forty years. His birth name is unknown. He made his name with the Two Principles Divine Sword. In his early years he had children, but none outlived him. Whether he left any descendants I don’t know.
"As for Jiang Lanting’s family, I know even less."
"Birth name unknown..." Ding Songyan smiled. "Looks like I should find time to visit Young Master Jiang."
After a brief silence, Twelfth Madam Luo looked at Zheng Zhuxi.
"Shall I continue sending you to Juque County?"
"Thank you, Twelfth Madam." Zheng Zhuxi didn’t refuse.
She took a step outside, then looked back at Ding Songyan and said solemnly, "Junior Brother, since the sect took you in to seek a sliver of hope, it won’t be afraid of sacrifice."
"I’m not blaming myself. I’m just sighing that after all this going around in circles, it seems I’m back in the same situation as in Dingjiang Prefecture." Ding Songyan exhaled, then smiled. "But I’m no longer alone. I have all of you, people I can trust with my life, and I have hope and a chance to become stronger. It’s much better than back then."
Who’s trusting you with their life? Twelfth Madam Luo scoffed inwardly but didn’t say it aloud.
Zheng Zhuxi showed her junior brother her two dimples, then turned and walked out the door.
The afternoon sunlight poured down, and she squinted. A strong longing suddenly rose in her heart.
It was a phrase she had once imagined but never dared to think too much about, something the Brightnight Sect had never achieved since the southward crossing.
"Become a Heaven-Man!"
At that moment, the young woman, who hadn’t yet truly entered the Dharma Realm, held a firm, clear belief in her future.
After watching his senior sister and Twelfth Madam leave the Cheap Wine Shop once more, Ding Songyan sat down by the tea table, gazed at the black and white stones, and muttered silently, Tan Guanchan knows everything, yet he doesn’t move against me. Instead, he tolerates me exposing the mysteries of his Demon Seeds again and again, and only hints at Jiang Weichen’s situation...
I haven’t even reached the perfected Dharma Realm. What qualifies me to help him deal with Jiang Weichen?
Chaos divides into yin and yang... the Yin-Yang Order... It looks like what Demoness Ji said is partly true after all. She and I are useful to Jiang Weichen, who may partly hold the secrets of the Celestial Thearch’s palace, and neither of us can be left out...
Is that what Tan Guanchan wants to ruin? Or does he want to push Jiang Weichen aside and take the lead himself?
Lost in thought, Ding Songyan picked up a black piece and placed it on the center point of the Go board.
More than before, he hoped Ji Hanyi would come looking for him, so he could find out what he could from the leader of the Sage-Severing Way.
The sun slowly sank to the west, and dusk spilled orange-red across the sky. Ding Songyan suddenly felt a stir in his heart and turned his head toward the east wing room in the already darkening light.
Before the person appeared, a soft laughing voice had already drifted out.
"Second Brother, you’ve hidden quite a lot of things here."