"Anything else?" Ding Songyan asked proactively.

Yan Changqing thought for a moment.

"Between five and seven in the evening, take a walk around the mass graves. No need to stay long."

Leaving the city... Ding Songyan’s first reaction was that this might be somewhat dangerous. But then he remembered he was already surrounded by danger on all sides. A little more hardly mattered, and it might even introduce some useful variables.

Besides, he was no longer powerless. As long as it did not exceed two strikes, he was practically half a powerhouse.

Since there was no escaping his predicament anyway, he might as well think positively.

Fortune favors the bold!

He agreed immediately, and Yan Changqing ended the exchange.

Ding Songyan advanced the story to the point where Lady Bai was imprisoned forever beneath Leifeng Pagoda, concluded today’s storytelling, and left the Zhen estate.

He did not go directly to Dangkang Temple to light incense. Instead, as was his habit, he wandered the market outside, listening to other storytellers narrate martial world anecdotes and jianghu tales.

After some time, he saw Li Wu leading a squad of constables on patrol.

Ding Songyan’s heart stirred. He approached and said in a low voice, "Brother Li, it seems someone has been following me lately."

"How did you find out?" Li Wu was more puzzled by this question than anything.

Ding Songyan had his answer prepared. He spoke with a tone of gratitude.

"I’ve become acquainted with Ren Youyang of the True Spirit Sect. He has the air of a hero of yore and specifically warned me about it."

"Ren Youyang?" Li Wu looked at Ding Songyan with some surprise.

He had not expected Ding Songyan to have that kind of luck.

After a moment’s thought, he whispered back, "We’ll keep an eye out for you. You’re already someone we’ve been paying attention to."

Having achieved his goal, Ding Songyan thanked him profusely and returned to the storyteller’s stall where he had just tipped two coins.

His primary purpose was not actually to have the authorities catch the Moth-God Sect’s people—though that would certainly be ideal. What he really wanted was for the official forces to covertly "monitor" him. In doing so, they would notice that the Zhen household also had retainers tailing him, making them cast suspicion on the Zhen household.

Only by stepping into the game could he drag everyone with hidden agendas into the open, half-exposed to the light!

After that exchange, Ding Songyan suddenly remembered something.

Ren Youyang was apparently still waiting for him at Emerald Willow House on Crimson Sleeve Street to "drink and enjoy company"!

He has been waiting an entire afternoon...

The Vermilion Moth discovery startled me. I rushed home to verify, then was busy reporting to the Zhen estate for my ’shift.’ I completely forgot about Brother Youyang... Ding Songyan felt a pang of guilt. He could only hope that Ren Youyang, being tasked with more responsibilities due to his capabilities, had drunk his share as well.

After listening to more jianghu stories for a while, he walked into Dangkang Temple with its yellow walls and brown tiles, arriving before the main hall for the first time.

Inside the hall stood an enormous pig-shaped idol, painted in green lacquer. Its tusks protruded, its ears flared wide. It was imposing and majestic, yet carried a certain broad warmth.

The temple keeper similarly had large pig-like ears, a belly protruding beneath his robe, a nose that was thick, wide, and slightly forward-jutting, with one elongated, sharp tooth on each side.

For a disorienting moment, Ding Songyan thought he was looking at Pigsy from Journey to the West. But the keeper’s face was still human, his nose not nearly that exaggerated, and his teeth were different.

A powerful cultivator. Multiple physical manifestations. If not a Grandmaster, he can’t be far off... Ding Songyan steadied himself, spent three coins on three sticks of incense, and lit them from the censer’s flame.

Amid the gradually curling blue smoke, Ding Songyan closed his eyes, cleared his mind, and prayed with genuine sincerity.

Anything that might help his current situation, he would believe in. He could be very devout!

He bowed three times, planted the three incense sticks in the censer, and turned to leave Dangkang Temple.

With his current level of perception, he had no way of knowing whether anyone had been watching him during the process.

With that done, Ding Songyan hurried to the North Lane pleasure quarter. Better late than never.

He had not yet entered Crimson Sleeve Street when he spotted Ren Youyang squatting by the roadside, canine ears erect, dressed in feathered robes and tall cap yet completely disregarding his image.

Why do I feel like squatting by the road suits him... Ding Songyan muttered to himself as he approached.

"Ding Songyan, you’re finally here!" Ren Youyang sprang up, making no effort to hide his irritation.

He really waited for me all this time... Does this count as keeping a promise no matter what... Ding Songyan apologized immediately, then said to Ren Youyang, "Brother Youyang, I discovered something and rushed off to verify it. I forgot about you entirely."

Before Ren Youyang could speak, Ding Songyan leaned close to his canine ear and whispered, "The person tailing me appears to be a moth-man from the Feng Kingdom’s Moth-God Sect, controlled by a moth patriarch or moth matriarch."

"How do you know?" Ren Youyang had barely any impression of the Moth-God Sect and could not help his surprise and doubt.

His feelings were also diverted from the dissatisfaction and frustration of a long wait.

"I went to the Zhen estate. Heard it from someone there." Ding Songyan spoke half a sentence at a time, afraid he would "forget."

This was true, though he had reversed the chronology of events.

"The Zhen household..." Ren Youyang repeated the words.

Ding Songyan took the opportunity to relay the same things he had told Xiao Qing, such as that the Zhen household might be stalling, that they might be waiting for the right moment, that what they wanted might not be silver.

Ren Youyang drew a breath.

"That Zhen household is awfully secretive."

Bro, you said it perfectly! Ding Songyan hastened to add, "Even though I’m half a Zhen household member, I feel the same way too."

It was best to distance himself in advance.

"I need to go back and discuss this with my people." Ren Youyang turned his gaze to Ding Songyan.

He hesitated, then said with some embarrassment, "I genuinely couldn’t see what was wrong with that tail earlier. The art I practice isn’t really suited to that kind of thing."

"What divine art do you practice, Brother Youyang?" Ding Songyan asked casually, not expecting an answer.

If Ren Youyang actually gave one, he could factor it into future planning or split-second decisions.

Ren Youyang fell abruptly silent. Just as Ding Songyan was about to say "that was presumptuous of me, please don’t feel obligated," Ren Youyang let out a long sigh.

"The Useless Divine Art."

"Uh..." Ding Songyan was somewhat dumbfounded.

What kind of crappy name is that? You can’t tell what it’s good at or bad at. It sounds like it’s good at nothing. And it still calls itself a "divine art"!

Ren Youyang smiled sheepishly.

"You can’t judge a man by his appearance, and you can’t judge a martial art by its name.

"I’ll head back now. Next time I’ll treat you to drinks and company."

Then, with lingering trepidation, he sighed, "You didn’t show up this afternoon. I had to handle things alone. By the end I could barely keep up."

Wait, a martial practitioner shouldn’t be that drained from an afternoon at a song house, right? Ding Songyan watched Ren Youyang depart with suspicion.

...

After returning to Chengyu Lane for dinner, at half past six, Ding Songyan used the excuse of visiting Xu Chang’an and left the Ding family courtyard alone.

He found Xu Chang’an first, reminded him to cover for the alibi, then took advantage of the late-setting summer sun to exit through the nearest city gate and head toward the mass graves.

The route was entirely under watchtower surveillance. Some passersby hurried along; others strolled at leisure, looking as though they were returning from a rural outing.

By the time Ding Songyan reached the mass graves, the sky had darkened considerably. The trees here were dense and lush, casting deep shadows, refusing the distant sun, which had not yet touched the horizon, any entry.

Walking among them, Ding Songyan occasionally felt a faintly cold evening breeze and caught glimpses of bones scattered in the undergrowth and tree shade. He was not overly frightened.

This was partly because he had Yan Changqing’s qi at his disposal, and partly because he had already opened his yin eyes and seen the netherworld’s landscape. The mass graves no longer held the same terror.

As he walked, Ding Songyan gritted his teeth and ventured into the back of the hill on his own initiative.

He wanted to see whether leaving the watchtowers’ surveillance would draw something out.

The back hill grew darker still, more like night. The howls of wild animals sounded from time to time, and faint whiffs of decay drifted past.

Suddenly, mist appeared before Ding Songyan’s eyes, dissolving into the darkness. Swaying ghost figures emerged, drifting forward.

His yin eyes had activated on their own.

Triggered by the concentrated cadaveric energy and yin energy gathered at the back of the mass graves? Ding Songyan guessed while surveying his surroundings.

Trees and shallow graves were shrouded in mist, separated from one another. Near some of them, wandering ghosts still lingered.

Among them, one ghost was particularly strange. Its body extended into multiple phantoms, and the phantoms periodically swapped positions with the main form.

Ding Songyan controlled his inevitable fear and moved slightly closer.

As the distance shrank, he heard the strange, nearly dissipated ghost murmuring to itself, empty and lost.

"Blocked me nine times...

"Killed me nine times..."

What’s it saying? You have that many lives to lose? Nine times... Ding Songyan strained to recall the Secret Classic’s contents and finally found something that roughly matched.

"Heluo Fish: the result of consuming it? Ten lives, a hundred hands, freedom from harm."

"One head, ten bodies. Its cry is like a dog’s. It can also cure abscesses."

Ten lives and nine lives are close enough... It had already lost one life before? Ding Songyan, emboldened by the qi in possession, addressed the strange ghost with some curiosity.

"Who killed you?"

The ghost repeated its previous murmuring, completely ignoring Ding Songyan. It did not approach to harm him either.

Ding Songyan thought for a moment. While his yin eyes were still active, he transferred the hazy "seed" from his sea of consciousness to his throat.

Perhaps he needed this to bridge the gap, just like before.

Ding Songyan opened his mouth again. His voice was cold and ethereal.

"Who killed you?"

The ghostly figure replied in a daze, "The sect master..."

"Which sect are you from?" Ding Songyan blurted out in shock.

The strange ghost did not answer. It resumed repeating its earlier words.

Ding Songyan tried different questions but obtained nothing more.

He could only conclude that this ghost had been dead too long. Having been a moderately powerful practitioner in life and harboring deep obsession, a remnant of its soul persisted to this day. But only this tiny fragment of memory remained.

Thinking of this, thinking of the mass graves’ location, several ideas struck Ding Songyan at once.

The original Ding Songyan had died in a ruined temple on the way to the mass graves. It had now been just over seven days and an hour or two since then.

There is a folk belief about the spirit returning on the seventh day... It is also nearly nightfall now... If I went to that ruined temple or back home and opened my yin eyes, might I be able to see the original Ding Songyan’s ghost and exchange a few words with him? 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

If I could learn what truly happened to him, who killed him, many mysteries would be solved and the enemy would become clear...

Ding Songyan’s eyes narrowed. He spun around and strode toward the ruined temple that lay between the mass graves and the city gate.