Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 241: Frightened Away

Ding Songyan looked at Luo Mingyin, momentarily tongue-tied.

Twelfth Madam, you had this scheme up your sleeve?

Sure enough, the name Luo Mingyin is fake and her face is disguised. Whether it’s Master’s husband or Miss Xiao Qing, there’s no way they’d figure out her identity...

Then again, I wanted to build a reputation as a romantic anyway, so Little Sister would stop fixating on Senior Sister and stop using severing worldly ties to rap my knuckles...

Anyway, Senior Sister surely believes me, and I’ve hinted at the reason. Besides, she’s a reasonable girl. Twelfth Madam and I really are innocent. I only covet her martial arts...

Hehe, I still have solid evidence to convince everyone...

Ding Songyan naturally did not let these thoughts show. Facing Luo Mingyin’s rather smug smile, he sucked in a breath as if he had a headache.

"Oh, come on, you’re killing me here!"

Twelfth Madam Luo tilted her head slightly and clicked her tongue with a laugh.

"And who started it?"

"I did," Ding Songyan admitted his fault honestly.

"Every cause has its effect. Once there’s a name, it naturally influences reality." Twelfth Madam Luo curled up the corners of her mouth, speaking with a smile.

A name affects reality? Is this half "revenge" on me and half instruction in the Way of Name and Reality? Twelfth Madam’s name is false, so it can’t harm her reality, but mine will have an effect... But how does that show up in martial arts? Ding Songyan suddenly cupped his hands in salute.

"I am grateful for the instruction."

Twelfth Madam Luo laughed.

"Though you are smart, the instruction really was incidental. Watching you eat humble pie was the main purpose."

After a few breaths of silence, Ding Songyan said, "I’ll move over right now to look after the injured man for a few days."

Twelfth Madam Luo was stunned.

"Got nothing to lose now, so you’re going down in flames?"

If Ding Songyan truly didn’t want to, she wouldn’t force him.

"I said long ago that if you have any need, Twelfth Madam, I’m at your beck and call. A Brightnight Sect disciple’s word is worth a thousand gold. How could I go back on it?" Ding Songyan said solemnly.

From her earlier displays, Twelfth Madam is no weaker than me and could well be a Heaven-Man Realm Supreme Master. Moving over for a few days also lets me dodge my undeserved little sister.

As for a spotless reputation, do I even have such a thing?

Twelfth Madam Luo studied Ding Songyan for a moment, then nodded approvingly.

"As for the word ’trustworthy,’ you’re passable."

While Wu Zheng circulated qi to heal, Ding Songyan returned to the side courtyard of the estate and put his toothbrush, clothes, and other things into a bundle.

As he walked out, he took the initiative to say without waiting for Li Baima and company to ask, "Someone has been bothering Twelfth Madam at night, and the watchtower can’t find him. I’ll stay at the wine shop a few nights to catch the culprit.

"Ah, if you help someone, help them all the way. Since I’ve been Twelfth Madam’s shield, only I can handle this kind of thing."

Ding Songyan looked helpless and compassionate.

This time, Fan Chunlin and the other two half believed him.

Though they raised no questions, their eyes were not as trusting as before.

Why won’t they believe that Twelfth Madam and I are truly innocent? Ding Songyan shook his head and changed the subject.

"Do you want to know what Young Master Brightstream gave me two days ago?"

"Yes." Fan Chunlin and the others looked at Ding Songyan with curious eyes.

Ding Songyan said smugly, "Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill."

"Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill?" As men who frequented the Hengbo River, Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin had long heard of this divine medicine.

They were shocked and envious.

Ding Songyan sighed.

"After eating this pill, I can’t have sex for seven days and release my essence. Fourth Young Master Jiang even specially didn’t come to disturb me for seven days. If it weren’t for my promise, why would I go to see a woman at this time and help Twelve Mother capture the troublemaker?"

Li Baima and the other two immediately came to a realization.

No wonder Brother Ding rarely went out for the past two days!

There is indeed nothing between him and Twelve Mothers. If there’s really something, how could he hold it in after moving over these past few days?

Brother Ding is benevolent!

Ding Songyan knew when to stop. He avoided the gazes of nearly everyone and circled back to the back courtyard of the Cheap Wine Shop.

He had just put his bundle on the desk in the main building and chatted with Twelfth Madam Luo for a few sentences when he saw Wu Zheng open the east wing door and come out.

The twenty-three- or twenty-four-year-old man’s face was still pale and his steps rather unsteady.

"Thank you both for saving my life." Wu Zheng bowed solemnly. "May I ask your names? I’ll surely repay you richly someday."

"Just call me Second Ding. This is Twelfth Madam." Ding Songyan looked at Wu Zheng. "Are you planning to leave?"

Wu Zheng nodded lightly.

"My wounds aren’t fully healed but thanks to your miraculous medicine, my life is no longer in danger. And the group chasing me includes at least two Grandmasters. If I stay here, I’ll implicate you both."

His serious injuries had become ordinary ones.

Twelfth Madam Luo said in an even voice,

"You still need a few days to recover. Stay for now. If the authorities launch a large-scale search around here, I’ll find a way to send you to the Phoenix Terrace Study. If no officials are involved, two Grandmasters and a dozen or so people won’t find this place anytime soon."

Finding it would be fine too... Ding Songyan added silently on Twelfth Madam’s behalf.

Seeing both benefactors perfectly composed, Wu Zheng suddenly understood something.

They must both be Dharma Realm Grandmasters.

This let Wu Zheng quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

His spirit and soul were also damaged, and the Life-Sustaining Pill was of limited effect there. He had struggled to step out just now, and once that breath left him, he grew dizzy and nearly lost his balance.

Ding Songyan helped him back to the east wing and settled him again.

When Ding Songyan returned to the main building, Twelfth Madam Luo had cleared the spot where the tea table used to sit and spread a felt mat there as his bed.

"Luckily it’s only early winter." Ding Songyan joked.

Twelfth Madam Luo rolled her eyes at him.

"A Dharma Realm Grandmaster like you is afraid of sleeping on a felt mat for a few nights?"

Ding Songyan was about to reply when he turned toward the back courtyard’s side door, and Twelfth Madam Luo cast her gaze there too.

"Someone’s sneaking around, seemingly wanting to slip in and search." Ding Songyan said to Twelfth Madam Luo with a smile, "I’ll go send him off."

Twelfth Madam Luo nodded with interest.

"Don’t draw the watchtower’s attention."

She picked up a few winter jujubes, walked into the courtyard, and assumed the posture of a spectator.

Ding Songyan did not bring Frostshade along. Instead, on his way to the side door, he casually picked up a broom.

In the deep night, he suddenly pushed open the courtyard gate and startled an old man hiding in the shadows by the wall.

The old man was in his fifties or sixties, wearing a black long robe, his head sickly white, his eyes distinctly crossed, his nose large and fleshy, his mouth slightly protruding, and sharp spikes in place of fingernails on both hands.

"Old sir, what are you doing outside my home?" Ding Songyan struck the pose of sweeping fallen leaves from the doorway and asked with puzzlement.

From the old man’s physical features and Wu Zheng’s damaged soul, Ding Songyan roughly guessed the old man’s legacy.

Qi Que, shaped like a chicken with a white head, rat’s feet, and tiger claws. Eating it lets one pierce metal and iron and stab souls.

Having been inexplicably noticed, the old man could only smile darkly.

"Young sir, my cat wandered off while playing. I wanted to look around your courtyard to see if it’s hiding here. Sorry to trouble you."

Ding Songyan shook his head warily.

"On a dark windy night, how could I let a stranger into my home?

"Old sir, why not meow a few times? If your cat is really hiding nearby, it will surely answer you."

Make, make me, a proud Grandmaster, meow like a cat? The old man flushed with embarrassed anger, blood rushing up.

Pretending to be a rash fellow, he took a step to the left, meaning to go around the young man at the gate and barge into the courtyard.

Just then, Ding Songyan’s broom swung out to the right, to gather the fallen leaves there.

The old man’s gaze froze. He felt that if he did not stop, his knee would strike the broom, and if that broom were a spear, many deadly variations would follow.

Instinctively he wrenched his waist and back, forcibly pulling back the step he had taken.

Ding Songyan’s broom dropped to the ground and swept the leaves toward himself and toward the old man’s feet.

The old man, who had just forced his left foot back, had no strength to switch moves in time. A murderous light flashed in his eyes. Neither dodging nor evading, he leaned his body forward, raised both arms, and "pushed" at the man blocking his way.

Every spike on his palms carried the intent to startle the spirit.

After Ding Songyan gathered the leaves before him, the broom naturally lifted upward, and as the old man’s body leaned forward, the space between his legs was wide open.

In that instant, the old man broke into a cold sweat, his back drenched through his robe.

He gave up the attack and violently twisted his waist, rolling sideways.

He first rolled, then lashed his right leg backward with a slap to stop the pursuing opponent, and only then did a kip up to quickly flip upright.

After these few moves, he was already about twelve meters away.

He looked over, still shaken, and saw the young man still standing in place, sweeping leaves and gazing at him in surprise.

"Old sir, this is how your family trains cats?"

The old man fell silent at once, eyed Ding Songyan uncertainly a few times, and forced out a slight smile.

"I’ll go look elsewhere."

He turned and walked out of Tiger Tail Alley without looking back.

Ding Songyan carefully cleaned up the leaves at the gate before walking into the courtyard, where he saw Twelfth Madam Luo had finished her winter jujubes and was studying him thoughtfully.

"I thought you’d follow that Grandmaster and find out who wants the Myriad Fires Origin Art," the shopkeeper said casually.

Ding Songyan smiled as he walked to the stone table.

"This matter seems to run deep. I’m afraid that if I tail him, I’ll run into some Supreme Master."

The same reason lay behind not waiting until the man had slipped into the courtyard, when he could have hidden it from the watchtower, killed him, and spirit channeled him. He was worried that given the unclear situation, fully exacerbating the conflict would bring variables he could not withstand.

As for Twelfth Madam Luo’s exact realm, Ding Songyan could only guess for now and could not rely on it entirely. Besides, given the current situation in the Flame Capital, a single Supreme Master could not necessarily do as she pleased.

And choosing to enter his dreams would first require knocking him unconscious, which was harder than killing him. Without knowing the target, the Dream Sword could evoke only a limited amount of real memories.

"You’re more cautious than I thought," Twelfth Madam Luo commented.

I just screwed up a few days ago, so how could I not be cautious? Twelfth Madam is so composed... Ding Songyan observed and judged, thought for a moment, and said, "Twelfth Madam, don’t you think this is a bit of a coincidence? Wu Zheng happened to collapse within both our sensing ranges."

Twelfth Madam Luo sighed.

"The past two days, the qi of the Flame Capital shifted as a whole. Coincidences like this are normal."

"A whole-region shift in qi brings fated crossings?" Ding Songyan tried to understand this claim.

Twelfth Madam Luo nodded, stood up, and held out her right hand.

"Give me the broom."

Ding Songyan handed over the broom, not knowing why.

Twelfth Madam Luo waved the broom a few times, then paused in thought.

"Twelfth Madam, what are you doing?" Ding Songyan asked curiously.

Twelfth Madam Luo looked at him.

"You frightened away a Grandmaster so effortlessly. If someone else comes looking later and I have to go to great lengths to get rid of them, wouldn’t I be losing to you?"

Twelfth Madam, you’re quite competitive... Ding Songyan laughed in dismay.

Next time someone tries to sneak in and search, I’ll let Twelfth Madam handle it, and get a peek at her depth.

If Twelfth Madam hadn’t insisted on watching the show, I could have manifested Mirror Lake Divine Reflection to frighten off that old man while listening to his inner voice.

...

In a courtyard near the Treasure Market.

The old man whom Ding Songyan had frightened away said to the person before him, "Of those alleys, only one courtyard hasn’t been secretly searched yet.

"But the owner of that courtyard has unfathomable strength and noticed my infiltration. I dared not force my way in."

The person before the old man was also in his fifties, with yellow-black leopard markings on his face and two ox horns on his head. He snorted.

"Unfathomable? How do you know it’s unfathomable?"