Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 250: Deep in the Night

"Okay?" Ding Songyan froze, barely registering the word.

Twelfth Madam Luo, holding half a red-yellow-green apple, arched an eyebrow.

"I said yes. But only this once."

That easy? I figured I’d have to beg a few more times... Ding Songyan was both startled and delighted. He bowed deeply.

"Twelfth Madam, you’re a true hero, loyal and generous to the core, always first to help those in need..."

"Stop!" Twelfth Madam Luo cut off his gushing. "Lay it on any thicker and I’m backing out."

The shopkeeper rubbed her right sleeve with her left hand.

"You’re giving me goosebumps..."

Ding Songyan grinned.

"Can I help it if my gratitude flows like a mighty river, endless and unbroken?"

Before she could scold him, he said gravely, "Twelfth Madam, that Demoness Ji ate Chaos remains some years ago, and last year she reached the Heaven-Man Realm through Chaos methods. You can’t treat her like an ordinary opponent."

"Chaos remains..." Twelfth Madam Luo nodded thoughtfully.

Suddenly her eyes shifted to Ding Songyan, and she said with a smile, "No wonder I ran into you."

Huh... she’s worked that out already? Twelfth Madam is sharp indeed... Ding Songyan neither confirmed nor denied it.

He polished off the apple in two or three bites and said to Luo Mingyin, "I’m off to the estate for guard duty."

"Slacking today, are we?" Twelfth Madam Luo teased.

He had skipped his morning practice.

"Something came up. I’ll make it up when I’m back at noon," Ding Songyan explained offhandedly.

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized the exchange sounded a bit off, like they were discussing marital duties.

Seeing Twelfth Madam’s expression unchanged, with no sign she’d read anything into it, Ding Songyan gave a self-mocking smile, picked up Frostshade, and left the back courtyard through the side door.

This is what too much internet in my last life does to you. A mind full of smut.

It was still early when Ding Songyan reached the estate’s side courtyard. He changed into his guard’s uniform and headed toward the annex.

Wang Zhou was practicing his sword when he suddenly sensed something and looked toward the door.

Ding Songyan, whom he hadn’t seen for days, stood there smiling.

"What brings you here today?" Wang Zhou sheathed his sword and asked with a smile.

He had heard some rumors, but he trusted Ding Songyan to know what he was doing.

On that score, he found this junior far too mature for his age.

Ding Songyan glanced around and lowered his voice.

"Master Granduncle, I have something to report."

As he spoke, the air around them dimmed slightly, as if sealed in an invisible barrier.

Seeing how solemn Ding Songyan was, Wang Zhou’s smile faded and he nodded.

"Go ahead."

Ding Songyan began with Commander Han Shun asking him to spirit channel, then covered the death of the Fire-Wielding School head, how he and Twelfth Madam had happened to rescue Wu Zheng, Prince Shen sending people to seize the Divine Lord of Fire Virtue’s legacy, and how he had frightened off a Grandmaster and shifted the blame onto Twelfth Madam by posing as her pretty boy. He left out only his own story and Twelfth Madam’s past.

At the end he cautioned, "Master Granduncle, if the estate asks you to take on any task these days, be careful not to wade into murky waters, and don’t trust your companions too readily."

Wang Zhou listened intently, then let out a long sigh.

"I understand. This isn’t something our Brightnight Sect can get mixed up in.

"And don’t go chasing after the truth. If we use Candle-Star Pupils to check whether any of the candidates for consort carry Demon Seeds or are disguised, we’ll have done right by Prince Kang."

Let the imperial family sort out their own affairs.

The Grand Elder of the Brightnight Sect was upright and righteous himself, but in matters like this he lacked the power to match his will, and could only do what was within his means.

At a critical moment he would lay down his life for justice, but he would not let Ding Songyan perish in the Flame Capital.

Once the warning was delivered, Ding Songyan withdrew the power of Establishing the Six Directions.

Wang Zhou’s face had returned to normal. He said with a smile, "A couple of days ago someone told me you’d moved into the back courtyard of that Cheap Wine Shop and were living with that Luo Mingyin. Knowing you, I figured there had to be a reason, but I never expected it to be this big, or that Luo Mingyin might be a Heaven-Man."

The Grand Elder went on, somewhat reflective, "To keep the secret and spare the sect, you chose to smear your own name. Luckily that crowd can’t stand the light either, so they won’t spread it around. Otherwise I shudder to think what the jianghu would make of you.

"Still, the estate guards aren’t saying anything pleasant about you right now."

"Someone can vouch for me," Ding Songyan said, reassuring his master granduncle.

"Who?" Wang Zhou was taken aback.

Clearing one’s name was among the hardest things in the world. Once mud was flung and people formed a bias, it was nearly impossible to wash off.

People always preferred to believe the worst.

Don’t tell me you have a chastity mark?

Wagging tongues are fearsome...

"Young Master Brightstream Jiang Lanting and my colleagues here." Ding Songyan explained the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill in detail, lest his master granduncle think he meant to offset the rumors about Twelfth Madam with a taste for men.

Finally he said, "It’s a matter of the nether regions, the kind of thing everyone loves to hear, spread, and discuss. Once it gets around, they’ll know I was acting out of loyalty and not out of lechery."

Wang Zhou laughed in dismay.

"You’ve got that trick up your sleeve? I worried for nothing.

"They say seven days. How many was it really?"

"Two," Ding Songyan said honestly. "I’d finished absorbing the medicine and went to Twelfth Madam to ask about the Way of Name and Reality and the qi of heaven and earth, and ran into that man collapsed in the back alley."

"You’re a martial maniac, aren’t you? Can’t wait a single moment," Wang Zhou said, shaking his head with a smile.

If Luo Mingyin weren’t a presumed orthodox Supreme Master who would surely guard her dignity, he would have found it hard not to suspect Ding Songyan had other motives.

Who goes looking for the so-called lover in his own rumors the moment he’s absorbed a Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill?

Ding Songyan suddenly turned bashful and cleared his throat.

"Master Granduncle, um, if Senior Sister misunderstands because of this someday, please help me explain."

Hearing this, Wang Zhou finally relaxed completely and laughed.

"Very well. But you rascal, be more careful from now on. Stop slinging mud at yourself!"

After a round of affectionate scolding, the Grand Elder asked gravely, "Which Supreme Master do you think Luo Mingyin is?"

"I have a guess but I can’t be sure. Some of her behavior doesn’t fit," Ding Songyan said thoughtfully. "And I don’t plan to go around asking with what I’ve learned. Sometimes it’s best to stay a little muddled. Guessing right might not be a good thing."

At least not before Twelfth Madam finished instructing him on the Way of Name and Reality, since exposing her identity could change things and make her leave the Flame Capital early.

Wang Zhou agreed, "Right. Since a hermit master like that chooses to live incognito as a wine shop keeper, we should play along and never blow her cover."

With that settled, Ding Songyan returned to the side courtyard and went with Li Baima and the others to guard the northeast corner gate.

On the way he asked with a half smile, "Did you tell anyone I took the Tiger-Leopard Dragon-Concealing Pill?"

"No," Li Baima said. "It’s your private business, Brother Ding. If you don’t want us spreading it, we won’t."

Ding Songyan lowered his voice with a smile.

"Of course I want you to spread it. It’s a feather in my cap. Which man doesn’t want others looking at him with admiration and envy?"

"Got it!" Wu Mo understood at once.

Fan Chunlin hesitated, then said, "Brother Ding, you took the pill the day Young Master Jiang visited, right? By tomorrow evening, you should be done absorbing it.

"If you’re still staying at the Cheap Wine Shop tomorrow night, I’m afraid it’ll hurt your good name."

Ding Songyan was deeply touched.

What a brother, still believing I have a good name!

"I haven’t caught the nuisance yet, but I should have results in the next day or two," Ding Songyan said earnestly.

Once Twelfth Madam had scared off Demoness Ji once, he could move back to the estate’s side courtyard.

After guard duty, Ding Songyan changed clothes, strolled in through the side door of the wine shop’s back courtyard, and made up his morning practice as promised.

By the time he finished, the lunch rush had been over for a while, and Twelfth Madam Luo had set several dishes and two bowls of rice on the stone table.

"You haven’t eaten?" Ding Songyan asked.

Twelfth Madam Luo pursed her lips.

"A few people came begging for a scolding just now, and they were lining up."

"Who?" Ding Songyan asked, picking at the food.

Twelfth Madam Luo sat across from him and, as she ate, told him about the customers, and Ding Songyan chimed in with a curse now and then.

The slow, easy day soon turned to night. Ding Songyan gave Twelfth Madam an ingratiating smile and went back to the east wing to lie down.

Even lying here feels safe!

......

After nightfall.

Ji Hanyi, in her white fur-trimmed cloak, regarded the bright-eyed moth-man before her, nodded slightly, and murmured with a soft laugh.

"My good Second Brother has moved in with that Luo Mingyin?

"Is he putting on this elaborate act to protect his Senior Sister Zheng, or is he truly a rake who falls for every woman he meets?

"I’ll go see for myself who this Luo Mingyin is..."

With a smile on her lips, Ji Hanyi pulled up her cloak’s hood, casting her peerless face in shadow.

She passed through layer upon layer of darkness and emerged beneath the big tree at the mouth of Tiger Tail Alley.

In the distance, the Cheap Wine Shop had closed for the night and slept in the deep dark.

Just as Ji Hanyi was about to step forward, she sensed the surroundings turn strangely dark. The bright moon and countless stars overhead vanished.

A spear tip appeared in her eyes.

It seemed to fill the whole world, drawing in every shred of light, and crushed down at Ji Hanyi as if a heavenly tribulation had descended.

Its vast weight carried all the righteousness of the world.

Ji Hanyi’s expression did not change. Her white sleeves, trimmed in pale green, suddenly swept up.

The darkness before her abruptly congealed, layer upon layer, meaning to trap the spear tip like a mosquito in amber.

The spear tip held true and straight. Whatever stood in its path was pierced and shattered, yet the layers of darkness kept collapsing and re-forming.

The spear slowed as a result, and then it ignited with crimson-gold flames.

This drove it to break free in a surge and punch through the barriers, unstoppable.

It reached Ji Hanyi.

A finger that seemed condensed from shadow reached out and touched the spear tip squarely.

In that instant, everything froze.

The moonless, starless world crumbled bit by bit and collapsed in silence.

The crimson-gold flame, the spear tip gathering all the light, and the finger of shadow vanished together.

Ji Hanyi drifted backward and landed several meters away.

A cool, clear woman’s voice came from nowhere and floated into her ears.

"You’ve finally reached the Heaven-Man Realm."

Ji Hanyi’s expression shifted slightly. She narrowed her eyes toward where the voice might have come from, but no trace of her opponent remained.

After a few breaths, she murmured, "Feng Yining..."