Chapter 20: Summer Night

A voice that was perfectly pleasant by any measure fell upon Ding Songyan’s ears like a death knell.

Shit. I forgot someone would come knocking for the next Chapter!

Ding Songyan’s eyes snapped open and he sat upright.

From the other side of the screen, Qingyan asked drowsily, "Second Brother, why did you suddenly sit up?"

Ding Songyan had already turned to look beside the oiled-paper window where Xiaoqing stood with a faint smile.

She wore a plain white round-collared jacket over a pleated skirt of silk yellow. Her hair was loosely gathered with a pearl-flower golden hairpin that swayed with her movements before they softly cascaded.

In the bright moonlight, she raised her right index finger and pressed it vertically to her lips.

Ding Songyan understood her meaning immediately. He spoke through the screen to Qingyan. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I got home late today and forgot I still haven’t written tomorrow morning’s story. I have to get up and work."

In my last life I had to stay up late working. In this life it’s the same?

Qingyan’s tone relaxed, tinged with a smile.

"All the best, Second Brother. I’ll be waiting to read it in the morning."

Not even a word of concern for her brother. You didn’t even tell me not to burn the midnight oil... Ding Songyan pulled on his clothes, shifted the wooden chests, and assembled his makeshift desk and chair.

He lit the oil lamp, set out paper and inkstone, glanced at Xiaoqing who had already seated herself on the edge of the bed, then rubbed his face to drive out the last traces of sleep.

The crucial scene in this installment was the flooding of Jinshan Temple. But it couldn’t be just a fighting spectacle. The characters’ transformations and the eruption of emotion mattered more.

So he let Xu Xian watch Bai Suzhen come to his rescue in defiance of all danger, heedless of her own life. He let Xu Xian recall every tender moment between them, until he finally conquered his terror of the snake-yao and chose to walk to his wife’s side. His action made Lady Bai go from "rain is heartbroken, and the wind sheds tears" to "just for these words, heartbreak holds no regrets1."

Woven through it all were content related to the modern Chinese meme, "Great Vajra Dragon," "overturning rivers and seas," and "Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms," written with dazzling flair and spectacular verve.

The moment Ding Songyan finished a page and set it aside to dry, Xiaoqing snatched it up to read—one page after another.

"Hurry up," Xiaoqing urged with a nasal voice.

Feeling that his sister on the other side of the screen had fallen soundly asleep, Ding Songyan finally dared speak aloud. He replied helplessly, "Miss Xiaoqing, how can I possibly write as fast as you read?"

Ever since Xiaoqing had revealed her serpent tail, his form of address for her had quietly reverted to "miss" and "Miss Xiaoqing."

From "miss" to "heroine," then from "heroine" back to "miss." They had grown considerably closer.

Xiaoqing understood the situation too. She sniffled and said, "I just can’t wait to find out what happens next."

I’m afraid you’ll hit me later... Ding Songyan shook his head inwardly and flicked his brush.

With Yan Nantian’s initial aid and Xiaoqing the Green Snake’s desperate fighting, Bai Suzhen succeeded in carrying Xu Xian out of Jinshan Temple. But she had been goaded by Fahai into flooding the area, harming innocents and violating the laws of heaven. In the end, the husband and wife were separated, and she was imprisoned forever beneath Leifeng Pagoda.

After reading this final page, Xiaoqing said nothing for a long time.

Before she could speak, Ding Songyan took the initiative.

"The rest of the story goes roughly like this. Xu Xian blames himself and retreats from the world to cultivate in a Daoist temple. Xu Shilin, the reincarnation of the Wenqu Star, grows up under the care of his aunt and uncle. After getting into trouble repeatedly, he learns the truth of who his birth parents are and where they each can be found.

"He travels far, joins a top sect, masters powerful arts, and finally cleaves open Mount Hua—no, Leifeng Pagoda. He frees Lady Bai, then goes to the temple to bring back Xu Xian. At last the family is reunited."

As he improvised, Ding Songyan realized he was drifting toward The Magic Lotus Lantern with its character, Chenxiang, splitting a mountain to save his mother.

"Good, good, good!" Xiaoqing said, a slight catch in her voice.

Once her emotions had stabilized, Ding Songyan decided to steer toward his real purpose.

"Miss Xiaoqing, my difficulty now is this—which sect should Xu Shilin join? Which art should he cultivate so that it’s suited to defeating Fahai and breaking open Leifeng Pagoda..."

He had previously established Xu Shilin as a reincarnation of the Wenqu Star. First, it was because this world placed martial material above literary material, and common folk preferred tales of martial training. Second, it planted a seed for extracting information from Xiaoqing later, giving himself a ready-made excuse. One thing led naturally to the next.

Xiaoqing dabbed at the corners of her eyes and looked at Ding Songyan, waiting for him to continue.

Ding Songyan rambled on. "As you know, I’ve forgotten a great deal. My current understanding of the jianghu is limited to the anecdotes and tales other storytellers tell. Beyond that, I know nothing."

Then he showed his hand.

"May I ask for your guidance?"

"Oh." Xiaoqing blinked in surprise, then straightened with delight, assuming the posture of a distinguished teacher.

She hadn’t expected that she could participate in the creative process or be giving Ding Songyan direction.

Clearing her throat, she nodded slowly.

"I know a thing or two about the jianghu.

"Hm. The Heaventoppling Way’s martial arts come from Gonggong, who fought for the throne of Celestial Thearch before the severing of heaven and earth. It’s called the Mountain-Breaking Heaven-Toppling Scripture. In ancient times this art could shatter Mount Buzhou itself, let alone a mere pagoda reinforced by a formation array. Even in this age, it shouldn’t be a problem once cultivated to a high level."

Gonggong? Commands all waters, crushes a thousand mountains, lord of wrath, shatters heaven and ruins earth, destroys law and order... Ding Songyan mulled it over and asked, "Where is this Heaventoppling Way now?"

"It’s currently one of the Upper Nine among the Twenty-One Heretical Ways. Which exactly, I don’t know," Xiaoqing answered honestly.

Ding Songyan tersely acknowledged. "That won’t do, will it? Xu Shilin would be practicing heretical arts."

"Gonggong’s lineage has good branches too! The Water Virtue Annotation is one." Xiaoqing also felt that Ding Songyan had a point, but had argued back before conceding. "Fine, try a different one. The Nine Heavens Sect’s Record of Primordial Chaos Heaven Opening derives from Zhulong the Torch Dragon. Its fundamental method, the Heaven-Opening Skill, is more than enough to split apart Leifeng Pagoda."

The Torch Dragon lineage... Heaven-Opening Skill... Isn’t that giving Leifeng Pagoda too much credit? Ding Songyan asked, curious, "Which nation is the Nine Heavens Sect in?"

"New Yu." Xiaoqing maintained her professorial bearing as a teacher.

"That... also won’t work, will it?" Ding Songyan said hesitantly. "New Yu is practically an enemy nation. How can I have Xu Shilin learning enemy martial arts?"

Xiaoqing was caught between annoyance and laughter.

"Where do you get all these restrictions?"

"They’re not my restrictions. The audience won’t like it." Ding Songyan put on a smile. "Most people listening to my stories are citizens of Great Zhao. I can’t put them off."

Xiaoqing sighed with resignation.

"Then the Xingtian clan’s Heaven-Shattering Precious Record."

"The Xingtian clan..." Ding Songyan pointed at his own head. "Won’t the appearance be too frightening? Xu Shilin is supposed to be a handsome young man."

Xiaoqing couldn’t help raising her eyes to the ceiling beams.

"Let me think, let me think... The Divine Empyrean Sect. The Divine Empyrean Sect that you people from Great Zhao can call your own. Whether it’s the Collection of Heavenly Punishment on Heaven’s Behalf or the Nine Palaces of Divine Empyrean, both have a fierce, overwhelming aspect capable of crushing mountains and destroying cities. At the appropriate realm, snapping Leifeng Pagoda in half wouldn’t be too difficult."

"That’s perfect, that’s perfect." Ding Songyan stopped finding fault.

This suited Xu Shilin well.

Moreover, the earlier part of the story had Lady Bai imprisoned beneath Leifeng Pagoda for violating the laws of heaven. If Xu Shilin then cultivated the Collection of Heavenly Punishment on Heaven’s Behalf, the two mirrored each other perfectly. Crime and punishment, ordained from the start.

Xiaoqing smiled, then frowned slightly.

"You absolutely cannot use the real names of these two arts when you tell the story. Otherwise, before you even finish this installment, you’ll be sitting in the prefectural jail.

"You’ll need to change them."

So the orthodox sects only publicize the heretical paths’ fundamental arts, while keeping their own secret? Ding Songyan thought for a moment, recalling a martial art from his previous life whose name was absurd enough that he couldn’t fully reproduce it.

"How about changing it to... the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Even Bodhisattvas Fear, Thunderbolt Lightning Palm?"

"Drop the ’Even Bodhisattvas Fear.’ It’s too undignified," Xiaoqing critiqued. "Mm. Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Thunderbolt Lightning Palm is not bad."

Ding Songyan took the opportunity to ask, "Miss Xiaoqing, do you know anything about the Brightnight Sect?"

"You want to write the Brightnight Sect into the story as the righteous faction, to curry favor with them?" Xiaoqing thought she had guessed his intentions.

She reflected for a moment.

"The Brightnight Sect’s lineage descends from the two goddesses Brightnight and Candlelight. Each left behind a fundamental art. One is the Celestial Stars Scripture, the other is the Candlelit Nocturne Sutra. Unfortunately, both lost the portions covering the final stage of the Dharma Realm through to the Heaven-Man Realm.

"Don’t mention these two fundamental arts directly either. What the jianghu knows are the individual techniques derived from them, like the Waxing Moon Phantom Form, the Southern Dipper Calamity-Averting Steps, the Northern Dipper Killing Sword, and the Seven Swords of Candlelit Night."

Celestial Stars Scripture? Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow. "Is there a Celestial Stars Formation?"

"The critical parts were lost long ago. The formation can’t be assembled at all," Xiaoqing answered offhandedly.

Then she froze, looking at Ding Songyan with suspicion.

"How do you know about the Celestial Stars Formation?"

"The Celestial Stars Scripture obviously corresponds to the full celestial sphere. And that sounds like it would naturally lend itself to a formation." Ding Songyan improvised an excuse on the spot.

Xiaoqing accepted this without suspicion, the golden hairpin atop her head bobbing.

"Currently there’s only a seven-man Northern Dipper Sword Formation and a thirty-six-man Celestial Guardian Sword Formation."

Ding Songyan badly wanted to ask whether the Brightnight Sect possessed a complete copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas. But the timing felt wrong. He was not supposed to know about the Secret Classic at this point. He suppressed the impulse and asked hesitantly, "What does the Brightnight Sect value most when accepting disciples?"

Xiaoqing glanced at him.

"How would I know?

"Who would bother with such things?"

I would... Ding Songyan was faintly disappointed.

Still, this line of inquiry was now out in the open. He could gather more from the Zhen household later.

Xiaoqing set the page in her hand back on the wooden chest and stood, waving with a full smile.

"Ding Songyan, rest well. You’d better be in a good state for tomorrow’s storytelling."

And who was it that interrupted my rest? Ding Songyan turned and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Xiaoqing, who was about to leave herself, asked curiously.

Ding Songyan sighed.

"It’s sweltering in summer and stifling indoors. If I open the window, the mosquitoes swarm in. I was thinking of cooling off in the courtyard for a bit before sleeping."

Between the heat and writing for so long, he was drenched in sweat.

"Oh, oh." Xiaoqing said helpfully with a smile. "Let me help you."

She raised a hand and pressed it against Ding Songyan’s shoulder.

His vision went black as he felt his body shift. Then he was looking at his own courtyard wall and front door—from the outside.

"I think the stretch from your Chengyu Lane to Fengshui Bridge is both cool and pleasant. You should try it." Xiaoqing appeared before him with her maidservant, pressed her palms together, and smiled. "We’ll be going now."

Ding Songyan looked at the tightly shut door and the rather high courtyard wall.

"Miss Xiaoqing, how am I supposed to get back inside to sleep?"

Xiaoqing blinked. For a moment she had no answer.

Ding Songyan was about to speak again when the corner of his eye caught something. At the mouth of the lane, faint mist dissolved into the darkness, and within it, indistinct figures moving—some in ragged clothes, others in armor, carrying blades.

In a blink of an eye, all of it was gone.

From "Waiting for a Thousand Years," the theme song of The New Legend of Madam White Snake.