Hearing the blotchy-nosed man’s challenge, Ding Songyan caught something that did not fit.

Why are you angry?

There should be no anger...

According to his earlier reasoning, this man had seen someone who should be dead walking around alive again. That would explain shock, fear, or unease. But not fury.

Surely you don’t kill a man and then get angry when his ghost comes back to haunt you?

Was my guess wrong?

With this doubt forming, Ding Songyan did not answer immediately. He simply watched the man in silence.

When you cannot think of a good answer, say nothing.

The blotchy-nosed man grew more agitated under the silence.

"Hallmaster Chen offered you more than enough silver. Why have you come back?

"You could have waited until things settled down and then quietly sent for your family!"

Hallmaster Chen. Who? It sounds like someone who had paid the original Ding Songyan to disappear. The previous owner of this body really had gotten mixed up in something... Ding Songyan thought for a moment, then decided to bluff.

He gave a cold laugh.

"If I hadn’t come back, I would already be dead with no one to bury me."

The blotchy-nosed man blurted out, "Hallmaster Chen would never kill you, he wouldn’t silence—"

His voice trailed off, growing quieter with each word, confidence draining visibly away.

In the end he could not finish the thought. He changed the subject with forced bluster, turning the question back on Ding Songyan. "If you say Hallmaster Chen tried to harm you, why not report it to the authorities?"

Ding Songyan, who knew nothing about the actual situation, offered no answer with practiced ease. He only smiled and asked in return, "Indeed. Why haven’t I reported it?"

The blotchy-nosed man’s lips moved. It was a long time before he spoke again.

"You already survived. Why not take the chance to disappear, change your name, start fresh somewhere far away? Why come back looking for death?"

Oh, so you also think reporting to the authorities is unlikely. Meaning whatever the original Ding Songyan got involved in cannot be brought into the open, cannot be known by the government or the local orthodox sects. And Hallmaster Chen genuinely might kill to keep it quiet... When I chose not to go to the authorities, it was only because I knew nothing about this world and could only follow my family’s advice to seek help from the Zhen household. A lucky accident... Ding Songyan weighed his words and gave another cold laugh.

"I came back because I don’t have a coin to my name. Where else would I go?"

The blotchy-nosed man was nearly speechless.

"You are able-bodied and you can tell stories. You could find a meal anywhere. Why insist on coming back and dragging everyone down with you?

"Do you really think Hallmaster Chen won’t act again? Are you planning to spend your entire life standing under the watchtowers?

"Look, Ding Songyan, how about this: I’ll scrape together some more silver for you. Just leave Dingjiang Prefecture."

Ding Songyan changed the subject, as though a thought had just occurred to him.

"You saw Hallmaster Chen just now. What did he say?"

With a matter this serious, the man before him would never have dared act on his own. He would have gone to Hallmaster Chen the instant he had something to report.

The blotchy-nosed man’s tone took on a threatening edge.

"Hallmaster Chen already knows you’re back. Are you still not going to run?

"He sent me to see you because he finds your behavior strange. You haven’t fled, but you haven’t gone to him either. He can’t work out what you’re up to."

I see... Ding Songyan nodded inwardly.

Having drawn out this much, he decided it was time to show his hand.

"Of course my behavior is strange. Someone hit me in the head. I don’t remember anything."

He touched the side of his head as he spoke.

"Don’t remember anything..." The blotchy-nosed man froze. "Then you..."

Ding Songyan gave him a perfectly composed smile.

"I knew someone had tried to kill me. I couldn’t remember who. So I came out to Dangkang Temple to have a look around and see who might be feeling nervous."

"You— you!" The man pointed at him, caught between shock and fury, unable to form words.

He had been played. The timid, spineless Ding Songyan had bluffed the truth out of him.

And yet it also explained perfectly what had been puzzling him. If Ding Songyan had powerful backing, he would have gone straight to Hallmaster Chen. If he had no backing at all, he would have fled. Instead he was simply wandering around outside Dangkang Temple, doing neither. The contradictions had been maddening.

Memory loss. Trying to piece together what had happened, trying to identify the hidden danger. It was the only explanation that fit.

Ding Songyan took the chance to "persuade" him.

"Tell me what actually happened.

"If it truly is dangerous, I’m not above disappearing immediately. But if you don’t tell me, I’ll go to the authorities. I’ll burn myself to the ground if that’s what it takes to drag you and Hallmaster Chen down with me!"

The blotchy-nosed man studied Ding Songyan’s face for a long time, then spoke with some reluctance.

"Fine. I’ll make you understand why you can’t stay here."

"Don’t make up stories to fool me. I have ways of verifying." Ding Songyan threw out one more bluff, gambling that the man would not believe Ding Songyan’s memory was truly a complete blank.

The blotchy-nosed man suppressed his anger.

"What would be the point of lying? You aren’t some stranger. You already knew all of this. And once you remember, you certainly won’t be telling anyone, because that would only get you killed.

"Some days ago, you came to me saying you had a copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas to sell. Hallmaster Chen was very interested. He paid you a large sum of silver and told you to leave Dingjiang Prefecture and never speak of it to anyone..."

"Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Ding Songyan interrupted.

I know the Classic of Mountains and Seas. What is the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas?

The blotchy-nosed man looked at him.

"You don’t even remember that?"

Ding Songyan shook his head, the picture of honest bewilderment.

The blotchy-nosed man drew a breath, checked the alley in both directions, and lowered his voice.

"Every martial art in this world comes from one of two sources. Either it descends from the legacies left behind by the various Celestial Thearchs or certain lesser gods, or it was derived from the divine beasts and strange creatures described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Even the ordinary Classic of Mountains and Seas mentions things like eating this and it cures such-and-such illness, eating that and you can resist fire, or ward off evil.

"According to the Secret Classic, many of those divine beasts grant you their powers and abilities upon consumption. You could become a god or immortal. Granted, after Emperor Zhuanxu severed the connection between heaven and earth, these creatures grew weaker and fewer with passing ages. But if you were to encounter one and devour it, you could still ascend to the rank of Grandmaster in a single step.

"Feng Yining of the Five Saints Sect swallowed a phoenix egg, and became a Grandmaster the day she entered the jianghu. Their sect already follows the phoenix lineage, so it was a perfect match.

"But I’m getting off track. The point is: after Emperor Zhuanxu severed the connection, divine beasts gradually vanished. But the ancients who had consumed them used the changes in their bodies and the powers they had gained, to create cultivation methods and martial techniques. Those became the foundations of most sects today, including the unorthodox ones.

"The Secret Classic is supposedly a copy derived from the Emperor-Annotated Classic of Mountains and Seas, which was left behind by a Celestial Thearch. That original, along with the mythical Kunlun itself, vanished long ago. But the Secret Classic similarly records the specific properties of each divine beast, and even contains annotations on the legacies of the Celestial Thearchs and gods themselves. Think about what that means. It exposes the deepest secrets of every major sect.

"If everyone had a copy, the fundamental mysteries of their supreme arts would be common knowledge. For nobodies like us, it’s useless. But in the hands of someone with ambition, it means the possibility of targeted countermeasures ahead of time.

"Even setting aside martial rivalries entirely, owning the Secret Classic means that if you ever encounter a divine creature, you’ll know which ones can be consumed and their effects. You won’t have to stand by helplessly while the great sects claim everything.

"Ever since the Youqiong dynasty replaced the Xia dynasty, the Secret Classic has been systematically destroyed by every sect. Each keeps only the portions relevant to itself, locked away in private. Anyone outside a major sect who is found with a copy will be hunted down without exception. They will die. So, Ding Songyan, why haven’t you run?"

So that’s how martial arts evolved in this world. Most of it starts with eating divine beasts. No wonder Qingyan said that at higher levels of cultivation, the body begins to manifest physical abnormalities, approaching the form of the corresponding creature... I recall the Classic of Mountains and Seas mentioning the nine-tailed fox. The fox tail Qingyan described must have originated from that... A feeling of sudden clarity washed over Ding Songyan.

He asked, puzzled, "Where did I get a copy of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas?"

The Youqiong replacing Xia had to be thousands of years ago. In all that time, the Secret Classic existed only in fragments held by major sects and imperial vaults. How had one suddenly appeared in the hands of an ordinary storyteller?

Surely the original Ding Songyan hadn’t dug up some ancient tomb, right?

A "partner," then?

And the one who killed the original Ding Songyan wasn’t Hallmaster Chen at all, but the "partner?"

The blotchy-nosed man glared at him.

"How would I know?

"You kept your mouth shut no matter how anyone asked. You never said where it came from. To keep word from getting out, Hallmaster Chen had no choice but to send you away from Dingjiang Prefecture."

"Are you certain the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas was genuine?" Ding Songyan asked, thinking it through.

The blotchy-nosed man looked blank.

"Hallmaster Chen said it was real and complete.

"You wouldn’t have had the nerve to deceive him, would you? And who would bother forging something like that?"

You underestimate con artists... But Hallmaster Chen apparently had a way to verify its authenticity. And he doesn’t sound like a disciple of any major sect; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to hide it, wouldn’t need to nervously send the original Ding Songyan away... Ding Songyan changed tack.

"Who exactly is Hallmaster Chen?"

The blotchy-nosed man saw someone pass the mouth of the alley and quickened his words.

"His name is Chen Yuliang. He’s the hallmaster for the Small Boat Gang in Dingjiang Prefecture. His official ranking is Profound Discerned, which is nine, eight, seven... in common terms, fifth rank.

"Our Small Boat Gang is a reasonably well-known organization in Ningzhou Province. We’re currently contesting certain river routes with the Four Waters Brotherhood."

The Four Waters Brotherhood? Patriarch Zhen of the Zhen household is a Grand Elder of the Four Waters Brotherhood, a famous Grandmaster... So this really does connect back to the Zhen family... Ding Songyan felt he was beginning to see the outline of the matter, but at the same time caught the scent of something far more tangled beneath.

Could the original Ding Songyan’s possession of the Secret Classic have been part of a larger scheme all along?

"I see..." Ding Songyan gave a look of resolution. "Then I truly shouldn’t remain in Dingjiang Prefecture. Go to Hallmaster Chen and ask him to give me a bit more silver. I’ll find an opportunity to leave on my own. Until then, I’ll stay in the open. He wouldn’t dare act under the watchtowers."

The blotchy-nosed man visibly relaxed.

"Good, good. We can always negotiate something out of it!"

He added a few more admonitions, then turned and walked toward the mouth of the alley.

Ding Songyan watched his retreating back, mind working rapidly. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Master Yu should be able to tail this man and find Chen Yuliang...

But would Chen Yuliang have no precautions in place? My behavior has been too far out of the ordinary...

If I were him, given what he knows right now, what would I do?

I certainly wouldn’t sit at home waiting for my subordinate to report back. There’s too great a chance that trouble would follow him through the door.

Either I would hide somewhere and watch from a distance as my man returned, then decide on the spot whether to step forward and deal with things or simply abandon the Small Boat Gang’s operations in Dingjiang Prefecture and disappear.

Or I would follow behind my own man, listening in secret, ready to act the moment I understood the situation.

And in that case, if Master Yu were to follow this man to the Small Boat Gang’s base, I’ll be left standing here alone. Wouldn’t that make me very vulnerable right now?

Killing someone in broad daylight is difficult. But doing something else might still be within reach.

The thought sent a jolt through him. He spoke at once. "Wait."

"Hm?" The blotchy-nosed man half-turned, looking back in confusion.

Ding Songyan allowed a slight smile to show, his tone easy and conversational.

"Tell me. Where do you think Hallmaster Chen is right now?"