Chapter 294: The Confucian Temple
When Ding Songyan left Wang Zhou’s courtyard, he looked up at the night sky.
The bright moon hadn’t come out, and the stars were hidden. Only a few stragglers flickered between layers of cloud, casting a faint light.
Ding Songyan slowly walked back to his side courtyard. As soon as he reached the gate, he saw Li Baima under a few lanterns, wielding twin swords and practicing a newly comprehended technique, his movements pulling the lamplight toward him so that it swayed. Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin, faces glowing and flushed with wine, were watching Li Baima train while chatting and laughing about tonight’s trip to the Hengbo River.
Seeing this, Ding Songyan paused at the gate for a few breaths.
How nice… he sighed silently.
After greeting Fan Chunlin and the others, he went back to his room. He still found it hard to fall asleep, so he decided to do something to relax and settle his mind.
After a moment, Ding Songyan had an idea.
Check in on my “good boy” and ask how his martial arts training is going.
Since arriving in the Flame Capital, Ding Songyan hadn’t written to Xu Chang’an yet.
He planned to show off to the guy that he had Master Xiaozhang’s latest edition of the Peerless Beauties of the Jianghu, and had newly met two of the women on it, no—one, and then urge Xu Chang’an to train hard and let him know he could write to the Flame Capital with any questions.
In Ding Songyan’s view, among his former acquaintances of his own generation who hadn’t reached the Dharma Realm, Senior Sister and Fifth Xie had the best talent, first-rate in the world today, but Xie Fengchao still fell short in temperament and perseverance and needed more honing.
Compared to Senior Sister and Fifth Xie, Senior Brother Wan’s talent was a good deal lower, but still top-tier. His mindset was decent, but perseverance was his weak point, though all of these seemed to have improved after Master’s death.
Pan Yunzhou’s talent was another step down, about on par with Senior Sister Xue Xian. But he managed to bear a heavy burden without collapsing, having been tempered by hardship, and had even decided to sacrifice himself. In both mindset and perseverance, he was outstanding. He now had made a name in the jianghu and wrote back to the Brightnight Sect from time to time to tell them about his recent experiences. As long as the Myriad Stars Canon that Ding Songyan had deduced and completed had no major flaws, he could enter the Dharma Realm within a year or two, perhaps sooner with a lucky break, later without.
Senior Sister Xue Xian’s mindset and perseverance were both average. Whether she could glimpse the Dharma Realm depended on whether Master’s death and her later jianghu experiences could help her hone her mind.
Yang Shiduo’s talent was upper-middle, about the same as Senior Brother Xu Julong and Senior Sister Lin Shuyue. But he had plenty of drive, making up for any lackings with diligence. He was willing to ask for advice with humility, and worked hard to improve. He had already made a big name for himself in the Flame Capital. If he got a bit of luck later, he truly could become a Grandmaster. Senior Brother Xu and Senior Sister Lin no longer had that drive, and the perfected Great Proliferation Realm would be as far as they got.
As for Xing Chang’s talent, because of their different species, Ding Songyan couldn’t tell. He only knew that Xing Chang had excellent combat instincts. The same went for Su Qingli, though she boasted of unparalleled talent, the kind that comes along once in a century in the Su family. Ding Songyan thought of her face and chose to believe it.
As for Xu Chang’an, his talent was ordinary, his mindset lower-middle, his perseverance average. Without some special opportunity in the future, he might not even reach the perfected Great Proliferation Realm, let alone the Dharma Realm. But if he really could survive all the aperture forging and viscera installation, and Ding Songyan was still alive by then, he’d have to pile up some resources to help him become a Grandmaster, one way or another.
A so-so Grandmaster was still a Grandmaster, and within Dingjiang Prefecture he’d definitely bring glory to his family.
The reason Ding Songyan suddenly remembered to check on Xu Chang’an was that he felt a little envious of the guy for no reason.
No powerhouses would be watching him or trying to harm him. Once his martial arts developed, they would be enough in Dingjiang Prefecture. When traveling the jianghu, as long as he didn’t get mixed up in serious affairs, earning a reputation as a chivalrous thief wouldn’t be hard. When he’d saved enough money, he’d be surrounded by a lovely wife and beautiful concubines and a houseful of children, and unless the world fell into chaos or he became greedy and pursued things he shouldn’t, he could truly enjoy a peaceful old age.
I have to push him a bit and not let him wallow in comfort. He needs to train hard while he’s young… Ding Songyan, having ground his ink, picked up his brush and began writing the letter.
Before calming down enough to sleep, he noticed that the drunken Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin had challenged Li Baima to a martial arts match.
……
The next day was still a day off.
Just as Ding Songyan came out of his room, ready for morning training, he saw Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin each taking half the courtyard, training hard.
“Something changed today?” Ding Songyan, whose mindset had adjusted, teased with a smile.
They normally weren’t this diligent.
Fan Chunlin stopped, his expression complicated.
“We sparred with Big Brother Li last night and lost miserably.
“Sure, we were a bit drunk last night, but only a bit. In past spars, the gap wasn’t this big…”
Wu Mo put away his stance and chimed in, “Brother Ding, you being much stronger than us is normal. You’ve always been much stronger than us. Li Baima, hiss, used to be a bit better than us, but not to this extent. How did he suddenly leap forward in so little time?”
A friend’s transformation was more distressing than the sudden appearance of a powerhouse, and hit harder.
“His swordsmanship really has improved a lot,” Ding Songyan teased the two of them. “How long has Big Brother Li been away from the Hengbo River? That’s what you call gaining something by giving something up.”
Fan Chunlin and Wu Mo were training in the courtyard from first thing in the morning partly because they were truly triggered by Li Baima’s big leap in martial arts, and partly to show Ding Songyan. The latter put on a brazen face and said, “Brother Ding, I remember you’ve been giving Big Brother Li pointers all this time, right?”
“Yes,” Ding Songyan didn’t deny it.
Fan Chunlin stammered, “Brother Ding, c-could you give us pointers too?”
“Sure. Don’t I still owe you a trip to the Hengbo River? Let’s count that as pointers,” Ding Songyan agreed readily.
Having drive was a good thing.
This left Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin nearly speechless, and after a moment they thanked him profusely.
“But not today. I have something to do and need to go out,” Ding Songyan went on.
“Where to?” Wu Mo asked casually.
Ding Songyan thought it over and said, “Helping Twelfth Madam Luo with something, going somewhere with her. I don’t know where yet. My senior sister really hit it off with her and they’ve become besties, and she specifically told me to help her out.”
Now that his senior sister had made the trip, Ding Songyan could legitimately use her as a cover.
Became besties, and she told him to help Twelfth Madam Luo? Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin’s eyes went wide with shock.
When they had heard that Brother Ding took Miss Zheng straight to the Cheap Wine Shop’s back courtyard, they had already been quite shaken and couldn’t make sense of it.
Even if Brother Ding and Twelfth Madam were truly innocent, taking his sweetheart to meet the subject of rumors about him was beyond all common sense!
Thinking of Miss Zheng’s looks and background, though, Wu Mo and Fan Chunlin felt she really didn’t need to be wary of Twelfth Madam Luo, and that such open-hearted generosity fit the Brightnight Sect’s way of doing things.
After training and breakfast, Ding Songyan went to the Cheap Wine Shop’s back courtyard and saw Twelfth Madam Luo already dressed in a dark red jacket with a subtle pattern and a thick blue cotton pleated skirt, with a red cloak edged in fur over her shoulders.
Ding Songyan didn’t ask where they were going. He followed beside Twelfth Madam Luo, chatting casually as they wound through streets and alleys, until they reached the market across from a spot two streets from the Phoenix Terrace Study.
Here stood a fairly large Confucian temple, with people in scholarly attire coming and going.
The main hall of the Confucian temple enshrined Sage Zuo. The statue sat upright in the central seat, wearing a ridged cap, with a reddish face and an expression that was stern yet also kind and gentle.
In the side halls were the figures honored alongside him in the temple throughout the ages.
Twelfth Madam Luo bowed three times to the Sage’s statue, then led Ding Songyan around the main hall and side halls.
The buildings were tall and spacious, deep and open, with a solemn air all their own.
Twelfth Madam Luo suddenly said with a smile, “After the two of you confirmed how you feel about each other, you actually didn’t take advantage of your senior sister those two days.”
“Twelfth Madam, is that really how you see me?” Ding Songyan responded in amusement.
Twelfth Madam Luo nodded lightly.
“Yes.”
The corner of Ding Songyan’s mouth twitched, then he sighed.
“My senior sister is still in mourning, and we’ve only just confirmed our feelings, so I have to show restraint.
“Young love is like a flame, fierce and pure, but it’s also easy to burn the other party, and to get burned yourself. Only as I grew older and went through more did I slowly learn restraint.
“Sometimes I wonder whether the outcome would have been completely different if I’d held back a bit back then.”
Twelfth Madam Luo fell silent.
Ding Songyan glanced at her and said with a smile, “You’re different. You were too restrained in the past, and you needed to break the rules once.”
Twelfth Madam Luo pressed her lips together, turned and walked deeper into the side hall, and said casually, “When I went to Shilin Temple with a hatchet, were you wondering why I didn’t use a long spear, and whether I was underestimating Tan Guanchan?”
“Yes,” Ding Songyan admitted honestly.
Twelfth Madam Luo laughed.
“But I actually became a Heaven-Man through the ’Rites Blade.’
“My blade skills are stronger than my spear skills now.”
“Rites Blade”… Twelfth Madam, you’ve gone this far, so do I still have to play dumb? Ding Songyan immediately began to mutter.
Curious, he asked, “When you scared off Demoness Ji, did you use the spear or the blade?”
“The spear,” Twelfth Madam Luo said, slightly smug. “I wanted to see if I could stir up her mental weak spot.”
No wonder Ji Hanyi still remembers you. I’d grind my teeth in hatred too if I were in her shoes… Ding Songyan went along and asked on cue,
“Why did you become a Heaven-Man through the ’Rites Blade’ in the first place?”
Twelfth Madam Luo looked at the statues of ancient sages in the side hall, her voice growing slightly distant, her tone full of memory.
“After I left home, I couldn’t go to crowded places. I didn’t even dare enter market towns or villages. Mm, I was rather conspicuous then and easily noticed, which would have exposed my whereabouts.
“So I had no choice but to retreat into the deep mountains and old forests, living in the open, fending for myself. Sometimes I razed bandit strongholds and took things I really couldn’t make myself, or in the dead of night, stole what I needed from various shops and left enough silver behind…”
Twelfth Madam Luo paused, then continued,
“The deep mountains and old forests actually weren’t that lonely, especially since I didn’t stay in one place. I went all over, north and south of the Great River. I met villages that had retreated into the mountains to escape the chaos of the age and no longer knew about the Wei and Zhao dynasties. I met a small yao kingdom where tigers and rabbits could live together. I even met tribes formed by the descendants of ancient divine beings, some of whom wanted to capture me, and some of whom saw me as an immortal or deity descended to earth.
“Some were formidable in martial arts, and some outstanding in witchcraft. Twice I nearly died. I thought these villages and tribes were all barbaric and crude, rites collapsed and music gone, fallen to the level of beasts. Later I slowly discovered they had rites too, rites completely different from the ones in my mind.”
Ding Songyan listened intently, understanding that Twelfth Madam Luo was telling him about her own road to becoming a Heaven-Man.