In the gentle night breeze, Ding Songyan and Xiao Qing strolled through the dim and shadowed lanes, heading toward Fengshui Bridge.

This time, Xiao Qing had not brought her maidservant.

Glancing at the girl beside him who was as lovely as a painting, Ding Songyan felt a sudden wave of emotion.

He had been in this world for less than ten days, yet it felt like a full month had passed. He had encountered many people during this time, and saw quite a few regularly. But among all of them, those who treated him with genuine sincerity, without scheming or wearing masks, numbered only Xiao Qing and Brother Youyang. Well, Xu Chang’an counted as half.

And the family he had begun investing his emotions in, the one he had been on the verge of truly belonging to, had shown its true face in less time than it took to drink a cup of tea.

He drew a breath, let it out slowly, and smiled at Xiao Qing.

"Miss Xiao Qing, aren’t you worried about Ren Youyang spotting you tonight?"

Xiao Qing smiled back lightly.

"We might be meeting face-to-face tomorrow anyway. It doesn’t matter anymore."

Ding Songyan thought for a moment and reminded her, "Besides Ren Youyang’s group, the authorities are also following me. Maybe from the county office, maybe from the Brightnight Sect.

"Is that also fine?"

If your identity is exposed, you might not be able to attend the Zhen household’s banquet tomorrow.

"..." Xiao Qing blinked innocently.

Ding Songyan had nothing to say.

After only a few breaths, Xiao Qing swung her arm and said cheerfully, "It’s fine. Second Uncle will handle it!"

At that very moment, Ren Youyang, dressed in all black, was perched in a tree at the mouth of the lane, craning his neck to peer out.

He maintained his balance with difficulty, concealing his presence, watching Ding Songyan stroll alone ahead, occasionally murmuring to himself.

Brother Ding, it’s this late and you’re still out cooling off? Go to bed early. I have important business tomorrow... Ren Youyang muttered silently.

In the shadows at the far end of the lane, a constable and a Brightnight Sect disciple also watched Ding Songyan’s every move in silence.

"He’s alone, but something feels odd." The Brightnight Sect disciple’s eyes seemed to glow with a dim, amber light that resembled twilight.

The constable nodded repeatedly.

"I feel the same. Something’s off."

"Brother Zhang, my skills are too shallow. I can’t see through the problem. You keep following. I’ll go get help!" the Brightnight Sect disciple said with some embarrassment.

He immediately broke away from the lane’s end and circled around in another direction.

Seeing that Xiao Qing was unconcerned, Ding Songyan let the matter drop. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Miss Xiao Qing, tomorrow’s banquet at the Zhen estate may turn chaotic. Be extremely careful. If everything proceeds normally, then the Zhen household may push things back another day or two."

He got these words out successfully without forgetting.

This was within Ding Songyan’s expectations. He had thought it through carefully. Yan Changqing’s goal was to escape the Zhen estate and recover his strength. And his "old acquaintance," whether trying to rescue him or coveting his treasure, would also have to oppose the Zhen household. Therefore, both forces capable of influencing Ding Songyan’s mind would not object to causing the Zhen household some trouble and slowing them down.

Xiao Qing kicked a small pebble aside, turned her head toward Ding Songyan, and smiled brightly.

"You are plagued with so many troubles of your own, yet you still worry about my safety."

Her expression gradually grew serious.

"These past few days I’ve noticed that you carry a heavy weight on your mind. You’re probably hiding many difficult things.

"I have no grand ambitions. Apart from acting with justice, everything I want, my family can provide. I won’t covet what belongs to others. If you trust me, you can tell me what’s troubling you. I might be able to help."

Ding Songyan gave a bitter smile.

It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I can’t.

Miss Xiao Qing, what you just said is exactly what I’ve been desperately hoping to hear.

Seeing his expression, Xiao Qing said thoughtfully, "You can’t speak? You’re unable to?

"Things like this usually come from gu-sorcery. There are no gu-insects in your body—that much I can confirm. Has someone used sorcery to control you?"

Does it count as sorcery? Ding Songyan thought carefully but could not be sure.

He did not yet understand this world’s arcane martial arts and gu-sorcery well enough.

He wanted to suggest to Xiao Qing that there might be another possibility, but feared that the moment he opened his mouth, the words would vanish, just as trying to write something down only to forget what he meant to write.

In the silence, a thought suddenly struck Ding Songyan.

Beyond the explicit list of forbidden topics, the restrictions placed by Yan Changqing’s "seed" and whatever his "old acquaintance" may have left in my sea of consciousness probably operate on "free judgment" to block thoughts. They detect whether I harbor ill intent, whether I’m trying to disclose something.

What if I don’t?

Genuinely not having the intention is of course impossible. But I can deceive myself. Deceive the "seed." Deceive whatever Yan Changqing’s "old acquaintance" left behind. Pretend there is no such intention.

Normally I couldn’t pull off this kind of self-deception. But blame it on Yan Changqing himself to teach me a secret art built entirely around deceiving oneself...

Wait. This secret art and his mind-influencing divine art complement and counter each other. They really do share the same origin...

Under these circumstances, unless Yan Changqing’s "old acquaintance" is nearby, monitoring my thoughts in real time, they can’t preemptively stop this...

Could Yan Changqing have been waiting for exactly this? He guesses I won’t practice the secret art until after the situation is resolved because I fear hidden dangers. So he uses the "seed’s" control to force me into practicing it. And once I do, I become completely his puppet or vessel?

What if I don’t actually practice it, but only borrow its core principle for a single act of self-deception? Besides, I have no martial art for the secret technique to take effect with anyway...

Ding Songyan ran through the secret art in his mind, discarding the many steps and potentially dangerous portions. Based on the psychological suggestion techniques he knew from his previous life, he isolated the section dealing solely with self-deception.

The hazy "seed" turned, causing Ding Songyan’s consciousness to split in two. Half retreated into his sea of consciousness, sitting cross-legged in the void.

He lowered his gaze to the countless thoughts that formed the golden, illusory ocean.

As his mind stirred, each thought took on his appearance.

Looking into those many pairs of familiar eyes as though into mirrors, Ding Songyan began to murmur in a specific rhythm.

"To deceive others, first deceive yourself. The false can become true. Believe, and it exists...

"I am merely discussing various possibilities with Miss Xiao Qing. I have no intention of revealing secrets...

"Merely discussing various possibilities..."

As the words repeated again and again, Ding Songyan’s eyes grew deep and unfathomable. So too did the eyes of each thought-form within the sea.

Seeing Ding Songyan walk on in silence without responding, Xiao Qing waved her slender, pale hand before his eyes with puzzlement.

"May your soul come back to me~ May your soul come back to me~"

Ding Songyan’s eyes shifted. He spoke in a low voice, "Perhaps there’s another possibility."

"Another possibility..." Xiao Qing frowned in thought.

Xiao Qing’s second uncle was walking along the main road some seventy or eighty feet away. He suddenly turned his head, looking toward a building facing the street.

Under the bright half-moon, a black figure burst through a window, sword in hand.

In the figure’s vision, a pair of eyes suddenly appeared. They were slightly upturned, luminous and clear.

In that instant, he felt as though he had come home and was looking at the person he longed for day and night. His heart went soft as well as his hand.

A palm with long, slender fingers then pressed against the center of his brow.

He collapsed to the ground and stopped breathing.

Within moments, a moth resembling a large red ant crawled from his nose and mouth, causing his body to begin a rapid decay.

Xiao Qing’s second uncle caught the moth seed in one hand and found it had already split open on its own, motionless.

He discarded the moth seed, produced a white handkerchief, and gently wiped his palm before turning his gaze back toward Xiao Qing and Ding Songyan.

Though he had acted just now, most of his attention had remained on them.

Atop the nearest watchtower, the Yi clan constable on duty saw only a figure leap from a window of its own accord, landing headfirst and dying on the street.

He immediately used his signal lantern to alert a nearby patrol squad, sending them to collect the body and investigate whether the apparent suicide concealed something else.

Xiao Qing thought for a long time without result. She looked at the sparsely populated street and the still-lively Fengshui Bridge in the distance, then said with a hum of acknowledgment, "Ding Songyan, you’re the first friend I’ve made since entering the jianghu. I hope we can meet again someday."

First I need to survive the next day or two... Ding Songyan wanted to say this, but "forgot" the words.

He could only laugh at himself.

"I’ll try."

Xiao Qing laughed.

"Try what? You’ve been asking questions left and right. I could tell long ago that you’re very interested in martial cultivation. If you’re willing to leave home and travel to the Gan Kingdom, I can help you find several sects that would suit you. You can choose one to join."

Ding Songyan’s heart leapt. Was this not exactly what he had been dreaming of?

But thinking of his parents, his sister and brother, thinking of the Gan Kingdom where foreign races occupied the upper class, he hesitated.

He weighed his words.

"Miss Xiao Qing, might I give you my answer tomorrow evening?"

He needed time to think it through properly.

"Of course. It’s not like you’re alone in this world, after all." Xiao Qing showed her understanding.

She waved farewell to Ding Songyan and walked alone toward Fengshui Bridge and Tianyang Hall.

Ding Songyan turned and retraced his steps back toward Chengyu Lane.

The closer he drew to the familiar lane, the more an inexplicable unease crept over him, as though he feared something yet could not identify what.

It made his pace grow heavier, slower with every step.

What is there to be uneasy about? I’m just going home to sleep... Even Ding Songyan found his own reaction puzzling.

Reaching the well, hearing Ahua bark at a passerby, he found himself lingering, unwilling to go further.

The night seemed to have thickened, heavy and oppressive.

Suddenly, a gentle, warm, amber-toned light entered Ding Songyan’s eyes and his mind. The many dark thoughts lurking in the depths receded like a tide. The hazy "seed" and certain shadows sank in unison, hiding themselves beneath the illusory ocean.

Ding Songyan’s thoughts became instantly active. He looked toward the source of the light and first saw a glass palace lantern, then the girl carrying it, followed by several Brightnight Sect disciples.

The girl walked toward him like a willow swaying in the breeze. She was tall, with eyebrows slightly thicker than usual, lending a touch of heroic spirit to her clean and lovely face.

Under the bright moonlight, she wore a pale green skirt with a silk kerchief binding her long black hair. Her beautiful eyes gleamed with life, as though starlight and candleflame truly dwelt within them.

She stopped as the lantern swayed gently. The girl looked at Ding Songyan with a smile that was clean and warm.

"I’m Brightnight Sect’s Zheng Zhuxi. I have some questions for you."