Konjektur yang baru saja melintas di pikirannya membuat Ding Songyan terasa bingung kebingungan.
Kenapa semakin dalam aku mengikuti logis, semakin menyeramkan kemungkinannya?
Lalu pertanyaan lain muncul.
Tunggu dulu, aku terportal pada pertengahan Juni, puncak musim panas, padahal Demon Sovereign datang ke Prefektur Dingjiang sekali setahun di musim dingin. Waktunya tidak cocok...
Jika Demon Sovereign benar-benar menunggu transmigrator berikutnya, mengapa ia begitu yakin terjadi di musim dingin? Mungkkin transmigrasinya sendiri juga terjadi di musim dingin? Bukankah itu cara berpikir yang kaku...
Tunggu. Ingatanku yang tersisa menyebutkan aku bergosip di alam bongkar selama sangat lama, sampai kabar teriakan burung 'Cenk' membangunkanku dan menariknya kembali ke dunia manusia...
Sakit kepala yang tumpul mulai mengganggu Ding Songyan.
Tentu saja aku tidak benar-benar terportal di musim dingin, tersesat di alam bongkar, lalu baru ditemukan setengah tahun kemudian?
Jika memang benar demikian, keyakinan Demon Sovereign itu sepenuhnya masuk akal. Aku hanya tidak tahu dari mana ia mendapat kepastian itu...
Dan mengapa aku harus tersesat begitu lama?
Setelah pikirannya berputar lange runtuh, Ding Songyan tetap tidak bisa menemukan jawaban yang mungkin. Apa yang baru saja dipikirkannya hanyalah konjektur—belum bisa diverifikasi.
Ding Songyan menenangkan dirinya. Menguji konjektur ini harus dilakukan perlahan dan hati-hati—ia sangat tidak boleh terburu-buru.
Kekuatan saat ini jauh dari cukup. Setiap kesalahan kecil bisa menimbulkan perhatian Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan, atau bahkan Jiang Weichen yang mungkin belum benar-benar tewat. Itu akan menjadi masalah serius. Apalagi, kekuatan Tan Guanchan yang terbuka sudah jauh melampaui dirinya.
Tentu saja, jika Demon Sovereign sudah tahu dan tidak datang mencari, berarti ia punya rencana lain. Dalam hal ini, Ding Songyan tidak perlu panik untuk saat ini.
Sebagai untuk menghubungi Tan Guanchan—mengabaikan segala sesuo—sekadar dugaan bahwa ia adalah Two-Faced sudah cukup membuat Ding Songyan enggan mendekat atau mempercayainya.
Aku masih perlu berlatih dengan tekun, membangun kekuatan Chaos, dan menciptakan jalanku sendiri. Tanpa sesuatu yang benar-benar milikku, bahkan Demoness Ji—versi yang lebih kuat dari diriku dari segi nasib baik—bisa memegkualku erat-erat. Dan saat ini Tan Guanchan lebih kuat darinya. Menilik sifat Qiongqi, ia juga tidak tertindas oleh Chaos...
Tapi aku tidak boleh terburu-buru. Teknik Chaos yang merupakan fondasi, harus dibangun secara bertahap. Semakin tidak tenang air gelora, semakin kusut aku harus berjalan. Hal yang sama berlaku untuk pedang, teknik gerak, dan segala sesuainya. Aku harus menemukan jalan sendiri melalui semuanya.
Saat musim dingin tiba, aku akan tetap di Sekte Brightnight dan fokus berlatih, atau pergi ke Prefektur Qisong bersama Senior Sister. Aku tidak bisa menciptakan lagi kekacauan di Prefekkur Dingjiang, dalam kasus Tan Guanchan muncul dan menyadari keberadaanku...
Aku pernah berkata sebelumnya bahwa kujalangi Pulau Gerbang Surgawi di musim dingin yang dalam—aku betul-betul tidak berani sekarang. Aku akan menunggu sampai aku mencapai Alam Langit-Manusia. Untuk Senior Sister, jika ia belum melupakan, kujalangi kemungkinan tertariknya perhatian Demon Sovereign sebagai alasan untuk menatap jalannya untuk sekarang. Tidak, it bukan alasan—itu bukan alasan yang tulus!
Untuk rahasia transmigrasiku sendiri, Ding Songyan tidak berniat membawa ke pengadilan kaisar untuk sementara. Ia hanya berencana memanfaatkan informasi yang dilaporkan oleh He Luo—bahwa Tan Guanchan datang ke Prefektur Dingjiang setiap musim dingin—dan melihat apakah pengadilan bisa menempatkan pejuang kuat untuk menangkapnya seperti kura di dalam labah.
Huh... Ding Songyan mengambil stick api, membakar kertas yang berisi garis waktu sejarah dan semua deduksinya hingga menjadi abu, tak tertinggalkan sedikit pun.
Setelahnya merasa lebih tenang, ia menyebarkan kertas baru dan mulai menulis.
"Nona Xiao Qing,
"Pada malam Festival Bulan Purnama, Master Tao mengadakan makan malam keluarga untuk kami para murid. Setelah makan malam, kujejukan langit-harum purnama yang bersih dan tajam di langit, kujuangkan segelas anggur sambil menghubungi kepada kamu, Nona Xiao Qing, dengan harap meski kami berjauh, kami tetap merasakan momen yang sama.
"Sekte Brightnight tidak memiliki tradisi khusus untuk Festival Bulan Purnama. Kami hanya berbagi kue bulan dan minum minuman bunga meninggo. Namun, pada Hari Kemenangan, tradisinya adalah bertukar kue kamboja. Kue ini terbuat dari campuran gula, daging, dan tepung sorgum, ditutup dengan potongan daging babi dan bebek serta dihias dengan biji delima. Rasanya manis dan asin, sangat enak.
"Di pegunungan, waktu berlalu tanpa terasa, hanya angin dingin yang memberi tahu kamu musim gugur semakin dalam. Aku berlatih setiap hari tanpa henti dan sudah memulai aperture forging, benar-benar memasuki Ranah Perluasan Agung. Aku tidak tahu banyak tentang urusan sekte secara umum dan belum mendengar cerita-cerita menarik, namun saat melangkah ke Prefektur Dingjiang, kejadian dua hal yang patut untuk dibagikan.
"Ingat kamu tentang jalan yang kami tempuh di malam hari—dari Lorong Chengyu ke Jembatan Fengshui? Kamu bilang jalan ini tidak biasanya sejuk, cukup sejuk untuk mencegah panas malam musim panas, dan kuduga setuju. Kemudian, ketika sedang berbincang dengan teman seperguruanku yang merupakan Jiguren, ia memberi tahu bahwa pada waktu yang sama, ia baru saja membuka mata yinnya di seputar tengah malam dan melihat arwah bongkar berkumpul mencurigakan di dekat Jembatan Fengshui..."
Ding Songyan menceritakan poin-poin penting kasus Xie Zi'an, tamu misterius, Jalan Pembaruan, dan semua yang berkaitan dengan jujur dan tidak memalsukannya, menggambarkan situasi dengan gambangan sederhana, tidak ditambah dan tidak dikurangi.
Tentu saja, bagian yang menyentuh rahasia pribadi ditutup dengan lancar. Siapa yang membunuh Xie Zi'an dan bagaimana—itu juga ditinggalkan tidak diceritakan. Bukanlah pokok bahasan dan bisa dilewati.
"Dari apa yang terlihat, cukup banyak aliran tersembunyi bersembunyi di bayang-bayang saat insiden Juni di ibu kota. Mungkin ini terhubung dengan pelarian Demoness Ji.
"Masalah kedua: Ketika penjaga kuil Dangkang kehilangan bunga luan yang bertahan tiga ribu tahun, Senior Sister Zheng, sejumlah teman seperguruanku, dan aku mengikuti jejaknya hingga ke gunung yang jauh di utara sungai, akhirnya membunuh Tiga Penyihir Kota Xiao yang sudah berserikat pada Akumulasi Kejahatan dan memulihkan benda itu...
"Pada saat itu, bunga itu juga mengundang minat yang mengagumkan dari seekor umpasa yang berada di Ranah Langit-Manusia, yang mengejar kami sepanjang jalan. Untungnya ia jarang menghabiskan, dan begitu kami keluar dari pegunungan, ia kembali sendiri, meninggalkan kami semua selamat...
"Ding Songyan menggambarkan sorotan penting dari malam itu, tanpa menyembunyikan peran dua buah batu kecil yang dimilikinya. Ia hanya meninggalkan bagian tentang mengusung Senior Sister sambil berlari turun jalur gunung, meninggalkan mayat setiap sepuluh langkah.
Kemudian ia kembali menuliskan laporan intelijen dari He Luo dan menuliskan konjekturnya yang didasarkan pada jaringan dugaan Yan Changqing, dengan merujuk pada Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan yang tujuannya adalah Pulau Gerbang Surgawi.
"""Kami lima berburu rampasan 18.000 tahel emas perak, dan aku juga menerima Pil Pematangan Tanaman dan Kayu yang memperpanjang hidup dua puluh tahun. Xie Fengchao dari Xie clan di Flame Capital mengundang kami semua ke tempat mandi, kemudian ke lantai atas Rumah Willow Zamrud untuk minum dan mendengarkan musik. Dengan Senior Sister Zheng hadir, kami tentu hanya minum dan mendengarkan saja.
""Saat minum mencapai puncaknya, Xie Fengchao mengusulkan untuk berjalan-jalan malam ke Pulau Gerbang Surgawi, yang memang sesuai dengan keinginanku...
""Di situ, di pulau, kujalangi mata yin dan keherankanku menemukan Jiwa Tersisa Sembilan Feng. Ia masih berkelana, belum sepenuhnya sirna, dan hampir saja menggasak energi jiwaku. Untungnya Senior Sister Zheng menyadarinya tepat waktu dan menggunakan Niat Pedang Candlelight untuk memberi kujeda sejenak, memungkinkanku menutup mata yin kujalangi tepat waktu...
""Kami juga berjumpaan dengan seorang pengguna Di perempuan di sekitar pulau, dan dengan catatan itu, ekskursi malam kami berakhir dengan puas...
"""Di luar segala-galanya itu, aku tidak menemukan hal lain. Nona Xiao Qing, kamu tahu apa tentang Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan?"
"""
""
The conjecture that had just flashed through his mind left Ding Songyan numb all over.
How is it that the further I push my deductions, the more terrifying they become?
Then another question came to him.
Wait, I transmigrated in mid-June, the height of summer, but the Demon Sovereign comes to Dingjiang Prefecture once every winter. The timing doesn’t match...
If the Demon Sovereign really is waiting for the next transmigrator, why is he so certain it will happen in winter? Did his own transmigration occur in winter? Isn’t that too rigid a way of thinking...
Wait. My remaining memories are that I drifted through the netherworld for a very long time before a ’Scree’ bird’s cry woke me and drew me back to the mortal world...
A dull ache started nagging at Ding Songyan.
Surely I didn’t actually transmigrate in winter, get lost in the netherworld, and only got found over half a year later?
If that’s really what happened, the Demon Sovereign’s certainty would make perfect sense. I just don’t know where that certainty comes from...
And why would I have been lost for so long?
After his thoughts churned for a long while, Ding Songyan still couldn’t arrive at any possible answer. What he had just deduced remained conjecture—nothing that could yet be verified.
Ding Songyan composed himself. Testing these conjectures would have to be done slowly and carefully—he absolutely could not rush.
His current strength was far from sufficient. The slightest misstep could draw the attention of Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan, or even of Jiang Weichen, who might not yet be dead. That would be serious trouble. After all, Tan Guanchan’s openly demonstrated strength already far exceeded his own.
Of course, if the Demon Sovereign already knew and hadn’t come looking, that would mean he had other plans. In that case, Ding Songyan had no need to panic for now.
As for making contact with Tan Guanchan—setting everything else aside—the mere suspicion that he was Two-Faced was enough to make Ding Songyan unwilling to approach or trust him.
I still need to train hard, build on the Chaos force, and forge my own martial path. Without something uniquely my own, even Demoness Ji—a stronger version of myself in terms of fortuitous encounters—could hold me firmly in her grasp. And Tan Guanchan is currently stronger than her. Judging by the nature of Qiongqi, he is also not suppressed by Chaos...
But I can’t rush. The Chaos technique, being foundational, must be built step by step. The more turbulent the waves, the steadier I must walk. The same goes for swordsmanship, movement techniques, and everything else. I need to discern my own Way through them.
When winter comes, I’ll either stay within the Brightnight Sect and focus on training, or travel to Qisong Prefecture with Senior Sister. I can’t stir up any more trouble in Dingjiang Prefecture, in case Tan Guanchan shows up and notices me...
I said before that I’d climb Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island again in deep winter—I truly don’t dare do that now. I’ll wait until I’ve entered the Heaven-Man Realm. As for Senior Sister, if she hasn’t forgotten, I’ll use the possibility of attracting the Demon Sovereign’s suspicion as an excuse to shelve the plan for now. No, that’s not an excuse—it’s a genuine reason!
As for the secret of his own transmigration, Ding Songyan had no intention of bringing it before the imperial court for now. He only planned to make use of the information He Luo had reported—that Tan Guanchan came to Dingjiang Prefecture every winter—and see whether the court could plant powerful fighters to catch him like a turtle in a jar.
Phew... Ding Songyan retrieved a fire stick, burned the paper covered in the historical timeline and all his deductions to ash, and left not a trace behind.
After settling himself a little, he spread out fresh paper and began to write.
"Miss Xiao Qing,
"On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Master Tao held a family banquet for us disciples. After the feast, I looked up at the cold and pure bright moon hanging in the sky and raised my jar of wine to drink with it, asking it to carry my regards to you, Miss Xiao Qing, with the wish that though we are far apart, we might share this same moment.
"The Brightnight Sect has no particularly special customs for Mid-Autumn. We just share mooncakes and drink osmanthus wine. On Double Ninth, though, the custom is to exchange chrysanthemum cakes. They are made from a mix of sugar, meat, and sorghum flour, topped with strips of pork and duck and dotted with pomegranate seeds. They are both savory and sweet, making them quite delicious.
"In the mountains, time passes without notice, and only the cold wind tells you autumn has deepened. I train every day without rest and have begun aperture forging, truly entering the Great Proliferation Realm. I don’t know much about the sect’s affairs in general and haven’t heard any interesting stories, but on my trips into Dingjiang Prefecture, I encountered two things worth sharing.
"Do you remember the path we walked at night—from Chengyu Lane to Fengshui Bridge? You said it was unusually cool, enough to ward off the summer night’s heat, and I agreed. Later, when I was talking with a Jiguren friend, he told me that around that same time, he had opened his yin eye in the dead of night and seen netherworld ghosts gathering strangely near Fengshui Bridge..."
Ding Songyan recounted the key points of the Xie Zi’an incident, the mysterious guest, the Renewal Way’s World Scorcher Envoy, and everything connected without embellishment, describing the situation in plain strokes, nothing added or omitted.
Of course, the parts touching on his own secrets were seamlessly covered over. Who had killed Xie Zi’an and how—he left that out as well. It wasn’t the point and could be glossed over.
"From the looks of it, there were quite a few undercurrents stirring in the shadows during the June incident in the prefecture city, possibly connected to the Demoness Ji’s escape.
"The second matter: when the caretaker of Dangkang Temple lost the ten-thousand-year luan tree flower, Senior Sister Zheng, several jianghu companions, and I tracked it all the way into the deep mountains north of the river, finally killed the Three Fiends of Xiao City, who had already pledged themselves to the Accumulated Evil Way, and recovered the item...
"At the time, the flower also drew the covetous interest of a Heaven-Man Realm wyrm, which chased us the whole way. Fortunately it had kept some distance, and once we escaped the mountain range it retreated on its own, leaving us all unharmed..."
Ding Songyan described the highlights of that evening, not hiding the role his two pebbles had played. He simply left out the part about carrying Senior Sister while sprinting down the mountain path, leaving a body every ten steps.
He then turned back to recount He Luo’s intelligence report and wrote of his own deduction that was built on the web of suspicion Yan Changqing had laid, implying that Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan’s aim was Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island.
"...The five of us shared a bounty of 18,000 taels of silver, and I also received a Grass-and-Wood Longevity Pill that extends one’s lifespan by twenty years. Xie Fengchao of the Xie family from Flame Capital invited us all to the bathhouse, then to the top floor of Emerald Willow House to drink and listen to music. With Senior Sister Zheng present, we naturally only drank and listened.
"When the drinking reached its peak, Xie Fengchao proposed a night excursion to Heaven’s Gate Lookout Island, which was exactly what I had in mind... There on the island, I opened my yin eyes and found, to my amazement, Nine Feng’s remnant soul. He was still wandering, not fully dissipated, and He nearly drew away my soul energies. Fortunately, Senior Sister Zheng noticed in time and used her Candlelight Sword Intent to give me a moment’s reprieve, allowing me to close my yin eyes in time...
"We also encountered a young female Di in the waters near the island, and on that note our nighttime excursion came to a satisfying end...
"Beyond all this, I made no other discoveries. Miss Xiao Qing, what do you know of Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan?"
There was actually one more thing Ding Songyan had gained from the encounter: he had ruled out Nine Feng’s lineage as the source of his own soul-hijacking resurrection. The "Scree" cry he had heard was unlike the "Lin Lin" rumbling sound akin to rolling wagon wheels that the Nine Feng’s remnant soul produced.
The Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas made no mention of Nine Feng’s call. Ding Songyan had only learned what it sounded like after coming face to face with the remnant soul.
That left only two candidates still under suspicion: the Chi Bird and the Tri-Azure Bird.
"Also, the ’Scree’ sound Xie Zi’an heard in his dream might be a lead. My initial suspicion is that it comes from either the Chi Bird or the Tri-Azure Bird. If you have detailed knowledge of either lineage, could you share what you know?"
With the serious matters covered, Ding Songyan returned to lighter conversation.
"I have moved to Baoping Lane. If you come to Dingjiang Prefecture again, you can find me there. Just look for the Ding family plaque above the door.
"On my way home last night, I saw bright lanterns hanging along the street, crowds of pedestrians, merchants everywhere, and I suddenly recalled that time when, to evade whoever was trailing us, you and I crouched by the roadside and pretended to browse hair ornaments while exchanging information in secret. When it was over, you bought a wooden hairpin and I picked out a silver one. Looking back on it now, I find it quite amusing.
"That reminded me, so I went home with Three Hundred Han Poems, Pillow Wei Lyrics, and others, hoping to find a line both apt and uncommon to reply to your last letter to show I am no shallow scholar. But after all that browsing, I still found that the line I already knew was the most fitting.
"Miss Xiao Qing, so long as we remain bosom friends in our heart of hearts, we’ll still feel like neighbours despite the distance <anno data-annotation-id="2d184c38-b12d-4123-b6cb-4916325a9961" data-title="apart">apart 1 </anno>.
"Ding Songyan."
While the ink dried, Ding Songyan read through the reply carefully. It wasn’t for the wording, but for the emotional tone that came through the letter as a whole.
When he finished, he gave a small nod of quiet satisfaction.
Good. The skill of ’keeping composure in the face of major events’ hasn’t been lost.
After deducing so many unsettling things, sitting down calmly to write Miss Xiao Qing a reply without letting anxiety show was a form of tempering for Ding Songyan’s character.
Ding Songyan sealed the letter, tucked it into the inner pocket of his robe, took up Frostshade, and walked out of the main room.
Zheng Zhuxi was already waiting for him to have lunch. The kitchen had prepared six dishes and a soup.
Once the household servants had withdrawn, Ding Songyan picked up his chopsticks and, weighing his words, said to Zheng Zhuxi, "Senior Sister, I did find some leads just now and have arrived at a conjecture."
"What kind of lead?" Zheng Zhuxi perked up.
Ding Songyan didn’t explain the lead itself. He simply said, in a low voice, "I suspect Demon Sovereign Tan Guanchan is a Two-Faced."
"He is a Two-Faced?" Zheng Zhuxi blurted out in shock.
She immediately thought of how Tan Guanchan could create Two-Faced, and how he regularly came to Dingjiang Prefecture, which shared a certain special quality with Mount Dique. Suddenly her junior brother’s suspicion didn’t seem unreasonable.
"But when Tan Guanchan first made his name, the Two-Faced were still confined in the settlement at the foot of Mount Dique." The young woman raised the objection.
Ding Songyan considered this and said, "He may have seized some opportunity to escape from that place of confinement."
For example: being buried in the graveyard outside the city, then soul-hijacking a new body and rising from the coffin.
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