Chapter 274: Something Fishy

When his shift ended, Ding Songyan went back to the side courtyard and filled his stomach, then waited patiently until the lunch service at the Cheap Wine Shop was over before heading straight there and finding Twelfth Madam Luo in the back courtyard.

"Twelfth Madam, if the Five Saints Sect finds He Jin and Hou Yang, do you think they’ll say there’s a powerhouse suspected of being a Heaven-Man at the Cheap Wine Shop on Tiger Tail Alley?" Ding Songyan asked humbly, as if seeking her counsel.

Twelfth Madam Luo wore a sky-blue round-collared short jacket and a pine-green cotton pleated skirt, looking less mature than usual and a bit fresher, though her hair was still in a loose, tilted bun.

Hearing Ding Songyan’s question, she showed no surprise, only a slight lift of her brows.

"Possibly."

Hmm, back then I only had a vague guess about Twelfth Madam’s true identity, so it’s natural I didn’t think of the aftermath. But Twelfth Madam surely knew what sending Wu Zheng to the Phoenix Terrace Study would bring. Was it that she could give up her current identity for the sake of righteousness, yet was also torn, both wanting to and not wanting to, so she went with the flow and left it to fate? Ding Songyan suddenly understood a bit of what Twelfth Madam had been thinking.

Twelfth Madam Luo, who was mending clothes, glanced at him and said flatly, "I just do as I please and take things as they come."

Great, I’ve put Twelfth Madam in a bad mood... Ding Songyan certainly couldn’t find words to comfort her now, since that would be like pouring oil on a fire. He thought for a moment and said, "I wonder if the Five Saints Sect has caught He Jin and Hou Yang yet..."

Twelfth Madam Luo pursed her lips.

"Probably not.

"In the past few days Five Saints Sect disciples have been showing up around the Treasure Market, and that Miss Zhang has appeared too."

That’s good... I’ve been busy these days with Hu Chaohui becoming Two-Faced and Fourth Jiang being attacked by the Ghost Yu Way, and when I had free time I buried myself in martial arts, so I haven’t paid attention to the rumors around the estate. Miss Zhang appearing out of the blue must have gotten the busybodies talking... Is the Five Saints Sect not good at tracking people? How many days has it been, and they still haven’t found He Jin and Hou Yang... Ding Songyan quietly let out a breath.

Twelfth Madam Luo said lightly, "If you’re not at ease, I’ll change your name and reality so you can go to the Treasure Market and ask around among the Five Saints Sect disciples."

"Thank you, Twelfth Madam!" Ding Songyan was overjoyed and did not stand on ceremony.

He had been planning to ask for exactly that kind of help.

After suppressing Ding Songyan’s "reality" to the perfected Great Proliferation Realm, Twelfth Madam Luo waved a palm outward with an impatient look.

"Go by yourself."

Ding Songyan acted as if he hadn’t heard her and said with a smile, "If the Five Saints Sect really learns that the Cheap Wine Shop’s shopkeeper is a Supreme Master, you could just take on a new identity, use ’name’ to change ’reality,’ and buy Fortune’s Arrival Inn. Didn’t you say before you wanted to run an inn next?

"I’ll do everything I can to help you stay in the Flame Capital, Twelfth Madam, at least until after you’ve seen the consort selection."

Twelfth Madam Luo shot the fellow a look.

"You’re afraid that if I leave the Flame Capital, that sister of yours, the one from another father and mother, will come knocking on your door, aren’t you?"

"Both, both." Ding Songyan put on a smile and admitted it frankly. "In short, if you don’t want to leave the Flame Capital too early, Twelfth Madam, I’ll clear every obstacle to keep you here, even if the Emperor of Heaven himself shows up. If you’d like to use this chance to leave, I’ll do everything I can to help you too. As for afterward, Jiang Lanting and I have a life-and-death friendship, so I should be able to throw around some of the Yin-Yang Order’s weight."

"Do I even need your help for that?" Twelfth Madam Luo was angered into laughter.

"Then let me put it another way: I’m at your beck and call," Ding Songyan said with a smile, not at all embarrassed.

What he had just said was actually all filler. What mattered was showing his attitude.

Twelfth Madam Luo couldn’t be bothered with him any longer.

Seeing this, Ding Songyan tactfully left the main building and the back courtyard.

Only then did Twelfth Madam Luo raise her head, look at the side door slowly closing, and mutter with a spit, "Shameless."

......

A street near the Treasure Market.

Ding Songyan did not even need to search. He found Crimson Phoenix Spear Zhang Yingbo at once.

Wherever the crowd surged and everyone’s eyes were fixed, there she was.

He pushed through the crowd and saw Miss Zhang, as dazzling as fire.

Zhang Yingbo was not wearing her usual red clothes and skirt today. She was mostly in purple, which added some nobility and subtracted some of her carefree charm.

Her raven-black hair was simply tied up with a purple ribbon. The reddish, colorful patterns on her face seemed a bit more vivid, and with a few colorful feathers at her ears, the backs of her hands, and her neck, she was so beautiful she seemed not of this world.

All the colors around naturally gathered onto this Five Saints Sect disciple, making her radiant and brilliant.

After glancing at the two-piece spear on Zhang Yingbo’s back, Ding Songyan approached, gradually losing his color.

"Miss Zhang, what a coincidence." He bowed with a smile, nearly pierced through by the envious gazes.

Zhang Yingbo, who had a good memory, said warmly, "I was just asking about you, Young Hero Ding. I didn’t expect to run into you today."

Zhang Yingbo had a good impression of Ding Songyan because this young hero was neither servile nor haughty before her, natural and at ease, and she needn’t worry about provoking needless infatuation when talking with him.

Romantic entanglements were a burden no one wanted.

Heaven’s Will Saber Yan Qing, for one, was enough of a headache for Zhang Yingbo.

"What brings you to the Treasure Market, Miss Zhang? I know this neighborhood fairly well and may be able to help," Ding Songyan said, the very picture of a hero eager to lend a hand.

Right, he’s an estate guard, and this isn’t far from the estate... Zhang Yingbo’s eyes lit up as she took out a few portraits.

"Have you seen any of these people, Young Hero Ding?"

Ding Songyan took them and looked. He recognized Hou Yang, whom he had frightened off, and He Jin, who had gifted him the Five Elements Escape Art, and his mind promptly settled.

The Five Saints Sect really hasn’t found them yet!

"Haven’t seen them." Ding Songyan shook his head and asked Zhang Yingbo, "What did they do?"

Zhang Yingbo thought for a moment.

"To seize a secret manual, they wiped out an entire family.

"One is called He Jin, the other Hou Yang. Have you heard of them, Young Hero Ding?"

Once one reached the Dharma Realm, it was nearly impossible to switch to another martial art, but seizing manuals was not uncommon in the Great Wilderness, across the kingdoms north and south: first, there were higher-grade arts; second, if one couldn’t use it themselves, descendants could practice it; and third, better safe than sorry, so any art that could counter one’s own had to be seized.

Ding Songyan thought for a moment.

"No."

Seeing a trace of disappointment on Zhang Yingbo’s face, he said sincerely, "I know this area fairly well and can help you ask around, Miss Zhang. Do you have any spare portraits?"

He made no effort to suppress his appreciation of her stunning looks and simply looked openly when it was time to look.

"Yes." Zhang Yingbo thanked Ding Songyan and handed him the stack of portraits.

After they split up, Ding Songyan, recalling his earlier experience looking for people around the Treasure Market, found a fortune teller who seemed rather well informed, spread out the portraits, and said, "Old sir, have you seen any of these people?"

The fortune teller grinned and held out his palm.

"Five coins a reading."

Only after Ding Songyan handed over a five-valued coin did he say, "I’ve seen them. They used to live behind that street. I’ll point the way in a moment, young hero.

"But I haven’t seen them for quite some time."

How could I not know where they were hiding? I’ve seen it in his dream... Ding Songyan had meant to beat the Five Saints Sect to He Jin and the others and avenge Wu Zheng, and was slightly disappointed to hear this.

The fortune teller read his face and lowered his voice, "You’re too late, young hero. Five Saints Sect disciples asked me a few days ago."

"You can tell they were Five Saints Sect disciples?" Ding Songyan asked deliberately.

What if another faction was impersonating the Five Saints Sect to look for He Jin and the others?

The fortune teller stroked his goatee.

"I’ve read the Peerless Beauties of the Jianghu myself. How could I not recognize Crimson Phoenix Spear in person?

"Want one more piece of information? Five coins."

Ding Songyan paid another five-valued coin and waited for the fortune teller to continue.

The fortune teller glanced left and right.

"Besides the Five Saints Sect disciples, others have asked about this He Jin and Hou Yang."

"What did they look like?" Ding Songyan’s heart stirred.

"Just the plain loafer type you see everywhere, no jianghu-style physical anomalies," the fortune teller said honestly. "Ordinary looking too. I might recognize them if I saw them, but I can’t describe them in words."

Ding Songyan ruminated carefully.

"Did you sell this information to the Five Saints Sect disciples?"

"Yes, to that Miss Zhang," the fortune teller said with relish.

"How did Miss Zhang react?" Ding Songyan pressed.

The fortune teller had just recalled that moment, and he had watched closely.

"Miss Zhang showed no surprise. Her mouth seemed to twitch slightly, a bit disdainful."

So... it looks like the Five Saints Sect knows who the other party hunting He Jin is... The Jianwu Emperor’s people? No, Five Saints Sect disciples wouldn’t sneer at the Jianwu Emperor’s people. That would be disrespectful... A bit of hostility, but not much yet... Ding Songyan suddenly thought of whose subordinates they might be.

Prince Shen’s estate!

Since the Five Saints Sect has even found out Hou Yang’s name, it means they know He Jin and the others used to serve Prince Shen’s estate and left only a while ago.

If they really are Prince Shen’s people, then this is fishy... Ding Songyan frowned slightly.

Does Prince Shen’s estate not know where He Jin, Hou Yang, and the others went either?

Have they vanished into thin air, disappeared mysteriously?

Ding Songyan immediately returned to the back courtyard of the Cheap Wine Shop and told Twelfth Madam Luo what he had found and what he guessed, ending with,

"A third party may have gotten involved. Or He Jin, Hou Yang, and the others, seeing their mission failed and their real faces exposed, knew they not only couldn’t return to Prince Shen’s estate but would be hunted down or silenced, and chose to go on the run and turn bandit."

Though people sent on such dirty jobs usually had family under Prince Shen’s control, desperate people looking out only for themselves was also possible.

Twelfth Madam Luo thought for a moment.

"If a third party is involved, which one do you think it would be?"

"Not enough information to guess." Ding Songyan had no direction at all for now.

During a brief silence, the two turned their eyes toward the back courtyard’s side door at the same time.

Someone was approaching.

"Miss Zhang..." Ding Songyan recognized who it was.

What is Zhang Yingbo doing at the Cheap Wine Shop?

As a knock sounded, Twelfth Madam Luo smiled faintly, shook her head, and got up and walked out of the main building.

Ding Songyan stood up as well and went to the desk, covering up the essays Twelfth Madam had written, the calligraphy she had practiced, and the paintings she had done, all in one go.

Twelfth Madam Luo glanced back at him, neither approving nor stopping him.

The shopkeeper reached the back courtyard’s side door, opened it, and saw the radiant Zhang Yingbo.

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