Moonlight swayed. Zheng Zhuxi’s eyes flickered as she looked at Ding Song and said, "Is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Ding Songyan shook his head slowly.

Not only had he seemingly achieved his goal, but in the process he had connected many things and figured them out.

Who knew what treasure Yan Changqing actually brought out from the Celestial Thearch’s palace on Mount Kunlun. Even without a treasure, the mere knowledge of where the vanished Mount Kunlun was and how to enter it would be enough to drive Sages and Supreme Masters to war.

"We’ll be watching." Zheng Zhuxi nodded with considerable seriousness.

She took back the glass palace lantern and led her group of Brightnight Sect disciples out of Chengyu Lane.

Seeing no one else around, Zheng Zhuxi glanced up at the tallest watchtower, then said with some hesitation, "Senior Sister Wuyue, Senior Brother Wufeng, we’ll go to the prefectural and county offices first to report this. Then we’ll send a carrier pigeon back to the sect and ask my mother or one of the senior uncles to rush here overnight.

"If there’s no reply by early morning, the three of us will make a trip back to the sect ourselves.

"The situation is complex. Night travel is dangerous and unpredictable. Without a powerhouse ranked at Form Transfigured or above to accompany us, no one should attempt to leave the city and report back to the sect on their own."

That last part explained why they would only send a carrier pigeon tonight.

Senior Brother Wufeng, expressionless in his black fitted uniform, thought for a moment.

"From what Ding Songyan said, this matter involves not just the Zhen household but also a nearly complete Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas. It may even hold the answer to Kunlun’s disappearance and a treasure from the Celestial Thearch’s palace. Why not keep this quiet for now and inform only the sect?

"Even if the carrier pigeon doesn’t work, once dawn breaks, a round trip would take only half a day."

Zheng Zhuxi walked along the dark street, her light green skirt swaying gently with her steps.

She was silent for a long time before pressing her lips together.

"Human lives hang in the balance. Saving someone is like fighting a fire.

"The powerhouses at the prefectural and county offices are nearby. How could we pass over what’s close to seek what’s far?"

Tao Wuyue opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end remained silent.

Wufeng watched Zheng Zhuxi’s retreating figure, his expression unchanged. He said in a low voice, "Candlelight illuminates the long night. The long night exists both outside and within the heart. For Junior Sister Zheng to make this decision, her future achievements will be boundless."

"Senior Brother Wu, you act purely for the sect’s sake. There’s no question of who’s right or wrong between us." Zheng Zhuxi seemed to lighten considerably, her smile clear and bright. "Since I’m leading this patrol, the decision is mine. Afterward, I’ll be the one to face the Disciplinary Elder’s inquiry. If there’s punishment, just say I acted alone and couldn’t be dissuaded."

......

After his exchange with Zheng Zhuxi, the baffling oppression Ding Songyan had felt earlier dissipated considerably; yet, he felt like he had forgotten something. This made him walk home at an unhurried pace before lying down.

He was drifting toward sleep when he suddenly heard sobbing.

It came from the inner room partitioned by the simple screen. The crying was deeply anguished.

"Qingyan?" Ding Songyan called out in puzzlement.

"Second Brother, I— I had a nightmare," Ding Qingyan sobbed.

Ding Songyan felt a flash of helplessness.

"What kind of nightmare?"

Qingyan sniffled.

"First I dreamed that we moved back into that big compound. But then— then Father died, Mother died, Bull died, and you died too. The whole courtyard was covered in blood, bright red everywhere. I was the only one standing there looking at it. Just me, all alone..."

Her weeping grew harder to contain as she spoke.

"Dreams are the opposite of reality." Ding Songyan tried to comfort her.

Qingyan choked out between sobs, "But it felt so real. Like it had actually happened.

"Then I dreamed we were still in this courtyard. Mother killed Bull. Killed Father. And you left me. I didn’t know where you’d gone. I was alone in this room... just me, all alone..."

"I’m right here, aren’t I?" Ding Songyan said gently.

Qingyan seemed to be wiping her tears and nose with a handkerchief. After a while she said, "I also dreamed I was waiting for you to tell me a story, to lull me to sleep. I waited and waited and waited, and you never came. The room was so dark. There seemed to be blood on the window..."

By the end, the girl was sobbing again.

"Should I tell you a story now?" Ding Songyan did not think his sister was crying like this just to trick him into narrating.

"No need," Qingyan replied, her nasal voice thick with congestion.

She spoke with fear, trembling slightly.

"Second Brother, do you think something bad is going to happen? Why else would I dream like this?

"Second Brother, I don’t want to be separated from all of you. Second Brother, I don’t want you to die..."

Thinking of what might happen tomorrow, Ding Songyan’s emotions churned. He did not know how to console her.

I haven’t shown any outward signs... Is my sister this sensitive to bad things? Ding Songyan sighed inwardly, then said to Qingyan, "Nothing will happen. I won’t die. Wherever I go, I’ll take you with me."

"Swear it!" Qingyan seemed to know she was being somewhat unreasonable, but still could not fully calm herself.

"Fine, fine, fine." Ding Songyan deliberately made conversation. "Who should I swear to?"

"Swear to the Supreme Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Origin." Qingyan recalled after a moment.

This was the honorific given to the Celestial Thearch after Daoism incorporated him into its pantheon. The full title was far too long for most people to remember, so commoners used this abbreviation.

Ding Songyan cleared his throat.

"I, Ding Songyan, swear to the Supreme Celestial Worthy of Mysterious Origin that I will not die, will not abandon my little sister, and will take her wherever I go. Otherwise, may lightning strike me, fires burn me, or floods drown me."

The prerequisite for violating this oath was his own death, so Ding Songyan swore it without any psychological burden. Once you’re dead, what is there to fear?

However, given that this was a world with supernatural powers and a netherworld, he quietly changed the "eternal damnation" he had been about to say into "fires and floods." What if the dead retained awareness, or there was a next life?

As for taking his sister wherever he went, that was just an extra pair of chopsticks and another bowl.

Only then did Qingyan say with satisfaction, "Then I believe you."

She tossed and turned for a while before finally falling asleep again.

......

The next day, Ding Songyan, having slept poorly, left the house with slightly puffy eyes, carrying his storytelling equipment.

"Songyan." Bull, who for some reason had not yet left for the docks, came over with a smile. "You’ve been so good to me. I’ll remember it."

Why is he saying this out of the blue... Ding Songyan responded with a couple of confused words, then headed to Dangkang Temple with Xu Chang’an.

With the market in sight, he thought for a moment and said to Xu Chang’an, "Come to my house at four in the afternoon. If I’m not there, go to the county office and report that the Zhen household is trying to harm me."

"What?" Xu Chang’an looked at Ding Songyan with alarm and uncertainty.

Ding Songyan smiled and nodded.

"Don’t worry about anything after that."

If things were to erupt today, then no one should still be watching an insignificant figure like Xu Chang’an. If nothing erupted, then Ding Songyan would certainly be home waiting for him by four. And besides, Xu Chang’an might not even remember this conversation by then.

Xu Chang’an’s throat bobbed several times.

"Okay."

They parted ways. Ding Songyan arrived at his spot, gathered his focus, and delivered the final installment of The Legend of the White Snake with all its dramatic peaks and valleys. The story ended with the warm scene of a family reunited.

Looking thoroughly satisfied, Xiao Qing tossed in another silver piece. The rest of the audience opened their purses more generously than ever upon seeing the happy ending.

"See you this evening." Xiao Qing was hurrying off to the Zhen household’s banquet and did not linger. She waved and left with her maidservant toward Tianyang Hall.

Ding Songyan was about to leave when a fellow storyteller in a dark blue robe approached.

The man in his forties smiled broadly.

"Ding Songyan, would you let others tell your Legend of the White Snake?"

"I plan to compile it properly these next few days and see if the guild wants to buy it." Ding Songyan had been thinking about this for a while.

He now understood the local trade’s rules well enough. If someone else wanted to tell his Legend of the White Snake, they had to pay him and get his permission. Otherwise, they would need to completely rework it beyond recognition. Of course, if someone who had heard the story went to the Flame Capital or another province to tell it, he would have no reach to stop them.

If he sold the script to the guild, other storytellers only needed to pay the guild a fee to perform the story and could make their own adaptations without consulting him. Whether Ding Songyan received a share depended on the terms he negotiated.

Additionally, the local guild would recommend good scripts to guilds in other provinces for a fee. Those guilds, if they purchased the rights, would similarly watch for unauthorized performances. This was what people meant by "all guilds under heaven are one family, bound together even when the bones break." Internal disputes were settled behind closed doors.

Hearing Ding Songyan’s words, the colleague beamed.

"Excellent! Excellent! Very generous of you, Ding Songyan!"

Ding Songyan exchanged a few modest words and was about to leave when more people approached, all representatives from well-known entertainment halls in the North Lane pleasure quarter, inviting him to perform.

He did not even know if he would have a tomorrow. Using the excuse of careful deliberation, he left the Dangkang Temple market.

After a quick meal, he arrived outside the Zhen estate but did not immediately go in. Instead, he paced nearby, waiting for Xiao Qing and her second uncle, as well as Ren Youyang to appear.

His intention was to show his face in front of Xiao Qing and Ren Youyang, to silently "tell" them: I’m here at the Zhen estate as usual, just as I am every day. If something goes wrong, remember to pull me out.

While waiting patiently, Ding Songyan suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

It was his mother, Liu Yuzao.

Liu Yuzao wore a dark front-buttoning jacket and a blue paired apron, her head covered by a black gauze veiled hat. She walked toward the Zhen estate at an unhurried pace.

"Mother, what brings you here?" Ding Songyan approached, puzzled.

"Visiting Nuansheng," Liu Yuzao said simply.

Ding Songyan was silent for a moment before saying, "The Zhen estate has important guests today. Best not to stay too long."

It could be dangerous.

Liu Yuzao acknowledged tersely and entered the Zhen estate through a side door.

Watching her go, Ding Songyan was first puzzled, then felt a sharp throb in his head.

Fake. Fake. Fake! Something seemed to explode inside him, echoing without end.

In a flash, Ding Songyan remembered what he had discovered and forgotten last night.

Ding Shengyi was the "moth patriarch" who manipulated moth-men to perform their act. Bull was a martial cultivator of considerable attainment whose body bore physical abnormalities!

And all of this had been completely forgotten during his evening stroll with Xiao Qing!

The moment these memories returned, Ding Songyan was struck by a recollection of the questions he had asked Qingyan on the very first day after his transmigration:

"How do I know you’re really my sister?"

"And how would I know the people who come are really my father and mother?"

His own words had become prophetic.