Chapter 78: A Return Letter

Su Qingli’s words flowed like a gentle stream as they passed slowly, leaving Ding Songyan calmer in both body and mind.

After a moment, he raised the dried petals to his nose and breathed in their delicate, sweet fragrance, imagining from afar the splendid sight of silver osmanthus blossoms covering the hills.

So this is what ’Beguiles the World’ does? Making people smile without even thinking, just through a letter... Ding Songyan quipped to himself and shook his head.

He put the letter and the dried petals back in the envelope, folded it, and tucked it into the inner hidden pocket of his black training clothes.

Leaving the alley, he said to Zheng Zhuxi, "Senior Sister, it’s getting late. Shall we head back to the sect?"

The information Miss Xiao Qing had mentioned in her letter needed to be passed on to his master as soon as possible, and likewise the matter of the Accumulated Evil Way.

"All right." Zheng Zhuxi did not ask what letter her junior brother had just been reading.

By the time the two of them returned to the Purple Forbidden Chamber of the Hall of Myriad Stars, the setting sun was in its final moments, and Zheng Zhuxi recounted the day’s events from beginning to end.

"The Accumulated Evil Way..." Tao Wenshu, clad in her star-scattered black robes, sighed with inexplicable feeling. "And they are the first to come investigating."

"Master, does the Brightnight Sect have an old grudge with the Accumulated Evil Way?" Ding Songyan asked with sharp perception.

Tao Wenshu glanced at her daughter and disciple.

"The Way Master of the Accumulated Evil Way is the Demon Lord Tan Guanchan. When the heretics besieged our Brightnight Sect in years past, he exerted considerable effort."

"But wasn’t that 250-260 years ago?" Ding Songyan was quite astonished, as was Zheng Zhuxi.

As Ding Songyan understood it, the lifespan gained from the Dharma Realm to the Heaven-Man Realm was roughly 60 years, and from the Heaven-Man Realm to the Spirit Platform Realm about the same. The Great Proliferation Realm and the Dharma Realm together added another 60 years of life, with the Great Proliferation Realm accounting for 35% and the Dharma Realm 65%.

In other words, setting aside the special properties of particular cultivation arts and other life-prolonging methods, and depending on individual constitution, a Dharma Realm Grandmaster might live to between 120-150 years old. At the Heaven-Man Realm, individual variation narrowed to its minimum, with lifespans ranging from 200-210 years. Sages of the Spirit Platform Realm could typically live to 270, and beyond that it depended on whether one’s cultivation art had life-extending effects or whether one had other means of prolonging life.

If Demon Lord Tan Guanchan had participated in the siege of the Brightnight Sect 250-260 years ago, his current age was likely close to 300 or even beyond it.

He’s still alive?

Tao Wenshu gave a slight nod.

"At that time, Demon Lord Tan Guanchan was already a renowned Supreme Master. He is likely over 300 now. He has never died, presumably having consumed something to prolong his life, and is the oldest living Heaven-Man practitioner still alive today."

"He hasn’t become a Sage?" It was the first time Ding Songyan had confirmed that beings over 300 years old actually existed in the world.

This was indeed the Mountains-and-Seas Realm, where elixirs of immortality existed.

Seen in that light, it was not impossible that Jiang Weichen, mentioned in Miss Xiao Qing’s letter, had also survived to the present day.

"In the past ten years, Tan Guanchan has acted seven times, and on none of those occasions did he show the distinctive signs of the Spirit Platform Realm. Those of the jianghu still regard him as a Supreme Master." Tao Wenshu chose her words carefully. "What the reality is, there is no way to know. Even if Tan Guanchan has yet to set foot in the Spirit Platform Realm, he is not to be underestimated. Within the Heaven-Man Realm, leaving aside counteracting situations, he is absolutely among the very best."

The warning not to underestimate him was directed specifically at Ding Songyan. Tao Wenshu, herself only a first-rank Spirit Resonated Grandmaster, was in no position to underestimate Demon Lord Tan Guanchan. She was simply reminding Ding Songyan that if he ever reached the Heaven-Man Realm in the future, he must never underestimate this figure.

Seeing that both her disciple and her daughter had nodded, Tao Wenshu added another reminder.

"The Accumulated Evil Way has always been at odds with the Sage-Severing Way, so they are bound to take an interest in Demoness Ji’s movements. For now they have not yet gone as far as suspecting that the Zhen household affair has any connection to the whereabouts of Kunlun. But this is a warning to us. Songyan, be careful with your words and actions from now on.

"Although their Demon Swallowing Evil Devouring Technique was suppressed by you, that is not the Accumulated Evil Way’s foundational art. Their primary cultivation is the Accumulated Evil Divine Art contained in the Canon of Accumulated Evil, and the most distinctive technique within it is the Molten Gold Finger, which can break through anything indestructible and imperishable."

Indestructible as diamond, imperishable as gold? The Molten Gold Finger of the Accumulated Evil Divine Art is formidable indeed... While Ding Songyan marveled, his gaze drifted deliberately to his senior sister, Zheng Zhuxi, beside him.

Tao Wenshu could tell he had more to say, and turned to her daughter.

"You may return to Myriad Ravines Courtyard first."

Zheng Zhuxi made no fuss about it and left the Purple Forbidden Chamber without ceremony.

Only then did Ding Songyan speak.

"Master, Miss Su Qingli of the Celestial Maiden Sect sent me a letter through Hong Mail..."

He relayed the information about Jiang Weichen and the Kunlun Secret Archive almost in its entirety.

"What a sincere and good-hearted young lady," Tao Wenshu said with genuine feeling.

She looked at Ding Songyan.

"I will report this matter to the imperial court tomorrow. For now, all the Brightnight Sect can do is cooperate in searching for the Kunlun Secret Archive."

The Brightnight Sect Master paused, then continued, "Songyan, go and visit Pan Yunzhou shortly. Tell him plainly that the matter of supplementing the Myriad Stars Canon with the Celestial Stars Scripture is of great importance, and that we must first confirm he truly is Pan Yunzhou, and clarify the actual circumstances of the Pan family and his own movements and experiences over the years.

"Not only will we investigate ourselves, but I will also ask the Martial Prohibition Bureau in Flame Capital for assistance. Without four or five months, it will be difficult to reach any definite conclusion.

"If he is willing to wait, I will invite him to stay as a guest adviser for one year and provide him with suitable resources for his cultivation. If he is not willing to spend his time waiting, then the matter ends here, and you may see him politely off the mountain."

With Ding Songyan’s Manifesting the Way and its Virtue in the picture—the hope the entire sect was pinning on him—Tao Wenshu had no intention of taking risks or rushing ahead in the matter of the Myriad Stars Canon.

As far as she was concerned, it would be great if the matter came together, and no great loss if it did not.

Master truly acts with openness and integrity... Ding Songyan thought with quiet admiration, and accepted the errand.

Those fond of playing mind games tend to hold those who act with straightforward integrity in especially high regard.

He went to the Lanternwarm Tower by the lake and knocked on the door of Pan Yunzhou’s guest room.

Pan Yunzhou opened the door, and upon seeing who it was, his face broke into a look of delighted surprise.

"Young Hero Ding, what brings you here?"

Ding Songyan stepped inside and relayed what his master had just said, ending with, "What are your thoughts, Young Hero Pan?"

Pan Yunzhou was quiet for a long moment before saying with admiration, "Worthy of the name ’Sword of Rectitude’ Tao Wenshu. Even without the invitation as a guest adviser, I would be willing to wait at the Brightnight Sect for a year. I have already waited years. A few more don’t matter to me."

Having said that, he gave Ding Songyan a deep bow.

"This is what I have always wished for, though I dared not ask."

"Then I’ll call you Brother Pan from now on. You must be older than me, right?" Ding Songyan looked at Pan Yunzhou’s earnest, unassuming face and asked with some uncertainty.

It was a habit of his to build rapport.

"I am twenty-four, so yes, I am older than you, Brother Ding." Pan Yunzhou smiled ingratiatingly. "If I trouble you in any way going forward, I hope you will forgive me."

"We’ll spar plenty," Ding Songyan said with a smile.

After enough rounds of sparring, I’ll have a solid grasp of your Sun Moon Divine Saber techniques, useful groundwork for whatever martial arts I create in the future.

Bidding Pan Yunzhou farewell, he returned to his own small courtyard, lit the oil lamp, ate his evening meal, entered the meditation room, and spread out a sheet of paper.

He thought for quite some time, then set brush to paper.

"Miss Xiao Qing:

"The Brightnight Sect’s mountain is tranquil and secluded, yet it is a place of peace.

"There is a great lake here, misty and boundless, a vast expanse of blue-green. In the last light of the setting sun, the waves seem to catch fire, while green reflections shimmer within, akin to the verse ’half of the river rippling, half in red aglow’...

"I train every day without fail and have thoroughly mastered the Brightnight Sect’s introductory sword arts. Once I complete aperture refinement, I can begin practicing the Seven Swords of Candlelit Night. When that day comes, I shall illuminate the Great Void with candleflame...

"Master Tao is open and upright, holding firm to rectitude, and has her own insights into the martial arts that I have gained much from. Senior Brother Xu Julong is a man of honest and loyal character but worries too much. He’s a good elder brother, yet hard to truly befriend. Second Senior Brother Wan Guhong is indolent and easygoing, and being around him feels relaxing and casual...

"Junior Senior Sister Zheng Zhuxi takes quite after her mother—generous and frank, yet even warmer. You must have heard of her when you were in Dingjiang prefecture city. She is proud in temperament and somewhat assertive, yet she has empathy and can understand others, and has taken good care of me...

"I sold The Legend of the White Snake to a storytelling guild. There is already someone performing it at Alpine Lake Town at the foot of the mountain. In a few more months it may reach north of the river. If you happen to hear it, Miss Xiao Qing, I hope it brings a knowing smile to your lips.

"Alpine Lake Town is where the Brightnight Sect’s members gather and live. It is quite lively, with six main streets running three by three—one called Worthy Ancestors, another Greenwater...

"The very day I received your letter, I happened to encounter a heretic of the Accumulated Evil Way in Alpine Lake Town. He had come to investigate the Zhen household affair, but his compulsion to do evil exposed him, and I killed him with a single stab.

"Perhaps with the killing of Yan Changqing already behind me, I felt very little discomfort. For someone so devoted to doing evil, killing him was an act of virtue...

"Speaking of which, I have recently met a descendant of the Pan family. I wonder if you know anything about the annihilation of the Pan, Xiong, and Qu clans in years past, or the current situation of the Pan family...

"The sect also gifted me a sword named Frostshade. Its blade is like crystallized ice, with a trace of scarlet fire within, sharp enough to cut iron like mud, cold to the touch...

"Besides training in martial arts, I have also been practicing my calligraphy. By now my handwriting should no longer give you a headache..."

Ding Songyan continued writing in an easy, flowing manner, recounting the past month and more of his life in plain and understated strokes, and at last wrote: "Miss Xiaoqing, by the time you receive this letter, the Mid-Autumn Festival will likely have already passed. But the bright moon shines on people year after year. When it is full, I shall share a drink with it, and that will be a toast to you from afar.

"May we both live long, and meet again another day.

"Ding Songyan."

......

In Myriad Ravines Courtyard, nestled among the pine groves.

Zheng Zhuxi looked at her mother with imploring eyes.

"Mother, what exactly did Junior Brother Ding gain from the Zhen household affair? He can suppress evil, and he skipped the body-tempering and qi-refining stages of cultivation. I’ve gone through the entire Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas and couldn’t find any fruit or herb that would do something like that."

"If you can’t figure it out, don’t try to guess," Tao Wenshu replied with a smile as she lifted the plain iron crown from her head and set it on the table. "How many anomalies you can spot from him, and how much of the truth you can piece together, is your own affair. I cannot say a word about it. And you remember to hold your tongue as well."

"All right..." Zheng Zhuxi showed her girlish side, mumbling as she shifted over to the table.

She picked up the iron crown and found it heavy in her hands, its edges and surfaces digging in uncomfortably at every grip.

"Mother, why is the sect master’s iron crown made like this? Does it have some special power?" Zheng Zhuxi suddenly had the question.

Tao Wenshu looked at the iron crown in her daughter’s hands and was quiet for a moment.

"It is made this way to remind each generation of sect masters that wearing it is not a showcase for glory, and it holds no special power..."

As she spoke, Tao Wenshu’s gaze lifted and came to rest on Zheng Zhuxi’s bright, lovely face, and she spoke the last words in a low, quiet voice.

"It means responsibility."

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