Chapter 7: Startling the Snake

Ding Songyan had just taken a wide stride when his eyes, habitually scanning his surroundings, suddenly caught sight of a face with a flickering expression.

The face belonged to a man wearing a headscarf, about thirty years old, with a clean-shaven beard and a reddish tip to his nose that suggested rosacea. He stared at Ding Songyan as if he were looking at a ghost that shouldn't exist, his face a blatant mask of surprise and fear.

Seeing Ding Songyan’s gaze turn toward him, the man spun around abruptly and shoved his way into the market crowd. In an instant, he was like a drop of water in the ocean, vanishing without a trace.

Ding Songyan's first instinct was to give chase and seize the man. However, lacking any martial arts, his reflexes were a beat too slow. By the time he moved to act, the man was nowhere to be found.

To see a man who is supposed to be dead wandering outside Dangkang Temple so brazenly—it scared him so much he couldn't control his expression? This method of "startling the snake" is actually quite effective... Well, things are bound to change now. There's no need to chase him this second. I hope that Mister Yu has prepared himself... Ding Songyan fell into deep thought as he stared in the direction the man with the rosacea-red nose had fled.

"Second Brother Ding, what are you looking at?" Xu Chang'an asked curiously.

Ding Songyan snapped out of his thoughts, realizing that the Headless People Cavalry Lieutenant had long since walked away and vanished.

"I think I saw a thief get caught," Ding Songyan casually fabricated a lie to warn Xu Chang'an.

There was no happy ending for thieves!

In his past life, the first mobile phone he had ever saved up for by pinching pennies had been snatched by a thief, making him miserable for months.

Xu Chang'an’s face turned pale at the words. He stood on his tiptoes and peered repeatedly in that direction. "I didn't see it. There’s no one... where...?"

"They've already been hauled off," Ding Songyan brushed him off.

He turned toward another storyteller’s area. On the outside, he appeared relaxed, but internally he was tense and highly alert. Xu Chang'an followed him absentmindedly, no longer looking for "fat sheep" to pickpocket.

Looks like he hasn't been caught yet... Those who frequent the Yamen have long since become old hands; they aren't afraid at all... Ding Songyan glanced at his neighbor, then stood in the crowd, half-heartedly scanning his surroundings while listening to the storyteller’s historical romance.

Perhaps because martial arts history and world anecdotes were legendary enough on their own, these fictionalized romances tended to focus on mythology or social life. Since the latter was something commoners could relate to, there was quite a large audience, packing the area so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through.

Suddenly, Xu Chang'an poked Ding Songyan’s arm.

Ding Songyan tensed up and looked back at him. The fellow, who looked decent but possessed the shifty eyes of a rat, pointed toward the other side and lowered his voice. "Second Brother Ding, look over there. Look over there."

The crowd was too thick for Ding Songyan to see, so he took two steps back and shifted his position.

He didn't need Xu Chang'an to say another word; he knew exactly who the boy was pointing at.

It was a girl of sixteen or seventeen. She wore a plain white short coat with parallel-level lapels over a white-bordered skirt with many pleats and green edges. Her hair was styled in twin-droop buns, with two strands of black hair falling behind her shoulders, giving her a touch of cuteness.

The girl had upturned eyes, a sharp chin, and a small but elegant bridge to her nose, which was slightly fleshy at the tip. Her skin was fair and tender, with the luster of congealed fat. As she looked around, she seemed both fresh and playful, yet she also exuded a hint of immature glamour. Purity and seductiveness seemed to coexist within her without any contradiction. At the tip of the silver hairpin on the side of her hair bun, a kingfisher-green bead flower swayed gently, echoing the jade pendants at her waist that moved with her body.

She simply stood there, drawing countless gazes. Those gazes would touch her and dart away, only to circle back again.

"Second Brother Ding, she's beautiful, isn't she?" Xu Chang'an sighed in a low voice. "To be like this at her age... in a few years, she’ll surely be a beauty capable of toppling cities."

Seeing Ding Songyan look at him, he blurted out, "Of course, she’s still a bit behind Sister Qingyan. Just a little bit."

Heh, you certainly know how to talk. She is indeed a bit behind—a bit behind in height... They have different styles and temperaments, so you can't compare them directly. One is ethereal, the other is pure yet seductive... While Ding Songyan was grumbling to himself, the storyteller finished a session and began asking for tips.

The girl tossed a silver nugget into the bamboo basket with a clack. By the looks of it, it weighed at least a tael.

"Oh! Young lady, how generous!" The storyteller was instantly filled with surprise and joy, showering her with praise.

The girl tilted her chin up slightly, looking rather proud. "I'll come back to hear you speak tomorrow."

She’s very loose with her money, very generous... and a bit naive. Clearly someone who hasn't seen much of the world... Ding Songyan suddenly wondered if he should find a way to get some silver from this girl.

If I don't earn it, someone else will. Better me than them!

It was only then that he noticed a maidservant standing beside the girl, wearing a cyan gauze skirt, looking quite charming herself. Under the girl’s dazzling appearance, the surrounding people had unconsciously ignored the maid.

While observing, Ding Songyan suddenly turned his head toward Xu Chang'an. "Have you seen this lady before?"

"Never," Xu Chang'an replied with a dazed look. If I had seen her, I would have made sure everyone in Chengyu Alley knew about it!

"She doesn't seem to be from this city?" Ding Songyan asked further.

Xu Chang'an, who always kept his back straight, said quite certainly, "Of course not. With a face like that, and she doesn't even use a veiled hat like Sister Qingyan to cover up when she goes out... If she were from this city, her beauty would have been as famous as Zheng Zhuxi from the Xiaoming Sect long ago. Even Zheng Zhuxi isn't as good-looking as her."

Ding Songyan’s impulse to make money vanished instantly, his brow furrowing slightly.

When he first arrived and saw Ding Qingyan, he had been stunned by her beauty but didn't find it strange. He had simply assumed this world had excellent "soil and water" that was good for breeding beauties. Later, after walking the streets a few times, he realized that people like his sister were actually rare—exceedingly rare. Over the past two days, he hadn't found a single person who could compare; everyone he met was far below that standard.

Now, for another equally peerless girl to suddenly pop up... wasn't that a bit too coincidental?

Had all the world's beauty gathered in Dingjiang Prefecture?

Furthermore, this girl loved listening to storytellers, yet Xu Chang'an hadn't seen her outside Dangkang Temple in the previous days. This meant she must have arrived in Dingjiang Prefecture within the last day or two.

And in these last two days, another thing had happened: Ding Erlang had mysteriously disappeared and died in a ruined temple outside the city.

There might not be a direct connection between the two events, but for them to happen so close together... it gives me the feeling that something is brewing in Dingjiang Prefecture. Is a storm from all directions gathering in Dingjiang? Ding Songyan pondered silently.

Meanwhile, Xu Chang'an looked left and right, then started moving toward the departing white-skirted girl and her maid.

Slap. Ding Songyan grabbed his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

Startled, Xu Chang'an froze. "That girl has a lot of money on her, and she doesn't seem to care or have any guard up. I was thinking I could do a bit of business."

Seeing Ding Songyan staring at him in silence, Xu Chang'an added sheepishly, "She's pretty, but I still have to find money for food. If I don't steal from her, other colleagues will. She's not Sister Qingyan; I have no friendship with her."

Ding Songyan clicked his tongue. "A girl with that kind of appearance traveling all the way to Dingjiang Prefecture, looking so innocent and not knowing how to hide her face... do you really dare to steal from her?

"Travel is difficult, and long-distance travel is even harder. There are no watchtowers on the road. If you ask me, this girl either has an extraordinary family background with expert bodyguards nearby, or she’s quite a powerful martial artist herself. If you want to seek death, you don't have to rush to do it today."

Xu Chang'an’s expression changed. "Right!"

He immediately looked at Ding Songyan with profound gratitude. "Second Brother Ding, what you said sounds just like my master. In our trade, skill is important, but the most important thing isn't skill—it's the eye for people. Knowing who to rob, who not to rob, who is easy, and who is difficult... you have to see all that before you make a move. My master is always scolding me about this."

No, no, no, the most important thing is having a brain, and you're still lacking there... Ding Songyan criticized him internally, then patted Xu Chang'an’s shoulder. "Also, don't always target fruit vendors and old ladies selling needle and thread. A man who wants to be a great thief in the future can't lower his status like that, or he’ll be mocked even after he becomes famous."

Xu Chang'an was stunned for a moment, then said after a few breaths, "Then how will I make a living..."

You just have to steal, don't you? Can't you find some honest work? The commodity economy in this world seems quite developed; there should be things to do... Ding Songyan sighed. "Steal from the rich to help the poor, then. Only steal from those who are wealthy and heartless."

Since they weren't close friends, he didn't feel like saying more. He didn't bother to advise the deep-in-thought Xu Chang'an further and bid him farewell. He continued to wander outside Dangkang Temple, hoping that the man who had been so terrified upon seeing him would bring about some change so he could resolve the hidden danger hanging over him as soon as possible.

"Ding Erlang! Ding Erlang!" Someone called his name from not far away.

Ding Songyan tensed up, turned around, and smiled toward the source of the voice.

It was a man selling Jinchuang Salve. He was under thirty, with a black cloth wrapped around his head and a patch of his own medicinal plaster stuck to his face, making him look quite comical. He held a stall banner that had two lines of text:

"Cures all falls and bruises, One wen per patch."

No literary talent, but it's concise... Ding Songyan didn't speak, waiting for the man to state his business.

The man with the plaster on his face looked excited. "Ding Erlang, why aren't you storytelling today?"

He pointed to the empty spot beside him.

Oh, so this is the stall "I" begged for through the Zhen Mansion’s connections with the book society? I wonder if I can transfer it for cash. I don't even have storytelling skills... although after listening for a while, I realized storytelling here doesn't have the techniques, set phrases, and rapid patter of my old world. As long as you speak clearly and tell the story well, it's fine. But my goal is to learn martial arts, not to become a professional talker... Before Ding Songyan could speak, the salve-seller continued to chatter away.

"A young lady was just here asking for you! She looked like a goddess from the heavens!"

Eh? A figure suddenly flashed through Ding Songyan’s mind.

"Young lady! Young lady!" the salve-seller shouted loudly. "Ding Erlang is here! In our Dingjiang Prefecture, he’s one of the top three storytellers!"

Thanks for the hype. The essence of business is indeed mutual flattery... Unsurprisingly, Ding Songyan saw the white-skirted girl and her maid from before.

The girl walked over quickly, asking with unreserved delight, "Ding Erlang, what time are you storytelling today? I want to hear it."

Ding Songyan blinked. His mind whirred as he cupped his hands. "In response to the lady, I have been feeling a bit unwell these past few days and planned to rest. But if the lady wishes to hear, I can tell a section. Not a historical tale, but a new legend I recently learned. If I don't tell it well, the lady doesn't have to give me a single copper."

He definitely didn't know the "historical tales" the original host knew. But as for stories, he had a mountain of reference material from his old world.

His goal was clear: he didn't want the girl’s money or her person. He only wanted to establish a connection and leave her owing him a small favor. With the girl’s likely background, a small favor at the right time could be worth more than a thousand pieces of gold.