Chapter 192: Night Patrol

By the time Ding Songyan returned from Huangmen Alley to the vicinity of Prince Kang’s estate, darkness had fallen. He turned into Tiger Tail Alley and entered the Cheap Wine Shop.

After the incident at noon, business was noticeably worse. The mealtime rush had only just ended, yet merely three or four tables remained occupied.

Ding Songyan selected a square table against the wall and ordered a pot of wine, a small bucket of rice, two meat dishes, and one vegetable dish.

The stir-fried lamb with scallions was delivered not by either of the two servers who handled odd jobs, but by the ordinary-looking, clean-faced cook Shi Wuyan.

Ding Songyan looked up at him and spoke as though to himself, "Your junior brother has been found, safe and sound."

"Tonight’s meal is on me." Shi Wuyan nodded slightly, then turned and left.

Being a good person sure is nice. Everywhere I go, someone treats me to a meal... Ding Songyan joked inwardly as he ate and drank.

After Twelfth Madam Luo finished dealing with the men making lewd remarks, he discreetly gestured for her to come over.

"What else do you need?" Twelfth Madam Luo approached carrying a kettle of boiling water, dressed in her short dark-red jacket and tricolored long skirt.

Throwing boiling water at someone would be difficult to control. The hatchet is still better... Ding Songyan chuckled.

"There is something I believe you should know, Twelfth Madam."

Twelfth Madam Luo placed the darkened kettle on Ding Songyan’s table.

"What is it?"

Ding Songyan looked around. Seeing that the other tables were far away, he lowered his voice.

"There is likely another important reason your wine shop attracts so much trouble, unlike the others you have run. The people of the Flame Capital are worldly, you have remained here too long, and you are not fierce enough, but that is not all."

An inquisitive look appeared on Twelfth Madam Luo’s face.

"Chef Shi’s martial art most likely possesses the trait of bringing calamities of war," Ding Songyan explained the matter in detail.

According to Master Xiaozhang, few copies of the Secret Classic of Mountains and Seas recorded Jubi’s Corpse’s traits. Twelfth Madam Luo might only have recognized Shi Wuyan as a defector from the Dismemberment Way who had cultivated the Living Flesh Divine Art, without knowing much else.

Twelfth Madam Luo’s eyes shifted slightly as she murmured, "So that is why..."

The shopkeeper immediately looked troubled.

"Surely I cannot drive him away within the next few days? Forget it. I will remain in the Flame Capital for only another six months to a year, so there is no need. He has always behaved himself and works diligently."

"If you drive him away, whom will I ask for information?" Ding Songyan found the idea amusing. "I merely wanted to remind you not to be so careless when hiring workers after you move elsewhere and open an inn, unless you particularly enjoy throwing stones at people’s heads."

Twelfth Madam Luo pursed her lips.

"Understood."

Her eyes shifted, and she suddenly smiled.

"I treated you kindly and spent so long speaking with you. I fear your reputation has suffered."

Twelfth Madam Luo had stood beside Ding Songyan’s table and spoken quietly for some time, prompting the remaining customers to glance their way every so often.

"It does not matter. Such a minor issue cannot damage my spotless reputation." Ding Songyan waved a hand.

I cannot leap up in alarm and shout, "She is my sister-in-law!" at them. That would be even worse.

Someone must ask before I can invent the story.

Twelfth Madam Luo studied Ding Songyan carefully, seemingly unconvinced that he possessed a spotless reputation.

After the shopkeeper left, Ding Songyan poured his own wine and leisurely finished the meal before strolling back to the estate.

Upon entering his room, he opened the window and let the evening breeze carry away the stuffiness.

He then lit the oil lamp, spread out a sheet of letter paper, ground his ink, and raised the brush.

"Senior Sister..."

He recounted everything he had seen and heard during his first few days in the Flame Capital, along with every detail of life at Prince Kang’s estate, then changed the subject.

"There’s a Cheap Wine Shop in Tiger Tail Alley beyond the rear street of Prince Kang’s estate. Its shopkeeper is Luo Mingyin, who calls herself Twelfth Madam Luo. She is actually a hidden master of at least the perfected Dharma Realm and is tempering her heart in the mortal world. I noticed her while investigating the stone-throwing incidents. She was the one striking people in the head.

"She resented certain patrons who not only made lewd remarks but also tried to grope her, so she vented her anger by pelting their heads with stones. She is in her thirties, with a habitually puffy face and a rather plump figure. She claims some connection to Ditai and cultivates two Chapters of the Nine Canons. I greatly wish to know more, so I not only concealed her identity as a powerhouse but also advised her on ending the harassment.

"In return, she told me that Chef Shi at the wine shop is a local intelligence broker and that I can ask him for information when necessary.

"While investigating the death of Qi Lingyi of the Sea-Treading Gang, I visited the Cheap Wine Shop to ask Chef Shi for assistance and exchanged a few casual words with Twelfth Madam Luo. The patrons actually began inventing scandalous rumors about us. Truly laughable..."

Ding Songyan carefully reread this passage several times, then set the letter aside to dry.

He took out a fresh sheet of paper and began another letter.

"Miss Xiao Qing..."

After sharing his experiences in the Flame Capital, Ding Songyan described Twelfth Madam Luo’s appearance and concluded, "That is roughly what she looks like. She calls herself Luo Mingyin and claims some connection to Ditai in your Gan Kingdom. Miss Xiao Qing, do you recognize her or know how to verify her origins...?"

Just after closing with two lines of poetry, Ding Songyan saw Wu Mo and Li Baima crowding around his window.

"Writing to your family?" Li Baima asked casually.

Ding Songyan answered openly, "To my senior sister."

"Oh? You and your senior sister are...?" Wu Mo immediately grew interested and waggled his eyebrows.

Ding Songyan answered, "My senior sister is in mourning. You must not spread such rumors."

"We get it." Wu Mo and Li Baima both wore knowing expressions.

Seeing that the first letter had dried, Ding Songyan folded the pages, placed them in an envelope, and carefully marked it to prevent delivery to the wrong person.

"There is another letter?" Wu Mo’s eyes widened.

"This one is for a close friend." Ding Songyan remained perfectly calm.

Li Baima and Wu Mo instantly lost interest.

After sealing and marking the letter to Miss Xiao Qing as well, Ding Songyan looked up thoughtfully and asked, "Have you heard of a man named Ou Luwen?"

"Hero Ou?" Li Baima was startled. "Why are you asking about him?"

"I may need his help with something," Ding Songyan answered frankly.

Seeing that he did not wish to elaborate, Li Baima recalled, "Hero Ou calls himself the Feaster on the Sea of Letters. He first became famous by challenging the masters of the martial halls in Martial Star Ward..."

Many martial halls in Martial Star Ward had Grandmasters holding down the fort.

Grandmasters without the backing of a sect or great clan would struggle to establish a faction of their own, but they were more than capable of opening a martial hall in the Flame Capital.

Thanks to their cultivation and experience, the halls produced excellent students. Every Orchid Examination and Orchid Grace Examination saw some of them placed near the top. They entered military camps or the imperial court, rose through the ranks, and gradually repaid the halls that trained them.

Disciples of major sects and schools did not participate in the martial examination. They entered the court or military through recommendations and recruitment.

"Hero Ou ultimately defeated every one of those hall masters, proving himself worthy of first-rank Spirit Resonated. Yet he is generous and forthright. Not only did he avoid making enemies of those martial halls, but he also helps them frequently. His reputation in Martial Star Ward is excellent, and he can rally crowds with a single call." Longing entered Li Baima’s voice. "So long as you are polite, a man of Hero Ou’s character will certainly act out of righteousness and lend you a hand."

Ding Songyan nodded gently and committed the information to memory.

Li Baima changed the subject.

"Tonight is our turn to patrol during the third and fourth watches. We will continue until our next rest day, then rotate back to guarding the gates. In short, all the duties take turns."

"Very well." Ding Songyan nodded.

He took out the Peerless Beauties of the Jianghu and Martial World’s Jade Tree Rankings and smiled at Li Baima and Wu Mo.

"The latest editions. Would you like to look through them together?"

"Of course." Both men’s eyes lit up.

They gathered with Fan Chunlin in Wu Mo’s room and leafed through the Peerless Beauties of the Jianghu by the light of an oil lamp. Within a few pages, they reached Crimson Phoenix Spear Zhang Yingbo.

"It captures about seventy percent of her likeness," Ding Songyan assessed fairly.

Master Xiaozhang was a skilled painter, but even he could not fully reproduce the bearing of a peerless beauty.

"Seventy percent..." Li Baima, Wu Mo, and Fan Chunlin all turned toward Ding Songyan in unison.

When did you see Miss Zhang?

Ding Songyan said with an unhurried air, "While wandering outside yesterday, I saw Miss Zhang and Heaven’s Will Saber Yan Qing."

"Sigh..." Fan Chunlin and the others were both envious and wistful.

......

Late that night, in a silent alley outside Prince Kang’s estate.

Two figures stood facing each other. One had a reddish face and thick animal fur covering his exposed skin. The other possessed a bird-like face and protruding breastbone, with black feathers growing around his neck and wrists.

"Brother Hong, why did His Majesty send us to Prince Kang’s estate? Why did we even change into ordinary clothes?" asked the man in his thirties with the protruding breastbone.

He wore black clothing suited for moving at night.

The man addressed as Brother Hong glanced at the high walls of Prince Kang’s estate.

"Boxiu, His Majesty learned of the Sea-Treading Gang’s Qi Lingyi from the Martial Prohibition Bureau and fears the matter may implicate Prince Kang. He wants you to test the estate’s defenses for gaps that might place the prince in danger."

"How should I test them?" Lu Boxiu frowned slightly.

Hong Wansheng pointed at Prince Kang’s estate.

"Pretend to be a night raider and infiltrate the estate’s inner study. We will see whether they detect you and how long it takes."

"Would that not put me in great danger?" Lu Boxiu was also a Grandmaster, but only a second-rank Subtlety Attuned. He did not believe he could defeat Prince Kang’s four trusted confidants. If they encountered him in the dead of night, he might be surrounded and killed before he could explain himself. That would be a truly unjust death.

"Do not cover your face. The Grandmasters at Prince Kang’s estate all recognize you as an inner-palace guard. Carry your identification token as well. If necessary, you can reveal your identity and explain His Majesty’s verbal command. If the situation becomes urgent, stop resisting. They will need to leave you alive, and I will enter the estate to explain," Hong Wansheng spoke seriously.

Lu Boxiu remained silent for a while before answering, "Very well. I will help Prince Kang’s estate identify and remedy any gaps in its defenses."

He walked into the shadows along the side of the alley. His body rapidly blended into the darkness and vanished.

......

The late-autumn night wind had grown cold. Wearing the estate guards’ dark-red and cyan uniform of thick cotton and carrying Frostshade, Ding Songyan patrolled the assigned route with Wu Mo, Li Baima, and Fan Chunlin.

The sky seemed high and distant as tree shadows swayed while silence lay everywhere. An inexplicable peace settled over his body and mind. It reminded him of the hardest period of building his business in his previous life, when he always returned home deep in the night and only had the occasional barking dog greeting him throughout the residential compound. Those had been the only hours when he could quiet his mind.

Li Baima and the others remained silent for fear of disturbing the nobles. They vigilantly examined every corner, guarding against possible night raiders.

Their footsteps were light as they followed the covered walkway deeper into the estate.

Suddenly, Ding Songyan’s steps paused for an instant before returning to normal.

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