Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 82: A Drunk

After receiving Zheng Zhuxi’s covert glare filled with complicated emotions, Ding Songyan could only suppress his smile and say inwardly, For the future of the sect, for the wishes of our forebears, these two burdens are yours to carry, Senior Sister.

Get used to it. There will be more in the future.

Zheng Zhuxi had no way to argue and could only repeat again and again that she had ”gotten lucky,” but Constable Chief Xue and his men took it for modesty and heaped even more praise on her.

The young woman had no choice but to close her mouth, cast a sideways glance at Ding Songyan, and quietly step to one side.

Xue Zhangjian walked toward Qu Zhongheng and said in a low voice, ”Qu Zhongheng, didn’t we agree that anything dangerous is to be kept at the workshop in the south of the city?”

Qu Zhongheng immediately started hopping in protest.

”It was made at the south city workshop! I only brought it home after confirming there were no problems!”

He glanced at the devastated courtyard, his voice slowly trailing off.

”Who could have known it would develop problems afterward...”

Xue Zhangjian kicked aside half a wooden figure and came to stand before Qu Zhongheng.

”What exactly happened?”

Qu Zhongheng recounted everything he had told Ding Songyan in full. With each passing sentence, Xue Zhangjian’s expression grew darker.

At the end, the constable chief said in a tone of exasperated amusement, ”Don’t you know your own martial arts level? Any ghost-binding technique within your reach would necessarily be close to shamanic magic. Methods of that kind are intimately tied to the season, the environment, and the people involved. The moment any of those change, problems arise. They can only serve a temporary purpose!”

Xue Zhangjian swept a look around and let out a breath.

”Fortunately no innocents were harmed. Qu Zhongheng, see to your household matters first, then come to the yamen tomorrow for a proper talk with us. From now on, before you attempt anything of this kind, you must file a report. Only when the Ingenious Mechanisms Bureau in Flame Capital approves can you put it into practice.”

”But then they would have access to all my ideas?” Qu Zhongheng instinctively balked.

Xue Zhangjian rubbed his temple.

”We’ll discuss the details tomorrow. And prepare your fine.”

Once the constables had left, Qu Zhongheng hopped up to Zheng Zhuxi and said with genuine feeling, ”Heroine Zheng, it is thanks to you that today’s affair did not turn into a disaster. These 300 taels are not much, but they carry my sincere gratitude.”

As he spoke, he produced from his chest a 300-tael bank note, which he had originally prepared to pay an expert for their help.

In the Great Zhao of today, banks and money houses were numerous, but the government-affiliated Fengyu Bank and the Liheng Bank, attached to the Fang clan—one of the Two Faiths and Three Clans—were the largest and most trusted in the world. The bank note Qu Zhongheng held was issued by the Fengyu Bank.

Three hundred taels straight away? Ding Songyan was mildly surprised.

Setting aside Frostshade, his entire personal fortune came to just over 50 taels, and he had found the whole business rather straightforward.

But thinking that his senior sister had genuinely given everything she had just now, he let the thought go.

Zheng Zhuxi did not take the bank note Qu Zhongheng held out, and looked toward Ding Songyan, hesitating.

”Aiding those in danger is something I am glad to do, and I’m not inclined to take payment for it. But according to a saying of the Left Sage, one cannot hold others to one’s own standards. Setting that precedent would lead fewer and fewer people to come to others’ aid, since most people who do such things do hope for gratitude and compensation.”

Her unspoken message was: Junior Brother, you deserve the most credit here. You make the call. You deal with the headache for me.

The Zigong dilemma—where refusing a reward only discourages others from doing good? As Ding Songyan turned it over in his mind, his gaze swept over Xu Chang’an, who had come in with Constable Chief Xue’s group, and a plan came to him at once.

He smiled at Qu Zhongheng.

”Given the friendship between us, I can’t take this money. But given that same friendship, there is a favor I’d like to ask of you.”

It was a perfectly handled response, giving full consideration to Qu Zhongheng’s dignity. The Jiguren gave a slight nod. ”What favor?”

”As you know, I’ve just moved to Baoping Lane and have five servants, but I’m usually at the Brightnight Sect and only return to the prefecture city occasionally. Would you be willing to hire those five servants, lend them back to me for three years, and have the Qu household pay their monthly wages, feed them, and teach them in the meantime?” Ding Songyan had worked out the finances to roughly 300 taels from Qu Zhongheng.

Without waiting for Qu Zhongheng to respond, he turned to Zheng Zhuxi.

”Senior Sister, whenever you, Master, Senior Brother Xu, Senior Brother Wan, Senior Sister Lin, or Senior Sister Xue come to the prefecture city and don’t want to stay at the yamen quarters, my courtyard is welcome to you for lodging.”

What Ding Songyan was really doing was letting Qu Zhongheng know that this favor was also a favor to Heroine Zheng.

Senior Sister Lin and Senior Sister Xue were also Tao Wenshu’s third and fourth personal disciples. One had been rated fourth-rank Mortal Surpassed and the other fifth-rank Profound Discerned, and both had just completed their first round of wandering the jianghu.

While a disciple’s cultivation resources were mostly distributed by the sect according to realm, cultivation progress, and contribution, Tao Wenshu as a first-rank Grandmaster surpassed others in insight, breadth of knowledge, and experience. She also had her own private savings. Her disciples were accordingly among the foremost of their generation.

Ding Songyan was not playing favorites by limiting the invitation to his master’s line of disciples. The simple truth was that the courtyard was not large enough and the servants not numerous enough, while the Brightnight Sect brought over 150 people on each patrol of the prefecture city. Without a respectable reason, inviting some and not others would simply not do.

Qu Zhongheng understood what Ding Songyan was getting at and said generously, ”Done. Consider it taken care of.”

Seeing that he had loose ends to deal with, Ding Songyan and Zheng Zhuxi thoughtfully took their leave and headed back to the lane together with Xu Chang’an.

”Brother Ding, still up for drinking?” Xu Chang’an held up the two jars of rose wine he had bought.

You actually remembered to buy the wine... Ding Songyan felt a pleasant surprise and nodded.

”Of course!”

He turned to look at Zheng Zhuxi. ”Would you like some, Senior Sister? You don’t have to if you’d rather not.”

”Just a little.” A faint brightness stirred in Zheng Zhuxi’s dark eyes.

Back at the Ding residence, the cook had already laid out a full table of food and drink in the guest study.

Ding Songyan had just poured a bowl of wine for each of them when Zheng Zhuxi picked hers up with a smile.

”Every meeting is fated. I’ll drink first to show my respect.”

She finished it with a gulp.

Ding Songyan and Xu Chang’an matched her and finished theirs as well.

Setting down her bowl and picking at some dishes, Zheng Zhuxi said with amusement, ”This Qu Zhongheng has always had brilliant ideas, yet never weighs whether they’re dangerous. He keeps making the same kind of mistake and wasting money time and again. Otherwise, given his family’s swordsmithing and mechanism arts, why would they only be living on Baoping Lane...”

Opening with Qu Zhongheng’s affairs, the three drifted between street gossip and jianghu talk, and the mood grew lively indeed. Xu Chang’an, for whom this was the first time being treated as an equal by someone of Zheng Zhuxi’s standing and talking with her normally, grew so excited he drank bowl after bowl until his face turned as red as a monkey’s bum.

Time slipped away, and once they were full of wine and food, Xu Chang’an swayed to his feet and made to take his leave.

Ding Songyan had wanted to keep him in the guest room, but the fellow seemed a little shy—afraid Heroine Zheng might see him in an undignified drunken state—and insisted on going home. Ding Songyan had no choice but to send one of the handymen to accompany him.

After seeing Xu Chang’an off, Ding Songyan returned to the guest study to find Zheng Zhuxi sitting quietly in her seat, back perfectly straight, hands placed on her knees, the very picture of composed propriety.

”Are you all right, Senior Sister?” Ding Songyan whispered.

Zheng Zhuxi’s face was flushed and her eyes bright. She waved a hand.

”I’m not drunk. Junior Brother, let’s keep drinking!

”It’s a rare chance. My mother never lets me drink. Tonight I’m not leaving until we drop!”

Oh no. My esteemed senior sister isn’t a loud drunk, is she... The kind who can’t hold it but can’t stop either... Ding Songyan twisted his mouth in amusement.

”Ah, Senior Sister, it’s not that I don’t want to keep you company, it’s that I’m already drunk.”

Zheng Zhuxi narrowed her eyes, rose to her feet, and swayed as she looked Ding Songyan up and down for a moment.

”All right, I will look after you. That’s enough for today!”

She let out a cheerful exclamation, ”Let’s go out to the courtyard for some fresh air!”

She picked up a stool and stacked another on top of it. Seeing the upper one about to slide off, she swayed left and right in frantic efforts to balance it, and with great difficulty finally steadied it, then broke into a pleased, silly laugh.

Ding Songyan could not help covering his face.

He followed Zheng Zhuxi into the second compound’s courtyard and watched her arrange the stools before inviting him to sit as though offering a treasured seat.

With her hair put up simply, Zheng Zhuxi, in her pale green gauze skirt that was nearly white, sat down beside Ding Songyan and murmured with bright eyes, ”Junior Brother, you’re not playing fair. Why do your deeds always end up on my shoulders?”

”I’m just afraid of my secrets getting out. Please bear with me, Senior Sister.” Ding Songyan quickly apologized.

Zheng Zhuxi grumbled with an air of wounded grievance.

”But this way my strength gets overestimated. Sooner or later some senior brother or sister at Mortal Surpassed or Form Transfigured will want to spar with me, and if I lose badly, won’t that be terribly embarrassing?”

”Senior Sister, haven’t you just forged two new alien apertures and made great strides in your swordsmanship, to the point where you feel you’re already at the level of fifth-rank Profound Discerned? Given your talent and the rate at which you’re improving, as long as you put in the hard work and spar with me more often, it won’t be long before you truly have the strength of fourth-rank Mortal Surpassed,” Ding Songyan said this in the manner of comforting a child.

At the same time, he added silently to himself, The stronger you get, the heavier the burdens you’ll be able to carry for me.

Zheng Zhuxi brought her palms together after hearing this and murmured vacantly,

”That does seem to be the case.”

Her face, flushed as if touched with rouge, turned toward Ding Songyan, and she asked with wide eyes, ”Junior Brother, how did you know the wooden beast’s weakness—no, opening—no, weak point was one inch below its left ear?”

”I opened my yin eyes,” Ding Songyan told half the truth.

Zheng Zhuxi glared at Ding Songyan with no particular force behind it, her voice soft and vague yet righteously firm.

”You’re lying! You’re not a Jiguren. Yin eyes can’t see that much!”

”Well, I can also sense the flow of heaven and earth’s qi.” Ding Songyan knew better than to argue with a drunk and gave a simple explanation.

”You’re making things up!” Zheng Zhuxi gave a huff. ”You’re not a Supreme Master. How could you sense the flow of heaven and earth’s qi, unless you have...”

At this point she suddenly leaned close to Ding Songyan, a light smell of wine mingled with a faint scent of citrus drifting on the air.

Her cheeks deeply flushed, eyes half-lidded, she looked into Ding Songyan’s eyes with an expression halfway between a smile and not.

”Unless you have the Celestial Heart!”