Chapter 71
Chapter 71
After waiting from dusk until nightfall, Yan Yanchi finally saw the man he had come to meet.
Master Ding had no idea why the renowned Heir of Zhenxiang Temple wished to see him and could not help feeling uneasy. He hurried into the reception hall and immediately spotted the extraordinary young Daoist Master seated there, his expression solemn and his robes immaculate.
“You are Daoist Master Yan?”
Yan Yanchi rose. “Master Ding.”
Master Ding secretly glanced at the sheathed sword in his hand. He could discern nothing special about it, but few would dare impersonate a young figure as famous as Yan Yanchi.
Master Ding turned sternly to the steward. “Daoist Master Yan honors us with a visit, and you offer him only tea? Have wine and food prepared at once…”
“There is no need for ceremony, Master Ding. I came on serious business.”
“What matter could be important enough to bring you here personally?”
“While destroying a Yaoguai in the mountains, I found a Living Soul imprisoned for ten years in an abandoned temple. She is your daughter, Ding Ling.”
Master Ding stared blankly and instinctively looked at the Old Steward.
Equally confused, the Old Steward shook his head.
Master Ding turned back. “What do you mean by a Living Soul?”
“A soul that has left its body and wanders outside while the body remains alive.”
Master Ding’s mouth twitched. “Daoist Master Yan, could you be mistaken? How could my daughter’s soul possibly have left her body?”
Apparently finding the explanation troublesome, Yan Yanchi sighed. He raised a hand and tapped one finger through the air. After transferring a large amount of Yang Qi, the figure of a young woman slowly appeared beside him.
She was extraordinarily beautiful, though her pale face made her seem delicate. She glanced at Master Ding, then lowered her eyes.
“Y-young miss?”
The Old Steward collapsed onto the floor in fright.
Master Ding was equally shaken. He stood frozen, his expression rigid.
Yan Yanchi glanced at Ding Ling. “You complained endlessly that you wanted to return home. Now you are here and see your father. Why don’t you greet him?”
Ding Ling pressed her lips together. The girl who had chattered throughout their journey now said nothing. She even shifted behind Yan Yanchi, clearly resisting the father before her.
The Old Steward pointed with a trembling finger. “Master, that is the young miss… That truly is her!”
Everyone said Miss Ding possessed unforgettable beauty. Those who saw her daily recognized her at once in Ding Ling’s face.
Master Ding’s expression changed repeatedly before he regained his composure. “Would I fail to recognize my own daughter? Do not joke with me, Daoist Master. You found some wandering ghost and used a spell to make her resemble my daughter. I am not so senile that I cannot identify my own child!”
Yan Yanchi frowned deeply. “I never deceive anyone. Look carefully. Is this not your daughter?”
He seized Ding Ling’s arm, dragged her from behind him, and forced her to stand in full view. Bright candlelight revealed every feature of her face.
Master Ding’s expression remained taut. “If you intend to deceive me with a wandering ghost, you should at least have chosen a clever one. She treats me like a stranger. How could she be my daughter?”
Yan Yanchi looked at the girl. “Ding Ling, speak.”
Her body trembled. “I… I am… Ding… Lingling…”
“Enough!” Master Ding shouted.
Ding Ling shook even harder. Faced with Master Ding’s anger, her limbs instinctively drew inward, and she tried to curl up and hide. But Yan Yanchi held her arm, leaving nowhere to retreat.
Master Ding’s voice was icy. “I doubt you are Yan Yanchi at all. You are merely a charlatan using Daoist Master Yan’s name to swindle others. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong target. The Ding family is wealthy and powerful, not a household of gullible fools. Steward, show them out!”
The Old Steward returned to his senses and climbed from the floor. He looked at Ding Ling several more times, hesitated, then obeyed and summoned guards to “escort” the two charlatans away.
Yan Yanchi was young and proud. He had not expected to be called a swindler for performing a good deed. Before the guards could arrive, he said grimly, “I can leave without assistance.”
He turned away.
As Yan Yanchi moved farther off, Ding Ling became translucent again and disappeared from everyone’s sight.
The Old Steward remained unsettled. “Master, that Living Soul looked… looked as though she truly was…”
“Silence,” Master Ding said coldly. “He was only a wandering trickster seeking money. No one is to speak of tonight, least of all to Yanyu or Fufu!”
The Old Steward bowed and closed his mouth.
After leaving Ding Manor, Yan Yanchi’s expression worsened by the step. “Can you stop crying? The sound irritates me greatly.”
Ding Ling pressed her lips tightly together, though an occasional sob still escaped.
“You said you wanted to go home, and I brought you here. Yet how much of what you told me was true? That father of yours did not recognize you. Were all your stories lies?”
“No, I didn’t lie. Everything I said was true. That man… I don’t like him, and he doesn’t like me. We only need to find my brother. And my cousin. I’m betrothed to him. They will recognize me!”
Yan Yanchi’s expression remained stern. “Do you believe I will continue trusting you?”
More tears spilled from Ding Ling’s reddened eyes, sliding freely down her face and striking the ground like shattered pearls.
Yan Yanchi’s voice became more rigid. “A female ghost’s beauty cannot seduce me. No matter how hard you cry, I will not be fooled. Stop following me, or I will send you down the Path of Rebirth this instant.”
As he turned, the hateful ghost caught the hem of his robe.
“No, Daoist Master… Please don’t abandon me.”
Yan Yanchi looked back at her tear-streaked face. No wonder she had been a female ghost for ten years; her ability to bewitch hearts was formidable. He was about to wrench his robe free and leave when laughter sounded from a nearby carriage.
“Li Yuanzhi, look at that funny Daoist. He’s talking to himself like a fool.”
The window opened wider. A young gentleman looked over and smiled as well.
“If a fool can make Fufu smile, then he is an entertaining fool.”
The night wind stirred the window curtain, revealing glimpses of a beautiful, flawless face, like the moon in water or a flower in a mirror, present in the mortal world yet beyond an ordinary person’s reach.
“Enough, Fufu. The night wind is strong. Don’t catch cold.”
The gentleman closed the window, shutting out the hazy night.
Yan Yanchi no longer heard crying. He turned.
The girl’s thin figure looked ready to scatter on the wind. She stared after the departing carriage for a very long time, lost and bewildered.
Yan Yanchi tightened his grip on his sword. His gaze darkened as he stepped forward and blocked the biting wind.