Chapter 2: I Have No Interest in Money

Ding Dian thought quickly, knowing Feng Yi spoke the truth—Ling Tui Si's aim was the Divine Illumination Skill and the Linked City Secret; having sent an undercover agent in, it was natural to reveal the situation to him.

After examining Feng Yi for a moment, he suddenly asked word by word: 'Speak, what do you want to do?'

Feng Yi saw he showed no anger or joy, but he clearly felt his breathing quicken, as if doused with a bucket of cold water, thinking this must be killing intent, he hurriedly said: 'Sir Ding, you're trapped by love, I'm forced by circumstance—we're really the same. Even if we don't become friends, we shouldn't be enemies. First calm your mind, don't lash out at the drop of a hat!'

Ding Dian's eyes suddenly widened, and he coldly shouted: 'Who's trapped by love?'

Feng Yi gave a light chuckle and said: 'Since you know I'm Ling Tui Si's undercover, it's not hard to imagine I'm also one of his confidants. How could I not know about your bitter longing for Miss Ling?'

Saying this, he turned his head to the ventilated window, pointed with his hand, and said: 'Those flowers placed there—aren't they the ones Miss Ling arranged for you?'

From the prison's ventilated window, a tall pavilion could be seen; at that moment the pavilion's windows were closed, but a pot of fresh flowers sat on the sill, and in the bright spring light it was a pot of jasmine.

Ding Dian turned his head toward the window, let out a soft sigh, full of sorrow and tenderness.

In the past, Ding Dian was pursued by martial artists and spent five or six years trading livestock at a ranch outside the pass. He heard no more news, missing his homeland. On his way home, at the Hankou Chrysanthemum Fair he met Ling Tui Si's daughter, Ling Shuanghua, and fell in love at first sight.

For over half a year, regardless of wind, rain, frost, or snow, Ding Dian went every morning to outside the Ling manor to see the flowers Ling Shuanghua arranged.

Ling Shuanghua also, rain or shine, changed his fresh flower pot each day, but she only glanced at him once a day, never a second look; each time she did, her face flushed red and she hid behind the curtain.

Thus, Ling Shuanghua's daily glance and shyness directly captured Ding Dian.

However, midway, two monks of the Blood Blade Sect came to Ding Dian's lodging to seize the Divine Illumination Classic and the Sword Secret. At that time Ding Dian had not yet mastered the Divine Illumination Skill, his martial arts were inferior to theirs, and those two beat him severely, nearly costing his life; he hid in a haystack in the stables and thus escaped.

Later, after Ding Dian recovered from his injuries, he went to look for Ling Shuanghua, but the Ling family had already moved from Wuchang.

Ding Dian searched desperately and finally found Ling Shuanghua's family in Jingzhou; upon meeting, they confessed their feelings and also hoped to gain Ling Tui Si's approval.

As a result, Ling Tui Si used the 'Gold Wave Ten-Day Flower' poison to incapacitate Ding Dian, captured him and threw him into prison. To force out the secrets of the Divine Illumination Classic and the Linked City Treasure, he severed Ding Dian's tendons and pierced his pipa bone. Then he also imprisoned his own daughter, Ling Shuanghua.

Unable to rescue her lover, Ling Shuanghua could only display different flowers each day for Ding Dian to see, symbolizing her resolve to stay with him. This was also Ding Dian's happiest time.

Feng Yi also knew that, after seven years of failing to pry open Ding Dian's mouth, Ling Tui Si's psyche became twisted and perverse to the extreme; he had his own daughter suffocated to death in a coffin, then smeared the deadly poison 'Gold Wave Ten-Day Flower' on the outside of the coffin, causing Ding Dian, a top-tier master of the age, to suffer a death beyond endurance.

One could say that, although his martial arts were merely average, by his own power he caused this ill-fated couple, Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua, to die with regret—and even in life they tasted all the world's suffering.

Thinking of this, Feng Yi felt that both Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua were lovers of chrysanthemums; they were brought together by chrysanthemums and would also end by them, and now he used flowers to convey feeling.

"Pah pah pah" what chrysanthemums. Such genuine human emotion should be moving; how could I think otherwise?

This modern 'culture' has poisoned me too deeply.

Feng Yi, thinking along these lines, found his mind wandering off.

Hearing this, Ding Dian gave a light laugh, turned to look at Feng Yi, and said confidently: 'Kid, don't ask for a beating! Here with me, deliberately calling Ling Tui Si by name—surely you're just trying to win trust…'

Feng Yi didn't need to hear him finish; he knew what he was going to say, and waved a hand: 'Sir Ding, your martial arts are strong— a hundred of me would still not be your match. But please don't flaunt your ridiculous intellect in front of me? You've sunk to this state and still aren't alert? Moreover, the great secret Ling Tui Si has been painstakingly seeking, I already know—do you think it's that amazing?'

Feng Yi knew that for a person like Ding Dian, he had to find the right moment to administer a strong dose. He is not the protagonist Di Yun, who could stay with him in prison for two or three years and become sworn brothers of life and death.

This dungeon is foul and filthy; just staying there a day feels like suffering. Moreover, some things require a gamble! Going by the book, returns are always mediocre.

Hearing this, Ding Dian first stared in disbelief, then laughed: 'Heh, are you treating me like a child? If you knew this secret, why not go tell Ling Tui Si? That would be a great achievement!'

Ding Dian thought Feng Yi was just boasting; the Linked City Secret concerns the great treasure of Emperor Yuan of Liang—if anyone obtained it, they could instantly become rich enough to rival a nation.

The Divine Illumination Classic is also a treasure dreamed of by martial artists; such a divine skill, once revealed, who knows how many would lose life and limb, lose virtue and betray righteousness. With a single greedy thought, it can turn the chaste into wanton women, the wise and holy into beasts.

As for masters turning against disciples, fellow sect members slaughtering each other, he had witnessed that himself.

"You don't believe me?"

Feng Yi shook his head, gave a faint smile, and said: 'Sir Ding, think about it—did I volunteer to pose as a prisoner, or does Ling Tui Si truly value me?'

I, Feng Yi, may be only twenty, but I'm no fool. When Ling Tui Si sent me to lurk by your side to extract the Linked City Secret, I realized my life had entered a countdown.

If I refuse, he'll kill me on the spot.

If I agree, and you don't see through me, I'll be beaten to death here; even after success, he'll kill me to silence me! You tell me—can I tell him the Linked City Secret?'

Hearing Feng Yi's words, Ding Dian secretly admired his clear thinking and nodded: 'You're young, yet able to see this—truly not easy. What you said is correct; your fate isn't being beaten to death by me in prison, nor being killed by Ling Tui Si to silence you—either way, it's the same whether you know the secret or not.'

He then snorted coldly: 'That said, why don't you take out the Linked City Treasure and leave Ling Tui Si?'

'The world is vast—where could you not find refuge? How then did you end up here?'

Feng Yi gave a wry smile: 'You still don't believe me!' He glanced left and right, lowered his voice, and said: 'Sir Ding, please listen carefully—are there any others around?'

Seeing Feng Yi looking at him openly, Ding Dian closed his eyes, circulated his qi, and said: 'None! Within a radius of several zhang, only the two of us are here!'

Around the prison where Ding Dian was held, there was no one else at all; the guards had been strict at first, but after three years, with Ding Dian neither escaping nor causing trouble, aside from daily meals and the monthly routine on the fifteenth, the jailers had almost forgotten that a person was still locked in the dungeon's depths.

Especially since Ling Tui Si sent Feng Yi as an undercover agent, he dared not station anyone nearby, fearing Ding Dian would notice and suspect, causing the undercover mission to fail.

This point, Feng Yi also knew, was just having Ding Dian listen—merely adding an extra layer of insurance.

Feng Yi slowly rose and whispered to Ding Dian's ear: 'I don't know the concrete details of the Linked City Secret, but from Ling Tui Si's actions and inadvertently, I've discovered a secret: the treasure is hidden outside Jingzhou City at Tianning Temple!'

Ding Dian was immediately startled.

He himself only knew the Linked City Treasure was left by Emperor Yuan of Liang, the exact location hidden in some numeric mnemonics spoken by Mei Niansheng, yet after all these years he had never deciphered it. Who would have thought this kid actually knows? Ding Dian's thoughts flashed, and he said softly: 'You wouldn't think that just by casually naming a place I'd believe you know the secret of the Linked City Treasure, would you?'

"I have no interest in money, nor have I asked you to hand over the Linked City Secret." Feng Yi gave a carefree smile: 'What would be the point of deceiving you?'

(End of chapter)