Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

Ding Dian picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip: "Being wronged, framed, locked in a dark room, crying out to heaven and earth in vain."

He put down his teacup and looked into Di Yun's eyes.

"At first, I was afraid that you were sent by Ling Tuisi, so I tested you a lot. Don't take those harsh words to heart."

I will make it up to you.

Di Yun's tears finally fell.

These grievances were simply too much to bear.

Actually, he's not that old; he's still a child.

Who would have thought that, fresh out of school and on his first journey through the martial world, he would encounter such a terrible disaster.

Neither Sun Fan nor Ding Dian spoke; they simply sat quietly, waiting for him to finish crying.

After a long while, Di Yun finally raised his head and wiped his face haphazardly with his sleeve.

"Brother Ding... Brother Ding, were you also wronged before?"

"Um."

"Then you..." Di Yun hesitated for a moment, "Do you hate it?"

Ding Dian did not answer.

He looked at the moon in the sky and remained silent for a long time.

"Hate," he finally said. "Hate so much I want to kill someone."

Di Yun shivered.

"But I didn't kill her," Ding Dian continued, "because I promised someone I wouldn't do anything to disappoint her."

"Who?"

"A very, very good person." Ding Dian lowered his head, looking at the teacup in his hand, "a person a million times better than me."

Di Yun seemed to understand, but didn't ask any more questions.

Sun Fan poured a cup of tea for each of them, then stood up.

"You two talk," he said. "I'm going outside to take a look."

He turned to leave, but Ding Dian suddenly called out to him.

"Sun Fan."

Sun Fan turned around.

Ding Dian looked at him, his eyes filled with something new—not gratitude, but something deeper and heavier.

"Thank you."

Sun Fan smiled, said nothing, and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

Di Yun settled down in the villa.

Sun Fan arranged for him to stay in the innermost room and had Mu Xue'er bring him some clean clothes and food.

Di Yun was initially very wary, seeing everyone as if they wanted to beat him up. But after two days, he found that the people here were very kind to him.

The girl named Mu Xue'er would talk to him with a smile, the big man with a scar on his face looked scary but never yelled at him, and the guy named Red Wolf had a loud voice but would pat him on the shoulder and say, "Brother, don't be afraid."

He gradually relaxed.

On the third day, Ding Dian came to see him.

"How much do you know about your master?" Ding Dian asked bluntly.

Di Yun lowered his head: "I...I don't know. The martial arts my master taught me were all fake. He never told me the truth."

"Do you hate him?"

Di Yun remained silent for a long time.

"There were times when I hated him," he said, "but it wasn't all hatred. After all, he raised me for so many years."

"The martial arts skills may be fake, but the debt of gratitude for raising me is real. The government is too powerful, so it's only natural that they couldn't save me."

Ding Dian nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He stood up, walked to the door, suddenly stopped, and sighed.

Di Yun is indeed an honest man.

Forget it, it's best not to let him get involved in those things.

Ding Dian didn't explain further and went out.

That night, Sun Fan waited for Ding Dian in the villa.

This time, Ding Dian did not sit at the stone table, but stood by the pond, looking at the moon reflected in the water.

"The plan you mentioned the other day," he began, "I want to hear the whole thing."

Sun Fan walked over and stood next to him.

"The plan is simple," he said. "Let Ling Tuis walk in himself."

"How do I get there?"

"Use the Liancheng Manual," Sun Fan said. "The thing Ling Tuisi wants most in his life is the Liancheng Manual. If we give him a chance, and make him feel like he's about to get it—he'll walk right into the trap."

Ding Dian frowned: "What trap?"

Sun Fan took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ding Dian.

Ding Dian unfolded it and saw a poem written on it:

"Outside Jiangling City, beneath the green mountains. Seven on the left, eight on the right, east, west, south, and north."

Ding Dian looked up at him: "What is this?"

"A clue about Liancheng Jue," Sun Fan said, "but it's not real. I made it up."

Ding Dian was taken aback.

"Did you make this up?"

Yes, but that's not important.

"What's important?"

Ding Dian looked at Sun Fan with a scrutinizing gaze.

It's not that he's paranoid.

It's not that Sun Fan is too smart.

Dealing with this kind of person always feels like being schemed against.

He paused for a moment: "Brother Ding, you spent three years in prison. During those three years, did you ever think—if you had done something back then, would the outcome have been different?"

Ding Dian's hand trembled slightly.

"I've thought about it," he said softly. "I think about it every day."

"So," Sun Fan said, "we can't just do nothing this time."

Ding Dian remained silent for a long time.

The moonlight shone on his face, and the scar that ran from the corner of his eye to the corner of his mouth was faintly visible in the shadows.

"Okay," he finally said. "I won't ask any more questions."

"I only need to be sure of one thing."

He turned around and looked into Sun Fan's eyes.

"You said there's a way to resolve Shuanghua's inner conflict, is that true?"

Sun Fan smiled. He knew that Ding Dian's only concern was Ling Shuanghua.

He nodded.

"right."

He had prepared in advance.

Ding Dian got up before dawn.

He borrowed a bronze mirror from Mu Xue'er, shaved his beard in front of the mirror, and combed his hair neatly. Mu Xue'er watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother Ding, are you going to see Miss Ling?"

Ding Dian paused for a moment, didn't say anything, but his ears turned red.

Mu Xue'er laughed even harder, and pulled a clean blue long robe from her bundle and handed it over.

"Wear this. It's Sun Ge's, you two are about the same size."

Ding Dian took it, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Mu Xue'er waved her hand. "Brother Sun said you're the boss today."

Qingxu Temple is located in the west of the city. It is a small Taoist temple with not many worshippers, but it is quiet and peaceful.

Ling Shuanghua comes every month on the fifteenth, rain or shine. She stays at the temple for an hour—first offering incense in the main hall, then copying scriptures in the meditation room in the back courtyard, and finally sitting in the courtyard for a while, looking at the sky, the trees, and the flowers.

When Ding Dian arrived, Ling Shuanghua was offering incense in the main hall.

He stood behind a pillar outside the hall, watching her from afar.

It's been a long time.

For countless days and nights, he could only see the potted flower on the city wall through that tiny window. He knew it was her flower, knew she had kept it on the windowsill for three years, and knew the one he loved was still waiting for him.

But he couldn't see her face.

Now he sees it.

Ling Shuanghua knelt on the prayer mat, her hands clasped together, her eyes closed. She wore a plain-colored dress, her hair tied in a simple bun, adorned with a silver hairpin. Sunlight streamed in from the palace doors, falling upon her as if gilding her with gold.

She has a scar on her face.