She had heard that there were very few Transformation Realm Masters in this world. Since the leaders of the army were all at the Transformation Realm, it meant most high-ranking officials in the Crane Control Bureau had martial arts skills inferior to Chu Dingjiang's.
"What a brilliant idea!" Chu Dingjiang praised. "Then I'll just assassinate the Prime Minister, and I'll be second only to the Emperor, above all others!"
An Jiu recognized the sarcasm and snorted. "You're clearly not cut out to be a high official! What kind of high official does the dirty work themselves? Hire someone else to do it!"
Chu Dingjiang chuckled, pulling out a small piece of silver from his sleeve with exaggerated grandeur. "Help me assassinate the Emperor's favorite courtier. Once I rise to power, I'll pay you double!"
"Deal!" An Jiu took the silver and stuffed it into her pocket. "I'll help you assassinate the most favored eunuch by the Emperor—guaranteed success. Get ready to climb the ranks!"
The Emperor sometimes sent trusted eunuchs as military supervisors or inspectors, elevating them from mere servants to officials.
"Hahaha!" Chu Dingjiang reached out to ruffle her hair, but An Jiu blocked his hand.
He was slightly surprised. After all, he was a Transformation Realm Master, while An Jiu had no Inner Force at all. If he had exerted any real strength, she wouldn’t have been able to stop him. But her reaction speed was astonishingly fast—what a shame...
"Get some rest early!" He stood up, dusting off his clothes, sending a cloud of dirt flying onto An Jiu.
An Jiu hadn’t expected him to do something so childish and momentarily forgot to dodge. Watching him turn to enter the house, she said slowly, "Did the demotion hit you that hard?"
"How so?" Chu Dingjiang glanced back.
An Jiu pointed at her head. "Your IQ has regressed."
"IQ?" Chu Dingjiang instinctively sensed this wasn’t a compliment and decided not to wait for an explanation. "Sleep while you can. There won’t be many leisurely days like this in the future."
"Chu Dingjiang." An Jiu stopped him. "How many of the Mei Clan are left?"
Seeing her calm expression, Chu Dingjiang answered truthfully, "Fewer than fifty in total. The Mei bloodline includes Mei Zhengjing, Mei Tingzhu, Mei Tingyuan, Mei Tingchun, and Mei Ru Yan. The two Old Madams are also unharmed."
Plum Blossom Village had nearly a thousand people, and only fifty remained. The losses seemed devastating, but the Mei Clan’s main lineage had already dwindled. Mei Manor only had a few hundred, most of whom were servants. No one had expected the enemy to have so many ninth-level experts. Given how unprepared they were, it was already remarkable that the Mei Clan had managed to preserve their younger generation’s core fighters.
An Jiu lowered her eyes, hesitating before asking, "Then... among the survivors, was there someone named Mo Sigui?"
Chu Dingjiang could faintly sense her tension. "Elder Qi and Mo Sigui are quite famous in the Crane Control Army and were under heavy protection. Unfortunately, the shadow guards sent to them were killed, and we’ve temporarily lost track of them. However, we haven’t found any bodies resembling theirs either. It’s been three days since I last received any news about the Mei Clan, so he might still be alive."
As a slightly lower-ranked Divine Martial Commander, Chu Dingjiang only needed to carry out missions and could no longer involve himself in every matter.
"He won’t die." An Jiu murmured.
Chu Dingjiang thought she must have been very close to Mo Sigui. Just as he was about to offer some comfort, he heard her add, "The wicked live a thousand years. Scoundrels live even longer."
"Mo Sigui is truly blessed to have a cousin like you!" Chu Dingjiang clicked his tongue."You saved me, so you're my benefactor." Whether or not An Jiu detected his sarcasm, she simply stated, "If you were missing or in danger, I'd pray for you the same way."
Chu Dingjiang twitched the corner of his mouth. "How thoughtful of you!"
"It's only right," An Jiu replied.
Chu found that pouring his heart out to this girl was a complete waste of time and emotion—far less meaningful than sleeping.
The night was dark.
An Jiu and Chu had been sharing the same room, though she took the bed while he made do with a couple of benches. The weather was still cold, but with no pressing missions lately, the luxury of not needing constant vigilance was rare.
"You take the bed," An Jiu said, draping her mantle over her shoulders and pushing aside the curtain.
Chu turned his head, opening one eye. "Can't sleep?"
"Mm." As An Jiu stepped outside, she sensed a sudden gust of wind by her ear. Instinctively ducking, she straightened and immediately threw a punch at her would-be assailant.
Chu swiftly wrapped an arm around her waist while his other hand jabbed pressure points, freezing her fist just half an inch from his nose.
"Confiscating your dagger was a brilliant decision," Chu remarked, hauling her onto the bed. He dabbed his fingers with knockout medicine and pressed them over An Jiu's mouth and nose, waiting until her eyes closed before releasing the pressure points.
As he turned away, an unexpected gust of wind struck.
"Unreasonable!" Chu, having acted in good faith only to be repaid with hostility, spun and seized her wrist. Spotting the dagger in her grip, his anger flared—had he been nurturing a viper all this time? His grip tightened ruthlessly.
An Jiu launched a flying kick. Chu dodged, leaning forward to pin her firmly to the bed.
Face-to-face, he saw clearly that her clear eyes held no murderous intent. In an instant, he understood—An Jiu hadn’t attacked to harm him, but to vent.
He guessed right.
Killing was the only way An Jiu knew how to release her emotions, whether rage, hatred, or sorrow...
Chu yanked the dagger from her hand and tossed it aside. Rising, he tore off his mantle, revealing a lean, powerful frame. Dispelling all his protective Inner Force, he glared down at her. "Get up!"
An Jiu’s Mental strength erupted instantly, and she threw another punch.
Chu felt an immense pressure crush him like a mountain, paralyzing him. By the time he wrestled free from the mental grip, her fist had already landed solidly on his chest.
He’d underestimated her!
Shaking off the mental pressure, Chu matched her, relying solely on Mental strength without a trace of Inner Force.
He’d assumed his earlier lapse was due to carelessness, but after ten exchanges, he realized with shock that her Mental strength far surpassed his.
Without Inner Force, he was at a disadvantage.
After a while, Chu noticed that though An Jiu lacked killing intent, every move was lethal.
During the trials at the ancient temple, he’d already sensed she was a formidable opponent. But only after shedding his pride in his Inner Force did he truly grasp—she wasn’t just formidable, she was inhuman! In battle, her ferocity was that of a beast certain of its prey, and a highly strategic one at that.
For the first time, Chu felt his fighting spirit ignite.
Blow for blow, they fought until, after half an hour, Chu’s physical endurance began to tip the scales. Yet the fact that An Jiu could hold her own after severe injuries earned his respect.Seeing her face turn pale, Chu Dingjiang released his Inner Force and stepped forward to restrain her. "Enough, stop now. Your wound might reopen."
Feeling her relax her strength, Chu Dingjiang helped her sit on the edge of the bed. In an instant, he took in the mess that filled the room.
The two of them looked as if they had just been pulled out of water. Chu Dingjiang said, "You're weak right now. Rest for a while. I'll go heat some water for you to clean up."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he nearly bit his own tongue. Given how she had just acted, there was no sign of weakness to be seen. (To be continued...)
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