An Jiu carefully considered the situation. When her mental strength erupted instantaneously, even a Transformation Realm Master like Chu Dingjiang could be stunned, so mere second or third-tier martial arts masters should pose no problem at all.
She was acutely aware that once she started killing, her emotions easily spiraled out of control. Although she had remained relatively calm during the Mei Clan's attack, she had suffered from mental instability before—who knew when it might flare up again?
Even if she could never become someone like Mei Jiu, An Jiu no longer wanted to remain a killing machine.
"Don’t test my patience!" As An Jiu spoke, a surge of mental strength suddenly engulfed everyone present. "I have no desire to kill, yet you keep pushing me. If you value your lives, get lost now!"
The overwhelming killing intent felt like a giant hand gripping their entire bodies, ready to crush them at any moment. Their faces drained of color, the men went limp, tumbling off their horses. Not even the thought of escape dared cross their minds.
An Jiu withdrew her mental strength.
The bandit leader, who had been gritting his teeth to endure, suddenly lost strength in his legs. With a thud, he fell from his horse and knelt on the ground, kowtowing frantically. "Thank you, Senior, for sparing my life!"
After knocking his head against the ground several times, he scrambled away in a panic. Some of the others, unable to mount their horses after multiple attempts, simply abandoned their steeds and fled on foot.
An Jiu hadn’t expected mental intimidation to be so effective. Had she known earlier, she wouldn’t have bothered playing hide-and-seek! Though her mental strength couldn’t inflict physical harm, it was more than enough to scare people off.
As she pondered this, she suddenly sensed a gaze on her. Glancing down, she saw the scholar looking up at her.
His face was pale, but unlike the bandits, he showed no trace of fear or panic.
"This…" The scholar hesitated over his words. "Madam, may I ask where such a formidable expert hails from?"
An Jiu grew wary, her fingers subtly tightening around her dagger. "You’re no scholar."
"Scholar?" His expression remained dazed, yet he remembered his manners, clasping his hands in salute. "I am Wei Yuzhi."
"Wei Yuzhi… Wei Yuzhi…" The name sounded familiar. An Jiu searched her memory.
Ah! Mo Sigui had once told her about Misty Villa. Its master was Wei Chuzhi, and he had a younger brother named Wei Yuzhi!
"Misty Villa?" In An Jiu’s mind, such places were no different from the organizations she had once belonged to—dens of murder and illegality. Her voice turned icy with disdain. "Let’s each go our own way. Stay out of my business."
She leaped down through the broken lattice window and selected a sturdy horse from those left behind by the bandits.
"May I know your name, Madam?" Wei Yuzhi pressed.
An Jiu mounted the horse, donned her bamboo hat, and rode off without so much as a glance in his direction.
Wei Yuzhi hurried back into the temple to retrieve his belongings before mounting his own horse to follow.
The vast, rainy night was bitterly cold, their breaths forming puffs of white mist in the air.
"Madam, please take this rain cape of mine." Wei Yuzhi removed his own cape and offered it to An Jiu.
Her expression remained cold, but inwardly, her guard rose even higher. She had spread her mental strength throughout the surroundings to navigate the dark forest, yet it seemed to have no effect on him. Worse, she couldn’t sense his strength at all.
Could Wei Yuzhi also be a Transformation Realm Master—and one whose mental strength surpassed hers?An Jiu glanced at him. He was a lean man, appearing to be only twenty-three or twenty-four years old, his frail body shivering in the cold rain, lips purple. He held a straw raincoat in his hand. Could someone like this really be in the Transformation Realm?
"Although I am from Misty Villa, I do not practice Martial Arts," Wei Yuzhi said. "My constitution is poor, and my illnesses have been with me since birth. My adoptive father has kept me alive with Medicine all these years, but I can never train in Martial Arts."
The name Misty Villa was known even to commoners. Everyone knew the second master of the villa did not practice Martial Arts, yet no one dared lay a finger on Wei Yuzhi, even when he wandered out alone and unguarded. Provoking a den of assassins meant a hundred lives wouldn’t be enough to withstand their retaliation.
Once, an enemy of Misty Villa had tried to kill Wei Yuzhi for revenge. Not only did they fail, but their entire clan was wiped out overnight, their ancestral graves dug up and corpses desecrated. From then on, no one dared to cross Wei Yuzhi again.
Such was the ruthlessness of Misty Villa.
"What do you want from me?" An Jiu tightened the reins and turned to glare at him.
Wei Yuzhi's pale cheeks flushed with an odd redness. "I fell for you at first sight..."
An Jiu scoffed.
Love at first sight was something even ordinary people struggled to comprehend, let alone someone like An Jiu, who lacked emotional intelligence.
"Stop following me!" An Jiu wanted no part of this trouble. Even if Wei Yuzhi weren’t from Misty Villa, she wouldn’t consider him—marriage held no appeal to her.
Wei Yuzhi didn’t press further. With a quiet "Until we meet again," he fell behind An Jiu.
An Jiu rode onto the main road, rubbing her temples in frustration. She’d rather face thirty bandits at once—dangerous as it might be, at least it would be a clean fight with no lingering consequences. A place like Misty Villa undoubtedly had an extensive intelligence network. How else could they track their targets for assassinations?
Wei Yuzhi had only seen her face, yet he might still be able to pluck her out of a sea of people.
Perhaps... under the cover of night, she could silence him permanently?
The thought flashed through her mind, but she dismissed it. There were no secrets that didn’t eventually come to light. She’d once believed her assassinations were flawless, yet her identity had still been uncovered.
No matter. She’d evaded years of pursuit and vendettas—a single assassin organization, especially one without clear malice, didn’t frighten her.
By midnight, the rain gradually stopped.
The road was muddy, forcing An Jiu to slow her pace. At dawn, the horizon brightened, promising clear skies ahead.
Near the capital, villages and towns dotted the landscape, connected by a network of main roads.
An Jiu, feverish from the rain, rode swiftly to the nearest town. She found an inn, soaked in a hot bath, downed two large bowls of ginger soup, and sweated under thick blankets. Her condition improved slightly.
Fearing a relapse would hinder her journey, she stayed in town for three more days until fully recovered before setting off again.
This time, before even leaving the town, she noticed a "tail" behind her.
Using her Mental strength, An Jiu turned and immediately spotted the follower in the crowd, locking onto him with her senses. But she only issued a warning—no violence yet.This method had some effect—at least the person no longer dared to follow so closely, keeping their distance instead. As the journey continued without any unusual incidents, An Jiu stopped paying them any mind.
On the tenth day, An Jiu arrived smoothly at the outskirts of Bianjing.
It was early spring, and Bianjing already carried a hint of warmth. The roads were busier with travelers compared to winter.
As she approached the city gates, An Jiu suddenly felt another pair of eyes fixed on her. She assumed Misty Villa had deemed one person insufficient and sent additional hands.
The swarm of flies was beyond irritating. Without hesitation, she raised her head and glared fiercely in their direction. (To be continued...)
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