Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Two
"Thank you," An Jiu said.
Lou Mingyue stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Through the door, An Jiu heard a soft sigh from outside.
She understood Lou Mingyue’s suppressed anguish and sorrow. She, too, had once watched her own mother die, leaving her heart filled with nothing but hatred. It seemed she could foresee Lou Mingyue treading the same path she had once walked. Yet, the difference was that An Jiu had been relatively mature in mind and had grown accustomed to life and death from a young age, making her endurance a hundred times stronger than an ordinary person’s.
Perhaps Lou Mingyue would handle it better than she had...
An Jiu stood motionless for a long time before finally moving to bolt the door, extinguishing the lamp, and sitting against the wall on a chair. She clasped the dagger hidden in her sleeve and closed her eyes.
In her daze, she seemed to hear that faint, weak voice again: "An Jiu, go sleep on the bed."
Back in Mei Shi, An Jiu had thought the Crane Controlling Families were no different from before. But compared to now, those days had been far better—at least she could see sunlight whenever she wished, lived in luxury, and had the protection of the family. When two souls had shared one body, she had always harbored the mindset that it was either you or me who would survive. Yet now that Mei Jiu had truly vanished, she found herself plunged into endless loneliness once more.
When Plum Blossom Village had been drenched in blood, An Jiu had felt nothing. But now, sitting in the darkness just as she had in her past life, she inexplicably recalled the stumbling Zhao Shanchang, Mr. Qingming and his sheep, the cunning and fiery Mei Ru Yan, and... Mei Jiu, as delicate as jasmine...
Those chaotic images exploded in her mind, making her head throb with pain.
An Jiu slowly opened her eyes, a glimmer of moisture shimmering in the darkness.
After a long silence, she murmured inwardly: Mei Jiu, this is no longer Mei Shi.
She sat like this for two hours before finally hearing movement around her. Without using her mental strength, she relied solely on her hearing to discern about a dozen people approaching—likely the group returning from the selection.
"It is now the end of the Hour of Xu. Gather at the training ground tomorrow night at the first quarter of the Hour of Hai!" The voice boomed like a deep bell in her ears.
From tonight’s Hour of Xu to tomorrow’s Hour of Hai—that meant they had to remain in darkness for a full day and night.
An Jiu’s hand rested on the smooth, jade-like sheath of her dagger, her index finger twitching slightly with each heartbeat.
After a rustling sound outside, everything was swallowed once more by the silent darkness.
Time stretched endlessly, without boundaries.
The surroundings grew darker—so dark that she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her. Opening or closing her eyes made no difference.
Click.
A faint sound jolted An Jiu awake from her slumber. She tilted her head slightly toward the source of the noise without a sound.
But apart from that one faint noise, there was no further movement.
An Jiu’s instincts sharpened. To guard against any potential use of medicine, she immediately held her breath.
After a moment, there came the faintest sound of fabric brushing against something.
An Jiu’s brow twitched slightly, her grip on the dagger tightening.
The intruder made no further sound, but An Jiu’s intuition told her they were heading toward the bed. Her first thought was that this uninvited guest was Qiu Yunxiao.
However, his next actions made her doubt that assumption—a swift, soft friction sound cut through the air, followed by the sharp crack of the bed frame breaking.
The situation was clear. He had swung a weapon at the bed, clearly intending to kill her.
Realizing his mistake, the intruder didn’t hesitate for even a breath before darting away at lightning speed.At the same time, the sound of fighting came from Lou Mingyue's room next door, but it quickly quieted down.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Someone knocked on the wall from Lou Mingyue's side. An Jiu listened but didn't respond.
Three more knocks came from the other side.
An Jiu still didn't respond.
After a while, Lou Mingyue's voice came from outside the door, "Mei Shisi, are you alright?"
"Mm," An Jiu replied.
Moments later, two more knocks came from next door.
An Jiu understood this was Lou Mingyue confirming the signal came from her, so she tapped the wall twice in response before getting up to open the window for ventilation.
After sitting back down, An Jiu reflected on what had just happened and guessed this was likely another one of Crane Control Institute's training exercises.
Yet from both Chu Dingjiang and Lou Mingyue, An Jiu had received the same information - that there was no life-threatening danger during the first two months at Crane Control Institute. But the attacker earlier had shown no mercy! That strike had split the bed board clean in two. Had she truly been an inexperienced person, she would have ended up like that bed board.
Considering all this, An Jiu speculated someone must be deliberately targeting her.
Any of the four Instructors - Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow - could be responsible, but An Jiu most suspected that "damned eunuch" Earth Instructor.
Not understanding Crane Control Institute's ways, the more she thought about it, the more confused she became, unable to make sense of anything even after a long while.
An hour later, two more thuds came from the neighboring wall. Unsure of their meaning, An Jiu extended her Mental strength to sense that Lou Mingyue had left her room, so she got up to follow.
Outside was slightly more visible than inside - at least An Jiu could vaguely make out moving shadows.
"Let's get some food," Lou Mingyue whispered.
An Jiu acknowledged and followed her through the darkness.
Lou Mingyue noticed An Jiu's footsteps were heavier than before, even worse than in the ancient temple. She wondered how someone could regress rather than improve over time, but she didn't ask, instead also suppressing her Inner Force.
While others were sneaking about, the two of them walked openly, each step leaving clear footprints. Being naturally unrestrained, Lou Mingyue found this slight relaxation secretly satisfying.
An Jiu, however, knew she couldn't continue like this. She didn't want to reveal her Mental strength too soon, but without using it, her lack of lightness skill made moving quietly at night nearly impossible.
Turning a corner, Lou Mingyue suddenly stopped short and spun around, sending a Hidden Weapon flying toward the roof on their right.
Whoosh! The figure on the roof swept their Mantle, deflecting the projectile.
"Lou Er, Mei Shisi." A voice as gentle and pure as moonlight piercing the darkness.
The Mantle settled, revealing a tall, slender figure.
An Jiu's mind flashed with those stunning eyes. "Deputy Commander of Divine Strategy."
"I said we'd meet again," Gu Jinghong said.
This statement had always been a mystery to An Jiu. "Why?"
"I've been ordered to select new Dragon Martial Guards. You two are candidates." Gu Jinghong tossed two objects toward them. "Catch them."
Lou Mingyue and An Jiu initially moved to dodge, but hearing his calm tone, they inexplicably froze and reached out to catch the items.
The objects felt cool and smooth against their palms, like jade pieces.
"Until next time." Gu Jinghong vanished into the darkness in an instant.
"Mind Control!"
"Dragon Martial Guards?"
Lou Mingyue and An Jiu spoke simultaneously.An Jiu paused slightly. "Are you saying it was because of Mind Control just now?"
"Most likely. Mind Control and Mind Reading share the same origin. These two techniques have extremely high innate talent requirements." Lou Mingyue pondered. "It's said that those with superior talents are born with seven orifices connected to the spirit, their wisdom far surpassing ordinary people. When you mentioned the Deputy Envoy of the Divine Strategy, I remembered—there's a Deputy Envoy named Gu Jinghong in the Divine Strategy Army who possesses extraordinary natural gifts. The person just now must have been him, right?"
"Yes." An Jiu nodded, then asked, "What is the Dragon Martial Guard?"
She remembered very clearly—the Crane Control Army consisted of the Feather Forest, Divine Strategy, Divine Martial, and Wei Yue divisions. Where did this Dragon Martial come from? (To be continued...)
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