Hidden Shadow

Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Three

Lou Mingyue said, "I only heard my mother mention it once. It's said to be a shadow unit directly under The Emperor's command."

At least outsiders had heard of the Crane Control Army, but this deeply hidden shadow unit was unknown even to most within the Crane Control Army. Lou Mingyue only learned of it because she was the head of the Lou family.

"Hah." Lou Mingyue clenched the jade in her hand and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

She absolutely refused to become part of the Dragon Martial Guard—not only because she disdained serving The Emperor, but more importantly, she had joined the Crane Control Army for one purpose alone: to one day kill Yelü Huangwu with her own hands. Who knew what the Dragon Martial Guard usually did?

"Let's go. Someone's coming," An Jiu said.

Lou Mingyue responded and quickly led An Jiu to the kitchen.

The stove in the kitchen was still burning, but not a single person was in sight. As An Jiu surveyed the area, Lou Mingyue spoke up, "There's no ambush here, but the food is limited, and some of it is poisonous. They don’t deliberately poison it—they just cook with toxic ingredients."

For a while now, Qiu Yunxiao had been relentlessly pestering Lou Mingyue. With her skills, driving him away or even killing him wouldn’t have been a problem, but she hadn’t. She had been secretly learning from him when they came to fetch food each day—for people like them, knowing more about poisons was never a bad thing.

An Jiu scanned the stove. There was porridge, flatbread, and various dishes—almost all of them stir-fried combinations of meat and vegetables. She had studied wilderness survival skills and knew a bit about this, but the plants in America were different from those here. Even if these herbs were whole, she might not recognize them, let alone when they were cooked beyond recognition.

Without hesitation, An Jiu broke off a piece of flatbread and sniffed it. Detecting nothing unusual, she took seven or eight pieces.

Lou Mingyue had already picked out a few dishes and turned around to find half the flatbread gone. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she took the remaining half.

Eating only dry food wouldn’t do—they needed something to drink. An Jiu’s gaze lingered between a pot of unidentifiable stew and plain white porridge before finally settling on the porridge.

"Wait." Lou Mingyue stepped forward and sniffed. "This porridge has a sedative in it. Better take the snake stew instead."

An Jiu poked the stew with her chopsticks. "The snake meat’s too shredded—can’t tell if it’s poisonous."

The pieces were too small to even identify the type of snake, and the stew was loaded with dubious seasonings. An Jiu preferred simpler fare.

"You two are early," Qiu Yunxiao said as he entered, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the snake stew. "This stuff’s nourishing. If you don’t want it, I’ll take it."

Even if Qiu Yunxiao said so, neither Lou Mingyue nor An Jiu believed it was truly safe.

Lou Mingyue still had some water in her flask, enough to last until the next day, so she left the snake stew behind. But An Jiu still took the white porridge, drawing Qiu Yunxiao’s repeated glances.

He knew full well but didn’t warn her. An Jiu noticed everything.

The two quickly gathered their food and left the kitchen, retracing their steps back to their quarters.

"Let’s eat together," Qiu Yunxiao called after them as they neared their residence. "Eating alone in the dark is no fun."

An Jiu ignored him as if he were nothing but a gust of wind, slipping into her room without pause.

"I don’t think eating in the dark with two or three people would be any more fun!" Lou Mingyue retorted coldly before stepping inside.Qiu Yunxiao stood hesitantly in the courtyard holding a bowl of snake soup, calling toward An Jiu's room, "Mei Niangzi. Let's eat together."

An Jiu paid no attention, as she had vaguely noticed many new items on the table. Cautiously approaching, she confirmed they were essential supplies: a water pouch, two cloth bags, a fire starter, rope, a dagger, two sets of dark warrior's outfits, a mantle, a heavy cloak, two pairs of boots made from unknown leather, and bedding.

Measuring them with her hands, she found everything fit her perfectly! The clothes and boots were clearly prepared recently—neither the Instructor nor Xu Zhi would handle such matters... She suddenly realized she had underestimated the unassuming Sheng Zhangku.

This made An Jiu even more vigilant.

After organizing her belongings, she sat on a chair tearing into flatbread. Qiu Yunxiao, perhaps finding it dull, left after a while.

"Mei Shisi, do you want some vegetables?" Lou Mingyue asked from outside the door.

"No." In such an environment, she wouldn't accept food from anyone.

Lou Mingyue didn't press, turning back to her room with the dish.

After finishing her meal in the dark, An Jiu sat quietly, attempting to sense her dantian.

Mo Sigui had put considerable effort into this, yet with little effect. An Jiu only felt an empty void, like the chaos of heaven and earth.

After a while, she gave up and began pacing the room before starting physical exercises. Since Inner Force was no longer possible, she could only train her body.

About half an hour later, as An Jiu was doing push-ups and just lifting herself, she suddenly heard movement in the corridor. Freezing mid-motion, she listened intently.

"Mei Niangzi?" Outside the window, Qiu Yunxiao called softly, as if testing the waters.

An Jiu rolled smoothly to the ground, slipping under the bed as silently as a cat.

The door latch loosened slowly.

An Jiu gripped her dagger.

"What are you sneaking around for?" Lou Mingyue's cold voice cut through.

Startled, Qiu Yunxiao straightened, resuming his usual gentlemanly demeanor. "Ahem, I came to visit Mei Niangzi."

"Get lost," Lou Mingyue said.

"Lou Er—"

His words were cut short by Lou Mingyue's sword at his throat. The difference in their strength was stark—Lou Mingyue could kill him as easily as crushing an ant.

"Calm down, I'll leave," Qiu Yunxiao said carefully.

Lou Mingyue withdrew her sword, and he quickly retreated.

Hearing the footsteps fade, An Jiu emerged from under the bed and said slowly, "He's skilled with poisons. If he holds a grudge, the consequences could be endless."

Lou Mingyue was slightly surprised. "You didn't drink the porridge?"

"No." In truth, An Jiu had drunk a bowl, but in this place, concealing even the smallest detail could mean survival.

Lou Mingyue didn't ask why she'd taken it if she wasn't going to drink it, instead continuing, "Indeed, a true gentleman wouldn't act as he did. Qiu Yunxiao is likely vengeful, but..."

But unless absolutely necessary, she wouldn't stain her hands needlessly.

An Jiu remained silent. If she were in this situation, Qiu Yunxiao would already be a corpse.

Perhaps it was good to keep some principles in heart...

The darkness fell still.

Outside, the sun rose and set.An Jiu trained herself in the darkness, her clothes soaked through and dried out countless times. After finishing her last sit-up, there was only an hour left before the assembly time. She used the discarded clothes to wipe herself dry, changed into fresh garments and shoes, then gathered her waist-length black hair and chopped it off to shoulder length before twisting it into a bun. Wrapping herself in a blanket, she sat back on the chair and dozed for a while.

When there was just enough time for a cup of tea left, An Jiu opened her eyes precisely on schedule.

At that moment, two knocks sounded from the neighboring wall.

An Jiu threw on her mantle and went out, heading to the training grounds with Lou Mingyue.

By the time they reached the turning point, moonlight was already visible, and people were converging from both directions.

All thirteen arrived punctually at the training grounds, lining up in a row before the martial platform.

On the platform stood three figures clad in black.

All three wore mantles, but their silhouettes were distinct. The one on the left was tall and slender, the one on the right burly, while the one in the middle... An Jiu glanced at the eye-wateringly contorted curves and concluded it was either a woman or that damn effeminate man.

"Gentlemen."

The middle figure's voice instantly confirmed An Jiu's suspicion—the artificially pitched tone unmistakably belonged to the Earth Instructor. "Having passed the Crane Control Institute's initial trial, you're now half-members of the Crane Control Army. But this time is a bit different from before. The Crane Control Army has dispatched two special envoys to oversee your training. Aren't you thrilled?"

Dead silence filled the grounds.

"Such an unlikable bunch!" The Earth Instructor remained unfazed, lightly clapping once before twisting his body toward the burlier envoy, his voice suddenly turning sugary sweet. "Now that everyone's here, the two envoys may begin selecting their trainees. Oh, that little runt over there is a new recruit from yesterday and doesn't count. The remaining twelve are perfectly divisible."

An Jiu glared at the finger pointing in her direction, inwardly cursing: Primitive creature with no discernible gender!

"This official has already assessed that one's qualifications. She will follow me." Gu Jinghong's uniquely clear and mellow voice carried effortlessly to every ear, calm yet brooking no argument. (To be continued...)