Hidden Shadow

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Three

The forest was suddenly enveloped in a thick fog, reducing visibility to almost nothing in a short span of time.

Chu Dingjiang slowed his pace slightly, waiting for those behind him to catch up.

"My lord, this fog is strange," said a shadow unit member whose build was similar to Chu Dingjiang's. "Could it be poisonous?"

"No," Chu Dingjiang replied, though he remained cautious. "Quickly regroup with the trial participants."

Recently, Chu Dingjiang had been plagued by misfortune. During a previous trial he led for the Crane Control Army, they were ambushed. Thanks to his swift and decisive actions, they managed to preserve some of their strength. However, the higher-ups in the Crane Control Bureau still made him the scapegoat. After that, it was a classic case of kicking a man when he was down—the Divine Martial Army had been steadily pushing him aside. If another mishap occurred now, they would likely finish him off for good.

An Jiu warned, "Wei Yuzhi understands the weaknesses of mental strength very well. He taught the people from Misty Villa to disguise themselves as trial participants. Be careful."

Chu Dingjiang gave a low hum of acknowledgment and tightened his arm around her. "Thirty yards to the target. Stay alert."

The others had also heard An Jiu's words, so they understood the implication of his order—if they discovered these people were imposters, a fight would be unavoidable.

"Lord Chu!" A woman's voice called out from within the dense fog.

Among the trial participants, Lou Mingyue possessed the strongest mental strength. She had sensed Chu Dingjiang's entry into the formation, but the paths within the array were complex, so they dared not wander aimlessly and instead stayed in place to wait.

"It's me," Chu Dingjiang stopped.

Six figures emerged from the thick mist.

An Jiu's gaze sharpened as she took in their silhouettes, her killing intent locking onto them in an instant.

Chu Dingjiang's brow arched slightly as his sword left its sheath. His entire body shot forward like an arrowhead—so fast that even An Jiu's keen eyes could barely track his movements. By the time he came to a halt, the six black-clad figures had already fallen.

The other shadow unit members of the Crane Control Army were momentarily stunned by the immense pressure An Jiu had suddenly unleashed. It took them a long moment to recover, and they couldn't help but cast curious glances her way.

Earlier, they had seen Chu Dingjiang constantly holding a woman in his arms. Though they found his behavior rather brazen, they hadn't paid it much mind—after all, within the Crane Control Army, it was permissible to form intimate relationships to fulfill certain needs, and mutual support during missions was also allowed. This, however, also meant that many would use their bodies to curry favor with the strong in exchange for protection.

But the power An Jiu had just displayed was clearly no weaker than Chu Dingjiang's!

The Transformation Realm… Those who reached it could be counted on one hand. And she appeared to be an extremely young woman at that!

"My lord? What happened?" Lou Mingyue sensed the commotion. "We seem to be trapped in a formation within a formation and can't get out now."

Judging by the situation, Wei Yuzhi had set up this nested formation to trap the trial participants. However, since they were close enough to hear each other's voices, the assassins from Misty Villa had seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

"Overestimating themselves!" Chu Dingjiang scoffed.

Even if there were dozens more, they wouldn't last long against his blade.

He signaled for Lin Qihan to go inspect the formation, then glanced back the way they had come. "A formation within a formation… Hah! Well played, Wei Yuzhi."

When they had entered, the outer perimeter had been normal. But now, Chu Dingjiang was almost certain that Gu Jinghong, who had been stationed outside, must also be trapped in a formation by now.

Lin Qihan was drenched in cold sweat. "My lord, this kind of interlocking formation has countless variations. If we try to dismantle it recklessly, we might end up triggering a death trap."

"What do you need to solve it?" Chu Dingjiang asked."Finding an exit is easy, but..." Lin Qihan bowed and said, "This formation cannot be unraveled in less than ten days to half a month."

Chu Dingjiang frowned in contemplation for a moment before turning to An Jiu. "Tie a rope to the arrow and shoot it across."

Everyone instantly felt the immense pressure on An Jiu’s behalf. The night was dark and the fog thick beyond two zhang, meaning she would have to shoot blindly. The trees ahead were densely packed. Finding a gap under such conditions was no less difficult than scaling the heavens.

Yet, without a word, An Jiu took out a roll of fine black silk and tied it to the fletching of an arrow.

Hearing their conversation, Lou Mingyue cut a long branch and used it to tap against the trees opposite, giving An Jiu a direction to aim.

The arrow was nocked.

Everyone watched as the slender woman drew her bow, holding their breath, afraid to make the slightest sound that might disturb her.

An Jiu closed her eyes.

To outsiders, she seemed to be in deep concentration, but in reality, nearly every cell in her body was engaged. Her ears picked up the rhythmic tapping of the branch, while her mental strength extended over thirty zhang in that direction, as if everything was laid bare before her. She swiftly calculated while estimating the environmental factors.

The world fell silent, save for Lou Mingyue’s tapping. The rhythmic pat pat pat seemed to strike at their hearts, unsettling their pulses. Gradually, they felt an increasingly oppressive pressure, their legs weakening and their palms sweating.

Whoosh!

An Jiu released her fingers, and the arrow, trailing the thin silk, shot forward, swallowed by the thick fog.

The pressure dissipated, and everyone suddenly felt lighter, swaying slightly from the abrupt relief.

Thud!

"By the heavens!" Sui Yunzhu exclaimed.

"What happened?" Chu Dingjiang asked.

Lou Mingyue immediately answered, "The arrow pierced through the branch I was tapping and embedded itself in the tree trunk."

The shadow unit members were stunned.

A faint smile surfaced in Chu Dingjiang’s eyes, as if everything had gone exactly as expected.

Lou Mingyue and the others followed the black silk and emerged, clasping their fists in salute to Chu Dingjiang. "Sir."

"At ease." Chu Dingjiang sheathed his sword and said coldly, "Find a way out of the forest! We’ll raid Misty Villa’s hidden outpost!"

Lin Qihan hesitated before asking, "Sir, should we not wait for the Deputy Envoy?"

Lin Qihan was Gu Jinghong’s subordinate. Reasoning with him might not work even if he lowered his pride, so Chu Dingjiang infused his words with mental pressure. "Deputy Gu is renowned for his wisdom—how could a mere formation trap him?!"

Lin Qihan was only a second-rank martial arts master—how could he withstand such mental strength? His legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed.

A shadow flickered, and in the blink of an eye, Chu Dingjiang was before him, withdrawing the pressure while steadying him with a hand. "The forest path is slippery, Master Lin. Be careful."

As clarity gradually returned to Lin Qihan’s eyes, Chu Dingjiang said, "Lead the way, Master Lin. We cannot linger here. We’ll wait for Deputy Gu outside the forest."

Lin Qihan was part of the Crane Control Army’s shadow unit. Though not directly under Chu Dingjiang’s command, he was still a low-ranking shadow operative. For Chu Dingjiang to address him as "Master Lin" was an immense show of respect.

After the intimidation, the steps were laid out, and face was given. Lin Qihan dared not refuse.

Lin Qihan was far inferior to Wei Yuzhi. Fortunately, the Crane Control Army’s swift assault had left him little time to set up formations. This hastily arranged chain formation was mostly meant to buy time.

After meandering for half a shichen, they finally found a flaw and escaped the formation.Chu Dingjiang probed around and found that he could no sense the presence of Gu Jinghong and the others. He realized they must indeed be trapped as well.

For Chu Dingjiang, it would be best if Gu Jinghong remained trapped here forever—that would save him the trouble of preventing An Jiu from being recruited into the Dragon Martial Guard.

At this thought, the True Energy within him grew restless again. "The people from Misty Villa have already withdrawn. Stay here for now—I'll be back soon!"

His gaze turned chillingly sharp. "Since they broke the rules, they can't blame me for what comes next!"

This hidden spot was quite remote, and no one had expected Wei Yuzhi to appear and disrupt the trial. Now that Wei Yuzhi had made his move, with a Transformation Realm Master from the Crane Control Army overseeing things, how could they just take this lying down?

The others were speechless, all thinking the same thing: We were the ones who started this, weren’t we...

With a flicker of movement, Chu Dingjiang vanished into the night. (To be continued...)

PS: My internet was acting up again yesterday. I spent the whole morning trying to fix it but couldn’t, so I had no choice but to brave the rain and rush to a café. ┭┮﹏┭┮ Am I really going to have to lug my laptop here every day from now on...?