"The Crane Control Army has been quite unlucky lately," Sui Yunzhu muttered.
Unlucky was an understatement—it was more like hitting walls at every turn. Nearly every mission they undertook encountered unexpected obstacles. While there had been deliberate targeting before, this time it was simply bad luck.
"When misfortune strikes, even the heavens turn against you," someone interjected abruptly.
Silence fell over the group.
The men stood or crouched by the forest's edge, their figures blending into the night like tombstones of varying heights.
Chu Dingjiang had been gone for over an hour. When he returned, the uncontained killing intent and bloodlust clinging to him made him seem like the Black Impermanence emerging from the underworld.
The outcome was clear.
The last seven assassins from Misty Villa's hidden outpost had been completely wiped out, and Wei Yuzhi was nowhere to be found. This confirmed one thing for Chu Dingjiang—Wei Yuzhi's mental prowess had surpassed the third rank of the Transformation Realm.
Without anyone to manipulate it, the formation lost its vitality, and the Crane Control Army soon broke free.
In this operation, the Crane Control Army lost four members of their shadow unit while eliminating fourteen enemies. Yet, this ratio still enraged the higher-ups at the Crane Control Bureau: with a Transformation Realm Master and the army's most skilled assassin overseeing the mission, how could there still be casualties?! Unforgivable!
Thus, upon returning to the capital, Chu Dingjiang was demoted again. Some couldn't even tolerate his nominal position as Divine Martial Commander. Meanwhile, Gu Jinghong, favored by the Emperor, was merely penalized with a year's salary deduction.
Many felt the punishment was unjust. This had been a trial mission, and by protocol, neither Chu Dingjiang nor Gu Jinghong, as leaders, were permitted to intervene. Even in a standard trial, some losses were inevitable!
At the Crane Control Institute...
An Jiu practiced her punches in a small training room, drenched in sweat, her figure clearly outlined.
Chu Dingjiang sat cross-legged by the wall, cracking and peeling spiced peanuts. Watching her pause, he chewed on a peanut and asked, "The Mei Clan has the renowned Plum Blossom Fist. Why are you practicing this cat-scratch-like technique?"
An Jiu tightened the bandages around her hands and shot him a glance. "Eating peanuts can make you choke to death. Given your recent streak of bad luck, you should be careful."
"Just trying to ruin my mood," Chu Dingjiang muttered. With a slight pinch of his fingers, he crushed a peanut into powder and tossed it into his mouth. "Now I won't choke."
An Jiu resumed her training. After returning, she had scoured the Crane Control Institute's library for martial techniques, only to find that nearly all of them required a robust physique as a foundation. So, she set them aside for now and focused on strengthening her body her own way.
"You've been at it for two hours," Chu Dingjiang remarked, unable to bear her self-inflicted harshness.
An Jiu ignored him. Each punch grew more forceful, the unleashed killing intent sending chills down the spine.
After another half-hour, she finally stopped.
"Chu Dingjiang." An Jiu crouched in front of him, her dark eyes locking onto his. "Mei... where is my mother stationed now?"
Chu Dingjiang averted his gaze. "I don't know."
"You do." She sensed his fleeting hesitation. "Is she in the Imperial Guards?"
"No, but close." He had initially withheld the truth, fearing she would throw herself into danger searching for her mother. But since she seemed prepared, he saw no point in hiding it. "The Dragon Martial Guard—they share similar duties with the Imperial Guards."
After a pause, he asked uneasily, "You're not planning to join them, are you?"An Jiu clenched her fists abruptly, veins bulging on the back of her hands. "I want to save someone. It's not like I'm selling my body, so why should I throw myself into this mess! Does Gu Jinghong also know my mother was slept with by the emperor?"
"Cough, cough!" Chu Dingjiang choked on a peanut and coughed several times. "You're a woman."
An Jiu pressed on stubbornly, "Does he or not?"
"He was the one who selected her. What do you think?" Chu Dingjiang replied.
An Jiu thought of Gu Jinghong's clear, limpid eyes and couldn't fathom how someone like him could do something so vile—mother and daughter sharing the same man? And this emperor truly had no scruples, not even sparing a widow!
"So my mother has already been slept with by the emperor?" An Jiu asked.
"That, I truly don't know." Chu Dingjiang wasn't the emperor's personal attendant—how would he know which woman the emperor slept with on which day?
An Jiu slowly stood up, walked to the clothes rack, and took the mantle to drape over herself.
Mei Yanran's gentle and delicate face surfaced in her mind. Her blood suddenly boiled, an overwhelming killing intent surging straight into her brain. The madness that had disappeared for so long abruptly returned. She grabbed a sword from the weapon rack and viciously slashed the clothes rack before her into pieces.
But it wasn't enough! She wanted to destroy everything!
"Shi Si!" Chu Dingjiang's heart skipped a beat when he saw her crimson eyes. This surge of mental strength was unmistakably a sign of demonic possession.
An all-encompassing killing intent instantly engulfed the entire Crane Control Institute, felt by everyone present.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out as a large section of the Crane Control Institute's training hall collapsed, thick dust and smoke billowing into the sky.
Several instructors rushed over at the sound.
"What happened?" the Earth Instructor shrieked in a shrill voice.
The immense killing intent dissipated, and everyone relaxed slightly, voices overlapping in response.
From within the dust and smoke, a figure emerged, silencing the crowd as they strained to identify who it was.
Only when the figure descended the steps did everyone see clearly—it was Chu Dingjiang, carrying a blood-soaked woman in his arms.
"Lord Chu, what happened?" the Heaven Instructor asked.
"The training hall was in disrepair." Chu Dingjiang tossed out the indifferent remark before striding away with An Jiu.
Chu Dingjiang couldn't think of any excuse to conceal the truth. This perfunctory explanation was merely to avoid publicly ignoring the Heaven Instructor.
That very afternoon, Chu Dingjiang was summoned to the Crane Control Bureau—on suspicion of demonic possession.
The Crane Control Army didn't reject demonic cultivation, but those who practiced it inevitably developed extreme tendencies in certain aspects. Thus, they had to be closely monitored to prevent them from losing control during missions.
Someone from the Divine Martial Army immediately pointed out that even someone as exceptionally talented as Gu Jinghong had never reached the Transformation Realm, making Chu Dingjiang's internal energy highly suspect. To avert disaster, his martial arts should be abolished as soon as possible.
This truly embodied the saying: When luck turns against you, even the heavens won't give you a break.
Chu Dingjiang hadn't choked to death on a peanut, but he silently shouldered the blame—not only was he demoted, but he was also confined to the Surveillance Bureau for a month.
An Jiu slept deeply, waking as dawn barely broke.
Her head throbbed painfully as she recalled the events. Fury surged through her once more.
The door creaked open and shut twice as Lou Mingyue slipped inside. "Mei Shisi."
Perhaps because of their shared plight, she always showed An Jiu extra care. "No matter what happened, don't reveal your mental strength. Lord Chu said he'd handle it. Don't waste his goodwill.""What happened?" An Jiu propped herself up.
Lou Mingyue sensed someone approaching and said, "We'll talk later. If anyone asks you, try to blame the building collapse on Lord Chu. That's the message he asked me to pass on."
An Jiu's heart sank. Though she didn't know exactly what had occurred, her intuition told her that her mental strength had gone out of control again and caused trouble, with Chu Dingjiang covering for her.
Thud! Thud!
"Come in," Lou Mingyue answered for An Jiu.
Several black-clad men entered, led by a Ghost Mask, followed by four instructors and Sheng Zhangku.
"Xuan Ren," the Ghost Mask sat down and began questioning. "The day before yesterday, only you and Chu Dingjiang were inside when the training hall collapsed. Do you know what happened?"
An Jiu didn't want to expose herself, but neither did she wish to blindly shift all blame onto Chu Dingjiang without understanding the situation. "I don't know."
The Ghost Mask's gaze fell on her injured hand. "How did you get this injury?"
An Jiu remained silent.
Lou Mingyue interjected, "Mei Shisi's inner force was destroyed during the Mei Clan attack. Now she's purely externally cultivated. To one day seek revenge, she trains harder than anyone. Injuries like this are common for her."
Given the near-annihilation of her clan, reluctance to speak about it was understandable.
The Ghost Mask reached out and grasped An Jiu's wrist.
His touch was icy cold. An Jiu resisted the urge to pull away.
After testing for a moment, the man nodded, accepting Lou Mingyue's explanation. Someone without inner force couldn't possibly have caused such massive destruction—that left only Chu Dingjiang...
Having obtained satisfactory answers, the Ghost Mask didn't linger and immediately left to report.
"Well well, shorty, your backer's fallen!" The Earth Instructor cackled maliciously.
An Jiu silently retorted: Short people can grow taller, but a severed little dick won't grow back!
Among girls her age, An Jiu wasn't actually short. But most in this batch of Crane Control Institute recruits were male, and the only two other females were older and slightly taller, making her the shortest when lined up.
The Profound Instructor said coldly, "Do you think I'm dead?"
Trying to bully his subordinate right in front of him clearly showed no respect!
The Earth Instructor rolled his eyes, swaying his hips as he left. "She'll prefer young, strong men no matter how much an old codger like you tries to please her."
Having his meaning twisted like this made the Profound Instructor's beard quiver with rage. He spat, "Eunuch!"
An Jiu had no patience for their bickering. Once everyone left, she immediately asked Lou Mingyue, "What happened to Chu Dingjiang?"
Lou Mingyue recounted the day's events, concluding with a sneer, "These Crane Control Bureau people—never so efficient on missions, but they're experts at bringing others down!"
An Jiu felt unsettled.
Her mental strength had gone out of control again. She didn't remember everything clearly, but she knew Chu Dingjiang had held her tightly, whispering something in her ear before the inner force explosion destroyed the entire building and knocked her unconscious.
He'd done it to conceal her demonically inclined mental strength, hadn't he?
An Jiu pressed her lips together, staring down at her heavily bandaged hand.Chu Dingjiang would turn back for her. When she was distressed after killing, he didn’t curse or fear her like ordinary people, nor did he incessantly tempt her to continue killing like some others. Instead, he smiled and said, “A good sign—it means you still have feelings.”
She didn’t know what purpose Chu Dingjiang had in protecting her like this, but it stirred complex emotions within her.
Lou Mingyue noticed her pale complexion and said, “Rest a while longer.”
An Jiu nodded.
She had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but as soon as she lay down, she fell into a deep slumber.
Her dreams were chaotic—one moment, she was amidst mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, with the Mei family head pressing a jade pendant into her hand, saying, “Loyalty, righteousness, and the Lou family.” The next, Mei Yanran smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid, Mother is here.” Then, Mei Jiu, on the verge of death, wept and said, “Live well.” Finally, thick dust swirled around her, deafening noises filled the air, and Chu Dingjiang’s deep voice resonated: “Shi Si, stay calm. No matter what, aren’t I still here with you?”
Right—Chu Dingjiang had said, Aren’t I still here with you?
“Chu Dingjiang!” An Jiu abruptly sat up, sweat beading on her forehead.
Never before had she felt such an urgent need to improve her strength.
An Jiu got up, drank a cup of water, tidied up briefly, and headed to the library despite her injuries. She didn’t reject Chu Dingjiang’s protection, but she absolutely refused to remain a weak woman who constantly relied on others. She couldn’t become a burden to him.
The library was located at the very center of the Crane Control Institute, the same place where An Jiu had first reported upon arrival. It housed tens of thousands of books and was also managed by Sheng Zhangku.
The books were categorized by level and placed in different rooms. Since most beginners in the Crane Control Institute were children, and specialized instructors taught Martial Arts tailored to their needs, the room containing foundational techniques was rarely visited.
An Jiu searched for techniques that interested her in the External Cultivation section.
Absorbed in her search, she sensed someone entering but assumed it was Sheng Zhangku and didn’t pay much attention.
“Practice this one.” The voice was as clear as a mountain spring flowing over stones.
An Jiu looked up and saw a fair, slender hand—unlike Chu Dingjiang’s, which was always gloved.
“Gu Jinghong.” An Jiu stared coldly into the faintly visible eyes behind the Ghost Mask.
Gu Jinghong noticed her hostility but didn’t mind it. “By the original rules, I am the master of the Mei family disciples. No matter what, I wouldn’t harm you in matters of Martial Arts.”
“Then you’d harm me in other ways,” An Jiu retorted.
“Perhaps. Over the years, I’ve done many harmful things.” Gu Jinghong placed the book on the table, chuckled ambiguously, and turned to leave.
An Jiu glanced at the book—a thin manual with a tattered, yellowed cover bearing the words Tendon Severing Palm .
Opening it, the first page read: To sever the meridians is to sever a person’s life force.
An Jiu skimmed through it, hesitating over whether to trust Gu Jinghong.
She tucked the book into her pocket and noticed Sheng Zhangku working diligently in the opposite room. She stood up, left, crossed the courtyard via the corridor, and knocked on the main hall’s door.
“Come in,” Sheng Zhangku said.
An Jiu entered.
He looked up and studied her briefly. “Xuan Ren, what is it?”
“I have a question for you,” An Jiu said.
“Take a seat.” Sheng Zhangku set down his brush, lips curving slightly, as if ready to listen attentively.
“Do you know about the Tendon Severing Palm ?” An Jiu asked.Sheng Zhangku's expression changed slightly, "Why ask about this all of a sudden?"
"I heard it's an external martial art," An Jiu said.
Sheng Zhangku nodded, "It's a rather vicious external martial art. Its power makes even many masters with profound Inner Force pale at the mention of it."
But to this day, very few have truly mastered it, which is one reason this technique hasn't been eradicated. (To be continued...)
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