Once Wei Yue accepts a mission, it becomes a relentless pursuit until the target is dead. Even if they fail to complete the task, they will stake their lives to leave a mark on their target.
This is Wei Yue—an enigmatic force under the Song court.
They may not necessarily be the most skilled in martial arts, but they are individuals meticulously selected by the Crane Control Army.
The criteria for joining Wei Yue are: first, one must be extreme and stubborn; second, one must possess ruthlessness; and third, one must have the strength to sustain that ruthlessness—such as hatred.
Thus, most assassins in Wei Yue have tragic backgrounds or experiences, and the majority are women. It’s not that women are inherently more extreme or cruel than men, but in this world, women struggle harder to survive. Once stripped of familial protection, they become like rootless withered leaves, destined to be trampled into the dust.
Precisely because of this, they often have no way out, making the Crane Control Army’s brainwashing all the more effective.
This brainwashing is akin to the psychological conditioning An Jiu once underwent—eradicating all hope, forcing them to unleash their most extreme and ruthless sides in utter despair.
At this moment, something related to Wei Yue was stirring up quite a commotion within the Crane Control Army.
—Lou Mingyue, after enduring a dull and tedious half-month in the palace, had actually volunteered to join Wei Yue!
When she made this request, not only were An Jiu and the others stunned, even Gao Dazhuang was left speechless for a long while.
Wei Yue—to put it nicely, they were a group of patriots willing to shed blood for the Song dynasty; to put it bluntly, they were little more than expendable human shields.
Though the Crane Control Army was a covert organization, it still had its hierarchy. For someone like Lou Mingyue, born into a noble family and possessing exceptional talent, joining Wei Yue should have been the last thing on her mind.
Wei Yue’s members were hard to recruit and even harder to train—losing one meant one less, with demand far outstripping supply. It was unlikely anyone would reject her request.
Before the higher-ups had even issued a response, An Jiu, upon hearing the news, immediately requested permission to leave the palace.
This time, Gao Dazhuang merely rolled his eyes at her but didn’t actually stop her.
With her seal, An Jiu smoothly entered the Crane Control Army’s camp and sought out Mo Sigui.
Lanterns lit up the courtyard, and the wind chimes hanging from the eaves tinkled crisply. Mo Sigui was feeding the two tigers when he spotted An Jiu. He straightened up with a grin. "Well, if it isn’t the esteemed officer from the Dragon Martial Guard!"
Now that the Dragon Martial Guard had been officially established, it was no longer a secret.
Seeing his bright expression, An Jiu, for once, didn’t immediately shut him down. Silently, she picked up Da Jiu, who had bounded over to her, and carefully smoothed his fur.
"Huh, that’s not right!" Mo Sigui stepped closer, studying her face before smirking. "Shouldn’t you be mocking me by now? It’s been so long since I’ve been roasted—I’m feeling all itchy without it."
That shamelessly provoking look instantly dissolved An Jiu’s rare sympathy. "Lou Mingyue is joining Wei Yue."
Mo Sigui’s smile froze on his face.
After a long pause, he forced a grin, though his tone dropped several degrees. "Oh. That’s... great. She fits Wei Yue’s recruitment criteria perfectly."
"I’d rather you cried. That expression is painful to look at," An Jiu said.
Mo Sigui slowly schooled his features, bent down to pick up Xiao Yue, who was rubbing against his legs, and sat on the steps under the eaves. For a long time, he said nothing.An Jiu wanted to offer some words of comfort, but seeing her like this, she felt any words would seem too trivial. So she simply sat quietly beside her.
Mo Sigui stared calmly at the swaying bell in the corner of the room, his voice hoarse as he said, "Drink with me."
After Gu Jinghong, now it was Mo Sigui. An Jiu felt she was turning into a confidante, so she nodded with professional dedication.
Mo Sigui had the apothecary's apprentice bring two jars of wine, and the two of them drank straight from the jars.
An Jiu, afraid of drinking too much and causing trouble, didn’t let herself go.
"Drink!" Mo Sigui, noticing her restraint, angrily said, "Does our bond mean less to you than Gu Jinghong’s pretty face? Drink up, or you’re disrespecting me!"
An Jiu was an honest person and tilted her head back to take several large gulps.
Mo Sigui immediately laughed, patting her shoulder. "Loyalty! You’re a true friend!"
"Drinking alone won’t solve anything," An Jiu grabbed his jar. "Do you think I came here just to make you sad?"
Mo Sigui shook his head with a smile. "You don’t understand her. She’s been stubborn since childhood. Though she’s colder now, she’s even more unyielding. Not even the heavens could pull her back!"
His smile was ordinary, but An Jiu could see the bitterness beneath it.
After speaking, he gulped down the wine fiercely, much of it spilling and soaking his clothes unnoticed. Finishing one jar, he snatched An Jiu’s.
But sometimes, when one wants to get drunk, they just can’t. Half-drunk, half-spilled, the two jars were emptied, yet Mo Sigui’s eyes grew brighter, his mind clearer than ever!
After sitting in a daze for two or three hours, Mo Sigui finally sighed.
He went inside, sat at the desk for a moment, ground ink, picked up a brush, and wrote a line.
An Jiu stood beside him and saw the forceful characters— If alive, we shall meet again; if dead, we’ll long for each other eternally.
Once the ink dried, Mo Sigui folded the paper, placed it in an envelope, and handed it to An Jiu unsealed. "Pass this on for me. Tell her I’m grateful. If she’s ever injured, come to me. The only thing I can do for her is keep her alive until she avenges her blood feud."
An Jiu had promised not to interfere in their affairs and never had—not even a word. This was the first and last exception. She tucked the letter away and studied Mo Sigui carefully. His calm expression carried a hint of exhaustion, as if he’d suddenly shed a heavy burden yet aged abruptly.
"Are you alright?" An Jiu asked.
Mo Sigui took a medicine bottle from a shelf behind him and handed it to her. "Give this to Officer Gao. I owe him for letting you out to deliver the message. This is a Soul Return Pill. It can’t bring back the dead, but it can sustain a dying breath, buying time for the severely wounded to seek treatment. I’m giving him a life."
An Jiu took the bottle and tucked it into her robe. Before leaving, she finally spoke her mind. "Those who walk different paths cannot plan together. For you and her, this is the best outcome—better than entanglement and torment."
As the saying goes, the onlooker sees the game best. Though An Jiu didn’t fully understand why they were so conflicted, it was like day and night—only briefly crossing at dawn and dusk.
By the time An Jiu returned to the palace, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Instead of going to her quarters, she went straight to the Crown Prince’s palace to find Lou Mingyue. She handed her Mo Sigui’s letter and relayed his words verbatim.Lou Mingyue read the letter with a complicated expression, and after hearing An Jiu relay the message, her eyes already held a misty sheen.
She turned her head away.
An Jiu quietly left to find Gao Dazhuang. (To be continued...)
PS: Sleeve ran into some issues, so today's update is a bit late. Apologies.
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