"Grandmother!" Mei Yanran pulled Mei Jiu down to kneel, speaking urgently, "Jiu'er, quickly kowtow to your great-grandmother."
Mei Jiu had never seen her mother so distraught since she could remember—no, she had never seen her mother so terrified. Not daring to delay, she hurriedly obeyed and kowtowed.
An Jiu had never knelt before anyone! Moreover, the old woman's pervasive aura of icy severity put An Jiu on high alert.
This was the aura of someone who had taken many lives.
An Jiu tried to regain control of the body, but after a fleeting thought, she gave up, allowing Mei Jiu to perform this humiliating act.
Old Madam paid no attention to Mei Jiu's actions, focusing solely on Mei Yanran. "You were born clever. You should be able to guess why I’ve come today."
"Grandmother!" Though terrified, Mei Yanran's voice held no hesitation. "As long as you spare Jiu'er, I’m willing to pay any price."
Mei Jiu abruptly lifted her head, calling out uneasily, "Mother."
Old Madam's fingers twitched slightly. After a long silence, she suddenly let out two hoarse chuckles. "Clearly afraid, yet daring to defy me! Yan-niang, you’ve always appeared timid as a mouse, but in truth, no one in Mei Shi has a bolder heart than you!"
"Grandmother, Jiu'er knows no martial arts," Mei Yanran pleaded weakly. "I only beg you to let her go."
"Silly child." Old Madam's voice suddenly softened, sounding like any ordinary elderly woman—yet in this context, it felt eerily out of place. "You’ve devoted yourself to making her weak. In this world, the meek are like drifting duckweed. Without you, her fate would be no better than if she followed me."
"Once your hands are stained with blood, your heart will never know peace." Mei Yanran had killed before, and not just once or twice. "Outside, I’ve never dared show my true face. I sleep with one eye open. I don’t want Jiu'er to live like that."
"Hahaha!" Old Madam laughed as if she’d heard the greatest joke, her voice growing even raspier. "You’re clever, but your memory is poor! Or... perhaps you don’t truly know your own daughter?"
She was referring to Mei Jiu’s killing of the martial arts master. Mei Jiu’s hands were already stained with blood.
"It’s not the same!" Mei Yanran argued. "Killing to survive and making killing your way of life—they’re entirely different!"
"We all kill to survive!" Old Madam’s presence turned razor-sharp. "If your heart is unshakable, even beneath swords you’ll find peace. If your heart is lost, even tranquility will breed fear. I’ve spoken at length today out of regard for our bond as family. Since you, as her mother, cannot teach her fearlessness, starting tomorrow, this old woman will take over!"
Old Madam’s personal visit meant there was no room for reversal. The sudden turn of events had caught Mei Yanran off guard. Having given up resistance, she only sought to understand the reason. "Why has the clan suddenly made this decision?"
"The court’s situation is precarious. The clan has decided to send another group to Crane Control Institute in two years." Old Madam held nothing back. She tilted her head slightly, as if directing her gaze at Mei Jiu. "Ignorant children entering that place face certain death. Elder Zhi sent me here out of earnest hope. I won’t force you. Decide for yourself."Elder Zhi had spent his life pursuing the pinnacle of Archery. If he had held onto hope for Mei Jiu, he wouldn’t have allowed her to be sent to the Crane Control Institute halfway through her training—even a few more years would have been better than sending her to her death after just two.
Old Madam’s meaning was clear: Elder Zhi recognized Mei Jiu’s talent in Archery but found her too weak-willed at her core. That was why he had asked Old Madam to help toughen Mei Jiu’s spirit.
“I understand.” Mei Yanran quickly composed herself and pleaded earnestly, “Please grant Jiu’er a few more days to prepare, Grandmother.”
“Such delicacy!” Old Madam scolded before vanishing like a ghost onto the roof beam.
Mei Yanran collapsed to the ground as if all strength had left her.
Mei Jiu reached out to steady her, anxious and worried. “Mother, what’s wrong?”
The ignorant fear nothing. Mei Jiu had only seen Old Madam’s eerie appearance, never experienced her cruelty, so she was merely intimidated by the oppressive aura, her fear far less paralyzing than Mei Yanran’s.
After a long while, Mei Yanran finally spoke hoarsely, “It’s nothing.”
Yet as she spoke, tears welled up abruptly in her eyes and spilled down without warning. She covered her face, roughly wiping away the wetness before exhaling slowly.
“Mother.” Mei Jiu helped her up.
“Jiu’er, your mother is useless,” Mei Yanran murmured.
When she had fled Plum Blossom Village with Mei Jiu, they had been hunted by the Net of Heaven and Earth. She had hidden in the depths of the wilderness for a year, drifting from place to place, before settling in Yangzhou, not far from Bianjing. Constantly pursued, she could only live in seclusion, with few means to earn a living. Yet through her wits and hard work, she had carved out a life where Mei Jiu could grow up carefree. Back then, though life was bitter, she had felt brimming with strength. Now, she truly felt despair.
Mei Jiu poured her a cup of water. “Mother, don’t say that. I know how hard it’s been for you to raise me alone.”
Mei Yanran took a few sips, soothing the dryness in her throat. “Old Madam is my own grandmother, and she once taught me too.”
“Then…” Mei Jiu hesitated, unsure if she should ask.
“You want to know why I fear her so much?” Mei Yanran set the cup down and smoothed her hair. “She was a daughter of the Lou family, married to your great-grandfather at fourteen and bore him three sons. Just three months after the third child was born, your great-grandfather joined the Crane Control Army. It coincided with Emperor Taizong’s secret plot to usurp the throne. When Taizong ascended, your great-grandfather vanished, plunging the entire Mei Shi into crisis.”
At the time, only Mei Zhongyuan held a high position in the Crane Control Army. After his death, the number of Mei Shi members in lower ranks mysteriously began to dwindle rapidly. Lou Shi abandoned her wailing infants and joined the Crane Control Army alone, turning the tide and propping up the collapsing house.
“Lou Shi took seven years to rise to the position of ‘Vice Commander of the Shadows,’” Mei Yanran said softly, careful not to frighten Mei Jiu. “Above her, only the Emperor and the ‘Commander of the Shadows’ stood. In the Crane Control Army, promotions were based on the number of missions completed and lives taken. Imagine how many she had to kill in seven years to command the Crane Control Army.”No matter where you are, promotion is never easy. How many people did Lou Shi have to kill, how many outstanding missions did she have to complete over those seven years to stand out among so many cold-blooded assassins?
"With her in power over the Crane Control Army, Mei Shi was able to survive," Mei Yanran said.
Lou Shi had controlled the Crane Control Army for twelve years, promoting many descendants of both Mei Shi and Lou Shi.
Under normal circumstances, once someone reached such heights in the Crane Control Army and learned so many secrets that could never be revealed to outsiders, they could never leave the organization unless they were reduced to ashes. Yet Lou Shi managed it. She devised a plan—setting fire to the Loyalty Tower and trapping herself inside, creating the illusion that she had perished in the flames.
"She could be ruthless to others, and she could be ruthless to herself. That fire burned away half the skin on her body, yet she still returned alive to Plum Blossom Village."
This was an exceptionally formidable Old Madam.
Mei Yanran's words stirred the violent side in An Jiu. Her blood boiled with excitement, eager to test the limits of her own killing prowess!
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