Lou Xiaowu muttered to herself: Although ignoring people is really rude, they look so imposing like a true master...
She was hesitant about whether to re-add An Jiu to her list of idols.
The Mei clan members also looked at An Jiu with varying expressions, but the most complex emotions likely belonged to Mei Tingjun and Mei Tingzhu. Both were outstanding talents within their clan, yet today they realized that being "top-tier" among their peers wasn't actually that remarkable.
Mei Tingzhu had always considered Mei Shisi an anomaly—such formidable Mental strength couldn't possibly be cultivated at their age and must have been acquired through some fortuitous encounter. Thus, she could only sigh at Mei Shisi's good fortune. While envious, it didn't particularly shake her confidence. But Lou Mingyue was different. She had trained in Martial Arts alongside them since childhood, with barely any age difference, yet she had already reached the eighth rank! A level many could never achieve in their lifetime.
This was true genius.
Lou Mingyue seemed to read Mei Tingzhu's thoughts. "No matter how skilled in Martial Arts, one can only be a pawn. Only wisdom can make one a player of the game."
Mei Tingzhu smiled bitterly and shook her head, sighing a single word: "Difficult!"
The game of chess was reserved for those who held real power. Pawns remained pawns—if they revealed their wisdom before overturning the board, they'd only die sooner.
Recognizing Lou Mingyue's open-minded nature, Mei Tingzhu felt a growing fondness for her and spoke less coldly than before. "Let's go then."
Lou Mingyue likewise set aside her earlier reservations.
The highly intelligent saw things too clearly, weighing pros and cons with precision, which made them appear cold and detached. They struggled to offer genuine affection, but once they identified someone worth befriending, they rarely wavered. Mei Tingzhu was such a person.
Human interactions were so delicate—one moment at odds, the next admiring each other.
......
The group cautiously entered the pine forest.
"Fourteen Lady, we'll rely on your guidance," Lou Mingyue said.
The stronger one's Mental strength, the sharper their perception. In this pitch-black pine forest, An Jiu's role was crucial.
"Mm," An Jiu acknowledged, then suddenly felt a soft body pressing tightly against her. The sensation made her hair stand on end. "Get away!"
Lou Xiaowu pouted and retreated slightly.
In the darkness, Mei Tingyuan couldn't see but guessed what had happened. She sneered quietly, "Standing next to a master doesn't guarantee safety. They might not bother protecting you, hah."
Lou Xiaowu snorted twice, refusing to dignify her with a response.
"Focus," Lou Mingyue reminded.
Everyone fell silent.
The pine forest was eerily still, but by concentrating their Mental strength, they could hear the faint rustling of falling pine needles nearby, like a light drizzle.
A breeze carried a sour, strange odor. An Jiu glanced sideways and saw Lou Xiaowu looking around. Suddenly, she pressed the girl's head down. "Duck and move fast!"
Above them, something like dewdrops showered from the pines. Where they landed on the Mantles, they sizzled, corroding holes through the supposedly sword-proof fabric.
No one dared speak. They tightened their Mantles, gathered their Inner Force, and sprinted forward desperately.At this moment, An Jiu's weakness became apparent. Her Inner Force was newly formed and provided limited lightness to her body. If she still had her previous body, keeping up with them wouldn't have been difficult, but her current physique was still relatively weak. Human muscles, ligaments, and such all require training to strengthen. Even if she forcibly tapped into her potential now, the effect would be minimal, and exceeding her body's limits could cause harm.
No matter how formidable her Mental strength was, it wouldn't help in this situation!
The group ahead ran breathlessly and, upon exiting the pine forest, leaned against the stone steps panting heavily.
An Jiu usually had very low presence, so Lou Xiaowu, who paid the most attention to her, was the first to notice. "Fourteen Lady is missing!"
"How could that be?" Lou Mingyue looked at Mei Tingzhu. "She..."
Mei Tingzhu frowned, staring into the dark pine forest. She had always been half-skeptical about Mei Jiu's lack of Inner Force, but now it seemed to be true?
"What should we do?" Mei Tingyuan asked.
"Can't you sense her either?" Mei Tingzhu asked Lou Mingyue. Among them, her Mental strength was the strongest. If even she couldn't detect her...
"There are footsteps."
As soon as Lou Mingyue spoke, everyone heard the sound. Most people here used qinggong (lightness skill), so their footsteps were extremely light. Only An Jiu would make such loud noises.
"There are people," An Jiu said. "Members of other families are arriving one after another."
Mei Tingzhu's mind raced with possibilities. This ambush could have been orchestrated by other families or by the previous group. Regardless, it indicated one thing—the attackers were targeting specific groups rather than indiscriminately attacking all families. Otherwise, how could those arriving later pass through the broken plank road so easily?
Could it really be that The Emperor could no longer tolerate the Four Great Families?
"How many people?" Mei Tingzhu asked.
"Ten," An Jiu replied.
Hearing the number wasn't large, everyone relaxed slightly.
Mei Tingzhu said, "I think the people who ambushed us on the plank road will strike again. Let's slow down and wait for them to catch up. If they dare to attack, Fourteen Lady and Lou Erniang will use Mental strength to intimidate them."
Lou Mingyue nodded. "Agreed."
An Jiu also agreed.
The group behind emerged from the forest and, noticing people ahead, whispered among themselves before approaching.
"Everyone," the leading young man cupped his hands and spoke bluntly, "Our two groups are sizable, and I assume we each have a couple of maps. Let's settle things when we find the items, alright?"
He meant that each group should search for their own Heavenly Book Fragments. If by chance they had the same map, they could fight over it then.
Lou Mingyue glanced around and realized there were members from six families.
It turned out these people were lone travelers or remnants of other teams who had banded together.
Seeing that the other group consisted of Mei Shi and Cui Shi, they turned toward another direction.
Mei Tingzhu suddenly spoke up, "You were originally heading this way. Why deliberately change direction?"
The group paused, and the leader asked, "How did you know?"
"Heh." Mei Tingzhu chuckled, adopting a disdainful tone. "Cowards! Let's go."
As she turned, she dispelled her Inner Force, mimicking An Jiu's grounded footsteps.
The group suspected this was a taunt—there must be a trick. But upon closer inspection, they noticed two members with notably weak Inner Force and several others who were mediocre. Seeing their disheveled state, they guessed Mei Shi and Cui Shi had suffered heavy losses."Follow them," the leading youth said.
"Big brother, could this be a trap?" one of them asked.
The youth replied, "What's there to fear? We have strength in numbers. Do you want that woman to look down on us?"
Lone travelers either sought to preserve their lives and had no interest in the Heavenly Book Fragment, or they possessed extremely high martial arts skills and feared competing with the main families in the end. This group had already come this far—they were undoubtedly here for the Heavenly Book Fragment, and their martial arts skills were certainly not weak.
Even if they truly had to fight the two great families, they wouldn’t be intimidated.
The first floor of the massive tower was incredibly spacious, its walls covered in intricate relief carvings. Along the flat stone path stood rows of Buddhist shrines. An Jiu couldn’t tell whether the figures enshrined inside were bodhisattvas or buddhas.
Nineteen people walking together greatly bolstered their courage. The lone travelers who hadn’t been ambushed by the mysterious assailants relaxed visibly, and some even couldn’t resist teasing Mei Tingzhu. "Little lady, didn’t you call us cowards? Come closer and take a good look—don’t mistake us for someone else."
Mei Tingzhu remained silent. Finding no amusement in her lack of response, and not daring to actually harass her, they laughed it off and dropped the matter after a few jests.
After walking a short distance, Lou Mingyue stopped before a cavern entrance. Using her mental strength to probe briefly and sensing no one inside, she led the way in.
An Jiu walked at the rear. She paused to examine the statues in the nearby Buddhist shrines. The figures here were life-sized, their shadowy forms creating the illusion of people everywhere. If a master were to conceal themselves among them, holding their breath, it would be difficult to detect them immediately.
Stepping through the cavern entrance, they entered a narrow passageway. Neither end was visible, and the further they went, the darker it became. Even An Jiu’s sharp vision could only make out faint shadows, while the others were practically blind.
Those who had entered earlier in high spirits now had no mood for jokes.
"One of the Heavenly Book Fragments is located at the very center of the first floor of this pagoda," Lou Mingyue said slowly.
After discovering that someone was targeting the four great families, the Heavenly Book Fragment had lost much of its allure for the Mei and Lou clans. Each of the four families possessed treasures that could enhance internal energy—though perhaps not as potent as the Heavenly Book Fragment, they were certainly not inferior. Their desperate efforts now were solely for the sake of family honor. At present, survival was the priority.
Mei Tingjun turned to the others behind him and asked, "Have any of you encountered the other two families elsewhere?"
He was naturally referring to the four great families, and everyone understood immediately.
After a moment of silence, one person spoke up, "When I first entered the temple, I avoided the Cui family and haven’t seen them since."
The Mei and Lou clans exchanged glances. Could it be that the other two families had also been ambushed?
"Who would dare attack you?" the lone traveler youth suddenly asked.
"We don’t know. It wasn’t any of the families," Lou Mingyue replied.
The youth suddenly laughed. "You deliberately provoked us into following you—was it to resist those people?"
"Exactly," Mei Tingzhu took over. "Those people seem to be targeting lone travelers who have formed private alliances. Like us, all of you registered as traveling alone, didn’t you?"
Her reasoning was so thorough and confident that even those who knew the truth beforehand almost believed her, let alone those who were unaware.
The youth, half-joking and half-serious, said, "I am Qiu Yunxiao. We’ll be relying on you all."
"The Qiu family excels in poison. It’s us who should be relying on you," Lou Mingyue countered coolly, her tone carrying a hint of warning.Qiu Yunxiao was slightly startled. Decades ago, the Qiu family had been nobodies in the Crane Control Army, and now after all these years, their lineage had declined even further. They couldn't even gather five suitable candidates, which was why they had to drag him—a man already past twenty-five and approaching thirty—to make up the numbers. He never expected someone would recognize his background at a glance. It seemed the influence of the four great families in the Crane Control Army was indeed formidable, to the point of knowing even the contents of the Secret Records.
"There's light!" Lou Xiaowu exclaimed joyfully.
Everyone quickly craned their necks and indeed saw a faint yellowish glow not far away. (To be continued...)
PS: Wishing everyone an early Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I've seen your requests for extra updates, but I'll be returning to my hometown these next couple days, so additional updates will have to wait until after the holiday. Thanks for your support!
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