Lou Mingyue swiftly pulled Lou Xiaowu into her arms and dashed toward the door with a light step.
An Jiu glanced up quickly at the source of the light. Behind the blinding radiance, she could faintly make out a black-clad figure clinging to the rocky ceiling.
While everyone rushed for the exit, An Jiu scaled the wall, agilely heading straight for the archer.
Two lone figures were caught by the beam. No one saw what happened—only a spray of blood mist filled the air, painting everything in a hazy red, the stench of iron thickening.
The power was comparable to firearms. An Jiu fixed her gaze on the crossbow in the black-clad figure’s hands, her killing intent erupting abruptly. The figure on the ceiling suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure, freezing in place.
Boom!
A deafening explosion followed as the stone wall collapsed. Those who hadn’t dodged the beam in time were instantly reduced to bloody pulp.
Mei Tingyuan was caught in the aftermath, collapsing into a pool of blood. She struggled a few times, then felt something warm land on her head. Instinctively, she reached up to touch it.
Her hand came away with a piece of mangled flesh.
She froze for a moment before flinging it away in horror, screaming, “Ah—!”
“Brother! Brother!” Mei Tingyuan cried out in panic.
At the entrance, a group of black-clad figures charged in, blocking their path. Lou Mingyue, a highly skilled martial artist, managed to hold them off for a while, but these assailants were clearly no pushovers—three of them were evenly matched against her, an eighth-rank Martial Arts Master.
The corridor was too narrow for many to fight at once. Realizing the futility of their position, Lou Mingyue began retreating while still engaged in combat.
Strangely, the black-clad figures seemed intent only on trapping them inside, not pressing the attack further.
Lou Mingyue recalled the devastating power of that arrow—clearly the work of someone in the Transformation Realm! Staying here was suicide; they’d end up like the Cui family, reduced to nothing but gore.
“Xiao Wu, stay close behind me!” Lou Mingyue gritted her teeth and charged back into the fray, sword in hand.
Lou Xiaowu, having shaken off her grief, clung tightly to Lou Mingyue’s back, occasionally launching Hidden Weapons to fend off ambushes.
At the rear, Qiu Yunxiao noticed An Jiu closing in on the black-clad figure on the ceiling. Within three feet, she slashed with an icy dagger, severing the arm controlling the crossbow—tendons and bone alike. With one hand still gripping the rock wall, she swiftly clenched the dagger between her teeth, then flicked the crossbow’s trigger with her fingers. A muffled thud followed as the bolt pierced straight through the figure’s throat, embedding itself into the stone behind.
The corpse plummeted. An Jiu pushed off the wall with her feet, lunging forward to grab the body as a cushion.
With another thunderous crash, corpse and woman landed in the blood-soaked ground, splattering crimson everywhere.
Without pause, An Jiu rose, picked up the enemy’s crossbow, and fired an arrow toward a corner of the ceiling. A blinding flash erupted as blood and rubble rained down in a deafening cascade.
The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye. Qiu Yunxiao barely had time to react before being drenched in the spray of blood.
He watched as An Jiu stood in the gore, the bloodied dagger still clenched between her teeth, her head bowed as she fiddled with the crossbow. A shiver ran down his spine.
After inspecting the weapon, An Jiu sheathed the dagger, wiping the blood off on the corpse at her feet before stowing it away.
Seeing her approach, Qiu Yunxiao quickly turned away and hurried forward to aid Lou Mingyue.
With a single swing of his poisoned blade, any black-clad figure grazed by its edge began spewing black smoke from their flesh.
By the time the last two assailants fled, Lou Mingyue shot him a fierce glare.
“Brother! Brother!” Mei Tingyuan rushed to the collapsed wall, sobbing as she frantically dug through the rubble.Mei Tingzhu's eyes were bloodshot as she asked hoarsely, "He... was buried here?"
Mei Tingyuan didn't answer, just frantically clawed at the rocks.
Mei Tingzhu fell silent. Seeing that it was temporarily safe, she sheathed her longsword and crouched down to help move the rubble.
The two sisters worked for a while. Mei Tingyuan sobbed, "He was behind me. When he saw that arrow coming, he pushed me with all his strength."
Mei Tingzhu didn't respond, just silently kept moving stones.
Tears blurred Mei Tingyuan's vision, but her hands never stopped. Mei Tingchun also came forward to help move the rocks.
An Jiu stood not far away. The blood that had been nearly boiling from the stimulation of such a gory scene gradually calmed, and deep within her heart, an almost imperceptible pang of sorrow arose.
Lou Mingyue glanced around and realized her own group was missing someone too. Meanwhile, the loners led by Qiu Yunxiao, who had been at the very front, suffered the heaviest losses—only five remained out of the original ten.
In just an instant! Seven lives were gone, as if it were all a dream.
Lou Mingyue wanted to say something, but thinking of her sister who had fallen from the plank road, she felt any words would be superfluous, unable to ease the grief in her heart.
After all, she possessed eighth-level mental strength, making her more resilient than most. After a brief adjustment, she said softly, "There's too much rubble... We can't stay here long."
Mei Tingzhu paused. Reason told her to stand up and leave, but seeing Mei Tingyuan's tear-streaked, bloodied face, her feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move.
Mei Tingjun was their full-blooded elder brother, having grown up together. Mei Tingzhu sometimes despised his hypocrisy, but as an elder brother, he had been exemplary.
"If he hadn't been injured, if it weren't for me..." Mei Tingyuan choked back sobs.
Mei Tingzhu clenched her jaw tightly, holding back tears.
Mei Tingjun was the next head of the Mei family. As long as he passed the trial, the Mei clan could request the Emperor to allow him to return home and take charge. He shouldn't have died here.
Qiu Yunxiao and his group began to believe Mei Tingzhu's earlier words more firmly—the Crane Control Army was hunting down loners who formed teams privately.
So they all started hesitating—whether to act alone, and if so, whether to press forward or retreat to save their lives.
"It's not easy for everyone to survive," Qiu Yunxiao waded through the bloodied water and stepped forward. "Your brother sacrificed his life to protect you. You should cherish your own life."
Mei Tingyuan stopped moving and looked up at Qiu Yunxiao, nodding dazedly, "You're right. I should value my life."
"Young ladies, let's go quickly," Qiu Yunxiao urged.
Mei Tingzhu helped Mei Tingyuan up and said coldly, "What did you do to her?"
Qiu Yunxiao replied, "Don't worry, just a bit of medicine. It'll wear off in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"Thank you." Mei Tingzhu glanced back at the pile of rocks, then supported Mei Tingyuan as they followed the others away.
Lou Mingyue said, "It seems these people laid an ambush in advance. If we go further, we'll likely be attacked again. The tower's interior is narrow—if we're ambushed there, our chances of escape will be even slimmer."
Lou Xiaowu stopped asking about Cui Yichen's fate. Facing such an attack unprepared, how could there be any chance of survival?
Perhaps it was better this way. In life, he and her sister couldn't be together, but in death, they could keep each other company.
"What's our next move?" Qiu Yunxiao looked at An Jiu. Having witnessed that scene earlier, he found himself unconsciously trusting her.
He wondered, what kind of person was this tall, slender girl wrapped in black robes?Lou Mingyue cast a questioning glance at him.
"Just now, she instantly killed a Transformation Realm Master," Qiu Yunxiao said, still sounding incredulous.
An Jiu raised the crossbow in her hand. "This person wasn’t in the Transformation Realm—they just used this crossbow."
Lou Xiaowu stirred slightly and whispered, "Can I take a look?"
An Jiu hesitated for a moment, then considering that this device was similar in function to the one Lou Xiaowu used to fire illumination arrows, she handed it over.
After examining it briefly, Lou Xiaowu returned it to An Jiu. "This is still useful. I can’t dismantle it now. If we all survive, keep it for me."
An Jiu took the crossbow back and gave Lou Xiaowu another glance. Before this, An Jiu had thought Lou Xiaowu, with her lively and innocent demeanor, would be much like Mei Jiu. She never expected this girl to remain so composed in the face of such brutal combat.
Lou Mingyue noticed some skepticism and explained, "Xiao Wu has endured many hardships. Her mental strength is no weaker than mine."
An Jiu felt a twinge of discontent. Why was it that despite suffering hardships, others could retain their innocence while she had turned into a mental wreck?
She hadn’t considered that after enduring overwhelming psychological trauma, even if one could heal, they would never be the same as ordinary people. Lou Xiaowu’s purity might just be a form of self-suggestion—fundamentally different from Mei Jiu.
Though An Jiu clarified that she hadn’t instantly killed a Transformation Realm Master, Lou Mingyue believed that someone who could react so swiftly and accurately must possess an extremely calm mind. It wouldn’t hurt to hear her opinion. "Fourteen Lady, do you think we should press on or turn back?"
An Jiu hadn’t thought about it. Once she received a mission, she could quickly analyze the pros and cons, but no matter how she weighed it, the only path was forward—unless a retreat order was issued. And if a retreat order came, she could just as swiftly determine the best escape route.
In other words, whether advancing or retreating, the risks and chances of survival were the same for her.
"Here, every place holds both danger and opportunity," An Jiu answered truthfully.
"Disaster lurks within fortune," Qiu Yunxiao murmured. "Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Alas!"
Choosing to leave might seem safer, but in reality, no one could say for sure.
"You decide. We’ll follow your lead!" Qiu Yunxiao said.
Mei Tingzhu felt her mind wasn’t calm enough to make the right decision, so she also turned her gaze to An Jiu.
An Jiu wasn’t bothered by being watched, but having so many eyes fixed on her with expectation made her uneasy.
Had "hope" truly manifested in her?
Half an hour earlier, she would have marched forward without hesitation. But now, just recalling how Mei Tingyuan had struggled to move the stones earlier, she found herself at a loss for words.
And yet, she, a person who made a living by killing, had never valued any life. Now, someone wanted to entrust their lives to her—wasn’t that laughable?
"Do as you please. Either way, I won’t guarantee anyone’s survival," An Jiu said before turning and heading toward the stone steps leading to the second level.
Qiu Yunxiao quickly weighed his options and was the first to follow her.
The lone stragglers gradually fell in behind. Lou Mingyue and Mei Tingzhu exchanged a glance before leading their respective families after them.An Jiu sensed someone following behind her and felt somewhat irritated.
Lou Mingyue walked at the back, noticing Lou Xiaowu's low spirits, and said softly, "Life and death are fated. Don't dwell on it too much—perhaps in just a few hours, we'll meet them again underground. If you truly wish to honor them, then strive to live on." (To be continued...)
PS: Damn, no internet! Had to use my phone as a hotspot and it took forty minutes just to get this up! Mainly wanted to say—Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone!!!
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