Chapter Seventy-Three
"Quite a few, but those above the Transformation Realm are extremely rare. Across the land, only three are known by name," Mo Sigui replied, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"
An Jiu still didn’t answer. "Who are the three?"
Mo Sigui said, "Aside from Elder Zhi, there’s the former master of Misty Villa, Wei Yunshan, and another from the Cui family, Cui Huling. However, Cui Huling passed away three years ago."
"What kind of place is Misty Villa?" An Jiu asked.
"Old Master Wei is a man of the martial world, now seventy years old—a recluse who has withdrawn from society. He never married or had children. Thirty years ago, he adopted two sons: the elder, Wei Chuzhi, and the younger, Wei Yuzhi. Misty Villa was established by the elder son, who honors Wei Yunshan as the former master. The villa is a place that trains assassins—they take money to do jobs for others." After finishing, Mo Sigui complained, "This isn’t fair! I’ve spilled so much, yet you’ve revealed nothing in return!"
"Later," An Jiu continued. "Is Old Master Wei as obsessed with archery as Elder Zhi?"
Mo Sigui shook his head. "No. Old Master Wei’s weapon is an ancient zither."
He leaned back against the carriage wall, smiling. "It’s said that the zither was a keepsake from his late fiancée. For decades, he’s never been without it."
Since Cui Huling was already dead, he didn’t count. Could Wei Yunshan be the archery master? An Jiu didn’t know how a zither could be used as a weapon, but like a bow, it had strings—so there was some suspicion, right?
"Could there be unknown Transformation Realm masters?" An Jiu asked.
Mo Sigui lowered his gaze, idly playing with the two quail-egg-sized jade beads hanging from his pendant. Hearing her question, he looked up. "Do you know why martial arts ranks are divided into two stages? Because after reaching the ninth order, one encounters a barrier. At this point, mental strength—what we call the state of mind—is tested. Without reaching the right state, one cannot break through. The world is full of distractions and temptations, so very few achieve enlightenment. That’s why there are many ninth-order martial masters but few Transformation Realm masters. The gap between them is vast, and whenever one emerges, it’s impossible to keep hidden."
He leaned closer to An Jiu. "Are you done asking? If so, hurry up and tell me what’s going on. This suspense is killing me!"
Without hesitation, An Jiu gave a brief explanation. "During the trial, we were ambushed by a group of mysterious people. I encountered a Transformation Realm archery master. His materialized Inner Force was identical to Elder Zhi’s."
Mo Sigui straightened. "That’s strange!"
An Jiu wouldn’t joke about something like this. Mo Sigui felt an uneasy premonition, as if he’d recalled something important but couldn’t quite grasp it.
"This isn’t something I can meddle in," Mo Sigui said, deciding not to dwell on it. "After the Lantern Festival, I’ll be traveling with Elder Qi to find a spiritual master who can separate your soul. You should come with us."
This was also one of the key reasons Elder Qi had agreed to help conceal the fact that An Jiu’s meridians were destroyed.
Mo Sigui blinked mischievously. "Since Elder Qi has already helped hide the truth, he’ll likely agree to take you along. After all, leaving you in Mei Shi would risk exposure within days. How would he face Elder Zhi or the family then?"Elder Qi was determined to take this opportunity to bring Mo Sigui out and impart all his knowledge to him. If the family were to learn that An Jiu’s meridians were completely destroyed, they would never allow Elder Qi to go to such lengths to find someone to help separate her dual souls. His plan would then be ruined.
An Jiu stared at Mo Sigui without saying a word. Suddenly having someone treat her kindly felt strangely unfamiliar to her.
Mo Sigui nudged her with his foot. “Hey, hey, if you’re not going to say thanks, fine, but why are you looking at me like that?”
An Jiu replied flatly, “Because I dislike you.”
“Why?” Mo Sigui knew An Jiu had never been fond of him, but hadn’t their recent interactions been somewhat decent?
“Don’t you ever look in a mirror?” An Jiu closed her eyes.
Mo Sigui paused for a moment, then propped up his foot and declared, “I do. My handsome visage puts the heavens and earth to shame, and my noble bearing is so dazzling that people can hardly look directly at me.”
“Hmm.” An Jiu murmured vaguely, “Beauty and wisdom—truly, you can’t have both.”
Was she insinuating he was foolish?
“You—” Mo Sigui gritted his teeth and glared at her. “Dare you say one nice thing for once!”
An Jiu’s breathing evened out as if she had fallen asleep.
An Jiu’s meridians were gradually recovering, but she was still taking medicine. Because Mei Jiu would cry incessantly from the pain whenever An Jiu slept, preventing her body from resting properly and hindering her recovery, Mo Sigui had added a heavy sedative to the medicine.
Still, despite his irritation, Mo Sigui hadn’t expected An Jiu to remain so sharp-witted and quick with her retorts even in the moments before unconsciousness. Most people wouldn’t be able to keep up with her even when fully awake.
Earlier, when she said, “Don’t you ever look in a mirror?” she had clearly meant to insult his appearance. That was why he had deliberately responded with such grandiosity—to shut her up. Yet, in the end, she still managed to mock him.
“Fine, I’ll let you off since this seems to be your only amusement,” Mo Sigui muttered.
He flicked open his folding fan and held it up to the light, gazing at the vibrant red apricot blossoms painted on it. A faint smile slowly curled at the corners of his lips, and his eyes held a rare gentleness.
“Ning Yu, I’m coming,” Mo Sigui murmured, his fingers lightly tracing the fan’s surface.
“Who’s Ning Yu?” An Jiu suddenly spoke up.
Mo Sigui jumped. “You’re not asleep!”
“Is Ning Yu your lover?” An Jiu asked.
“Seems like I’ll need to increase the sedative dosage next time,” Mo Sigui muttered before answering, “Her name is Qiu Ning Yu. We were betrothed before birth. Huh? Since when did you become someone who pries into others’ private affairs?”
An Jiu had no particular interest in others’ secrets. She was simply curious about what kind of person could make such a carefree and irreverent man speak with such tenderness.
For Mo Sigui, this wasn’t exactly a secret either, and he found himself wanting to share. “Ning Yu’s father and mine were sworn brothers and served together in the imperial court…”
Mo Sigui’s father, whose given name was Qing and courtesy name Dengxian, had once held the position of Chief Physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau. Qiu Ning Yu’s father, Qiu Jian, worked in the Imperial Secretariat. Though his rank wasn’t high, he often had access to the emperor, making it a highly coveted position.
After three years of marriage without conceiving, the Qiu couple sought treatment from Mo Sigui’s father. Half a year later, Lady Qiu became pregnant—just as Lady Mo had given birth to a son.
When the two women were eight months pregnant, Mo Dengxian determined the genders of the unborn children. The Qiu couple then proposed a marriage alliance.Qiu Jian was a man of striking appearance, and his wife had been one of the renowned beauties of Bianjing in her youth. Even if their daughter had inherited only their worst traits, she would still be far from unattractive. Moreover, the two families had been close for years, knowing each other inside out. Without hesitation, Mo Dengxian happily arranged the marriage.
Mo Sigui said, "Ning Yu isn’t like other well-bred young ladies. She has a bright, straightforward personality and used to dress as a boy to play with me since childhood."
Qiu Jian had finally been blessed with a daughter after much longing, and he doted on her beyond measure—unwilling to scold or discipline her. He even allowed the two children to play together freely until Qiu Ning Yu turned thirteen, when her mother finally confined her at home to learn needlework.
"One year younger than you—that’s not a small age." An Jiu interjected after a long pause. She knew well enough that women here married early, some even at eleven or twelve.
Mo Sigui was nearly twenty. Could the girl have waited this long for him?
"Uncle Qiu passed away the year Ning Yu turned fifteen. Three months later, she drowned," Mo Sigui said, his eyes reddening. "But her body was never found. I’ve never been able to believe she’s truly gone."
An Jiu tilted her head to look at him. He raised his face for a moment, forcing back tears, then smiled bitterly. "In my heart, I wanted so badly to propose as we’d promised. But my entire family was wiped out, our ancestral hall destroyed. Marrying her would only have made her a rootless wandering spirit. Better to leave things as they are."
"I feel like I’ve been reborn again, and the world isn’t the same anymore," An Jiu murmured absently.
"What do you mean by that?" Mo Sigui asked.
An Jiu replied, "When I returned from the trials, everything had changed. Even the rogue has turned into a lovesick fool."
Elder Zhi, who had once been so kind and caring toward her, had suddenly become cold and ruthless. Mei Jiu had vanished as if she’d never existed. And Mo Sigui, always so carefree and irresponsible, now...
She roughly understood the shifts in human emotions at play here, yet still found them hard to comprehend.
Lost in his sorrowful memories, Mo Sigui grew mildly irritated at An Jiu’s words. "I knew nothing good would come out of that mouth of yours!" (To be continued...)
OpenNovel