Second Madam had a heart condition, and in such an environment, she already felt as if she were on the brink of death.
Mei Zhengjing’s heart clenched tightly. During the time he had been lost about his future, it was Second Madam’s affection that had made him reluctant to leave this family. Now, he had to watch her die before his very eyes…
A sudden wave of regret surged in his heart. If he had devoted himself to protecting Mei Manor instead of idling around all day, could he have prevented this? Even if his efforts alone couldn’t change anything, at least he wouldn’t be drowning in remorse like this now.
“Mei Shisi, if you come out, I’ll spare the others!” the Madman shouted outside.
Mei Zhengjing shook his head at An Jiu, signaling that she must not go out. If these people truly wanted their lives, it would be effortless—they could simply use poison smoke. The only reason they were still alive was because the Madman was obsessed with forcing An Jiu to compete with him in archery.
“Release it—dump the whole bag in.” The Madman’s voice came again from outside, as if someone had suggested using medicine.
Not poison smoke, but trance smoke!
“Hold your breath,” Mei Zhengjing whispered.
Everyone took a deep breath and held it, but An Jiu didn’t rush to do the same. She could resist a certain amount of sedative, so it was better to wait until the smoke had been released for a while before holding her breath.
Soon, thick smoke carried a faintly sweet apricot scent, inducing a pleasant, relaxed sensation. An Jiu’s heart tightened, and she immediately stopped breathing.
She knew nothing about medicine, let alone traditional Chinese medicine, but this apricot-scented sedative seemed deceptively mild. Yet, it had affected her emotions in an instant—clearly, it was not to be underestimated.
It didn’t last long. Outside, the clashing of weapons began, accompanied by a sharp whistle—one An Jiu remembered hearing in the graveyard.
“Old Madam has arrived! Follow me—fight your way out!” Mei Zhengjing’s voice carried a faint trace of joy.
That joy turned into hope, infecting everyone.
“A’yuan, A’zhu. Bring your grandmother and follow behind me.” With that, Mei Zhengjing gripped his sword and was the first to charge out.
The others followed one after another. An Jiu tore off the cumbersome hem of her skirt, tightened her grip on her dagger, and was the last to step out of the passage.
They emerged onto an open-air training platform, half a zhang high and built of stone. The hidden door of the tunnel was set in a concealed corner of this stone platform.
The battle was already raging. The burning bonfires had spread to the surrounding pavilions, and the north wind fanned the flames. In just two ke, the surroundings had become a sea of fire.
An Jiu was the last to emerge, and at first, no one noticed her. “Are we leaving?”
She was asking Mei Jiu.
“Everyone is fighting desperately,” Mei Jiu said, her voice trembling, but she gritted her teeth. “We shouldn’t leave. An Jiu, I believe in you.”
“Fuck!” An Jiu cursed under her breath. The battlefield was filled with masters skilled in both internal and external cultivation—what confidence did she, with her shattered meridians, have?
In the chaos of battle, hesitation was fatal. Just a moment’s delay, and a black-clad swordsman lunged at her.
The attack was too fast for An Jiu to dodge, so she raised her dagger to block. When the blades met, there was none of the expected force or clang. Instead, her small dagger cleanly severed the opponent’s sword at the hilt!
The swordsman was stunned by the outcome. In that split second of hesitation, An Jiu closed the distance between them in a flash."Overestimating your own abilities!" The man sneered, not bothering to dodge. He channeled his Inner Force to form an invisible protective barrier similar to the one around Chu Dingjiang.
An Jiu mustered all her strength to thrust the dagger at the black-clad man's throat. Though he had activated his Inner Force barrier, he instinctively flinched. An Jiu seized his collar, pressing the full momentum of her lunge against him.
In a flash, the dagger pierced through the Inner Force barrier and straight into his throat!
The man's eyes widened in disbelief, utterly shocked that the dagger could tear through his Inner Force barrier.
An Jiu swiftly rolled away as he collapsed.
She had felt stiffness in her limbs moments earlier, knowing it was Mei Jiu's influence. "Relax, don't try to control the body."
Mei Jiu was frantic—she didn’t want to interfere with An Jiu’s fight either. But seeing the sword thrust coming, her instincts overpowered her consciousness, reflexively urging her to evade.
An Jiu didn’t waste words. Scanning the scene, it seemed every black-clad assailant blocking them could wield an Inner Force barrier—a skill unlikely for low-tier Martial Arts Masters.
Elsewhere, a group of black-clad men besieged Mei Zhengjing and the others. Mei Tingzhu and Mei Tingyuan, carrying Second Madam, couldn’t fight at full strength. Mei Zhengjing alone struggled against multiple eighth- and ninth-tier experts, quickly falling into retreat after just a few exchanges.
Fortunately, the Transformation Realm Master, the "Madman," wasn’t killing anyone. Instead, he crazily grabbed Mei Rujian, demanding, "Are you Mei Shisi? Are you?"
"Don’t tell him!" Mei Tingzhu shouted.
If he answered no, the Madman would surely kill him. Paralyzed by terror, the last shred of Mei Rujian’s rationality told him to heed Mei Tingzhu’s words.
Frustrated by the lack of an answer, the Madman resorted to torturing Mei Rujian, ignoring everyone else.
"Use your fists!" Old Madam’s voice, infused with Inner Force, suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.
The Mei Clan excelled in fist techniques, though they seldom used them in combat due to the disadvantage of facing blades barehanded. Yet they never abandoned training in the Plum Fist, for it held a little-known advantage—it could strike through obstacles, a technique known as "Hitting through the Mountain."
Mei Zhengjing didn’t discard his sword. Instead, he wielded it in one hand to parry attacks while gathering Inner Force in the other.
Meanwhile, Old Madam left a trail of blood wherever she went, her movements decisive. The curved blade at the tip of her cane resembled a scythe, and with her black mantle billowing, she looked like the Death God incarnate.
An Jiu’s mind raced. She fought desperately to reach Old Madam.
Most black-clad men were focused on besieging Elder Zhao, Mei Zhengjing, and the Mei Clan’s Shadow Guards, leaving only two to block An Jiu.
Old Madam caught sight of her in her periphery, mildly surprised that the girl had fought her way to her side without relying on a shred of Inner Force.
"External Cultivation?" Old Madam mused before slashing down An Jiu’s pursuers. "Follow me."
An Jiu had planned to force her way into Old Madam’s protective circle, counting on her not to ignore a fellow clansman in need. But Old Madam’s proactive rescue was an unexpected boon.
An Jiu followed Old Madam as they fought their way to Mei Zhengjing. Glancing at the unconscious Second Madam, she scoffed, "Dead weight!"
Still, she lent a hand despite her words.“Their strength is deceptive!” Mei Zhengjing said. Given his own abilities, it was absolutely impossible for him to handle so many eighth and ninth-rank experts under normal circumstances!
With the Old Madam’s assistance, he felt much more at ease and finally had the space to think. “Old Madam, all our opponents are young eighth and ninth-rank experts—this is highly suspicious!”
Initially, Mei Zhengjing hadn’t suspected anything, but during the fight, he noticed their hands and brows—they all seemed to be middle-aged men! While eighth and ninth-rank experts weren’t rare, reaching such a level required years of training unless one was a martial arts prodigy. One or two young experts wouldn’t be strange, but so many at once was highly questionable!
Moreover, martial artists all sought the Transformation Realm, which required honing mental strength alongside physical prowess. Combat was the most effective way to train mental strength, so most sought out opponents. Many died in battle before ever reaching the eighth or ninth rank. As a result, there were fewer than a hundred ninth-rank experts alive in the world, and a portion of them belonged to the Crane Control Army.
The Old Madam had also sensed something amiss. “Don’t dwell on them now—let’s go!”
“Understood!” Mei Zhengjing hoisted Second Madam onto his back under the Old Madam’s cover.
The Old Madam single-handedly carved a bloody path through the crowd of ninth-rank experts, shielding the group as they fled.
They all had qinggong, making their escape swift, but An Jiu struggled to keep up. Still, she knew falling behind was not an option, so she gritted her teeth and pushed on.
Breaking through the encirclement, they dared not stop even as pursuers closed in from behind.
The Old Madam glanced at An Jiu several times, struck by the darkness in her eyes. Memories of her own youth surfaced—she realized this child’s temperament bore an uncanny resemblance to her younger self.
An Jiu’s legs had long gone numb, her body moving purely on instinct as she ran endlessly.
The Old Madam led them to a hidden dock behind the woods within the estate, pulling out a couple of small boats from the reeds. “Get on.”
The moment An Jiu stopped, her entire body ached, her legs trembling and weak. The Old Madam’s combat prowess was unmatched—staying close to her gave Mei Jiu the best chance of survival. An Jiu’s only goal now was to keep up with the others, no matter what.
Clenching her jaw, she forced herself onto the boat, collapsing against the side as she gasped for breath.
A sudden rustling in the woods made everyone tense. The Old Madam severed the ropes with a flick of her hand, and the boat drifted into the lake, swaying gently. All aboard remained on high alert.
A figure burst from the trees, chasing after the boat. “Mei Shisi! Mei Shisi!”
It was New Year’s Eve, and the women wore elaborate robes instead of their usual close-fitting outfits, making them easy to recognize.
Hearing the voice, An Jiu turned to the Old Madam. “It’s Mo Sigui.”
The group relaxed their guard.
Mo Sigui leaped onto the boat, breathless. “Hurry! Elder Qi sent me to wait for you here. He said it’s no longer safe over there—I don’t know where ‘there’ is, but he said someone would know.”
“They’ve infiltrated the hidden grounds?!” The Old Madam was both shocked and furious. If intruders had reached the secret areas, it meant there was a traitor within the Mei family—one who had been among them for years and held a high position.
She scrutinized Mo Sigui before decisively ordering, “Abandon the boat!”
An Jiu’s temples throbbed. Without hesitation, she mustered her strength and leaped ashore.
The Old Madam surveyed their surroundings and chose a narrow path.Mo Sigui did not know Old Madam's identity, but seeing everyone follow her lead, he trailed behind. "I've discovered these people have taken Medicine to forcibly enhance their Inner Force."
Old Madam knew Mo Sigui's identity and didn't question how he'd learned this, asking directly, "What are their weaknesses?"
Even those who trained their power legitimately had vulnerabilities, let alone those who boosted their Inner Force through Medicine. (To be continued...)
PS: This chapter makes up for yesterday's. I was traveling back from Suzhou to my hometown and didn't arrive until after 9pm. The internet somehow got disconnected, and after fiddling with it unsuccessfully myself, I had to call someone to fix it this morning. My apologies to friends who waited for the update.
OpenNovel