Mo Sigui said, "No fatal weaknesses have been found yet. However, part of their Internal Energy is artificially inflated—they appear to be at the ninth rank, but their true strength is only around the fifth or sixth rank. The better ones might reach the eighth rank. Moreover, their Inner Force seems to deplete faster than that of normal martial arts masters."
"Heh." Old Madam chuckled softly. "No wonder Elder Zhi insisted on keeping you despite you not being entered into the family registry."
Mo Sigui grinned. "Too kind, too kind."
"However," Old Madam's eyes shifted slightly as she glanced at him, "you and Elder Qi must have been surrounded as well. The fact that you escaped so easily suggests two possibilities: one, you're a traitor, or two, the enemy wanted to capture Elder Qi and didn't have time to deal with you."
As they ran, Old Madam's blade somehow found its way to Mo Sigui's neck, her voice icy. "Which one do you think it is?"
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Mo Sigui's back. Neither the current situation nor the two possibilities Old Madam mentioned boded well for him.
His steps gradually slowed, and the others stared at him with suspicion. Old Madam's doubts were reasonable—the sudden fire in the Medicine Hall made Mo Sigui the prime suspect, and his ability to escape the encirclement only deepened their suspicions.
"He's not a traitor." A cold voice suddenly broke the silence.
Mo Sigui turned and saw An Jiu, looking disheveled.
"Reason," Old Madam demanded.
"Instinct," An Jiu replied without hesitation, unbothered by her lack of evidence. Having survived countless life-and-death situations, she possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to deception and danger—something she usually kept to herself. This time, however, she spoke up because of a hint of personal sentiment.
Moonlight filtered through the trees like scattered silver, and Mo Sigui was moved as he gazed at her slightly pale face.
He never expected that, in his moment of doubt, the one who would stand firmly by him would be someone who had once despised him the most. Meanwhile, those he had gotten along with so well now regarded him with suspicion.
Only the rustling of bare branches swaying in the wind filled the forest. No one spoke.
"He's your responsibility now." Old Madam shoved Mo Sigui toward An Jiu. "If he makes even the slightest suspicious move, you'll die with him. Don't blame me for being merciless."
"Fine," An Jiu agreed.
"Old Madam—" Mei Tingzhu tried to intervene, but under Old Madam's cold gaze, she swallowed her words.
Mo Sigui was momentarily stunned, roughly guessing the identity of this peculiar old woman.
As the group followed Old Madam forward, Mo Sigui leaned closer to An Jiu and whispered, "Why does she trust you so much?"
"You ask me, but who should I ask?" An Jiu couldn't fathom Old Madam's reasoning. But she stated firmly, "However, I can tell you why you're under suspicion."
Mo Sigui asked, "Why?"
"Because you have terrible character!" An Jiu said.
"I knew it," Mo Sigui muttered, not bothering to argue. Instead, he asked, "Then why do you believe in me?"
"Not only do you have terrible character," An Jiu replied, adjusting her breathing as she ran, "but you're also deaf!"
Hadn't she just said it was instinct? This instinct wasn't just a vague feeling—it was built from countless small details. Though it couldn't serve as evidence, it was enough for her to make a judgment.
Mo Sigui fell silent. In the end, An Jiu's unconditional trust was enough to outweigh all his other grievances.After running for a while, An Jiu noticed Old Madam's speed was increasing rapidly, making it harder for her to keep up.
Hidden behind An Jiu, Mei Jiu felt a chill in her heart. She deeply believed the people of Mei Manor were too indifferent. During the earlier struggle at the martial platform, Mei Tingzhu had told Mei Rujian not to reveal An Jiu's location. Mei Jiu had thought Mei Tingzhu was protecting them, but when they left, Mei Tingzhu didn’t even glance at Mei Rujian. And now, it was the same—Mo Sigui was under slight suspicion, and almost everyone looked at him with doubt, completely forgetting he was their own kin.
Mei Jiu recalled how she had also left Mei Ru Yan behind in her panic and fear, feeling a pang of guilt. "An Jiu, my sister—"
"Someone's following. Stay alert," Old Madam's cold, stern voice interrupted Mei Jiu's question.
An Jiu tightened her grip on the dagger. With no Inner Force left, this blade—capable of slicing through Inner Force barriers—was her only lifeline.
"Don’t be afraid," Mo Sigui said, pulling a small vial from his sleeve and pressing it into An Jiu’s other hand. "This is 'Spring Breeze Cannot Understand Words.' A single drop can poison an entire village. Coat your weapon with it—just a scratch is fatal."
He then took out a few antidote pills. "Deadly poison doesn’t discriminate. Use it carefully."
"Flamboyant. Just like the name you’d pick," An Jiu remarked, unable to fathom the connection between a Poison Pill and "Spring Breeze Cannot Understand Words."
Mo Sigui was about to advise her to wait before using it, but she immediately swallowed one pill and began smearing the poison onto her dagger.
An Jiu’s Mental strength sensed the pursuers closing in. She halted abruptly, spinning around to deliver a sharp kick.
The attacker, caught off guard, staggered back several steps.
"Old Madam!" Mo Sigui rushed forward. "If we kill a few trackers, I might find their weakness."
Old Madam didn’t respond, but a shadow flickered as she suddenly reversed direction mid-air.
Mo Sigui gaped. Mei Shisi’s ability to stop abruptly while sprinting was already astonishing, but Old Madam could reverse direction mid-movement? Her control over her body was inhuman!
The pursuers were all dead within half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, slain by Old Madam’s blade.
She dragged a barely alive black-clad figure and tossed him before Mo Sigui. "No one nearby for now. Examine him immediately."
Mo Sigui swiftly inserted needles into several of the man’s acupoints. The bleeding from his wounds gradually stopped, yet strangely, though he wasn’t dead, he couldn’t move.
He then needled the Baihui and Qihai points—two critical acupoints, especially for martial artists, as they were vital life gates. Watching Mo Sigui manipulate the man’s body like dough, the others felt a creeping dread.
The man’s eyeballs slowly bulged, his face contorting in extreme agony. Wispy tendrils of mist rose faintly from his Baihui point.
Mo Sigui pressed his fingertips to the man’s pulse, concentrating intently.
An Jiu stared at the man’s bulging eyes, soon noticing tiny red spots seeping into the whites. Mei Jiu trembled in terror. "Stop looking, stop looking!"
"It seems someone used them to test Medicine," Mo Sigui said, standing and wiping his hands with a handkerchief. "But the Medicine’s effects aren’t stable yet."
"A prototype?" An Jiu asked.Mo Sigui paused for a moment and praised, "That's an interesting way to put it, and quite fitting. While under the effects of the Medicine, they're no different from ordinary martial artists, with no specific weak points. However, based on my experience, the Medicine's effects only last for about an hour. Once it wears off, their strength will wane."
"So their actions are limited to within that hour?" Old Madam murmured to herself.
An hour was enough to slaughter Plum Blossom Village, but it still fell short of wiping out Mei Shi!
"Woo—"
An unusual sound came from nearby, and Old Madam responded by blowing a whistle.
Soon, rustling sounds emerged from the grass as five figures clad in black arrived. They knelt on one knee before Old Madam in unison. One of them spoke, "Master, Zhao Shanchang has taken people over there. Should we go to assist?" (To be continued...)
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