Hidden Shadow – CH 007

Chapter Seven: Grandma Lang

“How could you speak so rudely?!” Mei Jiu mentally berated An Jiu.

An Jiu said nonchalantly, “Judging by her appearance, I thought she was tough and resilient, but who knew she was so weak! Besides, she’s an enemy; the less we have to do with her, the better!”

Mei Jiu corrected her, “She’s my great-aunt, not an enemy.”

An Jiu was too lazy to argue with her. “I’ve been itching to kill someone lately, so tell me, are you going to die yourself or let that great-aunt die?”

“I…” Mei Jiu gritted her teeth. “Kill me if you want, but do not harm my family!”

An Jiu paused, then sensed Mei Jiu’s extreme tension, and she began to feel uncomfortable as well. She said fiercely, “I will not kill you, but you need to work on your courage; otherwise, I will kill you first and then your whole family!”

“How can you be so unreasonable?” Mei Jiu was both afraid and unable to resist.

It was precisely this small struggle that made An Jiu want to tease her. “How could I? You cannot insult my character. I can be very reasonable when I want to.”

Mei Jiu felt a surge of anger. “Just talk properly, can you not?”

“Ugh, it’s just a few words; do not get emotional!” An Jiu felt uncomfortable all over. Thinking about the current situation, she could not help but laugh self-deprecatingly. She felt like she was torturing herself for no reason and in a more sophisticated way.

Mei Jiu’s eyes reddened, and she remained silent.

Wen-Cui brought in tea and snacks. Seeing Mei Jiu sitting silently in the corner, her face slightly pale, she assumed she was afraid and comforted her. “Young Lady, do not worry about it. Apart from the Second Old Madam, everyone in the Second Branch is reasonable and will not blame you. The Second Old Madam has a weak heart, and the whole family caters to her wishes. She’s used to a life of ease and cannot stand the slightest displeasure now. It’s not your fault at all.”

“Wen-Cui, thank you,” Mei Jiu said.

Wen-Cui smiled, leaned closer, and whispered, “If the Third Madam knew, she would not make things difficult for you; in fact, she’d thank you!”

“The Third Madam is the Second Old Madam’s daughter-in-law, is she not?” Mei Jiu asked, puzzled.

“Yes, what mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in this world are truly of one mind? The Third Madam and the Second Old Madam are outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds.” Wen-Cui reached out to help her up. “Young Lady, you’ve had a long day; have some pastries to tide you over.” It was getting dark outside.

In the center of Shayun Residence, the Second Old Madam, with a handkerchief covering her forehead, was complaining to a middle-aged man, “Third Son, I may not have the bones or blood of the Mei family, but I’ve been married into the Mei family for forty years, and everything I’ve said and done has been for their sake! A mere brat, still wet behind the ears, dares to call me an outsider!”

The middle-aged man said, “Mother, you are making the Mei family’s young lady apologize to a servant? Where does that leave the Mei family’s reputation?”

The Second Old Madam sat up abruptly from the bed, pointing at him. “You…I’ve raised such an ungrateful wretch! You are siding with an outsider!”

“Stop it.” Seeing that the atmosphere had calmed down, the elegantly dressed woman stopped her husband. She sat down on the embroidered stool in front of the bed and took the Second Old Madam’s hand. “She was just disciplining a disrespectful junior behind closed doors; how did that involve the Mei family’s reputation?”

“That’s right!” The Second Old Madam’s anger finally subsided a little.

The Third Madam said, “It was all that inexperienced maid’s bad idea. A mere maid, daring to try to make her young lady bow down! She’s truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Luckily, Mother is sensible and did not agree. I think this maid cannot be kept anymore; get rid of her quickly, and I will pick out a better one for you.”

The Second Old Madam’s face stiffened, realizing she’d fallen into another trap. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted again.

At the Yuwei Residence.

Wen-Cui, while tidying the table, said, “The Third Madam is very cunning. If it were not for the Second Old Madam’s seniority, even a hundred of her would not be enough to deter her.”

Mei Jiu had not expected so many intricacies. Unable to understand, she stopped thinking about it. “Wen-Cui, can I go sleep with Mother?”

Before Wen-Cui could answer, An Jiu strongly objected, “No!”

“Young Lady, please do not run around for now, but you can invite Lady Yan to Yuwei Residence.” Wen-Cui carried the tray out.

An Jiu’s voice tightened. “How terrifying would it be to sleep next to someone!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Mei Jiu asked, puzzled.

“If someone sleeps next to you, they will be a corpse the next morning. Is that not terrifying?” An Jiu was not trying to scare Mei Jiu. She was the highest-bounty sniper on the wanted list, and being hunted by numerous experts had instilled in her the habit of never allowing a living thing where she slept.

Mei Jiu shivered, her voice trembling with tears. “I will sleep alone.” Mei Yanran had come to see Mei Jiu before bed, said a few words, and then left.

Strangely, there were no lights on in the room, and no maidservants were on night watch. Mei Jiu did not know the customs of ordinary wealthy families, so she was not surprised; it was just that the complete darkness terrified her.

“An Jiu, are you asleep?” Mei Jiu asked tremulously, huddled under the covers.

She coexisted with An Jiu. Although she could not access her memories or sense her emotions, she felt a strange sense of familiarity. Compared to the unknown dangers in the darkness, An Jiu was not the most frightening thing.

An Jiu ignored her.

“I can hear sounds from far away now. I am scared, but my heart is not beating as fast as before, and I do not seem particularly afraid,” Mei Jiu muttered to herself. During the day, her attention was scattered, so this feeling was not as pronounced. But in the quiet of the night, when her focus was sharp, she found she could even hear the howls of wolves in the wild.

An Jiu sighed inwardly. So Mei Jiu had also inherited her ability. It seemed the ultimate victor was still uncertain! At least based on the current situation, Mei Jiu had the advantage; she was the original owner of this body and did not need to find a way to control it.

Thinking this, An Jiu’s heart stirred. She coughed lightly twice and said in the gentlest voice she had ever used, “I am here.”

“Can you talk? I am scared.” Mei Jiu could suddenly hear and sense so many things in the dead of night, and the once peaceful night suddenly became terrifying.

“Are you not afraid of me anymore?” An Jiu asked.

Mei Jiu did not answer. She was afraid, of course she was, but what she feared most right now were the sounds, like the soft rustling of falling leaves or perhaps the sound of people walking on tiptoe.

“You do not need to be afraid of me. I was just looking for a place to stay and happened to find you.” An Jiu racked her brains, recalling some ghost stories she’d read before. “Not everyone is suitable for me to stay. The fact that you can take me in means we have a connection. You are doing a good deed; you will surely be blessed in the future.” Blessed! Hilarious! An Jiu thought playing the wolf in sheep’s clothing was really good.

An Jiu knew very few ghost stories, but she thought it was enough to fool Mei Jiu’s intelligence.

Sure enough, Mei Jiu was delighted. “I knew you were not a bad person.”

“Good girl, you are right,” An Jiu readily affirmed. Of course, she was not a bad person, because she was a demon.

“You should sleep first. With me here, no demons or monsters can get close.” An Jiu’s voice suddenly turned cold. “But I can protect you, and you have to promise not to tell anyone about my existence; otherwise… You know what will happen.”

“Alright.” Mei Jiu readily agreed.

With her company, Mei Jiu gradually relaxed and quickly fell asleep.

An Jiu seized the opportunity to get out of bed and move around.

She would not sit idly by and wait for her fate. If one person had to sacrifice another to achieve their goals, she would never be the victim! If the two could coexist, she would find a way to kill or expel Mei Jiu’s soul—because she was always alone and did not need any unnecessary appendages.

She did not know how to seize the body, but first she needed to integrate with it.

An Jiu could tell there were at least five people around the room, so she could not make any big movements. Since she had nothing else to do, An Jiu started by doing push-ups and sit-ups to exercise.

But she discovered that this body was truly rotten!

An Jiu lay on the floor, and her thin arms could not even hold a single push-up! She gritted her teeth and forced herself to do five.

Too much of a good thing was bad; she needed to proceed gradually. An Jiu did not push herself. After the push-ups, she did twenty sit-ups.

Afterward, she sat on the bed and practiced finger exercises, which not only helped her control her limbs but also improved her flexibility.

After tossing and turning for most of the night, An Jiu finally closed her eyes reluctantly.

Early morning.

Mei Jiu woke up feeling as if her whole body was filled with lead; even her eyelids were incredibly heavy!

“Young Lady, today we must go to the front courtyard to pay respects to Ah Lang and the clan elders,” Wen-Cui knocked on the door to remind her.

“Come in.” Mei Jiu tried to sit up but could not.

Wen-Cui pushed open the door and entered the room. Seeing Mei Jiu’s pale face and dark circles under her eyes, she was startled. “Young Lady, what’s wrong?”

“I am not feeling well,” Mei Jiu said weakly.

Wen-Cui checked her pulse but could not find anything wrong. Thinking her medical skills were inadequate, she said anxiously, “What should we do? We cannot delay seeing the clan elders! I will go fetch a physician.” She rushed out like a gust of wind before she finished speaking, showing how anxious she was.

A short while later, Mei Jiu vaguely saw Wen-Cui leading a long-bearded old man in through the gauze curtain.

The old man sat down by the bedside. Wen-Cui placed Mei Jiu’s wrist outside the bed curtains and covered it with a thin, icy silk cloth.

The old man’s fingers rested on it, examining it for a moment. “The young lady is in good health, but perhaps she’s overworked and has not rested enough. Continue with the dietary supplements I prescribed the other day; she will recover completely in five days.”

“But Physician Liu, the young lady is going to see Ah Lang and the clan elders today. Is there any way to help her get out of bed?” Wen-Cui asked.

Physician Liu said, “She can get out of bed without medicine, though it will be tiring. Fourteenth Young Lady, please persevere.”

“Thank you, Physician Liu.” Wen-Cui saw Physician Liu out.

Upon returning, Wen-Cui pulled back the bed curtains. “Young Lady, today’s matter is extremely important! Please persevere.”

“Yes.” Mei Jiu struggled to sit up.

Wen-Cui helped her sit in front of the dressing mirror and began her daily grooming and dressing.

Today, she was dressed in a simple, smoky-colored outfit, her hair styled in a simple bun without any adornment. “It’s a family rule that one should not dress extravagantly when meeting the clan elders,” she said.

Mei Jiu smiled slightly. “It’s more comfortable this way.”

“Yes,” Wen-Cui smiled, lightly dusting her face with powder to conceal the dark circles under her eyes.