Hidden Shadow – CH 009

Chapter Nine: Heroic Effort

Mei Jiu, having survived a life-or-death escape, had only just recovered from exhaustion yesterday. Then, An Jiu forced her to exercise until she was half-dead. She desperately wanted to rest…

Mei Ruyan, walking behind Mei Jiu, saw her sway and fall backward. She could not help but gasp and reach out to catch her.

Mo Sigui, hearing the sound, turned to grab her. Mei Jiu’s closed eyes suddenly opened, revealing a pair of bright eyes reflecting the red maple leaves, slightly mocking.

Taking advantage of his momentary daze, An Jiu casually grabbed his belt, using his clothes to conceal it, while her other hand snaked between his legs, grasping a handful of flesh. She used this leverage to lift herself up!

The force was so great that her fingernails likely dug into his flesh, yet to an outsider it appeared as merely a grab of his belt.

Mo Sigui cried out in pain, staring incredulously at his cousin, who had just been so shy.

“Thank you.” An Jiu raised an eyebrow, then lowered her head to shave her nails.

“Go on in.” Mo Sigui limped up the stairs, his clothes rubbing against the wound on his inner thigh, causing him to wince in pain.

An Jiu knew that controlling Mei Jiu’s body now was pointless; she simply did not want to miss any opportunity for their souls to mesh.

Entering the main hall, An Jiu saw that Mo Sigui was not too reserved, performing only standard courtesies, so she relaxed considerably, bowing in greeting as Mei Jiu usually did.

The furnishings in the main hall appeared simple and unpretentious, but An Jiu recognized that even the armchairs were made of fine rosewood. The floorboards, at first glance, looked like wood, but upon closer inspection, they were actually bamboo. These bamboo pieces were somehow leveled, seamlessly joined, and polished to a high shine, resembling a single, continuous floorboard—truly breathtaking.

Everywhere in the room seemed ordinary, yet it possessed an indescribable comfort, revealing meticulous attention to detail throughout.

“No need for formalities,” the patriarch said gently.

The three straightened up, and he continued, “Fourteenth Young Lady and Fifteenth Young Lady have just returned home. Today, they will meet the elders and, incidentally, formally become disciples. Sigui is already Elder Qi’s chosen disciple, and today he will perform the disciple-acceptance ceremony with the two children.”

An Jiu thought to herself, “Were we not supposed to be included in the family genealogy? Why the disciple-acceptance ceremony? This family’s instructions are too vague! Adapting to circumstances is risky.”

“Fourteenth Young Lady, Fifteenth Young Lady,” the patriarch called out.

An Jiu and Mei Ruyan looked up. The patriarch’s lean face wore a faint smile as he casually waved his feather fan. “Although our Mei family is a merchant family, we’ve always valued education. Our Mei children are all accomplished in both literature and martial arts; there has never been a lazy, uneducated one. Moreover, only after being recognized by a certain elder and formally becoming a disciple are they qualified to have their names written in the family genealogy. Do you have any questions?”

“No,” the two replied in unison. What questions could there be? Was it not obvious? This means that children with poor aptitude were not recognized by the family.

In this unfamiliar place, where even the rules of the game were unclear, what would be the consequences of not being included in the family genealogy… An Jiu felt a slight sense of crisis. She was proficient in none of the arts—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose. Should she awaken Mei Jiu’s talents? If Mei Jiu were to participate, naturally, nothing would be a problem.

The family head ordered the tools for testing their skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to be laid out. “You two choose two,” he said.

Mei Ruyan said, “Sister is skilled in calligraphy and painting, so please give me the music and chess.”

She sounded very helpful, but in reality, she was quite skilled in these arts. Raised in a brothel, she was best at these entertaining skills.

An Jiu was also satisfied and readily agreed. One should not show off one’s lack of knowledge in music and chess, but writing a few characters with a brush was still possible; it was just a matter of beauty or ugliness.

“Sister, please go first,” Mei Ruyan said.

An Jiu briefly recalled how to hold a calligraphy brush. After the maid laid out the paper, she boldly wrote, with a sense of shameful heroism, the line, “The wind howls, the Yi River is cold; the hero departs, never to return!”

The decisiveness and elegance of her brushstrokes delighted the patriarch and several elders. As soon as she finished writing, two elders could not help but step forward to examine it.

“This… putting aside the poor handwriting, what’s with the layout!” One elder pointed to the horizontal lines of characters on the paper, then to the comma and exclamation mark in the middle. “What does this mean?!”

An Jiu was displeased: “You old fool, if you can write anything, just make do! Why are you being so picky?”

The other elder was also somewhat disappointed, but remembering her earlier brushstrokes, he still held a sliver of hope. “Do you know anything else?”

“I know a lot,” An Jiu replied calmly.

The old man was pleased, but An Jiu added, “My skill level is about the same as my calligraphy.”

The old man’s face darkened, and he scolded, “Young lady, do not speak so casually!”

“Yes,” An Jiu replied readily.

The elder scratched his dwindling white hair. “Are you really Lady Yan’s child? She did not just pick her up to fool us, did she?”

An Jiu remained silent.

The others also came over to look, shaking their heads in disappointment before returning to their seats.

The elder who had spoken to her earlier, however, did not show much disappointment. Instead, he carefully examined her.

Since An Jiu had admitted that her other skills were about the same as her calligraphy, there was no need for further consideration.

Next was Mei Ruyan’s performance of playing the zither and solving a Weiqi puzzle. Her skill was adept; for her age, such attainment was remarkable. Four elders nodded frequently, but the elder from before stared intently at An Jiu.

An Jiu looked back at him, but the old man was truly unremarkable. His back was hunched; he wore a greyish-blue robe, his skin was wrinkled, and his features were blurred by countless wrinkles; his sparse hair piled up in a bun.

A pitiful sight! An Jiu simply turned away; Mo Sigui to his left was much more attractive.

“Not bad; I will keep this girl under observation,” one of the elders said after Mei Ruyan finished solving the Weiqi puzzle.

“Keeping her under observation” essentially meant marking her as pending. He would only decide whether to accept her after she passed all the tests. If not, others could then consider her.

An Jiu was puzzled by such a typical domineering approach, yet no one objected.

The patriarch said, “Hmm, Fifteenth Young Lady is quick-witted; she’s well-suited to follow Uncle Xian.”

Mei Ruyan was overjoyed.

An Jiu then understood that the five elders had different strengths, and they intended to teach according to each student’s aptitude.

The patriarch ordered the utensils to be removed, then rose and said to the three people in the hall, “Follow me.” All the elders rose and followed the patriarch through the door on the left, with An Jiu and the others following behind.

Upon entering the room, the light suddenly became extremely dim. An Jiu adjusted her eyes briefly, then looked around. The wooden shelves in the room were filled with weapons. Just as she was about to examine them closely, she felt a gaze fixed on her from her right front. She could not help but glance in that direction.

Then, she saw the elder who had been staring at her grinning broadly.