Hidden Shadow – CH 032

Chapter Thirty-Two: Mei Yanran’s Fear

“Why fight so desperately?” Mei Jiu wanted to tell Mei Ruyan that once she learned martial arts, her future would be difficult.

Mei Ruyan said, “I consider myself knowledgeable, but I’ve never seen any large family act so strangely. I do not know the reason behind it, but I can guess a little. Sister, lifespan is generally predetermined; when we die is truly beyond our control. But the King of Hell does not care how we live!”

She smiled, her voice resolute. “I just want to become stronger. Even if I cannot defy fate in the end, I want to die with a smile.”

Therefore, even knowing that mastering martial arts would not guarantee a good future, she would not let go of any opportunity to become stronger.

Neither Mei Ruyan nor Mei Jiu had a foundation in martial arts. To become stronger, they could not hide their abilities, because whether their martial arts progressed slowly or not, Master Mo would not teach them further. Simply put, in martial arts, hiding one’s abilities only happened to those who had reached a certain level; beginners simply could not do that.

But An Jiu was different. All martial arts, in essence, were interconnected. She had never encountered this type of fighting skill before, but her past high-intensity training had taught her how to achieve ultimate body control and unleash its potential—beyond all the external forms of martial arts, it all boiled down to this.

Mei Ruyan and Mei Jiu descended the mountain together, then returned to their respective residences.

All the way, Mei Jiu could hear Mei Ruyan’s words echoing in her ears. When she said “to die with a smile,” Mei Jiu was deeply shocked. They were clearly about the same age, so why did she possess such courage?

When they returned to Yuwei Residence, Mei Yanran had already been waiting in the main hall for a long time.

“Mother,” Mei Jiu said, feeling reassured upon seeing her mother.

“You are a little late today,” Mei Yanran said.

Mei Jiu said, “My sister was a little injured, and it was inconvenient for her to go down the mountain, so I accompanied her for a while.”

“Injured?” Mei Yanran adjusted her sleeves, paused, and said, “I will go check on her later. Are you alright today?”

Mei Jiu knew she was asking about martial arts practice. “Master Qingming gave me a martial arts manual. I read it once and could memorize the movements, but when I tried to perform them, it really angered Master Qingming.”

Mei Yanran covered her mouth with her sleeve and chuckled, “Master Qingming talks about Zen very eloquently, but he can never control himself.”

“Mother, I saw a black-clad man today.” Mei Jiu decided to tell her about the masked man she encountered while herding sheep.

An Jiu did not stop her.

Mei Yanran’s smile faded, her expression turning serious. “The black-clad man? Where did you see him?”

“Today, while I was herding sheep alone on the mountain,” Mei Jiu replied truthfully. “I saw him before in the ancestral hall. There were ten masked black-clad men—five Gandharvas and five Yakshas. The man I saw today was wearing a Yaksha mask.”

Mei Yanran suddenly tensed, pressing, “Did he speak to you?”

“He did. He asked if I was Elder Zhi’s new disciple,” Mei Jiu said, still concealing the fact that it was An Jiu. “He also said we’d meet again soon.”

“What?!” Mei Yanran’s face showed undisguised shock. “How could…how could…can you tell how old he was?”

Mei Jiu was startled by her reaction, but her mind had been blank at the time, and she could not recall anything now.

“Between twenty and thirty years old,” An Jiu said.

In the rush of the moment, she could only deduce a rough age from his voice and some minor details.

“About twenty to thirty,” Mei Jiu said.

Mei Yanran thought for a moment, “They should not be from our family.”

Mei Jiu was puzzled. “Mother, who are those people?”

“People from the Konghe Army.” Mei Yanran felt there was no need to hide anything from Mei Jiu anymore. Things had come to this point; she was still under semi-confinement and could not take care of Mei Jiu constantly. Mei Jiu should not remain ignorant any longer. “Normally speaking, you’ve just returned to the mansion, and your aptitude is still unclear. They should not be in such a hurry to include you in the family register, unless it just so happens that a group of people in the clan is being sent to the Konghe Academy…”

It turned out that the number of people recorded in each Mei clan’s register was kept in the imperial court. Whenever someone from the Mei clan was to be added to the register, the court would send someone to check their aptitude and record everything. The timing was coincidental, so the head of the family decided to include Mei Jiu in the register as soon as possible.

“Long ago, the Konghe Army was mainly composed of four families: the Mei, Zhao, Li, and Lou families, along with many smaller families. The late Emperor felt this was prone to spiraling out of control, so the court established a special place to train talent for the Konghe Army, called the Konghe Academy.”

After its establishment, the Konghe Academy no longer only accepted members of these families but also recruited many talented children from the common people, training them from a young age, hoping to change the situation where families dominated the Konghe Army.

These families knew too many secrets of the royal family; their fate after becoming pawns was predictable! The major families had no way out but to find ways to cling tightly to power in order to survive.

The descendants of the Mei family were gradually dwindling, so they were eager to include Mei Jiu and Mo Sigue in the family genealogy, even turning a blind eye to the fact that Mei Ruyan was not a descendant of the Mei family.

Mei Yanran pondered, “The people from the Konghe Academy probably want to test your aptitude…”

Thinking of this, Mei Yanran suddenly reached out and grasped Mei Jiu’s pulse, carefully examining it for a long time. Mei Jiu dared not disturb her until Mei Yanran withdrew her hand, then asked, “Mother, what’s wrong?”

Mei Yanran shook her head. “I was thinking about why that person said you’d meet again soon.”

Mei Jiu inherited Mei Yanran’s natural talent, making her perfectly suited for martial arts. Otherwise, Mei Yanran would not have deliberately cultivated her into a weak and timid girl. Now Mei Jiu was thirteen years old and had never touched martial arts before entering the Mei family. Logically speaking, even if she had some talent, it would be too late. Why did the people of the Konghe Academy take notice of her? It was all because of Elder Zhi; they would never allow that person to say, “We will meet again soon!”

“Jiu’er, what are you hiding from me?” Mei Yanran grasped Mei Jiu’s hand. “Is there anything you cannot tell your mother?”

“I…” Mei Jiu wanted to tell her mother everything immediately, but upon hearing An Jiu’s cold snort, all her words choked in her throat.

Mei Yanran sighed. “Jiu’er, I have no hope left in this life. I only wish you well. If it’s anything important, please do not hide it from me!”

Returning to the Mei Mansion, Mei Yanran knew the chances of escape were almost zero. Her only plan was to risk everything for Mei Jiu’s peace for the rest of her life.

It was getting late, and seeing that Mei Jiu showed no sign of relenting, she did not press the matter further.

After dinner.

Mei Yanran had someone prepare medicine for bruises and sprains, and while waiting, she spoke with Mei Jiu for a while.

“Yan’er,” a hurried voice suddenly came.

Mei Yanran asked, “What is it?”

“The Grand Madam is here!” Yao-Ye lowered his voice.

The room was brightly lit, and Mei Jiu clearly saw Mei Yanran’s lips trembling and the color draining from her face instantly.

“Who is the Grand Madam?” Mei Jiu only knew that the Mei family had two old ladies; she had never heard of a Grand Madam, especially one whose mother was so wary of!

“It seems…” a hoarse voice suddenly came from above, clearly laughing yet tinged with a chilling murderous aura. “You still remember this old woman.”

Mei Jiu was startled and looked up at the roof, but even with her exceptional eyesight, she could not find anyone.

“Your daughter has grown so much.” The hoarse voice instantly came from the main seat.

Mei Jiu looked over and saw a hunched figure in black sitting there, her body slightly bent, her hands resting on a cane, her entire body wrapped up tightly.