Hidden Shadow – CH 039

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Conspiracy

Looking around, the surrounding mounds of graves stretched into the depths of night, with occasional ghost lights flickering in the distance, their eerie blue light unable to pierce the inky darkness.

These graves were overgrown with weeds, almost all without inscriptions, some even collapsed, clearly indicating a mass grave.

Mei Tingyuan shivered, suddenly becoming quiet.

“The weather is fine today,” a hoarse voice suddenly came from somewhere. “Hehe.”

By the time everyone recognized the voice, a hunched figure had already landed two zhang¹ away.

She said, “This mass grave dates back to the Tang Dynasty, occupying three low hills. I’ve hidden four daggers inside. You have one hour to get out of the mass grave with the daggers. There are no rules; anyone can take all four daggers. If you have the strength, you can also take them from whoever already has them, without regard for life—you can kill them.”

She spoke so easily! They were all blood relatives who had grown up together!

Even the two confident boys felt a chill creep down their spines. But after calming down and thinking it over, they realized that four daggers were more than enough for the four members of the second branch of the family. Working together, no one would fail. As for the Fourteenth Young Lady, what did it have to do with them!

This was the unanimous thought of the four members of the second branch.

Mei Tingyuan suddenly became happy after figuring it out. She did not have to wait until the end of the month! Since it was a matter of life and death, what did it matter if she crippled the Fourteenth Young Lady? This was much more satisfying than a contest that ended in a mere skirmish at the end of the month!

An Jiu lowered her head, her brows slightly furrowed. Was she not just supposed to be here to test her courage? Why did it seem like she was being targeted?

The Grand Madam gestured, and the black-clad woman who had driven the carriage earlier took out five envelopes from her bosom and handed one to each of them. “There’s a map inside, please.” Mei Tingjun and Mei Tingchun were eager to try. Seeing the black-clad woman make way for them, they rushed inside without a trace of fear.

Mei Tingzhu followed, and Mei Tingyuan, though her thoughts were clear, still felt a chill run down her spine at the sight of the ghost lights near and far. Hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth and followed closely behind Mei Tingzhu.

An Jiu then moved forward, following them inside.

The Grand Madam squinted, chuckled softly, her withered voice particularly chilling in this eerie place. “Guess if the Fourteenth Young Lady can pass the test.”

“This subordinate cannot guess,” The black-clad woman glanced slightly at the Grand Madam. “Could it be that she really shot those two martial arts masters?”

The Grand Madam said with interest, “We will wait and see.”

“You treat her like this, what if…” The black-clad woman was puzzled. Regardless of whether the second branch of the family would attack the Fourteenth Young Lady, there were wolves in the mass grave. If she really perished here, would Elder Zhi let it go?

“If she’s truly a useless piece of trash, then so be it. I will find him a better disciple.” The Grand Madam’s withered fingers rubbed her cane. “Besides, did Yanran not ask you to look after her? Haha.” Assassins and soldiers on the battlefield were essentially the same. Generals had mountains of bones under their command, yet love and hate still lingered; assassins were the same. However, there were differences. On the battlefield, both sides were evenly matched, fighting openly and fairly. The actions of assassins were shady. Their victims might be defenseless women and children. The Grand Madam had killed so many people. Although her heart was hardened by iron, she still experienced joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. Only her emotions were different from those of ordinary people.

“Your subordinate is guilty!” The black-clad woman knelt on one knee.

The Grand Madam’s mood was unpredictable; the black-clad woman had witnessed it firsthand. One moment she might be laughing, the next you might be dead.

“Since I am in a good mood today, I will not punish you.” The Grand Madam lightly tapped her cane twice and turned to leave.

The autumn wind blew chillily, sending a cold shiver down the black-clad woman’s spine.

Several teenagers ventured deep into the mass grave. The surroundings were deathly silent, save for the occasional flicker of ghost light, casting a cold, eerie light on a few graves.

Fear crept into their hearts, so much so that when Mei Tingyuan thought of looking for Fourteenth Young Lady, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Ah, Fourteenth Young Lady is gone,” Mei Tingyuan said in a low voice.

“Could she have gotten lost?” Mei Tingchun asked.

Mei Tingzhu said, “She went north from the beginning; she never intended to follow us.”

Mei Tingjun looked at the empty graveyard. “Is she afraid of Seventh Sister? After all, we are family. If something happens to her, how will we face Aunt?”

Mei Tingjun was the eldest among them and the direct descendant of the family head. If Mei Zhengjing could not become the family head, he was highly likely to become the next Mei family head, so his words carried considerable weight among his peers.

“Go find her?” Mei Tingchun had a good impression of the beautiful girl.

“Go yourself!” Mei Tingyuan glared at him.

“Let’s go; finding the dagger is the priority,” Mei Tingjun ultimately only uttered these polite words before stopping.

The group gathered some dry grass, lit it, and huddled together to examine the map. They then realized they were holding a map that had been cut in half! Judging by its shape, the map should have been cut into at least six pieces.

“Fourteenth Young Lady’s envelope contained two maps, and our map only marked one location with a dagger, while hers marked three,” Mei Tingzhu said.

The map the four of them had only showed one dagger, but a complete road. Was this a deliberate attempt to incite a fight?

The group exchanged glances; it seemed they had no choice but to find her!

“Find her first! We have not been separated for long; she should not have gone too far,” Mei Tingjun said decisively.

The other three agreed, so they immediately turned north to find An Jiu.

The sky was filled with dark clouds, barely revealing the road. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, the area was strewn with corpses, and ghost lights were particularly numerous.

An Jiu walked north alone. Seeing ghost lights ahead, she quickly tore open the envelope and examined it carefully in the light.

Three daggers were on the map. Only one route was complete; the other two were broken.

It was obvious the map had been cut. This was a test for An Jiu and also a test for the four children of the second branch of the family.

An Jiu smiled, tucked the map into her clothes, and quickened her pace.

She did not intend to look for the daggers. It was already a miracle that Mei Jiu, that coward, had not been scared out of her wits. Finding the daggers would only cause unnecessary trouble. Besides, if she hid, things would get interesting with the second branch of the family—why not?

An Jiu had a strong sense of direction in the dark. After walking for a while, she turned east.

An Jiu timed it in her mind. Since she had nothing else to do, she ran laps around the graveyard, treating it as exercise.

Mei Jiu’s body was too weak; after only about half an hour, An Jiu slowed down. Because in such a place, if she encountered a jackal or accidentally bumped into those children skilled in martial arts, she would need to have the strength to fight back, so overexertion was not advisable.

An Jiu’s ears twitched slightly, and she suddenly stopped.

Clear footsteps approached. If the other party were a trained fighter with keen senses, her escape would definitely be discovered.

An Jiu thought she should tiptoe around a patch of waist-high grass. Just as she was about to crouch down, a warm hand suddenly grabbed her ankle. Startled, An Jiu raised her hand and slashed down.

“Heroine, spare my life!” the man pleaded urgently, lying on the ground.

An Jiu’s movements were swift and decisive; a swift, merciless strike landed on the back of his neck.

The man’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Seeing that he was dressed in fine clothes, like a young master, An Jiu became suspicious and turned him over.

In the dim light, a handsome face emerged, with arched eyebrows, a straight nose, and angular features, which shone brightly in the darkness, accentuated by a blue satin robe.

The light remained unchanged, yet An Jiu felt a significant increase in brightness.

Footsteps approached, the firelight stopping a short distance from the bushes. A young man, his voice trembling with tears, cried, “If I cannot find My Lord, I will not live!”

“A living person does not just vanish into thin air,” another young man chuckled. “Did a female ghost drag him off to enjoy some pleasure?”

An Jiu stared at the face before him, knowing that this was probably the “lord” they spoke of.

“Gentlemen, please search quickly,” the young man sobbed.

“Could he have run inside?” yet another young man asked.

The group hesitated for a moment, then the young man said, “We are already here; what’s wrong with going in? Keep the talisman close to your body, and all ghosts will flee! We cannot lose this bet again.” He paused, then asked, “Are you sure your master went in?”

The young man insisted, “I saw it with my own eyes!”

“Then let’s go!”

Having made up their minds, a group of six or seven people carrying lanterns walked inside.

The graves here were not as dense as inside, and there were fewer ghost lights.

“Ah!”

“What are you shouting for!”

As the group moved away, voices continued to drift back.

An Jiu carefully examined the young man on the ground. He looked to be about twenty years old, tall and slender. In a few more years, he would surely be another womanizer.

Since he was already unconscious, she could not leave empty-handed. An Jiu searched his body for a while, finding a jade pendant, a silk handkerchief embroidered with bamboo, an exquisite dagger inlaid with gemstones, and a folding fan.

An Jiu drew the dagger and brandished it at the young man for a moment, then grabbed his collar and slashed at him. The satin sliced ​​in two upon contact with the blade, and An Jiu felt no resistance whatsoever!

She had initially thought such a flashy weapon might be useless, but it turned out to be incredibly sharp. She sheathed the dagger, put it in her pocket, and stuffed everything else into her pocket as well, then continued on her way without looking back.

After wandering around for a while, An Jiu estimated that the time was about right, so she headed west, intending to return to where she had entered the mass grave.

An Jiu figured that the journey here had taken about an hour and a half, and the dagger-finding game would end around midnight. She could wait near the entrance for someone to “rescue” her.

She had learned about the ancient method of timekeeping from Mei Jiu’s memories, which she was not used to, but she figured there was no way she could go back, and she did not want to go back anyway, so she had to get used to it.

“Sister, how could you lay a hand on Brother?!” Mei Tingyuan shouted angrily.

An Jiu abruptly stopped and quietly stood behind the nearest grave.

From about ten feet away, An Jiu saw Mei Tingzhu confronting Mei Tingjun, Mei Tingchun, and Mei Tingyuan alone. They seemed to have already fought, and An Jiu could vaguely make out that they all looked somewhat disheveled.

The situation was tense, and no one noticed An Jiu’s approach.

What a coincidence! Just what I wanted! An Jiu crouched down, eagerly awaiting the show.