Hidden Shadow – CH 044

Chapter Forty-Four: Powerful Spiritual Strength

Because An Jiu woke up, Mei Jiu was in a very good mood and felt no sleepiness, so she stayed in the study to read.

The former owner of Yuwei Residence seemed to be an avid reader; the large study was piled high with books, mostly on martial arts, and some strange and unusual stories.

Mei Jiu enjoyed reading poetry, but An Jiu insisted on reading martial arts manuals. Mei Jiu could not refuse and picked up the dry and boring manuals. It was not until late in the hour of Hai¹ that the two of them began to feel tired.

Mei Jiu put on her fur coat, preparing to return to her bedroom, when she heard a maid at the door say, “Young Lady, Elder Zhi requests your presence.”

The Mei family was a family that trained assassins. Unlike other families with many rules, they did not have as many, but instead had latent habits of assassins. For example, now, no matter the time, they had to be available at a moment’s notice.

Mei Jiu’s nature was still gentle, but after so many turbulent events recently, she was no longer as easily alarmed as she had been at the beginning.

“Alright,” Mei Jiu said.

Yao-Ye lit a lantern and accompanied her out.

The wind in the plum blossom grove was gentle, not as cold as she had imagined. Snowflakes swirled and fell in the breeze, densely packed, like a gentle spring breeze caressing a thin silk garment in the fourth month.

An Jiu knew this was Jiangnan and that this place would become warmer in the long, long future, and it would never snow so heavily again. It was also the first time she had ever known that cold snow could be so gentle and beautiful.

They walked through the snow to the porch of Yongzhi Hall, where a maidservant folded her umbrella. Yao-Ye handed the lantern to a maid beside her and reached out to brush the snowflakes off Mei Jiu’s fur coat.

“Fourteenth Young Lady,” a young black-clad man said lifelessly as the door creaked open.

Even though Mei Jiu had regained some composure, she was still startled. She stole a glance at the young man. In the snowy light, his face was thin and pale, with regular features and narrow eyes. Despite his ordinary appearance, his gloomy aura left a deep impression.

“This subordinate is Mu Qianshan,” the young man said, bowing respectfully as Mei Jiu looked him over.

He introduced himself as a subordinate. Mei Jiu did not return the bow, only nodding slightly.

“This subordinate will be responsible for protecting you, Young Lady,” Mu Qianshan said.

Mei Jiu was about to enter when she heard his words and paused, frowning at him. “You are Elder Zhi’s subordinate?”

To be honest, Mei Jiu disliked Mu Qianshan from the bottom of her heart; he was like a ghost. Just looking at him made her feel uncomfortable. Furthermore, Mei Jiu subconsciously harbored a strong aversion to Elder Zhi. Recalling his fierce interrogation and his abrupt sending her to the Dark School, she felt both fear and disgust towards the old man, unconsciously carrying this aversion towards Mu Qianshan as well.

“Yes,” Mu Qianshan said. “Please come in, my young lady.”

Mei Jiu bit her lip and entered the courtyard.

It was the same small shooting range. Elder Zhi, just as they had last met, stood under the eaves, bow fully drawn, ready to fire.

Whoosh!

The arrow pierced through the dense snow. Mei Jiu glanced back; it had hit the bullseye.

“You can see it clearly, right?” Elder Zhi lowered his bow.

Mei Jiu bowed slightly and replied, “Yes.”

“Put away these girlish manners.” Elder Zhi’s stern tone revealed a hint of displeasure. “These constraints are detrimental to the practice of archery.”

“Yes,” Mei Jiu obediently replied. But in truth, she was completely clueless about what archery was. “Is archery not all about accuracy? Elder Zhi hits the bullseye every time; what else is he pursuing?”

“Shoot an arrow for me to see,” Elder Zhi said, placing the bow in her hand. He warned, “Qianshan brought you back to Mei Mansion from the mass grave. You are a good child. No matter why you pretend to be so cautious and cowardly, daring to put on airs in front of me, you will bear the consequences! I’ve already forgiven you once. If you continue like before, you will be sent to the Konghe Army immediately after a year.”

Mei Jiu panicked. She gripped the bow tightly. She had been practicing martial arts diligently during this time, but unfortunately, her set of fist techniques still resembled dancing. Although she had gained some strength, she could not harm anyone in the slightest.

“An Jiu…” Mei Jiu called anxiously.

An Jiu was trying her best to hide herself, but her personality was completely opposite to Mei Jiu’s. She was not particularly good at acting, so even with her best efforts to disguise herself, she still aroused suspicion.

An Jiu recalled that when she was injured, the black-clad woman summoned a masked man, who must have been Mu Qianshan. She had not shown enough panic then, definitely giving herself away.

Since that was the case, An Jiu did not intend to continue hiding. Unfortunately, she had not fully recovered, and even if she tried her best to control Mei Jiu’s body, she probably would not be able to use it flexibly. Both archery and shooting required a very subtle sense of touch in the body.

“Do not be afraid; just do as I say.” An Jiu unconsciously mimicked Mei Yanran’s words of comfort to Mei Jiu.

Mei Jiu indeed calmed down a little.

“Facing a target, feel yourself directly facing it,” An Jiu said.

She watched Mei Jiu stand up.

“Are you squinting?” An Jiu said coldly. “Move to the right… um, half an inch.”

Mei Jiu felt particularly wronged. It was so dark, the snow was so heavy, and the distance was so far. She had already tried her best to be directly facing it; how could she possibly be accurate to the inch?

Elder Zhi was initially displeased, but when he saw Mei Jiu slowly shift her position slightly, his brow relaxed a little, and his hunched back seemed to straighten a bit.

Actually, there was no need to stand so precisely. If it were An Jiu, she could hit the bullseye from any angle in this courtyard. But for a beginner, once the position was correct, as long as the movements were standard and the hands were steady, accuracy would improve.

“Stand sideways, left foot forward, legs wider than shoulder-width apart,” An Jiu said.

Mei Jiu was used to the relaxed movements during martial arts practice and was not as resistant to this kind of movement as before.

“Raise the bow.” An Jiu’s language had mostly just explained things simply, not yet rich enough to describe the subtle sensations, so she could only do her best. “Do not just use the strength of your arms to draw the bowstring. Feel your feet rooted to the ground, your whole body exerting force, yet feeling like you are exerting no force anywhere. Your body should be relaxed, letting your hands do the work.”

What did it mean to be exerting force throughout your body yet not exerting force?

Mei Jiu, unable to grasp the concept, continued to draw the bowstring using the same method. This time, the bow was completely suspended in the air, held only by her left hand, offering no leverage; she could only use the strength of her arm to pull. Being weak, she experienced the same problem as before—before the bow was even halfway drawn, she began to tremble all over.

Mei Jiu’s neck flushed red, feeling as if even her fur coat weighed a ton. Just as she was about to release the arrow in despair, a sudden force arose within her.

She suddenly felt an inexhaustible strength. Someone held her hands and easily drew the bowstring, only the arrow tip barely protruding from the bow.

Elder Zhi’s eyes gleamed; in that instant, he seemed to see two overlapping figures! Mei Jiu seemed restless, but her gaze suddenly calmed, and slowly, her presence diminished. She seemed about to merge with the snowy night, an unbelievable stillness.

Influenced by this atmosphere, Mu Qianshan and Yao-Ye unconsciously slowed their breathing. Once the bow was drawn, the arrow should not be released immediately; a moment’s pause was needed to steady it. Following An Jiu’s advice, Mei Jiu focused on the bullseye.

Her dark eyes were as deep as night.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew smoothly.

Yao-Ye watched the arrow’s trajectory. She thought it would likely be accurate, but whether the arrowhead would penetrate the target was uncertain, given her young lady’s weak strength.

Elder Zhi thought the same. His gaze locked onto the arrow, and when the arrowhead touched the bullseye, his eyes widened suddenly.

After a few breaths of silence, Elder Zhi vanished into the snow like a ghost, appearing near the target in the blink of an eye.

Mei Jiu was also shocked. She clearly saw that a third of the arrow had penetrated the target. And she had not felt any effort at all.

The others were stunned by this result. No one noticed the surprise on Mei Jiu’s face.

“Hahaha!” Elder Zhi burst into laughter, running back like a young man. Excitedly, he stared at her. “Good, good! I knew I had not misjudged you!” Elder Zhi beamed, his serious expression completely gone. “Alright, go back and rest. If you have a destiny with archery, I guarantee you will not be allowed into the Konghe Army for the rest of my life.”

“Thank you, Elder!” Mei Jiu exclaimed joyfully.

Elder Zhi looked at her carefully, his mind replaying the feeling from that moment just now. It was as if he had truly seen it—the overlap of two people, no, it should be said, the overlap of two spiritual energies—one powerful spiritual energy instantly overwhelming Mei Jiu’s weak spiritual energy.

Those with high martial arts skills possess a keen sense of this that ordinary people could not comprehend.

Yao-Ye finally came to her senses, a look of joy appearing on her face.

The master and servant bid farewell to Elder Zhi, and only after leaving Yongzhi Hall did they realize that Mu Qianshan had been silently following behind them.

Mei Jiu frowned; she had been so happy that she had forgotten to tell Elder Zhi about this. But seeing that Mu Qianshan was not carrying an umbrella, was dressed in thin clothes, and had snowflakes falling on his shoulders, she felt a pang of sympathy. Remembering that he was the one who had saved her, she softly said, “Let’s go.” The journey was quiet.

Back at Yuwei Residence, Mei Jiu enjoyed a comfortable bath in the warm, spring-like bathing room, then slipped into bed, feeling completely relaxed.

Yao-Ye turned off the light in the outer room. Mei Jiu suddenly remembered Mu Qianshan. “Has that guard been settled in?”

Yao-Ye replied, “Young Lady, he’s a Shadow. We do not need to settle him in.”

“Do we not need to give him a place to stay? He came with us,” Mei Jiu said, sitting up.

Yao-Ye explained, “Shadow needs to protect your safety at all times. Even if there were rooms, he could not stay there.”

“Ah, he would not be staying in my bedroom, would he?” Mei Jiu exclaimed in surprise.

Yao-Ye chuckled. “Do not worry, My Young Lady. While we do not strictly enforce gender segregation in our household, we are not without rules either. After all, men and women are different.”

Mei Jiu felt relieved but still worried. “In this cold weather, what if they catch a cold outside?”

Yao-Ye knew his lady was kind-hearted and never let the maids stand guard outside at night, so she patiently replied, “They have internal energy protecting them; they will not catch a cold. Do not worry, my young lady.”

Mei Jiu did not believe her. She had just seen Mu Qianshan’s frostbitten hands, but she did not want to keep bothering a man so late at night.

Yao-Ye tucked her in, turned off the light, and went to the small couch in the next room, lying down fully clothed.

The room was quiet, but Mei Jiu could not sleep. “An Jiu.”

“My time is precious; I will not waste it on an idiot,” An Jiu retorted, still sharp-tongued.

Mei Jiu noticed her weak voice and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong?”