Hidden Shadow – CH 049

Chapter Forty-Nine: Startling the String

“The so-called startling the string…” Elder Zhi drew his bow without an arrow, his two fingers seemingly holding an arrow, his aura suddenly changing, showing no trace of his frail old age.

An Jiu watched intently and saw him release his withered fingers, a sharp sound like a crane’s cry emanating from the bowstring, as if an invisible arrow had been propelled out. With a humming sound from the bowstring, the ornate gate five zhang away shattered with a deafening crash, followed by four trees in the courtyard, each as thick as a cup’s rim, snapped in half.

An Jiu’s pupils dilated slightly, and she suddenly felt the crossbow in her hand utterly useless.

Elder Zhi’s move was practically comparable to a cannon! Although the range was insufficient, the power was far greater than any cold weapon.

“Alas!” Elder Zhi sighed, making no attempt to conceal his regret regarding archery. “This arrow looks very powerful, does it not? In reality, it falls short of the proper methods of archery.”

“How so?” An Jiu’s interest was piqued.

“With my internal strength, even a palm strike from mid-air would cause no less damage,” Elder Zhi said with a wry smile. “A wild goose flying high in the sky dies at the sound of a bowstring. Those who do not know the reason think the goose died from fright, hence the term ‘startling the string.’ In reality, the archer uses internal strength as the arrow, releasing it from an empty bowstring, injuring the victim invisibly.”

An Jiu listened and coldly said, “So, you are just pretending to hold the arrow, and it has nothing to do with ‘startling the string’?”

“You brat!” Elder Zhi was furious, his beard bristling. Even if it was true, there was no need to be so blunt! She showed no respect for the old man.

He coughed a few times. “You cannot say that. A bow helps to concentrate internal strength, and the better the bow, the greater the assistance. For example, I only used 3 parts of my internal strength just now. If I had used the same amount with my palm force directly, I could not have achieved this level of destructive power.”

30% internal strength was that powerful! This news pleased An Jiu greatly. “What rank of martial artist are you?”

“Hehe,” the old man said proudly. “My skill is beyond the ninth rank; of that, I am at the second rank.”

This sounded impressive. But, “How high is the second rank…?”

Perhaps An Jiu’s personality pleased Elder Zhi, for he did not bother with such a basic question and patiently explained, “Martial arts can be divided into nine ranks from low to high. Those above the fifth rank can be called experts. Above the ninth rank is called the Transcendent Realm, which is divided into three grades, the order of which is reversed. The third grade is the lowest, and the first grade is the highest.”

An Jiu nodded, then asked, “When will you be able to advance to the first grade?”

Elder Zhi glared. “You think practicing martial arts is so easy?! Advancing beyond the fifth rank becomes increasingly difficult. There are only about a hundred ninth-rank martial artists in the world. Those at the Transcendent Realm can be counted on one hand!”

An Jiu understood but saw that Elder Zhi was quite angry. She thought to herself that she still needed him to teach her martial arts. So he comforted him, “If you cannot be promoted, you cannot be promoted. I did not say anything. Even if you are not first-rank, I absolutely will not mind.”

“You are infuriating me!” Elder Zhi roared. “Whether there’s even a first-rank in this world is still unknown, and those old geezers are only ninth-rank. I am a born martial artist; that’s why I have this fortune! Instead of burning incense in gratitude, you dare to complain!”

An Jiu rubbed her ears, and after he finished yelling, she frowned and explained, “I said I would not complain.”

Is this old man’s hearing failing due to old age? Or was his intelligence declining?

Elder Zhi was panting heavily with anger. “Get out of here! No lessons today!”

Mei Jiu trembled from the shout. It took her a while to recover after Elder Zhi stormed out like a tornado. She timidly asked, “Were you not afraid of upsetting him like that?”

“When have I ever upset him?” An Jiu thought for a moment and said, “It’s just that the old man’s emotions are a bit unstable.”

Mei Jiu fell silent. It seemed this girl never realized that every word she uttered could cause such heartache. She said weakly, “Do you not think there’s something wrong with what you said?”

“I do not think so,” An Jiu said.

An Jiu stepped out the door, went to the gatehouse to meet Yao-Ye, and slowly made her way to Yuwei Residence.

Mei Jiu changed her approach. “I think… there’s something wrong with what you said.”

An Jiu looked at the white snow and ignored her.

Mei Jiu, sensing An Jiu’s displeasure, mustered her courage and continued, “You said Elder Zhi ‘if he cannot be promoted, he cannot be promoted.’ Is that not questioning his ability?”

“Obviously,” An Jiu replied, in a good mood, and continued, “I am indeed questioning his ability.”

“…” Mei Jiu was speechless for a long time before finally saying, “Even if it’s true, others will be unhappy to hear it, especially someone like Elder Zhi whose martial arts skills are almost at their peak.”

“…” An Jiu remained silent for a long time. Would he be unhappy? So what if he was unhappy!

Mei Jiu gradually realized that caring about everything and being overly cautious about everything was truly cowardly and pathetic, but An Jiu’s indifferent nature was also quite worrying! Unable to reason with her from other angles, Mei Jiu resorted to the most important point: “What if you anger him? Then no one will teach you martial arts!”

“Hmm.” This finally made An Jiu take it seriously. “I will go back and apologize to him right away.”

As Yao-Ye walked, An Jiu suddenly turned around, and it was not until she had taken several steps that she reacted. “Young lady? Where are you going?”

An Jiu said, “Back.”

Yao-Ye quickly followed.

“You will not anger Elder Zhi again, will you? How do you plan to apologize?” Mei Jiu was afraid that she would make things worse; An Jiu herself knew perfectly well how infuriating her words were.

“Do not think the whole world is full of idiots!” An Jiu said coldly.

Mei Jiu shut up, deciding to trust her this time.

Back at Yongzhi Hall, she asked the servant at the door and learned that Elder Zhi had gone to Elder Qi’s place.

Yao-Ye led the way, following them to Elder Qi’s residence.

Qiming Hall and Yongzhi Hall were quite different in style. It was a small, two-courtyard house, not large in area, but the all-wood construction was extremely meticulous. Even the carvings on the doors and windows were exquisite, down to the flower petals. Even an inconspicuous corner might have been carefully designed.

An Jiu did not understand house layouts, but she found every part of the courtyard beautiful, filled with the pleasant aroma of herbs.

Mo Sigui was squatting under the eaves, grinding herbs and watching the medicine furnace. A folding fan was tucked behind his collar. Seeing An Jiu, he glanced at her sideways and said casually, “Oh, what a rare guest.”

An Jiu asked, “Where is Elder Zhi?”

Mo Sigui was fanning the medicine furnace with her fan. Hearing An Jiu’s cold, hard tone, unlike her usual timid demeanor, he perked up. “Tingzhao!”

A seven or eight-year-old boy peeked out from the crack in the door. “What do you want?”

“Help me watch the medicine furnace,” Mo Sigui said.

Mei Tingzhao frowned unhappily. “We are both medicine boys; why should I help you?”

“Cough!” Yao-Ye choked, trying to suppress her laughter. Many people of Mo Sigui’s age were already married with children; he could not possibly be considered a boy! Perhaps… he was not even a virgin¹…

“I will give you a fun prescription later,” Mo Sigui tempted.

Mei Tingzhao glanced at An Jiu, pursed his lips, and smiled, dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Five, or no deal.”

“You little opportunist! Deal,” Mo Sigui cursed but readily agreed.

Mei Tingzhao immediately grabbed a palm-leaf fan and darted out, squatting beside the kiln.

“Cousin, I will take you to Elder Zhi,” Mo Sigui said solicitously.

“Should we not announce our arrival first?” Yao-Ye reminded her.

Mo Sigui waved his hand. He said nonchalantly, “Two old men together. What’s there to announce? You definitely will not see anything you should not; do not worry.”

“You are joking.” Yao-Ye gently tugged at An Jiu’s sleeve, indicating that Mo Sigui was really unreliable.

“Stop dawdling!” Seeing Yao-Ye’s displeasure, Mo Sigui changed the subject. “But I love it when women dawdle; it’s called being meticulous. What kind of woman is someone who is not meticulous?”

An Jiu never dawdled, but she did not care about Mo Sigui’s words.

“They are in the herb garden; it’s still a distance away. Let’s talk about it when we get there,” he explained.

“You really know how to tease people. Why did you not say so earlier!” Yao-Ye complained.

Mo Sigui was not included in the family genealogy, and his status in the Mei family plummeted. The Mei family was wealthy and would not skimp on his food and drink, but the servants’ attitude towards him was completely different. Coupled with his own lack of decorum and his carefree attitude, even some stewards dared to ride roughshod over him. Yao-Ye’s treatment of him was already extremely polite.

Mo Sigui grinned, “Let’s go.”

The two followed him out through the side door. He racked his brains trying to get An Jiu to talk, but after a long while, he received no response.

“Aunt’s departure must have saddened my cousin, right?” Mo Sigui decided to use a more drastic approach.

Yao-Ye quickly interjected, “You should rest. Talking for so long must be tiring.”

An Jiu remained unmoved, while Mei Jiu was heartbroken; these words had truly struck a nerve.

Seeing An Jiu’s unchanged expression, Mo Sigui became even more curious. “Cousin…”

Sensing Mei Jiu’s sadness, An Jiu turned her head and gave him a cold stare. “Try saying another word.”

Since he was already convinced there was something wrong, Mo Sigui decided not to hide it anymore.

Yao-Ye, behind them, could not see An Jiu’s expression. Although she sensed something was off about her tone, she assumed she was just too heartbroken and angry.

Mo Sigui pursed his lips, his cunning eyes fixed on An Jiu, as if he wanted to crack open her skull to see what was wrong inside.

This was the fervor of a physician for a patient, something An Jiu was familiar with; she had faced countless such gazes before.

“We’ve arrived at the herb garden.” Yao-Ye spotted the bamboo fence in the distance.

An Jiu stopped. “I hate you.” She looked at Mo Sigui. “So do not let me see you again…” The last part of her words was left unsaid, but her eyes said it all: if he continued to cause trouble, he would surely suffer the consequences!

It was a blatant threat!

“Ahem.” Mo Sigui wanted to retort, but the atmosphere was so cold and austere that he suddenly realized he might not be able to handle it. He forced a dry laugh and said, “Do not be so serious; it’s kind of scary… I will go report to the two elders!”

With that, he slipped away.

Yao-Ye was stunned for a moment, then laughed. “My Young Lady is so clever! He will not dare to bring up such sore spots anymore!” An Jiu did not think so. Mo Sigui could be summed up in one word: shameless!

If he were truly willing to learn his lesson, he would not keep causing trouble. An Jiu felt that if there was a next time, she would have to destroy him! Because she hated physicians to the core and hated shameless physicians even more!