Hidden Shadow – CH 051

Chapter Fifty-One: Exposure (1)

If it were any other time, Mo Sigui’s appearance, coupled with his clear and bright eyes, would surely give him an air of otherworldly refinement. However, he forgot that his nose was now covered in bruises, with two silk handkerchiefs hanging from his nostrils. This appearance was nothing short of comical.

An Jiu looked at him, feeling a burning urge to punch him. She clenched her fists, resisting the urge to punch him in the face a few more times.

Elder Qi, capable of “bringing the dead back to life and healing the wounded,” had been able to diagnose illnesses without a full examination for many years. But the case before him was truly rare. Out of caution and curiosity, he asked, “Fourteenth Young Lady, do you feel anything unusual?”

This question was profound and difficult for An Jiu. If she denied it, she might lose the opportunity to change the situation. If she admitted it, Elder Qi would definitely ask for more details. How could she both conceal the fact of the dual souls and let Elder Qi know some of the situation?

This was actually not difficult. She just needed to make up a story, reveal a little of what she wanted to reveal, and lie about not knowing anything about the parts that did not make sense. How simple was that? But this was a different story for Mei Jiu and An Jiu; neither of them was good at making up stories or lying.

“You tell me,” Mei Jiu said, passing the question to An Jiu. “Did you not once say that what makes humans superior to animals is their ability to disguise themselves?”

An Jiu decided to take a gamble. “It seems… a little different.”

Seeing her willing to concede, Mo Sigui excitedly pressed, “How is it different?”

“I do not know.” An Jiu had developed a very cautious nature. An assassin could only trust their weapon; blindly trusting others was suicidal. Therefore, she would never easily trust anyone. “I cannot explain it, it’s just a feeling.”

An Jiu was not afraid of death, but she would not choose to die. The appearance of something unfamiliar always invites skepticism. She admitted that having two souls in one body was easy, but what if they treated her like a monster? An Jiu did not want to be treated like a mental patient again, living that kind of life under surveillance.

“I can also sense two spiritual energies,” Elder Zhi said confidently. “Is there a way to resolve this? The instability of her spiritual energy causes drastic fluctuations in her condition, which is detrimental to her martial arts practice.”

Elder Qi stroked his beard, pondered for a long while, and said, “It’s worth a try. We can either suppress the weaker spiritual energy or merge it with the other.”

An Jiu absolutely could not tolerate merging with someone like Mei Jiu!

Mei Jiu was stunned. She knew she was the weaker one. And she realized that An Jiu would not agree to merge, which meant she had to die! Even if An Jiu were willing to merge, they were individuals with their own consciousness, personalities, and memories. What would happen after merging?

“Which method is more reliable?” Elder Zhi asked.

No one had ever considered leaving behind a weaker spiritual energy, and Elder Zhi certainly could not allow his disciple to become useless.

“Merge them into one,” Elder Qi said.

An Jiu was extremely dissatisfied with this result. She was about to object when Elder Qi said, “The relationship between the physical body and the three souls and seven spirits is mysterious and subtle. Even after most of my life as a physician, I find it difficult to say. For example, most ‘living dead’ are immortal and unlikely to awaken, but some awaken through their own strength and opportunity. Whether their life is fragile or tenacious is greatly related to their spiritual strength. If a person is resolute, they will exert their strongest spiritual strength to resist when severely injured. What worries me is…”

Everyone held their breath as Elder Qi continued… “If Fourteenth Young Lady suffers a severe injury, she will display stronger spiritual power to resist. Conversely, the weak will hide, and only the strong can be defeated. However, this is merely speculation; I cannot be certain.”

An Jiu, finding his explanation largely accurate, was somewhat convinced. “Elder, do you mean the soul when you speak of spiritual power?”

“It could be said to be a part of the soul. We martial artists, besides strengthening our bodies and cultivating internal energy, also need to hone our spiritual power. Spiritual power can also be called fighting spirit or battle will,” Elder Qi explained.

Mo Sigui grinned, “My cousin has not practiced martial arts, so she naturally would not know. To give an analogy, the Taoist school talks about divine consciousness, primordial spirit, and original spirit; spiritual power is roughly what the Taoists call divine consciousness.”

Elder Qi nodded, “Sigui’s analogy, though slightly off, makes sense upon closer examination.”

“But why is strong spiritual power more easily damaged?” Mo Sigui asked, puzzled.

“Martial artists cultivate their spiritual power because a strong consciousness can permeate the limbs and bones, making one’s senses more acute, thus allowing for greater control over the body. Conversely, weak spiritual power results in sluggish movements,” Elder Zhi explained. “Because strong spiritual power permeates the limbs and bones, any attempt to suppress it can potentially cause injury.”

It was like a forest where the wind destroyed the tallest trees, leaving only the stunted ones to survive.

An Jiu agreed with Elder Qi’s statement. She was the one injured when she fell from her horse last time, while Mei Jiu was unharmed.

Mo Sigui’s medical skills were still in the stage of healing injuries. Although he had achieved considerable success, he had not yet delved into this area. His curiosity was strong, and he could not help but ask, “So, which type of spiritual power, when used to control the body, causes injury?”

An Jiu glanced at Mo Sigui. This guy was terribly immoral, but his mind was quite sharp. Although the group had been discussing the concept of spiritual power in martial arts and had not yet guessed the idea of ​​two souls within one body, An Jiu felt they were almost telling the truth.

However, the news An Jiu received was not exactly good news.

Elder Qi said, “What I said just now was based on my years of experience and speculation. If my speculation is correct, then fusion is the safest option. If we have to keep one, I am afraid I can only keep the weaker one.”

Elder Zhi recalled the moment the arrow was released and the trembling, timid appearance. He was certain he would choose the former. Even if it meant settling for second best, he absolutely could not harm the stronger spiritual power. “What will happen after fusion?”

Elder Qi remained silent. “It’s still unknown. The best-case scenario is that the stronger spiritual power can devour and encompass the weaker one, and the weaker side will not be apparent. I need to investigate further.”

Elder Zhi had no intention of asking the person involved and made the decision on his own. “Brother, do your best to keep the strong and eliminate the weak.”

Elder Qi nodded, frowning as he looked at Mo Sigui. “Have you found the Soul-Soothing Powder?”

“Here.” Mo Sigui handed him two small bottles.

Elder Qi took the bottles, sniffed them, and his expression instantly relaxed.

“Actually, my cousin is more charming when she’s timid,” Mo Sigui said weakly, noticing the three glaring at him. “It’s… her allure. Even heroes have their weaknesses when it comes to beautiful women…”

The three ignored his nonsense, but Mei Jiu sobbed. Everyone wanted to get rid of her; only her cousin had pleaded for her, though his words were rather frivolous, but at that moment, it was enough to move her to tears.

“Go and mix the medicine.” Elder Qi tossed the medicine bottle to Mo Sigui.

“Oh.” Mo Sigui genuinely thought his cousin was extremely beautiful when she was gentle. If only a tyrannical woman remained in the future, it would be a waste of her beautiful face and figure.

“Sigh!” He sighed heavily and went next door to mix the medicine.

In the meantime, Elder Qi carefully examined An Jiu’s condition.

A moment later, Mo Sigui returned and placed the medicine cup in front of An Jiu.

Meeting An Jiu’s icy gaze, he recalled the disastrous failure of his previous dream-locking technique and gloated, “This time you are truly helpless!”

Cousin, whose side were you on anyway?! Mei Jiu was both angry and heartbroken.

An Jiu lowered her eyes, staring at the reddish-brown medicine. After a moment’s thought, she decisively chose to take the plunge.

She picked up the cup and drank it all in one gulp.

She had thought that with her willpower, drinking this kind of sedative would at least keep her conscious, but unexpectedly, the drug was so potent that she completely lost consciousness after only half a cup of tea’s worth of time.

The instant An Jiu lost consciousness, Mei Jiu automatically filled the void, but unfortunately, due to the drug’s effects, she also fainted within two breaths.

After a moment, Elder Qi got up, found a bamboo tube on the medicine shelf behind him, opened the sealed lid, and held it to Mei Jiu’s nose.

“Cough!” A pungent, cool aroma rushed into her brain, and Mei Jiu instantly awoke. The three men stared intently at Mei Jiu.

Faced with their probing gazes, Mei Jiu recalled their earlier words, and tears welled up in her eyes.

This pitiful sight filled Mo Sigui with a mixture of joy and resentment. “I told you I’d seen her changes. Elder, do you believe me now?”

Elder Qi grasped Mei Jiu’s wrist, closing his eyes and focusing on her pulse. He channeled his true energy into her pulse, carefully sensing each difference as it flowed through her meridians and blood vessels.

Elder Zhi observed Mei Jiu closely, a bizarre thought forming in his mind—the Fourteenth Young Lady clearly seemed timid, yet she cried so bitterly. Could it be that she overheard them talking about eliminating weak spiritual forces? These two spiritual forces actually had their own thoughts! Could they not be two spiritual forces, but two primordial spirits?

Primordial spirit was a Taoist concept. Several Emperors of the Song Dynasty had been devout Taoists, and the current Emperor was relentlessly promoting Taoism and suppressing Buddhism. Those like Elder Zhi, who persisted in practicing Zen meditation, were few and far between. Nowadays, there were too many Taoist priests who were just making a fuss. He had always felt that many Taoist sayings were just for show, and if Mo Sigui had not brought it up today, he would never have thought this way.

Elder Zhi waited patiently for a long time until Elder Qi withdrew his hand before asking, “How is it?”

“This time, there’s nothing wrong with the Ren and Du meridians.” Elder Qi was proficient in esoteric arts and strange techniques.

Medicine and Taoism were inseparable, and he naturally had a deep understanding of Taoist doctrines. Therefore, he even thought of the possibility of dual primordial spirits earlier than Elder Zhi, but he was cautious and did not say it casually. “Her spiritual power is extremely weak, even weaker than Tingzhao’s.”

Elder Zhi’s expression was not good. Mei Tingzhao was only seven and a half years old. Because of poor innate talent, he was sent to Elder Qi to learn medicine. Even Mei Tingzhao was inferior, meaning she was worse than an average person!

Elder Qi said, “When Yanran took her away, she was just a child. She would inevitably be frightened by the swordplay. Yanran also deliberately spoiled her, never letting her practice martial arts or undergo any training. It’s normal that her mental strength is weaker than that of ordinary people. On the contrary, that strangely powerful mental strength is questionable.”

“A doting mother spoils her child!” Elder Zhi said unhappily, but his current expression indicated that he agreed with Elder Qi’s statement.