Hidden Shadow – CH 053

Chapter Fifty-Three: Trial of Life and Death (1)

Mei Jiu returned to Yuwei Residence and became restless. The more she thought about it, the more she felt she had acted impulsively. However, words spoken could not be taken back, and she could only wait for An Jiu to wake up before speaking further.

Seeing Mei Jiu’s unease, Yao-Ye tried to subtly inquire several times without success, so she stopped pressing her.

After dinner.

An Jiu woke up and saw a painting of spring orchids on the embroidery frame. Mei Jiu’s slender fingers moved like butterflies, a breathtaking sight.

This scene made her momentarily dazed. “Why did you come back?”

Mei Jiu stopped moving. “Because…”

Since she was in the same boat anyway, Mei Jiu steeled her heart and said, “You and I both fell into a coma. For some reason, the antidote only revived me. I… told them the truth. I do not want to die…”

After listening, An Jiu said calmly, “I knew you were an idiot.”

An Jiu was certain that Elder Zhi would keep the strong and eliminate the weak, which was why she felt she had a bargaining chip. Revealing the truth would actually benefit her.

“Elder Zhi wants to spare your life. If I do not tell the truth, I will only face death. Now that Elder Qi knows about this, I might still have a chance.” Mei Jiu’s hand, gripping the silk thread, trembled slightly. “I thought about ending it all a while ago, but now I want to live.”

She knew she was weak, and An Jiu was more suited to survive in the Mei family. “My life was given to me by my mother. She sacrificed everything for me, and I do not want to give it away.”

She not only wanted to live but also to become stronger.

Even a fool could be driven to desperation. An Jiu fell silent. Perhaps due to her powerful mental strength, the longer she stayed in Mei Jiu’s body, the more control she gained. Given time, she would definitely be a better match for this body than Mei Jiu.

Actually, if she could get out, An Jiu would not necessarily want to take Mei Jiu’s body, but she had a vague feeling that she had no other choice.

Having shared the same body for so long, apart from Mei Jiu’s initial resistance and fear, their relationship had been relatively harmonious. Mei Jiu was very compassionate. Knowing An Jiu’s dark past, she willingly allowed her to reside within his body, never considering the deeper implications. However, after Mei Yanran’s departure, Mei Jiu’s mindset changed when facing life-or-death situations.

An Jiu realized this was both an opportunity and a calamity. Her true battle with Mei Jiu had only just begun.

A dark figure silently landed in the courtyard.

Yao-Ye saw this and turned to gently knock on the door, reminding her, “Young Lady. Someone from the Dark Academy has arrived.”

Mei Jiu snapped out of her daze, realizing her hands were frozen.

“Alright.” She rose, straightened her clothes, and went to her inner room to change.

Yao-Ye entered to attend to her. “Young Lady, you’ve been sitting here all afternoon; you must be freezing!”

Mei Jiu smiled and shook her head, changing the subject. “What has Fifteenth Young Lady been busy with lately?”

Yao-Ye helped her put on her padded jacket, saying, “Master Mo is quite strict. Fifteenth Young Lady has many new and old wounds, but I see she’s enjoying herself.”

“I will talk to her about it tomorrow,” Mei Jiu finally managed to adopt the demeanor of an elder sister, but then added with some admiration, “She can endure more hardship than I can.”

They were girls of similar age. Why could Mei Ruyan do it, but she could not?

Yao-Ye noticed Mei Jiu’s expression was different from usual and was pleased. “Young Lady, you can smile from the bottom of your heart. I am relieved. My parents received great kindness from Lady Yan back then, and when I came, they earnestly instructed me to take good care of you.”

“You have family?” Mei Jiu had never heard her mention it before.

Yao-Ye asked. “Not only me, but Dan-Yue does too.”

“At your age, you should already be engaged, right?” Mei Jiu asked.

“Lady Yan’s kindness is immeasurable. Even with my entire family serving you, we can hardly repay it. I have long planned to remain unmarried and serve you for life, as will Dan-Yue.” Yao-Ye took a fur coat and helped her put it on.

Yao-Ye had already been betrothed to her childhood sweetheart, a manager at a merchant house in Bianjing. She was considered to have married above her station, and they had planned to marry by the end of next spring. However, this was postponed because Yao-Ye was going to move to the Mei family mansion.

When Yao-Ye entered the mansion, she still held onto a sliver of hope, so she did not refuse when the man said he would wait for her for two years. Now, it seemed that the wait was indefinite. She thought she would find some time to tell him not to wait any longer.

Yao-Ye composed herself and, seeing that Mei Jiu still wanted to say something, urged, “My Young Lady, let’s go quickly. Do not keep An-Ying waiting.”

Mei Jiu swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, silently pulled the fur coat tighter, and left with An-Ying, Mu Qianshan following at a distance.

The gathering place was once again the mortuary.

Mei Jiu stepped through the gate again, silently telling herself that no matter what she saw or encountered, she could not faint again. With her mother leaving, she had to learn to survive alone.

“We meet again.” It was still the room where the corpses were kept, and it was still Gu Jinghong’s refined and ethereal voice. “This time, we finally managed to get two bodies. We cannot waste them like last time. I will not say more; let’s begin.”

Mei Tingzhu was the first to take the dagger and plunge it in. Her lips trembled almost imperceptibly, but she was much calmer than the first time.

The daggers were passed around, even Mei Tingyuan, who had broken through the door last time, gritted her teeth and completed the task. They had no way out; no one’s life was more important than their own. Even if the opponent was alive, they would fight; let alone a dead one.

The blood-soaked dagger quickly reached Mei Jiu’s hands. She was already terrified, her face deathly pale, her grip on the dagger trembling uncontrollably. The sound of her teeth chattering was eerily clear in the silent room.

Everyone looked at her with puzzled expressions.

Gu Jinghong was also somewhat confused. Last time she had acted swiftly and decisively, but this time everyone else had improved, yet she was failing?

“Are you feeling unwell?” Gu Jinghong could only come up with this flimsy excuse.

Mei Jiu seemed not to hear, gripping the dagger tightly in both hands, her eyes unfocused, staring at the corpses, unable to even turn and run away.

Sticky blood flowed down the hilt of the dagger onto her pale fingers. She snapped out of her daze, gripped the dagger tightly, took two steps forward, and then suddenly stopped.

Mei Jiu desperately wanted to take that step, but the others might not have the patience to wait for her to overcome her fear.

“The rest of you continue. Use these two corpses for practice,” Gu Jinghong said, then added, “It’s not mandatory. If you do not want to practice, you can go back now.”

Mei Tingyuan looked delighted, but Mei Tingchun felt something was amiss. Had Gu Jinghong, such a cold-blooded person, suddenly become kind? He did not believe it. “Is this training again tomorrow?”

“No.” Gu Jinghong did not hide anything. “Tomorrow is practical combat.”

“What are the rules?” Mei Tingjun’s heart suddenly jumped.

Gu Jinghong paused, a hint of amusement in his voice. “You are the hunters and also the prey.”

“The opponents will not be the Konghe Army, will they?” Mei Tingchun’s voice suddenly rose, slightly off-key. If it were the Konghe Army, how could they possibly survive?

“The opponents are the offspring of other families.” Gu Jinghong’s clear gaze swept over everyone. “However, you’d better take it seriously, because as far as I know, each major family has sent five people, and your strength is far from satisfactory.”

“The Deputy Envoy has only been teaching us for a few days,” Mei Tingchun murmured.

Gu Jinghong, of course, had not missed a thing. “You’ve all practiced martial arts since childhood. Killing is just something you need to get used to. I hope that after tomorrow’s trial, you will still be standing alive before me.”