Hidden Shadow – CH 055

Chapter Fifty-Five: Ambush at the Ancient Temple (1)

“Alone,” Mei Tingzhu said in a low voice, “then the five of us will act together; that way we can all survive.”

Mei Tingyuan and Mei Tingchun were weaker; acting alone would make them easy prey. Therefore, they must team up. Unfortunately, with their team’s strength, they simply could not obtain five fragments of the Heavenly Book, and someone would still die.

However, if they received permission to act alone and then acted together, their chances of obtaining the Heavenly Heart Fragment would greatly increase. Even if they did not get it, at least they would have a chance to survive.

“But why is there such a loophole?” Mei Tingjun asked.

They could think of it, but the Konghe Army could not?

“In any case, this is the only way, is it not?” Mei Tingzhu countered.

With the strength of the five of them, obtaining one fragment of the Heavenly Book would be an excellent result. More people would die in the end, so it was better to act alone.

“What do you think?” Mei Tingjun looked at the other three.

“I have no objection,” An Jiu said.

For An Jiu, this was like receiving a mission. Whether she went in a team or alone, the goal was to obtain the fragment of the Heavenly Book. The fate of the others was irrelevant to her.

Mei Tingchun’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he said dryly, “Then… let’s give it a try.”

“Alright,” Mei Tingyuan agreed.

Indeed, there was no better way in the short term.

After the five had finished their discussion, half the group had already left.

They received their documents one by one and followed the crowd towards the ancient temple.

Dozens of people walked on the snow, like feathers brushing against the ground, except for An Jiu, whose footsteps crunched underfoot, drawing many stares.

An Jiu remained calm, but the people walking beside her felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Can you not use some internal energy?” Mei Tingyuan said angrily.

“Who said I have to use internal energy? Can I not save it to save my life?” In front of everyone, An Jiu naturally would not admit she lacked internal energy; otherwise, once inside the temple… “Why do they not all rush to snatch the map from her?”

Mei Tingzhu thought An Jiu’s words made a lot of sense, so she withdrew her internal energy.

The snow was not too deep yet; even without internal energy, they would not get lost.

Small groups around her began withdrawing their internal energy, while others did not care and quickened their pace, intending to enter the temple first to scout the terrain.

An Jiu took out the map from her pocket as she walked.

Mei Tingjun thought for a moment; since they had not entered the temple yet, it was safe from others snatching it, so he gestured for the others to take out their maps as well.

They compared them together. They found that the maps An Jiu and Mei Tingyuan held matched, while the other three had the same map.

The group tacitly put away their maps and hurried to catch up with the crowd.

The ancient temple where this trial was being conducted was first built in the early Tang Dynasty and expanded more than ten times over the next 270 years. It was once the most renowned Buddhist temple in the area. However, after the establishment of the Song Dynasty, Taoism was promoted while Buddhism was suppressed. Legend had it that a large-scale massacre occurred here a century ago, killing hundreds of monks. The reason remained unknown.

Since then, the sound of chanting and recitation of Buddhist scriptures had often been heard from the temple. On days when the sunset was as red as blood, the temple bells inexplicably rang, and nearby villages were ravaged by plague. Therefore, it was rumored that the vengeful spirits of the monks in this temple lingered. People believe that the souls of the unjustly killed monks were more malevolent than ordinary people, and for the past hundred years, no one had dared to live nearby.

An Jiu guessed that this was a large-scale ancient temple, but she was still quite surprised when she actually saw it.

Before her was a vast expanse of darkness. Rolling hills stretched out like several distinct mountain peaks, and the pagoda resembled a giant’s finger, piercing the sky.

“Heavens!” Mei Tingchun exclaimed softly.

A chorus of sighs rose from the surrounding crowd.

Many grand and ornate temples now existed, yet none could compare to this abandoned ancient temple before them, a testament to the splendor of the Tang Dynasty.

The plaque above the temple gate was long gone, its original name unknown. The weathered gate stood open, and several figures in black cloaks stood before it, signaling those entering.

One of them said in a deep voice, “A lone traveler can send this signal in a moment of crisis and will be rescued by the Konghe Army. The price is that you will be branded on your cheek and enslaved…”

“Tch, what’s the point of that!” Someone immediately threw away the signal tube.

They carried the weight of family honor, so they would rather die a glorious death than live a wretched life!

The members of the second branch of the Mei family also discarded their signal tubes. Even Mei Tingchun, with his low martial arts skills and cowardice, abandoned his escape route without a second thought.

An Jiu felt that keeping the item was pointless and would only make others think she was weak, attracting a group attack, so she discarded it as well.

Upon entering the garden, everyone chose their own route.

Everyone was uniformly dressed in black robes and cloaks, but their clothes had clear markings. For example, the Konghe Army’s robes were embroidered with silver cranes spreading their wings, the Mei family’s robes had a red plum blossom on their hem, and the Cui family’s robes had the character “Cui” embroidered directly on their hem…

“Which direction is the pagoda?” Mei Tingyuan asked softly.

Now that everyone was wrapped in cloaks, their figures were indistinguishable, and unless they spoke, it was difficult for others to tell their genders. Mei Tingzhu slightly raised her chin, gesturing for them to move forward.

The five of them were not particularly strong, but the Mei family was one of the four great families of the Konghe Army, and their strength was undeniable. Therefore, although many people cast glances at them along the way, no one dared to make the first move against them.

The temple occupied an entire hilltop. The paths were mostly overgrown with weeds, making a creaking sound as one passed through the dry grass, so most people chose to pass through the buildings.

The main hall, the Mahavira Hall, was built in the most prominent position halfway up the mountain. All the other halls were connected to it by paths. The pagoda forest was located in a large ravine behind it, and the Mahavira Hall was the only way to reach it.

Mei Tingjun sensed the sounds of fighting approaching. He said in a barely audible voice, “This is bad.”

Because An Jiu lacked internal energy, he could not use his lightness skill. They could only obediently walk on the main path. Others initially assumed they were powerful and fearless and dared not provoke them rashly.

“It will be alright for a while. Let’s quicken our pace,” Mei Tingzhu said quickly.

The group silently increased their speed.

This quickening of pace caused a problem! People with internal energy walked completely differently from those without! Soon, someone noticed the difference, but due to not knowing the strength of the other four, they remained hesitant.

There were many lone travelers nearby; they did not need to risk stealing maps from groups. The five of them made their way smoothly and quickly arrived at the Great Buddha Hall.

“Inside or outside?” Mei Tingjun asked Mei Tingzhu for her opinion.

The hall was dimly lit, making it easy to fall into an ambush. But going outside meant taking a long detour, and the dense buildings along the way meant they were in the open while the enemy was in the shadows, making it even more dangerous.

After a brief moment’s thought, Mei Tingzhu decisively said, “Inside.” The main gate was wide open, with shallow footprints on the ground.

An Jiu stopped. “You go first; I will follow shortly.”

They used their inner energy to move silently. An Jiu could not; if they rushed inside, they would be easily discovered.

“Alright,” Mei Tingzhu said.

Mei Tingjun hesitated for a moment, then stepped into the hall without saying anything.

Once they were completely out of sight, An Jiu grabbed the carved door, leaped lightly, and scaled the roof beam. She took out her bow and arrows, hung upside down from the beam, and prepared to ambush the hall through the dilapidated doors and windows.

She hung there silently, like a bat.

Clang!

The sound of clashing weapons rang out from inside, but only once.

In the very center of the main hall stood three enormous Buddha statues, surrounded by raised platforms upon which many Arhat statues in various poses were displayed.

An Jiu clearly saw from the outside that a hidden weapon had been fired from behind one of the smiling, seated Arhat statues.

She nocked her arrow, waiting.

Mei Tingjun and the others were about to circle around to the back hall, and those lying in ambush inside could not wait any longer and launched another sneak attack.

Just as the hidden weapon was fired from behind the Buddha statue, with a whoosh, An Jiu’s arrow shot out.

“Ah!” A cry of pain echoed throughout the hall.

An Jiu knew that if she were alone, she would definitely choose another lone person to have a chance of winning. Since this person dared to attack the Mei family, it meant that their strength was at least comparable.

“Watch out, poison!” Mei Tingjun shouted, a flash of cold light as he swung his sword to deflect the poisoned needles coming towards him.

Whoosh!

An Jiu fired another arrow decisively and swiftly.

Seeing another person fall, Mei Tingjun and the others immediately realized that An Jiu was behind it all and understood that they had been used as bait!

Mei Tingchun used his sword to probe the corpse, searching it for half a map.

“It’s the Liu family.” Mei Tingchun noticed the embroidered characters on the hem of his clothes.

They did not know how many families comprised the Konghe Army, nor did they know anything about the Liu family.

Initially, when the four of them learned that An Jiu did not know internal energy, they all felt that having her around would be a burden. But now, having witnessed her kill two people in the darkness in an instant, a subtle change occurred in their hearts.

As the four hesitated, wondering whether to leave or stay and provide backup, another barrage of projectiles suddenly came from the east.

Two ambushers immediately charged out, swords drawn, and engaged the Mei family in combat.

Wait, there should be one more person… An Jiu had not even drawn her bow; she could sense someone approaching!