Hidden Shadow – CH 056

Chapter Fifty-Six: Ambush at the Ancient Temple (2)

The reflected snow outside made the light inside the main hall extremely dim. The opponent could also use internal force to slow their breathing to its minimum, putting An Jiu in a very precarious situation.

In the shadows, she slowly released the bow, but the arrow remained on the string. One finger hooked the crossbow’s suspended blade, which was strapped to her arm, as she focused intently on sensing the person’s presence.

Assassins had a keen intuition for danger, but this alone was insufficient to pinpoint the person’s exact location.

An Jiu sensed that the person was probably within three zhang of her. Perhaps because they were not confident of a fatal blow, they had not yet made their move.

An Jiu’s mind raced, trying to figure out which direction the person might choose to attack.

There were high platforms with Arhats placed on the east and west sides of the hall. She wondered if there were similar platforms on the north and south sides. If so, the opponent might climb onto the Arhats to ensure they could see her. If not, the opponent would likely use the roof beams as she had.

Mei Jiu, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, “There are no Arhats here.” Hearing her certainty, An Jiu did not ask any questions. She moved swiftly, revealing herself from her concealment within the pillar’s shadow.

In the dim light, An Jiu caught a faint whooshing sound.

Using the momentum, she flipped onto the roof beam and, as she rose, pulled the trigger of her crossbow.

A dozen silver needles pierced through her fallen hood and embedded themselves in the opposite pillar!

At the same time, a loud explosion came from inside the house.

Mei Jiu felt safe under An Jiu’s mental protection. In this situation, without directly facing an enemy, she only needed to relax and not hinder An Jiu’s movements.

An Jiu changed positions, pushed open the narrow window above the door, and quickly flipped inside.

The light inside was much dimmer than outside, but not too bad for An Jiu.

She saw a person lying on the ground and immediately pulled the trigger, firing two arrows.

She heard a muffled groan from the other person. An Jiu, hiding behind a statue of an Arhat in the far corner of the west wall, only emerged when she sensed no life.

She pulled out two crossbow bolts, fiddling with the arrowheads, and found a map in the other person’s arms. She glanced at it in the dim light.

It was the same map as Mei Tingyuan’s, perfectly matching the one she held! She wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it in her pocket.

“You killed him?” Mei Jiu recovered from her shock.

“No,” An Jiu said.

“You clearly killed him!” Mei Jiu said, her voice trembling. She clearly saw three arrows in the man’s body, one of them piercing his throat.

“You saw it, so why ask? If you do not like it, get lost!” An Jiu said coldly.

Mei Jiu pleaded, “Can we not find somewhere to hide? As long as we get out alive, that’s all that matters. Do not kill anyone.”

An Jiu originally intended to ignore whatever she said. Hearing her say this, she could not help but question, “You mean, you are just going to let your mother fend for herself in the Konghe Army? You are not going to care?”

Perhaps the same maternal love awakened a sliver of emotion hidden deep within An Jiu, making her utterly disgusted by Mei Jiu’s attitude.

“I…” Mei Jiu could not dodge. “How could I not worry about my mother?”

“So your worries are just thoughts in your heart?” An Jiu, while wary of an attack, questioned Mei Jiu again.

Mei Jiu was speechless. She knew very well that if she did not join the Konghe Army, she could only think about it. But if she wanted to join, how could she not kill?

“The fragments of the Heavenly Book and the Ice Crystal Box are beneficial for improving internal strength; I must obtain them,” An Jiu said. She was actually quite uncertain about her future, but as long as she had a goal, she would persevere to achieve it.

“Can we not just search for things without killing…” Mei Jiu’s voice was weak, as if she were speaking to herself.

She did not want to become a butcher with blood on her hands. She also resisted becoming as heartless as An Jiu. She feared that when she finally found her mother, she would have forgotten the bonds of family.

The fighting in the back hall had ceased.

An Jiu caught up with them.

Mei Tingjun stared at her warily.

An Jiu said, “It’s me.” The others breathed a sigh of relief.

“We should not linger. Let’s go outside first,” Mei Tingzhu said.

After leaving the main hall, Mei Tingyuan asked, “How many maps do we have now?”

Mei Tingzhu released her inner energy, sensing no one around, and replied, “We should have three complete maps now.”

Killing in the dark did not have much visual impact, and since Mei Tingzhu was mainly responsible for killing the two people, Mei Tingyuan thought it would be easy to steal other people’s maps, so she enthusiastically said, “Then let’s go steal two more!”

Mei Tingzhu immediately poured cold water on her enthusiasm. “These five people were all only at the fourth level of martial arts, and they were not particularly proficient in hidden weapons or poison. Even so, if it were not for Fourteenth Young Lady shooting down three, do you think we would have had any chance of winning in this ambush?”

Her reminder made them suddenly realize that of the five ambushers, An Jiu had single-handedly taken down more than half!

“You really do not have any inner energy?” Mei Tingyuan asked doubtfully.

An Jiu did not reply.

Mei Tingyuan snorted and said nothing more.

Because of the Mei family’s reputation, the five of them were spared attacks along the way, allowing them to arrive at the Great Buddha Hall relatively early. The teams that had passed through earlier had likely already gone to search for the fragments of the Heavenly Book; after all, the first to strike wins, and finding even one fragment was better than none. The team lying in ambush in the hall was incredibly unlucky. It seemed they had all taken the same map, so they hid along the main path, intending to ambush lone travelers before the main group arrived. However, despite having stolen four maps, none matched their fragments! In desperation, they resorted to ambushing the group.

Compared to this, everyone immediately felt incredibly lucky.

Mei Tingzhu took out three maps and pieced them together. “Let’s look for this one first, on the outermost edge. If others have already obtained it, we will continue deeper to look for what’s on the second map.” No one objected.

The path after passing the Great Buddha Hall became increasingly narrow, eventually leading to a plank road that wound around a steep mountainside.

“Be careful, this place is prone to ambushes,” Mei Tingjun said, leading the way; no matter how dangerous, this was the only way.

The mountain was shrouded in mist. From the main gate, the mountain did not seem very high; you could even see the spire pointing straight to the sky. However, from the plank road, the bottom seemed endless, as if it were hundreds of feet below.

The protective iron chains along the plank road were covered in a thick layer of rust. The wooden planks underfoot creaked.

This was where the importance of internal energy became apparent again! The four people in front moved with remarkable ease using their lightness skills. An Jiu was not struggling either, but she worried about falling at any moment.

Mei Tingjun felt the plank road swaying beneath his feet and asked, “Do you not have any internal energy?”

“I can feel a little, but I do not know how to use it,” An Jiu answered instinctively.

Mei Tingjun said, “Concentrate your mental energy, clear your mind of distractions, feel the internal energy in your dantian, and use your mental energy to control it to flow into your limbs and bones…”

An Jiu followed his instructions. Feeling the tiny point of light within her dantian, unsure how to control it, she imagined it as a silkworm pupa, drawing countless threads from it and pulling them to various parts of her body.

Mei Tingjun continued, “Do not worry about it when your body rises; use your mental energy to manipulate it and float upwards when you fall.”

An Jiu tried it and felt her footing was indeed lighter, so she concentrated even more on controlling her internal energy.

Mei Tingzhu, standing in front of An Jiu, said, “Your internal energy is just beginning to develop. Practice like this more often, and you will improve quickly.”

An Jiu hummed in agreement.

The group walked relatively smoothly, just as they were about to turn a corner. Suddenly, they heard voices ahead.

A clear female voice said, “What do we do? It’s so wide.”

A mountain breeze swayed the plank road in the valley, so the group had not noticed anyone behind them. By the time they realized something was amiss, the five members of the Mei family were already upon them.

The two groups faced each other head-on, the atmosphere suddenly becoming tense.

The mountain wind whipped their cloaks, and both sides caught the stench of blood on each other. They immediately understood that the other had committed murder.

Mei Tingjun first noticed the broken plank road behind them. Turning his gaze away, he saw a hexagonal pavilion embroidered on the hem of their clothing and said, “So it’s the Lou family.”

“The Mei family?” a woman from the other side chimed in, and both sides simultaneously lowered their guard.

The Mei and Lou families had once been allied through marriage. The matriarch of the Mei family was a daughter of the Lou family. Their family seemed to be cursed, only able to produce daughters. Having three sons in five branches was already a rare feat. However, the women of the Lou family were known for their fierceness, often surpassing even the men in strength.

“This plank road is broken by more than two zhang,” the leading woman of the Lou family said in a low voice.

Seeing that there were only four of them, Mei Tingjun understood what had happened.

“Just now, my sister tried to use her lightness skill to get over there, and she did, but the wood over there was rotten and could not support even the slightest weight, so my sister…” The clear voice choked up. “My sister is at the fifth level.”

The hearts of the Mei family members sank. If a fifth level could not even get past, let alone Mei Tingyuan and Mei Tingchun, even Mei Tingzhu might not be able to succeed.

Just as everyone fell silent, a cold voice suddenly asked, “Do you have a rope?”

It was An Jiu.

“I do.” Mei Tingchun pulled out a bundle of thin rope.

“How strong is it? How long?” An Jiu asked.

“This is made of black silkworm silk, impervious to water, fire, and swords; no one has been able to cut it yet.

The thread was both thin and tough; with enough force, it could easily cut flesh.

An Jiu tore off a section, took off her cloak, twisted it with the black silkworm silk to make a thick rope, and tied it around her waist. Then she kicked a nearby protruding rock, finding it sturdy enough, and tied the other end of the rope to the rock.

Turning to Mei Tingjun, she said, “In case I fall, use the rock to stabilize this rope.”

“Are you crazy! You…” Mei Tingyuan glanced at the Lou family and the others, then stopped speaking.

She had intended to say that An Jiu lacked internal strength, and jumping with a rope was simply suicidal.

Three zhang was an impossible distance for An Jiu to jump across, but she noticed the rock face was not smooth; it was uneven and could be climbed. And was rock climbing not one of the essential skills for an assassin?

When An Jiu was a sniper, she often had to ambush in various treacherous terrains. She had once climbed a seven- or eight-zhang cliff barehanded while carrying forty jin of ammunition.

The safety measures back then were much better than they were now, but she still did not fall.

She estimated that she was carrying less than ten jin and could only climb about two zhang.

“What are you going to do?” Mei Jiu asked in terror.

“If you do not want to die, do not try to control your body!” “An Jiu warned.

Without waiting for Mei Jiu’s reply, she climbed up the rock face.

Mei Tingjun understood what she was about to do and immediately gathered her inner strength in her palm, gripping the rope tightly.

When An Jiu was hanging from the roof beam before, Mei Jiu was not particularly afraid. Firstly, she could not see the height, and secondly, her movements were almost still; she only needed to stay upright to avoid falling. However, now she had to move and was constantly in danger! She could clearly feel the fierce, cold wind blowing from below. She forced herself to relax, but she could not help trembling.

Some rocks were covered in snow, making rapid climbing difficult, and a slight misstep could lead to a fall. An Jiu climbed… She also had to use her mental strength to suppress Mei Jiu, to prevent a repeat of her previous fall from the horse.

As a result, the previously anticipated situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Carrying Mei Jiu was less effective than carrying over forty pounds of equipment; at least those were inanimate objects and would not suddenly disrupt her movements.

Halfway up, An Jiu’s undergarments were soaked with sweat.

The dark clouds dispersed, revealing a sliver of moonlight. An Jiu’s vision cleared, and she immediately chose a rock without snow, steadily and quickly climbing to the other side.

An Jiu stood on the plank and carefully inspected it. The planks showed marks from sharp blades, clearly not from natural decay.

“This is a good place to stand,” An Jiu said, untying the rope.

Being the first to cross was certainly risky, but it also had advantages, such as having someone to help, providing an extra layer of insurance, and preventing them from abandoning her.

“Let my sister go first,” said the woman leading the Lou family.

Mei Tingjun looked displeased. “I also have a sister who has not crossed yet.”

An Jiu put on her cloak and watched coldly. Seeing that they were at an impasse, she wondered if she should leave first, since she already had a complete map in her hand.