Hidden Shadow – CH 057

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Arrow on the String (1)

“I will send you all across here, but the rest of the Mei family must go first,” said Mei Tingjun.

“Brother!” Mei Tingyuan was the type to fawn over those who treated her well. “You cannot be the last one to go! We came up with the plan; we provided the rope. Why should we have to do the work?”

The woman leading the Lou family calmly said, “You are right. If you all trust me, I will send you across. You only need to tie this rope. The Lou family will remember Mei’s help this time and will repay it when the opportunity arises.”

Mei Tingjun was quite embarrassed; it seemed as if they were bullying a few weak women.

“Choose one of you to go first,” said Mei Tingzhu.

Mei Tingzhu had her own calculations. Fourteenth Young Lady had already landed, indicating the plank road still had some structural strength. The Lou family had hesitated to try again after losing a member, and now that they had a safer method, they still would not easily use their light-footed skills to leap across. However, the plank road’s break was very suspicious, and the break point was too easy to ambush. If they were ambushed, they had to restrain the Lou family and prevent them from backing down.

She could only hope that Fourteenth Young Lady would be quick-witted and understand her intentions!

Mei Tingyuan did not think too much about it, but she knew Mei Tingzhu was always cunning, so she just gave a disgruntled snort and let it go.

The Lou family remained silent for a moment, then chose the girl with the clear voice from before to cross first.

An Jiu stood on the opposite side, weighing the pros and cons.

“Let’s not leave,” Mei Jiu softly requested.

“Ah!” the girl cried out as the stone beneath her feet crumbled and fell. She clung tightly to the rocks, panting heavily, the mist instantly dispersed by the mountain wind.

“This valley…” Mei Tingzhu lowered her eyes to look down, waiting for a long time, but hearing no echo of a stone hitting the ground!

A sudden gust of mountain wind arose, and the sliver of moonlight that had just peeked out was once again obscured by dark clouds, the wind carrying specks of cold snow.

An Jiu squinted, watching the girl climbing. Suddenly, she noticed a slight anomaly on the plank road beneath her feet, and in the blink of an eye, she saw Mei Tingyuan and Mei Tingzhu staring in their direction.

“Watch out behind you!”

“There’s someone behind you!”

Just as the two shouted, An Jiu suddenly spun around, her finger simultaneously pulling the trigger of her crossbow. An arrow flew out from beneath her cloak with a whoosh.

Before even exchanging a glance, the person behind her was already struck by an arrow and fell against the railing, the plank road shaking violently.

The people standing on this side of the plank road were dumbfounded. Even the Mei family members were seeing An Jiu in action for the first time—there were no unnecessary movements; she went straight for the kill!

An Jiu raised her hand and delivered a finishing blow, kicking the still-alive man down into the valley.

The three Lou family members were horrified. Horrified by her effortless killing, astonished that she had not used any internal energy! If she had used internal energy, would she have been even faster?

This was a sharp bend; the entire plank road formed a U-shape around the mountain, the break at the bend obscuring the view beyond ten feet on either side.

An Jiu gripped her sword, looked up at the surrounding rock walls, and then pressed her back against the wall as she turned to investigate. Confirming there were no ambushes, she quickly returned.

“That person did not have any markings on him,” An Jiu explained. “There are cut marks where the plank road broke here.”

“Damn it!” Lady Lou muttered.

Everyone instantly realized someone had dug a trap and immediately checked their surroundings.

Mei Tingzhu said, “We have to get there quickly; otherwise, if anyone comes, we will have no way out.”

Her words proved prophetic. No sooner had she finished speaking than two men approached from behind.

Apart from Mei Tingjun, the others immediately went on high alert.

The two men stood about three zhang away, seemingly frightened. One of them asked, “What happened?”

“The plank road is broken, can you not see?” Mei Tingyuan said irritably.

Mei Tingzhu was considering whether to make a move when she heard two sharp whooshing sounds. Two arrows grazed past her temple with lightning speed.

The two men, distracted by Mei Tingyuan, did not react until the arrows were a foot away. However, An Jiu’s arrows were far more powerful than they had expected. The plank road was extremely narrow, and they could not dodge, so they had no choice but to parry.

Swords and arrows clashed, creating a series of sparks. The two men retreated several steps; one of them was struck in the throat.

The arrows were fired in quick succession, but the one facing the second arrow had a better chance of survival; he deflected it, and it pierced his shoulder.

Just as he thought he had narrowly escaped death, another arrow followed, piercing his heart!

He stared in disbelief at the arrow lodged in his chest and collapsed to his knees on the plank road.

Another tremor shook the area, and the rusty chains creaked under the strain.

“Why did you kill them?” Three people had died in an instant. Mei Jiu suddenly lost control of her emotions. Her voice was shrill as she struggled to regain control of her body. “Are you really that cold-blooded? Those two did not attack us! Why did you kill them?!” Mei Jiu had just witnessed the person she had attacked earlier die within arm’s reach, the sensation like someone had forced her hand to stab them with a sword. She had almost collapsed then, but now, An Jiu had manipulated her into killing two innocent people. How could she, who could not even kill a fish, bear this?

An Jiu firmly suppressed her. “Should those two not be afraid, we’d steal the map if they suddenly encountered two groups? How dare they stand so close and ask what happened? They planned this all along!”

“It’s all just your guess! What if it is not?”

“What if it is!” An Jiu snapped. In her past life, from the first person she killed to her final death, she never considered what would happen if she killed the wrong person; she only thought about the endless trouble that would ensue if she did not kill everyone!

“Sister, please help me up,” the girl said tremulously.

An Jiu looked up and met a pair of clear, almond-shaped eyes. She paused slightly, then yanked the girl off the rock face and threw her onto the plank road.

“Thank you.” Seeing An Jiu’s rough handling and apparent bad temper, the girl did not dare say anything more and silently untied the ropes.

The girl put on her cloak and immediately tested the nearby plank road, exclaiming happily, “Second Sister, this plank road is sturdy! Come on over!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt something cold against her neck. Turning around, she saw An Jiu holding a sword to her throat.

“None of you is allowed to come over until the rest of the Mei family arrives.” An Jiu’s voice, chilling to the bone, carried through the wind and snow.

If the earlier events had not occurred, the other three members of the Lou family might not have taken An Jiu’s threat seriously, but now they dared not.

Mei Jiu was not reacting, but An Jiu dared not be careless. If she were influenced by Mei Jiu at a crucial moment, she might be caught off guard and suffer another setback.

“You go first,” Mei Tingchun said to Mei Tingyuan.

Mei Tingyuan paused but did not refuse. She quickly untied her cloak and the black silk rope, twisted them together, and tied them around her waist.

This undoubtedly revealed her strength, but getting there was the priority now. She could not worry about that now!

Those with internal strength climb more easily. When Mei Tingyuan was still six or seven feet away, she used the momentum to push off and lightly leaped over.

“Someone’s coming!” Second Young Lady Lou whispered.

“Hurry up,” Mei Tingzhu urged Mei Tingchun.

“Hmm!” Mei Tingchun dared not delay. If a fight broke out, others could jump over, but he could not.

Being manipulated and used as a weapon was truly unpleasant! Second Young Lady Lou, remembering Mei Tingzhu’s earlier offer to yield, glared at her and angrily drew her soft sword, ready to fight.

Mei Tingzhu relaxed slightly and said to Mei Tingjun, “Do not be distracted; I will protect you.”

Mei Tingchun tightened the rope and climbed the cliff face.

Six people appeared on the plank road.

Without hesitation, these people attacked Mei Tingzhu and her companion with their swords.

The plank road was no more than half a zhang wide. For a solo path, it was quite spacious, but with eleven people crammed together, everyone was restricted in their movements, and a slight misstep could lead to a fall.

Mei Tingzhu noticed out of the corner of her eye that these people had no markings. She immediately understood that these were the people who had dug the trap.

“Which family are you from?” Second Young Lady Lou had also sensed something was wrong.

Fewer than a hundred people participated in the trial, all aiming to obtain the fragments of the Heavenly Book. Yet these people seemed intent on killing them! Even if it was for the map, they should have been wary of the Mei and Lou families together!

What was going on?!

Thinking this, they were filled with shock and fear.

Mei Tingyuan drew her sword and held it to the Lou girl’s neck. “Fourteenth, quickly use your bow and arrows to help them!”

An Jiu sheathed her sword and drew her bow and arrows.

She felt the quiver and found only a dozen or so arrows. She thought how convenient it would be if she could learn the “Startling the String” technique!

Mei Tingjun concentrated half of his inner strength in his palm. Seeing that Mei Tingchun was about to reach the other side, he was about to tell Mei Tingzhu and the others to retreat when, in the blink of an eye, a cold light flashed on the opposite cliff.

Mei Tingjun looked closely and saw a person holding a bow standing on the ancient pine tree!

“Fourteenth! There’s someone on the opposite cliff!” Mei Tingjun roared. “In the pine tree to your right!”

An Jiu turned her head and, sure enough, saw a figure standing silently on the pine tree, bow drawn, arrow pointed directly at her!

Suddenly, the words of her second-in-command in her dying earpiece echoed in her ears: Enemy sniper spotted, Angel exposed!

At this moment, she had a choice!

An Jiu’s blood boiled instantly; her eyes blazing like a flame, yet also like a frozen pool, and the arrow abruptly turned away.

The two sides remained locked in a silent, mountain-like standoff, neither willing to loosen their grip.

Mei Tingyuan and the Lou family girl suddenly felt a powerful mental pressure and instinctively looked over.

The figure shrouded in a black cloak exuded a chilling aura, the shadow cast by the wide hood obscuring her face. They could not see her face, but they could feel the pure and powerful mental energy emanating from her, its pressure far exceeding that of a ninth-level martial artist!

Mei Tingchun stood frozen against the rock face, unable to move, sweating profusely with anxiety. Even the movements of those engaged in battle were slowed down.

Mei Tingjun could not abandon Mei Tingchun, so he had no choice but to continue using his inner strength under the pressure, enduring unbearable pain. In a short time, his entire mask was almost soaked through. He estimated the distance between the two rock faces to be about forty zhang, within the effective range of a normal bow and arrow. However, with the wind so strong now, even if he infused the arrows with inner strength, he might not be able to hold them steady, let alone hit their target.

He wanted An Jiu to ignore the man for the time being, but under such powerful mental pressure, he became uncertain.