Hidden Shadow – CH 062

Chapter Sixty-Two: You as Bait

Cui Yichen and Lou Xiaowu’s elder sister were deeply in love. However, Cui’s mother valued Lou Xiaowu’s talent and ultimately decided to arrange a marriage between them on Cui Yichen’s behalf. Lou’s mother, considering various factors, agreed to the marriage.

It was a typical family-arranged marriage, a classic case of breaking up a loving couple, but now both of them were gone.

Lou Xiaowu’s eyes were misty as she stared straight ahead, afraid that tears would stream down her face if she blinked.

The second floor of the pagoda was empty. The reliefs on the surrounding walls were covered in blood, but no corpses were visible. The central niche was empty, without boxes or fragments of celestial scriptures.

An Jiu went directly to the third floor, the others quickly following.

On the third floor, rows of bookshelves were overturned, and fragments of ancient scriptures were scattered on the floor, mixed with corpses and blood.

Qiu Yuntong glanced around and sighed, “The Konghe Army must have a grudge against Buddhism.”

Although Buddhism had declined, it still had many followers among the common people, and matters of the supernatural were always difficult to explain. For the Konghe Army to set up their training ground here, using Buddhist scriptures to incite conflict and staining the ancient temple with slaughter and bloodshed—was not that incredibly immoral?

“So many scriptures, which one is the fragment of the Heavenly Book?” A lone traveler kicked a scripture beside his feet.

Lou Xiaowu fired four crossbow bolts at the four corners for illumination, suddenly brightening the entire floor and making the situation inside clearer.

“Go back,” An Jiu suddenly said.

“Huh?” Lou Mingyue thought she had misheard.

An Jiu repeated, “Go back.”

“Why?” Lou Mingyue slowly released her spiritual power to sense her surroundings, and upon realizing the situation, she broke out in a cold sweat!

There were no fewer than thirty people hiding somewhere on this floor!

An Jiu drew her dagger and retreated warily.

The group assumed a defensive posture, forming a circle back-to-back as they slowly retreated from the third floor.

“What do we do?” Qiu Yuntong was sweating profusely.

Lou Mingyue added, “Fourteenth Young Lady, you make the decision.”

Faced with this situation, An Jiu could only voice her thoughts, “There’s no exit on the second floor, but at least four on the third. Now we either have to break out from the third floor or return to the first floor.”

No one asked An Jiu when they discovered the exit on the third floor. With so many ambushes, a breakout would be almost certain death.

“Going out from the first floor, there might already be someone lying in ambush at the exit,” Mei Tingchun said.

This was clearly a trap, but no one blamed Mei Tingchun for his initial choice. Those who knew the “inside story” understood; entering the temple meant entering a trap, whether inside or outside the tower, while the lone traveler, unaware of the situation, had chosen to enter the tower himself.

“What do you choose?” Lou Mingyue asked An Jiu.

“Fight my way out.” This was An Jiu’s style; faced with a dead end, she’d rather die with twenty or thirty lives than feel unjust.

An Jiu raised her dagger and pointed to the third floor, indicating that they should rush out from there.

Everyone froze. Lou Mingyue asked, “Why?”

“I am talking about myself. Do as you please.” An Jiu finished speaking, pressing herself against the blood-stained wall and falling silent.

She had a powerful crossbow she’d seized from the enemy. Having that made everyone feel much more secure. So, after much hesitation, they all prepared to rush to the third floor.

Were these people blind?!

An Jiu frowned, focusing her mind to carefully sense the hiding places of those on the third floor, silently calculating where it would be easiest to break through.

After the bookshelves on the third floor collapsed, the entire space was exposed. There was nowhere to hide, and if those people were all inside, they would have already attacked! Therefore, those who were preparing an ambush must all be outside the tower.

Based on the distribution of the numbers, An Jiu was even more certain of her guess. There were thirty targets, irregularly scattered at the four openings, which were located in four different directions and quite far apart.

Lou Mingyue tried to use her internal energy to transmit her voice to An Jiu, but after a brief attempt, she found that An Jiu’s mental defenses were impenetrable, and no internal energy could be infused into her consciousness.

An Jiu did not know Lou Mingyue’s intention, but sensing her calling, she turned to look at her.

Lou Mingyue immediately gestured, meaning: An Jiu should hand her the crossbow; she would draw the enemy’s attention away from the north wall while the others would break out of the tower from that side.

“No!” Lou Xiaowu objected, staring at An Jiu. “You are the most skilled martial artist here.”

An Jiu did not want to argue with her and readily nodded in agreement.

Actually, being bait was not necessarily the most dangerous thing. The ambushers would soon discover that the others were escaping from the south. As long as she could withstand the initial fierce attack, things would be relatively easier afterward, and she could also separate herself from this group of burdens.

Lou Xiaowu admired strong people because they could play a crucial role in critical moments, but An Jiu’s quick agreement made her feel somewhat guilty.

“This is a crossbow.” Lou Xiaowu untied a crossbow from her arm, strapped it to An Jiu, and after securing it, pressed the trigger.

With two clicks, an arrow shot out from the crossbow, the nock of which embedded the rope deep into the rock wall.

Lou Xiaowu reached out and tugged at the rope. An Jiu discovered that this seemingly thin rope was actually elastic and very tough.

Pressing the trigger again, the rope detached from the crossbow.

“This crossbow is one I only recently made. It has many flaws, such as the arrows not being retractable and the mechanism only holding four arrows,” Lou Xiaowu said. “It can still be useful in crucial moments, so I should not need to teach you what it’s for, right?”

The weapon’s function had been demonstrated; its specific use was up to the user.

“Mm,” An Jiu replied.

Wait patiently for a moment.

Seeing An Jiu stand up, Mei Tingzhu suddenly called out to her, “Fourteenth!”

An Jiu stopped. Mei Tingzhu hesitated, seemingly having much to say, but ultimately only said awkwardly, “Be careful.”

“Nonsense,” An Jiu said.

She was at the front. The group ran up to the third floor together, while An Jiu quickly slipped to the north, chose an exit, and flipped out.

A loud explosion followed, sending up clouds of dust. At the same time, the group began their breakout from the south.

Eight men lay in ambush to the south, while their forces numbered around ten. Lou Mingyue alone could take on two or three. Taking advantage of the situation, Qiu Yuntong administered the antidote to Mei Tingyuan. Forced into a corner, all the hatred for Mei Tingjun’s death surged within her. She drew her sword and joined the battle, determined to kill every enemy she encountered.

The group easily escaped with overwhelming strength.

On the other hand, An Jiu was in dire straits.

Eight black-clad men surrounded her, while others were closing in from the east and west. The dust kicked up by crossbow bolts further reduced visibility in the already dark night.

An Jiu used a dagger to cut off the plum blossom decoration on the hem of her dress and fired a crossbow bolt.