Hidden Shadow – CH 082

Chapter Eighty-Two: The Estate

An Jiu pondered which country the enemy was, and Mei Jiu whispered, “Liao and Western Xia.”

An Jiu raised an eyebrow; this cowardly girl had not fainted from fright—that was quite remarkable.

Mei Jiu recalled books she had read, and An Jiu also obtained relevant information.

In the early Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizong mobilized the entire nation and personally led two campaigns against the Liao Dynasty, attempting to reclaim the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, but both ended in failure. During Emperor Zhenzong’s reign, the Liao Dynasty launched a major offensive against the Song Dynasty, and Emperor Zhenzong personally led the campaign. The two sides fought to a draw, establishing the Treaty of Chanyuan, whereby the two countries swore brotherhood.

The Song Dynasty was required to pay annual tribute to the Liao Dynasty, recognize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun as Liao territory, and engage in trade. The Treaty of Chanyuan was merely a facade; in essence, it meant the Song Dynasty had submitted to the Liao Dynasty. The Song Dynasty had not actually lost that battle, yet it still signed such a treaty under these circumstances, demonstrating the weakness of those in power.

After that, the Liao and Song dynasties indeed did not wage war for several decades. The Song dynasty did increase its military investment, but only in numbers!

The Liao dynasty was powerful, and it was highly likely that it would attempt to invade and annex the Song dynasty.

The Western Xia had always been a vassal state of the Song, but apart from sending some gold and silver annually, they had virtually no real connection. The so-called relationship between ruler and vassal was merely a formality; it would not be surprising if they harbored rebellious intentions.

Chu Dingjiang did not miss the subtle expressions on her face, but he did not say anything, raising his hand to pull off his mask.

Half of his face was covered by a black demon mask, revealing a sharply defined, chiseled face with tanned skin. He did not resemble an assassin lurking in the night, but rather a general who had fought on the battlefield.

“Rest here for the night. I will send someone to take you back to Mei Mansion tomorrow.” Chu Dingjiang put down his teacup, not in a hurry to discuss recruitment.

“Alright.” An Jiu rose to see him off.

Her manner was not ordinary politeness, but rather the respect a subordinate showed to a superior. A flicker of doubt crossed Chu Dingjiang’s mind, followed by a smile.

Watching Chu Dingjiang leave, An Jiu closed the door.

“Will the Mei family be in danger?” Mei Jiu asked worriedly.

“The Cui family betrayed the Konghe Army; the four great families are definitely in danger,” An Jiu said.

Without obtaining the Secret Manual, one would not know all the Konghe families. However, anyone who had contact with the Konghe Army knew the four great families. The Cui family’s betrayal meant that the four great families had been exposed to the enemy.

“What should we do?” Mei Jiu felt both fear and a sliver of hope. Without the Mei family, could she escape the killing? However, thinking of her mother, this hope instantly vanished. Without the Mei family, if she truly joined the Konghe Army, she would have less support.

Mei Jiu’s worries: In An Jiu’s view, this was probably no problem at all. She had not even considered this aspect. So what if she was alone? She could still survive. She was more concerned about Cui Yichen’s pursuit. “You are so worried about others; why are you not worried about yourself?”

An Jiu turned and went into the inner room, sitting down on the chair by the bed.

Thinking about Cui Yichen, Mei Jiu was even more at a loss.

Silence fell between them. They sat there for half an hour.

Mei Jiu was clearly exhausted, but An Jiu had suppressed her, preventing her from moving. Before her was the thick, soft bed. She hesitated. “Can I lie down? I cannot hold on any longer.” Both souls could feel the exhaustion emanating from her body. An Jiu was not used to sleeping soundly on someone else’s turf. She had originally planned to sit in the chair all night, but she felt guilty towards Mei Jiu. So she did not insist.

An Jiu relaxed, relinquishing control of her body to Mei Jiu.

Currently, An Jiu held absolute control; she could suppress Mei Jiu’s subconscious attempts to control her body. She could let go at will, while Mei Jiu was completely passive. An Jiu did not know the extent of her spiritual power, only that it grew stronger and her senses sharper as she suppressed Mei Jiu.

If this continued, the outcome would likely be as Elder Qi had said: powerful spiritual power would devour the weak. And she had already lost the will to fight.

Mei Jiu, finding herself able to move, took off her damp outer clothes and, shivering, crawled into the covers.

Once her body felt warm, Mei Jiu could think, “I feel something’s wrong with you.”

Without waiting for An Jiu’s reply, she continued, “You never considered my feelings before.”

An Jiu remained silent, guessing that Mei Jiu did not yet understand what the destruction of her meridians meant; otherwise, she would not have remained so calm.

Mei Jiu had not explicitly stated her intention to join the Konghe Army, but her past thoughts and hesitations revealed this intention.

However, after the trial, Mei Jiu’s avoidance led An Jiu to believe she had given up; who would had thought she would still have this thought after waking up?

Although An Jiu told herself that Mei Jiu had given up her chance to choose, when Mei Jiu thought of Mei Yanran, she could not suppress the urge to do something wrong.

An Jiu suddenly got out of bed. Mei Jiu thought someone was going to attack again, but instead, she opened the window and stood there quietly in the wind.

Outside, snow was falling heavily. The window of the house opposite was wide open, and a person stood backlit, the light outlining his strong figure.

The light in the courtyard was intermittent, and An Jiu could clearly see his face, which was half-masked.

He leaned against the window with his arms crossed, seeing An Jiu but not greeting her. He just stared silently at the ground in the courtyard, which was beginning to turn white, lost in thought.

It was Chu Dingjiang.

An Jiu found this man interesting. In the Konghe Army, promotions were based on the number of missions completed. Chu Dingjiang was so young; normally, even if he performed missions year-round without a break, he might not have reached his current position. But he was lucky to have caught a good opportunity.

An unqualified person suddenly becoming the leader of the Divine Martial Army would inevitably face severe exclusion and isolation. This trial’s setback only compounded his already dire situation.

An Jiu wanted to know what he was thinking at this moment.

Reality was always crueler than imagination.

Because he had not anticipated such a large-scale attack on the Konghe Army, Chu Dingjiang had brought many followers with him on this mission. Most of these men perished in the ancient temple; their remaining numbers were negligible compared to those who opposed him.

No one could imagine that he was now essentially fighting alone, facing immense pressure from both within and without.

The night was deep, the lanterns in the corridor swayed in the wind, and the snow fell heavier.

On the road north.

Lou Xiaowu and her group were in a sorry state.

They were pursued as soon as they left Bianjing. Their guards, who had fought desperately to cover Lou Xiaowu and Mo Sigui’s escape, had all perished.

“Four or five li to go. We will be there in no time if we ride,” Lou Xiaowu said, as if trying to reassure herself.

She cracked her whip. “Yah!”

The horse, in pain, galloped wildly through the snowstorm.

Mo Sigui pulled his cloak down a little, whipped his horse, and followed.

A short while later, the two saw the imposing gates of the Lou mansion.

“Luckily, we were only ambushed once. If there had been a second time, we probably would have perished on the way,” Mo Sigui finally breathed, sighing with relief.

Lou Xiaowu was also shaken. “Yes.”

The Lou mansion, built against the mountainside, stood with two massive gates in the inky darkness of the night, without any lanterns lit. It looked deathly still.

The horse was still galloping when Lou Xiaowu blew a whistle.

When the two stopped at the gate, the heavy doors slowly opened, and a woman’s face peeked out.

She looked to be around thirty years old, her face as pale as paper, yet her eyelids were flushed, and her cheeks had an unnatural peach-blossom hue, making her look like a newly painted mask—very eerie.

“Nanny Ling!” Lou Xiaowu exclaimed. “Even you’ve been infected!”

“My young lady,” Nanny Ling shrank back, her pained voice coming from behind the door, “you must leave quickly; the whole mansion has been infected.”

“Nanny Ling, I’ve brought Physician Mo! Do you remember? it is the young physician Mo Ran who saved me! He’s the disciple of Elder Qi of the Mei Clan!” Lou Xiaowu dismounted and went inside.

Mo Sigui stopped her, took out a pill, and gave it to her. “Take this before you go in.”

Lou Xiaowu did not suspect anything; she took the pill and swallowed it.

“Is it really Physician Mo?” Nanny Ling covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. She leaned out again to carefully examine the young man beside Lou Xiaowu, and when she vaguely recognized his face, she could not help but become excited. “This servant has been rude, Divine Physician; please come in.”

“You are too kind.” Mo Sigui swallowed a pill and put on the face towel commonly used by physicians.

Upon entering, Mo Sigui first took Nanny Ling’s pulse. “It’s alright; the poisoning is not severe.”

Mo Sigui gave her a pill, then used silver needles to seal her heart meridian.

In less than half a cup of tea’s time, Nanny Ling’s face slowly turned sallow. Mo Sigui used his internal energy and palm strikes to force the poison out of her body.

Nanny Ling vomited several mouthfuls of black blood and fainted.

“Is the poison gone?” Lou Xiaowu excitedly grabbed Mo Sigui.

“Yes, a few days of rest will suffice.” Seeing her joy, Mo Sigui could not bear to dampen her spirits, but he still had to emphasize the truth. “I’ve said it before, this poison is not difficult to cure. The tricky part is that its initial onset resembles a cold, making people less vigilant. By the time they notice, the poison has already spread. Once it attacks the heart, even the best medicine is useless.”

Lou Xiaowu glared at him. “I am trying so hard not to think about it, and you, of all people, have to remind me!”

Mo Sigui carried Nanny Ling on his back, his teasing now seeming quite ruthless: “My reputation is more important than those who cannot be cured. Do not blame me for my poor medical skills.”

Lou Xiaowu’s expression dimmed for a moment, then brightened again. “That year, you left in such a hurry, and later, my aunt tried every means to find you. We heard you went to Mei Mansion, but we were afraid the Emperor would suspect us, so we did not have much contact with the Mei family and did not have a chance to thank you. I never thought we’d meet again! This time, I owe you a huge favor. I have several older sisters, all extremely beautiful; one of them will marry you.”

“Empty talk! Who are you to decide your sister’s marriage?” Mo Sigui scoffed.

Lou Xiaowu said, “Of course not, but if you saved the Lou family, that would make you our great benefactor. The Lou family values ​​loyalty above all else; if you ask, we will definitely agree.”

“And you?” Mo Sigui could not help but tease her.

Lou Xiaowu ran up to him, blocking his path, and stared intently into his eyes, saying earnestly, “If you want to marry me, I will naturally agree a hundredfold. You saved me and the Lou family. When I came to you, I already decided that as long as I live, I will repay you by serving you like a slave, let alone anything else.”

Seeing her extremely serious tone, Mo Sigui felt he was in deep trouble and quickly changed the subject. “Do not keep calling me your benefactor; it feels a bit strange. Call me Mo Sigui, Brother Mo, or Mo Ran, is that not fine?”

“Then I’ll call you Brother Mo,” Lou Xiaowu said, stepping aside and walking alongside him. “Brother Mo has not had his coming-of-age ceremony yet, has he? When will you start using your courtesy name? When Fourteenth Young Lady mentioned it, I never imagined you were Brother Mo Ran.”

“I am the only one left in the Mo family line. Elder Qi said I should uphold the family’s honor as soon as possible, so two years ago he gave me my courtesy name and performed my coming-of-age ceremony.” Mo Sigui, recalling Elder Qi’s subtle teachings, could not help but feel grateful for his good intentions. From the beginning, Elder Qi never intended for him to jump into the Mei family’s inferno. Unfortunately, he was obsessed with medicine, hoping that as long as he was included in the Mei family genealogy, he could become Elder Qi’s apprentice and legitimately learn medicine.

“When did Fourteenth Young Lady mention me to you?” Mo Sigui asked.

He thought gleefully, Fourteenth Young Lady Mei said she disliked him, but he did not expect that she still cared about him.

Lou Xiaowu honestly replied, “During the trial, we ran into some people from the Mei family. While we were chatting, she asked if I knew Mo Sigui and said I am a lot like you.”

“You and me? What did she say about me?” Mo Sigui asked expectantly.

Lou Xiaowu hesitated for a moment, then weakly said, “She said I am just like you, annoying.”