Hidden Shadow – CH 095

Chapter Ninety-Five: Slaughter (2)

The Second Old Madam already suffered from heart disease, and in this environment, she felt as if she were on the verge of death.

Mei Zhengjing’s heart clenched tightly. When he was lost and uncertain about the future, it was the Second Old Madam’s love that made him still have some attachment to this family. Now, however, he had to watch her die before his eyes…

A sudden pang of regret welled up in his heart. If he had fought with all his might to protect Mei Mansion instead of idling around all day, could this situation have been avoided? Even if he could not change anything on his own, at least he would not feel this regret now.

“Fourteenth Young Lady, if you come out, I will spare the others!” the madman shouted outside.

Mei Zhengjing shook his head at An Jiu, indicating that she could not go out. These people could easily kill them; all they needed to do was smoke poison. The madman was only keeping them alive because he wanted An Jiu to compete with him in archery.

“Put it down, put the whole bag down.” The madman’s voice came from outside again, as if someone had suggested to him that the poison be put down.

“If it is not poisonous smoke, then it must be sleeping gas!”

“Hold your breath,” Mei Zhengjing whispered.

Everyone took a deep breath and held it, but An Jiu did not rush to hold her breath. She could resist a certain amount of sleeping gas; she could wait until the smoke had dissipated for a while before holding her breath.

The billowing smoke soon carried a hint of sweet apricot scent, pleasant and relaxing. An Jiu’s heart tightened, and she immediately stopped breathing.

She did not know anything about medicine, let alone traditional Chinese medicine, but this sleeping gas with a sweet apricot scent seemed mild, yet it could affect her emotions in just an instant—clearly not to be underestimated.

It did not last long. The sound of weapons clashing outside began, and at the same time, a sharp whistle rang out. An Jiu remembered hearing it in the graveyard.

“The Grand Madam has arrived! Follow me and fight your way out!” Mei Zhengjing’s tone was tinged with a faint joy.

This joy transformed into hope, infecting everyone.

“Ah Yuan, Ah Zhu, take your grandmother and follow me,” Mei Zhengjing said, then drew his sword and went out first. One by one, the crowd rushed out. An Jiu tore off her cumbersome skirt, gripped her dagger tightly, and was the last to emerge from the passageway.

It was an open-air training platform, half a zhang high, with stone walls. The entrance to the secret passage was hidden in a secluded corner on the side of this platform.

The fighting had already raged. The burning fire spread to the surrounding pavilions, fueled by the north wind, and within moments, the area was a sea of ​​fire.

An Jiu was the last to emerge. At first, no one noticed her. “Are we leaving or not?”

This question was directed at Mei Jiu.

“Everyone is fighting a bloody battle,” Mei Jiu said, her voice trembling, but she still gritted her teeth. “Let’s not leave, An Jiu; I believe in you.”

“Damn it!” An Jiu cursed under her breath. All around her were masters of both internal and external cultivation. What gave her, someone with damaged meridians, any confidence?

In the midst of the chaos, there was no room for hesitation. A moment’s hesitation was met with a black-clad figure wielding a sword.

The speed was so fast that An Jiu had no time to dodge and could only use her dagger to block. The blades clashed, but there was no force or sound as expected. An Jiu’s short dagger actually severed the opponent’s sword cleanly!

The black-clad man was caught off guard and hesitated for a moment. An Jiu suddenly lunged forward.

“Overestimating yourself!” the man sneered, not dodging. He channeled his inner strength to create an invisible protective barrier similar to that of Chu Dingjiang.

An Jiu used all her strength to thrust at the black-clad man’s throat. Although the man had activated his inner strength barrier, he still reflexively dodged. An Jiu grabbed his collar, using all the force of her lunge to press down on him.

In the blink of an eye, the dagger pierced through the inner strength barrier and went straight for the throat!

The man’s eyes widened in disbelief; he had never imagined that the dagger could tear through an inner strength barrier!

An Jiu quickly rolled away from the ground.

An Jiu had just felt the stiffness in her limbs and knew it was Mei Jiu’s fault. “Relax, do not try to control your body.”

Mei Jiu was anxious; she did not want to interfere with An Jiu’s battle, but seeing the sword thrusting towards her, her consciousness could not overcome her instincts, and she reflexively tried to dodge.

An Jiu said no more. Looking around, it seemed that every black-clad man blocking their way could use internal energy barriers—an ability that did not seem to be achievable by low-level martial artists.

Over there, a group of black-clad men was attacking Mei Zhengjing and his group. Mei Tingzhu and Mei Tingyuan were carrying the Second Old Madam behind them and could not fight at full strength. Mei Zhengjing was struggling to hold off so many eighth and ninth-level experts, and after only a few exchanges, he began to retreat steadily.

Fortunately, the Transcendent Realm expert, “Madman,” did not kill anyone. He frantically grabbed Mei Rujian. “Are you Fourteenth Young Lady? Are you?”

“Do not tell him!” Mei Tingzhu shouted.

If he said no, the Madman would definitely take his life. Mei Rujian was shrouded in immense fear, his last vestige of consciousness telling him that listening to Mei Tingzhu was the right thing to do.

The madman, unable to get an answer, tormented him relentlessly, ignoring everyone else.

“Use your fists!” The Grand Madam’s voice, imbued with inner strength, suddenly rang in everyone’s ears.

The Mei family was most skilled in fist techniques, but because fighting bare-handed against swords was a disadvantage, they rarely used them. However, the Mei family had never given up practicing Mei Fist, because it had a little-known advantage—the ability to strike from a distance.

Mei Zhengjing did not abandon his sword; instead, he used one hand to block attacks while gathering inner strength in the other.

The Grand Madam, on the other hand, left blood splattering wherever she went, without the slightest hesitation. A curved blade had appeared at the end of her cane, making it resemble a large scythe. Combined with her black cloak, she seemed like the Grim Reaper.

An Jiu’s heart stirred, and she mustered all her strength to approach the Grand Madam.

The black-clad men were mostly attacking Elder Zhao, Mei Zhengjing, and the Mei family’s guards, while An Jiu was only held back by two.

The Grand Madam caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of her eye, slightly surprised, because the child had somehow managed to fight her way to her side without using a single trace of internal energy.

“An external cultivator?” the Grand Madam murmured, then slashed down An Jiu’s opponent. “Come with me.”

An Jiu had originally intended to break into the Grand Madam’s protective circle; they were all members of the Mei family, and it would be a simple favor, so she should not stand idly by. However, her intervention was an unexpected delight.

An Jiu followed the Grand Madam all the way to Mei Zhengjing, glancing at the unconscious Second Madam, and coldly snorted, “A burden!”

Despite her words, she had still helped.

“Their strength is lacking!” Mei Zhengjing said. For him to be able to handle so many eighth and ninth-level experts was absolutely impossible under normal circumstances!

With the Grand Madam’s help, he felt much more relaxed and finally had time to think. “Grand Madam, the opponents are all young masters of the eighth or ninth rank! It is very strange!”

At first, Mei Zhengjing did not suspect anything, but during the exchange, he noticed that the opponents’ hands and eyes seemed to belong to middle-aged men! While the eighth or ninth rank was not uncommon, reaching that level required a long time unless one was a martial arts prodigy. One or two young men would not be unusual, but so many were highly suspicious!

Furthermore, martial artists all strove for the highest level, which required simultaneously training their mental strength. Real combat was the most effective way to train mental strength, so most people seek out opponents. Many die before reaching the eighth or ninth rank, resulting in only a few hundred surviving ninth-rank masters in the world, a portion of whom were from the Konghe Army.

The Grand Madam had also noticed the anomaly. “Never mind them for now; let’s go!”

“Alright!” Under the Grand Madam’s cover, Mei Zhengjing carried the Second Old Madam on his back.

The old matriarch single-handedly fought her way through the group of ninth-rank warriors, protecting them as they escaped.

They all possessed light-footed skills, making it much more strenuous for An Jiu to run, but she knew she could not afford to be left behind, so she gritted her teeth and persevered.

Having broken through the encirclement, with pursuers behind, no one dared to stop.

The old matriarch glanced at An Jiu several times, her dark eyes stirring a deep emotion within her. Old memories surfaced, and she realized the child’s character bore a striking resemblance to her own in her youth.

After an unknown amount of time, An Jiu’s legs were numb and devoid of feeling; she was driven only by her will to keep running.

The old matriarch led the group to a hidden ferry crossing behind a grove of trees within the mansion, pulling out one or two small boats from the reeds. “Get on.”

Once An Jiu stopped, she felt her entire body ache, her legs trembled, and she felt utterly powerless. The old matriarch’s fighting ability was comparable to taking on a hundred men single-handedly. Following her offered a better chance of saving Mei Jiu’s life. An Jiu’s minimum requirement at this moment was to keep up with the others and not be left behind.

She gritted her teeth and climbed onto the boat, leaning against the side, panting heavily.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the woods. The old matriarch raised her hand and cut the ropes. The boat rocked gently, drifting towards the lake. Everyone in the cabin remained on high alert.

A person suddenly darted out of the woods, running after the boat, shouting, “Fourteenth Young Lady! Fourteenth Young Lady!”

It was New Year’s Eve, and the women were dressed in their finest attire, unlike their usual simple clothes, making them easy to spot.

Upon hearing the voice, An Jiu looked at the old matriarch and said, “It’s Mo Sigui.” Only then did everyone lower their guard.

Mo Sigui leaped onto the boat, still catching her breath. “Hurry! Elder Qi told me to wait for you here. He said it is no longer safe over there. I do not know which side, but Elder Qi said someone will know.”

“They’ve actually infiltrated the clan!” The Grand Madam exclaimed in shock and anger. Infiltrating the clan meant there was a spy within the family, and this spy had been in the Mei family for many years and held a high position.

The Grand Madam scrutinized Mo Sigui and decisively ordered, “Abandon ship!”

An Jiu’s temples throbbed. She could not care less at this moment, struggling to her feet and leaping ashore.

The Grand Madam looked around and chose a side path.

Mo Sigui did not know the Grand Madam’s identity, but seeing everyone following her, he followed behind. “I’ve discovered that these people have taken drugs to boost their internal energy.”

The Grand Madam knew Mo Sigui’s identity and was not puzzled by how he knew. She directly asked, “What are their weaknesses?”

Even those who had genuinely cultivated their internal energy had weaknesses; those who had taken drugs to enhance their internal energy should have even more.