Hidden Shadow – CH 096

Chapter Ninety-Six: Slaughter (3)

Mo Sigui said, “We have not found a fatal weakness yet, but part of their power is artificially inflated. They look like they are at the ninth level, but their actual strength is only at the fifth or sixth level. The better ones can reach the eighth level. Moreover, it seems their internal energy is consumed faster than that of normal martial artists.”

“Heh,” The Grand Madam chuckled. “No wonder Elder Zhi insisted on keeping you even though you were not included in the clan register.”

Mo Sigui chuckled, “You flatter me.”

“However,” The Grand Madam’s eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at him, “you and Elder Qi must have been surrounded as well. There are two possibilities for how you were able to break through so easily: one, you are an inside agent; two, the other side wanted to capture Elder Qi and did not have time to worry about you.”

As he ran, the Grand Madam’s knife was already firmly against Mo Sigui’s neck, her voice cold, “Which one do you think it is?”

Mo Sigui’s back instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Neither his current situation nor the two possibilities mentioned by the Grand Madam were good for him.

His steps slowly came to a halt, and everyone stared at Mo Sigui with suspicion. The old matriarch’s suspicions were valid. The sudden fire at the medicine hut made Mo Sigui the prime suspect, and his ability to escape the encirclement also raised suspicion.

“He’s not a spy,” a clear, cold voice suddenly broke the silence.

Mo Sigui turned and saw An Jiu, disheveled.

“Why?” the old matriarch asked.

“Intuition.” An Jiu did not hide the fact that she had no evidence. Having faced countless life-or-death situations, she possessed an extraordinary intuition for falsehood and danger. Usually, she judged it in her heart, but this time she spoke out because of a touch of personal emotion.

The moonlight dappled through the woods, like scattered silver. Mo Sigui looked at her slightly pale face and was deeply moved.

He had not expected that when he was being questioned, it was someone he used to despise who had placed unwavering trust in him, while his brothers and sisters, with whom he usually got along well, all looked at him with suspicion.

Only the rustling of the withered branches in the woods could be heard. No one spoke.

“It’s up to you.” The Grand Madam shoved Mo Sigui in front of An Jiu. “If he makes the slightest move, you will be buried with him. Do not blame me for being ruthless.”

“Alright,” An Jiu agreed.

“Grand Madam,” Mei Tingzhu tried to stop her, but meeting the Grand Madam’s cold gaze, she swallowed her words.

Mo Sigui was slightly taken aback, roughly guessing the identity of the strange old woman before him.

The group continued walking with the Grand Madam. Mo Sigui leaned closer to An Jiu and whispered, “Why does she trust you so much?”

“You ask me? Who should I ask?” An Jiu could not guess the Grand Madam’s thoughts. But she said confidently, “However, I can tell you why you were suspected.”

Mo Sigui asked, “Why?”

“Bad character!” An Jiu said.

“I knew it,” Mo Sigui muttered, not refuting her, but simply asking, “Then why do you trust me?”

“Not only are you a bad character,” An Jiu said, catching her breath as she ran, “but you are also deaf!”

Did she not just say it was intuition? This intuition was not just a simple feeling but rather composed of many trivial details. While it could not be used as evidence, it was enough to lead to a judgment.

Mo Sigui remained silent. In short, An Jiu’s unconditional trust was enough to make up for his other unpleasant feelings.

After running for a while, An Jiu noticed that the Grand Madam’s speed was increasing, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up.

Hidden behind An Jiu, Mei Jiu felt a chill in her heart. She deeply felt that the people of Mei Mansion were too cold-hearted. Earlier, during the fight at the martial arts arena, Mei Tingzhu had told Mei Rujian not to reveal An Jiu’s location, and she had thought Mei Tingzhu was protecting them. But when they left, Mei Tingzhu had not even glanced at Mei Rujian. And now it was the same; Mo Sigui was a suspect, and almost everyone looked at him with suspicion, completely forgetting that he was their family.

Mei Jiu thought of how she had also forgotten about Mei Ruyan in her panic and fear, and felt guilty. “An Jiu, my sister…”

“Someone is chasing us. Be on guard.” The Grand Madam’s voice was cold and stern, interrupting Mei Jiu’s question.

An Jiu gripped the dagger tightly. She had no internal energy left; this dagger, capable of cutting through the barrier of internal energy, was her only chance of survival.

“Do not be afraid,” Mo Sigui said, pulling a small bottle from his robes and placing it in An Jiu’s other hand. “This is ‘Spring Breeze Know No Words.’ One drop can kill an entire village. Apply it to your weapon; a mere scratch will be fatal.”

He then produced several antidotes. “Highly poisonous, use with caution.”

“Flirtatious, just like the name you chose,” An Jiu muttered, utterly bewildered by the connection between the poison and “Spring Breeze Know No Words.”

Mo Sigui was about to advise her to wait, but she immediately swallowed a pill and began applying the poison to the dagger.

An Jiu sensed someone approaching from behind, paused, and spun around, kicking.

The person, caught off guard, stumbled back several steps.

“Grand Madam!” Mo Sigui rushed forward. “Kill a few pursuers, and I might be able to find their weakness.”

The Grand Madam did not reply. A black shadow flashed, and she had already leaped backward.

Mo Sigui was astonished. It was already incredible that Fourteenth Young Lady could suddenly stop running at high speed, but the Grand Madam could suddenly leap backward! Her control over her body was abnormally strong!

The pursuers all died under the Grand Madam’s blade in less time than it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

She dragged a half-dead black-clad man and threw him in front of Mo Sigui. “There’s no one nearby for now. Check immediately.”

Mo Sigui immediately inserted needles into several acupoints on the man’s wounds. The bleeding gradually stopped, but strangely, the man, though clearly not dead, was unable to move.

He then needled the Baihui and Qihai acupoints.

These were two vital acupoints on the human body, especially for martial artists; they were considered vital points. Yet, seeing Mo Sigui move with such ease, treating the man like a lump of dough, a chill ran through the crowd.

The man’s eyes slowly bulged, an expression of extreme pain appearing on his face, and wisps of mist faintly rose from his Baihui acupoint.

Mo Sigui pinched the black-clad man’s pulse with his fingertips, intently probing.

An Jiu stared at the black-clad man’s bulging eyes and, after a moment, noticed specks of red seeping from the whites of his eyes. Mei Jiu trembled in fear. “Do not look, do not look!”

“It seems someone is using them to test medicine,” Mo Sigui said, standing up and wiping his hands with a handkerchief, “but the medicine’s effects are not yet stable.”

“A half-baked product?” An Jiu asked.

Mo Sigui paused for a moment, then praised, “That’s an interesting and apt description. While they are taking the medicine, they are no different from ordinary martial artists, with no specific fatal weakness. However, in my experience, the effects of the medicine only last about an hour; once the effects wear off, their strength will be depleted.”

“In other words, their actions are limited to within an hour?” the Grand Madam muttered to herself.

An hour was enough to slaughter everyone in Mei Mansion, but it was still a bit short of destroying the Mei Clan!

“Whoosh—” A strange sound came from not far away, and the Grand Madam blew her whistle in response.

Soon, rustling sounds came from the bushes, and five black-clad men appeared, kneeling on one knee before the Grand Madam. One of them said, “Master, Headmaster Zhao has led his men away. Should we go and provide support?”