Hidden Shadow – CH 099

Chapter Ninety-Nine: Jade Tears on Clothes (1)

An Jiu paused, murmuring, “Cleanly with a clear conscience…”

Her hands, stained with blood, were far removed from those words. Although Mei Jiu shared the same body, her soul was pure.

Some things, once started, had no turning back; a tainted soul was difficult to cleanse.

She now understood that the most important reason she could not return to a peaceful life was not that reality would not allow it, but that her tainted soul could not find peace. “Fine, I will grant your wish.”

An Jiu changed into a black outfit, covered with an off-white outer garment, and immediately headed to the banquet hall with her bow and arrows and bundle.

Outside, there was still unmelted snow. An Jiu, dressed in off-white, blended almost seamlessly into the snow.

After following Mei Zhengjing and the others for a while, An Jiu realized she was indeed better suited to traveling alone. While more people could provide mutual support, it also made them easier to be discovered. Once the two sides clashed, the support from others was limited, and someone like her without internal energy was at a disadvantage.

On the contrary, acting alone now, relying on her powerful mental strength, she could detect and avoid the enemy early. Even if there was no way to avoid them, hiding would make her difficult to spot.

Flames were raging in the banquet hall, and the sounds of fighting could still be heard, indicating the siege was not yet over.

However, on the way from Yuwei Residence to the banquet hall, An Jiu discovered no fewer than fifty people, grouped in fives, searching for survivors in Mei Mansion, sparing not even servants and laborers.

Mei Jiu finally hardened her heart. She knew she depended on An Jiu for survival and had no ability to save anyone else, so even though her heart ached, she did not ask An Jiu to rescue anyone.

After passing a plum grove, An Jiu saw that the raging flames had almost engulfed the entire banquet hall.

Mei Jiu exclaimed, “What do we do?”

Mei Ruyan was still hidden in the storage room behind the side hall. If she had not been discovered yet, she would likely have been burned to death even later.

An Jiu remained silent. Frowning at the raging fire, she carefully considered the terrain and, taking advantage of the absence of others, headed straight for the backyard.

The backyard of the banquet hall contained a kitchen, larger than the usual kitchen at Mei Mansion, as most of the food and drinks for the New Year’s banquet for a thousand people came from here.

An Jiu entered the courtyard and immediately spotted a large water vat next to the kitchen door. Her spiritual power allowed her to sense many people around, but she could not discern what they were doing.

She tore off her outer garment and concealed herself in the shadows beside the house.

The raging fire was engulfing the building. An Jiu stared at the front hall for a while. She concluded that to save Mei Ruyan, she had to act quickly; the longer she delayed, the harder it would be to get in. She could not wait until she was absolutely certain the surroundings were safe before taking action.

“Mei Ruyan might not have had good intentions from the beginning. Are you sure you want to save her?” An Jiu asked Mei Jiu.

“Impossible.” Mei Jiu had never been so decisive. “We had the same experience back then. I do not even know my own family background. What is she after?”

“Tch!” An Jiu did not even bother with sarcasm, only saying, “I will consider myself dead. I will borrow your body; consider this a one-time payment of rent.”

Mei Jiu was still stunned by these words when An Jiu had already flashed to the water vat, dipping her outer garment into the water. She then pulled up her mask, immersing her entire face in the water until it was completely soaked, before pulling the outer garment over her shoulders. She rushed into the banquet hall.

The stench of burning flesh assaulted her nostrils, making her choke even through the wet mask.

This was the first time An Jiu had entered the banquet hall through the back door. She groped her way around in the scorching heat for a while before finally entering the main hall.

The horrific scene inside the banquet hall came into view. Hundreds of corpses lay piled on the floor, mostly the elderly, women, and children. Tables were overturned, and spilled wine was already burning.

Blood flowed like a river, and An Jiu could feel the warmth seeping into her shoes. She glanced down and saw a child’s innocent face submerged in blood at her feet, a small, delicate hand still clutching a bamboo dragonfly.

Mei Jiu was completely stunned! The corpses piled up like mountains in the flames; for a moment, it seemed to overlap with a scene from An Jiu’s memory—a place she had once thought was the eighteenth level of hell.

An Jiu paused, bent down to pick up the bamboo dragonfly, and stuffed it into her backpack.

Clang!

A wine bottle fell from the table near the entrance to the secret passage.

An Jiu, hidden behind a pillar, warily watched in that direction. A person, their body stained beyond recognition with blood, struggled to stand.

From the man’s figure and facial features, An Jiu recognized him as the head of the Mei family.

An Jiu hesitated for a moment, then emerged from behind the pillar and strode towards him.

Mei Zhengyan looked up, his voice hoarse. “Who is it?”

“Fourteenth Young Lady,” An Jiu reached out to support him.

“You…” Mei Zhengyan coughed up blood, his breathing rapid. He stared intently at An Jiu, as if trying to identify her.

An Jiu pulled off her mask, then quickly pulled it back up. Mei Zhengyan relaxed, gripping An Jiu’s hand tightly. “Behind the Loyal and Righteousness Tower, at the foot of the mountain… there’s the Mei family… the Mei family…” Mei Zhengyan’s body twitched slightly, stiffened for a moment, then suddenly went limp.

An Jiu felt Mei Zhengyan place something warm in her hand, so she pried open his clenched hand.

By the firelight, An Jiu saw that it was something like a jade pendant, carved with orchids on the front and square protrusions on the back.

What about the Mei family? Faced with this half-written message, An Jiu wondered if it was some kind of Mei family treasure.

So the Mei family really did have a family motto of “loyalty and righteousness.” But where was the Loyal and Righteousness Tower?

An Jiu was not very familiar with Mei Mansion, but she had explored every part of it and had never seen or heard of the so-called Loyal and Righteousness Tower.

However, his dying words must have been extremely important. An Jiu tucked them into her bosom, lowered Mei Zheng Yan’s eyelids, and went to the side hall.

The storage room behind the side hall had not caught fire yet, but An Jiu could not find Mei Ruyan in the chests!

There was no body or blood in the room. Had she woken up and escaped?

“You’ve done more than enough,” An Jiu said.

Mei Jiu murmured vaguely, “Why is this happening?”

An Jiu ignored her and planned to return to the backyard the way she came.

But upon going outside, she found that the carved partition between the main hall and the side hall was engulfed in flames, the fire raging and pieces of wood constantly falling.

The fire had started in the front courtyard; the backyard had not been affected yet. Going back the way she came was the safest option! An Jiu paused, pulling her outer garment over her head. She then rushed forward.

The flames intensified, quickly drying her outer clothes, leaving black marks and some even ablaze. An Jiu simply discarded the clothes.

She narrowly escaped the courtyard, bumping into a person leaning against a water vat.

Hearing the noise, the person turned sharply, swung open a folding fan, and threw it at her.

An Jiu’s eyes narrowed, and she spun to dodge but was a fraction too slow. A piece of her clothing was sliced ​​off.

Out of the corner of her eye, she vaguely saw a red apricot blossom on the fan. “Mo Sigui! It is me.”

The folding fan folded back. Mo Sigui stood up, caught the fan, and called out, “Fourteenth Young Lady?”

An Jiu knew Mo Sigui’s reaction was normal, but she still could not help but curse, “Damn it! Physicians really do have violent tendencies!”

“Fourteenth Young Lady!” Mo Sigui flew over, his bright peach blossom eyes sparkling with a heart-stopping smile. “You came back to find me?”

An Jiu said indifferently, “Why should I find you?”

Mo Sigui assumed she was being stubborn and ignored her words, exclaiming, “I knew you were a loyal friend!”

An Jiu did not explain, only asking, “Were you not captured by the Grand Madam? Why are you here?”

“After the Grand Madam brought me here, she handed me over to a guard,” Mo Sigui pouted. “I just did not dare to lay a hand on the Grand Madam. A mere guard like that cannot possibly keep an eye on me!”

Mo Sigui was a physician. He was also skilled with poisons. He could tell that the Grand Madam was a ruthless person, and he could not use any potent poison on her. But with a different bodyguard, he was much more unrestrained.

An Jiu asked, “What are you doing by the water vat?”

Mo Sigui took a jade gourd, about the size of a thumb, from his waist. Holding it up to the firelight, she could see it was hollow and filled with water.

Mo Sigui shook the gourd, opened the lid, and a faint mist rose from its mouth. The mist was strange; it did not dissipate elsewhere in the open courtyard but instead clung to his clothes. “This is a new poison I made, called ‘Place of Sorrow Under Heaven.'”

An Jiu was speechless. The name Mo Sigui chose for the poison was truly appalling, but judging from the literal meaning, it must be a very potent poison.

Mo Sigui gave An Jiu a pill. “The antidote.”

An Jiu’s vision was already blurry, and she swallowed the pill without hesitation.

After a short while, her body gradually returned to normal.

Mo Sigui pulled a fist-sized jade pot from his sleeve, poured in a packet of medicine, and then filled the water vat with water. “This poison has another name. Because it is mainly made of stone, and the container must be jade, Elder Qi called it ‘Jade Tears on Clothes.'”

Elder Qi’s name was indeed reliable!

An Jiu, realizing why he had created this poison, asked, “Are you going to rescue Elder Qi?”

“Yes, those people are ganging up on him. He does not have much poison on him; if this continues, he will be caught sooner or later.” Mo Sigui’s voice noticeably lowered.

Elder Qi’s martial arts were at the ninth level, but the enemy seemed to be targeting him specifically; those surrounding him were at least at the seventh level. In this situation, brute force alone was unlikely to secure a safe escape; poison was necessary.

“Then let’s go!” An Jiu said.

Mo Sigui was surprised. “You are coming with me?”

“My meridians have not been healed yet; I cannot let you die here.” An Jiu spoke the truth, quite bluntly.

Mo Sigui thought she was just being stubborn. “So loyal!”

An Jiu: “…”

After filling the water containers, the two went out the back door and sneaked into the front courtyard.

The battle was still raging outside. The two crouched in a cave in the artificial hill and immediately spotted Elder Qi. While almost everyone else was fighting one-on-one, he was surrounded by nine people. These nine were very orderly, forming a circle, holding iron chains that intertwined, trapping Elder Qi in the middle.

An Jiu’s gaze shifted, and she saw another striking figure in the crowd. He was dressed in white with black hair, spotless, and beside him was a girl in a rouge-colored dress—it was Mei Ruyan.