Hidden Shadow – CH 110

Chapter One-Hundred-Ten: Tracking

An Jiu considered carefully. When her mental power erupted, it could even subdue a master like Chu Dingjiang at the Transcendent Realm; a mere second or third-tier martial artist should be no problem.

She knew very well that once she started killing, her emotions were easily out of control. Although she remained relatively calm during the attack on the Mei family, she had a history of mental illness; who knew when it would flare up again?

Even if she could never become someone like Mei Jiu, An Jiu did not want to continue being a killing machine.

“Do not be ungrateful!” As An Jiu spoke, a surge of mental power suddenly swept over everyone present. “I do not want to start killing, but you keep forcing me. Those who do not want to die, get out of here now!”

The overwhelming killing intent felt like a giant hand gripping their bodies, ready to crush them at any moment. The crowd turned pale, their bodies went limp, and they fell from their horses, not even daring to entertain the thought of escape.

An Jiu withdrew her mental power.

The bandit leader, gritting his teeth and forcing himself to stay upright, suddenly collapsed from his horse with a thud, kneeling on the ground. “Thank you for sparing my life, senior!” he cried.

After kowtowing several times, he scrambled away, some of the fallen men failing to mount their horses several times before giving up and galloping away, abandoning their mounts in the process.

An Jiu had not expected her mental intimidation to be so effective. If she had known, why bother playing hide-and-seek? This mental power seemed incapable of causing any real harm, but it was enough to scare people.

As she thought this, she suddenly sensed a gaze. Looking down, she saw the scholar looking up at her.

The scholar’s face was somewhat pale, but he did not appear fearful or panicked like the bandits.

“This…” the scholar hesitated, choosing his words carefully. “Young lady, may I ask who you are?”

An Jiu grew wary, subtly gripping her dagger. “You are not a scholar.”

“A scholar?” He looked infatuated yet did not forget his manners, bowing respectfully. “My name is Wei Yuzhi.”

“Wei Yuzhi… Wei Yuzhi…” An Jiu felt the name sounded familiar. She searched her memory for the name.

That’s it! Mo Sigui had once told her about Piaomiao Mountain mansion. The mansion lord was named Wei Chuzhi, and he had a younger brother named Wei Yuzhi!

“Piaomiao Mountain mansion?” In An Jiu’s mind, such a place was like the organization she used to belong to, all involved in illicit murder. She felt a strong aversion to it, her voice turning colder. “Let’s keep to ourselves. Farewell.” An Jiu leaped down through the broken, carved window. She chose a sturdy horse from among the horses left behind by the bandits.

“What is your surname, young lady?” Wei Yuzhi pressed.

An Jiu mounted her horse, donned her straw hat, and rode away without glancing at him once.

Wei Yuzhi hurriedly returned to the temple to retrieve his belongings and followed on horseback.

The rainy night was bitterly cold, and their breath formed puffs of white mist.

“My Young Lady, please accept this raincoat,” Wei Yuzhi said, taking off his raincoat and offering it to An Jiu.

An Jiu’s expression was cold, her vigilance growing even stronger. She had used her mental energy to navigate the dark forest, but it seemed to have no effect on him. She also could not sense any mental strength from him.

Could Wei Yuzhi also be a master of the Transcendent Realm and even surpass her in mental energy?

An Jiu glanced at him. He was a thin man, probably only twenty-three or twenty-four years old. His frail body trembled in the cold rain, his lips purple. He clutched a raincoat in his hand. Could someone like this be a master of the Transcendent Realm?

“Although I am from the Piaomiao Mountain mansion, I do not know martial arts,” Wei Yuzhi said. “My constitution is poor; I have been suffering from various ailments since birth. My adoptive father has nursed me for many years, and my life is not in danger, but I can no longer practice martial arts.”

The name of the Piaomiao Mountain mansion was known even to ordinary people. Everyone knew that the Second Master of the mansion did not know martial arts, yet even if Wei Yuzhi swaggered around alone, no one dared to lay a finger on him. Because if you offended a den of assassins, even a hundred lives would not be enough for their revenge.

Once, an enemy of Piaomiao Mountain mansion wanted to kill Wei Yuzhi to vent his anger, but instead of getting revenge, his entire clan was wiped out overnight, and even his ancestral graves were desecrated, and his corpse was left to rot. From then on, no one dared to provoke Wei Yuzhi again.

This shows the ruthlessness of the Piaomiao Mountain mansion.

“What exactly do you want by following me?” An Jiu reined in her horse and turned to stare at him.

Two strange blushes appeared on Wei Yuzhi’s pale cheeks. “I fell in love with you at first sight, young lady…” An Jiu scoffed.

Falling in love at first sight was such a mysterious thing; even normal people struggled to understand it, let alone someone with An Jiu’s emotional intelligence.

“Do not follow me!” An Jiu did not want to get involved in this kind of trouble. Even if Wei Yuzhi was not from the Piaomiao Mountain mansion, she would not consider him, because she had absolutely no desire for marriage.

Wei Yuzhi did not pester her. He said, “Until we meet again,” and silently fell behind An Jiu.

An Jiu followed the official road, rubbing her head vigorously. She thought it would be better to face over thirty bandits; at least she could resolve it quickly and decisively. It was dangerous, but there were no worries about the aftermath. A place like the Piaomiao Mountain mansion must have a powerful intelligence network; otherwise, how could they take a job if they could not even find a target?

Wei Yuzhi had only seen her face; perhaps he could find her in the vast sea of ​​people.

Perhaps… under the cover of darkness, she should simply kill him to silence them?

The thought flashed through her mind, but An Jiu immediately dismissed it. No secrets stay hidden forever. She had once thought her assassinations were perfect, flawless, but her identity had always been discovered.

So be it. She had survived years of pursuit and vendettas; now, a mere assassin organization, one that was not even malicious, was nothing to fear.

After midnight, the rain gradually stopped.

The roads were muddy, so An Jiu slowed her pace. As dawn broke, the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, promising fine weather.

Many villages and towns lay near Bianjing, connected by a network of official roads.

An Jiu had been running a high fever from being caught in the rain. She rode at full speed to the nearest town, found an inn, took a hot bath, drank two large bowls of ginger soup, and sweated profusely under the covers. Her condition improved slightly.

Fearing a relapse of her illness would further slow her journey, she stayed in town for three more days until she felt better before setting off again.

This time, before even leaving town, she noticed a “tail” following her.

Using her mental senses, An Jiu turned and instantly spotted the person following her in the crowd, locking onto him with her mental power. However, she merely issued a warning and did not take any action.

This method had some effect; at least the person dared not follow her so closely anymore, only keeping a distance. Since there were no unusual occurrences along the way, An Jiu stopped paying attention to him.

On the tenth day, An Jiu successfully arrived on the outskirts of Bianjing.

It was early spring, and Bianjing was already warmer, with more pedestrians on the streets than in winter.

As she approached the city gate, An Jiu felt another person staring at her, assuming that the Piaomiao Mountain mansion felt one person was not enough and had sent more.

Annoyed by the swarms of flies, she immediately looked up and glared fiercely at them.