Hidden Shadow – CH 119

Chapter One-Hundred-Nineteen: Xuan Ren

An Jiu followed the constable to a tea room to wait.

The aroma of tea wafted through the air. Holding the Divine Martial Team’s token in her hand, she recalled why she had joined the Konghe Army, and a strange, indescribable emotion welled up within her.

This time, she had willingly joined the assassin organization again. She was still the same decisive yet utterly resigned person, but something seemed to have subtly changed.

What was it? An Jiu frowned, lost in thought for a long time, but found no answer.

The Konghe Army was extremely efficient, and she did not have to wait long. About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, someone arrived.

The man was a middle-aged man of about thirty, short in stature, with an ordinary appearance. He wore a brand-new ochre brocade robe, looking like the owner of a silk shop in Bianjing.

He checked the token, confirmed its authenticity, and then led her through the back door to a carriage.

Having spent so much time in illegal organizations, An Jiu subconsciously assumed that the Konghe Academy, a place that trained assassins, would be a secluded location in the middle of nowhere. Reality, however, was the exact opposite of her imagination.

The Konghe Academy was located within the Imperial City.

The straight and wide Zhuque Avenue led to the entrance of the Imperial City. The outer perimeter of the Imperial City was where the power of the Song Dynasty was concentrated. The Three Departments and Six Ministries, the Privy Council, and other central institutions were arranged from the outside in. The closer to the heart of the Imperial City, the more crucial the location.

The Konghe Academy was built in the southwest corner, next to the Military Commandery, outside the towering city walls, distinguishing it from the rest. The two characters “Konghe” on the plaque were powerful and domineering, and utterly arrogant, making the adjacent Military Commandery appear exceptionally small.

An Jiu was speechless. This was called “Secret Guards.” Even special forces would not need to display their signs so blatantly!

“This is the Konghe Academy.” After successfully entering the gate, the person who had been leading An Jiu finally spoke to her. “There is no Konghe Bureau or Konghe Army within the Imperial City.”

The Konghe Academy was a place for training secret guards and assassins. Those who entered were mostly orphans or children from humble families. Members of the Konghe families, however, could directly enter the Konghe Army after passing a test. Even then, it was mostly a formality, partly due to their family connections. Having someone in the Konghe Army greatly increased their chances of being selected, and partly because they had received training from birth, their family background gave them a significant advantage over ordinary people.

“Those who fail the test here but are still alive will be assigned to the Palace Guard and the Imperial Bodyguard,” the person continued.

The Palace Guard and the Imperial Bodyguard were the armies protecting the Imperial City, so the Konghe Academy was ostensibly established for selecting Imperial City guards. Those who knew its subordinate relationship with the Konghe Army understood this implicitly.

An Jiu sensed that the person beside her seemed to have the ability to read minds; whatever she wanted to know, he would say. Although convenient, it was also terrifying. She simply stopped thinking and continued to survey her surroundings.

“My name is Xu Zhi.” Suddenly unable to understand An Jiu’s thoughts, his curiosity piqued, “What is your surname, young lady?”

“An.”

“As expected of someone recommended by the Divine Martial Team.” Xu Zhi knew her identity, but when she answered “An,” he did not sense a lie! This was the first time he’d encountered such a situation since he learned mind-reading.

An Jiu’s gaze swept over him indifferently. “Any questions?”

A brief exchange of glances. Xu Zhi sensed no emotion.

No one was without emotions! Even in the calmest of times!

He decided to test her again. “Are you not Fourteenth Young Lady, young lady?”

“Yes and no,” An Jiu answered honestly.

This time, Xu Zhi still could not sense any emotional fluctuation in her. He could not even fathom her inner thoughts with this ambiguous answer.

Xu Zhi’s palms became sweaty.

The reason the Konghe Academy sent him to pick up the new recruit was because he possessed mind-reading abilities. He could discern a person’s character and hidden thoughts in a single glance, allowing for more targeted training later. If he could not judge or misjudged, his life would be in danger—how could he not be nervous?

Moreover, he had always been confident in this ability and had never faced such a challenge before.

“What weapon does the young lady specialize in?” Xu Zhi asked.

An Jiu was impatient to answer, but having just joined the organization and not yet fully understanding the situation, she could not act impulsively, so she gave a perfunctory reply: “Arrows.”

Seeing that they were almost there, Xu Zhi grew even more anxious, but he knew that the worst thing for mind-reading was impatience, so he tried his best to calm himself and did not rush to ask further questions.

Upon reaching the entrance to the archives room, two guards bowed to him and said, “Master Xu.”

“New recruit,” Xu Zhi said, showing his reception warrant.

The guards immediately let him through.

The walls of the room were lined with small drawers, similar to those in a pharmacy, labeled horizontally with the characters “Heaven, Earth, Xuan, Huang” and vertically with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. In the center of the spacious room stood a table and a chair, where only a green-robed official was engrossed in organizing scrolls.

Hearing footsteps, the official looked up. A pale face, slanted, fox-like eyes, and a squinting gaze—for a moment, An Jiu thought she saw Headmaster Zhao from the Mei Clan Academy! After a closer look, she realized this man’s features were far more refined than Headmaster Zhao’s; only their eyes were similar, and both had a penchant for squinting.

“Headmaster Sheng,” Xu Zhi greeted, bowing.

Headmaster Sheng glanced at Xu Zhi, then looked An Jiu up and down, coldly saying, “You must show your true face when entering the records. You may proceed to the side room.”

An Jiu nodded slightly and headed towards the side door on the right.

As soon as Xu Zhi saw An Jiu enter the room, he said anxiously, “Luzi, I cannot figure out what this child is thinking.”

“If you cannot figure it out, I certainly can not,” Headmaster Sheng said, turning his stiff neck a few times before sitting down and solemnly warning him, “Also, do not call me by my childhood name.”

“Alright, alright, I will call you Grandpa,” Xu Zhi readily agreed.

He nodded in satisfaction.

An Jiu had not used much glue on her face; she simply wiped it a few times with grease, and the mask came off. She washed her face and returned to the archives.

Xu Zhi was asking Headmaster Sheng for advice when the two of them heard the commotion and turned to look.

Upon seeing what was happening, they both froze for a moment.

The official, regaining his composure, immediately spread out paper to draw An Jiu’s portrait—the first step in registering each child.

After finishing the drawing, he asked, “Would you like to join the Imperial Guard?”

“No,” An Jiu replied.

“Joining the Imperial Guard would save a lot of trouble,” Headmaster Sheng reminded him.

“If I wanted to save energy, I would not have come here,” An Jiu said, unconvinced. “I want to join the Divine Martial Team.”

Manager Sheng did not try to persuade her further, only asking, “Name?”

An Jiu instinctively did not want to live under the name Mei Jiu, remembering how much she had always disliked the name the Grand Madam had given her, so she said, “Mei Ruxue.”

“Age?”

“Fifteen or sixteen.”

“Fifteen or sixteen?”

“Sixteen.”

“Do you have any special abilities, or are you proficient in any weapon, or have you practiced any martial arts?”

“No special abilities, not proficient in any weapon, and have not practiced any martial arts.”

Manager Sheng paused, turning to look at Xu Zhi.

Xu Zhi felt that what An Jiu said was true, but after what had happened before, he was not so sure.

Manager Sheng simply wrote: Special abilities to be investigated, proficiency in any weapon to be investigated, and martial arts style to be investigated.”

After finishing writing, he rolled up the portrait and documents together and put them into a small drawer marked “Xuan Ren.”

“You will take these things when you leave the Konghe Academy. During your stay at the Konghe Academy, you will not have a name for the time being and will only be called Xuan Ren.”