Hidden Shadow – CH 121

Chapter One-Hundred-Twenty-One: Suspicion

The slender young man turned around, sat for a while, and quietly got up.

He sat down next to An Jiu, tilted his head, and asked softly, “Fourteenth Young Lady?”

Hearing the voice, An Jiu remembered the man’s identity: “Qiu Clan.”

During the ancient temple trial, they had met someone who used poison; Lou Mingyue said he was from the Qiu Clan.

“Eh? You have a good memory.” The young man had delicate features, light lips, and a particularly gentle smile. “My name is Qiu Yuntong.”

Qiu Yuntong loved looking at beautiful women. When he saw Lou Mingyue’s true face, he was immediately captivated and served her faithfully every day. Now, seeing An Jiu, he immediately felt that her exquisite and charming appearance was his true love.

He fawned over beautiful women, but his words and actions were not lewd. His “a beautiful lady is sought after by a gentleman” attitude was not so repulsive. However, An Jiu was not used to being close to people, especially someone as dangerous as Qiu Yuntong, who was covered in poison. There were only a few empty seats, and every seat around her was occupied, so she had no choice but to sit there, feeling the hairs on her body stand on end.

Fortunately, it was soon Qiu Yuntong’s turn to go on stage. Once he was gone, An Jiu felt a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.

Looking around the training ground, another corpse was being dragged away, and the victor was also covered in wounds, being helped away by the guards to rest.

“Fourteenth Young Lady,” Lou Mingyue said, walking to An Jiu’s side.

She was dressed in black, even thinner than before, and a fierce look had crept into her eyes, ruining her previous heroic and spirited appearance.

“Why are you here too?” Lou Mingyue asked.

“The Mei family was attacked, much like the Lou family,” An Jiu said.

Not just similar, but even more horrific.

Lou Mingyue’s expression changed slightly. “The Mei family has many experts and a Divine Physician overseeing them; how could…”

An Jiu did not mind chatting with Lou Mingyue, as their conversations were usually similar to work reports. “The other side has dozens of ninth-level experts. With a Transcendent Realm expert assisting them, it is already quite remarkable that a few have even managed to survive in the Mei family.”

“How is that possible?” Lou Mingyue was incredulous. Could it be that half of the ninth-level experts in the world had been recruited by the mastermind behind the scenes?

Lou Mingyue had already joined the Konghe Academy. Newcomers were not allowed to go out casually, so she was unaware of what was happening outside.

“Yelu Huangwu is truly cunning.” Lou Mingyue gritted her teeth; the weight on her heart sank even further. She had previously investigated Yelu Huangwu carefully and knew she possessed considerable political talent. She had thought that even a genius like her was no match for that woman who had lived a few more years than her. But now…

“And why did you come here?” An Jiu remembered that the heads of the Konghe families were generally not required to join the Konghe Army.

“I let Xiaowu take the position of head of the Lou family,” Lou Mingyue said calmly, not wanting to elaborate.

The reason Lou Mingyue joined the Konghe Army was simple: Yelu Huangwu not only had many experts under her command but also wielded considerable military power. Trying to contend with her while the Lou family was weakened was tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. She was eager for revenge, but not to the point of being blinded by hatred. After all, Yelu Huangwu was the Konghe Army’s mortal enemy. Joining the Konghe Army meant that a direct confrontation was inevitable.

An Jiu did not ask further.

“You do not need to participate, do you?” Lou Mingyue asked.

An Jiu shook her head.

“Then come back with me to settle down?” Lou Mingyue glanced at the center of the training ground. “There’s nothing to see.”

Lou Mingyue was about to break through to the eighth rank; even if she fought any one of the four instructors of the Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang branches, she might not lose. In this arena, she could fight without even touching her opponent’s clothes before they fell.

An Jiu hesitated for a moment, then rose and left with her.

The guards around them stood like straight wooden stakes, offering no resistance as they left.

Lou Mingyue led An Jiu out through the back door, into a dark passageway.

“You can directly join the Konghe Army,” An Jiu’s voice echoed through the passageway, as if she were asking again and again.

The Lou family likely held many high-ranking positions in the Konghe Army; getting someone as talented as Lou Mingyue would be a piece of cake.

Lou Mingyue said, “The Konghe Army has been in chaos lately, especially the Divine Martial Team. First, the commander was demoted to a mere military officer, and the successor immediately suspended him. Unfortunately, the successor lacked the ability to clean up this mess, and the Divine Martial Team is now a disorganized mess, becoming more chaotic the more he tries to reorganize. The other branches are not much better off. I will stay in the Konghe Academy for now; it is a flexible option.” Lou Mingyue’s identity was special; she was a member of the Konghe family and knew more secrets than those in the Konghe Academy. If she wanted to return to be the head of the Lou family, the Konghe Academy had no right to stop her.

“What’s the situation now?” An Jiu asked.

“Now?” Lou Mingyue asked doubtfully. “Did you not come in after receiving news that the Konghe Army had temporarily stabilized?”

The situation within the Konghe Army had stabilized? An Jiu was filled with suspicion. How could it be such a coincidence! The reason she only came now was because Hua Rongjian stopped her.

An Jiu thought about how he acted differently in public and in private, knew how to disguise himself, and had deliberately let her leave this time… Could Hua Rongjian also be a member of the Konghe Army?

The Emperor was wary of the Hua family and must have planted many spies around them. Hua Rongjian could not possibly be busy playing the role of a philanderer while simultaneously holding a hidden position in the Konghe Army, could he?

Thinking this through the tunnel, she soon emerged from it.

Although it was only approaching dusk, the tunnel was already pitch black at this end.

Lou Mingyue walked in the darkness as if it were daytime, quickly entering a house. She found a flint and lit an oil lamp. “There are many empty rooms here. You can stay next door to me.” The flickering lamplight illuminated their faces.

Lou Mingyue’s face softened, replaced by weariness and gentleness. She sighed and tossed aside the flint. “It’s always dark here to train our ability to calculate time amidst chaos. Lamp oil is distributed every seven days, but only enough for one hour. No one wakes you up each day; they only tell you when and where to go. Arriving early or late will result in punishment.”

“Hmm.” These were not problems for An Jiu. “There’s a trial in three months?”

“After entering the Konghe Academy, there’s a sparring match every two weeks, always a friendly competition. After two months, there’s a life-or-death duel in groups, which happened today. For the next month, every sparring match is life-or-death. In the third month, we will participate in a grand trial… which is in a month.” Lou Mingyue paused, then added, “Perhaps you will not be in our batch.”

An Jiu sensed from the eunuch’s words that he planned to put her in the next batch.

After finishing, the two remained silent.

The soft crackling of the burning oil lamps only amplified the quiet, oppressive atmosphere of the room.

After a long while, Lou Mingyue stood up and said, “You should rest first; I am going back to my room.”

“Alright.” An Jiu stood up and watched her go.

“Be careful of Qiu Yuntong,” Lou Mingyue turned around at the door and reminded her.