Hidden Shadow – CH 214

Chapter Two-Hundred-Fourteen: Watching the Joke

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. “A medicine person!”

He might not encounter another one even in decades!

An Jiu sneered.

“You are not allowed to make a sound!” Mo Sigui said, turning his head.

An Jiu ignored him, listening to the crisp tinkling sounds outside, and the image of that figure turning into dust in the wind involuntarily surfaced in her mind. She forced off the illusion and carefully considered Mo Sigui’s previous words, wondering whether she should go looking for Mei Jiu after her body was rebuilt; after all, Mei Yanran was her mother.

In the warm spring sun, the snow melted, and the weather grew warmer.

Half a month later, An Jiu finally completed her second rebuilding.

This time, the harmony between her body and mental power was even higher. Her running speed was no less than that of a light-footed martial artist, and her movements were completely silent. Her body, damaged by the mental power, had been healed by Mo Sigui with medicine, and was about 70-80% recovered. When she used her mental power again, she would still experience an impact, but it was less than before.

Mo Sigui finally confirmed that An Jiu’s mental strength was too powerful, putting too much strain on her body. If An Jiu were to use martial arts, the domineering force of the Severing Meridians Palm might cause her to explode and die. Therefore, learning Plum Blossom Fist became urgent.

An Jiu did not rush out, but stayed in the Konghe Army, trying every possible way to find Mei Yanran’s whereabouts, but all to no avail.

Seven or eight days passed, and An Jiu still had no intention of giving up.

“You should receive your mission,” He Cai suddenly reminded her. The Konghe Army had a rule that no period of downtime could exceed one month.

An Jiu put down a scroll of the Divine Martial Team Chronicle and asked, “You’ve been here for a long time; do you know anything about the Divine Strategy Team?”

“I know some.” He Cai lightly landed ten steps away from An Jiu.

“I want to find someone,” An Jiu thought for a moment, realizing it was not strange to reveal that she wanted to find her mother, and said, “My mother, I heard she’s in the Divine Strategy Team.”

He Cai said. “Lord Chu has entrusted this matter to the Heaven Squad. They’ve cooperated with the Divine Strategy Team the most, so they should be able to find out some information.” Since she had no leads herself, and Chu Dingjiang had helped, she had no choice but to temporarily put the matter aside.

An Jiu went to the Lantern Lighting Tower to receive her mission again. Passing by the Konghe List, she subconsciously glanced up.

Gu Jinghong’s name was still on it but marked with a horizontal line in vermilion, distinguishing him from the other living shadows.

She suddenly understood why Gu Jinghong had not given up on recruiting her, even when her meridians were completely destroyed. Because she was a member of the Mei clan and suited for external cultivation, she was the best candidate to practice the Severing Meridian Palm.

It turned out that Gu Jinghong had long known that practicing Plum Blossom Fist could overcome the disadvantage of the Severing Meridian Palm—that inflicts a thousand damages on the enemy but eight hundred on the user.

Leaving the Lantern Lighting Tower, An Jiu found out Gu Jinghong’s residence and rushed there.

The door was pitch black; there were no lanterns anymore, only a lonely soul bell.

The soul bell, left unattended, might one day fall into the dust like the bell in her courtyard.

An Jiu climbed onto the porch, took Gu Jinghong’s soul bell, stuffed it into her pocket, and quickly left the Konghe Army.

She entrusted the task to He Cai. Without disguising herself, she put on a veil and went to the Hua residence to find Mei Jiu.

The eldest son of the Hua family had gotten married, and red silk hung in front of the gate, adding to the festive atmosphere.

An Jiu knocked on the door.

The side door opened. The gatekeeper came out, looked outside, and found only one woman.

The gatekeeper was puzzled. This woman did not have a traditional Chinese hairstyle, and she did not seem to be from a poor family. She had no carriage, no servants, and not even a personal maid! No young lady from a wealthy family could be so audacious. Could it be that Second Master had offended some young lady from a brothel again? Second Master had just returned the day before yesterday, and this young lady followed him here today; she must be someone Second Master greatly favored…

A thought flashed through his mind. The gatekeeper glanced into the courtyard, and seeing no one, turned back and whispered to An Jiu, “Please follow me.”

An Jiu was surprised. She had not even said who she was looking for, and this person already knew?

“I am looking for…”

“Shh!” The gatekeeper interrupted her, lowering his voice, “Please do not make a sound. If Eldest Master finds out, I will be in for another beating.”

An Jiu thought, did Mei Jiu know she was coming to see her, so she specially arranged for the gatekeeper to wait for her? That seemed unlikely! Not to mention that Mei Jiu was someone arranged to marry into their family by the person the Hua family feared most. She was just a newlywed daughter-in-law. Did she have such a say?

An Jiu followed the gatekeeper.

After passing through several corridors, she came to a small door. The doorman opened it for her. “I can only escort you this far; it will not do without someone watching over you.” He paused, then smiled. “My name is Liu San. If it is convenient, please put in a good word for me.”

An Jiu was completely puzzled. “I’ve come to pay a visit…”

Just then, footsteps sounded from inside the door. Liu San, hearing the sound, hurried over.

“And you are?” a clear voice asked.

An Jiu turned around and saw a girl of about thirteen or fourteen standing gracefully by the door, looking puzzled. She hesitated for a moment, about to bow, but seeing that the girl’s hair was not styled in a married woman’s bun, she breathed a sigh of relief. “So you are not the new mistress. Please come with me, young lady.”

Her demeanor was as if she frequently received unfamiliar young women.

“Young lady, I’ve come to pay a visit to the new mistress,” An Jiu finally managed to utter a complete sentence.

The maid stopped in her tracks. “Were you not here to see Second Master?”

An Jiu was about to answer when she noticed a young man in a blue robe leaning lazily against the railing in the courtyard, teasing a caged bird with a thin blade of grass.

As if noticing An Jiu’s gaze, he stopped and looked back.

Hua Rongjian still had that radiant face, but he was thinner and more mature, with a touch more melancholy than before. His eyes held a habitual, faint smile, making him appear even more unrestrained. “Visiting my sister-in-law? Perhaps it is Sister Mei? Let me see if you marry me and become sisters-in-law with your sister; then we can see each other every day.”

Still so shameless!

An Jiu thought to herself, but she could sense that he was not as enthusiastic as before; there seemed to be a hint of despondency in his teasing.

Hua Rongjian stared casually at the veiled girl, expecting her to be angered and leave. But instead, she lifted her skirt and gracefully stepped over the threshold towards him.

“Oh?” As she drew closer, Hua Rongjian recognized An Jiu’s features and chuckled, “I said others did not have this kind of spirit, so it is Fourteenth Young Lady! Perhaps you should seriously consider becoming sisters-in-law with your sister?”

An Jiu sat down on the stone bench, looking at him. “It has not been long since we parted, and this lump of mud, Hua Rongjian, still has not managed to plaster anything onto the wall.”

Hua Rongjian rested his chin on his hand, gazing at her silently for a long time, then suddenly said, “Fourteenth Young Lady, let’s fight.”

“No,” An Jiu said.

Hua Rongjian laughed. “Then what are you doing here? Have you decided to marry me?”

“Never thought of it. How could I have decided?” An Jiu said calmly, her eyes expressionless. “I am here to watch the joke.”