Hidden Shadow – CH 275

Chapter Two-Hundred-Seventy-Five: Kidnapping

“I presume you once respected your adoptive father?” An Jiu did not think such a cold-hearted person would cause any trouble.

Wei Yuzhi’s expression remained unchanged. “Tell me, where is Ghost Shadow’s heart’s blood?”

An Jiu solemnly told Wei Yuzhi, “His name is Gu Jinghong.”

“Jinghong… no matter how stunning he is, he’s ultimately just a fleeting shadow,” Wei Yuzhi chuckled. “Do you know, a Taoist priest once divined his fate, saying he was destined to be a trapped dragon, facing three great tribulations. If he could overcome them, he could soar to the heavens. Unfortunately, he was ultimately trapped and died.”

“We’ve strayed from the topic. Fourteenth Young Lady, it is your turn,” Wei Yuzhi seemed to be catching up with an old friend without the slightest hint of coercion.

An Jiu, however, dared not let her guard down.

Mo Sigui had made pills from his heart’s blood, which were originally all on An Jiu. When the incident occurred at the Hebei camp, An Jiu had given the medicine bottle to Mo Sigui to keep. She only kept a dozen or so pills, which she had long since consumed.

“They are with Mo Sigui, are they not?” Wei Yuzhi tapped the table lightly with his slender hand, a relaxed smile on his face.

An Jiu could not help but admire him. Through special training, she knew that her expressions and movements would not reveal any information; she was simply more silent, yet he had guessed the truth.

“Do not try to lie to me; it is useless.” Wei Yuzhi’s spirits were gradually weakening. He poured himself another cup of tea, drank it, and closed his eyes to rest.

“Are you working for someone else, or are you going to use them yourself?” An Jiu was not going to give him a break.

Wei Yuzhi lightly coughed a few times, his gaze shifting from An Jiu to the rain outside. “Look at the trees in the distance; they are just like me.” They were as pale as the scenery there, giving the impression that they might dissipate at any moment, but only upon closer inspection would one discover that they still stood firmly in place. However, Wei Yuzhi’s expectation that An Jiu would understand was far too much of an overestimation of her.

An Jiu followed his gaze. As dusk deepened, the fog thickened, and the trees, half-hidden, resembled ink paintings emerging from paper.

She disliked such profound metaphors. The scenery could be described as beautiful or desolate, entirely depending on the viewer’s perspective.

Wei Yuzhi seemed in no hurry to obtain Gu Jinghong’s heart’s blood. He had a tray of silver needles brought to the table. “I know you rely on your mental strength to fight. Coincidentally, I am very skilled in this area. After these nine silver needles are inserted, you will become no different from an ordinary person.”

He picked up a slender needle, his gaze regretful.

An Jiu looked at him coldly. “If I cared even a little, my meridians would not have been destroyed.”

She did not care about her meridians, nor did she care much about mental strength. For her, even if she could only open her mouth, she had to have the power to kill someone. But she had not achieved her goal yet, and time was running out. She could not easily give up any means to help her escape.

Her hands were bound. While the chance of her escaping from any restraint was negligible, the presence of martial arts masters all around was a disadvantage in taking a hostage.

Wei Yuzhi slowly inserted the entire silver needle into an acupoint on her shoulder. Only a single red dot remained on her skin.

As he focused on inserting the second needle, An Jiu lowered her voice and said, “I will give the things to you alone.”

Wei Yuzhi paused. He scrutinized her for a few moments, then lowered his head and continued inserting the needle. “You clearly do not know me very well.”

Having met with a lukewarm response, An Jiu realized that trying to stall for time was a poor strategy.

An Jiu’s mind raced, and she swiftly grabbed her folding umbrella.

The murderous aura dissipated abruptly. Those around turned to see a flash of cold light in the pavilion. As their swords drew near, An Jiu’s slender blade was already plunged into Wei Yuzhi’s heart. At the same time, she shouted, “Get back, or I will kill him!”

The longsword, just three cun from An Jiu’s neck, suddenly stopped.

“Back off,” Wei Yuzhi said, his face pale. Another half-inch downward thrust from the blade into his heart would be fatal.

They would never kill An Jiu before obtaining Gu Jinghong’s blood, because the person they served was far more important than Wei Yuzhi!

“Get out of the way!” An Jiu’s mental power suppressed the entire area. The acupoints where Wei Yuzhi had inserted the silver needles throbbed with pain, blood spilling out.

An Jiu felt a tingling sensation in her head. She untied the ropes and, to the astonishment of the crowd, lifted Wei Yuzhi, her face dark. “Get out of my way!”

Wei Yuzhi coughed violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his chest soaked in a gruesome sight. “Make way, all of you.” He gestured for them to follow her, his hands behind his back.

He had witnessed her ruthlessness from their first meeting, and this time he had deeply offended her. Once she was out of danger, she would surely kill him.

An Jiu was not unaware of his movement, but based on experience, she knew this was the best opportunity she could get. So she hurriedly took Wei Yuzhi and left, mounted a horse, and galloped into the city, completely disregarding his life or death.

An Jiu had considered which direction to escape in while in the carriage. Returning to Mei Mansion would bring Mo Sigui and his group unnecessary trouble, while going elsewhere would quickly put them in a passive position. Therefore, returning to the city was the best choice! Even if their disheveled state attracted the attention of the authorities, it was far safer than going anywhere else.

In the blink of an eye, they saw the north gate in the distance. The rain was misty, and there were not many pedestrians. An Jiu’s gaze was cold, and she increased her speed, rushing directly towards the city gate!

The guards on the city wall spotted a rider in the distance, but due to poor visibility caused by the weather, they mistook it for an urgent report from the border. Upon realizing it was not, they immediately shouted, “Who goes there? Slow down immediately!”

“Who goes there? Slow down immediately!” the guard shouted again. Seeing that the rider showed no sign of stopping, “If you do not slow down, we will fire arrows!”

An Jiu grabbed Wei Yuzhi’s shoulder, intending to use him as a human shield should the guards fire arrows from the city wall.

Although the guards threatened him so fiercely, they dared not easily fire arrows. What if it were a government spy or someone from a noble family attending a funeral? After all, the opponent was only one person on horseback; even if they managed to break into the city, they could not capture Bianjing.

This gave An Jiu an opportunity. The guards ordered the city gates closed, but the presence of pedestrians hindered their movement.

An Jiu spurred her horse, avoiding the crowd, and charged through the half-open city gate into the city.

The city guards initially intended to turn a blind eye, but upon seeing the drops of blood on the ground, they immediately erupted into chaos. “That man committed murder! Chase him!”

An Jiu’s horse, carrying two people, had been wading through mud for over an hour; it was no match for the pursuers.

She had initially planned to surrender and be taken to prison by the soldiers. She believed Chu Dingjiang would find out and rescue her. Even if he did not find out immediately, she could find an opportunity to escape. She had successfully broken out of a heavily guarded modern prison; she did not believe wooden bars could hold her! But then she thought again. The Liao people had infiltrated Bianjing so deeply; going to prison might be like escaping one wolf’s den only to fall into another.

So, seeing a clinic, she immediately reined in her horse, grabbed Wei Yuzhi, and rushed inside. “Physician, please save my brother!”