The shadow guard rushed over, speaking urgently, “Young Master Six, our pursuers are formidable, all at the eighth rank.”

Mei Zhengjing’s eyes narrowed, “The battle situation?”

The guard reported, “We four ambushed them at the forest exit, but were forced to retreat after less than three exchanges. The others are holding them off to cover my retreat and report back.”

The power gap between the eighth and fifth ranks was self-evident. If not for their rich combat experience, the Mei Manor shadow guards might not have even been able to delay them. Those three were likely never coming back.

“We’re almost there,” Mei Zhengjing said, carrying the Second Elderly Madam on his back as he ran. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his speech became slightly breathless.

Mei Tingyuan asked worriedly, “Uncle, can you keep going?”

“Yes,” Mei Zhengjing replied curtly. He was carrying his mother on his back – he couldn’t abandon her. At this point, he had to keep going even if he felt he couldn’t!

“Three pursuers, forty zhang away!” An Jiu called out, turning to fire two crossbow bolts.

The bolts tore through the north wind, forcing the three eighth-rank experts to momentarily halt their pursuit.

An Jiu was surprised, then realized, “These are also prototypes. Their power is gradually waning. We need to find a way to delay and drain their internal energy.”

Mei Zhengjing shouted, “Into the cave!”

He leaped up the one-zhang high rock face, ducking behind a crooked pine tree before disappearing inside.

Running last and without lightness skills, An Jiu had little chance of climbing up. Sensing the three experts closing in, she fired several more crossbow bolts.

Two dodged, but one leaped onto the rock face, his hand forming a claw aimed at An Jiu’s throat.

An Jiu neither dodged nor resisted. As the man’s hand reached her neck, her dagger simultaneously stabbed towards his abdomen.

Noticing her move, the man retracted his body and swung at her wrist.

The dagger, sharp enough to cut iron like mud, fell. As it dropped, it grazed the attacker’s thigh, instantly drawing blood. An Jiu’s eyes flashed. Without hesitation, she jumped down from the rock face, rolled on the ground, quickly retrieved her dagger, and ran downstream.

The black-clad man on the cliff pursued, grabbing An Jiu’s fur coat and tearing it to shreds. The fur scattered in the wind like fine snow. The other two, seeing their comrade chasing An Jiu, swiftly climbed the cliff to pursue Mei Zhengjing and the others.

As her pursuer attacked again, An Jiu’s mental power suddenly burst forth, momentarily suppressing him. Her dagger thrust towards his throat. Shocked, the man found his movements sluggish and unable to dodge. He could only raise his hand to block.

The blade sliced through, severing four fingers. Bright red blood splattered on the rock face.

Enraged and shocked, the black-clad man gathered his internal energy for another attack. But suddenly, his body froze. The exposed skin on his face visibly turned charcoal black. Blood spurted from his eyes, sizzling and emitting white smoke as it hit the rock. In an instant, the man seemed to have been burned by intense flames, becoming a charred corpse!

It was Mo Sigui’s “Spring Wind Speaks No Words” poison!

“Ah—” Mei Jiu screamed in terror.

An Jiu was inwardly shocked, resolving to be extremely cautious the next time she spoke with Mo Sigui.

Sensing no one within a hundred zhang, An Jiu found a hidden spot to rest briefly. While carefully concealing her presence, she pondered her situation. Without internal energy, and with Mei Jiu’s nervousness during close combat, she could only rely on her mental power advantage. However, her mental attacks could only slow down eighth-rank experts. If two attacked simultaneously, she wouldn’t be so lucky!

Although An Jiu’s two successful encounters seemed simple, they were extremely dangerous.

Considering her relatively weak current strength, she decided close combat should be avoided unless necessary. The best strategy would be to obtain a good bow and hide, returning to her old profession as a sniper.

According to Mo Sigui, this attack could last about an hour. Less than two cups of tea’s worth of time had passed, so there was still a long way to go. The risk of simply hiding versus finding a bow was about the same, only the latter required movement while the former didn’t.

“Stop crying!” An Jiu said, “We’re going back to Yuwei Residence now.”

“Go back?” Mei Jiu was shocked, “Wouldn’t that be walking into the tiger’s mouth?”

She preferred finding a safe place to hide.

“You think hiding will solve everything?” An Jiu’s strong mental power allowed her to conceal herself well, undetectable to most. But the madman searching for her was a transcendent expert who could sense her presence.

Yuwei Residence wasn’t far, just a moment away if they took a shortcut.

But An Jiu didn’t move immediately. She rested against the rock face, feeling her strength gradually return. Then she began checking her equipment to see what resources she still had.

After inspection, An Jiu’s mood grew somber. She had three arrows left for her arm crossbow, a bundle of Xuan silk rope, a dagger, and a half-empty bottle of poison.

The Xuan silk rope, as fine as a hair and semi-transparent, was incredibly tough. Mei Jiu loved embroidery, and patterns made with this silk seemed to float ethereally on fabric, not only beautiful but also a test of skill. Unfortunately, beyond setting small traps for opponents, An Jiu couldn’t think of any other use for it. Since she didn’t know where enemies might be, setting traps wasn’t an option. In short… the rope was almost useless.

The remaining two items were things An Jiu insisted on carrying at all times.

“We must find weapons,” An Jiu put away her items and, ensuring no one was around, set off.

Her mental power proved extremely useful now, allowing her to detect others from a hundred zhang away. While there wasn’t time to set ambushes, she could easily avoid detection.

They returned to Yuwei Residence unimpeded. In the bedroom, An Jiu retrieved a bow, arrows, and a flexible sword. She also stuffed medicinal items from the cabinet into a small bundle.

Back in her room, Mei Jiu felt a sense of security, her tension easing slightly. Suddenly, she remembered, “Oh no, Yaoxie and the others are still in the banquet hall.”

“Those people killed their way in from outside. Yaoxie was sitting in the courtyard,” An Jiu said bluntly, “He’s already dead.”

“Then… then…” Mei Jiu’s voice tightened, “What about my sister? We escaped from Bianjing together. If it weren’t for her help along the way, I would have been caught and taken back long ago. If I abandon her now to save myself, can I even call myself human?”

“You’ve already fled once. Now you want to play the hero?” An Jiu asked emotionlessly.

“I thought hiding would be safe, but you implied there’s danger even in hiding!” Mei Jiu paused, as if making a great decision, “I want to go back and find her.”

“No!” An Jiu had decided on self-destruction but had no intention of destroying Mei Jiu, “Your mother protected you with her life. Is this how you repay her sacrifice?”

“My mother wouldn’t want me to be a coward!” A hint of tragic heroism crept into Mei Jiu’s trembling voice, “If I’m to live, I want to live cleanly, with a clear conscience.”