The family head spoke, “Choose a weapon that suits you.”

An Jiu withdrew her gaze and stepped inside upon hearing this.

Mei Ruyan had barely taken a step when she kicked the corner of a wooden rack. Several weapons clattered to the ground, startling her into a crouch as she hurriedly apologized.

“No matter, continue,” the family head said.

Mei Ruyan breathed a slight sigh of relief and moved more cautiously. After a while, her eyes finally adjusted to the dim light, allowing her movements to become somewhat freer.

Mo Sigui, whose movements were usually extremely slow and graceful, suddenly unleashed his power, removing the restrictions on his seven apertures. Only a few experts could sense this. They glanced at Elder Qi, exchanging knowing smiles.

Mo Sigui was the first to choose a weapon—a folding fan. The fan face depicted an apricot blossom, with the verse “A branch of red apricot extends beyond the wall” written beside it, signed by Yan Wudao.

He couldn’t see how this fan differed from an ordinary folding fan, but he found the poem exquisite. “Red apricot beyond the wall”—what a good omen!

Elder Qi’s cheek twitched, while Elder Xian chuckled, “This lad truly suits my temperament. If not for his mismatched talent, I’d like to take him under my wing.”

Mei Ruyan looked around for a while before stopping in front of several musical instruments. “Pipa, guqin—can these be considered weapons?”

Indeed, in pleasure houses like Xinghang Pavilion, what man doesn’t lose himself in intoxicating melodies? Mei Ruyan was quite interested in the burnt-tail qin, but having just escaped from the brothel, she felt averse to these arts.

She was about to look away when the family head said, “Choose according to your intuition, without considering other factors.”

Mei Ruyan froze, standing before the burnt-tail qin for a long time before finally reaching out to lift it.

While both had already made their choices, An Jiu, who had acted first, still hadn’t found anything to her liking. In An Jiu’s heart, no weapon could compare to a sniper rifle. If not a sniper rifle, even a bundle of explosives would do!

Compared to cold weapons, An Jiu preferred firearms.

The hunched elder who had been observing her appeared before her, holding out a longbow. His cloudy eyes seemed to flash with a glimmer of light as he asked, “How about this?”

“A bow?” An Jiu plucked the bowstring with her finger and commented, “The draw weight is too light.”

The elder thrust the bow into her hands, saying with disdain, “With those skinny arms and legs of yours, it’d be impressive if you could draw it at all! Here, take it, and stop being so picky!”

An Jiu felt the bow, which was taller than her, and followed the elder out.

She knew she wouldn’t find her ideal weapon here, and now her mind was filled with doubts: From Mei Jiu’s memories, she knew this was the seventh year of the Qingyuan era in the Great Song Dynasty—wasn’t this the Southern Song? Shouldn’t women of this era be virtuous ladies adhering to the three obediences and four virtues? It was understandable for great families to teach women the four arts, but why would they let them dabble in weapons?

An Jiu remembered something about “Mu Guiying Taking Command,” but couldn’t recall if it happened in the Southern or Northern Song. Could it be that the Song Dynasty wasn’t as feudal as imagined?

Exiting the armory, the family head and the elders took their seats.

“Elder Xian, what do you think of Fifteenth Miss?” the family head asked, turning his head.

Elder Xian nodded slightly.

“As for… Fourteenth Miss?” The family head’s gaze swept the room, finally landing on the elder who had interacted most with An Jiu. “Elder Zhi, are you interested?”

Elder Zhi chuckled, “Hmm, I’ll take her.”

“Excuse me, may I ask why?” An Jiu inquired.

Elder Zhi pointed a finger like a withered branch at his heart, “A mind as still as water.”

From the moment they entered the room, Elder Zhi had been observing Mei Ruyan and An Jiu’s behavior. Mei Ruyan’s eyes were lively, revealing that she was weighing and considering many things in her mind. An Jiu, on the other hand, had an air of having everything under control, despite clearly lacking the strength to support such confidence. This suggested three possibilities: she was either foolish, completely indifferent, or possessed a heart as tranquil as a secluded valley.

An Jiu’s performance ruled out foolishness, and Elder Zhi didn’t believe a young girl could be so indifferent to worldly matters, so he surmised it must be the last option.

Since Elder Zhi insisted, the family head didn’t question further. “In that case, go down to Songquan for a bath. Tomorrow morning, you’ll perform the discipleship ceremony.”

“Yes,” the three bowed respectfully before withdrawing.

The family head dismissed the servants, leaving only himself and the five elders in the room.

Elder Xian spoke first, “Third Uncle, you haven’t taken a disciple in seven years. Why today…”

Elder Ming continued, “Yes, setting aside Fourteenth Miss’s lack of literary knowledge, her steps are unsteady as she walks, indicating a poor physical foundation. She’s not suitable for martial arts training. She only has a pretty face, which meets the criteria for marrying outside the family. Forcibly keeping her here might…”

Elder Zhi pulled a piece of paper from his sleeve and unfolded it—it was the one An Jiu had written earlier!

No one, despite being experts, had noticed when he took it!

“Though the handwriting is ugly, the strokes are decisive, with hidden sharpness and strength within the softness,” Elder Zhi said, squinting as he held the paper up to the light, all traces of his earlier playfulness gone. “Did you notice? From entering the main hall to the armory, even Sigui paused, but she showed no signs of needing to adjust. Heaven has blessed her with excellent eyes.”

Elder Zhi lived up to his name of “Wisdom.” He was no ordinary person. At fourteen, he had topped the imperial examinations. Excelling in both civil and military affairs and blessed with handsome looks, he gained imperial favor and remained in the capital as an official. At seventeen, when the Mei family faced a crisis, he gave up his promising career and returned home, single-handedly reviving the Mei family. At forty, he handed over the position of family head and began traveling widely, returning to Meihua Village ten years later to become an elder of the Mei family.

His life had some regrets, but overall it had been quite smooth.

“Alas! Due to my state of mind, my archery has gradually become too peaceful, lacking killing intent. I fear there’s no hope for me in this lifetime, but I hope to see true archery before I die!” Elder Zhi had placed his lifelong hope on the Fourteenth Miss, whom everyone else looked down upon.

Outside, dappled sunlight filtered through the maple-lined path.

Mo Sigui blocked An Jiu’s way. “Shouldn’t you explain what happened earlier?”

Mei Ruyan, not wanting to be caught in the middle, said, “Cousin and Sister, you two talk first. I’ll go bathe.”

“Alright,” Mo Sigui replied politely.

Mei Ruyan’s eyes curved in a smile as she hugged the burnt-tail qin and left in high spirits with Wenbi. Wencui also tactfully retreated two zhang away.

“Explain what?” An Jiu asked.

Mo Sigui gazed at her with a smile, still showing no anger. “You grabbed my flesh.”

“Ah, you don’t want to grab back, do you?” An Jiu said.

Mo Sigui grinned mischievously, swiftly opening the fan with “A branch of red apricot extends beyond the wall” written on it. “The place my cousin grabbed is quite embarrassing, but cousin likes it.”

An Jiu pulled up the corners of her mouth, lowering her eyes to look at his crotch. “Hehe, it’s good that you like it. I originally intended to grab that handle, but it was too small. My hand grasped empty air and ended up somewhere else.”