An Jiu carefully considered her options. When her mental power burst forth, even a master of the highest realm like Chu Dingjiang could be subdued. These second or third-grade martial artists should pose even less of a problem.
She was well aware that once she started killing, her emotions could easily spiral out of control. Although she had remained relatively calm during the attack on the Mei clan, she had a history of mental illness. Who knew when it might flare up again?
Even if she could never become someone like Mei Jiu, An Jiu didn’t want to continue being a killing machine.
“Don’t be foolish!” As An Jiu spoke, a surge of mental power suddenly engulfed everyone present. “I don’t want to start killing, but you keep pushing me. If you don’t want to die, get out of here now!”
The overwhelming killing intent felt like a giant hand squeezing their entire bodies, ready to crush them at any moment. Everyone turned pale, their bodies going limp as they fell from their horses. They didn’t even dare to think about escaping.
An Jiu withdrew her mental power.
The bandit leader, who had been gritting his teeth to endure, suddenly lost strength in his legs. He fell from his horse with a thud, kneeling on the ground. “Thank you for sparing our lives, Senior!”
After kowtowing several times, he scrambled away. Some who had fallen from their horses failed to remount and simply ran away on foot, abandoning their mounts.
An Jiu hadn’t expected her mental intimidation to be so effective. If she had known, why play hide and seek? This mental power seemed unable to cause physical harm, but it was more than enough to scare people.
As she pondered this, she suddenly sensed a gaze upon her. Looking down, she saw the scholar staring up at her.
The scholar’s face was somewhat pale, but he didn’t appear as terrified and panicked as the bandits.
“Miss…” the scholar carefully chose his words, “May I ask who you are and where you’re from?”
An Jiu became wary and quietly gripped her dagger. “You’re not a scholar.”
“Scholar?” His expression was dazed, but he didn’t forget his manners. He cupped his hands and said, “My name is Wei Yuzhi.”
“Wei Yuzhi… Wei Yuzhi…” An Jiu felt the name was familiar. She searched her memory for this person.
That’s right! Mo Sigui had once told her about the Misty Mountain Manor. The master was called Wei Chuzhi, and he had a younger brother named Wei Yuzhi!
“Misty Mountain Manor?” In An Jiu’s impression, such a place was like the organization she used to belong to, involved in illegal activities and killings. She felt very averse to it, and her voice grew colder. “Let’s not interfere with each other’s business. Farewell.”
An Jiu leaped down using the remnants of a carved window. She chose a strong horse from those left behind by the bandits.
“May I ask your name, Miss?” Wei Yuzhi inquired.
An Jiu mounted the horse, put on her conical hat, and rode away without once looking at him.
Wei Yuzhi hurriedly returned to the temple to fetch his belongings and followed on horseback.
On the vast, rainy night, the cold was piercing. Their breath formed white clouds in the air.
“Miss, please take this straw rain cape,” Wei Yuzhi said, taking off his cape and offering it to An Jiu.
An Jiu’s expression remained cold, her wariness of this man increasing. To navigate through the dark, dense forest, she had spread her mental power all around. Yet it seemed to not affect him, and she couldn’t sense his strength at all.
Could Wei Yuzhi also be a master of the highest realm, surpassing her in mental power?
An Jiu glanced at him. He was a thin man, appearing to be only twenty-three or twenty-four years old. In the cold rain, his frail body shivered, his lips turning purple. He held a straw rain cape in his hand. Could such a person be a master of the highest realm?
“Although I am from Misty Mountain Manor, I don’t know any martial arts,” Wei Yuzhi said. “I was born with a weak constitution and have been sickly since birth. My adoptive father has been treating me with medicine for years. My life is no longer in danger, but I can never practice martial arts.”
The reputation of Misty Mountain Manor was well-known even among commoners. Everyone knew that the second young master couldn’t practice martial arts. But even if Wei Yuzhi wandered around alone, no one dared to harm a hair on his head. Offending an assassin’s den meant not even a hundred lives would be enough for their revenge.
Once, an enemy of Misty Mountain Manor had tried to kill Wei Yuzhi for revenge. Not only did they fail, but their entire clan was wiped out in a single night. Even their ancestral graves were dug up and the bodies exposed. Since then, no one dared to provoke Wei Yuzhi.
This incident also demonstrated the ruthlessness of Misty Mountain Manor.
“What exactly do you want, following me?” An Jiu reined in her horse and turned to stare at him.
Two strange patches of red appeared on Wei Yuzhi’s pale cheeks. “I’ve fallen in love with you at first sight, Miss…”
An Jiu snorted dismissively.
Love, at first sight, was such a mystical concept that even normal people found it hard to comprehend, let alone someone like An Jiu with her limited emotional intelligence.
“Stop following me!” An Jiu didn’t want to get involved in such trouble. Even if Wei Yuzhi wasn’t from Misty Mountain Manor, she wouldn’t consider him. She had no desire for marriage at all.
Wei Yuzhi didn’t persist. He simply said, “Until we meet again,” and fell back behind An Jiu.
As An Jiu rode onto the official road, she rubbed her temples vigorously. She felt it would have been better to face those thirty-odd bandits. At least that could have been resolved quickly. It was dangerous but without lingering concerns. A place like Misty Mountain Manor must have a powerful information network. Otherwise, how could they carry out assassinations if they couldn’t even locate their targets?
Wei Yuzhi had only seen her appearance. He might be able to find her in the vast sea of people.
Should she… take advantage of the night and silence him permanently?
The thought flashed through her mind, but An Jiu immediately dismissed it. There were no secrets in this world. She had once thought her assassinations were perfect, without flaws, but in the end, her identity had still been discovered.
Never mind. She had evaded years of pursuit and vendettas. Now, faced with an assassin organization that hadn’t shown clear malicious intent, she wasn’t afraid.
After midnight, the rain gradually stopped.
The road was muddy, so An Jiu slowed her pace. By dawn, the sky showed signs of clearing, promising good weather for the day.
There were many villages and towns near Bianjing, with roads leading in all directions.
An Jiu had been running a high fever from the rain. She rode quickly to the nearest town, found an inn, took a hot bath, drank two large bowls of ginger soup, and sweated under the blankets. Her condition improved slightly.
Fearing that a relapse would further slow her journey, she stayed in the town for three more days, waiting until she was fully recovered before setting out again.
This time, before she even left the town, she noticed a “tail” behind her.
Using her mental perception, An Jiu turned and immediately spotted the follower in the crowd, locking onto him with her mental power. She only intimidated and warned him, without taking action.
This method had some effect. At least the person no longer dared to follow so closely, keeping his distance. As there were no unusual occurrences along the way, An Jiu stopped paying attention to him.
On the tenth day, An Jiu successfully reached the outskirts of Bianjing.
It was early spring, and Bianjing already had some warmth. There were more travelers on the road compared to winter.
As she approached the city gate, An Jiu felt that another person was watching her. She thought Misty Mountain Manor might have sent additional people, believing one wasn’t enough.
Annoyed by the excessive attention, she raised her head and glared fiercely in that direction.