The slender young man turned his head back, sat for a while, then quietly stood up.
He sat down next to An Jiu and asked softly, tilting his head, “Mei Fourteen?”
Hearing his voice, An Jiu remembered who he was. “Qiu clan.”
During the trial at the ancient temple, they encountered someone who used poison. Lou Mingyue had said he was from the Qiu clan.
“Oh? You have a good memory.” The young man’s features were delicate, his lips pale, and his smile particularly gentle. “My name is Qiu Yunyan.”
Qiu Yunyan loved looking at beautiful people. When he saw Lou Mingyue’s true face, he was immediately stunned by her beauty and had been attentively serving her. Now, seeing An Jiu, he suddenly felt that this kind of exquisite and lovely appearance was truly his favorite.
His flirtation with beauties wasn’t vulgar; his words and actions followed the principle of “A gentleman pursues a virtuous lady,” which wasn’t particularly detestable. However, An Jiu wasn’t used to being close to people, especially dangerous individuals like Qiu Yunyan, who was full of poison.
But there were only a few empty seats here, with people all around. She could only force herself to sit there, feeling as if all the hair on her body was standing on end.
Fortunately, it was soon Qiu Yunyan’s turn to enter the arena. When he left, An Jiu felt greatly relieved.
Looking at the training ground, another corpse was being dragged away. The victor was also covered in wounds and was helped away by the guards to rest.
“Mei Fourteen.” Lou Mingyue walked to An Jiu’s side.
She was dressed in black, thinner than before, with an added layer of killing intent in her brow, which disrupted her original heroic and spirited appearance.
“How did you end up here too?” Lou Mingyue asked.
“The Mei clan was attacked, similar to the Lou clan,” An Jiu said.
Not similar, but more tragic.
Lou Mingyue’s expression changed slightly. “Doesn’t the Mei clan have many experts and a divine doctor? How could…”
An Jiu didn’t mind chatting with Lou Mingyue, as their conversations usually resembled work reports. “The enemy had dozens of ninth-rank experts, and even transcendent realm fighters assisting. It’s already quite remarkable that some from the Mei clan survived.”
“How is that possible?” Lou Mingyue couldn’t believe it. Had half of the world’s ninth-rank experts been recruited by the shadowy mastermind?
Lou Mingyue had entered the Crane Control Institute early on, and new members couldn’t freely go out, so she didn’t know about the events happening outside.
“Yelü Huangwu truly has impressive methods,” Lou Mingyue gritted her teeth, the weight on her heart growing heavier. She had thoroughly investigated Yelü Huangwu before and knew this person had considerable political talent. She had thought that even a heaven-sent genius would only have a few more years of experience than her. But now…
“And why did you come here?” An Jiu remembered that the heads of Crane-controlling families usually didn’t need to join the Crane Control Army.
“I let Xiao Wu take the position of the Lou clan’s head,” Lou Mingyue said flatly, not wanting to discuss the matter further.
The reason for Lou Mingyue joining the Crane Control Army was simple. Yelü Huangwu not only had numerous experts under her command but could even touch military power. Trying to resist the declining Lou clan would be like throwing eggs against rocks. She was eager for revenge but not so blinded by hatred. After all, Yelü Huangwu was the mortal enemy of the Crane Control Army. By joining the Crane Control Army, she would eventually have her day of reckoning.
An Jiu didn’t ask further.
“You don’t need to go down to the arena, right?” Lou Mingyue asked.
An Jiu shook her head.
“Then come back with me to get settled?” Lou Mingyue glanced at the center of the training ground. “There’s nothing worth watching.”
Lou Mingyue was about to break through to the eighth rank. Even if she fought any of the four Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang instructors, she might not necessarily lose. Her battles in the arena were so one-sided that her opponents would fall before a speck of dust could touch her clothes.
An Jiu hesitated briefly before standing up to leave with her.
The surrounding guards stood as straight as wooden stakes, not stopping them as they left.
Lou Mingyue led An Jiu out through the back door, entering a dark corridor.
“You could have entered the Crane Control Army directly,” An Jiu’s voice echoed in the corridor as if asking over and over.
The Lou clan should have many high-ranking officials in the Crane Control Army. Getting someone as talented as Lou Mingyue it should have been as easy as turning over one’s hand.
Lou Mingyue said, “The Crane Control Army has been in chaos recently, especially the Divine Martial Army. First, the Commanding Officer was demoted to Deputy Yuchi, then his successor hastily suspended his position. Unfortunately, the successor can’t clean up this mess. The Divine Martial Army is now in disarray, becoming more chaotic with each attempt to reorganize. The other divisions aren’t much better. I’d rather stay in the Crane Control Institute for now, keeping my options open.”
Lou Mingyue’s identity was special. As a member of a Crane-controlling family, she knew more secrets than those in the Crane Control Institute. If she wanted to return and continue as the head of the Lou clan, the Crane Control Institute had no right to stop her.
“How is the situation now?” An Jiu asked.
“Now?” Lou Mingyue was puzzled. “Didn’t you come in after receiving news that the Crane Control Army had stabilized?”
The internal situation of the Crane Control Army had stabilized. An Jiu’s mind filled with doubts. How could it be such a coincidence? The reason she had only come now was because Hua Rongjian had stopped her.
An Jiu thought about how Hua Rongjian behaved differently in public and private, his disguise skill, and how he had deliberately let her leave this time… Could Hua Rongjian also be part of the Crane Control Army?
The Emperor was wary of the Hua clan and must have placed many spies around them. Hua Rongjian shouldn’t be able to play the role of a playboy while also hiding his identity and working in the Crane Control Army, right?
Lost in thought, they soon exited the corridor.
Although it was just approaching dusk, this end of the corridor was already pitch black.
Lou Mingyue walked through the darkness as if it were daylight, quickly entering a room and finding a flint to light an oil lamp. “There are many empty rooms here. You can live next door to me.”
The lamplight illuminated their faces.
Lou Mingyue’s face showed less killing intent and more fatigue and gentleness. She sighed, tossing aside the flint. “It’s always dark here, to train our ability to calculate time in chaos. Oil for lamps is distributed every seven days, but it’s only enough to burn for one hour. No one will wake you up every day; they’ll only tell you when and where to go. If you’re early or late, you’ll be punished.”
“Mm.” These weren’t problems for An Jiu. “There’s a trial in three months?”
“After entering the Crane Control Institute, there’s a confrontation every half month, but it’s just for practice. After two full months, there’s a life-and-death battle for group assignment, which is today. In the following month, every confrontation is a fight to the death. In the third month, there’s a major trial… which is in one month.” Lou Mingyue paused before adding, “Perhaps you won’t be counted in the same batch as us.”
An Jiu understood from that “dead eunuch’s” words that they planned to put her in the next batch.
With the matter discussed, the two fell silent.
The faint sound of the oil lamp burning made the room feel even quieter and more stuffy.
After a long while, Lou Mingyue stood up and said, “You should rest now. I’m going back to my room.”
“Mm.” An Jiu stood up to see her off.
“Be careful of Qiu Yunyan,” Lou Mingyue turned her head to warn as she reached the door.