Gu Jingfeng? An Jiu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. Her peripheral vision fell on the other agent. Judging by the build, could it be Chu Dingjiang?
As if seeing through An Jiu’s thoughts, Gu Jingfeng slightly turned his head and asked, “Brother Chu, you don’t object, do you?”
“No,” came the single-word reply, making him seem particularly cold and taciturn.
The two agents blatantly ignored Instructor Di’s words, arbitrarily including An Jiu in their selection. Instructor Di didn’t dare question it.
For the remaining twelve, Gu Jingfeng and Chu Dingjiang took turns choosing. In the blink of an eye, they had divided everyone up. Unsurprisingly, Lou Mingyue was chosen by Gu Jingfeng.
This selection was unfair. Chu Dingjiang hadn’t had a chance to familiarize himself with these people beforehand, and Gu Jingfeng always chose first. Chu was essentially left with the leftovers.
“Everyone, follow me,” Gu Jingfeng said.
“Yes!” Seven people responded in unison.
On the other side, Chu Dingjiang stood like a black monument on the training platform, silent. His cloak concealed his face, as mysterious and steady as ever.
An Jiu, at the rear, walked a few steps before turning back to look.
Just as she turned, Chu Dingjiang spoke, “Let’s go.”
As he turned, he seemed to glance this way. It wasn’t clear who that “Let’s go” was meant for.
An Jiu lowered her head and followed the group closely.
Entering a spacious room, Gu Jingfeng said, “You all possess martial skills and have passed Konghejia’s two-month selection. From now on, every trial will be life-or-death. The final two survivors will enter the Konghejia Army.”
Lou Mingyue seemed about to speak but hesitated.
Gu Jingfeng turned slightly. “Any questions?”
It wasn’t Lou Mingyue who responded, but a male voice. “Why so harsh? I remember the instructor saying eight of us could enter Konghejia.”
Gu Jingfeng paused briefly, then said coolly, “Die in trials or die on missions. Is there much difference?”
His impassive words, true and cruel, laid bare the reality before everyone.
“Mei Fourteen only joined Konghejia yesterday and hasn’t gone through selection,” Lou Mingyue said, knowing An Jiu lacked inner force. Here, where even the weakest were fourth-tier, facing this with only external cultivation was near-certain death.
“She has passed my selection,” Gu Jingfeng explained patiently.
An Jiu’s brow twitched. She sensed that last night’s attacker might not have been sent by Instructor Di, but by Gu Jingfeng to test her abilities!
From the moment Gu Jingfeng said “We’ll meet again” in the plum garden, he had likely been observing and testing her. Realizing someone had been secretly investigating her, An Jiu immediately classified Gu Jingfeng as extremely dangerous.
Lou Mingyue saw that despite Gu Jingfeng’s gentle appearance, he was not easy to persuade. Such people were often the most stubborn at their core, unlikely to change their decisions based on others’ words. So she said no more.
“Tomorrow will be the first trial. Your task is to assassinate a target hiding in the forest. Tonight, Chief Steward Sheng will provide you with ample supplies. You may now go to the armory to select suitable weapons.”
They had just survived one brush with death, and now they were to plunge into another desperate situation.
After Gu Jingfeng finished speaking, the room fell silent. After a moment, the atmosphere began to grow restless, but being specially trained, they showed no extreme emotional reactions.
Someone asked, “Sir, who is the target? Where are they located?”
“You’ll be informed when the time comes. All I can tell you now is that this will be a team operation, not an individual trial,” Gu Jingfeng said. “You’re dismissed.”
Gu Jingfeng gave the impression of a gentle spring breeze, but his actions were the opposite, leaving people feeling quite disappointed. An Jiu felt nothing, not because she had seen Gu Jingfeng’s cruelty before, but because she had never placed hope in anyone.
“Yes!” The seven responded in unison, though their thoughts varied.
A team operation – this news was both good and bad. “Strength in numbers” was undeniable, but in their previous training, they couldn’t trust anyone and had to fight alone. They had formed habits of self-reliance. Could they unite now? Was it possible?
An Jiu thought it might be possible, depending on how the rules were set.
Officials were already waiting at the door. Seeing everyone emerge, one said, “Please follow me to the armory.”
The moonlight was cold, like frost seeping into their hearts. The group felt no joy at seeing light, only a chill throughout their bodies.
Konghejia’s weapons were diverse. Though none were particularly rare, they were all of high quality and had undergone strict inspection. There wasn’t much to choose from; one simply selected their preferred type.
An Jiu first took a flexible sword, then hesitated between a bow and a crossbow, ultimately choosing the bow. Elder Zhi had said bows were more spirited than crossbows, and after some experimentation, An Jiu found this quite reasonable.
Returning to her dark quarters, An Jiu found more supplies on the table: dried food, various common medicines, and a set of clothing made from an unknown material. The outfit was cleverly designed with various hidden pockets that could hold many small items.
An Jiu removed her cloak and put on the new outfit, placing each item from the table into the various pockets. She was surprised to find that, except for some of the dried food, everything fit into the clothing!
This made things much more convenient, though the weight on her body now reached about thirty jin.
“You’re quite proactive,” a deep voice said with a hint of amusement.
The uninvited guest displeased An Jiu. She was holding her bow and immediately drew the string, releasing an arrow empowered by spiritual force – swift, accurate, and fierce.
After a moment of silence, Chu Dingjiang made a surprised sound, lightly dropping from the ceiling beam. In the darkness, he accurately grasped An Jiu’s bow. “You even had a hidden trump card, tsk tsk.”
An Jiu remained silent, spinning to deliver a fierce kick to Chu Dingjiang’s waist.
He neither dodged nor used protective energy, taking the blow directly.
“What are you doing here?” An Jiu asked, her emotions calmer after venting.
“Scouting the enemy,” Chu Dingjiang released her hand and sat on a stool, pushing back his cloak. “Tomorrow’s trial is a competition between Deputy Commander Gu’s team and mine. You have an extra person and an eighth-tier martial master, giving you quite an advantage. So I thought I’d come kill one or two of you.”
“You’re telling me this because you want me to commit suicide?” An Jiu said sarcastically.
“You don’t know how to talk pleasantly, girl,” Chu Dingjiang said as if lecturing a minor. “If I wanted to kill you, it would take but a moment. Why waste words here? Besides, killing the one next door would be more useful. What good would killing a useless person like you do?”
An Jiu sneered, “You put on an act letting Gu Jingfeng choose first, then complain about getting fewer and weaker people, and now you’re doing this behind the scenes. You’re a hypocrite and despicable.”
When An Jiu first met Chu Dingjiang, she thought he was in a difficult situation but resilient. Later interactions made her think he was a straightforward, honest man. Now, looking back, she realized he had never been a good person from the start.
“That wasn’t my choice,” Chu Dingjiang had something on his mind and needed to vent. “Gu Jingfeng is the Emperor’s special envoy. I was exiled here after being pushed out of the Shenwu Army. He outranks me by half a grade. How could our positions be the same?”
Gu Jingfeng was undefeated in battle and renowned in the Konghejia Army. Those with the ability to challenge him in trials feared losing face if defeated, while ordinary people were no match for him. So the selection had been in limbo. The newly appointed commander of the Shenwu Army, who had been scheming to push out Chu Dingjiang, certainly wouldn’t miss this rare opportunity. When he proposed Chu Dingjiang, it was almost unanimously approved internally, with no suspense. They effortlessly pushed this thorn in their side out of the Konghejia Army.
Far from comforting him, An Jiu said disdainfully, “You were once the Shenwu Lieutenant and Commander.”
Her implication was clear: Why had Gu Jingfeng, a mere deputy, become the Emperor’s confidant while Chu had fallen so low? There must be issues with his character.
“Haha,” Chu Dingjiang laughed loudly but didn’t argue.
His advancement to the Transformation State had relied on some external help. He never denied that his innate talent was inferior to Gu Jingfeng’s.
But like others, he had climbed to high positions stepping on mountains of corpses. The leap from Shenwu Lieutenant to Shenwu Commander seemed swift, but the scheming and hardships behind it were beyond outsiders’ understanding. Yet he was pushed down from that high position after such a short time. Others might feel resentment and hatred, but he didn’t.
Victory and defeat were common in a warrior’s life. As long as one lived, there was always a chance to rise again!
“Alright, I’m done teasing you. I have things to do,” Chu Dingjiang stood up. He wanted to touch An Jiu’s face but his raised hand only seemed to brush past her cheek.
An Jiu felt he had something to say, but in the end, she only saw a blur as he vanished into the darkness.
An Jiu’s heart skipped a beat. Surely he wouldn’t go kill Lou Mingyue! She went to the wall and knocked three times.
After a moment, two knocks came in response from the other side.
An Jiu fell into deep thought. Why had Chu Dingjiang come specifically to see her?
After resting for two hours, a distant signal horn sounded.
Everyone immediately rushed towards it.
On the training ground stood two tall, black-clad riders. Beside them were thirteen fine horses, their hooves treated to minimize noise when running.
The trial participants arrived one after another.
“Mount up!” Chu Dingjiang ordered.
Once everyone had mounted, with Chu Dingjiang and Gu Jingfeng in the lead, they rode out of Konghejia through a side gate.
In the darkest moment before dawn, the group galloped along the main road like a gust of wind, producing only muffled sounds.
As they neared the city gate, the guards finally saw a group of mysterious figures in dark cloaks racing towards them. Just as they were about to challenge them, the leader raised a hand, and in an instant, a bamboo slip was forcefully embedded in the stone wall.
The guard commander took a close look, then turned and shouted, “Let them pass!”
Those below dared not delay.
The side gate creaked open. The group arrived just as it began to open, disappearing before it was fully wide. The soldiers holding the gate stood dazed for a moment, peering out briefly before remembering to close it.