An Jiu raised her bow and drew the empty string.
With a twang, the transparent arrow cut through the snowy air. As it approached Wei Yuzi, it gradually condensed into a black mist.
However, about ten feet from Wei Yuzi, the arrow seemed to encounter massive resistance. Its speed suddenly slowed, then disappeared as it advanced.
Wei Yuzi took half a step back, his face growing even paler.
So this was the spiritual power that could control external objects! To think it could reach such a level!
An Jiu drew her bow again, firing four ordinary arrows in rapid succession.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh! The arrows approached one after another.
The first arrow stopped in front of Wei Yuzi. The second split the first in half as it passed through. This continued until the fourth arrow halted right before Wei Yuzi’s eyes.
Rumors in the jianghu claimed that the second-in-command of Piaomiao Mountain Manor couldn’t fight, yet often traveled alone. He had never come to harm because no one dared to touch Piaomiao Mountain Manor’s people… This rumor seemed credible, but upon closer examination, something didn’t add up. There were always one or two reckless individuals in this world who didn’t fear death. The more likely reason Wei Yuzi had lived safely until now was that he had sufficient self-protection abilities.
His spiritual power could probably not only defend but also kill!
The fourth arrow suddenly shattered. Wei Yuzi staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Sir!” Mei Ruyan rushed forward to support him.
Wei Yuzi straightened up. “Miss Mei Fourteen, such a greeting leaves a deep impression on me.”
Mei Ruyan froze for a moment, then whirled around. She saw a black figure leaping down from the rafters, exuding a cold, murderous aura. The person was like an unsheathed sword, or a wolf ready to tear apart its prey. There wasn’t a trace of Mei Jiu’s presence.
“A Jiu?” She turned back to Wei Yuzi in disbelief. “This is my sister?”
Mei Ruyan’s features had matured. She had an oval face, phoenix eyes with delicate eyebrows, and a faint sadness and killing intent between her brows. Though not voluptuous, she possessed a unique charm.
“Sisters meeting and not recognizing each other,” Wei Yuzi took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the corner of his mouth. “Don’t worry, this might not be a dead end. As long as she agrees to marry me, she can be safe.”
An Jiu found it strange that this man had been talking about marriage since their first meeting. “Why me?”
“I understand the principles of divination, so I can set up formations and also make predictions, commonly known as fortune-telling,” Wei Yuzi said calmly. “You and I are fated.”
Nonsense! An Jiu scoffed.
“Even if we’re fated, it’s an ill-fated connection,” she coldly raised the Subduing Dragon Bow. “And you’re wrong about one thing – whether this is a dead end or not isn’t for you to decide!”
Before she finished speaking, three arrows fired simultaneously, tearing through the snow curtain.
A single person could shoot a rain of arrows! That madness seemed to return her to the moment of being trapped in the armory. She wouldn’t rest until she tore Wei Yuzi apart!
It was a critical moment.
The arrows paused for an instant about five feet away. Mei Ruyan seized the opportunity to pull Wei Yuzi aside.
Having lost their target, the arrows embedded themselves in a distant wooden door.
An Jiu frowned. “Mei Ruyan, you side with the murderer who massacred your family?”
An Jiu still remembered that Mei Ruyan had deep feelings for Master Mo. If she were pretending to be close to Wei Yuzi, she shouldn’t be behaving like this now! Besides this, there were only two possibilities: either Mei Ruyan didn’t know Piaomiao Mountain Manor was behind the Mei family massacre, or she knew but still chose to side with the wolves.
Mei Ruyan’s body trembled. Only now did she believe the person before her was indeed Mei Jiu? She mumbled, “It can’t be.”
She carried Wei Yuzi and leaped onto the corridor, her expression now calm. She said helplessly, “Sir, you’re incredibly intelligent, yet you don’t understand women at all. Even if you and my sister are fated, under such coercion, she must be annoyed. How can you talk about marriage?”
Wei Yuzi silently gazed at the murderous An Jiu in the courtyard, feeling Mei Ruyan’s words had some truth. “Then what should we do?”
With Wei Yuzi’s wisdom, even if the sky were falling, people would believe him if he said he could find a way to hold it up.
This was the first time in his life he had uttered the words “what should we do.”
Seeing An Jiu draw her bow again, Mei Ruyan quickly retreated several zhang with Wei Yuzi, landing in a distant alley. “Sir, let my sister reunite with those people. Although this won’t erase her resentment, at least it won’t create more enmity.”
The grudge between the two of them had already been established long ago.
“In Bianjing, I deliberately let her capture me. Although I partly intended to infiltrate the Controlling Crane Agency, my true intention was to get closer to her…” Wei Yuzi coughed dryly a couple of times, then asked weakly, “Now that she knows my abilities, will she think I deliberately used her?”
This… wasn’t it using her from the beginning? Mei Ruyan remained silent, looking at him.
Wei Yuzi closed his eyes. “I’m tired.”
Finding a wife was truly exhausting! He had missed his chance when he was subtle before, and now that he was trying to get closer, had he missed again?
“I’ll take you back to rest, sir,” Mei Ruyan vaguely knew that this was just the main branch of Piaomiao Mountain Manor for accepting missions, not its true headquarters. Even if it were destroyed, it wouldn’t ruin Piaomiao Mountain Manor’s foundation.
Mei Ruyan helped him into a carriage and drove out of the small town.
They hadn’t gone far when a rider urgently caught up. “Second Master!”
The carriage stopped, and Mei Ruyan poked her head out. “What’s the matter?”
“Miss Ruyan!” The man bowed, then continued, “Isn’t the Second Master with you?”
“The master is tired and needs to rest briefly. If you have any matters, you can tell me. I’ll relay them to him when he wakes,” Mei Ruyan said.
The man hesitated, then insisted, “Please wake the master, Miss. This matter is crucial and only he can decide.”
Usually, these subordinates greatly feared Wei Yuzi and wouldn’t dare disturb him like this. Mei Ruyan knew it must indeed be a confidential matter she shouldn’t know about. She gently nudged Wei Yuzi. “Sir, sir.”
Wei Yuzi slowly opened his eyes and lightly raised his hand. A strange fragrance wafted through the carriage, and Mei Ruyan’s vision darkened as she lost consciousness.
“Speak,” Wei Yuzi leaned against the carriage wall, his brow showing fatigue.
“Second Master! The Old Master has disappeared!” the man said urgently.
Wei Yuzi showed no surprise, only saying calmly, “Don’t worry about this. Order the immediate use of the grand formation. Against a master of the highest level, hand-to-hand combat is the worst strategy.”
“Yes!” The man accepted the order and left.
Wei Yuzi still clearly remembered how much effort it had taken to subdue Wei Yunshan years ago. Wei Yuzi indeed hadn’t absorbed any of his inner power, but Wei Yunshan’s current predicament was entirely due to his calculations. However, Wei Yunshan was unaware of this.
The most perfect scheme in this world isn’t to put someone to death, but to manipulate them to the point where they suspect everyone in the world, yet still trust only you.
Wei Yuzi lowered his eyes and waved his wide sleeve over Mei Ruyan’s face.
Mei Ruyan smelled a faint, fresh fragrance and slowly regained consciousness.
In the small town, the killing continued.
The entire sky was filled with a heavy scent of blood. Over forty of Piaomiao Mountain Manor’s assassins had already died, most falling to Chu Dingjiang. It was less a team operation and more Chu Dingjiang single-handedly slaughtering the enemy.
When An Jiu found them, only nine remained, including Chu Dingjiang.
She could see at a glance that this was due to Chu Dingjiang’s protection.
Because among these people, more than half were from the team Chu Dingjiang had led. Even the two experts from Gu Jinghou’s group who were about to advance to the ninth level had perished, leaving only Lou Mingyue, Sui Yunzhu, Li Qingzhi, and An Jiu. In contrast, lower-level martial artists like Sun Dixian had survived. On this battlefield where strength spoke, without external interference, such a situation would be impossible.
“Lou Er!” An Jiu unstrapped the explosive crossbows and handed them to Lou Mingyue and Sui Yunzhu. “There are only two crossbows left.”
Under Chu Dingjiang’s biased protection, as their former high-level teammates died one by one, Lou Mingyue, Sui Yunzhu, and Li Qingzhi gradually felt pushed aside. Now that An Jiu had given them the crossbows, the three once again felt a sense of belonging to the team. Li Qingzhi was a bit unhappy about not receiving a crossbow, but seeing that An Jiu didn’t have one either, he thought no more of it. He let out a roar, swinging his sword with great force.
Sun Dixian felt discontented. It was fine for Sui Yunzhu to have an explosive crossbow, but Lou Mingyue, an expert about to reach the ninth level, should be ashamed to cling to one!
The sound of the ocarina rose again.
Everyone felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly as if the entire surface was about to explode.
Mist appeared from nowhere, and in the blink of an eye, they couldn’t see beyond a zhang. The Piaomiao Mountain Manor assassins scattered in all directions. Soon, only the ten of them remained in the alley, along with the corpses.
The mist grew thicker and thicker. In the night, they could barely see each other even face to face.
“This mist is strange,” Sui Yunzhu realized he could no longer sense the people around him.
Chu Dingjiang’s spiritual power was also somewhat limited.
“Which way should we go?” Li Qingzhi asked.