“Mei Jiu,” Mei Jiu mumbled.
Mo Sigui continued probing, “Have you been feeling down lately? Have you encountered anything frightening?”
Memories of being pursued flashed through Mei Jiu’s mind, and the three observers noticed fear appearing on her face.
Mo Sigui inwardly rejoiced, realizing the Dream Locking Technique was starting to take effect!
An Jiu remained unaffected by the hypnosis, but Mei Jiu had already fallen into a deep trance. If this continued, she would likely reveal everything.
The Dream Locking Technique was essentially a form of hypnosis, requiring verbal guidance to steer the subject’s imagination.
An Jiu spoke softly, “Don’t run, don’t be afraid. You’re safe here in Meihua Village. Your mother is here too.”
An Jiu’s voice resonated from within Mei Jiu’s heart, reaching her soul directly. It naturally overpowered Mo Sigui’s whispered suggestions.
Suddenly, Mei Jiu could no longer hear Mo Sigui. Her memories followed An Jiu’s words back to the Mei family’s ancestral hall. “As you leave the hall and open your eyes, you see Mo Sigui’s ferocious face as he attempts to violate you!”
Mo Sigui noticed Mei Jiu’s rapid breathing and increasingly fearful expression. Believing he was succeeding, he intensified his efforts to guide her.
“Scoundrel!” Mei Jiu screamed, her eyes flying open to meet Mo Sigui’s face. Terrified, she shrieked repeatedly and stumbled away.
Mei Ruyan quickly stood to steady her, careful not to startle her further. She whispered, “Elder sister!”
Unexpectedly, Mei Jiu struggled violently. “Let go of me! Let go!”
“Mother is here,” Mei Yanran approached, gently patting her back. “Mother is here.”
Mei Jiu calmed down and turned to see Mei Yanran. She immediately threw herself into her mother’s arms, sobbing, “Mother, cousin tried to violate me.”
As Mei Yanran softly comforted Mei Jiu, her eyes darkened. This truly was a case of her actions backfiring!
Mo Sigui’s jaw dropped. The situation was indefensible. He had assumed Mei Jiu’s most terrifying memory would be related to her supposed madness before coming to Meihua Village. How had this happened? Where had things gone wrong?
“An Jiu’er has been frightened. You should leave now,” Mei Yanran said, casting a cool glance at Mo Sigui.
Even with the thickest skin, he dared not linger. “I’ll return another day to apologize to my cousin,” he said, fleeing without a moment’s delay.
An Jiu felt somewhat disappointed.
Initially unfamiliar with the “Dream Locking Technique,” it had sounded promising. The situation was already dire – how much worse could it get? At worst, her soul might dissipate! She had wanted to quickly change the situation of sharing a body with Mei Jiu, which was why she let Mei Jiu undergo the technique. Who knew it would be so unreliable?
An Jiu was quite displeased, completely forgetting who had disrupted the “Dream Locking Technique.”
After this incident, Mei Yanran and Mei Ruyan became increasingly convinced that Mei Jiu had suffered severe trauma recently.
Mei Yanran had no choice but to excuse Mei Jiu from clan school again. Mei Ruyan nursed her for two days before returning to her studies.
In just two short days, white hairs appeared at Mei Yanran’s temples.
She racked her brains but couldn’t devise a good plan to help Mei Jiu avoid studying with the Old Madam. Escape was impossible – ten years ago, it had taken her two years of secret preparation to barely manage to flee. Now, she was under semi-house arrest and couldn’t leave, let alone take Mei Jiu away. Feigning madness was equally impossible with the presence of Elder Qi, the miracle-working doctor who could resurrect the dead and regrow flesh on bare bones. How could they possibly deceive him?
On the third day, Mei Jiu returned to clan school.
The morning coincided with Master Zhao’s lecture. Mei Jiu enjoyed listening; he could make even dry classical studies fascinating.
Looking around the entire classroom, only Mei Jiu and Mei Ruyan were paying attention. Unfortunately, Master Zhao’s field of vision was less than three feet, so he couldn’t see who was daydreaming and who was focused. He simply sat at the front, lecturing with great enthusiasm.
Half an hour later, during the break, Mei Ruyan came over with her books to ask Mei Jiu for guidance.
“Did Master Mo give you trouble again yesterday?” Mei Jiu asked.
Mei Ruyan, initially resentful, had come to understand. “How is that trouble? He’s just urging me to study diligently.”
Compared to her days as a kitchen maid in a brothel, this was infinitely better. Back then, people beat her with sticks to make her work day and night. Master Mo pushed her to develop skills.
Far from resenting him, Mei Ruyan now worked even harder.
Mei Jiu didn’t inquire further. She took the book and asked with a lowered head which parts Mei Ruyan didn’t understand.
“No matter how much you study, you’ll still be useless!” Mei Tingxuan sneered. “There are only four days left until the end of the month. You’d better focus on how to avoid a beating!”
Mei Jiu didn’t want to cause trouble, and Mei Ruyan didn’t want to waste time arguing.
Many people were watching for entertainment. Seeing that neither responded, Mei Tingxuan felt embarrassed and, in a fit of anger, grabbed a book and threw it at them.
Mei Ruyan raised her hand and caught the book steadily. With a smile, she said, “Thank you for the book, Seventh Sister.”
Mei Tingxuan was astonished. She had used fifty percent of her inner force in that throw, yet it was caught so easily!
“Silence,” Master Zhao felt his way in from the doorway, his sightless eyes symbolically sweeping the room.
It wasn’t time for the next class yet, but despite their confusion, everyone returned to their seats and quieted down. Mei Tingxuan glared at Mei Ruyan before turning back to her seat.
Master Zhao didn’t sit down. “Today, the Secret School has come to select students.”
The crowd displayed various reactions – excitement, frowning, worry…
Master Zhao, a man of few words, simply said, “Everyone, gather in the courtyard.”
“So soon,” Mei Ruyan couldn’t help feeling nervous. Having just caught the book Mei Tingxuan threw, she realized how vast the gap was. Although she managed to catch it, her entire arm had gone numb, and now her palm was starting to ache as if the bones might crack.
Mei Yanran had told them about the Secret School.
While the clan school taught academics and martial arts with various subjects, the Secret School taught only one thing: how to kill.
“In just these few days, no matter how hard we work, we can’t catch up to those who’ve trained since childhood,” Mei Ruyan sighed in a barely audible voice.
Mei Jiu felt lost. She was even worse off than Mei Ruyan, only able to perform martial arts forms as if dancing. How could she kill? At least there was An Jiu…
As this thought crossed her mind, Mei Jiu felt ashamed. Just days ago, she had considered getting rid of An Jiu, and now she dared to rely on her protection. When had she become so despicable?
With mixed emotions, everyone gathered in the courtyard.
Master Zhao was the last to fumble his way out of the room. He squinted at the courtyard for a while, estimating that everyone had assembled, then pulled a silk paper from his sleeve. He buried his face in it, examining it for a long time.
“The Secret School has specifically requested a few individuals. After I read these names, the rest of you can choose whether to stay or go. Those who wish to enter the Secret School, remain in the courtyard. The others may return to the classroom.” Master Zhao coughed lightly and handed the silk paper to the student assistant beside him, whispering, “The characters are too small.”
The assistant took the paper, silently rolling his eyes. Master Zhao couldn’t see, yet he had stared at it for so long!
The assistant read it once, then announced loudly, “Mei Tingjun, Mei Tingzhu, Mei Tingchun, Mei Ruxue, Mei Rujian.”
Everyone paused for a moment before realizing that Mei Ruxue was the newcomer – the timid Mei Fourteenth.